The Characters of Neither a Bird nor a Plane, it's Deku!.
All characters will be referred to as they are in the story for the sake of consistency. For instance, Midoriya will be referred to by his last name while Lexi will be called by her first.
Beware of unmarked spoilers.
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U.A. High School
Heroes
- Justice Societynote
- Other Heroesnote
Villains
- Villainsnote
Law Enforcement
- Law Enforcementnote
Civilians
- Civiliansnote
America
- Americanote
Krypton (Beware of Spoilers)
- Kryptonnote
The Multiverse
- The Multiversenote
Posthumous Characters
Dr. Victor Fries - Mister Freeze
Dr. Victor Fries - Mister Freeze
Dr. Victor Fries was a brilliant cryogenics researcher who became a supervillain out of desperation to protect his wife Nora. But when he discovers that the Quirk she developed while in stasis had cured her of her life-threatening illness, he submitted to the authorities and became a model inmate at Arkham Asylum. After being released, he used his research to fund Fries Financial, a powerful conglomerate on par with Wayne-Powers and LexCorp and is celebrated as a philanthropist and an innovator.- Amazing Technicolor Population: His condition turned his skin light blue, a trait that's exhibited in his granddaughter Wiktoria.
- An Ice Person: He weaponized his cryogenics technology into powerful cold guns that very much averted Harmless Freezing.
- Anti-Villain: He was only motivated by his desire to cure Nora and take vengeance on those who had ruined his life. After Nora is cured, he willingly surrenders and reforms.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After suffering a Freak Lab Accident that prevented him from surviving outside of subzero temperatures, he turned to villainy to take vengeance on those responsible and cure his wife Nora. After many trials and tribulations, he discovers that Nora was cured by a Quirk she developed while in stasis. He manages to reform and they're reunited and start Fries Financial, freely sharing their now massive wealth to atone for his deeds and make Gotham a better place.
- Fiction 500: The company he founded, Fries Financial, is as powerful as LexCorp and Wayne-Powers, implying that he became fabulously wealthy.
- Freeze Ray: His signature weapon.
- Happily Married: So much so that he became willing to do whatever it took to protect her and cure her of her illness. They're reunited fifteen years after she emerges from cryostasis.
- Heel–Face Turn: He loses his reason to continue his crimes after Nora is cured, becoming a model inmate who even helped foil breakout attempts at Arkham Asylum. He also becomes a wealthy philanthropist as the head of Fries Financial.
- Posthumous Character: He isn't present as his granddaughter Wiktoria's party and is referred to in passing, implying that he died some time before the start of the series.
- Reformed Criminal: After his wife Nora was cured by her new Quirk, Fries surrendered to the authorities and became a model inmate at Arkham Asylum who was even willing to help stop several breakout attempts by the other supervillains. After being released, he's reunited with his wife and starts Fries Financial, a powerful conglomerate that frequently engages in philanthropic activity.
- Tragic Villain: All of his crimes were done to protect his wife Nora and cure her illness.
- Wealthy Philanthropist: Became this thanks to the success of Fries Financial.
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
The founder of LexCorp and one of the greatest people to ever walk the Earth. Born with an incredibly gifted intellect, he decided to use his talents for self-enrichment, becoming the wealthiest man alive with a hand in the pocket of every politician before turning to supervillainy. At some point, he reformed and became one of Earth's greatest Heroes, ushering in untold prosperity as president, helping to end World War III, and slashing poverty and starvation on a global scale. Even now, his name is spoken with both reverence and disgust, leaving him a polarizing figure in the modern day.
- The Ace: Amazingly wealthy, unbelievably intelligent, with a hand in every policy on every continent.
- Arms Dealer: One of his many, many amoral activities in the past.
- Bald of Evil: During his time as a supervillain, his alopecia did little to diminish his effectiveness. Because of this, his granddaughter Lexi gets called "Baldy" by Bakugou as an insult.
- Broken Base: In-universe. People can't make up their minds on his legacy. One one hand, he was the epitome of the Corrupt Corporate Executive who used his connections to crush anyone who looked at him funny, engaged in war profiteering, and tried to take over the world numerous times. Post-Heel–Face Turn, he put forward tremendous economic reforms have left America a global powerhouse, negotiated the end of World War III, and reduced poverty and starvation on a global scale with his technology. Scholars debate whether his Heel–Face Turn was legitimate or an attempt to save face and avoid jail time.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Prior to his Heel–Face Turn, he'd use his connections to get anyone who looked at him funny thrown out of their homes and ruined their lives.
- Evil Is Petty: Looking at him the wrong way was enough justification for him to ruin your life.
- Fiction 500: LexCorp is one of the most powerful corporations in the world and its connections allow his granddaughter Lexi to access top-secret information that's supposed to be privy only to the highest echelons of the Japanese government.
- Gadgeteer Genius: The technology he developed was lightyears beyond comparable technology at the time and continues to be used to this day.
- Heel–Face Turn: He was originally a Corrupt Corporate Executive who would abuse his connections for self-aggrandizement on a global scale. After reforming, he became a philanthropist who slashed poverty and hunger in many of the same countries he profited from.
- Posthumous Character: He's deceased by the events of the story, leaving his granddaughter Lexi as the next in-line to inherit his company and legacy.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: He'd pay off military groups and terrorists to let him have his way all the time.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Thanks to him, LexCorp has a hand in the pockets of every government in the world. Lexi was able to use these connections to fish for information on Izuku.
- Wealthy Philanthropist: Became this in the latter half of his life. Some people accuse him of doing this simply to boost his image and draw attention away from his previous crimes.
- World's Smartest Man: Was widely recognized as this during his glory days.
Other Characters
Other Schools
Shiritano Girls Academy
Saiko Intelli
An eccentric upperclassman Ochaco befriended during the events of Zero Year. The two became friends after Intelli protected Ochaco from the Terrible Trio, and Intelli roped Ochaco into helping her uncover the Seven Wonders of Shiritano Girls Academy.
- The Ace: She's a straight-A student, a star athlete, and has won numerous awards since childhood.
- Adaptational Badass: Intelli in the anime never fought on the front lines, but this version of her can fight with a bo staff.
- While her Metahuman ability seems to have the same power as her Quirk from the anime, she no longer has to drink tea to activate it.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Intelli shows up years before she did in canon.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: In the anime, Intelli was a complete Jerkass, but Zero Year depicts her as being an overall nice person (though considering it's a prequel story, it's possible that she eventually ends up with her original personality).
- Adaptational Personality Change: From a manipulative and cocky Nominal Hero to a nice and eccentric Cloudcuckoolander.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: Intelli's powers come from her being a Metahuman in this universe.
- Age Lift: Intelli is 14-15 when she shows up by virtue of Zero Year being set two years in the past.
- Bold Explorer: What she yearns to be.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Intelli is a highly intelligent student in addition to being a star athlete, but she acts like a complete goofball.
- Innocently Insensitive: When Ochaco questions why she never awakened to any abilities, Intelli suggests that there's just something wrong with her, though she was saying it to be logical rather than mean.
- Non-Idle Rich: In spite of her vast wealth, Intelli wants to devote her time to hunting mysteries.
- No Sense of Personal Space: She frequently gets very close to Ochaco.
- O.C. Stand-in
- Super-Intelligence: Her Metahuman ability allows her to temporarily boost her intelligence.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's not clear what's happened to Intelli in the present day.
Isamu Academy
Lori Lemaris
An Atlantean student of Isamu Academy, Lori is dissatisfied with the surface world due to its banality compared to her home. A romanticist at heart, she wishes her life would become more exciting. She finally gets her wish when Izuku Midoriya rescues her from a golem.
- Big Damn Kiss: Plants one right on Izuku’s lips, much to Itsuka’s annoyance.
- Does Not Know Her Own Strength: As an Atlantean, she's much stronger than average humans, so sometimes she forgets to regulate her strength out of the water. She accidentally gives Itsuka a Crushing Handshake, even when the latter was trying to deliver one herself.
- Love at First Sight: Pretty much falls head over heels for Izuku the first time she sees him, since the rescue falls under her definition of true romance.
- Our Mermaids Are Different: While she looks like a mermaid with the standard bottom half of a fish, being Atlantean means that she’s just one of many human-like creatures living beneath the waves.
- Rescue Romance: She begins to take an interest in Izuku after he rescues her from a golem.
- Secret-Keeper: Has found out about both Izuku and All Might's secrets when trying to stop Bizarro!Izaku, and sworn herself to keep the secret.
- The Unfettered: She’s pretty nonplussed about being attacked by a golem, and only reacts when Izuku enters the picture.
Others
Mi-Gos
Mi-Gos
The spawn of the Kaiju that became Korusan Island. They're terrifying-looking creatures with shark-like heads sitting stop a myriad of tentacles. Despite their appearance, they simply want to live in peace, which Izuku ended up rudely disrupting when he barged into their lair.
- Aliens Speaking English: Downplayed. They can't actually speak Japanese (or likely any human language for that matter), but they somehow seem to understand Japanese well enough to respond to Izuku and reach a mutual understanding with him.
- Combat Tentacles: They have plenty of these, but they aren't strong enough to hold someone like Izuku down.
- Cute Monster: They're horrifying creatures from another dimension that aren't much to look at, but ultimately the Mi-Gos are docile unless threatened and enjoy learning about the outside world beyond Korusan Island. The also get excited at the sight of ice and love it when Izuku showers them with icicles to play with.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Their normal, cackling sounds are described as being akin to "a hyena, a humpback whale, and a smaller hyena".
- Extreme Omnivore: It's mentioned that they sometimes literally (and metaphorically) ate the things Izuku brought to entertain them, which included things like figurines, photos, and toys.
- It Can Think: While they can't speak human languages, they seem to understand Japanese well enough for Izuku to reach a mutual understanding with them. The Mi-Gos can also enjoy video reels, operate simple toys, and read some of the books that Izuku brings for them.
- More Teeth than the Osmond Family: They have plenty of teeth thanks to their shark-like heads.
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: They look terrifying, attempt to bite and grab Izuku with their teeth and tentacles, and make bloodcurdling high-pitched screeching sounds when agitated. Despite all this, they don't actually want any trouble and only lunged at Izuku out of fear for their own safety. Over the ten months he spends preparing to attend U.A., Izuku gradually gets closer to the Mi-Gos and plays with them, introducing them to things that they've never experienced before like ice, All Might video reels, Justice Society merchandise, and kendama toys. By the end of his Training Montage, Izuku is saddened at the thought of not being able to visit them as often once he gets into U.A.
- Original Character: They don't have any basis in either franchise.
- Super Drowning Skills: The Mi-Gos are completely unable to swim, recoiling after they touch water for the first time. Seeing this is what gets Izuku to realize how alike they are.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Izuku is initially terrified of them because of how monstrous they look, but he soon finds that they're actually quite docile and befriends them in time.
Tskymi - Dark Shadow
Tskymi - Dark Shadow
In canon, Dark Shadow is the Quirk of Fumikage Tokoyami, an ability that manifested as a shadowy monster that inhabits his body and could be summoned to fight on his behalf. This is not the case here. Here, Dark Shadow is a completely separate entity whose true identity is Tskymi, a Reality Warper from the Fifth Dimension bonded to Tokoyami through unknown means.
- Adaptational Badass: This version of Dark Shadow is a full-blown Reality Warper.
- Benevolent Genie: For the most part, he doesn't seem to mean any harm and enjoys being around Tokoyami. He always works to the best of his ability and never tries to double cross his owner or use Exact Words.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: According to Izuku, Tskymi's body is simultaneously bony and spongy.
- Buffy Speak: Dark Shadow can't quite articulate how different Izuku feels from the other U.A. students.Dark Shadow: Oh, Fumi, always with the dramatics. I don't know where he gets it from. But hey, he's finally around normalish people, maybe you guys can help straighten him out. Especially you. [looks straight at Izuku]
Izuku: Me?
Tskymi: Yeah, you. You seem like you got a good head on your shoulders. Plus, there's just something about you. Something that feels like… something. - Divergent Character Evolution: Unlike in canon, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow are now completely separate characters.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Tokoyami attempts to call Tskmyi, "Dark Shadow", but the genie refuses to respond to that name.
- Expy: Of both the Genie from Aladdin and Yz the Thunderbolt, the latter of whom is directly referenced by him and the former gets quoted frequently.
- Fun Personified: He's essentially a cartoon character who happens to be a genie. He's always focused on messing around and having fun, is a constant wisecracker, and never seems to be down about anything.
- Genie in a Bottle: What Tskymi essentially is.
- Genki Guy: He's relentlessly cheerful and always seems to be ready to celebrate something or take a chance to goof off. Tokoyami doesn't appreciate this.Dark Shadow: [after curb-stomping the exercise] Hell yeah! [creates a giant donut around Tokoyami] For he's a jolly good rookie! For he's a jolly good rookie! For he's a jolly good rookie~!
Tokoyami: If you throw me into the air, I refuse to summon you for three days, regardless of how it might affect my education.
Dark Shadow: Party pooper. - My Significance Sense Is Tingling: He notices that Izuku is different from the others, but he can't quite put his finger on it before Tokoyami calls him back.
- The Nicknamer: He affectionately refers to Tokoyami as "Fumi".
- No Ontological Inertia: All of the crazy things he does with his powers vanish the moment he's recalled. This is why Dark Shadow can't just poof away All Might's injuries and solve other problems in an instant.
- No Sense of Personal Space: He feels Izuku up because he felt something weird about him until Tokoyami calls him back. The following day, he flies at Izuku out of nowhere.Kendou: Tokoyami, why is your Genie molesting Midoriya?
Dark Shadow: What? Just getting a general feel of the guy.
Kendou: That's kind of the problem.
Izuku: I really do feel uncomfortable, though. - Number of the Beast: During the ball throw, he blasts the ball 666 meters away and apologizes for whiffing the shot.
- Our Genies Are Different: Dark Shadow lives inside of Tokoyami until his real name, Tskymi, is called backwards (Imykst). He's a prankster and a jokester, but not overtly malicious. He doesn't have a limit on the number of wishes he can grant and seems loyal to Tokoyami.
- Plucky Comic Relief: He's by far the most perky and comical character in the story, as befitting a genie from the fifth dimension. He's always cracking jokes and messing around. Even while curb-stomping Jirou and Hagakure during the Heroes vs. Villains exercise, he has to go "boop" as he touches the bomb.
- Reality Warper: Naturally, what with him being a fifth dimensional being.
- Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can: He's bonded to Tokoyami through unknown means.
- Secret-Keeper: His pat down of Izuku confirmed his suspicions that Izuku is an alien. He promises not to blab about it to anyone other than the denizens of the fifth dimension, but he did tell Mxyzptlk of all people.
- Shout-Out: Dark Shadow's Hero costume is a direct reference to the outfit of Rubberduck
. - Straight Man and Wise Guy: Tokoyami is a Straight Man and a Cold Ham, while Dark Shadow is far more joking and open with his emotions, constantly making fun of his master and messing with him for kicks.
- Toon Physics: Dark Shadow seems to operate on these, pulling an enormous magnifying glass out of Hammerspace and turning himself into a cannon with hands to load himself and light his own fuse.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: By telling the other fifth-dimensional beings about Izuku, Dark Shadow accidentally draws Mxyzptlk to Earth, who proceeds to wreak havoc as Izuku prepares for his second day of school. He then has the gall to ask Izuku if he had fun with Mxyzptlk the day after but insists that there was a "good chance" that Mxyzptlk wouldn't have caused any real harm.
Dexter
Dexter
Bakugou's pet cat, whom he's had for as long as he and Izuku can remember.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: This version of Dexter doesn't have any connection with the Red Lanterns, who attacked Earth decades ago.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Has blue fur, just like in the comics.
- Cats Are Mean: Izuku showed Dexter nothing but affection in the time they've known each other, but Dexter does nothing but scratch, bite, and throw toys at him. Izuku is practically in denial in how bad their relationship is, making it a more humorous version of his relationship with Bakugou.Momo: Midoriya-san, why is the cat attacking you in all of these pictures?
Izuku: What, that? That's just this game we used to play where I'd try to pet him and he'd try and stop me by any means necessary. It was usually scratches, but sometimes he'd bite my fingers or throw his toys at me; it was a lot of fun. - Cute Kitten: He's there for Class 1-A to fawn over and give Bakugou something to focus on other than thinking of ways to beat Izuku.
- Morality Pet: Bakugou's affection for Dexter shows that he isn't all bad and it manages to keep him off Santa's naughty list.
- Uncatty Resemblance: As an alternate version of a Red Lantern, Dexter is as volatile and quick to anger as his owner, attacking, biting, and scratching Izuku, who adores him.
Death of the Endless
Death of the Endless
A member of the Endless, the seven primordial beings who govern over fundamental concepts like Dreams, Destruction, and Destiny. Death, as her name implies, is the physical embodiment of death and is destined to claim all of reality at the end of existence. Despite her ominous profession, she usually takes the form of a gentle, perky teenage goth, easing the transition into the afterlife and visiting mortals who walk a bit too close to her domain.
- All-Loving Hero: As death incarnate, she appreciates life more than anyone and treats everyone with compassion.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: Of death.
- The Bus Came Back: Makes a cameo in chapter 23 to talk with Izuku in the midst of his zombification.
- Complete Immortality: She is death and the only thing that will remain once reality comes to an end.
- Domain Holder: She's one of the strongest beings in the DC Multiverse and can do virtually anything within her own domain.
- Don't Fear the Reaper: She takes the form of a perky, gentle young woman who adores life and likes to ease their passage into the afterlife.
- Double Take: Even she is surprised when she learns who Bakugou's spouse is, rereading the entry in Destiny's book several times for clarity.
- The Dreaded: She's death incarnate and meeting her usually means that you're at the end of your tale.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: She's the living incarnation of death and takes the form of a young woman with porcelain-white skin and jet-black hair.
- The Gadfly: She playfully teases Bakugou over his Hair-Trigger Temper.
- Goth Girls Know Magic: Dressed like a goth and has massive Reality Warper powers to boot on top of being The Grim Reaper.
- The Grim Reaper: Meeting her almost always means that your life is at an end, but she's never going to be mean about it.
- Nice Girl: Kind, gentle, and level-headed, she eases everyone's passage into the afterlife. She also asks Bakugou not to hold a grudge against Izuku, because he's not feeling as on top of the world as Bakugou thinks he is.Death: You’re obviously furious at him for what happened—not necessarily for all of the right reasons—but you should try to not hold all of it against him. Right now, he’s going through a lot of stuff that you wouldn’t understand, and from this point forward, he’ll keep going through harder and harder challenges that few people will be able to relate to. No one’s asking you to like him, no one’s telling you to forgive him, but at the very least, try to understand that he doesn’t feel as on top of the world as you think he does.
- Noodle Incident: Bakugou's Skewed Priorities remind her of the hoops she had to jump through when dealing with David Hyde.
- The Omnipresent: She exists throughout the multiverse as death itself, visiting each and every person when they're born and when they die or are about to die.
- The Omniscient: Played with. As the embodiment of death, she knows the final fates of everyone to ever exist and can look up the specifics in a copy of Destiny's book. She uses this to assure Bakugou that he isn't dead and has a long life ahead of him full of adventures and a happy marriage to an unknown woman. But even she is surprised when she looks up Bakugou's spouse.
- Perky Goth: Despite dressing in all-black and being an Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette, she's quite nice and finds speaking to Bakugou more amusing than anything else.
- Physical God: She's one of the seven Endless, the primordial beings who reside over the abstract concepts underlying creation. Of them, she's the second eldest and arguably the most powerful, being destined to claim everything once existence ends, far outstripping the might of fifth-dimensional beings.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Pale-skinned, dark-haired, and beautiful.
- Reality Warper: She's one of the multiverse's top dogs and can easily materialize a chair to sit in with a thought, drag Bakugou's soul out of his body for a chat and make him sit down with a parasol she pulled out of thin air. She also gives him a rude reminder of what brought him into her domain when she reproduces the effects of what Izuku had done to him.
Santa Claus
Santa Claus
- Acrofatic: He may be the tubby, jolly old man beloved by children around the world, but he's also fast enough to take the likes of All For One by surprise. He has to deliver his presents somehow.
- All-Loving Hero: He delivers toys to all of the good boys and girls on Earth and doesn't bear any malice towards the likes of All For One. His gifts aren't solely for humans or children either. He happily leaves a copy of "Justice Society Insider #3" for Izuku and gives some root beer to Swamp Thing and the Parliament of Trees.Santa thinks everyone is equally great, so we won't show his visits in order; don't hate.
- Anachronic Order: The order of his deliveries isn't portrayed in chronological order in "Jingle My Bells, Baby".
- Badass Boast: He declares that All For One will never get his hands on a Christmas present before preparing to fight him.Santa: [to All For One] Quite immature of you, to not already be in your bed. Only little kids stay up all night trying to catch me on a Christmas so white. I know what you want, but try as you might, you won't get it, not without a fight.
- Badass Santa: He's more than willing to throw down with the likes of All For One if it means keeping him from getting his hands on Christmas cheer.
- Cool Old Guy: He's powerful enough to stare down All For One and battle him over his Christmas presents.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Every year, he flips off both All For One and Darkseid with a lump of coal before running off to complete his deliveries.
- Edible Bludgeon: Pulls out a giant candy cane to fight All For One in melee combat.
- Improbable Weapon User: Teddy bears, shields made of chocolate, candy canes and jingle bells are fair game for Santa when he gets down and dirty.
- Intangibility: The Midoriya apartment doesn't have a chimney, so he ends up parking his sleigh outside and walking right through the wall.
- Just Toying with Them: According to the author, Santa's annual battles with All For One are more to humor him than anything. Even if All For One were at full strength, he has no chance of even scratching Santa.
- Living MacGuffin: He knows exactly what gifts will make a child the happiest and can make it no matter what it is. All For One knows this and tries to capture Santa every Christmas Eve in hopes of getting some of the water from a Lazarus Pit.
- Ninja Log: He teleports to Kahndaq as soon as All For One tries to carve out his heart with a bone spear, leaving a lump of coal in his wake.
- Punched Across the Room: He bats All For One away with a giant bell during their fight.
- Rhymes on a Dime: All of his speech is rendered in rhyme much like Etrigan as is all of the narration of the story he appears in. He gets All For One doing it too.Santa: [to All For One] Yes, that would be what would bring you the most joy, but you won't get it because—once again— you've been a bad boy.
