In the popular anime and manga series, My Hero Academia, one of the most powerful students in Class 1-A is the fire and ice imbued hero known as Shoto Todoroki. And now, in a stunning new piece of nerd fanart, Todoroki’s epic powers are brought front and center to show off what he’s truly capable of!
Recently posted on Instagram by username @wilhames, artist João Wilhames is a creative talent worth following if a quick scroll through their page is of any indication. Consistently uploading pieces of fanart from popular properties like My Hero Academia, Spy x Family, DC Comics, Marvel, Invincible, and even deep cuts like the titular character from the late 90s animated series, Freakazoid!, João is a nerd with an art style that compliments their subject matter well, with this Todoroki piece being no exception.
The son of the now number one hero in My Hero lore — the fiery badass known as Endeavor — Shoto Todoroki takes after his father when it comes to the hot half of his powers and his mother for the cold half. Constantly struggling with the complicated relationship he holds with his family while trying to balance the two superpowered sides of himself that aren’t always in sync, Todoroki is a budding hero that's as smart as he is powerful, garnering him a mysterious and well-liked reputation from both fans of the character and his fellow students in Class 1-A alike.
Illustrating Todoroki crossing his arms low and staring directly at the viewer, João takes the idea of Todoroki’s duality to the next level by depicting this My Hero alum with both of his powers in use at the same time. With flames licking the left side of Todoroki’s body and the palm of his left hand, João compliments Todoroki’s hot side Quirk with a spray of ice that pokes from the right side of Shoto’s body to great effect. Also palming a burst of cold in his right hand, the image is dotted with embers and ice shards to give the piece a more dynamic feel, with João finishing things off by framing Todoroki with a slightly aged paper-esque border and a smaller dark blue background that really helps Todoroki’s contrasting powers pop off the page.
Todoroki hasn’t fully mastered both sides of his epic powers just yet, but João Wilhames (@wilhames) proves that when he inevitably does, he’ll do it with style. My Hero Academia’s Shoto Todoroki is a character worth creating fanart over, so be sure to throw a follow on @wilhames’s page for more nerdy art!