Did Ida Become A Hero Worthy Of Inheriting The Hero Name Ingenium?

Key Takeaways

• Ida Tenya sought to become a hero like his brother and uphold family legacy
• Ida faced setbacks, including his brother’s critical injury, but overcame them
• Ida evolved into a hero deserving of inheriting the name Ingenium as he learned true heroism

At the start of My Hero Academia, Ida Tenya made it known to everyone that he aspired to be a hero like his brother Tensei. During his time as a pro Hero, Tensei accomplished many feats and was well-known to have 65 sidekicks.

Tenya is incredibly proud of the prestige his family has gained throughout the generations. However, at the time, he did not feel worthy of inheriting the hero name, Ingenium. Was Ida able to become a hero worthy of inheriting the hero name, Ingenium?

What Kind of Hero Did Ida Want to Become?

Ida Wanted to Follow in His Brother’s Footsteps and Become a Beloved Hero Who Prizes the Rules and Guides Others

Ida Tenya comes from a long line of family heroes, with many of his family inheriting the Engine Quirk. As a result of this lineage, Ida is immensely proud of his family’s success and thus wishes to follow in their footsteps. However, out of all his family members, Ida looks up to his older brother the most and hopes to become a hero just like him.

Ida Tensei is the Turbo Hero: Ingenium, appearing during the UA Sports Festival arc. Ida has always admired his older brother, witnessing his accomplishments and enrolling in UA to become a Pro Hero. While we only see glimpses of why Ida admires his brother in My Hero Academia, Tensei’s personality shines in Vigilantes’s manga.

Although Ida consistently mentions he wishes to become a hero like his older brother Tensei, the two brothers have very different personalities. At the start of the series, Ida is intimidating, strict, and a stickler for the rules. On the other hand, Tensei is much more free-spirited and easy-going about the rules and laws, unlike Tenya.

Although Tenya can be incredibly stiff with the rules, that doesn’t make him hard to be around. During the Sports Festival arc, Tenya spoke highly of his brother and showed concern for his classmates after their battles. While his rule-loving personality can be hard to be around, Tenya only wishes the best for his classmates.

When we were first introduced to Tenya, he was a straight-laced student keen on following the rules and paying attention to detail. Tenya took becoming a hero seriously, believing that weak-willed or unconvinced people had no right to become heroes as they would obstruct those genuinely trying to become heroes. However, after meeting Midoriya Izuku, his perception of being a hero began to change during the UA Entrance Exam arc.

What Setbacks Did Ida Face on This Journey?

After His Brother Retired From Critical Wounds, Ida Walked Down a Dark Path

As mentioned previously, Tenya was on the road to changing his perception of heroism after meeting Midoriya. Although Tenya first seemed intimidating due to his stern values, his personality became lighter during the Sports Festival. However, during the Hero Killer arc, Tenya faces his first setback, which has him questioning what it means to become a hero.

During this arc, Tensei is targeted by the Hero Killer, Stain, which leaves him in a critical state. Unfortunately, he had to retire from hero work. Due to his injuries, he also requests that Tenya take the name “Turbo Hero: Ingenium” to carry on the legacy. As Tenya had always looked up to Tensei, inheriting his hero’s name would be the highest honor for Tenya.

However, because Tenya adores his older brother, he immediately seeks revenge when Stain paralyzes him from the waist down. Tenya is not only crushed but also devastated to learn that the hero and brother he looked up to is paralyzed and unable to perform hero work. In this arc, Tenya also confesses that Tensei gave him the dream of becoming a hero.

To Tenya, Tensei was a splendid hero, and Tenya always looked up to his older brother because he thought he was “cool.” In Chapter 54, this is also where Tenya confesses he wants to become a hero like his brother because he prizes the rules and guides others, which is likely why, at the beginning of the series, Tenya was so rigid regarding rules and regulations.

All I ever see is what’s right in front of me… All I ever see is myself!

During the Hero Killer arc, Tenya can understand his wrongdoings and what it means to become a hero. Previously, Tenya also behaved in a way that could be seen as selfish and unwilling to bend the rules. It could be said that Stain also helped Tenya see his wrongdoing in voicing his ideology about what makes the ideal hero.

Did Ida Become Worthy of Inheriting the Name Ingenium?

Ida Was Able to Become a Splendid Hero as He Continued to Encourage Others

After the Hero Killer arc, Tenya learned that becoming a hero does not only consist of saving others. While saving others from harm makes someone a hero, it also consists of the individual’s mindset. Tenya wanted to follow in his brother’s footsteps and carry on the Ida family name. However, at the time, Tenya did not know what it truly meant to become a hero.

To become a hero means to put yourself on the line to save others from harm. During the UA Entrance Exam and Hero Killer arc, Tenya only thought of himself and what he needed to accomplish. This mindset is starkly different from Tensei’s, as Tensei would often help those in need regardless of the situation.

Throughout the series, Tenya has become a hero worthy of inheriting his brother’s hero name, Ingenium. It was thanks to Midoriya, who reached out his hand when Tenya needed help, which helped him change his perception of what it meant to be a hero. Throughout the series, Tenya becomes much more laid-back in his personality; however, he does have his moments.

During the Joint Training arc, his brother recognized Tenya’s efforts. During this time, Tensei informed Tenya about an age-old method used within the family to tune his Engine Quirk. At this point in the series, Tenya has already been acknowledged by his family for becoming a person worthy of being a hero. However, it was during the Final War that Tenya’s tenacity shone through. Although Tenya had a rocky start to his hero journey, he took his aspirations to become a hero like his brother and truly become worthy of the hero name Ingenium, as eight years after they graduated, Tenya, Froppy, Creati, and Uravity had begun visiting grade schools across the country, which dropped the villain rate.

My Hero Academia is now available to stream on Crunchyroll.