Key Takeaways
- Star and Stripe, America’s No. 1 Hero, with a powerful quirk known as New Order, had immense potential but met an untimely end.
- Her fight against Shigaraki showcased her tactical brilliance and power, leaving fans questioning if her potential was wasted.
- Her legacy and impact in My Hero Academia continue to inspire, although her sacrifice raises questions on the necessity of hero deaths.
Heroes in My Hero Academia often face situations of dire outcomes to the limit of their character capacity, and most characters in the series possess quirks that define their role in the story. However, not every character realizes his or her full potential, making their fans feel that their arc was cut short or remained underdeveloped. One such character is America’s No. 1 Hero, Star and Stripe, known as Cathleen Bate. Her power and background positioned her to be a pivotal force, but her storyline was incredibly short, making many discuss what had been overlooked in terms of missed opportunities.
Cathleen Bate, known by the hero name Star and Stripe, was America’s No. 1 Pro Hero. She was inspired by Japan’s Symbol of Peace, All Might, and looked up to him as a hero and an ideal target. Cathleen’s admiration was not only from afar; her backstory has revealed that she was saved as a child by All Might, molding her into carrying similar values of justice and strength. The connection between the two was palpable, with her training hard to achieve the title of America’s most powerful hero, emulating All Might’s influence on a much more global scale.
My Hero Academia: The Role of Sidekicks in Shaping Hero Society
Sidekicks in MHA support pro heroes, bridging the gap between society and hero agencies by maintaining peace behind the scenes.
Her appearance was bold, patriotic attire mirroring the American flag, a true representation of her country, its ideal of freedom, and the powerful entity it was. Star and Stripe was not just another hero; she was a sign, a symbol carrying her nation’s pride and becoming one of the most feared and revered heroes in the world. It seemed like her journey was set to have quite an impact on the prolonged war with Shigaraki and the League of Villains.
Star and Stripe’s Quirk: New Order
The Quirk With The Power To Conquer All Quirks
Star and Stripe had one quirk, really strange and extremely powerful, named “New Order.” It allowed her to set new rules on reality itself-to change objects, forces, or even people within certain limits. By simply touching a target and naming it, she was in a position to manipulate its properties outside the realm of imagination. She might, for example, solidify air into steel hardness, create invisible barriers, or broaden her physical abilities into superhuman ranges.
Her Quirk was probably among the most versatile and powerful ever seen in the entire series. During a fight, New Order was an excellent opportunity to change everything around her, making her pretty useful on almost any field of the battlefield. On the other hand, her Quirk had strict rules: at each given moment, she could impose only two “orders,” a limitation which made her power a bit strategic.
The Battle Against Shigaraki
Gods Among People
Star and Stripe’s first major fight in the series pitted her against Tomura Shigaraki, already well on his way to becoming an unstoppable force. In fact, her entrance to the series was literally her fighting Shigaraki at near full power, a shock, considering even the strongest of heroes struggled to keep up with him, especially with Eraser Head’s quirk restraining his powers. She held her own against Shigaraki, proving how strong and tactically sound she was.
It was an epic fight, Star and Stripe using New Order intelligently to counter the attacks of Shigaraki, pushing him to his limits in ways no other hero had. It showed her strategic mind, where she used New Order to its fullest extent. She even managed to pull off a few successful attacks, and her relentless bravery kept Shigaraki at bay, delaying his goals and endangering his life in a manner that no other hero had managed to do thus far.
Was Her Potential Wasted?
With this set of abilities, along with her fierce fight against Shigaraki, Star and Stripe’s arc was cut short when she finally died in her battle. She did not run away or seek some other way to continue fighting but was instead overpowered by Shigaraki’s cunning tactics, and many fans have questioned whether the character’s potential had been wasted. If combined with her powers, her tactical brilliance might prove very valuable in those last battles yet to come in the UA Academy arc, especially in that final confrontation with Shigaraki and All for One. Her death felt so sudden and arguably entirely unnecessary, as New Order had a lot of unexplored potential. Had she lived, her powers would be used strategically to further help the likes of Deku when the time came for a series of final battles.
The patriotic symbol of heroism and strength she represented resonated with many fans who wanted more of her dynamic with other heroes and with All Might’s legacy. Her addition to the series brought new depth to the worldwide consequences of heroes, and anime lovers were consumed by curiosity over how America’s top hero would have affected the overall story. Due to her relationship with All Might, her contribution would have added drama and advanced All Might’s will further. Interaction with other pro-heroes, especially the remaining top heroes in Japan, could provide them with new ways and inspirations toward battling Shigaraki and All for One.
Necessity of Hero Sacrifice
The Cliché
Star and Stripe’s fate follows a rather overused trope in My Hero Academia: that of hero sacrifice. While sacrifices do raise the stakes and create an emotional impact, at times they raise questions in the viewers’ minds about whether there could have been another way out. In her case, while the sacrifice was impactful, it left a gap in what could be a strong running presence in the battle against Shigaraki.
Which begs the question: where is the line for sacrifice, and at what point does it stop serving the story? Living in a world where its young heroes have already got well past their breaking points, the too-soon loss of a powerful ally in Star and Stripe can almost be seen as a missed opportunity, especially when the said abilities were as singular and versatile as hers were.
The Legacy of Star and Stripe
In the end, Star and Stripe might be gone, but her impact still reverberates in My Hero Academia. As a living proof of how much courage musters to stand against overwhelming odds in respect to the worldwide influence of heroes, her battle with Shigaraki showed strong will and spirit. That somehow echoes well among fans because they see her not just as a powerful Quirk user but as a hero with depth and inspiration.
Though her character arc was short-lived, the memory of her will always remain a reminder of the price heroes pay and for what they stand for. Although to some, it might have felt that the potential of the character was wasted, her legacy will continue to inspire the heroes of UA and beyond as they strive to fill the void left by one of the world’s strongest heroes.
In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the “One-For-All” quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.