Hawks' Plan as a Mole for the League of Villains and Paranormal Liberation Front
Hawks (Keigo Takami), the No. 2 Pro Hero in My Hero Academia, undertakes a high-stakes mission as a double agent infiltrating the League of Villains and later the Paranormal Liberation Front (PLF). His plan, orchestrated under the orders of the Hero Public Safety Commission (HPSC), is a critical component of the heroes’ strategy to undermine the growing threat of the villains led by Tomura Shigaraki and All For One. Below, I outline Hawks’ plan, its execution, goals, outcomes, and whether it succeeded or failed, drawing from the provided document and contextual knowledge from My Hero Academia.
Hawks' Plan as a Mole
Overview: Hawks is tasked by the HPSC to infiltrate the League of Villains following the Kamino Incident, where All Might’s retirement leaves hero society vulnerable. His mission escalates with the formation of the Paranormal Liberation Front, a merger of the League and the Meta Liberation Army, which significantly increases the villains’ resources and influence. As a double agent, Hawks pretends to align with the villains’ cause while secretly gathering intelligence to relay to the heroes, aiming to disrupt their plans before they can execute a large-scale attack on Japan.
Key Components of the Plan:
Gaining Trust:
Hawks must convince the League and PLF of his loyalty to secure access to their inner workings. To do so, he:
Maintains a façade of being a cocky, carefree hero disillusioned with hero society, aligning with the villains’ anti-establishment ideology.
Performs a high-stakes act to prove his loyalty by staging the “death” of Best Jeanist, the No. 3 hero. Hawks visits Best Jeanist, who is recovering from losing a lung during the Kamino Incident, and convinces him to enter a state of apparent death to deceive the League. Hawks presents Best Jeanist’s “corpse” to Dabi, earning the League’s tentative trust (Pages 27-28, 33).
Engages with Twice, a key League member, building a genuine rapport to exploit his trust and gather information (Pages 31-32).
Gathering Intelligence:
Hawks uses his Quirk, Fierce Wings, to covertly spy on the villains. His ability to sense vibrations through his feathers allows him to eavesdrop on conversations and monitor activities without detection (Pages 17, 30).
He collects sensitive information about the PLF’s structure, resources, and plans, including their leadership changes, the involvement of Feel Good Inc. and Detnerat, and the potential presence of more High-End Nomu (Page 28).
He deduces Tomura Shigaraki’s location in a mountain near Kyoto by combining a coded “hospital” hint from his HPSC superiors with Twice’s disclosure (Page 31).
Sabotaging the PLF:
Hawks organizes a preemptive strike by the heroes, coordinating a simultaneous raid on the PLF’s headquarters and a hospital where Tomura is undergoing enhancements. This is intended to catch the villains off-guard before they can launch their own attack (Page 31).
During the raid, Hawks targets Twice, whose Double Quirk poses a significant threat due to its ability to create an army of clones. He attempts to capture Twice alive to neutralize him without bloodshed (Page 31).
Maintaining Cover:
Hawks employs his intelligence and deception skills to avoid suspicion. He tricks the PLF’s surveillance by removing microdevices planted in his wings by Skeptic and communicates with the heroes in code to avoid detection (Pages 29-30).
He carefully balances his actions to appear loyal to the PLF while subtly undermining their plans, such as passing coded messages to Endeavor via highlighted sections of Destro’s autobiography (Page 30).
Execution:
Initial Success: Hawks successfully infiltrates the League and PLF, gaining Dabi’s cautious approval after presenting Best Jeanist’s “corpse.” He builds a relationship with Twice, learning critical details about the PLF’s operations and Tomura’s location. His intelligence-gathering enables the heroes to plan the Paranormal Liberation War, targeting key PLF bases (Pages 28, 31).
Confrontation with Twice: During the raid, Hawks corners Twice, revealing his double-agent status. He tries to redeem Twice, offering him a chance to surrender and start anew, but Twice’s loyalty to the League leads to a mental breakdown and an attack using Sad Man’s Parade. Hawks counters with his feather blades, aiming to subdue him non-lethally (Pages 31-32).
Dabi’s Intervention: The plan unravels when Dabi intervenes, revealing he never fully trusted Hawks and knows his real name, Keigo Takami, obtained from Hawks’ mother. Dabi’s blue flames burn Hawks’ wings, severely limiting his mobility and combat ability. Forced to prioritize the mission, Hawks reluctantly kills Twice to prevent him from escaping and amplifying the PLF’s forces (Page 32).
Aftermath: Hawks is saved by his intern, Fumikage Tokoyami, but is left critically injured with charred wings and a scarred back. Dabi publicly exposes Hawks’ actions, including edited footage of Twice’s death, damaging his reputation and hero society’s trust (Pages 32-33).
Goals of the Plan
Prevent the PLF’s Attack: Hawks aims to stop the PLF from launching a coordinated assault that could conquer Japan, given their vast resources and Tomura’s growing power (Page 28).
Neutralize Key Threats: Specifically, Hawks targets Twice’s Double Quirk, recognizing its potential to create an unstoppable army, and gathers intel to disrupt Tomura’s enhancements (Page 31).
Protect Hero Society: By undermining the PLF, Hawks seeks to preserve the fragile stability of hero society post-All Might, aligning with his broader vision of a world where heroes have “time to kill” and can operate with less pressure (Pages 13, 21).
Minimize Casualties: Hawks strives to execute his mission with minimal harm, as seen in his efforts to evacuate civilians during the Nomu attack and his initial attempt to capture Twice alive (Pages 25-26, 31).
Did the Plan Work?
Successes:
Intelligence Gathering: Hawks successfully infiltrates the PLF, uncovering critical details about their leadership, resources, and Tomura’s location. This enables the heroes to launch the Paranormal Liberation War, disrupting the PLF’s plans before they can fully mobilize (Pages 28, 31).
Neutralizing Twice: By killing Twice, Hawks eliminates one of the PLF’s most dangerous assets, preventing the creation of an army of clones that could have overwhelmed the heroes (Page 32).
Disrupting the PLF: The coordinated hero raids, informed by Hawks’ intelligence, deal a significant blow to the PLF, capturing many members and delaying their larger plans (Page 33).
Failures:
Pyrrhic Victory: The Paranormal Liberation War results in heavy losses for the heroes. Many heroes and civilians die, and Tomura escapes with All For One’s vestige taking control, leading to mass prison breakouts and a crisis in hero society (Pages 33-34). Hawks’ plan, while disruptive, does not fully dismantle the PLF or prevent Tomura’s rise.
Personal Cost: Hawks’ wings are nearly destroyed by Dabi, leaving him permanently crippled and reliant on prosthetics. His public exposure by Dabi, including the accusation of murdering Twice, damages his reputation and fuels public distrust in heroes (Pages 12, 33).
Underestimating Dabi: Hawks fails to anticipate Dabi’s distrust and knowledge of his real identity, which compromises his cover and leads to his near-death experience. Dabi’s revelation as Toya Todoroki further complicates the situation, shaking Hawks emotionally (Page 32).
Twice’s Death: Hawks’ failure to redeem Twice and his subsequent decision to kill him weigh heavily on him, as he genuinely believed Twice was a good person. This moral compromise highlights the plan’s darker consequences (Pages 15, 32).
Overall Outcome: The plan is a partial success but ultimately a Pyrrhic victory. Hawks achieves his immediate objectives of gathering intelligence and neutralizing Twice, but the broader consequences—Tomura’s escape, the PLF’s continued threat, and the collapse of public trust in heroes—undermine the mission’s success. The personal toll on Hawks, including his injuries and loss of his Quirk to All For One in the Final War (Page 12), further highlights the plan’s high cost.
Hawks’ Goals and Motivations
Primary Goal: Hawks’ overarching goal is to create “a world where heroes have time to kill” (Pages 13, 21). He envisions a society where heroes can operate with less pressure, free from the constant threat of villains like the PLF. His infiltration is a step toward this by preemptively weakening the villains.
Motivations:
Duty to Hero Society: Trained by the HPSC from childhood, Hawks feels compelled to use his abilities for the greater good, even at personal cost. His willingness to “dirty his hands” for peace reflects this sense of duty (Page 21).
Personal Redemption: Hawks’ traumatic childhood, marked by abusive parents and poverty, drives his desire to be useful and prevent others from suffering as he did. His admiration for Endeavor, who arrested his criminal father, fuels his commitment to heroism (Pages 14, 23).
Optimism and Compassion: Despite his cynical role as a double agent, Hawks remains an optimist, seeking to find good in others, as seen in his genuine attempt to save Twice and his support for Endeavor’s redemption (Pages 15, 34).
Long-Term Vision: Post-war, Hawks’ goals evolve. As President of the HPSC, he reforms the hero ranking system to recognize collective efforts and supports initiatives like Ochaco Uraraka’s Quirk Counselling projects, aiming to foster a brighter, more inclusive future (Page 15).
Comparison to David Shield’s Villainous Actions
While Hawks’ actions as a mole involve deception and moral compromises (e.g., killing Twice), they differ significantly from David Shield’s villainous actions in My Hero Academia: Two Heroes:
Intent: David’s actions (staging a fake villain attack to steal the Quirk Amplification Device) are driven by personal loyalty to All Might and a desire to preserve the status quo, but they recklessly endanger lives and violate laws. Hawks’ infiltration is a calculated, HPSC-sanctioned operation to protect society, with a focus on minimizing harm (e.g., evacuating civilians, Pages 25-26).
Outcome: David’s plan fails when real villains hijack it, leading to chaos on I-Island and no restoration of All Might’s power. Hawks’ plan achieves partial success by disrupting the PLF but at a high cost, with long-term societal damage.
Moral Stance: David’s actions align him as an anti-villain, as he knowingly commits crimes for a perceived greater good. Hawks, while engaging in “dirty business,” remains a hero, as his actions are sanctioned and aimed at saving lives, though he grapples with guilt over Twice’s death.
Conclusion
Hawks’ plan as a mole is a complex, high-risk operation driven by his duty to protect hero society and his optimistic vision for a less burdened future. While he successfully gathers critical intelligence and neutralizes a major threat in Twice, the plan’s partial success comes at a steep cost: personal injury, loss of his Quirk, and a damaged hero society. His underestimation of Dabi and the PLF’s resilience highlights the plan’s flaws, but his resilience and commitment to reform post-war demonstrate his enduring heroism.
