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A Quirk (
History[]
The Luminescent Baby, wielder of the first Quirk.
Quirks are said to be the next stage of evolution in the human race. It is possible, though rudimentary, to diagnose a person as possessing or lacking a Quirk by analyzing the presence or absence of an extra joint in their pinky toe. People with only one joint tend to develop a Quirk, while having two joints usually indicates that the person is Quirkless. The lack of the extra joint makes a person's body more "streamlined", a secondary aspect of human evolution brought about by the emergence of Quirks.
The earliest known instance of a human having Quirks was a female sex worker, who would later become the mother of twin boys, All For One and Yoichi Shigaraki. Her Quirk was Spearlike Bones, but it only manifested as hardened growths on her left arm. She died during childbirth by a riverbank, her life force sucked away by a fetal All For One, without ever truly knowing about her ability. A year after her sons were born, the first superpower ever to be officially recorded was manifested by a newborn baby in Qing Qing City, China with the ability to radiate light from its body. After this phenomenon, many people around the world began to manifest different kinds of superpowers, and not just at birth, some people showed signs of powers in puberty. These powers became known as "Meta Abilities".
While the cause of this phenomenon is unknown, one research group looking into the matter hypothesized that it was caused by the spread of a previously unknown novel disease carried by mice, while others theorized that it was actually a natural evolution of the human race, however, to date, there is no hard evidence to support any of these theories. The aforementioned research group announced to the public that those with Meta Abilities were a subbranch of humanity with new genetic factors.
The advent of Quirks brought chaos to society, as well as hate to those who wielded them.
The dawn of this extraordinary era was marred by a breakdown of society caused by the sudden onslaught of criminals empowered by their newfound "superpowers" and ordinary people being prejudiced against the new minority. The announcement by the researchers proved to be reckless and premature as the statement divided people, and caused chaos to grow. As a result, Anti-Meta groups rose up with the objective of exterminating those with abilities.
The Luminescent Baby took advantage of their fame as the first recorded Quirk user, attempting to rally a following that preached a return to a peaceful and stable society. They had 10 million followers at one point, but was later murdered out of jealousy for all the attention and admiration they were getting by a powerful supervillain who would later be known as All For One.
As chaos and unrest ensued due to the outbreak of Meta Abilities, ordinary civilians decided to take matters into their own hands to bring order to society, and thus the first "Heroes" appeared in the form of Vigilantes, beginning the Vigilantes Era.
During this time period, All For One became a symbol of unity in society. He used his own Meta Ability to remove Meta Abilities from those who did not want them and give them to those that did. His actions under the guise of returning society to its prior state of humanity, when in reality, he was gathering followers who were loyal to him, allowing him to act out his ulterior motives.
Due to her unconditional love of her son’s “Meta Ability,” and usage of the word “Quirk” instead, The Mother of Quirks invents the current term.
At some point, a woman gave birth to a son named Chikara Yotsubashi. As Chikara grew up, he faced a lot of discrimination and abuse for having a Meta Ability. His mother supported him, stating that her son's Meta Ability is "just a Quirk of his". Although at the time, her message was scorned and even led to her murder, decades later, "Quirk" became the most common term for such Meta Abilities, and she retroactively became known as The Mother of Quirks.
As society adapted to the new status quo, the Police Force moved to prioritize leadership and to maintain the status quo, and as such, decided not to use Quirks as weapons. To fill that void, the profession of crime-fighting Quirk users, Pro Heroes, began to exist, starting in Rhode Island, USA, which caused the Vigilantes to slowly disappear. Authorizing the use of powers that could so easily kill, however, was a greatly criticized decision at first, but eventually became accepted as a legitimate occupation. This became known as the "Advent of the Extraordinary".
Chikara Yotsubashi, also known as Destro, preaching that Quirks should be used freely.
With the proliferation of Quirks, the government began to regulate their use. A group of Quirk users known as the Meta Liberation Army, led by Chikara under the alias, Destro, had tried to stop the passing of regulations that would restrict Quirk usage, believing that free use of Quirks is a basic human right. They rebelled against the governments of a number of nations for several years before meeting their defeat. Chikara himself was imprisoned and wrote a biographical book, Meta Liberation War, detailing his ideals over liberating Quirks. After getting his writing published, Chikara committed suicide, but his legacy would continue over the years with members and supporters of the Meta Liberation Army operating from the shadows.
Currently, roughly 80% of the people who make up the global population possess a Quirk, and that percentage continues to increase. According to Yoichi Shigaraki, the number of individuals without a Quirk has been rapidly declining in population, indicating that now less than 20% of the world's population is Quirkless (
Types[]
Quirks come in a very wide variety, as the name Quirk implies, they are unique to each individual. However, Quirks can be divided into categories based on what they do and how they function, known as Quirk Types. Some Quirks cause a permanent physical abnormality to the user's body, known as Mutant-type. Some cause the user's body to undergo a temporary physical abnormality when the power is used, known as Transformation-type. Finally, some Quirks don't cause any abnormalities to the user's physical body at all, known as Emitter-type.
Aside from the three Quirk Types, Quirks can also be categorized into Sub-Types. A Quirk can fall into a given sub-type regardless of what type it is. In other words, a given sub-type can be designated to Quirks of all three types, so long as the Quirks possess an aspect that fulfills the requirement to be considered as part of that sub-type.
Canon Quirk Types[]
Emitter[]
Emitter (
Emitter-type Quirks, such as Brainwashing, Explosion, and Half-Cold Half-Hot usually require a conscious effort to activate, and some, such as Erasure, even require large amounts of concentration in order for them to remain active.
Katsuki Bakugo, wielder of the Explosion Quirk, exploding a tin can.
Emitter-type Quirks can also have various ranges. While some users require physical contact to use them, others can have much longer ranges with no distance restrictions.
While most Emitter-type Quirk users generally have a handle on their own "emissions", it's also possible for users to hurt themselves from coming into too much contact with their Quirk. In the case of generating substances, making too much too fast or for too long can harm the user as they are using reserves from their own body, or gradually lose their natural resistance to their own harmful Quirk.
While some things produced by Emitter-type Quirks, such as the loud sound produced by Voice, have common properties, some are unique to the user, and thus have special properties, such as the ectoplasm produced by Clones. Those who alter the properties of things around them can also widely vary in effects, from molecular alteration to molecular destruction, such as Softening or Decay, respectively.
Some Emitter-type Quirks cause the user's body to take on a temporary alternation. While such Quirks would normally fall into the Transformation class, the difference is that these powers require the user to take in an outside resource in order for the Quirk to activate. Such Quirks are Sugar Rush, which requires the user to ingest sugar, and IQ, which requires the user to drink tea.
Emitter-type Quirks are, by a wide margin, the most common type of Quirk.
Transformation[]
Transformation (
Kaina Tsutsumi’s Rifle not only transforms her arm into a rifle, but her hair into bullets which she can alter the properties of.
Transformation-type Quirks usually require a conscious effort by the user to "activate", though most users can be trained to initiate them reflexively, depending on the conditions required for activation, and practice to initiate their Quirks with greater intent and precision, such as with Edgeshot and his Quirk; he's mastered it to a point where he can change faster than the speed of sound. Transformation-type Quirks usually require a close-range proximity in order to fully utilize them in combat due to them only affecting the user's body. While Transformation-type Quirks are often quite powerful, their biggest weakness is that their effects are often temporary, and over-exertion usually leads to negative repercussions on the user's behalf. Transformation Quirks can also be limited based on the user, how resilient their body is, and the resources they have available to them (Ex. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu describes that his Steel Quirk softens if he doesn't consume enough iron, and suffers from iron fatigue if he maintains it for too long). Some users condition their body in certain ways so that their Quirks can operate more effectively.
Transformation-type Quirks are the only known type of Quirk that can bestow the user attributes they do not normally exhibit by default. Because this type of Quirk combines the activation time and mutant-shape aspects of the other Quirk types, it is also often known as Hybrid or Composite.
Transformation-type Quirks generally affect the user exclusively, the only known exceptions being Seiji's Meatball and Himiko's Transform.
Transformation seems to be the least common type of Quirk.
Mutant[]
Mutant (
Shuichi Iguchi’s Gecko Quirk mutates his body to give him the characteristics and appearance of a lizard.
Mutant-type Quirks are also the only known type of Quirk which can be passed down through generations without necessarily bestowing the corresponding ability, such as with Fumikage and his bird-like head that has nothing to do with his Dark Shadow. As a result of this, while it's uncertain how common Mutant-type Quirks are, it can be safely assumed they are the most commonly inherited.
While not necessarily a weakness, Mutant-type Quirks cannot be turned off, and sometimes cause the user inconvenience due to their malformations. Such is the case with Mashirao Ojiro and his Tail Quirk, which makes it difficult for him to sit or lay down, as well as Mezo Shoji, whose Dupli-Arms Quirk makes it impossible for him to wear clothing with sleeves. Though because these Quirks are passively active, they are partially immune to Quirk-disabling effects such as that of Shota Aizawa's Erasure Quirk. Since Mutant Quirks are passively active, they are the most identifiable at a glance.
Users with Mutant-type Quirks, most often known as "heteromorphs", also find themselves the most discriminated against, even by other Quirk users, due to their outer appearances. Mezo always wears a mask over his mouth to hide the scars he received as a child, and people like Chimera and Spinner are pushed toward villainy due to the prejudices they deal with due to their looks. Cults such as the Creature Rejection Clan also exist with the purpose of eradicating these heteromorphs.
Canon Sub-Types[]
Accumulation[]
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One For All transferring the accumulated strength, Quirks, and will from its prior hosts to Izuku Midoriya.
Accumulation (
Fanon Types[]
Fanon Sub-Types[]
List of Fanon Quirks[]
| Name | Usage | User(s) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birdsong |   |
Kyoko Matsuoka | Mutant-Emitter |
| Draconic Transformation |   |
Gao Xiaodan | Mutant-Transformation |
| Frost Blade |   |
Mukai Kazuhiko | Emitter |
| Half-Geomagnetic Half-Cosmic]] | Miyako Rikusei | Emitter | |
| Infinite |   |
Isan Mikuni | Emitter |
| Myriad Flora | Hana Suzuhigashi | Emitter | |
| Painkiller | Nine Unknown former user |
Emitter | |
| Shadomilia Kingdom |   |
Yumeyona Mikuni | Emitter |
| Spiritual Connection |   |
Himiko Kohana | Emitter |
| Tindalos | Felix Alister | Mutant |
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