Muscular

Muscular (マスキュラー) is a villain affiliated with the League of Villains as part of its Vanguard Action Squad. He and the rest of his team serve as the main antagonists of the Forest Training Camp Arc.

Appearance
Muscular is a large, bulky and extremely muscular man set wide with short, spiky blond hair and small blue eyes. He has a large scar going across the left side of his face, his left eye replaced with a prosthetic one, and he has another, smaller scar on the right side of his forehead.

His outfit consists of a black, hooded cloak and a white hockey mask with multiple holes. Underneath these, he wears a red tank top, a dark jacket which hangs around his waist, dark-colored pants, and black knee-high boots.

Personality
Befitting his appearance, Muscular has a very sadistic and bloodthirsty personality. He openly admits that he wants to use his quirk freely to kill. Muscular enjoys killing and tormenting those he fights, often saying "show me your blood!". Unlike the other members of the Vanguard Action Squad, he joined the League of Villains just to let loose his brutal tendencies rather than following Stain's ideology.

Even so, Muscular does have ideals of his own. He believes that people should deliver on whatever promises they make to others or else their words mean nothing. To him, "right" and "wrong" are determined by one's ability to accomplish their intentions. When he fought Water Hose, he viewed it as a battle of wills between his intent to kill and Water Hose's intent to stop him; as he was victorious, he was right and Water Hose was wrong. Conversely, he accepts the loss of his left eye as the result of Water Hose's intent and bears them no ill will for it.

Muscular's signature trait is his overconfidence which later proved to be his greatest flaw. Muscular believed himself superior to Izuku because his quirk's augmentation powers were more potent than Izuku's. This superiority complex resulted in Muscular using only part of his power to play around with Izuku. His overconfidence is also what caused him to become distracted during their fight. Izuku was able to land a powerful smash on Muscular on two separate occasions because he allowed himself to be distracted by Kota.

Despite his ego, Muscular does compliment Izuku's strengths. After getting hit by a full power smash, Muscular admitted Izuku is powerful and decided to stop holding back. However, this never stopped him from taunting Izuku during their bout.

History
Two years prior to the Vanguard Action Squad Invasion, Muscular attacked a village and tried to kill civilians. A team of heroes named Water Hose fought to protect them and sacrificed themselves. Muscular killed them both, but at the cost of his left eye.

Forest Training Camp Arc
Muscular joins the League of Villains following the Hero Killer's defeat. He's recruited by Giran to the Vanguard Action Squad and given a mask and cloak to wear. While the team waits in a warehouse to be dispatched on their first mission, Muscular mentions that they need to hurry because he's ready to fight. Most of the Vanguard Action Squad arrives at the Pussycat's Beast's Forest reserve and observes the U.A. students training there. Muscular says he can't wait to be let loose, but Dabi tells him to relax. Once the mission to capture Katsuki Bakugo commences, Muscular searches for a high vantage point and happens upon Kota Izumi.

Muscular compliments Kota on his hat and asks to trade for the mask the League of Villains gave him. He notes that he was looking for a nice view and is surprised to find someone outside of the list Tomura Shigaraki gave the team. The battle-hungry villain removes his mask, and his young target takes the chance to run away.

Using his Quirk to boost the muscles in his leg, Muscular ricochets off the cliff side to get in front of Kota, noting with a bloodthirsty smile that he is going to have fun with the boy. he augments the muscles in his arm and removes his cloak in the process, revealing his prosthetic left eye and a large scar. Muscular strikes at his terrified victim with his quirk-enhanced arm, only to miss due to the timely intervention of Izuku Midoriya. Muscular recognizes Izuku from the aforementioned list and grows excited with anticipation.

Muscular mocks Izuku's claim to save Kota, noting that is exactly what a budding hero would say and that all heroes are always talking about justice. Muscular confirms Izuku's identity and says the villains have been cleared to kill him, but not before tormenting him first. Muscular launches himself at Izuku, punching him into the cliff wall. Before injuring Izuku too greatly, Muscular inquires about Katsuki's location because the team still has a mission to complete. He takes Izuku's silence as ignorance and attacks again. Izuku evades, but Muscular quickly follows up with a brutal kick that sends Izuku flying into the cliff wall again.

As Izuku lies bleeding on the ground, Muscular gets excited at the sight of blood and mocks the student's claim to save Kota. Izuku counterattacks and punches with his Quirk activated, only for it to be easily blocked by Muscular's quirk-enhanced arm. Muscular compliments Izuku's speed, but notes his strength isn't enough to hurt him. He explains that his quirk increases his speed and strength so exponentially that his muscle fibers can't be contained by his skin. Muscular calls himself superior to Izuku and strikes him down before mocking his desires to become a hero.

Just as he prepares to finish Izuku off, Muscular is distracted by Kota. Kota asks the villain if he tortured his parents like he is doing with Izuku before he killed them. Surprised, Muscular states this must be fate, revealing that Kota's parents were the ones who gave him his prosthetic eye. Kota replies that things like this always happen when crazy people are involved. Muscular says kids are always trying to subvert blame and explains that Water Hose's deaths were the results of both parties doing what they wanted. He believes the real tragedy was Water Hose failing to do what they said they would do, and says that's why they died. Muscular prepares to kill Kota, but Izuku attacks from behind.

Muscular says he anticipated Izuku's attack and turns to face him. His arm is poised to counterattack, but Izuku lodges his own arm into the exposed muscle fibers. Izuku tells Muscular he can't evade now, but Muscular replies that he's unafraid of Izuku's puny quirk. Muscular moves to attack and Izuku charges his quirk to 100%. Muscular recognizes that Izuku's impending attack is stronger than the others. Izuku punches Muscular with a maxed out smash and believes he's defeated the villain. Muscular survives the attack by amassing shield of muscle, but his prosthetic eye and tank top are destroyed.

Muscular compliments Izuku's attack, but notes it was far too obvious. Izuku tells him to stay back, but Muscular replies that attacking seems like the more fun option. Izuku demands to know why the League of Villains is attacking them, but Muscular states he doesn't care about any of that. He rummages through his pocket and grabs another eye. Muscular tells Izuku that he's done playing around because he realizes Izuku's actually pretty strong. He inserts his "series eye" and covers his body in muscle fibers before attacking. Grabbing Kota and putting him on his back, Izuku manages to narrowly evade Muscular's attack.

Muscular attacks the pair again, with them once again evading him. Reprimanding himself on being over-excited, Muscular ends up getting his arm stuck in the cliffside floor. Izuku drops Kota after dodging and resolves to face Muscular on his own. The two clash, Izuku fighting against Muscular's mass with a Detroit Smash. Muscular easily pushes the youth back, taunting him about that attack being weaker than his previous attempt. Izuku holds his ground, however, and Muscular compliments him on his impressive feat. Muscular overwhelms him shortly afterward and pushes him into the ground, threatening to crush and kill him. Urging his young opponent to show his blood, the battle-hungry villain continues to press his attack. Suddenly a deluge of water splashes him, the source of the attack coming from Kota, who demands Muscular let Izuku go.

Temporarily distracted from his struggle with Izuku, Muscular tells Kota to wait his turn, promising him that he is next. Muscular shocked to feel Izuku pushing back against his crushing attack, frantically wondering how the youth is getting stronger. Pushed completely off of Izuku, Muscular is struck by his 1000000% Delaware Detroit Smash breaking through the villain's muscles and smashing him into the cliffside, defeating him.

Some time afterward, Atsuhiro Sako's message concerning the success of their mission is broadcast to all of the members of the Vanguard Action Squad, but the bloodthirsty villain is still unconscious. Later, after the rest of the Vanguard Action Squad escapes with the fruit of their labor, leaving the defeated members of their group behind, Muscular is arrested by the Police Force, heavily restrained and protesting vehemently.

Abilities
Immense Strength: Muscular has shown extreme levels of physical strength. Even without using his Quirk, he is able to send Izuku flying with remarkable force with merely a simple kick. When using his Quirk to augment his strength, he has shown to be able to easily shatter rock and overpower Izuku with minimal effort, even when playing around. When fighting seriously, his reinforced strikes were able to cause destruction on a similar scale to Izuku's 100% Detroit Smash. He was also able to directly overpower Izuku, who was using One For All 100% at the time, in a physical clash.

Immense Durability: Muscular was shown to have a frightening level of impermeability to physical harm. When using his Muscle Augmentation, he was able to take the full brunt of Izuku's 100% Detroit Smash with minimal injury. Indeed, he was incapacitated only after Izuku went beyond his limit with One For All. Even after the battle Muscular was shown fully awake and fighting with his restraints while Izuku was in a coma.

Immense Speed: Muscular was shown to be surprisingly swift despite his large bulk. He was able to catch Izuku off-guard several times during their fight. When using his Muscle Augmentation, he can launch himself off the ground at blurring speeds. Midoriya surmising even if he took Kouta and tried to run, he would overtake them in seconds the very minute the young hero opted a hasty retreat.

Quirk
Muscle Augmentation (筋肉増強): Muscle Augmentation allows him to augment the muscle fibers that are beneath the skin, increasing the power and speed of his movements. He has also been shown to use his quirk for defense; by covering his whole body in the augmented muscle fiber.

Equipment

 * Prosthetic Left Eyes: Muscular keeps a small collection of replacement eyes in his left pocket in case his regular one is damaged or loosened from its socket. Each one sports a unique design. Muscular picks a replacement depending on his current mood.

Forest Training Camp Arc

 * Vanguard Action Squad Invasion
 * Izuku Midoriya vs. Muscular

Trivia

 * His mask, murdering intent and attacking camp counselors and campers, could be a reference to the fictional Serial Killer Jason Voorhess, the main antagonist of the Friday the 13th franchise.
 * Muscular's overall design and personality seems to be inspired by Marvel's Venom, most likely the Eddie Brock version of Venom, with both having blonde hair though the other version; Flash Thompson has also been portrayed with blonde hair.
 * He is an A-Rank Villain.

Quotes

 * (To Izuku Midoriya about Kota Izumi) "Haa ha ha! Blood! Love it. So fun! What was that, again? You're gonna save him, right?! So why're you running?! That's a weird way to save someone!!"


 * (To Izuku Midoriya) "My Quirk's a muscle enhancer. These muscle fibers of mine can't be contained even by my skin. They raise the standard in speed!! And power!! Get what I'm saying?! You're nothing but...an inferior version of me! You understand where I'm coming from?! I can't help but laugh!"


 * (To Kota Izumi about his parents) "Brats like you sure know how to pass the blame. It's no good. I don't really hold a grudge against 'em about my eye. I killed 'em, just like I wanted to. And they tried to stop me. We all did our best and had to deal with the results. What's bad is when you can't put your money where your mouth is...like your dear mommy and daddy!"


 * (To Izuku Midoriya when asked about the League of Villains' goal) "Like I care. All I wanna do is rampage. As long as I get to use my Quirk without holding back, I'm good."

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