Chizome Akaguro

Chizome Akaguro, also known as Hero Killer: Stain (ヒーロー殺しステイン) and formerly the vigilante Stendhal (スタンダール), is a villain and ex-vigilante that is notorious for having killed many pro heroes. He is the main antagonist of the Vs. Hero Killer Arc.

Appearance
Chizome is an intimidating, muscular man who walks with a distinct hunch. He has black hair and wears it in a messy fashion that would drape over his face if not for his headband and mask. Chizome's face is mostly flat because he removed his own nose, and his eyes are blood red. His tongue is unusually long and tainted with many small bumps.

Stain sports a dark combat suit, plated with metal armor across his body to holster his weapons. The torso is sleeveless, and Stain instead wraps his arms in bandages. He also wears long black wristbands and a watch on his left arm. His knees are protected with metal pads and the costume is completed with black, steel boots. Stain always dons his signature blood-red scarf and matching headband, as well as the tattered cloth he wears around his face as a mask.

As Stendhal, he had long black hair that he tied into a ponytail. He wore black clothing which looked similar to bulletproof clothing and had six pockets, three on the right side and three of the left side, with two pairs of pockets beneath them. His most striking feature was his mask, which completely covered his face

Personality
Chizome is a cold, unforgiving man with a sense of duty to cleanse society of false heroes. He believes that those who work as Heroes to collect income are unworthy of being called the name and only All Might is a true hero. Due to his strong ideology, Chizome took it upon himself to become Hero Killer: Stain to stain his own hands with blood to purge fake heroes and change the current society.

Chizome does not wish to kill those who are not targets for his own cause. He dislikes needless bloodshed and came to blows with Tomura Shigaraki because of it. He is reluctant to attack Tenya Iida before the hero-in-training provokes him. He even tells Tenya the true traits of a hero in contrast of those who desire to use their Quirks in selfish ways. Stain spares Izuku Midoriya because he shows characteristics of a true hero. He believes heavily in creeds and convictions, stating that they are needed in order to accomplish anything and that without them people are weak and will eventually die.

In spite of his extremist views and beliefs, Chizome does have genuine ideals about Heroism which he stands by firmly. He does not hesitate to save people he deems worthy of being called Heroes, does not like killing without reason, and will even give advice to his enemies. He seems to acknowledge that what he is doing is morally wrong, but believes that in order for society to be put on the right path, someone must be what he is, indicating he sees himself as somewhat of a martyr.

Chizome's conviction gives him an incredibly murderous aura and bloodlust that paralyzed several heroes in fear. It gives him enough confidence to willingly challenge several pro heroes at once, even after sustaining major injuries.

As Stendhal, Chizome believed that any who "wielded power without conviction" were automatically sinners deserving of death, and used this belief to justify his actions as heroic instead of hypocritical. That said, he was perfectly willing to work alongside villains like Kuin Hachisuka as a means to an end. Stendhal also appeared to suffer from a split-personality disorder of some kind that caused him to view his vigilante and civilian identities as two separate entities (his mental change signified by whether or not he is wearing his mask at the time). However, his confrontation with Knuckleduster caused him to change his beliefs, and start thinking that those who are not "true heroes" are the reason for society's problems.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: Stain is an extremely powerful villain who has claimed more lives than any other since All Might's debut. He was able to critically injure Ingenium, who is a strong and popular pro hero. Stain also was able to murder 17 known Pro Heroes and crippled 23 others to the point of being unable to make a full recovery. Shoto Todoroki comments that Stain is a strong combatant who likely allowed him and Izuku Midoriya to live. It takes the combined efforts of Izuku, Shoto, and Tenya to briefly knock Stain unconscious.

Enhanced Speed & Reflexes: Stain's most notable ability is his unmatched speed. He is able to evade Tenya's high-speed kick when they first meet and is even able to partially block Tenya's Recipro Burst during the ensuing battle. Shoto is unable to land a single strike on Stain using both attacks of fire and ice. He mentions that Stain is so fast that he could not even consider running away as an option.

Enhanced Strength: Stain has considerable strength, enough so to cleanly slice through many of Shoto's ice attacks.

Immense Endurance: Stain also appears to have a high pain threshold, as shown when he takes a direct blow from Izuku's 5% Detroit Smash to his head and remained mostly unfazed. Despite his lungs being perforated by his broken ribs, Stain remains standing even after falling unconscious.

Highly Perceptive Combatant: Stain has shown creativity and mastery over his fighting style. He is able to deal with close and long-ranged opponents through a mix of misdirection, aggression, prediction, and use of the environment. Izuku Midoriya mentions that Stain's tenacity completely changed his movements after getting desperate to kill Tenya before reinforcements arrived.

Quirk
Bloodcurdle (凝血): Chizome can paralyze his target by ingesting samples of their blood. The amount of time a victim is paralyzed for varies depending on blood type, with B having the longest duration, then in decreasing order, AB, A, and O. Regardless, the maximum amount of time anyone can be paralyzed is eight minutes. Chizome uses blades to draw blood from his opponents in order to use his Quirk.

Equipment
Weapon Arsenal: Before being arrested, Stain carries various weapons with him: A worn and partially damaged katana, five daggers, throwing knives, toe-spiked boots and folding knives.

All Might
Chizome seems to have a great deal of respect for All Might and even states that he is the only true hero in the world. His respect towards him came from his respect he had towards him when he was a teen, All Might was the reason Chizome decided to become a Hero. Chizome's respect and admiration for All Might runs so deep that before finally falling unconscious, Chizome declared that only All Might is allowed to defeat him.

Tenya Iida
Stain despises Tenya for his desire for revenge against him. He scolded the young hero over his selfish desires of revenge over saving the Pro Hero he was about to kill. Even after Tenya learned from his mistakes Stain stopped at nothing to kill him, claiming that people do not change their views easily.

Tenya, though he hates him immensely for paralyzing his brother, acknowledges Stain was right about him and resolved to start over as a Hero.

Tomura Shigaraki
Stain views Shigaraki as an immature child who wants to cause needless bloodshed all for nothing. He did not hesitate to pin him down when they conversed and refused to join his alliance, which earned him Shigaraki's hatred. However, he was amused by Shigaraki's desire to kill All Might and destroy those who worship that caused him to see the latter had potential to grow.

Shigaraki also despised how Stain's capture was the main news story instead of the Nomu attack.

Izuku Midoriya
Stain, like All Might, respects Izuku for his convictions and bravery he displayed in his fight with him. He acknowledges Izuku as a true hero. Because of his respect, he both spared Izuku when he first fought him and risked his life to save the young hero-in-training from a Noumu.

Izuku seems to also share a similar respect for Stain. When speaking with Shigaraki at the mall, Izuku confessed that while he didn't accept Stain's methods, he did at the very least understood Stain's desire and the ideals Stain stood for. Izuku also seems to be grateful towards Stain for saving his life from the Nomu.

Shoto Todoroki
Stain seems to also respect Shoto for his skills and convictions as a true hero. Shoto, however, despises Stain for his ideologies about "fake" Pro Heroes.

Kuin Hachisuka
Kuin and Stendhal were once allies, but Stendhal betrayed her by stabbing her in the eye.

Vs. Hero Killer Arc

 * Hosu Incident
 * U.A. Students vs. Hero Killer: Stain

Vigilante - My Hero Academia: Illegals

 * Koichi Haimawari and Soga Kugizaki vs Stendhal
 * Knuckleduster vs Stendhal

Trivia

 * Stain's dark outfit, choice of weapons and violent ideology are most likely derived from the comic book anti-heroes of the 90's, a trend galvanized primarily by creators like and . His mainly black costume and long, flowing, tattered red scarf are particularly reminiscent of McFarlane character.
 * Stain's design, bandanna, samurai equipment and perhaps even his lack of a nose may have possibly been inspired by the, given that they debuted in a comic with a much darker tone than what they are known for today.
 * Interestingly, Shuichi Iguchi, his admirer, has a similar appearance, furthered with the green skin, reptile attributes and wild teenage motivations.
 * Additionally, Chizome's personality and premise are very similar to the Marvel anti-hero Frank Castle, aka The Punisher. Both are seasoned warriors (Chizome a vigilante, Frank a Vietnam War veteran) who resort to murder to act upon their absolutist ideals of "justice", both with a strict moral code conducting their actions that separates them from outright villainy (The Punisher only kills criminals, while Chizome only kills corrupt heroes)
 * Chizome's name contains the kanji for "red" (赤), "black" (黒), "blood" (血), and of course "stain" (染).
 * The two middle kanji for can be combined to form "venous blood" (黒血)

Quotes

 * (To Tomura Shigaraki) "To truly accomplish anything... one needs will and conviction. Those without it... the weak ones.. They'll be weeded out. It's only natural. That's why you're about to die."
 * (To Kurogiri) "Hero is a title reserved for those who perform truly great feats! Too many are undeserving... Just money worshipers playing hero! Until this society wakes up and rectifies itself... I will continue to do my work."
 * (To Tenya Iida) "Forget about yourself for a second and try saving others. Don't wield your power for your own sake. Because getting trapped by your own hate and acting out of pure self-interest... makes you the furthest thing from a hero."
 * (To himself) "Both this sham-filled society... and the criminals who wield their power in the name of petty mischief... are targets of my purge... All for the sake of a better society..."
 * (To various heroes and U.A. students) "If I don't fix it... if someone isn't... stained with blood...! If heroes aren't restored...!! Come! Just try me... you fakes! The only one allowed to kill me is... All Might, a true hero!!"

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Chizome Akaguro