Warning: Spoiler for Chapter 390 of My Hero AcademiaMy Hero AcademyShoto’s Shoto Todoroki is the famous Half-Cold Half-Hot Quirk holder, but his actions and comments in the latest chapter suggest that his Quirk may not be as balanced as the name suggests. Shoto Todoroki is the result of a Quirk marriage, as Endeavor attempts to combine his Flame Quirk with his wife’s Ice Quirk to become the ultimate Fire Quirk user. While his first three children are unlikely to benefit from either, Shoto does, effectively dividing between fire and ice.
In chapter 390, while racing to stop Dabi from exploding and killing hundreds, Shoto performs an incredible ice-based super move, the Great Glacial Aegir. It is so powerful that it now overwhelms Dabi’s fire ability twice, in chapter 352 and here in chapter 390. However, it is Shoto’s comments afterwards that are most interesting.
Shoto Todoroki’s ability is more ice than fire
After stopping Dabi, Shoto is grateful to see his family there, as he worries that his ice powers might not be enough. He then praises Dabi’s Quirk, calling him Endeavor’s “creative masterpiece” long ago as Shoto claims he will never be able to use fire as fierce as Dabi’s. However, despite his worries, Shoto was able to safely extinguish Dabi’s strongest flame. It seems to indicate that Shoto’s ice powers are in fact stronger than his fire powers, causing “Half Cold, Half Hot” to be a bit of a misnomer for his Quirk.
Looking back, it really made sense that Shoto’s ice powers were superior. In the early days of My Hero Academia, Shoto only used and trained his ice ability to annoy his father, so it makes sense for him to be more adept at ice than fire. Shoto’s ice powers at the time were so strong that he could walk with half of his body frozen at any moment, indicating that they were still hard to control. It also makes sense on the subject since Dabi is so focused on using his father’s fire techniques against him that of course, Shoto’s half-ice will eventually overpower him.
Shoto’s evolution in My Hero Academia closes the tragic history of Todoroki
If Endeavor’s goal is to achieve the ultimate Fire Quirk, then perhaps Dabi has finally succeeded with that metric. However, it is the combination of both fire and ice that makes the victory, even if the balance is not 50/50 between the two forces. Shoto took a different path than his father, and that is what allowed him to develop these ice-based techniques, which Endeavor can only see as a means to cool off. My Hero Academy‘s Shoto may be more ice than fire, but that’s exactly the kind of hero this situation calls for.