Summary
Neito Monoma, a hero student in Class 1-B, is actually based on Dane DeHaan’s role as Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Monoma’s appearance and behavior were inspired by DeHaan’s character, including hairstyles, sophisticated styles, and demanding natures. Although Monoma shares similarities with Harry, he is still a hero in My Hero Academia and his rivalry with Class 1-A stems from his own feelings of inferiority.
My Hero Academy there’s a huge cast of characters, and each of those characters is inspired by something, but as it turns out, there’s a student hero among them that’s actually based on a Hollywood star whose biggest role is super villain, not hero.
While you don’t always know it from his behavior, Neito Monoma is a hero student in Class 1-B at UA High School. He has a difficult relationship with the students of Class 1-A, a group he considers himself superior. Of course, the truth couldn’t be further from this, but Monoma often annoys the students of Class 1-A with the heinous tricks of class rivalry, even though that rivalry is what most students do. they really don’t care. In the character profile in volume 4 of My Hero Academia, series creator Kohei Horikoshi confirmed that the Monoma character was indeed inspired by a celebrity, and then (in Shonen Jump issue 12 in 2022) revealed the star to be Dane DeHaan–best known. as Harry Osborn of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Monoma draws heavily from Dane DeHaan’s Harry Osborn
When comparing Monoma’s design to DeHaan’s appearance as Harry in the film, the similarities are immediately apparent. Monoma’s side parted hairstyle is clearly modeled on the hairstyle DeHaan is wearing in the movie, and Harry requires Peter Parker and Monoma to be in Class 1-A. The two also have a subtle sense of style, at least when Monoma wears her hero outfit, which is a tuxedo with a long tail. Both characters are quite intelligent and not specially equipped to fight, at least as long as Harry is still Harry.
The two characters clearly have some major differences as well, but that’s why Monoma is only inspired by Harry and not a direct clone. While Harry fell on the path of becoming the villain, Monoma’s tendency to be antagonistic was for low-stakes competitions and Monoma was actually quite heroic in My Hero Academia’s final battle. It’s no surprise that Horikoshi looks to Spider-Man for inspiration, as he’s well known as a fan of Western comic books and movies. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 may well be the most recent Spider-Man movie at the time My Hero Academia was created, making it all the more likely for him to notice it.
It’s interesting that the lighthearted villain Monoma is modeled after a character who becomes a full-fledged villain, but at least he’s escaped that fate and walked his own path. Monoma is also blessed with a bit of depth to his character, where his rivalry with Class 1-A mainly stems from a sense of inferiority about his clone Quirk. Although he may not be the favorite My Hero Academy character for most fans, the heroes are lucky to have him on their team, and surprisingly, all thanks to a Spider-Man movie.
