I keep seeing the take of Hawks' self perception as an abuse victim who made it (and thus he doesn't understand why other people cant) and I dunno. I see where its coming from but its honestly a little at odds with what we've seen of his character and is, I think, pretty symptomatic of a worldview that thats uncomfortable acknowledging anything good Endeavor may have done. Which is understandable, but it holds us back from understanding Hawks; the good Endeavor has done is key to his sense of self.
Hawks is pretty clearly uncomfortable thinking of HIMSELF as a victim. He cut all ties with his past and insists thats what makes him functional. But I don't think he's unconscious of the fact that he needed aid (albeit a very particular kind of manipulative and exploitative aid) in order to get to that position in life.
Lets go back to the Twice fight.
I think the wording here is pretty essential. Typical hero-villain call and response is "its never too late to do the right thing". Hawks doesnt do that. He acknowledges three things here.
1. The fact that Twice's villainy is more based on circumstance than on actual ill intent. This is something Twice himself acknowledges. If hed been luckier, he wouldnt be here. This is Hawks acknowedging he didnt choose to be put into this situation (much like he didnt choose to be put into his own environment)
2. An offer to get him out. Again, a re-emphasis on providing him with the tools to get out of his situation if he wants it. Not "I believe you can get out of this" or a simple "come with me", but "I will get you out of here"
3.An affirmation that Jin is already a good person. Not that he can become one, but that he is one.
Now, Im aware of the irony of calling this action compassionate when hes got Twice surrounded with weapons. Im not saying Twice should be grateful here OR that Keigo is doing the right thing. But I dont see that kind of bootstraps mentality that keeps being attributed to him after 299. I think its a desperate gesture from a guy who knows deep down that it wont be accepted, and even if it was, is aware of the systemic blindspots that will let Twice slip through again and again. He never once condemns Twice for failing to "make it" either implicitly or explicitly.
Its not really directed at Shoto either. We see exactly one shot of Shoto, and its implictly Hawks reflecting on the way Shoto looked at Endeavor at the one point in time where Hawks has seen them interact. Based on the fact that Hawks has Tomie in his life at all, I think he knows what it looks like when a kid has some mixed feelings towards their parent. He's currently going off the only information he has, given that hes had at most six hours to process the information, he doesnt know most of the Todorokis, and hes got his own baggage bound up in Endeavor.
He doesnt even condemn Dabi for what he said. He doesnt say "it cant have been that bad". He says "I dont think its like that anymore". Which (and I know this is controversial) is in some very real sense true. Endeavor is not suddenly a paragon of virtue, but is putting the behaviors that created Touya behind him. The way he treats Shoto, Natsu, and Fuyumi are not the same as when Touya was a child. That doesn't erase it, which Endeavor himself acknowledges AGAIN AND AGAIN. But its more than enough give for someone who desperately needs him to be a hero to latch onto.
Endeavor, for better or worse, was Hawks' first hero (and believe me, you can make a lot out of the fact that the All Might plush was too expensive to get lmao). He was the one who made the idea that Keigo could be safe, could be protected (even in a DEEPLY impersonal way) real. He is still so integral to Hawks' ability to believe in heros
But in his mind, Endeavor's is. He can save the day. In order Hawks to believe in heroes, in order for Hawks to believe in himself....he has to believe that there is some kind of good that can come from Endeavor still being a hero.
So no, I dont think Hawks is wondering why other abuse victims cant just let the past die. I think him clinging onto Enji is in fact very symptomatic of Hawks clinging desperately onto his own past. Endeavor was his helping hand out of a very dark place when he was a child. I dont think its unreasonable to say that hes hoping to climb that ladder out again. Whether or not thats the right thing, I think its a very real response to finding out the guy who saved you may have been the villain in another person's story.
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