Thinking about Endeavor and how he could’ve been great for exploring the corruption within the Hero system, how some Heroes are just full of shit. All they know to do is punch Villain and let camera go click flash and fans go aaaa omg Hero do hero thing that’s so cool I love him yay yippee
Imagining a world where Endeavor was introduced as a Hero who was just as widely beloved as All Might, and he carried himself similarly to him and everything. A facade where his whole reputation relies on practically being a clone of the no.1’s personality, just with a twist of competitiveness and maybe a sprinkle of awkwardness or quirkiness. So when we’re introduced to Shoto, we start out confused as to why he hates his father so much. We think of him as just another rebellious teenager, doesn’t want anything to do with his dad yada yada yada. Maybe we even roll our eyes at him at first. But then we learn, oh wait Shoto isn’t just some other rebellious teen. His father actually legitimately sucks. Overtime we slowly learn of Endeavor’s true nature, how abusive he is, and not only that, but how the Hero system has failed Shoto and his family because it did nothing to stop Endeavor from doing what he did to them. Endeavor gets away with so much simply because he’s at the top of the charts. Shoto has to live with and rely on a selfish abusive man who’s beloved by the mass public, who pretends to be this heroic caring guy just doing what he does for the sake of peace, when in reality it’s all for the money, fame, and power. And nobody believes Shoto when he opens up about his trauma. Nobody except Midoriya. Because they’ve been convinced that because Endeavor is a Hero that it must mean there’s a reason behind why he’s supposedly treating his family so badly, or that Shoto is being overdramatic that he’s wording himself poorly on purpose just to make his father look bad, because he’s the rebel kid who hates him and therefore surely that means he’s trying to drag others into his rebellion and hatred so he can avoid any kind of self reflection.
And what if All Might bought into the act. Instead of being directly rivals, they’re both good friends in the public eye. NightEye never trusts Endeavor for jackshit, and it could’ve been one of the things him and All Might argued over. All Might having so much faith in humanity that he trusts Endeavor with his life, going as far as to say he’s one of his best friends. Meanwhile Endeavor’s just happy that he has a “friend” who’s popular and rich. Since high school they had always been rivals, and Endeavor still viewed him that way, only now he was more discreet about it, wording himself in ways that made his jabs at All Might sound like it’s just bros being bros. All Might slowly opening up to the possibility that his “close friend” is just some guy who takes his speeches and tweaks them just enough so to seem like he knows what he’s talking about. Endeavor just regurgitates whatever All Might says but worded differently, and the public eat it up without a second thought.
Hero Killer Stain could be the starting point of really unraveling Endeavor and his true colors. Shoto being placed in this strange intense situation where he knows his father won’t back down and change just because Stain is targeting him, so on one hand the thought of his father dying—as cruel as it may seem—is honestly relieving, but on the other hand the same thought leaves him dreadful and guilty because he wants to be a Hero. He wants to be a Hero better than Endeavor. He wants to be a true Hero. Knowing that his father’s attitude towards the situation is only going to get him killed, what kind of Hero would that make Shoto if he just allowed that to happen without a fight? He had to at least try to save his father, even if he had hurt him so much. Not because of any way he felt towards Endeavor, but because of his own dream and to make his mother and siblings proud.
And HAWKS. OH THE ANGST POTENTIAL WITH HAWKS. Hawks learning that his idol is a piece of shit and him struggling to come to terms with the fact that he let this man influence him to become a Hero. He let Endeavor influence him so much on a personal level. Wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the more time he spends with Endeavor and then learning about Dabi and his whole deal, eventually he can’t continue trying to defend this guy. He’s gotta distance himself somehow but his collaboration with Endeavor has already gone on for a long while now. Even if Endeavor’s reputation has been starting to decline due to Stain and All Might needing to retire early, Hawks can’t just back away now. Not when the Noumus are attacking the city and Endeavor is struggling to keep up with them on his own. And Endeavor’s reputation is only going to tank more from there too as he ends up showing that he’s incapable of handling being the no.1 Hero like he always wanted to be, no longer having anyone to copy speeches and motivational quotes off of and Hawks’s personality being too laidback for him to fuel his already cracking facade. To the point where Hawks has to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Endeavor is pushed to the point of desperation, trying so hard to cling onto the reputation he has left, and it affects their teamwork by a lot. Hawks keeps getting his feathers burned in battle because Endeavor keeps recklessly throwing himself into the fights only thinking about himself, practically neglecting Hawks altogether. It gets to the point where in private, Endeavor ends up hurting him. Hawks gets hurt by his own idol, and he’s left stunned. He’s not sure whether to distance himself or to keep attempting to look on the bright side of everything, to tell himself maybe I’m the one doing something wrong not him.
