Iwao Oguro[2], also known as Knuckleduster, commonly referred to by Koichi Haimawari as Master, is a Vigilante and a member of the Naruhata Vigilantes. He was formerly a Pro Hero; specifically the High-Speed Hero: O'Clock in Japan, and Hyper Quadfist in China.[3]
Appearance#
Knuckleduster is a tall, heavily muscled man. He has short black hair, visibly thick eyebrows, a heavy stubble and a prominent scar running diagonally down his inner brow to the left side of his jaw.
As O'Clock, his hero costume consists of a full-body burgundy suit which had several white lines around the arms, legs, torso, and mask, with dark blue sections on the upper torso and inner side of his arms and legs. His mask that covers half of his face, with horizontal yellow slits for eyes, and on his shoulders and chest, he had what appeared to be his symbol, a circular golden emblem with a white inner ring. He also wore black gloves and shoes, and was noticeably slimmer at the time, though still quite muscular.
His vigilante costume consists of a simple black ragged wrap-around black mask with a loose ends tied over the top of his head, a tight-fitting black shirt, khaki military pants with a black belt, black boots, and a long hunter green trench coat. On his hands, he wears a pair of black gloves topped with a pair of silver knuckledusters, from which he derives his name.
After his initial encounter with Number 6, his right leg is busted to the point of requiring a cane to walk. He now wears a new chain belt and a supportive brace on his left leg. He also has burn scars on the left side of his neck and his left eye is completely scarred over.
Personality#
Knuckleduster is an individual with a strong sense of justice and strives to do the right thing. He has no government-issued hero license, but this does not stop him from putting on his costume and going out every night to fight street-level criminals and local gangs to keep his neighborhood safe from crimes most "Heroes" will not bother with. Despite this reckless streak, he does genuinely admire Heroes for the work they do. This is probably because he also used to be a Pro Hero before his Quirk, Overclock, was stolen by All For One, which left him Quirkless.
Knuckleduster shows no resentment towards people who do and shows no fear towards Villains who have powerful Quirks. In fact, he seems to love fighting against particularly strong people who have powerful Quirks, enjoying the challenge and becoming very upset or frustrated whenever there are no particularly strong Villains to fight. When a fight is too easy, he quickly becomes disappointed. This seems to be one of the main joys of his life, as he becomes invigorated whenever he gets to fight a strong opponent. He is even willing to fight against Pro Heroes if the situation calls for it.
Knuckleduster has a tendency to use violence to solve any problem. He prefers to punch first and ask questions later, as he is willing to beat up people he deems to look suspicious on the slim chance that they may be villains or users of the Trigger drug, forcing his teammates to hold him back before he goes too far. His attitude extends to that he was willing to attack Enigma, a young-appearing woman, under the suspicion of being a villain, when it turns out she was a hero merely using her Quirk to look for directions. Knuckleduster feels little to no guilt or worries about what he does, despite the fact that he could have been reported and registered as a villain if the misunderstanding continued, showing a more aloof and careless side to his personality.
Despite this, he has proven to be more intelligent and perceptive than he seems to be at first. His conclusions are usually right, such as when he correctly suspected Mario Kugutsu of being involved with Trigger, seeing through the latter's façade of being a toy salesman, and when he correctly assumed that Stendhal was dangerous, saying that people who use "justice" as an excuse to pick fights are nothing but trouble; Koichi soon found out that he was correct when Stendhal turned out to be a deranged and ruthless killer. This strong intuition proves that he has a great capacity for deduction. During fights, he is able to devise strategies and stratagems very quickly to deal with Villains with dangerous or problematic Quirks, knowing when is the best time to attack or what item is the most adequate to defeat them. Furthermore, when he is not wearing his vigilante attire, he can behave like a well-mannered and polite person, presenting a perfect façade of a worker for a local non-profit organization, complete with business cards and a technically true spiel about his group.
The truth is, underneath his intimidating exterior and violent behavior, Knuckleduster is actually a very caring and compassionate individual who cares for the people close to him and encourages them to achieve their goals. He trains Koichi to improve his combat style and his Quirk, Slide and Glide, and is proud of his progress as well as his innate sense of good will. Although it initially appeared as though he recruited Koichi as his pupil on a whim, it turns out that the young man once helped him during a low point in his life and he believes that Koichi saved him that day, calling him his hero. He shows the same level of care towards Pop☆Step as one of his allies and a member of their group, despite their habit of bickering. He is also a loving father and husband who holds a deep grudge against the people who hurt his family and is remorseful for his troubled history with them, especially his daughter Tamao.
During his time as O'Clock, he was a stoic hero known for his quick "snatch and grab" approaches to solving crimes thanks to the speed granted by his Overclock, along with his frequent partnerships with the Police Force, specifically Eizo Tanuma. O'Clock was perceptive, adaptive, and quick-thinking, allowing him to go undercover as a masked fighter known as "The Ripper". When the situation called for it, he was also willing to team up with the villainous fighter Kendo Rappa and high school hoodlum Rumi Usagiyama, making sure not to put his allies into more danger than they were already in and even letting them off the hook once the chaos was all over. Despite his combat prowess, he believed that his Overclock was more suited to intel-gathering than all-out combat, and usually investigated criminal rings by himself before leaving the rest to more competent Heroes, such as All Might. Furthermore, he didn't allow his combative streak to hinder his investigations as a hero, as seen with him turning down Kendo's desire for a rematch.
After losing his Quirk to All For One and being horrifically scarred, Iwao fell into a deep depression and turned to drinking to drown out his sorrows. This was implied to have strained his relationship with his family, especially Tamao. Iwao strongly disagreed with his daughter's desire to become a musician, shouting at her that she should prioritize her future. This led to many arguments between them until one day, Tamao left home, with her hateful glare leaving Iwao unable to stop her. His mistreatment of his daughter ultimately came back to haunt him, as Tamao returned as the host of the parasitic bee villain, Kuin Hachisuka, attacking and almost killing her mother, much to Iwao's horror. This recollection also served as one of the core reasons why he was proud of Koichi's heroic nature, seeing how his pupil, unlike him, never crumbled and became worse off in the face of adversity.
Upon much reflection after losing his Quirk, Iwao has come to believe that O'Clock was a failure as a hero, one that merely represented another cog in the system that only fixed problems on the surface. This was also one of his many reasons for denying Number 6's request to become O'Clock's successor, believing that O'Clock was not a hero who should be idolized. Upon taking up the mantle as Knuckleduster, Iwao became determined to fight crime that went unnoticed by the Pro Heroes while keeping his daughter in mind and strongly desiring to save her, becoming adamant on not letting her down like he did last time. Furthermore, despite her being in an unresponsive state from Kuin's attack, Iwao still visited his wife at hospital and conversed with her, managing to rescue their daughter just before she passed away.
Despite his attempts to initially deny it during the Underground Masquerade, Kendo was able to recognize that, just like him, Iwao loved the thrill of a no holds barred fight and getting his hands dirty, which clashed with his supposed image as O'Clock. When he embraced his Knuckleduster persona, Kendo's belief turned out to be right as Knuckleduster allowed that more chaotic side of his personality to be unleashed.
After saving Tamao from the Queen Bee's possession and passing on his blessing to Koichi, Knuckleduster initially retires from vigilantism in order to focus on helping his recovering daughter, making up for his past mistakes. However, he does return to the fight to resolve loose ends once he learns about the existence of Number 6, who's now in possession of his old Quirk. During their fight, he states that even though he was born with a strong Quirk and some brains, his abilities and knowledge didn't define him in the slightest, having instead passed on his worthiness to those who followed him.
After both seemingly face their demise, he disappears once again to take care of Tamao for several years, returning once more when Number 6 re-emerges, due to him targeting Knuckleduster's former teammates out of petty jealousy. As a result, he was willing to sacrifice himself to end Number 6 by setting improvised explosives on the building they were fighting on. Soga Kugisaki however, refused to let him go through with this suicidal plan, saying that everyone has fought hard to ensure that no one will die, meaning that he's not allowed to die either.[4][5]
Even after the conflict finally ends and the Naruhata Vigilantes disband, with Koichi and Kazuho both moving on with their lives respectively, Knuckleduster returns to his post as a vigilante despite his newly acquired injuries, still determined and eager to fight crime from the shadows.[6]
Abilities#
Overall Abilities: Knuckleduster is Quirkless, first demonstrated when Eraser Head tried to erase his Quirk to no avail. Despite this, Knuckleduster still possesses a tremendous amount of physical strength and skill, which enabled him to fight on equal footing even with a Pro Hero like Eraser Head. Knuckleduster is a highly skilled brawler, utilizing brass knuckles as his weapon of choice. Knuckleduster's skill with his fists was great enough to overcome the swordsmanship of Stendhal, a powerful and notorious vigilante, landing a heavy blow before the murderous vigilante could scratch him, single-handedly defeating the swordsman. He's also proven to be able to defeat a gang of armed thugs in Hong Kong.
During his time as a Pro Hero, O'Clock went undercover and fought Kendo Rappa in a cage match under the false alias of The Ripper, managing to stay conscious and unharmed after the villain used his Strongarm, an impressive feat considering the power of his Quirk and how easily he defeated most of his opponents with it.
- Enhanced Strength: Knuckleduster has unique strength, to the point where he is sometimes mistaken for having a strength-enhancing Quirk. He was capable of going fist to fist with Chuma Yakumaru when the latter was severely high on Trigger, eventually defeating the latter even when he possessed a power-up Quirk. Koichi even recognizes that Knuckleduster intentionally holds back while training, as, while his hits are hard enough to knock someone down even then, he would be strong enough to knock out or even kill someone at full strength.[7]
- Enhanced Durability: Despite being Quirkless, Knuckleduster is very sturdy and resilient, standing up even when he receives blows from physical enhancement Quirks. Perhaps more impressive is how he is able to withstand Kendo's Strongarm blows, which individually were powerful enough to break Eijiro Kirishima's Unbreakable.
Keen Intellect: Despite appearing to be a mere brawler, Knuckleduster has great intuition and tactical knowledge. When fighting Trigger-enhanced villains, he is able to work out how their Quirks work and the best way to counter them all while locked in a fight with them.[8] He also quickly understood Stendhal's way of fighting as well as his state of mind,[9] and also pre-emptively formulated a battle plan that would allow him to defeat Kuin Hachisuka whilst also saving the life of his daughter, Tamao.[10]
Bilingualism: Knuckleduster is fluent in both Japanese and Cantonese.
Former Quirk#
Overclock: O'Clock's Quirk allowed him to accelerate his brain's perception to extreme speeds, making it appear to him as if the world was moving in slow motion. While his Quirk was active, his accelerated perception granted him increased physical speed, as well as being able to see, hear, and think at super speed.[11]. Overclock requires a cool-down period after it's used, and can only be used for a few seconds at a time.[11]
At some point in the past, O'Clock's Quirk was stolen by All For One, leaving him Quirkless.[3][12]
Equipment#
- Brass Knuckles: Knuckleduster's trademark weapons that he uses in combat.
- Grappling Hook: Knuckleduster uses a grappling hook to swing through the air.
- Binoculars: Knuckleduster uses binoculars when he watches from the top of buildings.
- Painkillers: Knuckleduster regularly buys painkillers from Giran to tone down pain.[10]
- Taser Knuckle: A taser weapon with a built-in defibrillator which Knuckleduster bought from Giran.[13]
- Pheromone Cocktail: An explosive cocktail made to draw in bees and then explode. Made with items obtained from Giran.[10]
- Sniper Rifle: A high-precision firearm, which allows shooting at a very long distance.[14]
- Radio Box: A regular radio box used against Number 6 to counter his usage of Overclock.
- Shotgun: A firearm used for close range encounters.[15]
Battles & Events#
{{B&E|color=#EA783F| History
- Underground Masquerade
- The Ripper vs. The Rapper
- O'Clock, The Rapper & Tiger Bunny vs. the Hooded Man
- O'Clock vs. All For One
- Nice Guy & Knuckleduster vs. Soga Moyuru & Rapt
- Knuckleduster vs. Eraser Head
- Naruhata Vigilantes & Eraser Head vs. Mario, Soga, Moyuru & Rapt
- Koichi Haimawari & Knuckleduster vs. Rock Villain
- Naruhata Vigilantes vs. Teruo Unagisawa
- Knuckleduster vs. Junkie Villain
- Team Idaten & Naruhata Vigilantes vs. Bat Villain
}}
Chapter Appearances
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Trivia
- Iwao's surname contains the kanji for "male" and "black", and his first name contains "rock, crag". His surname also sounds similar to the word "ogre", which is used to describe a large and fearsome person.
- His vigilante name is another name for the brass knuckles that form a part of his costume.
- According to Iwao's profile:[20]
- His favorite things are cigarettes and beer.
- Hideyuki Furuhashi, the author of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, said that if All Might was Superman, Knuckleduster would be comparable to Batman.
- Furuhashi states that Knuckleduster isn't a bad guy, but reminds himself that he's still fundamentally a weirdo.
- Betten Court states that out of all the characters in Vigilantes, Knuckleduster is the most fun to draw.
- In Volume 8, Betten further says that drawing Knuckleduster always hypes him up when illustrating the spin-off series.[16]
- Knuckleduster's catchphrase "I'm here!" is deliberately similar to All Might's "I am here!".
- Iwao's "Ripper" costume served as a prototype for his Knuckleduster attire. Furuhashi states that his interaction with Kendo likely influenced his character going forward and that meeting Pop☆Step with her Leap Quirk likely reminded him of Rumi, bringing back memories of when he fought alongside the two.[17]
- Furuhashi confirmed that O'Clock's costume is based on that of The Flash.[18]
- Knuckleduster's departure from the Naruhata Vigilantes was planned, with Furuhashi revealing that his absence was pivotal for Koichi's character to further develop, forcing him to figure things out, make major decisions, and defeat Villains by himself.[19]
- Iwao's Japanese voice actor, Yasuhiro Mamiya, also voices Joi Irinaka, Briareos, and Gigantomachia.