History#
At some point in his life, Ken Takagi married a woman four years younger than him. They had a son who Ken is very protective of.[1]
Synopsis#
Shie Hassaikai Arc#
Ken attends a meeting regarding the Shie Hassaikai, held by Sir Nighteye. He is confused about the presence of the U.A. High School students, as he deems them unfit to be a part of the discussion and incapable of contributing. When Tamaki Amajiki demonstrates that he can still use his Quirk despite being shot with the anti-Quirk drug, Ken states his relief.
When Sir Nighteye reveals that the anti-Quirk drugs have human blood cells in them and Eijiro Kirishima does not understand it right away, Ken points out that he knew the children would hold the discussion back. As Sir Nighteye further reveals that Overhaul's daughter is the one whose blood is used and that Izuku Midoriya and Mirio Togata already encountered them, Ken merely points out that the whole thing would be over with, if they had saved her right there.[2]
With the main mission being the rescue of Eri, Ken asks if they know for certain where she is and points out that they might have removed her from the hide-out. After Sir Nighteye explains how his quirk works and that he can't prevent what he sees, using death as an example, Rock Lock challenges him and tells him he'll avoid his prediction a hundred times, only for Sir Nighteye to tell him that he cannot.[3]
Ken later scouts out the urban environment to finds the Shie Hassaikai's hideouts. Later, when it is confirmed that Eri is in their hideout, Ken criticizes Sir Nighteye for wasting his daily turn of his Foresight, on checking out a villain who was buying a toy for Eri.[4]
On the day of the mission, at 8:30 am, Ken and several other heroes and police units gathered in front of the villain hideout. As the police officer asks them to do everything as smooth as possible, Ken is getting impatient and feels like the officer does not trust them. He then explains how the Yakuza are cowards and will probably not put up a big fight. When the heroes and the police are being attacked, he is surprised that they are not scared at all and put up a fight.[5]
Ken along with the heroes and police make their way to the underground labyrinth to arrest Kai, they find a dead-end. Mirio phases through the wall and reports that the hallway is on the other side. After Izuku and Eijiro break through, Joi Irinaka begins twisting the hallway and closes off the basement's entrance. The heroes than fall down into a separate section of the building where they meet three members of the Eight Bullets. Tamaki decides to deal with the three enemies and tells the rest of the heroes to go on.[6]
As the heroes went on they are apprehended by more of the Eight Bullets, Fat Gum and Eijiro are then separated from the group and face off against Kendo Rappa and Tengai.[7] As Izuku, Shota and Rock Lock proceed to go after Kai, they are attacked by Mimic with his ability to manipulate the corridors, forcing Ken to use his super Move Deadbolt to prevent Mimic from continuing to manipulate the walls. Faced with this setback, Mimic changes his strategy and brings up walls from the floor that split Nighteye's team in three, leaving Rock Lock alone.
While Twice ambushes Sir Nighteye, Rock Lock is attacked by surprise by Himiko Toga. Rock Lock intercepts her knife with his hand, and strikes Himiko, but is surprised that the real Himiko has grappled him, revealing that the Himiko he struck was a clone made by Twice. Himiko knocks him out of combat after stabbing him and reveals that she's Himiko the gangster now, and not with the League of Villains.
Himiko drinks his blood to transform him and set a trap for Shota and Izuku, but Shota manages to discover the trap, forcing Himiko to escape.[8] Twice is also forced to run away after being defeated by Nighteye, and later Joi is defeated by the heroes.[9] The Police Force stood on guard preparing for Himiko and Twice in case they returned, while the detective declared that they could not ignore them.
As Shota tried deciding on the best course of action, Ken told them to leave the League of Villains to the Police Force and rescue Eri. The Police Force agreed on Ken's plan; Ken volunteered to stay and keep Joi in check since he was in no condition to move around. Ken reminded them of everyone else who was buying time for them and told them not to waste it. Sir Nighteye, Izuku, and Shota immediately headed out while Izuku promised Ken to rescue Eri.
Ken thought back to the meeting and noted that he had not been putting down the U.A. High School students. In actual fact, similar to how he cares for his newborn child, Ken was concerned for the safety of the U.A. students because, at the end of the day, a child is still just a child. But after seeing them in action, Ken was relieved to know that the U.A. students were fine enough Heroes that put them to shame. Ken decided to hold Izuku to his promise and that Sir Nighteye take responsibility.[1]
After the mission was a success, Ken was sent to the hospital.[10] He was fortunate that Himiko's blade missed his internal organs and has recovered. Ken has to comfort his wife when she visits him with their son while recovering from his injuries.[11]
Pro Hero Arc#
Ken and Fat Gum attend the Hero Billboard Chart JP, where Japan's new top ten heroes are introduced since the retirement of All Might. He later comments on Hawks' arrogance after his speech.[12]
My Hero Academia: Heroes: Rising#
Rock Lock was one of the Heroes chasing the League of Villains, who were transporting an unknown cargo in an armored truck. At one point, Dabi shoots his flames at his car, forcing him to swerve, which led to the car flipping. Rock Lock manages to lock the car in place with his Super Move, Deadbolt, and apologizes for not being able to help out more.[13]
Paranormal Liberation War Arc#
By the end of March, thanks to the police investigations, and the information leaked by Hawks, who was acting as a spy, the Hero Public Safety Commission organize the Heroes and the Police Force to take down the Paranormal Liberation Front. Rock Lock is part of the team of heroes led by Endeavor in charge of raiding on Jaku General Hospital.
Before the raid started, Rock Lock participates with other heroes in a meeting where Detective Naomasa informs them about Dr. Kyudai Garaki, the current board chairman of Jaku General Hospital. When Rock Lock asks why are they going after him, Naomasa replies that he is an ally of Tomura Shigaraki and the creator of the Nomu and that there is a section of the hospital that only he can access.[14][15]
The raid begins, and the heroes quickly encounter Dr. Garaki in the corridors of the hospital. The heroes catch him before he can run away, but it turns out not to be the real doctor, but a clone created with Double. The real Garaki is in his secret lab and releases a horde of Nomu to fight the heroes as he tries to wake up Tomura from his stasis.
The Hospital becomes a battlefield, and Rock Lock is forced to fight alongside his fellow heroes to defeat the creatures.[16] Little by little the Nomu are being defeated, allowing a few heroes to storm the lab. He himself asks Eraser Head, Endeavor and Present Mic to go ahead while they deal with the last Nomu.[17] Once all creatures are defeated, the remaining heroes begin to storm the Garaki laboratories, where they face various High-End Nomus. Rock Lock and other heroes use their abilities to restrain the High-End Woman, allowing Endeavor to land a finishing blow that destroys her head instantly.
All of the Nomu are defeated and during the confrontation, the capsule that contained Tomura is destroyed before Kyodai could reactivate his heart. Facing his defeat, a heartbroken Dr. Garaki declares that the Devil's Dream has finally ended.[17][18]
However, against all odds, Tomura Shigaraki awakens,[19] despite having previously verified that his heart was not beating. Seeing the situation, he immediately uses his decay, which spreads rapidly through the laboratory, disintegrating everything in its path. When the laboratory begins to crumble, Rock Lock manages to get on Ryukyu's back when she is in her dragon form. She manages to get him out of there along with a few heroes before the entire hospital is destroyed, and the decay spreads to the nearby city, killing dozens of heroes on its way.[20]
Fortunately, Rock Lock was able to survive Tomura's Decay onslaught as he and Manual supports Shota to use Erasure on Tomura, erasing him of any Quirks he has in his disposal. However, Tomura was far from done as he still has his speed and strength that almost matches to second in All Might's powers in his peak. Tomura tries to attack the trio and Rock Lock moves up front to defend Shota with his life before Izuku shows up and comes into conflict with Tomura, followed by Katsuki Bakugo and Endeavor.[21]
While the heroes continues to inflict damage onto Tomura, Rock Lock and Manual keeps Shota away as he could while keeping Erasure on Tomura. However, the battle turns for the worse when Tomura, despite reaching to his body's limits and severely wounded, savagely brutalized Gran Torino and then turns back his attention toward them. Ryuko Tatsuma and Izuku successfully impairs Tomura from going forward, but Tomura had an ace-in-his-sleeve: a Quirk-Destroying Drug meant for Shota.[22]
With little strength he's got, Tomura successfully fires the Quirk-Destroying Drug and hits his wounded leg. To stop the drug from spreading, Shota does the unthinkable and amputates his leg before it could spread. Unfortunately, that act caused Shota to flinched once, allowing Tomura to regain his Quirks and blasted any heroes nearby. Tomura leaps forward and savely mauls Shota's face before he was repelled by the recently arrived Shoto Todoroki and Izuku.
Rock Lock and Manual does their best to stop the bleeding in Shota's leg using the bandages around his neck. With their situation now growing hopeless, Rock Lock tells Izuku to run away,b ut he refuses after he sported Tomura's body beginning to rip apart after he overexceed his body's limit. As the Regeneration Quirk kicks in, Tomura attempts to end everything with another Decay attack before Izuku unlocks and activates Nana Shimura's Quirk: Float, bringing everyone and Tomura into the air with his Blackwhip. Rock Lock was subsequently shocked of how they're flying.[23]
Realizing that his control of Blackwhip is destabilizing, Izuku puts down Manual and the other heroes down so he can face Tomura in the air and barrage attacks him with all his Ultimate Moves at 100%. However, despite his best, Izuku was also reaching his limits as the Regeneration Quirk from Tomura was turning the battle into a war of attrition.
Katsuki comes up with a plan that will allow him and Shoto to launch themselves with Endeavor to finish off Tomura. Rock Lock starts to worry if their plan will work, but the minute Shoto tells him to take care of their teacher, he remembers he already acknowledged the children as Heroes. Katsuki flies over to Izuku and Tomura with Endeavor and Shoto aiding the flight. As Izuku extended his Blackwhip, the students launched Endeavor over to grab Tomura and unleashed the full power of Prominence Burn, burning Tomura to a crisp.[24]
Suddenly, nearing death, Tomura's body was taken over by All For One who subsequently impales both Endeavor and Katsuki, sending Izuku into a furious rage that lowered his guard down, allowing Tomura to finally touch Izuku and claim his prize: One For All.[25] Unfortunately, Tomura had failed to steal One for All from Izuku due to his body being incomplete and the strong willpower of both Izuku and the predecessors.
While Rock Lock continues to give first aid to Shota, Tenya Ida arrives with more reinforcements, but he informs that Gigantomachia is rampaging across Jaku City to get to Tomura. Unfortunately, it was too late as Gigantomachia arrives with the League of Villains in his back. Luckily, Gigantomachia was collapsing from the sedative anesthesia he ingested after his battle with Class 1-A and 1-B. With Best Jeanist and Lemillion entering the battle, the tides have turned for the heroes to subdue the League of Villains, unfortunately, Tomura, along with the remaining League members, successfully escaped the battle with the Near High-End Nomus who distracted the heroes, forfeiting the battle.[26]
U.A. Traitor Arc#
In the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War, All For One has escaped from Tartarus, and proceeded to break into several more maximum security prisons, liberating the inmates. Due to the chaos inflicted by Gigantomachia and the mass breakout of prisoners, the whole country entered a state of total chaos and anarchy. In addition, many heroes resigned and called it quits because of the massive criticism of their work, and the destruction spreading unchecked. Rock Lock is one of the few heroes remaining and does his best to stop the villains and apprehend them as much as he can.[27]
Final War Arc#
With the upcoming battle for the Final War, Shota has devised a plan that will lure All For One out. Knowing that All For One is keeping tabs on the Heroes through Search, he needed Yuga and the Aoyama Family to play their roles as infiltrators and spies for All For One. He and All Might recruited Shota's protégée, Hitoshi Shinso, to take advantage of Hitoshi's newest development of being able to make brainwashed people speak, by having him brainwash the Aoyamas so that they can deceive him without detecting a single lie. The next step of the plan is to make use of Kurogiri's Warp Gate to allow them to warp themselves into the fight, to catch All For One off guard, as well as warp the villains to locations all over Japan, separating them.
Knowing that Kurogiri is also a target for All For One because he is essentially the perfect Nomu, he sends Spinner to lead a heteromorph army to free him. Rock Lock is one of the heroes who is in charge of defending the Central Hospital from letting Spinner and the heteromorph army try to retrieve Kurogiri. Unfortunately the heteromorph army, consisting of the remnants of the Paranormal Liberation Front and the civilians who advocate for their actions, outnumbers the heroes and the police force from 15,000 to 200, overrunning their defenses and overwhelming the heroes.
As Rock Lock is being overwhelmed, he wonders how they're so organized, as they all cry and chant out to tie everyone up, and that they'll never understand their plight. One of the defending heroes, a student from Class 1-A, Mezo Shoji, confronts and battles Spinner who uses his new Scalemail and Body Bulk Quirks to attack.[28]
Mezo tries to yell at the civilians to cease their needless fighting, while Spinner continues to declare them to follow him. He blasts his way toward the Hospital, forcing Present Mic to go after him and the heteromorph army who breached the entrance. While Present Mic heads into Central Hospital after Spinner, Mezo and Koji continue to try to hold off the rampaging heteromorph army.
One of the people in the crowd is about to shoot Mezo from behind until he is suddenly stopped by a fellow member, causing most of the fighting to stop as everyone looks on in surprise. The heteromorph army who entered the hospital are all emerging outside after hesitating to raid the hospital. He stares at the people standing in front of the Hospital's entrance, saying he thinks they're using their anger the wrong way.
The man responds that he still hates how he has been beaten up for no reason, but also worries if he's being indecisive, stating that he got excited over the "call to action" and since the world turned on them they had to turn in upside down. He thought the time was finally right with their leader, but now wonders if the entire world is truly their enemy, and that he doesn't want to hurt the people in the hospital and breaks down crying in shame. His actions and speech moves all the civilians in the army to halt their advance, causing other Liberation soldiers to cry out why they're not marching forward.
Mezo understands the feelings that gathered them all together weren't wrong, as the ones who've hurt them haven't been dragged into the light yet. After a Hero apologizes to the warrior for not realizing their struggles, Mezo believes that they are all a bright shining example, so they must use this light to change the people who inflict harm, until they feel ashamed of all their cruelty. Rock Lock looks on, noticing how all movement and passion from the army has ceased, thinking about all they could do to defend themselves was fight. Realizing that Mezos' words have spread to the army and pcifies them, Rock Lock calls out for reinforcements to move toward the hospital to stop Spinner from awakening Kurogiri.[29]
However, by the time they arrived inside, they were too late as Kurogiri became active once again and teleported himself and Present Mic far away.[30] Shortly after his escape, the staff rushed to escort the injured inside to be treated. Lady Nagant had emerged from her bed, ignoring the doctor's warnings that she could die if her wounds reopen. She demands to know where the enemy is but he won't say due to her still being a convict, but she responds that Izuku asked her to fight alongside them. Rock Lock appears and tells the doctor he'll take responsibility for her and gives her information regarding the state of the war and the crucial battle between Izuku and Tomura at U.A. He tells her their full mobilization hinges on their faith in Izuku, and if her heart tells her to act for him, he will put his trust in her.[31]
Sometime afterwards he goes to check on Lady Nagant, who is recovering on the rooftop of Central Hospital after briefly assisting Izuku by sniping at Tomura. He shows her on his phone the currently broadcast battle between Izuku and Tomura, where he proceeds to ask her why she did decide to help him. Nagant explains he wrenched open her heart, and that he has a special way of doing things which there is nothing harder for a Villain to bear. Rock Lock continues that beating Villains is about making them lose the will to fight, which Nagant figures is what he is doing right now, that he is not out to merely punish evil like it is all so black-and-white, and that his dream is taking him down a thornier, more nuanced path; the look on his face when he is up against the wall and running himself ragged makes her want to risk it all to back him up.[32]