This article is about the individual that assisted the League of Villains in the U.S.J. attack. For the species referred to collectively as "Nomu", see Nomu.
The U.S.J. Nomu is an Upper-Tier Nomu that served as one of the main antagonists of the U.S.J. Arc. It was dispatched by the League of Villains to attack the Heroes at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, but was defeated by All Might and captured by the Police Force.
Appearance#
Nomu is a large, black humanoid monster, standing taller than All Might, with a very muscular body that has many scars on it. His brain is exposed on the top of his head, while his large eyes are around it. He has a beak-like mouth with an array of sharp teeth. He only wears a pair of beige pants and metal knee-pads designed to emulate skulls. His feet and torso are left bare.
Before his transformation, Nomu had the appearance of a regular human with light olive green hair and thick lips.
Personality#
Due to the intensive body experimentation done to him, Nomu is not able to speak, nor can he think for himself. To compensate for this, he is only capable of following orders and will do so without question, as shown when he follows Tomura Shigaraki's orders. He is very brutal towards his enemies and will not show any mercy, demonstrated when he injures Eraser Head[1][2] and crushes part of All Might's ribcage.[3] At the same time, upon being captured and with no villain around to command him, Nomu was obedient and did not resist arrest, further demonstrating his mindless and docile nature.[4]
History#
Nomu was once a small-time thug. Under unknown circumstances, Nomu's body was experimented on through DNA injection from four different people, causing Nomu to acquire multiple Quirks in the process, eventually resulting in Nomu becoming an artificial human.
Nomu's body was first shown in one of Doctor Kyudai Garaki's labs, a few months after The Crawler had fought Number 6 in Naruhata. As All For One lamented over the loss of Number 6 and The Crawler's strength despite only being a regular citizen, he states that in order to compensate for this, he'll command an entity that would force even All Might to his knees through his power. Nomu's unfinished body is shown in a stasis chamber, noting that the conclusion he reached was inspired by Number 6's actions.[5]
Synopsis#
U.S.J. Arc#
Nomu appears at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint after Kurogiri warps him and the other Villains there.[6] When Eraser Head knocks Tomura down onto the ground, Nomu appears before Eraser Head and fights him, defeating him with ease.[1]
When Eraser Head uses his Quirk to save Tsuyu Asui from Tomura, Nomu smashes Eraser Head into the ground. He then blocks Izuku Midoriya's One For All-empowered punch, not even receiving a single scratch from it.[2]
All Might attacks Nomu with Carolina Smash, but does little damage to him. Nomu tries to counter, but All Might dodges. All Might then uses a backdrop slam against Nomu, but Kurogiri opens a gate with his Quirk, allowing Nomu to evade the attack and then clutch onto All Might. However, half of Nomu's body is frozen by Shoto Todoroki, giving All Might the opportunity to escape from Nomu.[3]
After Tomura orders him to get rid of Katsuki Bakugo and retrieve Kurogiri, Nomu gets out of Kurogiri's gate, but his frozen half is then shattered. After getting out, Nomu begins to regenerate, regaining his lost limbs. He then attacks Katsuki, but his punch is blocked by All Might who is sent back a distance by Nomu's punch.
However, Nomu's attack forced Katsuki to evade, allowing Kurogiri to escape from Katsuki. Nomu and All Might engage in a fist fight, punching each other blow for blow (although Nomu has the upper hand thanks to his Quirk). All Might decides to go beyond his 100%, and, with a devastating punch, Nomu is sent flying out of the U.S.J, defeated.[7]
All Might's punch sends Nomu flying into a forest 400m away from the U.S.J. He is eventually captured by the authorities, putting up no resistance whatsoever.[8]
Vs. Hero Killer Arc#
Nomu has been imprisoned by the Police Force, locked up in a straitjacket. They try to get information from Nomu, but he does not respond or react to anything they do. Instead, the police does a DNA analysis on Nomu.[4]
Dark Hero Arc#
By the following year, Nomu, as well as all the other Nomu that the police have apprehended since, are taken to Central Hospital for restorative research, in order to better understand the Nomu process so that they can free Oboro Shirakumo from Kurogiri.[9]
Abilities#
Overall Abilities: As an Upper-Tier Nomu, Nomu is shown to be very powerful and one of the strongest artificial humans seen thus far, being able to defeat Eraser Head, a formidable Pro Hero, with no difficulty,[1][2] and severely injure All Might to the point where he couldn't move.[3] Designed as a counter to All Might, he has been described as a "humanoid punching bag" for his combination of Quirks that allows him to take powerful blows and debilitating injuries without a thought. All Might himself stated that had he been in his prime, he would would have easily defeated Nomu in five punches, but due to his weakened state, it took him 300 blows to finish the job.[7]
Immense Strength: Nomu was engineered to match All Might's power[3] and withstand One For All at 100%.[7] True to this purpose, he possesses great raw power. During the U.S.J. Incident, he easily overpowered and brutally injured Eraser Head.[1][2] He also crushed All Might's ribs while the latter was caught in Kurogiri's Warp Gate, and generated shockwaves powerful enough to blast back the Class 1-A students, along with Tomura and Kurogiri, during his clash with All Might.[3]
Immense Speed: In addition to his immense strength, Nomu possesses blinding speed. He effortlessly intercepted an attack from Izuku,[2] closed in on Katsuki so swiftly that he couldn't react, and even kept pace with All Might in a relentless pummeling match.[7]
Immense Durability: Even without his Shock Absorption Quirk, Nomu is an incredibly durable foe. He withstood several hits from All Might at more than 100% of his power, including one final blow that sent Nomu flying out of the U.S.J and launched him 400m into a forest.[7][8]
Quirks#
Shock Absorption: Nomu's primary Quirk grants him the ability to absorb the shock of any attack. When Izuku attempted to fight back against him, Nomu easily absorbed the hero-in-training's One For All-empowered smash attack.[2] He was also able to negate several of All Might's attacks, including his Carolina Smash.[3] However, he has a limit to how much trauma he can absorb, as Tomura stated that slowly lacerating Nomu makes it possible to damage him,[3] and he was eventually defeated when All Might went beyond his normal 100% power output.[7]
Super Regeneration: Nomu's second Quirk allows him to rapidly recover from severe injuries. When Shoto froze and shattered Nomu's limbs, he quickly regenerated them within seconds.[7]
Battles & Events#
U.S.J. Arc U.S.J. Incident Eraser Head & U.A. Students vs. Tomura Shigaraki & Nomu All Might & U.A. Students vs. League of Villains
Chapter Appearances#
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Anime Appearances#
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Trivia#
- Nomu shares some similarities with the DC supervillains Doomsday and Validus. All of them are mindless villains bioengineered to be physically larger and more powerful than their respective heroes (Superman and All Might), with Nomu and Validus both having exposed brains.
- Nomu ranked 46th in the First Popularity Poll.
- Nomu shares his Japanese and English voice actors with other characters.
- His Japanese voice actor, Tsuguo Mogami, also voices Mr. Compress, Crust, Hood, and Kurogiri (in All's Justice).
- His English voice actor, Justin Cook, also voices Eijiro Kirishima.