There’s no character in My Hero Academia as controversial and polarizing as Endeavor, the current Number One Hero. Not only does Endeavor have a past as an abusive father but he’s just an all-around terrible person. Some think he’s beyond redemption, while others think he’s one of the most complex characters ever written.
Adding fuel to the fire is that the seeds of Endeavor’s redemption arc have been planted ever since All Might retired, and they’re just now coming into season in what feels like the manga’s grand finale. There’s no doubt that the debate about whether he deserves redemption or not will rage on long after the story’s end. Even if he can't ever truly redeem himself, that isn't to say that he still shouldn't at least do things to attempt to do so.
10 Try To Redeem Himself: Die Fighting The League Of Villains
The most obvious way for Endeavor to redeem himself is to die fighting Dabi and/or the League Of Villains. The problem is that Endeavor– and most anti-heroes, for that matter– using death as an apology is the easy way out.
Not only would he unfairly earn sympathy, but he’d also skip out on feeling regret. Instead of reflecting on what he did and using a second chance to learn from past mistakes, Endeavor would just take himself out of the equation and die on his own terms. Simply put, Endeavor doesn’t deserve this shortcut.
9 Irredeemable: Not Everyone Can Nor Should Forgive Him
Endeavor can apologize all he wants but at the end of the day, forgiveness is simply out of his hands. As sincere as he may be and no matter what consequences he’s willing to accept, the people Endeavor hurt are under no obligation to forgive him.
Traditionally, redemption arcs end with the guilty party turning a new leaf and making amends. This isn’t an inherently bad cliché, but it’s too clean a solution for characters who may have been just two steps away from becoming villains. Such is the case with Endeavor and while he should face accountability (and it’s looking like he will), not everyone has to accept his penance.
8 Try To Redeem Himself: Stopping Dabi With Everything He Has
The second most obvious path to redemption after death is to suffer a career-ending injury while fighting the good fight, which Endeavor is a hot candidate for. The current arc has seen many heroes and villains fall (most notably Twice), and Endeavor becoming the next casualty wouldn’t be too surprising. In fact, it could be welcomed.
Dabi, his estranged and now-villainous son, is the personification of Endeavor's wrongdoings. Endeavor can literally and symbolically redeem himself by defeating Dabi no matter what, even if that means losing a limb or two. This would show just how serious Endeavor is in not just stopping a villain, but in how much he’s willing to pay for his past actions.
7 Irredeemable: He’s A Sloppy Symbol Of Peace
Being the Number One Hero and de facto Symbol Of Peace is no easy task, which Endeavor quickly realizes. Not only does he have to stop powerful supervillains from going on a rampage, but he also has to hold up an entire society’s expectations. But even taking those into consideration, Endeavor sucks at the job.
Under his watch, organized crime resurfaced and a terrorist faction emerged before getting absorbed by the ever-growing League Of Villains. While Endeavor (obviously) didn’t cause this sudden surge in violence and chaos, he wasn’t able to keep it in check like All Might would’ve.
6 Try To Redeem Himself: Making A Proper Public Apology
So far, Endeavor has yet to actually apologize to anyone. On a personal level, he’s trying to rebuild bridges in his stoic way but on a social scale, his abusive streak has been something of an unfounded open secret. Rumors circulated but these were mostly dismissed as hearsay until Dabi’s exposé.
Heroes’ careers live and die by peoples’ perception of them, and to say that the current Number One is having a PR nightmare is an understatement. Provided he survives the war, Endeavor must come clean and answer Dabi’s accusations. Right now, Endeavor’s only choice is to apologize to a public he let down and see where that takes him.
5 Irredeemable: He Sets A Bad Example For A Supposed Hero
Being a hero isn’t just about stopping petty crimes and supervillain plots, but also being an inspiration. My Hero Academia treats superheroes as celebrities as well, with heroes training both their abilities and socializing skills. That said, Endeavor isn’t the best source of altruism.
His self-serious anti-hero persona isn’t to blame since that’s what people expect of him anyway. What is at fault is that for the longest time, he was the Number Two Hero who was a self-centered and abusive family man, and now he’s the face of all Japanese superheroes. Talk about hypocrisy.
4 Try To Redeem Himself: Abdicating The Number One Spot
Try as he may, Endeavor isn’t the best at being Number One. Momentarily ignoring every terrible thing he’s done, he just can’t fill the shoes left behind by All Might. And now with some atrocious skeletons from his closet made public, Endeavor needs to abandon his current post.
Being the top hero isn’t just a job but a social responsibility, and Endeavor failed at both. There’s also the fact that society may be moving on from relying on a single Symbol Of Peace for inspiration and stability, so it may be better for Endeavor to leave while he’s still on top and let someone more suited do the job.
3 Irredeemable: He’s A Eugenicist
Believing that he wouldn’t be able to surpass All Might in his lifetime, Endeavor decided that the only solution was to sire a child who would have not one, but two powerful Quirks to achieve his failed dream. To this end, he married Rei (who has an ice-based Quirk) for the sole purpose of having her birth him his ideal superman. Long story short, Endeavor is a eugenicist.
Eugenics are a long-debunked and immoral pseudo-science which claims that human superiority can be achieved by preserving preferred genetic traits and discarding undesired ones. Even in the manga’s superhero context, this is heinous and Endeavor willingly practiced it. Worst of all, it gave Endeavor a utilitarian view on parenting, which only led to abuse and suffering.
2 Try To Redeem Himself: Leaving His Family Alone
There’s no other way around this: Endeavor is an abusive father. In his narrow-sighted quest to surpass All Might, Endeavor used his own family as stepping stones and punching bags. The worst he did was traumatize his wife so much that she’s been indefinitely institutionalized. If he’s serious about making amends, he needs to leave them be.
To his credit, Endeavor is trying to fix things, seen in his continued payments for his wife’s care and attempts to reconnect with Shoto. It’s clear that he regrets what he’s done, but it’s already too late. His continued presence only keeps old wounds open and chains his family to the past. That said, Endeavor is in the process of doing just this, promising to buy his family a new home while he isolates himself in their old residence.
1 Irredeemable: He’s A Monster, Plain And Simple
If it wasn’t obvious already, Endeavor is the worst. From being incredibly selfish to inflicting severe physical and emotional trauma on those closest to him, Endeavor is only a hero because his occupational title says so. It’s no wonder that Shoto (and understandably, many readers as well) despises him, despite what an adoring public thinks.
This isn’t a case of an anti-hero being flawed and misunderstood or one of a hero unintentionally making a fatal error; this is a monster of a man who committed atrocities and got away with it because of his social status. If redeemed or forgiven in any way, Endeavor’s sins would only be justified and worse, lionized. After all, all that pain Endeavor caused was worth it because he felt a little bad about it and he got to be a real hero, just like he always wanted.