My Hero Academia's Class 1-A is full of superpowered individuals, each one unique and incredible. Perhaps most unusual of all, however, is the one hiding in plain sight: Toru Hagakure, the Stealth Hero Invisible Girl. Toru is noteworthy at first glance for being absolutely invisible. For that reason, though perky and energetic, could she also be the rumored traitor hiding in the midst of a group of otherwise good and sweet kids?
Probably not. But that's one of many theories that have cropped up about Toru over the years. This is in part because, of all the series' characters, Toru is the most enigmatic. Here's what makes Toru unique and why have some fans have theorized that she's secretly My Hero Academia's biggest bad guy.
Class 1-A's Invisible Girl: Toru's Stealthy Powers
As her hero name suggests, Toru's Quirk means she's always invisible. Her skin allows light to permeate through it, which means you can see straight through her. She does have mass, though, her outline being discernably short and pretty slim. Toru typically uses her stealth abilities to sneak around, which makes her ideal for espionage missions.
However, Toru can fight. She can take advantage of her invisibility to unleash a sneak attack on her opponents. A punch to the head? A kick to the throat? While her strength is fairly below average and she isn't particularly quick, a few surprise strikes can knock any villain prone.
But when in a bind, she can unleash her Light Refraction technique. During this, Toru bends light passing through her body, creating a blinding light that can stun nearby opponents. This allows her to run away and hide, once more, in plain sight.
While Toru does partake in fights, such as in the "Final Exams" and "Joint Training" arc, she mostly takes a supportive role. As My Hero Academia has gone on, she's also taken less and less of an active role in the story itself, becoming more of a minor character in several major arcs -- other than when her ability to sneak around becomes important. For instance, during the "Paranormal Liberation" arc of the manga, Toru joins the Villa Backup Team. Though it's an entirely supportive role once more, she does use her abilities to deflect light-based attacks at key moments, such as when she bends Yuga's Navel Laser through several 'bots.
It should be said that Toru often doesn't seem to understand what it means to be invisible. She expresses awkwardness taking her clothes off, doesn't want people to look at her, and often talks about how she might look in certain outfits. This has led many to believe she either has limited comprehension of her own invisibility or that she might be playing a role to lure everyone into a false sense of security.
Toru's Origin & Inspirations
Toru is clearly inspired by the Fantastic Four's Sue Storm. Specifically, Toru's name, Invisible Girl, is remarkably similar to the Marvel family's Invisible Woman, who also used to be called Invisible Girl. But the name suits Toru far better as, naturally, she's a teenage girl.
Interestingly, Kohei Horikoshi, the manga-ka behind My Hero Academia, planned on making Toru a man -- perhaps nodding to Universal's Invisible Man -- but changed it because of the imbalance between male and female characters. Also, he thought that a girl being invisible would be far funnier.
However, Horikoshi could have a different path set out for Toru. One popular fan theory suggests that Toru could be luring everyone around her into a false sense of security.
Is Toru the U.A Traitor?
My Hero Academia's Class 1-A is full of richly developed characters. All of them come alive over the course of the plot. That said, Toru is still something of an enigma, even after all this time. While Toru is primarily comic relief, she is surprisingly effective in scenarios that utilize her abilities, as previously mentioned. During the "Final Exam" arc, she manages to single-handedly pass her exam by catching a trained hero unguarded.
Some fans, over the course of the anime's history, have theorized that Toru is only acting like comic relief, and, instead, using her stealth powers the whole while to secretly gather information for the League of Villains. After all, there are spies in U.A. High School, maybe even more than one. Toru could be in every shot of the anime, and you'd never know it because she's invisible.
However, this is not very likely. Toru is typically presented as being a good team player but absolutely useless on her own. In addition, the League of Villains has actually put Toru in the hospital by poisoning her. Later on, during the "Paranormal Liberation" arc, Toru continues to support the Heroes along with Class 1-B, even as society crumbles around them. If Toru were their spy, they'd probably be way more careful not to cause such incredible harm to her.
There is also the matter that, as time goes on in My Hero Academia, Toru has had ample opportunity to hurt or betray her friends, but simply hasn't yet. There were several instances, especially during the battle against Gigantomachia, where Toru's invisibility could have been used to harm her peers. But she hasn't yet. This seems to indicate Toru is just another girl, training to be a hero -- albeit less visibly than everyone else.