My Hero Academia: Invisible Girl’s Costume is Barely There

Taking place in a world where over 80% of the human population has superpowers (or “Quirks”),My Hero Academia gives writers plenty of chances to explore and poke fun at traditional superhero tropes – including heroes with the power of invisibility, like Toru Hagakure, U.A. High School’s Stealth Hero: Invisible Girl.

As her name implies, Toru’s Quirk has caused her entire body to become invisible. This gives her excellent stealth abilities and she has chosen to use them to become a professional hero (or “Pro Hero”). Unlike other invisible superheroes, however, Toru’s invisible state is permanent – leading to some curious design choices for her costume.  

Interestingly, the decision to make Toru permanently invisible is similar to an early choice Stan Lee made for Sue Storm, the Fantastic Four’s Invisible Girl (and later Invisible Woman). Lee originally felt Sue should be invisible all the time and use a costume and mask only when she needed to be seen. By the time the book was released, however, Lee changed his mind and gave Sue the power to switch back and forth from visible to invisible. Sue even received a uniform made of “unstable molecules” that would turn invisible with her, saving her from the indignity of having to do a strip tease all the time.

Unfortunately, unstable molecules fabric isn’t available in the My Hero Academia universe, so when Toru wears her traditional student uniform, she basically looks like a headless, handless phantom wearing a jacket, shirt, skirt, knee-high socks, and shoes. When she’s in the field, however, Toru doesn’t have enough time to remove all of these clothes, so her superhero “costume” consists of a pair of gloves and two brown shoes. In the winter, she wears knee-high boots and thicker gloves – although how exactly wearing only these items can keep her warm is unknown. Presumably, Toru’s “costume” is intended to give her teammates a way to keep track of her when she’s with them. When she needs to go completely invisible, she just needs to remove her gloves and shoes. While she doesn’t have a problem doing this, she does get embarrassed taking off her shoes and gloves in front of other people, even though they can’t see anything and Toru isn’t wearing much of anything to begin with.

Female superhero costumes have justifiably drawn criticism for being too skimpy and oversexualizing women, but Toru’s non-costume tends to be used more as an object of comic relief. On one hand, the idea of an invisible superhero girl running around naked might raise some eyebrows – but the fact that Toru’s “costume” prevents artists from showing her body in any objectifiable way makes her outfit simultaneously one of the raciest and most modest costumes in the My Hero Academia universe.

About The Author

Michael Jung
(700 Articles Published)

See also  Money Heist: 10 Scenes That Made Fans Hate Arturo (Even More Than The Robbers)

Michael Jung is a mild-mannered freelance writer-for-hire, actor, and professional storyteller with a keen interest in pop culture, education, nonprofit organizations, and unusual side hustles. His work has been featured in Screen Rant, ASU Now, Sell Books Fast, Study.com, and Free Arts among others. A graduate of Arizona State University with a PhD in 20^th Century American Literature, Michael has written novels, short stories, stage plays, screenplays, and how-to manuals.

Michael’s background in storytelling draws him to find the most fascinating aspects of any topic and transform them into a narrative that informs and entertains the reader. Thanks to a life spent immersed in comic books and movies, Michael is always ready to infuse his articles with offbeat bits of trivia for an extra layer of fun. In his spare time, you can find him entertaining kids as Spider-Man or Darth Vader at birthday parties or scaring the heck out of them at haunted houses.

Visit Michael Jung’s website for information on how to hire him, follow him on Twitter Michael50834213, or contact him directly: michael(at)michaeljungwriter(dot)com.

More From Michael Jung