❁ Keigo Takami ❁

Keigo is a man of average height with a slim and narrow build. He has feathery, ash blond hair that is swept messily backward, with some of the front tufts sticking up in arcs above his head. His eyebrows are notably thick, having a similar texture as his hair, and he has faint stubble on his chin.

His eyes are golden-brown and rather triangular, with two small black triangles just below his tear ducts and in the top corners of his eyes, making them resemble those of a bird. His Quirk grants him a set of large, bright red feathered wings. Although the sizing of his wings is somewhat inconsistent, they are mostly shown to reach over his head when folded.

His hero costume resembles an aviator's uniform; he wears a black shirt with a wavy golden pattern, over which he has a modified tan jacket with a high collar and slits over his shoulders to accommodate his wings; the insides and cuffs of the sleeves are lined with white fur, and black gloves. He has a red square-shaped lobe piercing in each ear, although these are rarely visible as he usually wears a pair of yellow ear-protective headphones over them. A rounded, yellow-tinted (blue in the manga) visor protects his eyes, presumably from UV radiation above the clouds and dirt particles at high speeds.[6]

After the Paranormal Liberation War, and following several injuries given by Dabi, his wings were left as weakened stubs. During his time recovering, he temporarily wears a respirator mask and uses a text-to-voice app on his phone to talk to others, although he soon regains his use of speech and his wings eventually start growing back.[7] Upon returning to hero work, his hair is cut much shorter, while the left side of his face has a jagged scar from his cheek to his neck, and severe scars across his entire back to his upper neck. He also donned different new visors, and his black undershirt has two golden buttons on the neck area.

By the time of the Final War, Keigo wore prosthetics on his wings, so he could try to reach his previous high speeds, as Recovery Girl's Quirk was unable to properly restore them.[8] He also had several katana, which he used in place of his since-burnt feather blades.[9] In the conclusion of the fight, he loses his wings completely after his Quirk is stolen from him by All For One.[10] He shortly afterwards was attacked by some of Himiko Toga's Doubles, now having a giant knife slice mark on the right side of his chest and face.[11]

In the aftermath of the Final War, he has a large jagged scar on his forehead.[5]

In his childhood, his father, Takami, would force him to stay locked up in the house to ensure no one could discover and capture him, and he was unable to interact with the outside world or anyone his age. Because of this, he initially believed that the heroes he saw on television were just fictional characters. Furthermore, he was subjected to constant physical and emotional abuse by his father. Keigo would be kicked simply for turning his back to his father, who would constantly say how it would've been better if Keigo was never born. Seeing how broken both of his parents were, Keigo held in his emotions and became determined not to endure the same fate.

While he seems relaxed and under-challenged as typical of most prodigies, he is in fact hard-working and under constant pressure with his hero career. It is proclaimed that he trained endlessly to maximize the techniques in which he uses his wings, refining his rescue, support, and combat abilities.

After his father was arrested by Endeavor, Keigo realized that heroes are indeed real, and his hope was reinvigorated after being freed from his father's abuse. Even in his youth, Keigo showed remarkable inner strength and intelligence, as despite the emotional torment caused by both his parents, he was still firm in his resolve to be a good hero like Endeavor. Keigo displayed his ingenuity and strength when he and his mother were forced out onto the streets, and after being put down by his mother asking why she even had Keigo or what good his wings were, he became determined to be useful. He intervened in a high-speed automobile crash, saving the lives of many people and garnering the attention of the Hero Public Safety Commission, saving both him and his mother from their life of poverty.

Despite his troubled past and him being taken in by a corrupted government who saw him as a mere replacement for Lady Nagant, Hawks was determined to strive and become a hero like his idol, Endeavor. Through the years, he underwent a harsh training regimen by the HPSC to become an undercover double agent for the safety of society. By the time his training was complete, he still retained his optimism, unlike his superior. He also continued to look up to his idol even after Dabi's public recording (which exposed Endeavor's past of abusing his family). Keigo even went so far as to expose his own past for Endeavor's sake, believing that unlike his own father, Endeavor has truly changed for the better.

Keigo's optimistic side is what leads him to want to find the good in others, potentially due to his own personal guilt over never truly forgiving his mother, something he commends Shoto over after learning of his reconciliation with his mother. Alongside trusting Endeavor and witnessing his growth, as well as believing Lady Nagant still has the heart of a hero even after her turn to the dark side, the biggest example of his compassion was with Twice, who he managed to develop a genuine bond of friendship with (even while undercover). Having realized that Twice was truly a good person at heart, and feeling remorseful for exploiting his trust, Keigo held a genuine desire to help the villain rehabilitate, even if the plan ultimately failed.