Summary
Within theMy Hero Academiaworld, most of the population has developedsuperpowers known as Quirks. However, not all Quirks are created equal - some are much more powerful than others. This is where the illegal drug Trigger comes in. Created to boost weak Quirks, Trigger has since been adopted by villain groups to enhance existing Quirks to dangerous new levels. Trigger amplifies Quirks beyond their natural limits, allowing those who take it to access new levels of destructive power. However, this amplification comes at a cost, as it also diminishes the user’s sense of reason and control.
This has made Trigger one of the most feared substances in theMHAuniverse. Its abilityto take ordinary Quirksand make them exceedingly potent in unintended and uncontrollable ways means it can turn otherwise normal citizens into wild and unpredictable threats. Between strengthening enemies and endangering civilian lives, Trigger poses serious problems for heroes attempting to establish order and safety within theMHAworld.
Chapter 1 (Vigilantes), “I’m Here”, Chapter 133, “Catch Up, Kirishima”
Effects
Amplifies Quirk power
Trigger is a type of performance-enhancing drug that is known to amplify the powers ofan individual’s Quirk. However, it comes with significant risks as it weakens the user’s mental faculties like reasoning and decision-making.
Trigger works by directly targeting the parts of the brainresponsible for controlling Quirks. By artificially stimulating these areas, it provides a temporary boost to the strength, duration, or precision of a person’s Quirk abilities. This allows even those with relatively weak Quirks to exhibit enhanced powers for a while.
This drug is usually administered through injection using pre-filled syringes, with the neck being a common site for injection. Trigger’s quality and potency can vary greatly depending on the region in which it was produced. Versions manufactured in parts of Asia tend to have weaker and briefer effects than products from other areas like America, whose impacts may last around an hour or two.
Due to its ability to augment Quirks beyond natural limits, Trigger is tightly controlled and mainly circulates in underground or illicit markets. Several governments have enacted strict regulations and penalties around its distribution and use, recognizing the societal risks of empowering criminal elements with artificially powered Quirks. In some places, licensed medical professionals are allowed to prescribe regulated variants under strict oversight to treat unrelated conditions.
Ideo Trigger: A More Dangerous Form
A more potent version of Trigger known as the Ideo Trigger also exists. Ideo Trigger is created by mixing additional psychoactive compounds into the standard Trigger formulation. The effects of Ideo Trigger are evenmore enhanced Quirk amplification, but it comes at the significant risk of inducing a temporary loss of reason and berserker-like rage in the user. Under the influence, one’s Quirk powers are maximized, but they completely lack control over their actions and emotions. Prolonged use can also permanently discolor the tongue black due to circulatory damage caused by the drug’s toxicity.
Ideo Trigger can be administered through intravenous injection like the standard Trigger drug. However, researchers have also devised an oral form that is ingestible rather than injected. While this variant of Ideo Trigger is less impactful than the injectable type, it lacks the extreme psychotropic properties that cause the user to fly into a bestial frenzy. They can access an enhanced Quirk without entirely losing reason or rationality.
In rare instances, Ideo Trigger has been aerosolized into gaseous form. When inhaled, this airborne versionimpacts all Quirk usersin the vicinity, overriding their self-control over their powers and turning them into uncontrolled, rampaging threats. Anyone exposed to the Ideo Trigger gas experiences a total loss of Quirk management abilities, endangering themselves and others with unconstrained Quirk manifestations until it passes out of their system. Its effects are incredibly dangerous due to this disinhibiting property across a wide area.
Trigger’s Illegal Status and Villainous Distribution
The origins of Trigger can be traced back to early attempts to enhance Quirks. It was first developed to amplify weak abilities but was soon diverted towards criminal purposes. As a result, Trigger was banned across countries like Japan and formed an underground market exploited by gangs and drug trafficking rings. In Japan specifically,the villain All For Onetook a keen interest in Trigger’s effects and helped craft the more potent variant Ideo Trigger that induced violent, berserker-like states.
Years later, All For One’s villain organization, known as the Villain Factory, openly distributed Trigger in Naruhata City. They gave doses to street thugs and addicts to study the drug’s impacts. Particular individuals with potential were then kidnapped, infused with heavy Trigger doses, and transformed into superpowered “Next-Level Villains” forAll For One’s schemes. The alterations were said to be irreversible due to the immense Trigger amounts used. Criminal groups also engaged in Trigger trafficking, including theinfamous Shie Hassaikai syndicate.
On the international stage, Trigger encountered the cult Humarise, which forcibly developed deadly new applications. Scientists, under duress, created stockpiles of gaseous Ideo Trigger concentrated into bombs. Dubbed “Trigger Bombs,” they could induce fatal, uncontrollable Quirk overload in whole populations just from inhalation. Humarise plotted a coordinated Trigger Bomb attack across cities to wipe out most Quirk users. Only heroic intervention stopped their horrific plans in time, though authorities continue dismantling the remaining Trigger operations and stockpiles given its persistent underground activities.
Notable Trigger Users Throughout the Series
A wide array of villains and vigilantes withinMy Hero Academiahave used Trigger to further their objectives or enhance native Quirk abilities.
Vigilantes Users
Noteworthy Cases
So, in multiple instances, Trigger consistently boosted users' natural Quirks but sometimes induced uncontrollable urges or even longer-term bodily mutations depending on the variant and quantity consumed. Both villains andvigilantes encountered risks amidits perceived empowerment.
My Hero Academia
Cast
In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the “One-For-All” quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.
