My Hero Academia Season 7 Episode 139 Review

America’s #1 Hero

My Hero Academia Season 7 Episode 139 is the first episode of the new season. This was an alright episode. We got our formal introduction to America’s #1 hero, Star and Stripe, including her quirk. So, that was cool. But, the action in this episode was a bit lacking.

Let’s talk about Star and Stripe. She’s cool. Why? Because she’s super strong. In general, the heroes I think are cool are those who are either super strong or who have a super niche quirk. All Might at full strength is cool. And, as I’ve said many times, Rock Lock is my favorite hero. I love his quirk.

Star and Stripe is like a mix of both categories. Yes, she’s extremely strong and has a very versatile quirk. But, her quirk is also oddly specific. It can do a lot of different things, but it has rules.

I’ll get into Star and Stripe’s quirk more in a bit. For now, though, who is she as a person? She’s kind of the most American a superhero can be. She’s super buff, blonde, and has a somewhat generic “American” name. Spelling Cathleen with a C is a choice. But, Bate is pretty generic as a last name.

As you’d expect of America’s #1 hero, she’s also affiliated with the US Military. Of course, the United States would enlist its strongest heroes into its armed forces. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the US is doing human experimentation to manufacture stronger quirks.

Anyway, Cathleen also has her own Air Force squadron. These pilots serve as her personal transportation and also support her in combat. So, villains, watch out. You don’t only have to worry about America’s #1 hero. You also have to worry about her stealth fighters equipped with lasers.

Star and Stripe (Female All Might)

In a lot of ways, Star and Stripe is the female All Might. She doesn’t have the same quirk as All Might, obviously. And, her quirk isn’t even that similar to All Might’s. But, she emulates All Might in almost everything she does.

She has hair antennae, just like all might. And, her superhero outfit is even reminiscent of All Might’s, though with more of an American flair. With that said, the outfit similarity could also be because All Might’s outfit is actually based on American superhero outfits.

Of course, these two are also similar in how muscular they are. Well, All Might isn’t muscular anymore, but you get the idea. The difference between these two here is that All Might’s muscles were kind of a product of his quirk. Star and Stripe’s muscles are all-natural — maybe.

Now, no matter what she does, Star and Stripe can’t be as strong as All Might. Unless you have All for One or whatever Muscular’s quirk is called, the human body can’t stand being that strong. So, Star and Stripe uses her own quirk to power herself up as much as her body can handle.

This is why I say that her muscles might be all-natural. She’s ripped even when not fighting villains. But, it’s also possible that she has her quirk active on her own body 24/7. If she does, then she might not be as ripped as she looks.

Why does Star and Stripe try to hard to emulate All Might, though? Well, as with Deku, All Might saved her when she was a child. He was an exchange student in the US at the time and stopped the car she was in from getting crushed. Ever since, she wanted to be like him.

Quirk: New Order

Okay, enough stalling. It’s time to talk about Star and Stripe’s quirk: New Order. This is one of the most powerful quirks out there. I’d say it’s on par with All-for-One and One-for-All. And it’s definitely above a quirk like Endeavor’s.

If Star and Stripe touches something and says its name (or what it’s called), she can then create a new “rule” for it to abide by. The very first time we see her use her quirk, she uses it on the air itself. She makes all the air around Shigaraki disappear, creating a vacuum.

That’s not the only way she uses her quirk in this fight, though. She also touches lasers and makes them grabable. And, she touches Shigaraki and says that if he moves, his heart will stop. Again, this is one of the most powerful quirks.

What about the constraints on her quirk? Needing to touch and name the object/person she touched is the first constraint. That’s not always going to be an easy thing to do — as we saw with Shigaraki. Sure, she touched him, but because his identity is combining with All-for-One’s, he’s not Shigaraki.

I’d also imagine she’d have a tough time fighting someone like Mirio. She literally wouldn’t be able to touch him. And, even if she bends the rules for other objects, Mirio can phase through those, as well. But, there is one thing that might work against him.

What if Star and Stripe sets a rule on her fist that other objects can’t pass through it? Would it then be able to hit Mirio?

Anyway, the second constraint is that she can only have two rules active at once. Though, at the end of the episode, I think she had three.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of My Hero Academia Season 7 Episode 139? Star and Stripe might be America’s #1 hero. But, do you think she’s the strongest hero in the world right now? How did you feel about her quirk not working on Shigaraki? And, how do you think she’ll use it on the incoming ICBMs?

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My review of Episode 140 is available now.