While Cathleen Bate’s (Romi Park, The Grimm Variations) time was short in My Hero Academia, her presence as America’s number one hero, Star and Stripe, leaves a lasting impression. From her headstrong demeanor and boisterous presence to the skillful way she implements her powerful quirk, Star makes the most of her time in the series. Her battle is barely more than one one-hundredth of the show, yet it upturns All For One’s plans in a way no one could see coming.
Who is Cathleen Bate in My Hero Academia?
Get BWT in your inbox!
Get BWT in your inbox!
When Cathleen was still young, she was rescued by the hero All Might when he visited the U.S. Inspired by both his incredible power and kindness, Cathleen resolved to follow in the hero’s footsteps. In this way, her life strongly reflects Izuku Midoriya’s. However, unlike Midoriya, Cathleen was gifted with an exceptionally powerful quirk: New Order.
Despite her growing abilities, though, Cathleen struggled with self-doubt. While New Order gave her access to great power, she still fell short. She looked across the ocean and saw that she still couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with her inspiration. She blamed herself, believing she wasn’t good enough to attain that power. Luckily, the pilots of her support squadron were there to pick her up. Their friendship helped Star and Stripe see the strength she had, acknowledging what she could do, especially with the backup of her trusted compatriots.
While the raw power of her quirk makes Cathleen a force to be reckoned with, it’s clear that she didn’t settle for wielding her power like a simple sledgehammer. The cunning ways she utilizes her quirk were undoubtedly instrumental in her rise to becoming America’s number one hero.
She becomes so well-respected in America that the government even gives her authority to call in airstrikes using an advanced, intercontinental cruise missile system codenamed Tiamet. She uses this privilege during her battle with Shigaraki, even though her commanding officer warns it could spark an international incident and cause her hero license to be revoked.
When All Might calls out to the world for help facing the threat of All For One and Shigaraki, Star and Stripe doesn’t wait for approval to go. Backed as always by her squadmates, Star instantly rides to Japan, standing atop one of the squadron’s X-66 fighters.
So great is her fame by the time she appears in My Hero Academia that All For One risks having Shigaraki confront her despite his body still being incomplete. He tells Spinner that the worst scenario he can conceive of is having Star and Stripe team up with Midoriya. The combined power of One For All and New Order would be too much to stand against.
What does New Order do?
Star and Stripe’s quirk allows her to change the nature of people and things around her by giving them an order. To be able to affect the object/person, she must touch them and call out their name, followed by the command. When affecting inanimate objects, there seems to be no limit to what she can do. From making colossal versions of herself out of hardened air to altering the trajectory of missiles and shaping laser beams into a spear, any element of the world seems akin to putty in her hands. With people, however, there are more limits.
She can only strengthen a body so much. This creates a cap on how durable and strong she can make herself. While New Order is incapable of achieving the levels of strength wielded by All Might, Star and Stripe is nonetheless a physical force to be reckoned with.
While how much she can strengthen a body is limited, there seems to be no limit to how much damage she can do. This includes setting conditions that can kill an opponent. While she attempts this against Shigaraki, it fails due to the villain’s confusion regarding who he is. Since he is unsure if he still is Shigaraki, Star and Stripe cannot name him to make the command stick.
How big of a role does Star and Stripe play in My Hero Academia Season 7?
While Star ultimately dies at Shigaraki’s hands, she profoundly affects Japan’s developing situation. Knowing her foe desperately wants her quirk, she allows a killing blow that sees her decay as New Order is stolen. However, unbeknownst to anyone, Star and Stripe made one final command: “New Order will oppose other quirks.” When Shigaraki claims his prize, his body is wracked with internal explosions. Inside the vestige world, we see New Order, in the form of its former wielder, ripe apart every quirk it can get its hands on before succumbing to damage and breaking down. The damage done by New Order makes it so many powerful quirks All For One collected over the years were lost. Even when Shigaraki’s body reaches completion, it will not have the overwhelming arsenal it originally did.
As New Order breaks down before the chimera that is One For All and Shigaraki in the vestige world, it declares, “As long as people stand up to save each other… someone will inherit that will of heroism. And make no mistake… they will strike you down.” This declaration is seen reaching deep within the mass that is the chimera to the miniature, child version of Shigaraki held deep within. As the boy’s eyes open and he utters Midoriya’s name, it seems her words awaken something long-dormant within the villain.
While many wish Star and Stripe got more time in the series, none can deny the lasting impression she leaves in her wake. Her willingness to rush into danger to aid her inspiration and help others shines brightly, even in a show as rich with heroism as My Hero Academia.
