Is Dabi Connected to the Todoroki Family & Is He Endeavor’s Son? Toya Todoroki Finally Revealed

Ever since we first saw Dabi using his Quirk in My Hero Academia, we already had our own speculations regarding who he could be and what his connection to the Todoroki family is. Of course, that’s because Enji Todoroki, who we all know as Endeavor, and Shoto Todoroki were the only ones that had a Quirk that allowed them to produce flames. So, is Dabi connected to the Todoroki family?

Dabi’s true identity is Toya Todoroki, and that means that he is connected to Endeavor. In fact, he is Endeavor’s eldest son but was presumably killed many years ago due to an accident involving his Quirk. However, he was saved by All For One and Garaki by turning him into a Nomu-like monster.

The fact that Dabi was Toya Todoroki all along was one of the biggest twists in the storyline of My Hero Academia, as it further added a wrinkle to the narrative behind the Todoroki family and the history behind Endeavor. Fans couldn’t even blame Dabi for the things that he did, considering that he had a sad childhood. So, with that said, let’s look at who Dabi is and how he is connected to the Todoroki family.

Is Dabi Connected To The Todoroki Family?

During the early parts of My Hero Academia, one of the things that we saw was that there were only a few people that had a Quirk that was related to fire. The first character was, of course, Enji Todoroki, who we all know as Endeavor. Enji was a far second to All Might in the pro hero rankings. Meanwhile, his son, Shoto Todoroki, was introduced as one of the prodigious students of UA High School as he had his father’s flame powers and his mother’s ice powers.

However, we also learned that there was another character that had the ability to produce flames. When the League of Villains appeared, we learned that one of the members had flame abilities as well. We are talking about Dabi, whose Quirk is Blueflame, which allowed him to produce blue flames that are even hotter than the flames that Endeavor could produce.

The thing about Dabi is that there were no records of who he was and his history. In fact, his entire backstory was a mystery throughout the storyline, despite the fact that there were clues thrown here and there. Episode 11 of season 6 of My Hero Academia, called Dabi’s Dance, will finally shed some light on who the character is.

In this episode, which was already shown in the manga a few years ago, Dabi will arrive at the back of Gigantomachia to the battlefield where Endeavor and Shoto Todoroki are. It is also here that he will reveal to Endeavor and Shoto that he is Toya Todoroki. That means that he is the eldest son of Endeavor.

Of course, this came as a surprise to Endeavor and Shoto, who were shocked to know that Toya was still alive the entire time. Toya’s supposed death was one of the different events that helped shape the entire Todoroki family. And the fact that Toya was alive the entire time and was hiding in the form of Dabi adds a new wrinkle to the dysfunctional Todoroki family.

What Happened To Toya Todoroki?

While we do know that Dabi is actually Toya Todoroki and was believed to have died many years ago, what exactly happened to him? How were his childhood and death important to the history of the Todoroki family? Well, that’s something that we’re here to look at.

Everything began when Enji Todoroki, the number two hero known as Endeavor throughout the majority of his life, realized that he could never surpass All Might no matter what he did. He was a far second to the symbol of peace. So, if he couldn’t surpass All Might, he decided to have a child that could one day become powerful enough to surpass the greatest hero in the world.

Endeavor agreed to a Quirk marriage with Rei Himura, who had an ice Quirk that was powerful enough to impress him. This marriage produced Toya Todoroki, the first child born to the couple. While Endeavor’s goal was to have a child that had both his and Rei’s Quirk, Toya was born without his mother’s powers but with a Quirk that was more powerful than his father’s Hellflame.

Because of the fact that his Quirk was more powerful than his father’s, Toya was forced to endure harsh training under Endeavor, whose only goal was to make his son stronger than him so that he could one day surpass All Might. Endeavor, at that time, failed to have a child that had both his and Rei’s Quirks, and that was the reason why he was satisfied with the fact that Toya’s Quirk was more powerful than his.

But the problem was that Toya’s body was not born to be able to endure his Quirk. While he did indeed have a power that was stronger than Endeavor’s, his body inherited his mother’s ability to withstand freezing temperatures instead of his own flames. As such, he often suffered burns whenever he used his Quirk. He couldn’t push himself far enough because that would mean that he would end up burning himself, and that was the reason why Endeavor decided to stop training Toya, as he was deemed a failure.

Despite that, Toya pleaded with his father to train him because he still wanted to be a hero. But Endeavor, who knew what would happen if he forced the child to train harder, refused to train him. Toya saw this as a sign of rejection from Endeavor, who was legitimately concerned about what could happen to the child if he forced him to endure the searing flames of his Quirk.

As such, Toya began training on his own despite the fact that his father and his sister didn’t support him. That was when Enji decided to have more children until he could produce one that could satisfy his own ambitions. This produced Natsuo, the third child that ended up becoming close with Toya but was unable to inherit his father’s Quirk. And the fact that Endeavor still wanted to have a child with the perfect Quirk made Toya work harder than ever so that he could eventually make his father proud.

Eventually, Shoto Todoroki was born with the Quirk that combined Endeavor’s fire powers with Rei’s ice-related ability. But Shoto’s birth was the event that forced Toya beyond the breaking point because the fact that he had Endeavor’s desired outcome meant that his entire existence meant nothing. Still, Toya was determined to work harder than ever so that he could be the one to carry his father’s will and legacy.

But Endeavor told his son to stop training because he was concerned about his burn injuries. He told Toya to stop trying to prove himself and to simply enjoy his childhood by playing with his siblings or making friends at school. Still, Toya persisted and lashed out at Shoto.

Enji stopped Toya before he could hurt anyone, and that was what prompted him to ban any of the other siblings from seeing Shoto. Rei, of course, told Endeavor that all that Toya wanted was his father’s acknowledgment. But a younger and more immature Enji couldn’t give that to his son. Meanwhile, Toya grew up questioning his own existence, as he often shared his thoughts and feelings with Natsuo, who often brushed him off as well because Toya always wanted to confide his emotions to him instead of their sister.

Toya’s relationship with his mother was also affected because Rei’s mental health had declined due to Enji’s abusive way of training their children. Of course, Toya also lashed out at his mother when she tried to stop him from training for his own good, as he told her that she only married Endeavor because her family was poor. This further made Toya realize that his existence was meaningless.

While Toya was training, his flames eventually changed from red to blue due to how powerful his Quirk had become. He wanted to show his father what he had accomplished, but Enji only lashed out at him for continuing to train and at Rei for allowing him to use his Quirk. While he didn’t show it, Endeavor was only concerned about his son and the burns he was getting.

Despite that, Toya continued to train but lost control over his flames when he became so emotional. His Quirk was tied to his emotional state, as they burned hotter when he became more emotional. As such, he reached a point where he lost control over his Quirk as his flames reached 2,000 degrees Celsius. His body was said to have been incinerated, as only a part of his jawbone was found.

This event affected the Todoroki family because Rei’s mental state had reached its lowest point, all while Endeavor had to carry the burden of failing to be there for his son when he needed him most. As such, the Todoroki family became a dysfunctional one. Endeavor poured all of his anguish into training Shoto harder than ever.

But the truth was that Toya didn’t die. Instead, he jumped into a lake to calm the flames as all he wanted to do was to stay alive long enough for his father to see what he had accomplished. He survived but had severe burns all over his body when All For One and Garaki found him and took him in.

When he woke up, Toya was surprised to see that he was in a nursery together with other children. All For One and Garaki had told him that they tried to do their best to save his body (they turned him into a Nomu-like creature). The mighty villain also wanted to train him while revealing to Toya that his father always thought that he was a failure. However, Toya tried to escape the nursery because he still wanted to prove himself to his father.

Toya, however, returned to his family in secret to see that they thought that he was dead. Meanwhile, he saw that Endeavor continued to train Shoto hard because the youngest of the Todoroki siblings was the perfect creation that Enji always wanted. That was when Toya came up with the realization that his existence meant nothing to his father.

As such, he resigned himself to his fate and decided to change his name to Dabi after he dyed his hair black. Garaki, who thought that Dabi was only going to survive for a month, was surprised to see that he was able to survive for years. But the truth was that Dabi continued to survive because of the hatred he had for his family, as he ended up plotting the demise of Endeavor while secretly observing him throughout the entire time.