Tenya Iida

**Tenya Iida** (飯いい田だ天てん哉や *Īda Ten'ya*?), also known as **Ingenium** (インゲニウム *Ingeniumu*?), is the class representative of Class 1-A at U.A. High School, and is training there to become a Pro Hero. He is one of the main protagonists of *My Hero Academia*.

## Appearance

Tenya is a relatively tall and muscular young man with a wide frame. He has short dark blue hair, flattened neatly down and parted on the left of his head, a small patch completely shaved near the base of his head, and rather square eyes which match the notably pointed shape of his jaw. He usually wears a serious expression, and his eyebrows seem to be permanently pointed inwards, quite thin and long in length, the far ends sharply hooked inwards, and he wears glasses with rectangular lenses. Because of his Quirk, he possesses calves that are incredibly thick, and shaped like automobile engines, with three silver exhaust pipes protruding from each one.

His hero costume consists of a black one-piece suit with a high collar, over which he wears various pieces of armor, all a pale silver in color, including a chest plate, a metal collar around his neck and another around his upper arm, and metal vambraces that extend past his elbows, pointed at the ends. He wears a helmet covering his entire face, its sharp bevor full of holes to allow him to speak and breathe easily, and its upper piece rounded over his head with two larger holes on either side, two curved horns just behind and a single spike sticking out of the back of his head. On his feet, he wears silver knee-high boots with gold accessories, which are specialized for his Quirk, and around his torso, he has three thick metal pipes, attached with a blue band, although these only serve as decoration. His armor is very lightweight and does not protect him much; its main purpose is to cut down air resistance rather than to protect him.

## Personality

Tenya may look severe, unfriendly and even intimidating at first glance, but he's actually a very straightforward, earnest, intelligent, sophisticated, disciplined and noble person, if not a bit clueless about personal interactions due to his elite upbringing. Thanks to his generally hyperactive and intense behavior, Tenya often exhibits plenty of peculiar tics, such as moving his arms around in strange patterns or sometimes twitching his own body uncontrollably, yet he rarely sheds away his usual strict expression.

Tenya tends to take everything very seriously and is known for his habit of jumping to conclusions, then enthusiastically speaking or acting based on said conclusions. For example, after assuming that Izuku Midoriya had figured out the true nature of the U.A. Entrance Exam (even though Izuku was only acting on a whim), Tenya started acknowledged him as a worthy peer and has since held him in high esteem. Furthermore, Tenya always attempts to immerse himself heavily into practical exercises, playing his part as a hero or villain in an overly theatrical manner, as an attempt to appear more authentic.

Tenya is extremely dedicated to his studies and is always eager to learn new things, regardless if they have anything to do with Heroics. As Class 1-A's representative, Tenya is obsessed with organization and discipline, expecting his classmates to follow suit, which more often than not annoys them due to his usually loud and overbearing nature. At the same time, Tenya takes personal responsibility for the safety and guidance of his classmates in times of crisis, considering it his duty as class representative to protect and keep them away from dangerous situations should they ever arise. Tenya knows how to quickly respond to situations of emergency, making sure to downplay panic and disorder among bystanders.

Tenya is very humble, willing to admit to his mistakes, apologize for rude behavior and improve himself in areas he is lacking. This became clear when Tenya admitted that seeking vengeance against Stain was not the way a real hero should act, and when he decided to leave his damaged left hand unhealed as a reminder of his recklessness while also as a motivation to pursue true heroism. Tenya values honor and fair play, becoming outraged if it turns out that he is being manipulated by more selfish personalities.

Being part of the highly-esteemed Iida Family, Tenya is proud of his lineage and works hard to meet the expectations put on him. Tenya admires his older brother, Tensei Iida (also known as the **Turbo Hero: Ingenium**), and wants to become a hero similar to him. His bond with his brother is so strong that after Tensei was severely injured by Stain, Tenya sought to avenge him by trying to hunt and dispose of Stain himself, breaking several rules of Hero work in the process, which otherwise would be extremely uncharacteristic of him. Having inherited the alias of Ingenium, Tenya now works hard to be able to uphold his brother's Hero name as well as the reputation of the Iida Family.

## Abilities

**Overall Abilities**: Tenya has repeatedly shown that he is a highly formidable combatant. His skills earned him 4th place in the Quirk Apprehension Test, 6th place in the U.A. Entrance Exam, having the second-highest amount of villain points, and 4th place at the U.A. Sports Festival, although he qualified for 3rd place if he had stayed for the closing ceremony. Thanks to his Quirk, Tenya has been revered as one of the fastest students in Class 1-A, and he uses his increased speed to supplement his fighting style which involves powerful, high-speed kicks that can even crush metal. Using his incredible speed and quick reflexes, Tenya was able to defeat Ibara Shiozaki, one of the most formidable students in Class 1-B, and nearly defeat Shoto Todoroki, one of the strongest students in Class 1-A, but the latter blindsided Tenya by freezing his mufflers before encasing Tenya in ice. Shoto and Izuku, two of the most powerful students in their class, have both commented on Tenya's superior speed, and while Izuku has trained himself to keep up with Tenya, Shoto is unable to keep up with all of Tenya's high-speed movements.

When facing the Hero Killer: Stain, a powerful S-Rank villain who bested many pro heroes, which included Tenya's brother, Tensei, Tenya himself was so fueled vengeance, he was almost killed by the Hero Killer. But after Izuku and Shoto arrived to help, Tenya discarded his desire for vengeance and was able to hold his own against Stain while working alongside his two classmates. During said bout, Tenya, with Shoto's help, was able to tap into a new Super Move, "Recipro Extend", in order to help successfully immobilize Stain. Following his run-in with the Hero Killer, Tenya is recognized as one of stronger students of Class 1-A, as noted by Pixie-Bob.[1] During the Joint Training Battle, Tenya, using the advice given to him by his older brother, was able to increase his speed to the point where he is much faster than Gran Torino, who’s revered as the fastest hero in the world. With his new speed combined with his fighting style, Tenya was able to overwhelm Juzo Honenuki, a recommended student, and force him into retreat.

**Keen Intellect**: Tenya was ranked 2nd place in the mid-terms, proving his tremendous academic prowess. He was able to discern that there were parameters of the U.A. Entrance Exam that he was unaware of. Tenya also has strategic and tactical abilities. When facing the Hero Killer: Stain, Tenya recalled how Shoto had frozen his mufflers during their battle at the U.A. Sports Festival and used it as a battle tactic to increase his speed even further in order to blindside Stain. When he was paired with Mashirao Ojiro to battle Power Loader in the Final Exams, Tenya came up with a strategy that involved carrying Mashirao on his back and using "Recipro Burst" in order to swiftly evade the traps Power Loader had set. When it seemed that the Pro Hero was about to defeat them, Tenya quickly thought of another plan, in which Mashirao wrapped his tail around Tenya’s leg, and Tenya himself used "Recipro Extend" to fling Mashirao to the escape gate, while the latter parried Power Loader's attack, quickly securing victory for the young heroes.

* **Leadership Skills**: Tenya is a strong leader, as shown when he was able to calm his panicked peers during an evacuation that was turning into a stampede. Tenya became President of Class 1-A after Izuku resigned and gave the position to him, thinking that he was better suited to the job.

### Quirk

**Engine** (エンジン *Enjin*?): Tenya's Quirk manifests in the form of car-like engines in each of his calves, giving him super speed and extreme kicking power. His engines have multiple gears, allowing him to switch between at least First, Second, or Third Gear (more are implied) depending on the situation. Much like a real engine, his Quirk requires that the exhaust pipes on the back of his legs remain clear of obstructions in order to function properly. Tenya needs to fuel his engines by drinking orange juice.

As part of his training, Tenya engaged in hardcore, long-distance running to increase his leg strength and stamina, so that he can run faster for longer periods of time. During the Quirk Apprehension Test, he ran 50 meters in 3.04 in Third Gear, meaning he ran 51.29 kilometers per hour (36.79 miles per hour).

Sometime before the Joint Training Arc his older brother Tensei told him about a secret family method regarding their Quirk. This prompted Tenya to remove the mufflers from his legs in order to grow new ones to withstand his training. This exhibits his capacity for pain and perseverance. His Recipro now lasts for 10 minutes, as opposed to ten seconds. However, he becomes so fast that he cannot control himself.

### Super Moves

* **Recipro Burst** (レシプロバースト *Reshipuro Bāsuto*?): This move allows Tenya to forcibly accelerate his Quirk, giving Tenya greatly enhanced speed for 10 seconds at the cost of disabling his engines for a short period of time afterward. Even Shoto could not fully evade Recipro Burst and admits that he expected no less of its incredible speed.[2]
* **Recipro Extend** (レシプロエクステンド *Reshipuro Ekusutendo*?): After Tenya manages to cool down the negative effects of Recipro Burst, he regains even more acceleration than before.[3]

* + **Recipro Turbo** (レシプロターボ *Reshipuro Tābo*?): After removing his mufflers and allowing new ones to grow in their place, Tenya became able to accelerate his Quirk and greatly enhance his speed for 10 minutes. The speed this Super Move grants is faster than Recipro Burst and Recipro Extend, rivaling even Jet.[4]

## Equipment

**Hero Costume**: Tenya's hero costume is an armored suit that supposedly decreases wind resistance but is actually mostly for decoration. Contrary to the appearance, his armor is lightweight.

* **Ingenium Boots** (インゲニフット *Ingeni-Futto*?): The boots contain cooling devices and other mechanisms that augment the performance of his engines. As a result, his running distance is greatly extended.
* **Ingenium Helmet** (インゲニメット *Ingeni-Metto*?): The helmet reduces wind resistance.
* **Ingenium Muffler** (インゲニマフラー *Ingeni-Mafurā*?): The muffler is for decoration.[5]

## Battles & Events

**Entrance Exam Arc**

* U.A. Entrance Exam

**Quirk Apprehension Test Arc**

* Quirk Apprehension Test

**Battle Trial Arc**

* Izuku & Ochaco vs. Katsuki & Tenya

**U.S.J. Arc**

* U.S.J. Incident
	+ U.A. Students vs. Kurogiri

**U.A. Sports Festival Arc**

* U.A. Sports Festival
	+ Obstacle Race
	+ Cavalry Battle
	+ Mei Hatsume vs. Tenya Iida
	+ Ibara Shiozaki vs. Tenya Iida
	+ Shoto Todoroki vs. Tenya Iida

**Vs. Hero Killer Arc**

* Hero Agency Internships
* Hosu Incident
	+ U.A. Students vs. Hero Killer: Stain
* Rescue Training Race

**Final Exams Arc**

* First Term Final Exam
	+ Team Iida and Ojiro vs. Power Loader

**My Hero Academia: Two Heroes**

* I-Island Incident
	+ U.A. Students vs. I-Island Security Bots
	+ All Might & Deku vs. Wolfram

**Forest Training Camp Arc**

* Class 1-A Swimming Competition
* Quirk Training Camp
	+ Class 1-A vs. Pixie-Bob
* Vanguard Action Squad Invasion

**Provisional Hero License Exam Arc**

* Provisional Hero License Exam
	+ Crushing of U.A.
	+ Class 1-A's Comeback

**Shie Hassaikai Arc**

* Class 1-A vs. Mirio Togata

**U.A. School Festival Arc**

* U.A. School Festival

**Joint Training Arc**

* Joint Training Battle
	+ Round 3

**Endeavor Agency Arc**

* Hero Interview Training
* Hero Work-Studies II

## Trivia

* Tenya had two known preliminary designs. The first one was noticeably older and hardly resembled the current Tenya. The second one, in contrast, was extremely similar to current Tenya, albeit this design was much slimmer and not as tall or muscular.
	+ Kohei Horikoshi mentions in the first volume that Tenya was created during the serialization meeting and that the character ended up deviating from the original concept (possibly because of the setting being changed to a school one), which may explain the disparity between both designs.
	+ In regards to his hero costume, Tenya was extremely different from his final and current design. Most notably, the original concept featured a helmet with the shape of a dinosaur head.
* Tenya's surname contains the kanji for an old way of saying "cooked rice" (飯 *ī*?) and "rice field" (田 *da*?), and his first name contains "heaven" (天 *ten*?) and the character the interjections "how," "what" and "alas" are written in Japanese (哉 *ya*?).
	+ Tenya's name comes from the Japanese name for Skanda, the Mahayana protector of Buddhist temples (韋駄天 *idaten*?). Idaten is famous for being a fast runner, and is often used as a symbol of a person who is able to run fast.
* According to Tenya's Volume 1 profile:
	+ Tenya likes studying.
	+ His favorite food is beef stew.
* Tenya's known U.A. data is as follows:
	+ Student No. 4 in Class 1-A.
	+ Ranked 6th during the Entrance Exam.
	+ Ranked 4th during the Quirk Apprehension Test.
		- His 50 Meter-Dash record is 3.04 seconds.
	+ Ranked 2nd in Class 1-A's grades.[6]
	+ Ranked 4th during the U.A. Sports Festival First-Year Stage. If he had stayed for the closing ceremony, Tenya would have received 3rd place alongside Fumikage Tokoyami.
		- Tenya received a total of 301 nominations from Pro Heroes for his U.A. Sports Festival performance, making him the 4th most nominated Class 1-A student.
	+ Scored 80 in the Provisional Hero License Exam.
* Tenya's rankings in the Popularity Polls are as follows:
	+ Ranked 8th in both the First and Second Popularity Polls.
	+ Ranked 5th in the Third and Fifth Popularity Polls.
	+ Ranked 9th in the 4th Popularity Poll.
* Tenya's Hero name "Ingenium" might draw inspiration from the Ingenium engine family.
* Tenya's English voice actor, J. Michael Tatum, is engaged to Sir Nighteye's English voice actor, Brandon McInnis.

## Quotes

(To himself, in regards to Izuku Midoriya, Shoto Todoroki, and Tensei Iida) *"I'm a novice. I can't measure up to their standards! Be that as it may... I have to stand up! Never again! Never again will they... or my brother... leave me behind in the dust!"*