The following contains spoilers from Season 6 of My Hero Academia, currently streaming on Crunchyroll.While the League of Villains can be quite a handful all on their own, their intimidation factor intensifies greatly when their Nomus are around, as the semi-dispensable foot soldiers hand-crafted by the renowned Dr. Garaki (aka, the wicked Daruma Ujiko.) As some may already know, these multi-purposed monstrosities are actually reanimated corpses that have enhanced genetic structures to help their bodies cope with the strain of wielding additional Quirks.
Nomus often share similar personality traits to their original hosts, so Dr. Ujiko is generally quite selective when choosing his lab rats, preferring to work with villainous origins for a bonus bloodlust effect. Dr. Ujiko drew inspiration for these overpowered creatures from none other than Gigantomachia himself, who may look like a quintessential Nomu but is very human (and alive) indeed.
The Experimentation Process
Nomus are classified into four different tiers depending on their power levels and cognitive abilities, namely:
- Lower: These guys may be at the bottom of the barrel, but they can still possess multiple Quirks and enough strength to give the average Pro-Hero a tough time. (The White Hosu Nomu from the Vs. Hero Killer Arc.)
- Middle: Stronger and more colorful than the Lower Tiers, these Nomu often have Transformative Quirks along with one or two other special features. (The Winged Hosu Nomu and the Chainsaw Nomu.)
- Near-High End: These beasts are well on their way to top-ranking status; however, their cognitive abilities don't quite make the cut. (The hoard of Nomus that awakened in Season 6, episode 6.)
- High End: These elite Nomus are capable of coherent independent thought and can even talk (to an extent), while their Super Regeneration and various collection of Quirks grant them an incredible skillset to work with (The five foes Team Endeavor face in Jaku Hospital.)
The U.S.J. Nomu
The USJ Arc is the first time the UA Students officially meet the League of Villains, along with one of their useful subordinates, whose monstrous size, incredible strength, and inhumane qualities are enough to send shivers up anyone's spine. The black bulking beast accompanies Shikgaraki and Kurogiri as they attempt to catch All Might unawares and, although the students take control of the situation for the most part, as soon as the Nomu gets to work, this Nomu knocks the Heroes right off their game. The Super Regeneration and Shock Absorption Quirk seem undefeatable until the #1 Hero figures out a way to overload the Nomu's system and introduces him to the local penitentiary system.
The Chainsaw Nomu
This guy contributes to both the Forest Training Camp and Hideout Raid Arcs, and, thanks to his awesome character design, is one of the most memorable Nomus so far. While the Vanguard Action Squad runs rampant through the woods, Chainsaw man follows Dabi's instructions and promptly takes Ragdoll, Momo Yaoyorozu, and Yosetsu Awase out of commission.
Taking his Wild Wild Pussycat prize along with him (to hand over to All For One), the Nomu retreats along with his troops but fails to notice the tracking device that Creati sneaks onto his person. There would certainly be a lot more zombified menaces running around for the Heroes to deal with if this Chainsawed creature hadn't led them straight to The Nomu Factory!
The Hazardous Hood
While society is still adjusting to their new #1 Hero during the Pro Hero Arc, the League of Villains stirs the pot a bit by sending Hood after Endeavor to make a public spectacle and insight more fear. Getting introduced to their first High-End Nomu certainly makes quite a scene, and the city of Fukuoka bears the brunt of the damage, particularly after several lower-tier Nomus suddenly spawn from Hood's body (thanks to his Storage Quirk.)
Endeavor would have probably been bested by this potent powerhouse if Hawks hadn't "conveniently" arrived to help, but fortunately, Hood gets burnt to a crisp and deserted by Dabi, who swiftly flees the scene. Interestingly enough, Hood was bestowed with more Quirks than any other Nomu so far, with a total of six different meta abilities at his disposal.
Johnny and Mocha
These little lower-tier Nomus are essentially kept around as Dr. Ujiko's useful pets; simple creatures with only one Quirk each to work with, but an integral part of the villainous scheme nevertheless. While Johnny is in charge of transportation with his Warping abilities, Mocha emulates Twice's powers with a Double Quirk of its own, to help the doctor multitask by sending a puppet to perform his duties at Jaku Hospital.
Both these "babies" were supposed to form part of a failproof escape plan; however, that's before they met their untimely end at the hands of the Rabbit Hero. Strangely enough, for a brainless Lower-Tier Nomu, Mocha clearly understands the gravity of their situation and attempts to save his master, without having been instructed to do so first.
The Wise Woman
Out of the five High-End Nomus held within Dr. Ujiko's secret lab in the Paranormal Liberation War Arc, Woman's fight against the Pro-Heroes is arguably the most interesting, as she begins to show viewers the extent of her intellectual comprehension. This Nomu's ability to strategize becomes evident very quickly, as she keeps changing her fighting style to stay one step ahead of her foes.
Woman (aka Female) rapidly hypothesizes and tests out theories regarding her opponent's limitations and even figures out that Aizawa must be the one responsible for nullifying her Quirks, even though several Heroes had arrived at the scene by that time. Avoiding his field of vision, Woman uses her favorite combo of her Rupture and Liquification Quirks but is eventually overpowered and incinerated by Endeavor's flames.
The Significance of Kurogiri
There is one Nomu who is treated with a great deal of respect in My Hero Academia and gets treated like any other member of the League of Villians; a complete character with a relatively fleshed-out backstory and an almost-humanoid design. Kurogiri has been around since the very beginning, and still forms part of a pivotal plot-point revolving around Aizawa and Hizashi Yamada's childhood friend, Oboro Shirakumo, who was "accidentally" killed and carted off as a guinea pig for Dr. Ujiko.
Kurogiri's Warp Gate Quirk has been a vital component of the Villain's operations, and he seems to be one of few people capable of calming the temperamental Shigaraki down. The mere fact that this compassionate, intelligent, and articulate adversary could ever be classified alongside the other Nomus seems absurd. Even though he is not overflowing with a selection of Quirks, Kurogiri is arguably Dr. Ujiko's most successful undead creation so far.