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Dictator

Character

Set loose from Tartarus by All For One, Dictator joins the hunt for Izuku Midoriya with threads that turn passers-by into puppets. He is patient enough to wait until his target is spent, and cynical enough to fight from behind the people he has taken over.

Kanji: ディクテイター
Quirk: Despot
Gender: Male
Status: Imprisoned
Debut Anime: Episode 135
Debut Manga: Chapter 318
English Voice: Reagan Murdock
Former Imprisonment: Tartarus
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Appearance

Almost nothing about his build reads as ordinary. Dictator is short, and his spine curves so severely that his head rides in front of his stomach rather than above it, with long thin arms hanging from a torso propped on very stubby legs. Beady eyes ringed by crosshair markings sit in a round face beside a small triangular nose, and a wide mouth is bracketed by grooves running from his lower lip down to his chin.

His clothes are a dress shirt under a large black coat, and because of how he is put together his head emerges around the chest rather than the neck. Stitched into the coat are the wires he uses on his victims.

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Personality

Caution and calculation define him. He chose his moment against Izuku Midoriya, holding off until the boy had been worn to nothing, and kept controlled civilians between himself and any attack once the fight started.

He puts his faith in numbers, treating a crowd as the surest form of strength.

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History

The Quirk called Despot extrudes threads from his body that let him puppeteer other people, several dozen at a time. Those he takes keep their awareness and their will while losing any ability to act on either. A strong jolt breaks a victim loose, and knocking Dictator out frees all of them at once.

Five years before his return, Crust defeated him in the affair recorded as the "Bloodless Surrender Case" and sent him to Tartarus. That it took a hero in the national top ten to stop him, and a maximum security prison to hold him, says enough about his threat.

All For One's assault on Tartarus emptied the cells, freeing as many prisoners as he could reach in exchange for their loyalty, and Dictator was among the villains ordered to run Izuku down. He picked Kamino, striking when his target was exhausted in body and mind, and seized civilians off the street, all of them hostile to heroes, to fight in his place. Izuku was busy with the puppets while Dictator ringed himself in human shields, until Katsuki Bakugo came down from above and broke through with AP Shot. Shoto Todoroki froze him where he stood, Momo Yaoyorozu bound him in restraints, and the released civilians ran. While Class 1-A's other members tended to Izuku, guard duty fell to Eijiro Kirishima, Toru Hagakure and Yuga Aoyama, who held him until Endeavor arrived, recognized the villain, prepared to return him to prison, and warned the three to watch for accomplices nearby.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Dictator's quirk in My Hero Academia?

Dictator's quirk is called Despot, which lets him extrude threads from his body to puppeteer several dozen people at once while his victims keep their awareness but lose any ability to act.

Why was Dictator imprisoned in Tartarus?

Dictator was sent to Tartarus after the hero Crust defeated him in the incident recorded as the Bloodless Surrender Case, five years before his return to the story.

How did Dictator escape from Tartarus?

Dictator escaped when All For One assaulted Tartarus and freed prisoners, including Dictator, in exchange for their loyalty and help hunting down Izuku Midoriya.

How does Dictator's Despot quirk work?

Dictator's Despot quirk lets him puppeteer dozens of people at once, though a strong jolt frees an individual victim and knocking Dictator unconscious releases everyone under his control at the same time.

Who defeated Dictator during the hunt for Izuku Midoriya?

Dictator was defeated in Kamino when Katsuki Bakugo broke through his human shields with AP Shot, Shoto Todoroki froze him in place, and Momo Yaoyorozu bound him in restraints.

Sources & Information

Looking for more on Dictator? The Dragon Ball Wiki on Fandom has a dedicated page with community notes.

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This content is original writing by Daddy Jim Headquarters based on the Dragon Ball anime series, manga, and official materials. Episode and chapter references are cited where applicable.

Character and scene imagery on this site is original artwork by Daddy Jim Headquarters, not screenshots or licensed imagery. Official cover art is used on three types of pages for editorial commentary:

  • Movie pages: theatrical posters and key visuals, credited to Toei Animation and Shueisha.
  • Game pages: official box art, credited to Bandai Namco, Atari, and other publishers.
  • Manga chapter pages: Jump Comics volume covers, credited to Shueisha and Akira Toriyama.

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