My Hero Academia has featured some excellent character arcs for its students, ranging from Bakugo and Todoroki on down. However, there's one pro hero who actually grew more than quite a few of the students did, and that pro happens to be Mount Lady.

Mount Lady makes her debut as a pro hero in the first chapter of the manga, causing quite a stir with her outfit and size. She swoops in at the last second to help resolve the situation, and quickly makes herself the center of attention after the villain is dealt with. This slightly annoys some of her fellow heroes, and that sets the tone for Mount Lady's character at the beginning of the manga. She's vain, attention-seeking, and even a bit lazy, as evidenced by Mineta's brief internship with her. But that's just how her character starts out; Mount Lady actually changes a lot over the course of the story.

Mount Lady's Growth is Driven By Necessity

She Becomes a True Hero Only After Realizing the Seriousness of the Situation

Throughout early My Hero Academia, Mount Lady's characterization is unchanged. She does things like get into a fight with Midnight on TV, not really endearing herself to the audience. When Stain shows up and gives his speech about false heroes, one can't help but think of Mount Lady's attention-seeking behavior. But things start to change once Bakugo is kidnapped, and Mount Lady s the hideout raid team. She gets badly injured during the operation, but still uses her Quirk to the best of her ability, successfully preventing the villains from chasing the UA students.

She still hasn't completely changed at this point, however, throwing a fit when she finds out she's "only" ranked 23 in the hero charts despite having started just a little over a year ago. Still, she's considered a competent enough hero to teach Class 1-A about dealing with the media, and proves to have some talent at it. Where Mount Lady really steps up is during the Paranormal Liberation War. Mount Lady is a major figure in the battle, working hard and getting dirty to stop Gigantomachia, though her efforts alone ultimately aren't enough. She even winds up with a facial scar afterward.

Following the war, one might expect someone who was in the hero business only for attention to drop out, like many heroes did. However, Mount Lady doesn't do that. She fully understands the severity of the situation that Japan is in, and knows it's her responsibility as a hero to do something about it. She even mourns her fallen rival Midnight, resolving to stay strong on her behalf. Mount Lady is eager to get on the front lines of the Final War when the attack on the villains is planned, and she's absolutely crucial in controlling the situation at Gigantomachia's lair.

Mount Lady Becomes a Responsible Hero

The Mountain Hero's Reputation Soars As a Result

Mount Lady barely survived the Final War, putting everything she had on the line to stop Gigantomachia, and later, All for One himself. She sacrificed everything, including the looks she valued so highly, all for a chance at stopping the villains. She's critically injured before the Final War ends, missing out on the final confrontation, but eventually recovers and resumes hero work, helping to rebuild the city and repair the damage the villains inflicted.

In My Hero Academia's final chapter (431), set 8 years in the future, the new hero rankings are revealed, and are unsurprisingly dominated by students from Class 1-A and 1-B, as well as some of their rivals from other schools. The highest-ranked Pro Hero who was active 8 years ago is, of course, Mount Lady, finally suring her friend and rival Kamui Woods, and even Best Jeanist and Mirko. It's clear that Mount Lady's change of character was a permanent one, affecting how she behaved as a hero from that point forward, and driving her to the top of the charts as she always wanted.

Mount Lady's character journey is a subtle one that isn't put in the spotlight at any point. From being exactly the kind of "false hero" Stain rails against to being one of the most beloved heroes in all of Japan, Mount Lady proves that there's more to being a real hero than a license, and that it's sacrifice, determination, and hard work that make one a true hero. With the possible exceptions of Endeavor and All Might, Mount Lady grows more than any other pro hero over the course of My Hero Academia, and that growth secured her a spot as one of Japan's top heroes.