Hiro Hamada

"We didn't set out to be superheroes. But sometimes life doesn't go the way you planned. The good thing is, my brother wanted to help a lot of people and that's what we're going to do."

- Hiro Hamada Hiro Hamada is the main protagonist of the 2014 Disney animated feature film Big Hero 6. He is the founder and leader of Big Hero 6, a team of young superheroes. He is based on Hiro Takachiho from the Marvel comic Big Hero 6.

Official Disney bio

 * Robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada has the mind of a genius—and the heart of a 12-year old: his state-of-the-art battle-bots dominate the underground bot fights held in the dark corners of San Fransokyo. Fortunately, his big brother Tadashi redirects Hiro's brilliance, inspiring him to put his brain to the test in a quest to gain admission to the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. When a tragic event changes everything, Hiro turns to a robot named Baymax, and they form an unbreakable bond—and two-sixths of a band of high-tech heroes on a very important mission.

Personality
Hiro Hamada is a young boy with intelligence far beyond his years. Because of this, he can be rather brazen and cocky, but never to the point of arrogance. He spends most of his time using his technology to win money through illegal bot fights, something he prides himself on, though his older brother, Tadashi, heavily disapproves. Whilst Tadashi feels his brother has greater purpose and should attend college, Hiro believes he holds the knowledge of all that there is to know in the world, showing a strong sense of pride.

Despite his brazen nature, Hiro has a much softer side to him, as he's shown to be rather shy in front of crowds and during the process of making new friends, as well as awkward at times. Even so, his compassion is mostly seen when dealing with his older brother, Tadashi who, despite his brotherly nagging, holds a special place in Hiro's heart as the latter's best friend and inspiration. When with Tadashi, Hiro's true colors are shown; showing him to be free-spirited, innocently sassy, warm, and ultimately very loving and appreciative. Such aspects wouldn't be seen again until the void left by Tadashi's demise is eventually filled by the lovable Baymax, who cares for Hiro in the same sense, forming a strong companionship.

However, underneath his kind heart lies a darker core. At some points during the movie, the boy genius would allow his anger to cloud his better judgement and commit acts normally out of the question. He is similar to Yokai (the villainous mastermind responsible for the death of Tadashi) in this respect, as both experienced the loss of a loved one, thus mutilating their hearts to the point where they sought revenge against the wrongdoers responsible, going as far as conscious murder. However, what separates the two and ultimately classifies Hiro as a hero, and Yokai as a villain, is the fact that, unlike Yokai, Hiro not only learns the error of his ways, but makes a serious effort to right the wrongs he's caused as quickly as possible. Such revelations are mostly due to the comforting nature of Baymax, the legacy of Tadashi, and the support of his closest friends, resulting in a newly reformed young prodigy, who values the lives of all human beings, and refuses to carry out acts of justice through the use of violence and murder.

As time would move on following the events of Tadashi's death, Hiro would slowly shape into a heroic, wise, and inspirational leader, following in his brother's footsteps. Such traits passed down include Tadashi's philosophy of "looking for a new angle", as well as the devotion to do whatever necessary to help others and make the world a better place for all, especially the innocent and deserving. As mentioned above, Hiro would notably organize the Big Hero 6 team, vowing to protect the city of San Fransokyo in order to fulfill Tadashi's lifelong dream of helping others.

Physical appearance
Hiro is a 12-year old boy. According to official sources, he is 5'0" in height, and can often be found in his blue hoodie jacket, a red shirt, long dark beige shorts, and dark brown trainers with yellow laces. He's fair in skin and has black hair and brown eyes. When he smiles, a gap in his teeth can be noticed. Hiro's super-suit is made of primarily indigo, red and black armor, with black clothing underneath that covers most of his body, up to his knees, along with steal-toe black sneakers. On his suit are red, magnetic pads, used to carry onto Baymax's armor for transportation and battle purposes.

Powers and Abilities
Unlike the rest of the team, Hiro's armor lacks any real ability, as his true power lies within his genius. As mentioned above, however, his suit enables him to hold onto Baymax whenever the robot takes flight with him aboard, as well as partial protection from destruction. His helmet is also equipped with a communication device, enabling him contact with the rest of the team members despite their distance, if any.

Role in the film
Hiro Hamada is a young prodigy living in the high-tech city of San Fransokyo, along with his aunt Cass and older brother Tadashi, who wants Hiro to become a productive member of society. Despite his high intelligence, Hiro spends his time in underground bot fights throughout the city, which has frequently led to Tadashi having to bail him out of tough situations. One particular night, Hiro takes part in an illegal bot right against champion, Mr. Yama, leaving the battle victorious. Out of spite, Yama and his goons attack the boy, who's immediately rescued by Tadashi. Though they escape Yama and his thugs, the two brothers, along with everyone else involved in the illegal bot fights, are caught by the police and arrested. Hiro and Tadashi are released that same night, on account of Cass, who takes them home, scolding them along the way. The two are able to bypass punishment, but a frustrated Tadashi scolds Hiro on his bot-fighting obsession, wanting him to put his intelligence to better use.

Hiro scoffs the idea and makes an attempt to join another bot fight. Tadashi offers a ride, but instead takes his brother to his school; the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. There, Hiro meets Tadashi's friends; Honey Lemon, a hyperactive chemistry genius, GoGo Tomago, a sassy adrenaline junky, Wasabi, a neurotic neat freak, and Fred, a hopeless fanboy with a love of comics and Japanese Kaiju. Though Hiro is shy and quiet throughout the introductions, he's secretly amazed by the institute, finding the inventions breathtaking, though he doesn't admit so just yet. After meeting the team, Tadashi takes Hiro to his lab, where he introduces him to Baymax; a squishy, white robot, programmed to be a personal healthcare companion. Tadashi explains Baymas was a creation meant to help people around the world, and is revealed to be programmed by a special chip. Tadashi explains the chip is what makes Baymax who he is. After the introduction, the two run into Professor Callaghan, a world-renowned robotics expert, mentor of Tadashi, and Hiro's personal idol. With the help of the clever Tadashi, Callaghan cunningly convinces Hiro to join the institution, claiming the school is a place where the boundaries of robotics are pushed, and geniuses are able to put their brains to the test. Callaghan's words instantly strike Hiro, and after departing the school, he confesses his burning desire to join the institute.

According to Tadashi, the school holds a convention every year, where up and coming geniuses are meant to showcase new creations. Those who impress Callaghan, are accepted into the school. Tadashi then advises Hiro to concoct a creation to do just that, but the boy-genius instantly hits a block of thought and nearly gives up. Tadashi restores his brother's faith by assisting him in enhancing his thought process, eventually leading to Hiro's breakthrough. After a long period of work and planning, with the help of Tadashi, GoGo, Wasabi, Honey, and Fred, Hiro creates the Microbots; miniature robots capable of forming anything that comes to mind through the use of a telepathic headband transmitter. Hiro takes his inventions and showcases them at the convention. Though nervous at first, Tadashi eases his little brother, resulting in a fantastic showcase, thoroughly impressing both Callaghan, as well as famous tech-geru, Alistair Krei. Krei offers Hiro vast wealth in exchange for ownership over the Microbots. Callaghan interferes with the offer by accusing Krei of using technology and science for selfish reasons, advising Hiro to deny the offer. A frustrated Krei leaves the scene, whilst Callaghan congratulates Hiro on his success by granting him admission into the school. In celebration, Cass offers to take Hiro, Tadashi, and the team back to the cafe for free dinner, though Tadashi and Hiro separate to have some alone time.

Once they're alone, Tadashi congratulates his younger brother on his success, proud to see him use his genius for bigger things in life. Suddenly, however, the school's fire alarm goes off, prompting Tadashi and Hiro to rush to the chaos. There, they see civilians escaping. One woman informs the boys that Callaghan is still inside the burning building, and Tadashi decides to go in after him. Hiro tries to stop him, but Tadashi goes forth, not willing to risk losing Callaghan. Hiro tries to follow behind, but before he's able to, the building violently explodes, rendering him unconscious, and killing both Tadashi and Callaghan. A funeral and memorial are held, and Hiro falls into deep depression at the loss of his brother, and best friend. Cass tries to comfort her nephew, but to no real avail. As such, Hiro remains alone, within his room, ignoring both Cass' attempts to cheer him up, and his saddened friends. One day, Hiro accidentally stubs his toe, and his pain summons Baymax, who was originally thought to be out of commission.

Baymax explains he heard the sound of distress, and offers assistance. Hiro denies his offer, and tries to deactivate the bot, only to accidentally stumble upon one of his Microbots, which is still active and trying to reunite with the other bots. Hiro believes both his Microbots and the transmitter were destroyed in the fire, thus ignoring the bots activity, believing it to be malfunctioning. Baymax, however, takes notice of this and acknowledges it, only to have Hiro sarcastically order Baymax to find out where the bot is trying to head, which the robot takes literally and does just that. Hiro chases after a wandering Baymax through the city, and the two eventually find themselves at an abandoned warehouse. The two break in, and they soon stumble upon a machine creating millions of Microbots. As Hiro ponders on the mysterious discovery, the Microbots rise and attack. Hiro and Baymax evade them hastily, and eventually encounter a dark, masked figure named Yokai; the man responsible for the theft of the Microbots. The masked man pursues the duo, but they eventually escape at the last minute, immediately heading to the police station to report the attack.

The two give their claims to Officer Gerson, who finds their story to be rubbish, thus denying them lawful assistance. Just then, Baymax begins to lose battery, forcing Hiro to leave the station and return home to have the robot charge. After sneaking past an oblivious Aunt Cass, Baymax begins to charge and Hiro takes a breather from the exhausting day. Just then, Baymax acknowledges Tadashi's disappearance, asking for his whereabouts. Hiro reveals Tadashi's unfortunate demise, but the mention of the fire being an accident sparks an epiphany. After the encounter with Yokai, Hiro realizes the fire was no accident, and recruits Baymax in helping him take down the masked culprit, wanting avenge his brother's death. As such, Baymax is given a few upgrades, including a super-suit equipped with karate-like battle programming, and a new programming chip, which gives him such abilities. After his new upgrades are put to the test, the two head out to find and capture Yokai. They arrive at the warehouse, only to find it to be vacated. However, using the last Microbot to track him, Hiro and Baymax are led to the docks, where the find the demonic Yokai emerging from the fog with a massive piece of technology. The two go into silent hiding until Honey, GoGo, Wasabi, and Fred arrived, having followed the two there after spotting them snooping about the city, alone.

Hiro advises them to leave, until the group is attacked by Yokai. Baymax tries to battle the masked villain, only to be thrown onto the top of Wasabi's van. The gang retreats from the scene, with Yokai immediately following behind them, following into a chase throughout the city streets. As they try to escape, Yokai makes several attempts to kill the team, but luckily, with GoGo's reckless driving, they manage to escape by driving off a ledge and into the ocean, having Yokai believe them to be dead, thus vanishing once again. Baymax manages to rescue the team and bring them back to shore, and to recover, the group heads to Fred's mansion home. There, they ponder on the true identity of Yokai and how to find him, before Baymax reveals he scanned the masked man's body, allowing them to track him down via body temperatures and other health-related attributes. Before the mission to bring Yokai to justice begins, Hiro decides to upgrade both himself, and the rest of the team, believing they'd have a much better chance if they all join together as superheroes.

After some scientific modifications and training, the group of friends become the team, Big Hero 6, bent on taking down Yokai. To do so, the team believes his mask is his source of power, and the objective is to retrieve the mask to cease his control over the bots. Baymax is the last to be upgraded, and after his new super-suit is revealed, he and Hiro take a test flight for the first time throughout the city, eventually landing on one of the giant balloons towering over the city and overlooking a sunset. Hiro and Baymax take the time to relax and bond for a short moment, which brings happiness to the boy. Realizing this, Baymax asks Hiro if he's satisfied with his care, as his true objective throughout their adventure is to ensure Hiro's happiness and satisfaction, claiming Hiro to be his patient. Hiro denies Baymax's question, and returns to the matter at hand. After scanning the city to find a match to Yokai's health information, Baymax discovers a match on an island not far from the city. The team heads to the area, which is revealed to be an abandoned facility. There, they find a machine in the process of restoration, but are unable to uncover what it is, exactly. However, they soon find a room with recordings taking place in the facility.

After watching, they learn that the facility originally belonged to Alistar Krei, and the machine was a portal meant to enchanted transportation. The test subject, a woman named Abigail Callaghan, was the first to try it out, but as she did, the machine malfunctioned. Instead of calling off the procedure, Krei insisted they move forward, resulting in a tragic accident that left Abigail lost in the portal and apparently killed by the machine's destruction. The incident leaves Krei's facility to be shut down and blocked off, and team then comes to the conclusion that Krei is responsible for stealing the Microbots in hopes of rebuilding his portals. Just then, Yokai returns and attacks once more. A battle follows, and in the process, Hiro attacks Yokai, causing the two to topple down a flight of stairs, which knocks off the villain's kabuki mask. Yokai's true identity is then revealed to be Professor Callaghan. Callaghan confesses his crime of stealing the Microbots, and reveals he used them to escape the fire, alive and unharmed. A heartbroken Hiro reveals Tadashi died trying to save him, but Callaghan cares not, coldly blaming Tadashi for his own death. Furious, Hiro orders Baymax to kill Callaghan. Baymax denies such an action, explaining he's unable to bring harm to a human being, but a blinded Hiro removes the robot's healthcare card, leaving only his programming to battle and destroying, sending him on a violent, mindless rampage in an attempt to kill the professor. Seeing this, GoGo, Fred, and Wasabi tries to fend off the bot, as Callaghan manages to escape.

Eventually, Honey recovers Baymax's health care card, and restores the robot to his original, peaceful settings. Realizing what he's done, Baymax apologizes to the team for causing harm, but Hiro berates them, blaming them for Callaghan's escape. The team retorts by explaining the plan was never to kill Callaghan, but instead bring him to justice. Leaving the team on the island out of anger, Hiro and Baymax return home to recover Baymax's suit. Baymax talks to Hiro about the situation of killing Callaghan, asking if his death would appease the boy. With his mind clouded by thoughts of fury, revenge, sadness, and the loss of Tadashi, Hiro breaks down in tears. Baymax comforts the boy by showing him videos of Tadashi, which he recorded during his creation process. Tadashi's presence and loving words brings enlightenment to Hiro, who thanks Baymax for his comfort. Honey, GoGo, Fred, and Wasabi soon arrive, as well. Instead of being upset with Hiro, they comfort him, as well, understanding his actions and promising to bring Callaghan to justice. Before they set out, the team shows Hiro a recording they found, which reveals Abigail was the daughter of Callaghan, and the entire goal behind his villainy is to extract revenge on Alistar Krei.

The next day, Alister Krei is in the middle of an important showcase, just when Yokai arrives and captures him. Yokai reveals himself to be Callaghan, and the villainous professor reveals his plot to use the newly recreated portal to destroy both Krei's new building, as well as Krei himself. Alistar tries to talk sense into the villain, explaining the incident with Abigail was an accident, but Callaghan ignores him and proceeds with his plot. Just then, Hiro and the team arrives. Callaghan commands them to stand down, but Hiro tries to sympathize with the professor, explaining extracting revenge isn't the way to handle his daughter's death, but Callaghan's fury gets the better of him, and he proceeds to his plans to kill Krei and destroy everything he loves. Hiro and the other battle the villain, but Callaghan soon gets the upper hand, and leaves the team members to die as his plans are set in motion. Hiro uses words of wisdom from Tadashi to successfully guide the team to safety. Hiro then concocts a new plan, instructing the team members to destroy the Microbots whilst he and Baymax take on Callaghan. The plan is set in motion, and Callaghan eventually loses control over the Microbots, whilst the portal, itself, is soon destroyed. With his plans foiled and power stripped, the team apprehends Callaghan, but Baymax senses life without the portal, though the being is in hypersleep.

Callaghan and Hiro realize it's Abigail, and the two journey inside to save her. The two soon find Abigail, asleep in her capsule, and as they make their escape, some of the debris from the destructions strikes them, causing Baymax to lose most of his armor. The two recovers quickly and proceeds with their escape, only to find that the portal is soon closing. Baymax decides to use his rocket-fist to send both Hiro and Abigail to safety, but Hiro realizes this would result in the robot's sacrificial death, and denies such a plan, unable to lose him. Baymax disregards his own safety in share of Hiro's, reassuring his friend that he'll always be with him. Reluctantly, Hiro bids Baymax farewell, telling the robot he's satisfied with his care. With these words, Baymax sends Hiro and Abigail off, leaving himself trapped in the portal and eventually destroyed. Hiro reunites with the others and reveals Baymax's demise, and soon afterwards, the police amd paramedics arrive to care for Abigail and arrest the traitorous Callaghan.

Following these events, Hiro has made a tremendous recovery from his depression, and is shown to spend his days spending time with Honey, GoGo, Wasabi, and Fred, finally joining San Fransokyo Tech as an official student. Within Tadashi's lab, Hiro finds Baymax's last piece of armor; his rocket fist. Within the grasp of the fist, Hiro finds Baymax's original programming chip, and after some work, he's able to restore the robot, reviving him from his demise and reuniting at long last. The two rejoice in their reunion, and Hiro reforms the Big Hero 6 team, bent on protecting the city from any and all problems, finally putting his incredible potential to great use, just as Tadashi has always wanted.

Trivia

 * Hiro is similar to Simba as both are the protagonist of a Disney film (Hiro with Big Hero 6 and Simba with The Lion King.). Both also lose a family member (Hiro loses his older brother Tadashi whilst Simba loses his father Mufasa) and later learn the one responsible from the death was someone they where on friendly terms with (Hiro with Robert Callaghan and Simba with Scar). Both battle and defeat the villain and avenge their family member's death.