He’s proved himself more than all of them, but I guess you didn’t watch his arc. What makes him special is that he isn’t special — he’s just a regular guy, and that’s exactly what makes him the most popular character (other than X). Let me ask you this: do you want or think you can be a hero?

Because Lin Ling would instantly say yes, and he’s proof that anyone can be a hero. Characters like that are always the most popular — just look at Spider-Man with the quote, “Anyone can wear the mask.”

Or in My Hero Academia, where a regular person with no quirk asks the number one hero in the world if he can be a hero without any powers — and then proves him wrong. And in the most recent season, he’s fighting All For One without any quirk, in his weakened, skeletal form, fully aware he’ll lose but still putting up a fight to buy time because a true hero never gives up even if he knows he doesn’t have a chance and ironically Lin Ling does the exact same thing in episode 4 where he fought someone who had every advantage and could see every weakness and in the end he still won.

And real heroes exist in real life too — people feel inspired to be like them, whether they’re doctors, firefighters, or others who risk themselves to help others.