Over the course of five action-packed seasons, My Hero Academia has introduced viewers to dozens of incredible characters, all of whom boast a variety of different powerful abilities.
The superpowers in My Hero Academia are diverse and creative, injecting fresh energy into the rather formulaic superhero genre. Rather than sticking to super strength or super speed, the heroes in this fresh take on a coming-of-age story boast strange and unpredictable powers. While a few of this series’ heroes are more commonplace and recognizable, some wield powers that are truly devastating. Here are some of the strongest.
My Hero Academia’s strongest characters
The characters in My Hero Academia wield strange and powerful “quirks,” or superpowers, which the vast majority of them are born with. These quirks vary widely in strength and style, but when wielded properly can be utterly devastating. No two people are likely to agree on who the most powerful characters in this packed series are, but here are our choices for the top 10.
10. Shota Aizawa
Hero name: Eraserhead
Quirk: Erasure
Eraserhead’s unique ability to eliminate the quirks of other heroes is hugely useful in My Hero Academia. His quirk certainly has its limits and is best utilized in a one-on-one scenario, but it’s overall one of the most practical quirks in the series. As a pro hero, Eraserhead is also immensely capable without his quirk, combining his carefully honed combat skills with ingenuity and tactical knowledge to take down enemies.
9. Anan Kurose
Hero Name: Thirteen
Quirk: Black Hole
A pro hero like Eraserhead, Space Hero: Thirteen is one of the more well-rounded characters in My Hero Academia. She also boasts one of the most devastatingly powerful quirks in the entire series, with the ability to recreate the effect of a black hole. She can create a vortex around her fingertips that swallows anything nearby, disintegrating it into dust.
8. Gigantomachia
Hero name: Gigantomachia
Quirk: Endurance
This villainous character was powerful even before he received several additional quirks. His incredible endurance can carry Gigantomachia through pretty much any fight, allowing him to essentially wait out his enemies. On top of his enviable endurance, the character also boasts incredible strength, speed, durability, and stamina, along with enhanced senses. He also has the ability to grow in size during battles, which feels a bit unfair on top of all of his other powers.
7. Katsuki Bakugo
Hero name: DynaMight
Quirk: Explosion
One of the most important characters in My Hero Academia, Bakugo is a naturally gifted fighter. He may not be quite as good as he thinks he is near the beginning of the series, but Bakugo’s ability to create explosions is more versatile than it may seem. He utilizes the ability in a number of clever ways, using explosions to propel himself through the air, add power to his punches, blind opponents, and attack from long-range. He may not have the best attitude in the series, but he does have one of the best quirks.
6. Shoto Todoroki
Hero Name: Shoto
Quirk: Half-Cold Half-Hot
Unlike most single-quirk characters in My Hero Academia, Shoto has the ability to wield two separate elements. His quirk gives the character the ability to control both fire and ice, though he has a tendency to gravitate toward ice at the beginning of the series. He wields enviable control over his quirk, using it in creative and nontraditional ways to overcome opponents. He’s been known to use his ice ability to freeze opponents, create unstable footing, and to move around on. Shoto has less control over his flame ability — due to years of neglect — but has been working on conquering the bad memories attached to this power. If and when he manages to wield both abilities to their fullest extent, he’ll be a powerful hero indeed.
5. Kai Chisaki
Hero name: Overhaul
Quirk: Overhaul
Another of My Hero Academia’s villains, Overhaul combines his intimidating quirk — which allows him to disassemble and reassemble anything within his range — with a ruthless cruelty that makes him deadly in battle. He has a tendency to rely on dismemberment in combat, destroying his opponents’ limbs and sometimes their entire bodies with a single touch. It seems that his ability could be used for good if he so chose — he’s even capable of bringing people back to life — but he chooses instead to use it for evil.
4. Tenko Tomura
Hero name: Tomura Shigaraki
Quirk: Decay
Shigaraki’s powers have only grown throughout My Hero Academia’s five seasons. As the main antagonist of the series, it makes sense that Shigaraki is an intimidating foe, but his malevolent and amoral personality makes him all the more dangerous. His power, which was already intimidating at the outset of the series, recently grew immensely, after Shigaraki obtained the All For One power. He is now capable of using his decay ability from a distance, making him an even bigger threat.
3. Eri
Hero name: N/A
Quirk: Rewind
She might not look like much, but this gray-haired little girl is one of the most powerful characters in My Hero Academia’s lineup. Eri has the rewind ability, which enables her to revert any living entity back to a specific state. That means that she can de-age people or reverse damage to a body. Her power is strong enough that, even as an untrained child, she accidentally reversed her father out of existence, according to Screen Rant.
2. Shigaraki
Hero name: All For One
Quirk: All For One
The primary antagonist through much of My Hero Academia, All For One can be broadly considered the antithesis of All Might. He is the most powerful villain in the series and leads the League of Villains. All For One’s quirk makes him essentially immortal, which not only gives him a massive boost in battle, but also provides him with an immensely long life. This gives him a definite boost when it comes to tactics and planning, but not nearly so much as his ability to steal his opponents’ quirks. This ability, in particular, makes All For One an utterly devastating villain, and it has allowed him to remain a threat even against the increasingly powerful team of heroes in My Hero Academia.
1. Midoriya Izuku
Hero name: Deku
Quirk: One For All
My Hero Academia saved the best power for its protagonist, providing the youthful and geeky Izuku with the One For All quirk. One For All is a thoroughly unique power thanks to its ability to be passed from one person to the next. Its ability to be passed down means that One For All collects the powers of its previous wielders, resulting in numerous abilities all at once.
By the time Izuku inherits the quirk, it contains not only the ability to stockpile massive amounts of power, but also to store up and release kinetic energy, detect threats in the nearby vicinity, wield deadly black tentacles of energy, emit a cloud of concealing smoke, and the power to levitate. With so many potential powers in his wheelhouse, it makes sense for Izuku to top this list.
Plus, as fans of the series are well aware, Izuku is still learning to control his quirks. If he’s this powerful as an amateur, imagine what he’ll be capable of as a full-fledged hero.