Now that both the My Hero Academia manga and anime are finally over, it’s the perfect time to take a look back at this shōnen series’ iconic protagonist, Izuku Midoriya (AKA Deku), and how he got increasingly stronger throughout the story. He’s a really inspiring character, seeing how he started off as a quirkless kid with no powers and ended up becoming one of the most powerful Pro Heroes, the one person who changed Japan’s hero society for the better.
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This was all possible for Deku because he inherited the One For All quirk from his role model, All Might. At first, it only allowed him to gradually enhance his strength and agility, but he later unlocked six additional quirks that belonged to the previous One for All users, which, combined with his quick thinking, allowed him to become a beast in battle. There are many moments in My Hero Academia where Deku gets to showcase how overpowered he truly is, and the following eight are the most notorious ones in the entire series.
Destroying The Robot To Save Uraraka
His First Real Time Using One For All
- Chapter 3 (Manga) Episode 4 (Anime)
While Deku rightfully earned the right to inherit One for All and spent months training to accustom his body to this newfound power, this is technically the very first time he used the quirk, and it immediately became evident how incredibly powerful it is.
Right at the end of the U.A. Entrance Exam, Deku saw that a giant robot was about to attack Ochaco Uraraka (whom he had befriended that same day), which gave him the courage to jump in front of it and use One for All to unleash a devastating punch that quickly destroyed the machine. The most impressive part of this achievement is that the robot earned him 0 points for the test, and he stopped it solely to save Uraraka, which proved that he was more than worthy of becoming a hero.
1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash
The Attack That Put An End To One Of The Most Dangerous Villains
- Chapter 76 (Manga) Episode 42 (Anime)
Deku was forced to use his quirk numerous times throughout the early arcs of My Hero Academia, but he wouldn’t star in his first one-on-one fight against a villain who was actually trying to kill him until the Forest Training Camp Arc. When the League of Villains invaded the summer camp, he quickly jumped in to save Kota from a powerful foe known as Muscular.
This fight was quite hard for Deku, due to the villain’s ruthless fighting style and physically impressive quirk, but Kota’s actions inspired him to gather enough strength and unleash a powerful new attack he called 1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash, which was quickly and efficiently able to rip through Muscular’s multiple layers of muscle fibers. This victory was nothing short of spectacular, and it was the moment Deku became Kota’s hero.
Defeating Muscular With One Punch
The Perfect Example Of Deku’s Gradual Growth
- Chapter 308 (Manga) Episode 132 (Anime)
That’s right; Deku fought Muscular on two separate occasions, but the circumstances of their rematch were completely different. Shortly after the Paranormal Liberation War, the villain escaped prison and began tormenting the helpless citizens of Japan. Other heroes tried to stop him, but he was too strong for them, until Deku (who had recently left U.A. High School) arrived at the scene.
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Although All Might may be Deku’s idol, the two share stark differences in a few key areas.
Despite Muscular’s excitement to get payback at the young hero who had defeated him in the past, Deku was able to use his new additional quirks to avoid all of his attacks and land a decisive final punch that knocked the villain out once and for all. The fact that he was able to quickly stop a villain that nearly killed him a few months before is a testament to how much Deku had grown ever since. (Although, Yo Shindo had already slightly damaged Muscular’s muscle fibers with his quirk before he arrived)
United States Of World Smash
Replicating All Might’s Most Powerful Technique
- My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission
The My Hero Academia movies are technically canon, meaning that any feats of strength that Deku showcased in them are still worth pointing out. Needless to say, one of the most incredible and memorable ones is the final attack he used in his fight against Flect Turn in the third movie, World Heroes’ Mission.
His main goal in this fight was to repeatedly attack the villain so he could overwhelm and destroy his Reflect quirk, so he gathered enough power (which includes using Full Cowl at 100%) and unleashed an explosive final attack that was ultimately able to break through Flect Turn’s defenses. Naturally, he called it United States of World Smash, in reference to the Ultimate Move All Might used to defeat All for One. Not only is this an impressive achievement in and of itself, but the movie’s excellent animation perfectly conveyed how truly powerful the attack was.
Dark Might’s Defeat
One Of The Few Villains (Aside From All For One And Shigaraki) That Got To Face Deku At Full Power
- My Hero Academia: You’re Next
The fourth movie in the franchise, You’re Next, sees a post-Dark Hero Arc Deku and friends confronting a powerful villain known as Dark Might who was trying to use his influence and his versatile Alchemy quirk to take over Japan. Naturally, Deku was furious, not only because his role model’s face and reputation were being defaced, but also because Dark Might was exploiting a girl called Anna Scervino to make his quirk even stronger.
At the very end of the film, Dark Might uses Anna’s Overmodification quirk to amplify his Alchemy quirk, but it overloaded to the point that he accidentally becomes a massive monster. While he fought the villain alongside Bakugo and Todoroki, it was Deku who dealt the final blow. It doesn’t seem to be a named technique, but it looked like a destructive and explosive kick that was able to knock Dark Might out and destroy his entire fortress at the same time. As always, the movie’s animation quality made this final attack look even more powerful than it already was.
Overdrive + Detroit Smash: Quintuple
Deku Begins His Final Fight Against Shigaraki With A Deadly New Technique
- Chapter 369 (Manga) Episode 151 (Anime)
After dealing with some unforeseen interference caused by Himiko Toga, Deku was finally able to fly over to the Coffin in the Sky to confront his real opponent: Tomura Shigaraki. Needless to say, this was an important and intense battle in which the protagonist got to showcase his newest quirk, Gearshift, for the first time, and he quickly put it to good use.
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By activating Gearshift on himself, Deku was able to go Overdrive and greatly enhanced his own speed. He used this boost to catch Shigaraki by surprise and land five consecutive Detroit Smashes in quick succession on him, in one of the most awe-inspiring action sequences in the entire series. This was the moment that proved that, despite All For One’s preparations, Deku was more than qualified to finally stop his successor during the Final War.
The Final Punch Against All For One
The Moment That Cemented Him As The Best Pro Hero Of All Time
- Chapter 423 (Manga) Episode 167 (Anime)
Of course, a list of Deku’s most overpowered moments wouldn’t be complete without the decisive final attack that forever destroyed All for One and finally put an end to the Final War. After Tomura Shigaraki’s body was completely possessed by his evil mentor, Deku got some last-minute help from all of his friends and allies, who attacked the villain in order to clear a path for him.
In both the manga and the anime, this is an extremely impressive and emotional moment that perfectly reflects why Deku is such an incredible hero, not only because of his massive strength, but also because of the way he can inspire others to rise up to the occasion whenever necessary. Of course, he also needed some assistance from the previous One for All users and Shigaraki who, deep within the Vestige World, helped him deal the final blow, which was so powerful that it even cleared the sky. Considering that all of Japan watched this final battle on TV, it’s more than clear that this was the moment that cemented Deku as the country’s best hero.
Full Cowl – 100% Against Overhaul
The Only Time Deku Was Even Stronger Than All Might Himself
- Chapter 157 (Manga) Episode 76 (Anime)
While Deku was obviously able to master One for All and increase his strength to an extreme degree, there was one specific moment in the middle of the series that made him seem more overpowered than ever before, even though he only achieved this thanks to someone else’s quirk. During his final battle against Overhaul, Eri helped Deku by using her Rewind quirk on him, which actively undid any damage he was causing to his own body with One for All.
Thanks to this power-up, Deku was able to use his Full Cowl technique at maximum power, and turned it into Full Cowl – 100%. In this form, he was basically able to jump around the battlefield in a way that made it look like he was flying, and unleashed numerous destructive punches that quickly pierced through Overhaul’s gigantic monster form. This was one of the few occasions in the series in which Deku not only was on All Might’s level, but he also seemingly surpassed his mentor in terms of raw power.
My Hero Academia
- Release Date
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2016 – 2025-00-00
- Network
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TBS, MBS, Nippon TV
- Directors
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Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Tsukada, Masatoyo Takada, Naomi Nakayama, Sayaka Morikawa, Takanori Yano
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Daiki Yamashita
Izuku Midoriya (voice)
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Kaito Ishikawa
Manga Fukidashi (voice)
