Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia series has taken the anime and superhero genres by storm, quickly becoming one of the most popular series in history.
The appeal of the franchise lies in its innovative approach to the superhero genre, both in terms of storytelling and the quirks of the characters, called quirks.
The abilities in My Hero Academia are balanced, as they have drawbacks, stats, vulnerabilities and/or negative effects on the users’ bodies.
Indeed, even incredible quirks like Shoto Todoroki’s half-cold/half-hot abilities have limitations and problems that prevent them from being all-powerful. So how balanced and limited are the powers of My Hero Academia, which alter is the most powerful? Find our Women My Hero Academia Shirts and Women My Hero Academia Sweatshirts in our online shop along with our collections of clothing representing your favourite heroes.
The Top 20 Most Powerful Alters in My Hero Academia
20) ENGINE
One of the most famous examples of Horikoshi’s approach to superpowers is Tenya Iida’s Engine, which made its debut with us. Engine is an alter of the Iida family that functions similarly to superhuman speed, but instead of being comparable to Flash’s abilities, Tenya’s speed comes from biological engines in his legs.
Tenya can use these engines to run at different speeds and for long periods of time, depending on the equipment he uses. This is an effective variant, but due in part to its lack of offensive or even defensive abilities (beyond running and dodging) and its age, Tenya’s Quirk is ranked low in our rankings.
19) JET
Gran Torino’s Alter, the mentor of All Might’s predecessor, is a more powerful form of Iida’s power. Gran Torino, like Iida’s engine, has built-in organic holes that help propel him; however, rather than in his feet, they suck air with the same force as a jet engine.
Gran Torino’s Quirk is its ability to ricochet off surfaces and gain speed, which puts it far ahead of Tenya’s leg engines in terms of attack. However, as strong as Jet is and as good as Gran Torino is with him, it takes time to build up the momentum to take on more powerful opponents, which lowers the Quirk’s ranking a little.
18) DECAY
Shigaraki’s place in our list is low since he does not play a significant role in the story; however, there are several reasons why Shigaraki’s quirk is placed so low. Firstly, Shigaraki has little control over him, which immediately reduces his score as skill and experience are considered qualities.
Shigaraki’s control is so bad that anything he touches with his five fingers immediately decomposes, making him an easy target (especially since the decomposition spreads if not stopped). It’s also a fairly simple thing to block if you know how the Quirk works. A ranged assault is all you need to deal with one on your own.
17) SUGAR RUSH
Although Rikido Sato does not receive much screen time or narrative time in My Hero Academia, his alter is one of the most powerful abilities in the 1-A class. Sato’s power, known as “Sugar Rush”, allows him to increase his strength by five times for three minutes by eating 10 grams of sugar.
While the fivefold strength is not as strong as other power alterations such as All Might, it is still a considerable boost that can be stored with extra sugar. However, the more sugar Sato consumes and the more his abilities increase, the more his brain function degrades and the more tired he becomes, two drawbacks that keep Sugar Rush in the bottom five.
16) HARDENING & STEEL
Kirishima and Tetsutetsu from Class 1-A are frequently compared to each other in My Hero Academia, the former being said to be almost identical in terms of alter, personalities and hero costumes. Their equality in arm wrestling results from the fact that their Hardening and Steel are so comparable that the sports festival contest had to be resolved by arm wrestling.
Steel and Hardening are alter-egos, turning the users’ skins into much more durable materials. Due to their lack of experience, they are always in the bottom five. Being able to defend against evil is a powerful ability, but Kirishima and Tetsutetsu need to improve their fighting skills.
15) FIBER MASTER
We thought we would rank it a little higher, because being able to manage textile fibres is such a useful and powerful alternative, but compared to other more harmful alterations, it doesn’t go very far. The last five are eliminated. Fiber Master Quirk from Best Jeanist, on the other hand, is still quite strong.
Best Jeanist’s quirk allows him to control the fibers of most clothing, making him the master of all who wear clothing as he can use his alter to bind individuals and even control them as puppets if he wishes. Master of Fibres is a superb quirk, but it may not be up to the standard of fire-based abilities, for example, as they can easily burn away the fibres he controls.
14) DARK SHADOW
Another opponent that could defeat Fiber Master is Dark Shadow, a sentient shadow creature that Tokoyami can command to attack and defend himself. Although limited by his clothing, Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow can move freely and do as he pleases.
The last five are evenly matched. The fact that Dark Shadow outperforms the bottom five is also part of his problem. His power increases when the low light decreases, but this comes at the cost of Tokoyami’s control over him and he can turn into a huge shadow demon in total darkness. Also, too much light could reduce Dark Shadow to a near-nothing state, which is why he is ranked second to Quirks for the next entry.
13) EXPLOSION
Katsuki Bakugou’s explosion is one of the most amazing and devastating in My Hero Academia. The explosion is exactly what it sounds like: the ability to create explosions that Bakugou gets from a nitroglycerin-like substance he sweats out of his hands.
Explosion has a variety of uses beyond simple devastation, and Bakugou is extremely adept at using his power to cover long distances, attack, defend, and, when focused, pierce solid materials.
Explosion has faced a variety of formidable foes, and he was able to defeat Dark Shadow’s power by striking him with his alter’s lightning bolts, another powerful application of his abilities. There is no doubt that Explosion is powerful, but it is not as accurate as some of the other emitter alters.
12) HELLFLAME & CRÉMATION
Although Bakugou’s power is powerful, it is a concentrated fire-like explosion that releases strong shock waves. However, direct fire is a much more precise and far-reaching type of power than the Explosion is believed to be. The almost identical variants of Endeavour, Hellflame and Cremation, for example, easily outperform the Explosion with their considerable strength, area of effect and potential.
It is likely (and widely confirmed) that Dabi is one of Endeavor’s children who became a villain, which is why their abilities are linked. Cremation, on the other hand, can be more intense because its blue flames imply a higher temperature. These flame variants, on the other hand, have proven to be quite destructive and effective against enemies.
11) WHIRLWIND
What, ultimately, can knock down the Fire Quirks? Aside from water-based abilities, which we’ve yet to see much of in the series, strong winds are known to impact fires in some way: either by spreading them or putting them out. This is why Inasa Yoarashi’s whirlwind ranks above Hellfame and cremation. An oddity that outranks hellfire and cremation.
A light wind can help flames spread, making it an ally of fire, but as Yaorashi is able to command his winds with extreme precision, it wouldn’t take much for him to smother the most powerful form of fire. hero, especially as he has the ability to turn air into oxygen.
10) HALF-COLD HALF-HOT
Endeavour, Shoto Todoroki’s father, married a woman with ice powers in an attempt to create a super hybrid alter that could rival All-Might in the hero ranks. With the half-cold, half-hot quirk of his youngest son, Endeavour may have succeeded.
Shoto Todoroki, although not yet at the level to defeat All-Might, is reputed to have one of the most powerful Quirks of his class, and perhaps even of his rank. The accuracy of his shots is not as good as his ice control, but the adaptability and range of Todoroki’s Quirks more than make up for this, so he ranks in the top 10.
9) MUSCLE AUGMENTATION
Another one we planned to rank higher, as the muscle augmentation quirk provided Izuku with one of his toughest fights to date, but this kind of power can’t compete with some of the more distinctive and subtly strong alterations in My Hero Academia.
However, Muscular augmentation is a daunting change on many levels. Muscular can create layers and layers of extra muscle using this power, muscle that allows him to effortlessly break through rock formations and is so huge that it cannot be contained by his skin. Muscular augmentation is one of the most powerful modifications as it gives Muscular both great strength and speed.
8) WARP GATE
If muscle augmentation is not one of the main alterations, you may be wondering what we consider more powerful than super muscle strength. Kurogiri’s Warp Gate Quirk, for example, allows the villain to warp with few restrictions, as the name suggests.
The power of Kurogiri’s Warp Gate is surprisingly great, as he can locate where he wants to go based on coordinates or sight, an unusual alteration that makes him one of the most powerful villains in the world. Kurogiri can also use his Warp Gate to dispatch tough enemies on the ground and even cut them in half by closing portals midway, an assault no muscleman could resist.
7) PERMEATION
What do Kitty Pryde, the face of Tintin and the muscles of a bodybuilder have in common? Mirio Togata is one of three third-year students at the UA Academy. Mirio’s unique talent, permeation, is strong because of his intense training and the fact that he has overcome the disadvantages.
Mirio’s mobility is limited to a point, as he can only pass through solid matter when permeation is activated throughout his body. Mirio is powerless to resist gravity and is dragged through the ground when permeation is used on his whole body. Worse still, when passing through solid things, Mirio has no sensation or ability to breathe. These disadvantages may seem serious at first, but Mirio has gained control of his alter and has become a difficult opponent to catch or even touch.
6) COPY
Although Neito Monoma is seen as a smug jerk who is nothing more than an amusing sidekick, his alter is actually quite powerful and we’re surprised it hasn’t been developed or explained further. Monoma’s alter is a copy, which allows him to replicate the changes of anyone he comes in contact with for five minutes, making him a weaker version of All for One.
Monoma’s alter is so strong that it seems to absorb the skills and knowledge needed to use it, making it virtually unstoppable. This young hero may not be the brightest bulb in the AU, but he should still be considered one of the school’s most promising students.
5) BRAINWASHING
Hitoshi Shinso’s Brainwashing Quirk is the fourth, allowing him to use mind control on those who respond. For this time only, because what makes this quirk great enough to be in the top five is a face mask that debuted in the manga that allows him to distort his voice to sound like someone else.
Even without this gadget, which is not electronic since his alter doesn’t work when going through speakers, Shinso doesn’t need to do much to have total control over many targets. The masks simply help hide his voice from those who know how his brainwashing works. With or without his mask, Shinso has the ability to influence even the most powerful doppelgangers, which explains his presence in the top five.
4) BLOODCURDLE
Although it may seem that alters are just underdeveloped humans, they have the potential to be far more deadly. Although an alter is always a child trapped in an adult’s body (as with the Shinso), its ability to brainwash others makes it far more powerful than it appears. Any kind of power that can paralyse even the toughest of opponents is far more useful than a large muscle group. One such alter is the hero killer Stain, a power called Bloodcurdle that allows the anti-hero to paralyse opponents by consuming their blood.
Yes, it’s pretty gross, but there’s a reason he earned the nickname “hero killer”: his alter ego allows him to stop powerful heroes with nothing more than a little training in the use of bladed weapons. The only drawbacks to this change are that the paralysis doesn’t last forever (although he still has enough time to take out his enemies) and that the different blood types have different expiration dates.
3) ERASURE
Stain’s debilitating alter is quite powerful, but it is not as strong as Shota Aizawa’s erasure, which can remove the alters of everyone it looks at. We believe this alter is more powerful than Bloodcurdle because some heroes are still able to use their alter when paralyzed, whereas erasure removes the main form of attack from an overpowered opponent.
In fact, Aizawa’s true power lies not in his alter, but in his heroic abilities, such as his agility, combat skill and battle tactics. His glasses are meant to disguise the person he targets with his double.
2) ONE FOR ALL
The fate of the My Hero Academia alter hero line is now in the hands of the strongest twins, and One For All is part of the final cut. One For All is an unusual alter that can be inherited, with each user adding their own strength to it, giving it more power with each generation.
There is no doubt that All Might was/is the world’s greatest superhero, able to level entire cities with the air pressure of his blows before he retired. With One For All, Midoriya has a long way to go to reach that level, but he’s shown significant promise and power so far, and we’ll get to see what his enormous potential is when the wounds caused by Quirk are temporarily resolved in later chapters.
1) ALL FOR ONE
All Might is the symbol of peace in Japan, but there has always been someone stronger than him: All For One. The villain’s Quirk, also known as All For One, is the ability to steal other people’s alternate personalities for himself, hence his name. Over time, the villain has amassed an army of alternate personalities, including one that slows down his aging (it’s been around since the first All For One user).
All For One has too many abilities to list, and each one allows him to advance into the realm of the gods. Although All For One was eventually defeated by All Might, we still consider his alter ego to be the greatest in My Hero Academia history.
Of course, this is all debatable. It is simply our opinion on manga. If you disagree with our ranking or have other opinions and theories to offer, we’d love to read your ranking in the comments!
“When you feel like you’re fighting against your limits, remember what you’re fighting for! Remember why you set out on this path and let that memory carry you beyond your limits. Find our My Hero Academia Leggings and My Hero Academia Bodybuilding Clothing in our online shop along with our collections of clothing representing your favourite heroes.
