Izuku Midoriya

Izuku Midoriya, also known as Deku (デク), is the main protagonist of the My Hero Academia manga and anime series.

Even though Izuku was born Quirkless, he manages to catch the attention of the legendary hero All Might, due to his innate heroism and a strong sense of justice, and has since become his close pupil, as well as a student in Class 1-A at U.A. High School. All Might passed on his transferable Quirk to Izuku, making him the ninth and current holder of One For All.

Following the Paranormal Liberation War, with Tomura Shigaraki and All For One actively targeting Izuku for his Quirk, he decided to leave U.A. before finishing his first year to keep his classmates out of harm's way. After encouragement and support from his friends, he later returns to the school and leads the heroes against the villains in one final, desperate battle to save the world.

Appearance
Izuku is somewhat short for his age, his round face is framed by a short mop of fluffy dark-green hair which curls up at odd angles around his head, casting noticeably dark shadows onto itself. His eyes are large and somewhat circular, their irises the same shade of green as his hair, which at times are very watery, and are usually stretched quite wide, giving him an innocent, energized appearance. He has a set of four symmetrical freckles in diamond formations, one on each cheek.

Though he was initially very skinny, Izuku has gained toned muscles after his ten months of extensive training with All Might, and as the series progresses, these are shown to become more developed and defined as he gradually grows stronger.

After his battle against Shoto Todoroki, the fingers on his right hand became slightly deformed, and his hand shows visible scarring. His right arm was further damaged after his intense fight with Muscular, leaving many more scars. Following his recovery after the previously mentioned fight, Izuku wears a black compression sleeve on the upper portion of his right arm in order to support the heavy damage it sustained: it is partially visible when he wears short sleeves.

During his time in, he wore a plain black uniform with yellow buttons, accompanied by his signature bright red high top boots, which have thick white soles and black laces. While at home, he wears a green over a white shirt and gray sweatpants.

At U.A., he wears the standard male uniform: a light gray blazer with dark turquoise trimmings over a white dress shirt and dress pants, along with a red tie which he doesn't do up properly, leaving it much shorter than how it should be. Instead of the plain brown shoes worn by the majority of the student body, he still sports his signature red shoes.

Izuku's first hero costume, known as "Costume Alpha," was a light green full-body jumpsuit with a red belt, elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves, along with his signature red boots. He also wears a mask with long ear-like protrusions that resembles All Might's haircut, and a respirator with a makeshift smile on it that also reflects that of said hero. The costume was severely damaged as a result of his first battle against Katsuki Bakugo and had to be repaired, so during the U.S.J. Arc and My Hero Academia - Save! Rescue Training, Izuku had to wear the U.A. gym uniform. This attire consists of a dark blue high-collared tracksuit with thick white lines over his torso and down his legs, forming the letters "U" and "A," and along with this, a respirator.

His second hero costume, known as "Costume Beta," has a few changes and now looks sturdier and more combat-ready in appearance. The color is now a darker teal with black outlines instead of white. It includes light beige shoulder pads, and its knee pads have been extended to his legs, now reaching up to his thighs. His new gloves are also tinted light beige and are decorated with blue stripes. His respirator is now metal, diamond-shaped, and has eight holes. Izuku goes without a mask in his second suit, and although the mask is still present, he doesn't wear it much.

During Class 1-A's week of Ultimate Move Training, Izuku had his costume upgraded again to suit his new fighting style, Shoot Style, by adding iron soles to his red boots to increase the power of his kicks. Arm braces were added, and his knee pads now have yellow bolts fastened into them (they were originally added in his second costume in the manga). He called this collection of upgrades "Costume Gamma".

Izuku's fourth hero costume, known as "Costume Delta," makes some minor alterations from his previous hero costume. Before the U.A. School Festival, Mei Hatsume creates support gloves to better help him use his powers for long-range attacks. Prior to the Joint Training Arc, Izuku adds the gloves to his hero costume and uses them in combat.

During Mission: Humarise, Izuku and his classmates at the Endeavor Agency are given special advanced stealth costumes by the World Heroes Association for their mission at Otheon. Izuku's stealth costume was redesigned based on his Delta Costume, consisting of a black suit with teal-green highlights on the lines, equipped with black iron soles and black boots. This costume also includes two silver plates on his shoulders with the letters "WHA" and two straps coming down from his upper body pads with a red button on the left.

After the Paranormal Liberation War, his costume was damaged, so he wore Gran Torino's cape, as a memoir to his former mentor and to the deceased Nana Shimura. Due to his arm bracers and gloves being destroyed, he wore four Mid-Gauntlets to support his arms and legs, as well as the old gloves from his beta costume. In addition, Izuku wore his mask much more frequently in order to conceal his identity. Interestingly, him wearing the mask now cast shadows over his eyes, which causes only his green eyes to be visible. This appearing feature is very similar to All Might's look, who has his blue eyes shine through the shadows. This is Izuku's fifth hero costume, known as "Costume Epsilon."

Following his fight with Lady Nagant, Izuku's left arm Mid-Gauntlet is partially destroyed, leaving it practically useless. After the explosion at All For One's mansion in Haibori Woods, Izuku gains an overall monstrous appearance that is stained in blood and filth. His costume, cape, and gloves become more damaged and torn, his respirator appears to have gathered rust and chipped edges, and his iron soles becoming crooked like talons. In addition to his monstrous appearance, Izuku also constantly sprouts up to six Blackwhip tendrils from his back, which Hanta Sero commented was what kept scaring civilians.

After finally recovering and returning back to U.A., Izuku temporarily wore his U.A. gym uniform, before his Costume Epsilon was eventually rebuilt, accompanied by a new pair of Air Force Gloves attached to make-shift Mid-Gauntlets created by Mei, alongside Gran Torino's cape formed as a scarf. The costume has a darker green color, gold outlines instead of black, blue kneepads, and foregoes the cowl altogether, whilst retaining the damaged respirator from Costume Epsilon. This serves as Izuku's sixth hero costume, known as "Costume Zeta."

Personality
Izuku is a very timid, reserved, and polite boy, frequently overreacting to abnormal situations with exaggerated expressions. Due to yeаrs of being looked down on by Katsuki for lacking a Quirk, he is initially portrayed as insecure, tearful, vulnerable, and non-expressive. These traits are especially present around Katsuki, who also constantly harangued him for his aspirations to become a hero. However, after being accepted into U.A., making new friends, and facing Katsuki during the Battle Trial Arc, Izuku gradually matures into a more confident and brave person who's always eager to prove his worth as a hero, eventually developing strong leadership skills, which combined with his passion and strategic abilities, have turned him into a central figure within Class 1-A alongside Katsuki.

Izuku is a quite diligent and strong-willed student, being extremely (and sometimes scarily) enthusiastic about topics related to heroes. His dream drives him to write down notes about everything he learns in regards to heroes' Quirks and fighting capabilities. Thanks to this practice, Izuku has developed a great analytical mind and can form complex battle plans in a few seconds, factoring in the best ways he can utilize the Quirks of allies and enemies alike for his own advantage.

Izuku externalizes his observations through endless mumbling, a habit that annoys or creeps out his peers. Izuku often writes down his observations in a variety of notebooks he titles as Hero Analysis for the Future, checking on them regularly during school activities or at night.

Izuku is caring and emotional, never hesitating to help or rescue someone in danger, even if he knows that he might not be strong or otherwise qualified enough to do it. Often, he does this on instinct, taking a more careless approach than the usual overthinking he goes through and putting himself in peril in order to protect someone. All Might claims that this trait gives Izuku the most important natural and innate instinct to be a hero; the pure and genuine desire to help people. However, Izuku putting others' lives above his own can go to the extreme, to the point where he has little to no sense of self-preservation. Katsuki speculates that the bullying Izuku received for being Quirkless made him internalize that his life has less worth. Izuku will routinely break his arms for the sake of others, even if it's not completely necessary, such as demanding Shoto to unlock his full potential by using his fire side. This can make Izuku somewhat short-sighted, as he continued to break his arms, despite warnings he could permanently paralyze them and cut his hero career short. Eventually, Izuku relented, adapting his battle style to put less strain on his body. Though when he's in a particularly tight situation, he'll pull back on old habits.

Izuku is known to help or lecture people with personal and emotional problems, regardless if it's his business or not, claiming that a hero should meddle in other people's lives. This audacious spirit, while initially viewed as perplexing or even insane by others, is also recognized by many, and has earned him the loyalty, gratitude and respect of characters that were previously antagonistic towards him such as Tenya Ida, Shoto, Hitoshi Shinso, Kota Izumi, Sir Nighteye and even the likes of the Hero Killer: Stain and Lady Nagant.

He has a strong fascination with heroes and is shown well-versed in their history, sometimes even surprising the heroes themselves with his vast knowledge of their abilities and past exploits. He is prone to geeking out and rambling on about the heroes he meets, often bringing up their history and accomplishments, while also being eager to share this knowledge with others. Of all heroes, the Symbol of Peace, All Might, has impacted and modeled Izuku's life the most. Many of Izuku's decisions and actions result from his desire to become a Pro Hero similar to All Might, and thus he has a great devotion to him.

Izuku is an avid collector of All Might merchandise, has knowledge of his numerous feats of heroism (no matter how minor), and emulates many of his traits. Having inherited his Quirk, one of Izuku's current priorities is to be able to live up to his idol's legacy, as he is always looking for ways to improve his usage of One For All, being aware of the immense pressure that comes with succeeding the greatest Hero of all time. The unwavering trust and approval Izuku receives from All Might has been vital to his development as a hero, especially when the aforementioned feelings of self-doubt and unworthiness plague his mind.

Izuku appears to have a more brash and abrasive side to him, which typically shows up when he finds himself in combat. This side of him makes him act more like Katsuki, being rather loud and unwavering, and also with a strong drive towards victory. He claims that this is because he sees Katsuki as the embodiment of what someone who strives for victory should be. He has also admitted that he doesn't like this side of him very much and tends to keep it in check. He does, however, find himself giving in to this almost feral rage when in dire situations and faced against opponents who had brutally hurt people he cares for, like in his battles against Overhaul and Tomura.

Izuku also possesses an empathetic side and has developed a desire to want to understand the villains he has faced, and potentially save them from themselves. While initially believing Tomura to be a madman who just wants to meaninglessly hurt others, after learning about his tragic history and sensing the pain in his heart through their connection between One For All and All For One, this re-invigorates his belief that a great Hero is someone who saves others, not kills, and because of this, desires to learn how they became villains and see if there is any way to prevent a fight, though he does concede he very well may have to kill Tomura. While he is not naïve in this ideology and will resort to violence if there is no other option, like during his second fight with Muscular, he truly wishes to reach out and help villains recover and reform themselves, even giving Kai Chisaki (whom he was still bitter towards) the chance to save his boss should he make amends with Eri. At the same time, Izuku desires to save Tomura from his life of villainy and pain, even when such a notion feels unlikely and is deemed pretentious by others, showcasing his great sense of humanity.

Following the conclusion of the Paranormal Liberation War, Izuku had begun to drastically change his behavior. After suffering from the trauma brought on by the War, seeing countless innocent people have their lives ruined by the current state of society, having All For One relentlessly target him for his Quirk, and bearing the responsibility of protecting his friends, Izuku became more cold and distant towards others. When All For One vowed to break him both physically and mentally, he became increasingly paranoid about how much harm he will bring to those who are around him. The overwhelming stress and burden resulted in him rushing into fights and leaving behind All Might and the other Heroes looking after him so that no one else will get hurt. His disregard for his own wellbeing becomes the worst it ever has been as well, neglecting to look after his basic needs like sleeping and eating. Katsuki has noted this behavior to be very similar to how All Might was when he was the Symbol of Peace. This increasingly driven, serious side of him has even caused civilians to note that he doesn't look like a hero. After his friends from U.A. get through to him and take him back in, these traits seem to have diminished, with him now being determined in stopping All For One alongside his friends, teachers, and allies.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: Izuku's greatest asset prior to receiving his Quirk was his vast knowledge of fundamental hero skills and tactics. Izuku studied Pro Heroes for years and is able to apply that knowledge during crisis situations in a practical manner. His immense bravery and desire to become a hero were also important factors in giving him the mentality to protect others. Before gaining his Quirk from All Might, he took on the Sludge Villain and rescued Katsuki because of his boldness and application of heroic skills, something that deeply impressed the No. 1 Hero.

Upon training with All Might, Izuku inherited One For All from him and was granted the ability to harness a stockpile of powerful energy. He can move faster than the eye can see and take down an enormous villain bot in a single punch, but the physical backlash at the time prevented Izuku from being able to fight properly or compete with his peers on an even playing field. Even so, he still possessed impressive physical durability, and his drive allowed him to withstand the drawbacks of One For All for the most part.

Despite the intense drawbacks of One For All, Izuku's wits provide him with ways to use One For All that is still effective in battle. He also retains his ability to act instinctively based on his notes and possesses basic hand-to-hand combat knowledge. By applying those correctly, Izuku is able to fight toe-to-toe with even the strongest students of Class 1-A, such as Katsuki and Shoto.

Under the tutelage of Gran Torino, Izuku acquired more control over One For All, leading to the creation of One For All: Full Cowl, a technique that would eventually become a key component of his fighting style. With Izuku gaining greatly enhanced maneuverability, strength, and a significant reduction in the physical backlash created when using his Quirk uncontrollably, he was able to drastically improve his overall fighting capabilities; his newly attained abilities garnered praise from Gran Torino, who noted that Izuku was on a higher level than he was compared to the Sports Festival. This specific improvement enabled Izuku to compete more closely with his classmates in the physical aspects of the Hero Course and even allows him to fight properly against top villains like the Hero Killer: Stain, who had single-handedly bested various Pro Heroes.

As Izuku's mastery over his Quirk improves, so do his practical skills. Also, when his skills and experience increase, so does his confidence, which is said to be a source of inspiration to his classmates as well. His body, however, still remains relatively vulnerable to One For All's drawbacks, which gives Izuku a disadvantage against enemies like Muscular or Overhaul, whose Quirks were proven to be too powerful against One For All's weaker outputs, forcing scenarios where Izuku had to sacrifice his body in order to go all out. In order to protect his own body, particularly his arms, Izuku eventually develops his own unique fighting style, diverging himself further from All Might's.

Currently, Izuku is acknowledged by his classmates as a strong, reliable, leading figure, with both his strength and intelligence being respected equally. However, Izuku's Quirk is still an enigma for them (including Izuku himself), which makes him an unpredictable ally for better or worse. As Izuku keeps growing, so does One For All, and with the prospect of having new abilities unlocked in the future, Izuku has to work even harder in order to fully dominate the Quirk that was passed to him.

By the time of the Paranormal Liberation War, Izuku's skills have grown exponentially to the point that he is able to fight alongside exceptional Pro Heroes such as Eraser Head, Gran Torino, and even the current number one Pro Hero, Endeavor. But his biggest feat thus far is holding his own against the Grand Commander of the Liberation Front, Tomura Shigaraki, who is powered by All For One and a modified body with strength comparable to All Might, and forcing the all-powerful villain on the defensive despite the latter easily overpowering the top Pro Heroes.

Following the aftermath of the Paranormal Liberation War, Izuku has displayed even greater mastery over his Quirks and showcased the ability to easily outmaneuver his enemies with Blackwhip and 45% of One For All, detect danger without gaining sensory overload, prove En wrong by creating a new Ultimate Move using Smokescreen, and easily alternate between his arsenal of Quirks in his fights with Muscular and Lady Nagant. In his fight against Class 1-A, Izuku displayed himself to be easily capable of fighting on even terms with some of U.A. High School's most powerful students and was shown capable of completely dominating them even when severely outnumbered before succumbing to exhaustion and stress.

During the course of the Final War, it is stated that Izuku is the only one who has a chance at defeating the fully powered Tomura, and in their final encounter, he has achieved equal standing with Tomura in terms of strength and speed despite the latter changing into his final form.

Trained Muscles: Usage of One For All requires the user to have strong muscles, as One For All is a lot to handle and could cause the user's body to be blown apart if they don't possess the necessary bodily strength. Having been trained by All Might for 10 months in order to get his body physically ready to inherit One For All, Izuku gained a muscular physique that lets him perform at parameters higher than that of an average student outside U.A.'s hero course. During the Quirk Apprehension Test, he demonstrated a grip strength of 56 kilograms and the ability to run the 50-meter dash in 7.02 seconds (15.93 mph/25.64 kph). Even after these events, Deku diligently trains his muscles every day and becomes physically stronger throughout the series. He is often seen running laps and using dumbbells or grippers to train during his free time. Deku can also be observed doing the air chair exercise during the breaks between classes.

Immense Stamina: Izuku has shown on many occasions that he is capable of handling large amounts of pain. Such times were mostly side-effects of overusing his Quirk and frequently led to various broken bones. Izuku is able to avoid those repercussions by staying in a safe range of One For All power output (currently, this is around 45%).

Should he be forced to output more power, Izuku is still capable of fighting decently even with broken limbs thanks to the effects of adrenaline, but will succumb to exhaustion a while later. Izuku also has to be wary of his arms, which have grown damaged due to his repeated injuries and could eventually stop working altogether if he doesn't restrain himself.

After multiple months of hard work and training with the No. 1 Pro Hero Endeavor, Izuku has become much sturdier and resilient when it comes to the drawbacks of his Quirk, allowing him to withstand the recoil from 100% attacks without being instantly incapacitated. He has also shown an even greater pain threshold, when he managed to endure multiple smash attacks at 100% and attacks from Tomura while still standing.

Izuku has shown to even be capable of operating for days on-end without eating or sleeping, going across Japan and fighting multiple villains. Even when severe sleep deprivation and physical exhaustion accumulated, Izuku still fought against powerful villains for nearly a month and made it very difficult for his former classmates to restrain him for a lengthy period of time before finally collapsing.

Immense Strength: Even without his Quirk, Izuku has shown high levels of physical strength for a person his age. During his training with All Might (who weighs 255 kilograms or 562 pounds), he was shown to be able to lift him on his back while walking. During the sports festival, he could lift a slab of metal roughly the size of his body and wield it as an effective weapon to cleave a one-point bot in two.

When using One For All, his strength further increases to a variety of boundless levels: at 5%, he can shatter metal pillars with a single punch, at 8%, he can lift a steel I beam one-handed. At 15%, he could lift several vehicles in the air with the aid of Blackwhip. At 30%, he can lift a bus full of people one-handed and run fast enough to evade Tomura's decay and restrain the enhanced Tomura with aid from Blackwhip and his anger.

During the Dark Hero Arc, Izuku's strength increases even further and he can now use 45% as his regular output with no backlash. Using 45%, he could defeat a weakened Muscular with a single punch when he was unsuccessful before, casually collapse a building when fighting his classmates, and even managed to break out of Fumikage Tokoyami's Ragnarök, shocking his friends.

At 100%, Izuku's strength surpasses even the level of All Might, this allows him to commit astonishing feats. He could easily destroy a massive Villain Bot with a single punch, annihilate a twelve story building, create torrents of wind pressure with a flick of his fingers, and create a massive explosion with a single punch.

With the Second User's Quirk, Gearshift, and the Third User's Fa Jin combined, he can make his punches even faster and build enough kinetic energy feedback, inflicting catastrophic damage to "Tomura" during the Final War, as each punch breaks the sound barrier, to the point Mirio notices the delayed sound of the punches before it can be heard. This combination increases his strength from his 100% limit to what is described as 120% in power.

Immense Speed and Reflexes: Izuku possesses great speed and reflexes with and without Full Cowl. He can react in time to defend from Shoto's ice which has been shown to occur in the literal blink of an eye and can keep up with Katsuki's movements in their first fight.

When using Full Cowl, his reflexes and movement speed elevates to higher levels; at 5%, he can keep up with Tenya's Recipro Burst which can move faster than the eye can see, at 8%, he proved to surpass Katsuki's own speed and quickly and easily overwhelmed Hitoshi in combat in spite of Hitoshi's improvements, at 20%, he could outpace Overhaul and at 30%, he can keep up with the enhanced Tomura's speed. At 45%, he was capable of keeping up with Lady Nagant's bullet and was even capable of dodging several of her shots, as well as keeping up with Muscular's movements which he previously could not follow.

At 100%, his speed rises to levels rivaling or even surpassing that of All Might, which allows him to casually blitz capable villains and move several times faster than the eye can see. During his fight with Overhaul, he could completely outspeed the villain and move fast enough to create afterimages, and later completely overwhelm him with an instantaneous rush of punches. When fighting against Tomura Shigaraki, he could effortlessly blitz the villain and severely damage his weakened body, despite him possessing speed rivaling that of All Might and outclassing that of Gran Torino.

With his Faux 100%, Izuku's speed is on par with All Might's in his prime. Izuku overtook a already fired and moving sniper bullet from Lady Nagant. This allowed him to reach and push Overhaul aside, even before the bullet was able to finish the last small part of the entire distance. With this technique, his speed is so great that, even in an exhausted state, it took the combined effort of Class-A just to catch up with him.

After Izuku unlocked and mastered the Second User of One For All's Quirk, Gearshift, his speed is incredibly enhanced, enabling him to leave the sound of his attacks far behind his movements. His speed has increased so drastically that every punch he makes delayed a sound before it can be heard. "Tomura" stated that even his eyes are completely incapable of keeping up with him at this speed.

Immense Durability: Izuku has shown the ability to withstand explosions from Katsuki without One For All and with 5% he's taken building-sized explosions from Katsuki and attacks from Muscular. At 30% of his power, he's withstood blows from the enhanced Tomura, who is said to have power rivaling All Might himself. At 45%, he withstood being shot by Lady Nagant and even managed to survive a massive explosion triggered by All For One. Upon facing his classmates, Izuku was capable of withstanding several powerful attacks such as Fumikage's Ragnarök, ramming full-speed into Shoto's Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall, and even withstanding a collapsing building with little to no injuries.

At 100%, Izuku's durability and endurance rise to extreme levels, making him appear virtually invulnerable to physical trauma. In his fight against Tomura Shigaraki, he could withstand several attacks from the PLF leader and his own Quirk's backlash. In his fight against Nine, Izuku proved easily capable of completely nullifying several of the villain's attacks. However, Izuku's durability has shown to depend on the amount of injuries he has sustained, with minimal injuries providing the greatest results.

Keen Intellect: Izuku has proven to be exceptionally intelligent on many occasions, displaying both keen observational and analytical skills as well as sharp intuition and resourcefulness. His grades are among the highest of his class, showing that his One For All training rarely interferes with his studying. Izuku's intelligence has probably been a more useful asset to him than One For All so far.

Izuku is a quick learner, which has helped him figure out most One For All's mechanisms in a short span of time and work around its limitations. While some of his moves have been directly inspired by All Might (if not, outright copied), the majority of Izuku's moves and techniques were all conceived by him during sudden sparks of inspiration, proof of his creativity.

Izuku also has extensive knowledge of Pro Heroes, his classmates, and their Quirks, taking notes of them in great detail in his Hero Analysis for the Future. This is fruit of excellent observational skills coupled with his own desires in becoming a hero by learning from the best, meaning that Izuku always has a natural interest in expanding his knowledge further and further.

Izuku is an exceptional strategist and tactician. By combining his aforementioned quick learning and knowledge about Quirks, Izuku is able to devise plans that take advantage of his friends' abilities to the fullest. Izuku's calculations have been crucial at several moments of his school life, allowing him to earn victories, such as in the Battle Trial; escape dangerous situations, such as the U.S.J. Incident; and save lives, such as in the Vanguard Action Squad Invasion and Kamino Incident. Indeed, in his battle with his classmates, he used his knowledge of their powers to his advantage and easily overcame a majority of them, shocking a few of them with his skill.

His intelligence is greatly respected by everyone in Class 1-A as many of his peers look up to him for planning and follow his strategies to the bottom line. Even Momo Yaoyorozu, the smartest student in the class, has looked up to Izuku as a reference.

Adaptability: Thanks to his analytical abilities, Izuku is able to replicate the techniques of others. For example, after training with Gran Torino and gaining minor mastery of One For All, Izuku was able to duplicate Katsuki's moves during a training exercise. After training and drawing inspiration from his classmate, Tsuyu Asui, Izuku has become proficient enough with Blackwhip to generate a dark tendril from his tongue, allowing him to replicate her "Froppy Style" combat.

After unlocking more assimilated Quirks from One For All, Izuku can craft and combine some of the Quirks to make custom Ultimate Moves such as Blackchain, Faux 100 Percent, and Faux 100 Percent: Manchester Smash.

Leadership Skills: As a natural consequence of his bravery and strategic mindset, Izuku has displayed incredible leadership skills on various occasions.

By the start of his U.A. life, Izuku had already earned the trust of Ochaco Uraraka and Tenya thanks to his actions in the U.A. Entrance Exam, which was enough to allow him to be voted class representative early on, although he relinquished the position to Tenya shortly after. Tsuyu and Minoru Mineta also placed their faith on Izuku during the U.S.J. Incident, following his instructions with little hesitation. By the time of the First Term Final Exam, he had already fought alongside Katsuki and Shoto, who were previously antagonistic to him.

Izuku might not be aware of this, but he is one of the main motivators within his class alongside Katsuki, thanks to a combination of his heroic drive and practical intellect.

Indomitable Will: Throughout the series, Izuku displayed an extraordinary level of willpower as one of his greatest traits. Following his goal to become the greatest hero, Izuku has been shown to develop great determination and willpower through out the series. While feeble and doubtful at the beginning, Izuku steadily developed and proved his strong-will power against far menacing adversaries, people doubting and believing in him, and proven to be stronger than many of his classmates. He was the first one to move his body after All For One induced great fear onto him and his classmates. Even when Sir Nighteye foresaw Izuku's death and Eri's failed rescue, he refused to give up and promised to change fate. He has constantly displayed the ability to never give up no matter how severe the injury. When fighting Overhaul, Izuku continuously steeled his resolve to save and protect Eri. Even after being severely injured and feeling the drawbacks of using One For All at 20%, he still kept on fighting against the villain until going all-out with 100%.

During the Paranormal Liberation War, Izuku displayed his resistance against Tomura's terrifying aura. While he did hallucinate his death for a moment, he quickly recovered from it and showed no fear when confronting the villain. When all hope seemed lost, Izuku decided to do everything in his disposal to stop Tomura, no matter what would happen to himself afterwards and knowingly going for the risk of forever losing his arms or worse. Even after shattering his arms and legs and horrifically injuring himself, he developed the Froppy Style with Blackwhip after being inspired by Tsuyu Asui and desperately attempted to capture Tomura.

After the Paranormal Liberation War, Yo Shindo notices the change and development of Izuku's willpower, stating that he gives off a totally different vibe. Even when Izuku went to confront All For One in the Haibori Woods mansion, he only showed his anger-filled eyes and determination of defeating him. During the Dark Hero Arc, Izuku's will takes a large toll as he begins to succumb to the stress and trauma of the war, as well as leaving U.A. He began to over-exert himself, under-eat, and constantly fend off villains, while showing extremely worrying behavior. He eventually decides to leave behind All Might in order to track down the PLF himself. In reality, Izuku chose to commit these actions to protect his friends from anymore harm, not wanting more people to get hurt or killed due to his actions. This behavior is further enforced after the horrific disfigurement of Lady Nagant right in front of his eyes, which further increased his rage and hatred towards All For One. Eventually, after being rescued by his friends, having Katsuki Bakugo apologize to him for his actions, and Ochaco Uraraka publicly defend him, he finally leaves behind this depressive state and steels his resolve to fight against the villains.

Quirks
One For All (ワン・フォー・オール): Transferred to him from Toshinori Yagi, Izuku's Quirk allows him to stockpile an enormous amount of raw power, allowing him to significantly enhance all of his physical abilities to various boundless levels. This results in unbelievable levels of strength, speed, stamina, agility, and durability. When Izuku activates One For All, red, vein-like lines course throughout the empowered part of his body.

Izuku can focus the stockpiled power into a single body part, or spread it across his entire body evenly, though, focusing the power in a single part puts a greater strain on that part of his body. He is also able to control what percentage of his full power that he uses. Since he was not born with this power, his body was not naturally suited to handle it, however, over time and with continued training with it, his body has become more accustomed to bracing for the strain. He is currently able to handle 45% of his full power without breaking his bones, with 30% being his normal output.

The Quirk factors of the previous power holders have merged with the core of One For All and have drastically increased in strength since. This grants Izuku the ability to access and utilize the Quirks of the previous holders of One For All. He can even use more than one of these assimilated Quirks at a time, granting him even more options in battle. The known Quirks within One For All are:
 * Gearshift: The Quirk of the second user. This Quirk allows Izuku to change the speed and/or velocity of any target he touches, including himself. This allows him to greatly accelerate his own speed and/or the velocity of his target, and enhance the impact force of his own strikes. After years of being empowered within One For All, Gearshift has evolved into an unusual power that cannot be wielded the usual way. It has also been designated as a last resort.
 * Fa Jin: The Quirk of the third user. This Quirk allows Izuku to build up and store kinetic energy by performing repetitive movement. He can later release this stored energy as an explosive burst of speed and power.
 * Danger Sense: The Quirk of the fourth user, Hikage Shinomori. This Quirk allows Izuku to detect threats in the surrounding area. Due to the amplification of One For All, the detection causes a stabbing sensation in his head and it takes a toll on his body.
 * Blackwhip: The Quirk of the fifth user, Daigoro Banjo. This Quirk allows Izuku to generate tendrils of black energy from his body that are good for grappling. It is useful for grabbing things from long distances, capturing opponents, and increasing Izuku's mobility.
 * Smokescreen: The Quirk of the sixth user, En. This Quirk allows Izuku to generate a thick cloud of purple smoke from his body. This smoke can cover a very wide area and obscure peoples' vision.
 * Float: The Quirk of the seventh user, Nana Shimura. This Quirk allows Izuku to suspend himself in mid-air, granting him flight.

Izuku also has access to a subconscious realm where vestiges of the consciousnesses of the previous One For All holders dwell. These vestiges can trigger Izuku to activate One For All without any conscious input from himself, as seen when he was under the control of Hitoshi's Brainwashing Quirk and illusionary shadows of these echoes appeared in his vision. Izuku currently has little to no control over this aspect of One For All, being unable to freely enter or exit, his body not being fully materialized, which limits his movement within the realm, and only being able to talk through muffled sounds since his mouth has not fully manifested yet. However, Izuku has reached the point where he can freely communicate with the vestiges of the previous users while still conscious. Izuku is the first holder of One For All known to have gained access to this realm while still alive.

Ultimate Moves

 * Detroit Smash (デトロイトスマッシュ): The same as All Might's move, except Izuku does it in the form of an uppercut or a straightforward punch.
 * Detroit Smash: Quintuple (デトロイトスマッシュ): Izuku enhances himself with Gearshift and performs five Detroit Smashes in quick succession.
 * Delaware Smash (デラウェアスマッシュ): Izuku flicks his finger to create a powerful wind pressure shock wave that has enough force to break large chunks of ice made by Shoto. Due to using this attack at 100%, it fractures the finger, limiting the time he can use this move without gravely injuring himself up to ten times.
 * United States of World Smash (ユナイテッド ステイツ オブ ワールド スマッシュ): This Ultimate Move is Izuku's variation of All Might's United States of Smash. Izuku begins this Ultimate Move by increasing his power levels using One For All: Full Cowl - 100% and starts unleashing a violent volley of punches. After this, he runs around his opponent, building up momentum and increasing air pressure before delivering a devastating kick. This was first used against Flect Turn.
 * One For All Full Cowl 3.gif One For All: Full Cowl (ワン・フォー・オール フルカウル): Through his training with Gran Torino, Izuku was able to unlock this stage of his power and get better control of his Quirk. This technique allows Izuku to utilize a percentage of the full power of One For All throughout his body, by letting the power course and flow through him instead of concentrating it in one location. According to Izuku, this technique gives him greater maneuverability. Activating this technique gives him immense strength, speed, mobility, and agility. It also prevents him from breaking his bones when attacking. The cost of using this technique reduces the damage of how much his attacks do since instead of centering the power into a certain area, Izuku spreads it throughout his body. Izuku has been steadily improving the upper limits of the percentage of One For All that he could safely use with this technique since its creation. Izuku's initial limits at the time of creating the technique only allowed him to utilize 5% of the maximum output. During Izuku's fight against Katsuki after the Provisional Hero License Exam, he further improved this limit to 8%. Since his battle against Overhaul, Izuku was capable of using 20% without breaking his bones. At the start of Izuku's internship with Endeavor, he described his percentage limitations to be in the interval of 10% to 15% of his full power without any extraneous load and had also stated that he could use 20%, but not without causing immense pain that would majorly hinder his mobility in battle. By the start of the Paranormal Liberation War, Izuku improved this limit to 30% with the extraneous usage limit of 45% of his full power. When Izuku activates Full Cowl, red, vein-like lines course throughout his body that coincides with the energy flowing through him. When fully active, his body and eyes start to glow with a green, bio-electric aura.
 * 5% Detroit Smash (5パーセント デトロイトスマッシュ): Izuku activates One For All: Full Cowl at 5% then jumps into the air and delivers an enhanced downward punch to the opponent. He has also used this move in the form of a straight, forward-facing punch.
 * Double Detroit Smash (ダブルデトロイトスマッシュ): Izuku and All Might combine their Detroit Smashes into a single, devastating charge. They performed this final attack against Wolfram, shattering through a humongous chunk of metal and causing a huge explosion that destroyed Izuku's Full Gauntlet.
 * Delaware Smash Air Force (デラウェアスマッシュエアフォース): Izuku uses his upgraded gloves that Mei made for him to direct a blast of compressed air against his foe, possessing enough concussive force to stun Gentle Criminal while he was in mid-air, giving Izuku an opening to catch up to him. By using all five of his fingers, he can launch up to four Delaware Smashes simultaneously. It requires 20% of his power to use it effectively using One For All.
 * One For All - 30%: A technique that allows Izuku to use 30% of One For All in his right arm. This percentage was used in conjunction with Melissa Shield's Full Gauntlet, which nullified any drawbacks to using One For All at higher percentages. Because of this, it is unknown how this state affects Izuku's body under normal conditions. With 30% Izuku was able to effortlessly blow away security bots with vast amounts of wind pressure created by the punch.
 * One For All - 45%: A technique that allows Izuku to use 45% of One For All. He's only able to bring this level of power out for a brief period of time; to keep it from wrecking his body he activates it just before the moment of impact.
 * St. Louis Smash Air Force (セントルイス スマッシュエアフォース): Izuku arches his leg back and performs a strong vertical roundhouse kick, firing a large blast of compressed air.
 * Izuku uses 100% on Muscular.gif One For All - 100%: A technique that allows Izuku to attack using the full power of One For All in the desired part of his body, with the cost of said body part breaking upon execution. Further usage of the same limb after an initial attack can cause scarring, as seen with his fights against Shoto (causing Izuku to get surgery on his right hand due to injuries) and Muscular (leaving multiple scars across his right arm).
 * 100% Detroit Smash (100% デトロイトスマッシュ): This move involves Izuku activating One For All at 100% in his arm and then striking his target with a lunging punch.
 * 1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash (1000000% デトロイトデラウェアスマッシュ): This move is the strongest smash move in Izuku's arsenal, which involves him activating One For All at 100% during an adrenaline rush and then striking his opponent with a full-swing attack. When performing the move Izuku first uses a full-handed Delaware Smash, then delivers a devastating Detroit Smash. During the climax of his battle with Muscular, Izuku managed to overpower and launch his augmented opponent with enough force to create an impact crater in solid rock with the strike alone, thus defeating the villain.
 * Texas Smash (テキサススマッシュ): Izuku throws a punch in order to create wind pressure in order to blow objects and people away. This move is first used to critically damage Tomura during the Paranormal Liberation War.
 * Wyoming Smash (ワイオミング スマッシュ): Izuku draws out 100% of his power into his arms, then proceeds to spike his opponent on the head, creating a powerful shockwave as a result. This technique was first used against Tomura during the Paranormal Liberation War.
 * Full Cowl - Shoot Style.gif One For All: Full Cowl - Shoot Style (ワンフォーオール フルカウル シュートスタイル): While using One For All: Full Cowl, Izuku uses a fighting style that focuses more on kicking. Izuku concentrates One for All: Full Cowl's effects in his torso and legs rather than his arms, allowing him to put out even more power due to the fact that the human leg muscles are naturally stronger than the human arm muscles, granting him enough power and stability and allowing him to step away from the shackles of having to imitate All Might.
 * St. Louis Smash (セントルイス スマッシュ): While using the Shoot Style, Izuku leaps into the air and before swinging around to deliver a roundhouse kick to the opponent's face. Izuku used this move to incapacitate Gentle Criminal, who had been empowered by La Brava's Lover Mode Quirk to match Izuku's use of One for All: Full Cowl at 8% of its power.
 * One For All: Full Cowl - 20%: Izuku uses 20% of One For All's full power and distributes it throughout his body, giving him even greater power and speed boost.
 * Manchester Smash (マンチェスタースマッシュ): Izuku leaps into the air and flips forward to bring down an axe kick upon his opponent. Although Kai Chisaki managed to evade it, the attack itself pulverized the ground thoroughly enough that Kai wasn't able to completely retaliate with his Overhaul Quirk.
 * One For All: Full Cowl - 30%: A technique that allows Izuku to consistently use 30% of One For All. He was able to utilize this level of One For All near the end of his first year of high school, during the war with the Paranormal Liberation Front.
 * One For All Full Cowl - 100% (Anime).png One For All: Full Cowl - 100% (ワン・フォー・オール フルカウル 100): Izuku activates One For All to its fullest extent throughout Full Cowl, granting him a tremendous boost in speed and strength that not only rivaled that of All Might but allowed Izuku to easily overwhelm the likes of Kai Chisaki. This was first used against Kai Chisaki to protect Eri. The power increase seemingly gives him fire-like trails coming from his eyes and light-colored hair. He can currently only use it infinitely with no damage done to his body while in physical contact with Eri. Since Eri has the ability to Rewind the state of a person's body, any damage done to Izuku's body by using One For All at 100% would continually be undone by Eri's Quirk which proved useful in his fight with Overhaul.
 * Froppy Style (フロッピースタイル): Using Blackwhip, he shoots a singular tendril out of his mouth and uses it like Tsuyu does with her tongue.
 * Full Blast: Izuku uses Smokescreen at its maximum, producing a wide area of smoke, blocking the view of his opponent and potentially himself, as well.
 * Pinpoint Focus: Using Blackwhip, he quickly shoots a long-ranged tendril at a specific target to attack them.
 * Faux 100 Percent Manchester Smash.gif Faux 100 Percent (100): Izuku draws out 45% of One For All's power, and combines it with the stored kinetic energy generated by Fa Jin. By doing this he is able to draw out the blinding speed of using One For All at 100%, without the recoil that comes with it.
 * Faux 100 Percent: Manchester Smash (100 マンチェスタースマッシュ): Izuku activates Faux 100 Percent, and lands an axe kick on to his opponent at blinding speed.
 * Blackchain: By combining Blackwhip and Fa Jin, Izuku is able to create a chain that is able to ensnare and launch opponents at great distances.
 * Transmission (トランスミッション): Izuku rushes towards his opponent and punches them several times, with each punch increasing the speed of Gearshift affecting his opponent. These shifts in speed are labelled as "gears."
 * Overdrive: Izuku uses Gearshift and Fa Jin on himself, increasing his speed and boosting his power to catch up to opponents and unleash powerful attacks on them. The force he unleashes is described as 120% of One For All.

Equipment
Costume Zeta (コスチューム): The sixth iteration of Izuku's hero costume. After his previous outfit was almost completely destroyed, this new patchwork includes most of the primary features of the previous versions, including the improved arm bracers and the iron soles to support his arms and legs. The hood has been removed, replaced with Gran Torino's cape as a scarf. The damaged mask from his previous costume remains a part of this one. Full Gauntlet (フルガントレット): Created by Melissa, it was given to Izuku after she figured out that he was limiting his output of One For All, during the faux villain course at the I-Island Expo. The device allowed him to use his Quirk at higher percentages without the risk of self-injury. The gauntlet was later destroyed at the climax of Izuku and All Might's fight against Wolfram.
 * Iron Soles (アイアンソール): Created by Mei, these Iron Armor Soles attach to Izuku's signature red shoes. Upon kicking something, the soles absorb the impact and redistribute the kinetic energy back out to increase the impact strength of Izuku's kicks. Izuku requested the soles to strengthen his kicks after resolving to change his fighting style.
 * Air Force Gloves: Created by Mei, these gloves allow Izuku to focus and aim bursts of pressurized air that he creates by flicking his fingers. This allows Izuku to use long-range projectile attacks using One For All. After Izuku's battle with Tomura during the Paranormal Liberation War, the gloves, along with the arm bracers, were completely destroyed, but later received a new version of them from Mei.
 * Mid-Gauntlet (ミッドガントレット): Presumably created by Melissa after the Paranormal Liberation War, similar to the Full Gauntlet, it allows Izuku to use One For All's power in higher percentages without the worry of harming his body, though will break if used at 100%. Following his fight with Lady Nagant, Izuku's left Mid-Gauntlet is partially destroyed, leaving it practically useless. He later receives new replica versions of the Mid-Gauntlets from Mei.

Chapter Appearances

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Anime Appearances

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Trivia

 * Izuku was originally planned to be an adult, as seen in the one-shot My Hero.
 * In the early concept stages of My Hero Academia, Izuku was known as "Mikumo Akatani." He had a longer and curlier hairdo, with bangs blocking one of his eyes. He was Quirkless in this concept, relying more on makeshift gadgets and luck to deal with obstacles. His hero costume was also slightly more intimidating. The costume was shown in a sketch having an orange color scheme.
 * Kohei Horikoshi once commented that he was unsatisfied with Mikumo's design, especially his hair. This made Horikoshi think up the current design with slightly shorter hair. He also received suggestions from editors to give the protagonist an actual superpower, so he wouldn't naturally fade into the background.
 * According to Izuku's profile in Volume 1:
 * His favorite food is Katsudon.
 * He was deliberately designed to look plain.
 * Regarding Izuku's academic life and performance, his U.A. data is as follows.
 * Student No. 18 in Class 1-A.
 * Ranked seventh during the U.A. Entrance Exam.
 * Ranked twentieth (last) for the Quirk Apprehension Test.
 * His fifty-meter dash record is 7.02 seconds. His previous record was 7.49 in middle school.
 * His grip strength record is 56 kilograms (123.459 pounds). His previous record was 40 kilograms (88.185 pounds) in middle school.
 * His softball throw record is 705.3 meters (2313.98 feet). Without his Quirk, it's 46 meters (150 feet).
 * Ranked fourth in Class 1-A's mid-term grades.
 * Ranked in the Top 8 of the U.A. Sports Festival First-Year Stage.
 * Izuku received only one nomination from Gran Torino for his U.A. Sports Festival performance, technically making him the tenth most nominated Class 1-A student.
 * Scored seventy-one in the Provisional Hero License Exam.
 * Initially, Izuku was voted to be 1-A's class representative, before he decided to willingly pass the position over to Tenya.
 * Izuku's surname contains the kanji for "green" (緑) and "valley" (谷), and his given name contains "coming out/being from a certain place, one's turn to go on" (出) and "long ago, old story" (久).
 * "久" is also homophonous to "nine" (九), which refers to him being the ninth user of One For All.
 * "Deku" (デク) is another reading of his first name, Izuku (出久). Written with different kanji, it can refer to a wooden figure or puppet, which is a term often used as an insult for someone who can't do or achieve anything.
 * Izuku's nickname, "Deku," was given to him by Katsuki when they were children as an insult.
 * According to Kohei Horikoshi, the inspiration for the name Deku was from Kenji Miyazawa's poem "" (Be Not Defeated by the Rain).
 * Later, Ochaco finds the nickname inspiring and says that "Deku" gives off a feeling of "I can do it" (る), because of its similarity to the word meaning "to be able to do" (できる).
 * In the Funimation dub, both Katsuki and Izuku indicate that his nickname is an abbreviation of a different nickname: "Defenseless Izuku," hence Deku.
 * Izuku's rankings in the Popularity Polls are as follows;
 * Izuku ranked first in the first Popularity Poll.
 * Izuku ranked second in the second, third, fifth, sixth, and seventh Popularity Polls.
 * Izuku ranked third in the fourth Popularity Poll.
 * He shares his birthday with Mirio Togata and Rapt Tokage.
 * His Quirk is listed as "Super-Power" (超パワー) in public records, in order to protect the secret about One For All.
 * Izuku's alpha costume cost only ¥40,380 ($370.53 U.S. dollars) to make.
 * Izuku's later costumes share the same designer as Shoto's.
 * Izuku's Japanese voice actor for when he was a child, Akeno Watanabe, also voices Nemuri Kayama and Mika Jiro.
 * Izuku is one of three characters (along with Nine and Gigantomachia) with the third most amount of Quirks, possessing a total of seven Quirks.

Quotes

 * (To All Might) "I have to work harder than anyone else to make it! I'll never catch up otherwise...! I want to be like you...! Like you. The strongest hero."
 * (To Katsuki) "I'm not gonna be your worthless punching bag Deku forever... Kacchan. I'm... I'm the Deku who always does his best!"
 * (To Shoto) "Just trying to meet expectations! A smiling... dependable... cool hero... That's what I wanna be! That's why I'm giving it everything! For everyone! Your experiences... your determination... I can't even begin to imagine what all that's like... but... If you become number one without giving it your all... Then I don't think you're serious... about denying him everything! That's why I have to win! I have to surpass you!"
 * (To Tenya) "I-I've got a lot to say to you, but... That'll have to come later...! Because it's like All Might said... Giving help that's not asked for... is what makes a true hero!"
 * (To All Might) "I'll do my best! Whatever you say, All Might... I'll step up to the challenge! As long as you're by my side, I can do anything... That's how I feel, anyway!"
 * (To Kota) "If all the villains attacking tonight are on his level... everyone's in trouble. And they might be after us students. I need to tell Mr. Aizawa and the Wild, Wild Pussycats what I know. If my actions can save any of them... Then I've gotta do something."
 * (To Overhaul) "If I can't save one little girl right in front of me... Then how can I ever hope to be a hero who saves everyone?!"

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