My Hero Academia/Characters/One For All and its Torchbearers

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One For All (The Quirk)
Originally thought to be a useless quirk help by the first user of One For All, it was revealed to be far more than that. As the only quirk that can pass itself on to others and only by the holder's wishes, it cannot be forcibly removed or stolen making it immune to the power of All For One. It was combined with a power stockpiling quirk that would allow it to accumulate power over time as it's passed on making each successive user even stronger then the previous one. One For All has become the only Weapon that can reliably used to counter All For One and many of it's users have come into conflict with that villainous leader of the underworld.


 * All Your Powers Combined: It's later revealed that not only does One For All get stronger with each generation, it also absorbs/imprints the quirks of previous users. This eventually manifests for the ninth user, Deku, giving him the ability to able to wield all of the quirks of the previous users.
 * Difficult but Awesome: One For All has gotten so powerful that it is very dangerous for any new user to activate without intense physical training even before they receive it. It then takes more training for their bodies to acclimate to the powers so as not to destroy themselves. However, once they master it, One For All is one of the most ridiculously powerful and broken quirks in the entire world.
 * Good Counterpart: One For All is almost a perfectly inverted reflection of All For One:
 * One For All can only be given to others and All For One can only take while being impossible to be given to others without a painful medical procedure.
 * One For All imprints the quirks of those it's passed on to but only gives those quirks to its current torchbearer and changes/grows over time where as All For One takes quirks directly from others and can give those same quirks away but itself doesn't change or evolve and the other quirks don't add to it's power but are resources to be used.
 * The spirits of the quirk users in both of them take on different rolls and attitudes. The spirits in All For One are condemning and haunt the user in their dreams. They also cannot be directly conversed with and don't affect user's mind or personality save for the original user of the base quirk All For One who will try to dominate the user. These spirits disappear when the quirk they were attached to is given away. The Spirits in One For All stay in the quirk as the quirks imprinted become a permanent part of One For All. Additionally, the spirits are friendly and help the current user while being able to directly converse with them. While they can affect the user's actions, they only do so when they need to but don't otherwise try to control the user.
 * All For One ability to take quirks is analogous to gluttony in that while any number of quirks can be stolen and used, the user's body has limits that All For One Does nothing to mitigate. While there are no issues starting out and it's easy to use in the beginning but over time if enough quirks are stolen then the user might suffer a Superpower Meltdown and destroy themselves. One For All has gotten so strong that successors need extensive training to use it and carefully draw out its power but once mastered, there is no risk of overload to the user (provided that they were quirk-less to begin with).

The Torchbearers in General
Tropes common among all of the torchbearers of One For All.

"He rages for the sake of others. For them, he does his best until he can do no more. This young man is possessed by a drive to save others that eclipses all common understanding. Our power is his, and we shall follow him."
 * The Chosen One: A Zig-Zagging Trope that is Played Straight in one instance and Averted Trope in another.
 * It's an Averted Trope for all but the two most recent users when it comes to One For All being passed on. Everybody but Toshinori Nagi and Izuku Midoriya got One For All just as the current user was dying and never really had the chance to be trained by their predecessor. They were simply the closest comrads of the current users who happened to be there at the time.
 * It's Played Straight for the current torchbearer and particularly for Izuku Midoriya. Part of the reason why All For One cannot steal One For All is due to the interference of the spirits of the previous users living inside the quirk. They can choose whether or not to help the current user and often choose to provide aid subtly to each current possessor. This is even more pronounced with Izuku Midoriya as he is the only user to be able to go into a special mental world that allows him to comminucate with the previous users spirits in One For All. The first himself states his admiration and respect for Deku's courage and Heroic Resolve and has even stated to his brother that Midoriya gaining the power wasn't a mistake.


 * Fling a Light Into the Future: None of them except for all might were strong enough to defeat All For One and so had to entrust their power to a successor while each time hoping their successor would be the one to defeat All For One.
 * The Immune: One For All is a quirk that can be passed on and only to a person of the user's choosing. This makes it immune to the affects of quirks that can steal/remove other quirks. While All For One believes this could be overcome through sheer will and power, the first attempt made by the ungraded and more powerful Tomura ended in failure though it's unclear if this is because Tomura hadn't fully acclimated to his new body and power, if his will wasn't strong enough, or if One For All is just impossible to steal. All For One seems to be banking on making Tomura's body and will being strong enough while weakening Midoriya by playing on Deku's sympathies and desire to save people to hold him back from fully fighting against Tomura. The spirits in One For All can also help in resisting All For One's power and both the first and Nana Shimura helped Deku fight off All For One in the vestige world.
 * Master Apprentice Chain: It's a Zig-Zagging Trope as only Toshinori Nagi and Izuku Midoriya seemed to be trained extensively by their predecssors due to the fact that most of the time users of One For All were dying due to wounds inflicted by All For One and passed One For All on shortly before death.
 * The Unchosen One: While they each were literally chosen by their predecessor, many of the early ones were chosen out of necessity rather than preference and usually passed on One For All to their nearest comrade while dying at the hands of All For One. Only Toshinori Nagi and Izuku Midoriya were selected and groomed to be successors.

Shikagari, ??? (The First)
The first User of One For All. He was constantly infirm and sickly during the outbreak of quirk manifestation. The younger brother of the villainous All For One who contrasting his sibling bore a great sense of justice and did everything he could to oppose All For One. While initially thought to be quirk-less, he instead had a quirk that could only be passed on to the possessors choosing. While by itself it was useless, it absorbed a power stockpiling quirk All For One forced onto his younger brother allowing the quirk to accumulate power through each successive generation. In modern times, only a few know of the first user of One For All and the legacy he created to ensure All For One's eventual defeat and to protect the people from his evil brother.

"I'm incredibly glad that you, of all people, inherited One For All."
 * Cain and Abel: With his brother the older Shikagari AKA All For One. He is the heroic Abel to his brother's villainous Cain.
 * Failure Hero: Zigzagged. He tried to stand up to his brother, but failed. Still, given the way his quirk evolved and became stronger with each recipient until passed down to All Might, it would seem he did get the last laugh on All-For-One.
 * For Great Justice: His view opposing his bother's is the belief in justice and that the strong should protect the weak.
 * Magikarp Power: What his quirk actually turned out to be. Instead of it just being a quirk with the ability to be passed on, it's real power was to pick up the quirks of the people it's passed on to. With each new person, it acquires a new power and gets stronger. This is what also allowed it to absorb the power stockpiling quirk giving it a continuously growing fuel tank of power to draw on. Eventually, the energy is so great, it allows the other quirks to manifest and also grow in power to match the stockpiled energy.
 * Not So Different: While their views are diametrically opposed, he does share many traits with his brother All For One. They are both ridiculously stubborn and determined, both fight for their ideals while placing them above all else, and both have the abilities to gain additional quirks although in very different ways.
 * The Paragon: The first user of One For All and the one that started the chain of torchbearers, passing on his quirk to others so that it could grow stronger and one day stop his evil brother. All of the subsequent users of One For All follow in his footsteps.
 * So Proud of You: Has expressed admiration and deep respect for Deku and his Heroic Resolve along with his Heroic Spirit. When Midoriya meets in him in the vestige world he tells him that he is extremely pleased that Midoriya was chosen as a successor.


 * What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: His quirk seemed almost useless when he had it...
 * Heart Is an Awesome Power: Until he passed it to someone else, and its true potential was discovered.

Toshinori Yagi - All Might (The Eighth)

 * Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga), Episode 1 (Anime)
 * Quirk: One For All (formerly)
 * Voiced by Kenta Miyake (Japanese, TV Anime), Tessho Genda (Japanese, Vomic), Christopher Sabat (English dub, TV Anime)

The highest-ranked hero in the world and a pillar of hope and justice for heroes everywhere to follow. After an intense battle with a dangerous super-villain, he can only be his heroic self for up to three hours a day. After he hits his time limit, he becomes a lanky, skeletal man who constantly coughs up blood. Only a select few staff at U.A. know about his predicament, and even fewer know the true nature of his Quirk. At the start of the manga, Midoriya proves himself to All Might and inherits "One For All". He then acts as a mentor toward the young hero through his education at U.A. High School. Yagi is also the Heroics Teacher at the high school, where he is supposed to focus on all his students but tends to Midoriya more often than not.


 * 100% Heroism Rating: All Might is, far and wide, considered the greatest, most powerful Hero to have ever graced Japan. Even some villains admire and respect him. He's incredibly physically strong, very fast and above all of that, genuinely kind-hearted, with a streak for valiantly defending the weak.
 * The Ace: This is actually a Zig-Zagging Trope when it was initially appeared to be Played Straight. Gran Torino notes that he took to One For All much more easily than Midoriya did. He didn't have nearly as much difficulty adjusting the power and his acclimation time was much smaller than Deku. However there are actually a few extenuating circumstances which justify this. Firstly, Yagi only had a strong affinity for the basic and straight forward traits of One For All and had no aptitude for the hidden aspects (being able to communicate with the spirits within and being able to unlock their quirks on top of One For All granting super physicality). Secondly, it's shown that while giving One For All to a person that already has a quirk allows One For All to become much more powerful while gaining a new ability, it's also like overfilling a cup and leads to fatally burning out the user (presumably if they don't pass it on before burn out. This has never been tested) whereas Yagi was born quirk-less and thus an empty vessel. He didn't have to compensate for the overload and having 2 competing quirks and One For All became his natural quirk which is why there is a hazy imprint of his subconscious mind in One For All along with the full spirits of the previous users.
 * Affectionate Parody: Of classic superheroes.
 * All-American Face: While he's Japanese, he's definitely a send up to this type of character. He's blonde with blue eyes (typical anime depiction of a western foreigner), massively buff when powered up, wears a costume with a red, white, and blue color scheme, and constantly goes on about justice. Hell, one of his attacks was called Texas Smash.
 * All a Part of the Job: He has a lot of wisdom and experience when it comes to being a hero, so him being a teacher is fitting.
 * Almighty Janitor: No pun intended. He's the number one ranked hero in the world! He also has a critical weakness from a previous battle and can only hold his hero form a few hours a day, the rest of the time he's a sickly looking man.
 * Badass Abnormal: His Quirk is special even among all the Quirks in existence in that it can be passed down from one person to another outside of simple genetics. It gets more abnormal when you find out that he has been injured and is only able to hold his heroic form a few hours each day, and the rest of the time he takes on a weakened form. But the biggest abnormality about him is that by the time of the story, 80% of the population has been born with a Quirk, but he and later Midoriya are among the 20% NOT born with a Quirk, but both receive it via it being passed down.
 * Badass Baritone: In the anime adaptation, be it Japanese or the English dub, All Might has a deep, melodious voice that goes hand-in-hand with his grandiose appearance.
 * Badass in a Nice Suit: Sometimes wears one as a teacher or when he talks to the press.
 * Badass Teacher: At first, he seemed like he was just mentoring Midoriya, but he also became a regular teacher at U.A. High.
 * Beware the Nice Ones Is almost always smiling and is the type to always lend a helping hand to anyone in need. The keyword is almost. If you somehow manage to get him to stop smiling, you know you're in for it.
 * Big Good: The number 1 hero in the world! A pillar of hope and justice for the world, with many aspiring to follow his example. Fittingly enough, he's thus the only one who matches the Big Bad in terms of power.
 * Black Eyes of Crazy Subverted since he's not remotely evil, but his eyes are black with brightly glowing blue irises.
 * Blood From the Mouth Happens to him frequently in his weakened form.
 * Body Horror: His weakened form is extremely emaciated and constantly vomiting blood.
 * Boisterous Bruiser: To a tee: he has the physique, the raw power, and the grandiose demeanor.
 * Brains and Brawn: When he was paired up with Sir Nighteye, he was the brawn of the duo.
 * Brought Down to Normal: Since giving Midoriya One For All, he finds that he's slowly losing his power over time, and it will eventually stop working completely. This finally happens at the end of chapter 94 after using the last vestiges of One For All to finally KO All For One.
 * Calling Your Attacks In reference to how he's based on silver-age western superheroes, he shouts out the names of American states and landmarks. He doesn't always get it completely right, though.
 * The Cape (trope) Definitely. Almost to the point of parody.
 * Catch Phrase "I'm here!/I have arrived!" while making a Dynamic Entry and "Plus Ultra!" when trying to be inspiring or when showing off.
 * Chronic Hero Syndrome Played partly for laughs, but prior to the U.A. villain invasion, All Might steps in to diffuse a tense hostage situation, then moved on to stop a hit and run driver, and then... well, his commute to work ended up taking up all of the time he had that day for the use of his powers.
 * Color Motif As seen above, All Might's hero costume contains the primary colors: blue, red, yellow, and white.
 * Dangerous Forbidden Technique: His most powerful and most dangerous ability is an incredibly powerful punch he calls "United States of SMASH!"; he's only seen using it once, in the final battle where he uses it to flatten All for One. Note he does this in his de-powered form, while badly wounded. One can only imagine what he could do with this move when he was in his prime.
 * Death Glare He gives off an incredibly potent one, whether it be against villains who threaten his students, or even when he is acting out the part of a villain in Class 1-A's exercise against Bakugō and Izuku. When you see that glare, run.
 * Deuteragonist: While the series as a whole is a Coming of Age story for Deku, All Might's influence and character drive the story just as much as Deku's journey does.
 * Eagle Land Predominantly because of his The Silver Age of Comic Books traits, he tends to exhibit signs of the first type. For example, his workout plan for Midoriya invokes the classical American Dream in its name... and the notion that those born with nothing, can one day achieve the greatest success if they work hard to earn it. Additionally, as mentioned, most of his attacks Theme Naming for states or major U.S. cities, typically "X Smash".
 * Engrish In the anime, he peppers his sentences with English words and phrases.
 * Expy Of Golden Age and Silver Age Flying Bricks. His ethos is almost straight-up Superman, the nature of his Quirk and backstory is rather similar to Captain Marvel, and his appearance could perhaps best be described as "Miracleman with Hair Antennae."
 * A Father to His Men
 * He technically has only one man, Midoriya, but their relationship is very akin to a father and son. All Might often treats and trains Midoriya in a manner similar to how a stern but loving father would do to his son, considering that Midoriya's real father never appeared in the whole series, and only mentioned once, All Might often border being a Parental Substitute.
 * He tried to pull this off with Bakugō once, with predicable results.
 * Fun Personified: He always wants to make sure everyone is in a good mood and often cracks hammy humor to that end.
 * Game-Breaking Injury All Might suffers from this five years before the main story, he took a devastating hit from an unknown villain, which nearly killed him. While he survived thanks to numerous surgeries, his powers were disrupted such that he can only use them three hours a day. When he powers down, he looks like an emaciated husk of his former self that constantly keeps coughing up blood. Regardless, he keeps up his hero duties, with only Midoriya and a few of the top officials knew about what happened, as he doesn't wish for people to lose faith in heroes like him.
 * Gratuitous English: Frequently as part of his Large Ham tendencies.
 * All Might: [in Japanese] Oh my... oh my... GOODNESS!
 * Handicapped Badass: The original battle with All for One inflicted terrible injuries on All-Might, requiring numerous surgeries simply for him to function, costing him his stomach and one lung, leaving him, in his usual form, a frail and gaunt man who continually coughs up blood. He can only assume his heroic superpowered form for about an hour a day. Still, he managed to continue his heroic career and hide his condition from the public for years.
 * Retired Badass: Having fully depleted his own quirk in the final battle with All For One, it seems he has fully become this Trope.
 * Hair of Gold All Might's mighty hair is blond.


 * The Hero His status as the Number 1 hero in the world makes him a symbol of peace and justice to the world. Or so he thinks. Lots of villains see him as their biggest threat, and even some heroes are jealous of his status and power.
 * Heroic Build: His muscular form, obviously.
 * Hour of Power Thanks to his injury, he can only tap into his full strength for a few hours a day. After giving Midoriya his One For All, this time gradually grows even shorter. All For One explains that this is because All Might is now exclusively using the remnants of One For All as opposed to the full power he once had before and the more he uses it the weaker his power becomes. At the end of his fight with All For One in chapter 94, All Might has now permanently used up the last remaining dregs of One For All.
 * Humble Hero: Despite his grandiose appearance and hammy demeanor, All Might doesn't concern himself with praise, recognition, and accolades and mainly cares about helping those in dire need and bringing them hope.
 * Incurable Cough of Death As a result of his Game-Breaking Injury, he is practically emaciated when his powers are not in use and is prone to hacking up blood.
 * I Work Alone Subverted. Sir Nighteye's insistence on becoming his sidekick eventually led All Might to accept his help.
 * Large and In Charge: While not the officially agreed-upon leader of the heroes, he is the one they all follow in a crisis, and according to his profile in the manga, he stands 7'2'' in his heroic form, and weighs 255 kg (562 lbs) of solid, heroic muscle.
 * Large Ham: If his bold outline and loud personality didn't make it obvious, he is constantly spouting speeches about heroism and how it's important for him to be a symbol of peace.
 * Leeroy Jenkins Gran Torino calls him as the "punch first, ask later" type.
 * Legacy Character It's eventually explained that he himself received "One For All" just as Midoriya did. Thus far, nine people have had the One for All quirk.
 * Lightning Bruiser Very few people can keep up with his sheer strength and speed. His only weakness is the time limit that his muscle form has.
 * Meaningful Name His surname contains the Kanji for "eight", referring to him being 8th wielder of One For All. It also has the character "tree/wood" in it, which likely refers to him being the pillar that currently upholds society as it is now.
 * The Mentor He tries to make Midoriya his successor and gives him his power. With U.A.'s help, All Might may find the true and worthy successor, but he hopes it will be Midoriya.
 * My Greatest Failure: Discussed in chapter 70, there has never been a situation in which he hasn't made the outcome better when he was there. All Might is for all his speed and strength still only a man, he can't be everywhere and for every situation he made better, there were hundreds he could do nothing for, simply because he wasn't there. This is where being The Paragon is a double-edged sword, for all that he inspires to make others like him, he is seen as The Hero of the world, so when he doesn't show up to save the day it can breed resentment.
 * Nice Guy: Despite being an Affectionate Parody of the hokey American superhero type, All Might actually genuinely lives up to the tropes and even gives them a real feel. He's kind-hearted, noble and compassionate, and will valiantly defend the common man, unconcerned with praise and recognition.
 * Non-Standard Character Design To go with his Large Ham personality, he is drawn in a thicker outline and has more shading than everyone else. He specifically has character design elements associated with the comic book creator Rob Liefeld, including a variant of the "Youngblood's disease" as his eyes are often hidden in heavy shadow or appear to be glowing. Ironically this also means despite being most inspired by a comic book art style it means he looks a more like a villain or morally dubious individual than he is intended to. His "true form" is also very different from everyone else but in a more conventionally cartoonish and lanky sort of way.
 * A few students even acknowledge this when he enters class for the first time.
 * Not So Different Reveals to Midoriya that he used to be Quirkless himself before getting "One For All" and had pretty much had the same drive he did when he was younger.
 * Nothing but Skin and Bones: All Might's true form is positively skeletal.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname: Sort of. "All Might" is his hero name; but even in-universe nobody knows his real name, Toshinori Yagi, except for Gran Torino.
 * Out-of-Character is Serious Business: When he arrives during the assault on USJ, Midoriya quickly points out that All Might is not smiling. Even though he's in hero-mode, he isn't smiling. This is All Might we're talking about here; he is always smiling in hero-mode. That he isn't smiling makes it clear how he feels about the villains trying to get at him through his students. He also becomes incensed beyond belief whenever All For One is brought up, let alone when he faces him in person.
 * Papa Wolf As the villains who attacked Class 1-A found out, trying to hurt his students is an easy way to get on All Might's bad side.
 * The Paragon All Might isn't the "Symbol of Peace" just because he's incredibly strong, but because he's devoted to inspiring the good in others. Many of the world's other heroes and heroes-in-training aspire to follow his example.
 * Passing the Torch How "One For All" works. It's a unique Quirk that is nurtured and passed down from generation to generation. All Might even talk about it as literally passing the torch.
 * Perpetual Smiler In his powered-up form, he nearly always has a giant grin on his face, though this is usually an act in order to reinforce the idea that he's an unassailable symbol of peace and justice. See also Stepford Smiler.
 * Psychologist Teacher Midoriya isn't the only student All Might tries to mentor after joining U.A.'s faculty as Bakugō and Todoroki also bring out his mentor side. He is also shown to be very encouraging to pretty much all his students.
 * Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: While he generally prefers to slug his opponents with all his power, All Might can speed up his attacks to a frightening level, as demonstrated against the U.S.J. Nomu.
 * Recoil Boost New Hampshire Smash.
 * Renowned Selective Mentor Passing One For All is done very selectively, considering its power. On top of that, All Might has very strict standards for taking on an apprentice. But of course, this is all done in secret with only a few in the know.
 * Showy Invincible Hero What he is In-Universe. All Might is the strongest hero who is known for always winning his battles and saving everyone once he appears as the Symbol of Peace.
 * Signature Laugh: One of the first heralds of his arrival is a loud, energetic belly laugh to reassure anyone who's in trouble that everything is fine now that All Might is here for them.
 * Sink-or-Swim Mentor If you think Aizawa is bad, All Might is even worse. Any poor soul paired up with him as their teacher/mentor for the day should expect a merciless beating. Doesn't matter if you're only in your first year, All Might will take you as seriously as he would a villain.
 * Sir Swearsalot In the English dub at least, All Might actually have the foulest mouth relative to all the characters. He isn't constantly swearing, but he is the only one who ever says "shit".
 * Sobriquet Known as "The Symbol of Peace".
 * Spin Attack Oklahoma Smash.
 * Stepford Smiler Puts on a brave face in hero-mode to live up to his reputation as a symbol of justice, but is all too aware that he's a fallible human being and that the day is rapidly approaching when he can't be a hero anymore. Chapter 92 reveals that he does this on the encouragement of his mentor, who argued that the people he rescues have been through a lot of trauma, so he should smile so as to save their hearts as well as their lives.
 * Super Strength One For All. The strength boost also provides Super Speed and In a Single Bound.
 * Theme Naming: All his known special techniques are named after American states and cities, including California, Carolina, Detroit, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, New Hampshire, and Texas. Midoriya later expands this by adding Delaware and Manchester.
 * Tragic Keepsake "One For All" acts as this as it was entrusted to him by his now-deceased mentor and friend Nana Shimura.
 * Up to Eleven His fight with Nomu had Nomu able to match him blow for blow at 100% of his power, so he pushes himself beyond 100% and completely curbstomps Nomu.
 * All Might: You may have heard these words before, but I'll teach you what they really mean! Go beyond! PLUS! ULTRA!!!
 * Vague Age How old is All Might? Mid-twenties, thirties, possibly approaching forty? The manga never makes it clear and the fact that he looks like a teenager in his weaker form only adds more fuel to the fire.
 * Will Not Tell a Lie While he claims this is the case, he has both dodged questions on multiple occasions and asked someone to lie on his behalf on at least one occasion.
 * World's Strongest Man The highest-ranked hero. Even though he has weakened a bit in the last years, he still managed to keep the top spot.
 * Wrong-Context Magic: As far as is known, "One for All" is the only Quirk that the user isn't born with, and the only Quirk that can be given to someone else.
 * Your Size May Vary All Might's neck in his normal form ranges from normal, to noticeably long, to grotesquely long.

Izuku Midoriya - Deku (The Ninth)

 * Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga), Episode 1 (Anime)
 * Quirk: One For All (officially registered as Super Power); Quirkless (formerly)
 * Voiced by Daiki Yamashita (Japanese), Akeno Watanabe (Japanese, child), Justin Briner (English dub, TV anime)

The protagonist of the story. Formerly a Quirkless, timid boy who was an outcast among his peers, his life changed when All Might, his favorite Hero and the top Hero in Japan, saved his life from a villain. When displaying a tremendous amount of courage when one of his peers was in danger, he's seen as worthy of becoming a hero by All Might, who wishes to make him his successor and grant him his Quirk, "One For All". One For All allows him to stockpile enormous amounts of strength, but his body isn't accustomed to its overwhelming power. This gradually changes for the better as we follow Izuku throughout the series.


 * 100% Adoration Rating: Through his tenacity, Heroic Spirit, and willingness to always help people in need Midoriya quickly became one of the most well liked and respected members of the class. When it comes to ideals and having the heart of hero, everyone in class sees him as THE number one. Even outside of his classmates he often gains the trust and admiration of everyone he interacts with extensively. The hero killer Stain, who sets All Might at the bar to measure others and is the only one he considers a hero, acknowledged Midoriya as a hero and even saved him from a Nomu. After he saved a boy named Kouta's life, while on a training retreat, gained Kouta's trust and admiration when previously Kouta hated heroes as his parents died as professional heroes and no one saved them.
 * Achilles' Heel: One For All, as used at its full power by Midoriya, is incredibly powerful - the caveat is that he ends up breaking whatever part of the body he channels the Quirk to.
 * Action Hero: An action hero in training, but still a worthy example.
 * Adorkable: Midoriya's endearing clumsiness is through the roof. He's very easily flustered by unfamiliar situations, imposing types of people, his favorite childhood superhero and even talking to girls (especially those he likes), you name it.
 * Affectionate Nickname: "Deku" was originally meant as an insult at the hands of Bakugō, meaning "useless" in Japanese. It only becomes affectionate when Uraraka points out how it reminds her of "I can do anything". This stays in his memory long enough for him to use it as his superhero name.
 * Awesomeness By Analysis: Midoriya has an ocean of knowledge about pro Heroes and quickly makes connections between similar types of Quirks in them, as well as his peers. This lends itself incredibly well to his performance on the field.
 * Bad Powers, Good People: He's one of the most kindhearted characters in the series, but he's imbued (at one point) with a Quirk that demonstrates itself as giant, slimy black tendrils of energy - Blackwhip.
 * Badass Adorable: He may be a young teenager with large, baby-like eyes and an endearing, boyish voice, but when using One For All in battle, he's a force to be reckoned with and not to be underestimated.
 * Bare-Fisted Monk: He prefers to use One For All in hand-to-hand combat more than anything.
 * Berserk Button: He's very easily angered by the prospect of someone torturing innocents, especially children. Muscular and Overhaul found out the hardest way possible why pushing this button is a bad idea.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Yes, Midoriya is exceedingly polite and friendly. Yes, he has Ocular Gushers and is very emotional. And yes, he will pulverize you in a fight should you mess with his friends.
 * Big Man on Campus: Has excellent grades, is generally very hard-working and charismatic, and hence beloved by his fellow classmates and held in great esteem by the teachers at U.A., as well as pro Heroes outside the institution.
 * Boring but Practical: One For All: Full Cowl doesn't have the sheer power of using the Quirk at 100% power, but it gives Midoriya a dose of power that allows him to fight without severely injuring himself. As the series progresses, he's able to use higher percentages of its power without hurting himself: starting from 5%, then going to 8%, 20% and 30% (though he can briefly tap into 45%).
 * Born Unlucky: One of the few 20% of people in the world to be born Quirkless. This changes once he receives One For All.
 * Cannot Talk to Women: Initially, he's rendered completely mute when Uraraka talks to him for the first time and still finds it incredibly awkward to talk to her afterward. Later, however, he's gradually accustoming himself to the presence of his female classmates and behaving more relaxed around them.
 * Character Tic: He sweats profusely when he's nervous. On one occasion, he managed to sweat through his costume.
 * Cheerful Child: When he was four years old, he was very upbeat and chipper.
 * The Chosen One: As the successor of One For All, handpicked by All Might, Midoriya certainly qualifies.
 * Chronic Hero Syndrome: He will never turn his back on someone in need, even if he doesn't have a Quirk. Sadly, this behavior occasionally gets him seriously injured on more than one occasion.
 * Clark Kent Outfit: At first glance, he doesn't strike you as much because of his normally baggy wardrobe. However, underneath that, Midoriya is lean, very ripped and fit.
 * Color Motif: Green: from his hair and eyes to his Hero costume and many other accessories he wears in end credits and other scenes.
 * Combo-Platter Powers: One For All not only stockpiled strength but also assimilated Quirks of past users. There are a total of seven Quirks that Midoriya is the first out all the users can access. Here is the list of the known Quirks:
 * Blackwhip is the Quirk of the fifth user, Daigoro Banjo. The power allows him to create and manipulate tendrils of dark energy from their arms. It can be used to grapple an object or capture enemies.
 * Float, Quirk of Nana Shimura (the seventh user), allows him to levitate.
 * Crush Blush: While he's easily flustered by the presence of pretty much all the girls he's interacting with, only Uraraka's closeness can make his whole face go beet-red.
 * Death Glare: He can give off some pretty impressive ones when in the heat of battle.
 * Determinator: Even without a Quirk, he was always aspiring to become a hero just like All Might, the greatest hero in the world!
 * Dork Knight: He's a Hero-in-training armed with one of the most powerful Quirks in the world, One For All, is very intelligent and perceptive and infallibly brave and selfless in times of danger. He's also completely Adorkable and a major fanboy of All Might who gushes any time he gets to meet a pro Hero. He's also very easily flustered by the notion of romance.
 * Emotional Bruiser: Midoriya is very in-touch with his feelings and expresses all of them with complete honesty. Most notably, he cries often and cries profusely.
 * Extreme Doormat: As a child, he used to fawn over and tag along with Bakugō, no matter how much he and his peers harassed and belittled him. By the time of his first battle trial, however, he drops this behavior entirely and stands up to his bully.
 * Fan Boy: Of All Might, to the point of styling some elements of his first hero costume after his face and even making a perfect imitation of his iconic grin.
 * Fatal Flaw: His meek and submissive nature makes him awkward in unfamiliar situations, even though he steadily grows out of it as the story moves onward.
 * Fights Like a Normal: He tends not to excessively rely on his Quirk to do heroics until he feels he's mastered it enough to not get himself injured.
 * Friend to All Children: He's generally very approachable when it comes to handling children and has made several young friends, the most notable of which are Kota and Eri.
 * Grew a Spine: Initially meek and submissive, especially to the likes of Bakugō, Deku eventually grows more courageous and confident, so much so that the aforementioned Bakugō is no longer perceived as a threat, and that Midoriya has no qualms in taking him on.
 * Grin of Audacity: He generally sports this when taking on a very powerful opponent.
 * Hairstyle Inertia: His hairstyle never changes throughout the story, unless he uses Full Cowl at 100%.
 * The Heart: Izuku is the solid moral center of his class and has served as an example and inspiration to all of his fellow classmates. Almost everyone in the class has worked with him and seen his courage and decency first hand which in turn has pushed them to be better heroes. Beyond that he has helped directly or indirectly several of his friends with personal issues and trauma such as helping Todoroki move beyond the resent he felt for his Abusive Dad and rescued Ida from Stain after Stain permanently crippled Ida's brother and Ida was on a self destructive Roaring Rampage Of Revenge. Midoriya also help Ida understand what's really important and that Ida's brother wouldn't want Ida to be consumed by vengeance. To the students of class 1.A. Midoriya has become their inspiration for working towards heroism and the one they can always count on to help.
 * Hero Worshipper: To a fault. Usually, his admiration and respect for All Might go so far that he doesn't even try to think what would suit his own heroics better, rather opting to imitate All Might.
 * Heroic RROD: Using One For All at 100% or even more wrecks his arms, and even breaks his legs if he isn't careful. This is why he has to constantly and consciously train himself to be more conservative about how much of his Quirk's power he uses.
 * Heroic Self-Deprecation: Midoriya, having been gifted his Quirk by All Might rather than it being innate from birth, has trouble acknowledging when he's genuinely earned something, resembling a form of "impostor syndrome".
 * Hope Bringer: Midoriya aspires to be the kind of Hero to shine as a beacon of optimism to destitute people.
 * Humble Hero: One of the prime examples in the series, taking after his childhood favorite, All Might. Midoriya wants to make people's lives better and protect them with a smile, so that they can feel reassured knowing that he's there for them. He doesn't concern himself with praise, recognition, or awards.
 * Ideal Hero: By all indicators, he's shaping up to become one by the end: despite his inexperience, he's courageous, confident, charismatic, and by far the most altruistic of his peers.
 * The Klutz: When he's exceptionally nervous, Midoriya loses control of his reflexes and ends up in a clumsy accident.
 * Large Ham: When he's overreacting to something, he tends to be extremely vocally expressive.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Using One For All: Full Cowl, Midoriya increases both his movement speed and his physical strength, enabling him to move around quickly and deal out large amounts of damage without wrecking his body.
 * Magnetic Hero: In more than one instance, Midoriya has shown himself to be very charismatic and influential. He becomes very good at commanding the respect of his colleagues and helps several of them overcome their own problems, most notably Todoroki and Ida.
 * Meaningful Name: "Midori" means "green" in Japanese, which obviously fits his hair, eyes and costume.
 * Megaton Punch: The One For All Smash is basically this when channeled through Midoriya's arms at full strength.
 * Messy Hair: Downplayed. He has really curly hair that spikes in all directions, but he seems to keep it clean at all times.
 * Momma's Boy: A rare instance not played for laughs. He has a very close relationship with his mother, and he has her to thank for influencing his costume's design later on.
 * Motor Mouth: When he begins to mutter to himself, he tends to talk very quickly, without pause.
 * Mr. Exposition: He's the narrator for the series overall, and he already spoiled the ending: He someday becomes the world's greatest hero ever!
 * Mr. Fanservice: Clothing Damage and the occasional Shirtless Scene are frequent reminders that he's fit as a fiddle and very lean under his loose-fitting clothes.
 * Muggle Born of Mages: The Quirkless son of a man and a woman who both have Quirks.
 * Muscles Are Meaningful: All Might stresses that strengthening his body is very important for inheriting One For All. As a consequence, 10 months of relentless training have made him very ripped, if slightly more muscularly built, though he's still lean.
 * Nerd Action Hero: He's very well-versed on the abilities and powers of other superheroes, and gets to work on being one himself, which makes him an incredibly valuable ally on the field.
 * Nervous Wreck: He's very easily flustered and tends to be exceedingly skittish and emotional. Even though he calms this trait, it remains nevertheless.
 * Nice Guy: One of the main reasons All Might chose Midoriya as his successor was his unfailingly kind and compassionate disposition, which the pro Hero believes spurred him to save Bakugō without any aforethought. He does good to others, even if there's no reward, because he prioritizes the safety of his fellow man above his own and wants to bring hope to his people.
 * Nice Shoes: He's rarely seen without his iconic red-and-white sneakers (even wearing them on his U.A. uniform instead of the prescribed dress shoes), and he incorporates their design into his hero costume.
 * Ocular Gushers: His large, round eyes are practically a fountain of tears given how often he cries - Tears of Joy, Tears of Remorse, Tender Tears, Manly Tears, he's cried them all. At one point, his tears were so strong he made a hole crack in the ground beneath his feet when he started crying.
 * Out-of-Character is Serious Business: Midoriya tends to be calm, tactical and patient, but the very notion of child abuse, or even trying to threaten a child, is enough to send him into an uncharacteristic rage.
 * The Paragon: Considered one by All Might, who saw his disposition to leap into another's aid without hesitation as the main factor in why the Hero decided to name him the successor of One For All. He also has plenty of positive influence on his classmates, most notably Todoroki, Ida and Uraraka.
 * Le Parkour: Once he gets the hang of One For All: Full Cowl, he begins to move around more athletically and quickly.
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's only 5'5" tall, but he has the immensely powerful Quirk, One For All, that grants him the power to stockpile enormous amounts of strength.
 * Puppy Dog Eyes: His eyes are very large, which makes his happy glances look all the cuter.
 * Scars Are Forever: His duel with Todoroki has left him with permanent scars on his right hand, and the consequences of his gruesome fight with Muscular has forced him to wear a compression sleeve on his right upper arm to brace it and minimize what seems to be chronic pain.
 * Shrinking Violet: Initially, he was very meek, very shy, and completely submissive to anyone who wanted to make a fool out of him. Come his training under All Might, he gradually becomes more courageous and confident, dropping this behavior.
 * Strong Family Resemblance: He bears a lot of physical similarities to his mother, Inko, from their green hair to their green, large eyes.
 * Superpower Lottery: Not only did he inherit the Quirk of his hero, but it gives more strength than All Might due to its ability to stockpile power when passed to each user. There is also how he is the first successor to be able to use the Quirks assimilated by One for All from seven predecessors.
 * Super Speed: One For All dramatically accelerates his movements, so much so that he can avoid gunfire when using Full Cowl at 5% power.
 * Super Strength: One For All's primary function is to increase the physical strength of its wielder dramatically, and it's lent itself very well to several fights Midoriya's been in the past.
 * Super Mode: One For All: Full Cowl is the technique developed during his internship with Gran Torino. Compared to focusing One For All into one part of his body, he spreads it throughout his body evenly. This method of using One For All not only avoids damaging his body but allows gaining both superhuman strength and speed. This new technique doesn't mean he can't damage his body as high percents can lead to more damage compared to lower ones. He later finds a different style while using it along with improving his limit percentage to become higher as the series progresses.
 * Swiss Army Superpower: One For All in the hands of Midoriya has found different applications through the use of superhuman strength. Later on, it is revealed that One For All has assimilated 7 Quirks from previous inheritors. Midoriya is the first to unlock this aspect of One For All when he first used Black Whip and may unlock the other six. This attribute means he has further the versatility of One For All compared to the other 8 users.
 * Thinking Out Loud: He tends to mumble when he gets lost in thought or overthinks things. It's a habit that most of his peers find either amusing or creepy.
 * Un-Sorcerer: Played Straight with Izuku being one of the few people on the planet unlucky enough to be Quirkless, but it doesn't last long before All Might grants him One For All.
 * Verbal Tic:
 * He's prone to babbling and muttering when he begins to overthink things. This habit tends to creep out or annoy his classmates and other people in school.
 * He's very prone to screaming loudly when overreacting to something, coming across as a Large Ham.
 * Volcanic Veins: When using One For All at very strong power, Midoriya's veins glow and shine brightly.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: He has dark green hair.
 * Youthful Freckles: He has small, dark freckles on his cheeks.


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