My Hero Academia's shonen star is Izuku Midoriya, a longtime All Might admirer who got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to surpass his idol and become the next symbol of peace. Izuku has learned a lot from his mentors such as All Might, the elderly Gran Torino, and Shota Aizawa, but he still has a long way to go before becoming the #1 hero.
Izuku always gives it his all during battle, but he doesn't always win. Even when he does, he often needs help to get the job done. Pro Heroes are meant to work as a team and Izuku understands that. Still, there have been times in My Hero Academia where Deku won a fight all on his own and he didn't need help.
10 IZUKU WON WITH SKILLS: When He Defeated Muscular
At one point, the young Kota Izumi distracted the melee villain Muscular with his water-based quirk, but that was only a token effort. Otherwise, Izuku totally won this fight on his own. He had no choice since he was far away from his allies and had no chance to call them over to help.
Izuku faced Muscular in a fierce melee duel and it seemed hopeless until Izuku went Plus Ultra and unleashed an incredible 1,000,000% Smash to demolish Muscular's enhanced defenses and finally crush him. Kota's life was saved.
9 IZUKU NEEDED HELP: When He Fought Hitoshi Shinso & Neito Monoma
In the fifth and final match of the joint training exercise, Izuku and his teammates went up against Neito Monoma's own team, which included the support hero Hitoshi Shinso. At first, the battle proceeded as expected, but then the Blackwhip Quirk emerged from One For All, taking everyone by surprise.
Izuku couldn't control this quirk and he needed both Ochaco and Hitoshi to help him restrain it so the battle could continue. Once Blackwhip was under control, the fight resumed and Izuku helped lead his team to victory.
8 IZUKU WON WITH SKILLS: When He Defeated Gentle Criminal
The minor villain Gentle Criminal was determined to become a YouTube star and he planned to disrupt the U.A. school festival to do just that. Izuku, on an errand for his class, ran into this villain and resolved to stop him somehow.
This was a 2-vs-1 battle, where the petite La Brava supported Gentle Criminal with words of encouragement and the effect of her Love Quirk. Despite all this, Izuku managed to take Gentle Criminal down and the two villains were soon captured by U.A. staff.
7 IZUKU NEEDED HELP: When He & Eri Took Down Overhaul
The battle against the criminal overlord Overhaul was a tough one, and not even Mirio Togata and Sir Nighteye could defeat him. It fell to Izuku to save the day and rescue the young Eri, but One For All alone wasn't enough to triumph over this crime boss.
Then Eri came to the rescue. Despite her fright and the risks involved, Eri held onto Izuku and lent him the power of her Rewind Quirk, which healed Izuku enough so that Izuku could use One For All's true power. Together, they toppled Overhaul at last.
6 IZUKU WON WITH SKILLS: When He Fought Hitoshi Shinso
During the U.A. sports festival, Izuku had to face Hitoshi Shinso for the first time and he had no idea what he was in for. Hitoshi unveiled his Brainwash Quirk and tried to force Izuku to walk right out of the arena and get disqualified. Then the ghosts of One For All arrived.
Izuku did get help from One For All itself, but that was a quirk, not another person fighting in the arena with him. Izuku still had to fight Shinso alone and once he snapped out of the Brainwashing, he took on Hitoshi in a fierce melee duel and claimed victory.
5 IZUKU NEEDED HELP: When All Might & Katsuki Bakugo Helped Him Defeat Wolfram
During the first My Hero Academia movie, Izuku and a handful of his classmates fought some all-new villains, including Wolfram, who was being secretly aided by All For One himself. During the movie's climax, Wolfram had the advantage and not even All Might could finish the job.
Izuku shared One For All with Bakugo and the two of them performed a double Smash to win the day. This was a thrilling and truly unique battle in My Hero Academia where Bakugo got a taste of OFA's power.
4 IZUKU WON WITH SKILLS: When Izuku Defeated Flect Turn
The third My Hero Academia movie introduced a revolutionary villain named Flect Turn who sought to rid humanity of quirks entirely, no matter how many people died in the process. Izuku had to stop him at all costs, but he had to do it alone. Bakugo and Shoto were busy elsewhere.
Izuku had trouble against Flect Turn's quirk, which can redirect energy back at its caster. Izuku got beaten half to death with his own power, but in the end he triumphed and Flect was taken down.
3 IZUKU NEEDED HELP: When He Fought Stain
Not long after the U.A. sports festival, the runner hero Tenya Iida rushed to Hosu to fight Stain the Hero Killer all on his own. Stain nearly killed Tenya until Izuku and Shoto arrived to help and the three boys fought for their lives.
Izuku had a tough time against a foe who could paralyze him with his quirk, but he didn't give up. Izuku and Shoto recovered from Stain's quirk and managed to defeat him and the flaming hero Endeavor arrived to capture the criminal properly.
2 IZUKU WON WITH SKILLS: When He Fought Bakugo During The Bomb Test
One of the first battles in My Hero Academia involved dividing Class 1-A into ten teams of two and the teams fought one another inside a multi-story building. Izuku and Ochaco posed as heroes and went up against Katsuki Bakugo and Tenya Iida, the villains guarding a replica bomb.
Izuku had a rough time fighting his old friend Katsuki Bakugo, but Ochaco was busy elsewhere, so he had to face Bakugo alone. Izuku fought back against Bakugo's fearsome explosions, then Smashed the ceiling to disrupt the entire battle and give Ochaco a chance to claim the objective.
1 IZUKU NEEDED HELP: When He Fought All Might With Bakugo
At one point, Class 1-A's students had to pair up and fight their own teachers. Izuku was partnered up with Katsuki Bakugo against their shared idol, All Might. Worse yet, Bakugo was having a terrible attitude and refused to cooperate with Izuku against their common foe.
Eventually, Bakugo changed his mind and helped Izuku fight back against their seemingly invincible opponent, including lending Izuku one of his costume's grenades. With this extra boost, Izuku managed to outmaneuver All Might and help Bakugo reach the objective to score victory.