In the world of My Hero Academia, superpowers known as quirks are commonplace, and it's unusual to not have one. Boys and girls with powerful quirks and plenty of courage can enroll at heroics academies around the world, with Japan being home to UA, Shiketsu, Ketsubutsu, and more.
Many pro heroes and trainees use ranged attacks or magic-like powers to take on the forces of evil, from acid to lightning to fire. Other heroes get up close and personal, and their mighty fists and kicks will pummel a villain into dust! Which ten heroes and students have the right quirks and sheer muscle to beat a villain bare-handed?
10 Toru Hagakure
You can't see her, which is the whole idea. Toru's quirk makes her entire body invisible at all times, even when she is asleep or knocked out. Any clothing or accessories she will wear are still visible, though, so her costume is really just gloves and boots.
All of this makes Toru an ideal scout and spy, especially if she wears nothing. And while she has limited physical power, she can take an opponent by total surprise in melee combat, and aim for their weak points (while avoiding most return fire). In a pinch, she can channel all the light passing through her body to form a blinding ray.
9 Mashirao Ojiro
He's the tail hero of UA's class 1-A, and his quirk is exactly that: a long, powerful tail. It sounds pretty simple, and it really is, but that thing is strong! Ojiro's tail is sheer muscle and bone, and he can use it just the way a monkey would.
Besides, just look at Ojiro's hero costume: a martial arts outfit! His fist-fighting skills are augmented with the maneuverability his tail grants him, and he can strike his opponents with it. How are you supposed to fight off someone with five limbs? Good luck!
8 Rikido Sato
For the most part, Rikido Sato is a gentle giant, being a really friendly guy with a fondness for cakes and desserts. His dorm room doubles as a bakery, and the girls loved it!
But he's got some serious power, too, and Rikido is a towering brute by any standards. Once he eats some sugar (plain or in dessert form), his power shoots through the roof! The effects are temporary, and he will soon suffer a sugar crash, but he's a total powerhouse until then. Care for another slice of cake?
7 Tenya Iida
He doesn't look like a fighter at first since he's an excellent student who has some serious bookshelves in his room (and the spare glasses for all that reading). Iida is also the class president and takes his duties seriously.
Then he steps onto the battlefield! Iida is an expert with his engine quirk, allowing him to run and jump with astonishing speed. With Recipro Burst, he can even outmaneuver the prodigy Shoto Todoroki and land a bone-shattering kick. Iida lets his legs do the talking, and he'll either kick a villain into submission or retreat at blinding speed.
6 Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
Yes, that's really his name! This boy is probably one of the strongest members of UA's class 1-B, and his quirk allows him to harden his body into steel, like Colossus of X-Men. He's also got some serious guts and melee skills to make the most of that quirk.
He made it into the top 16 at UA's Sports Festival, where the mirror match of Tetsutetsu vs Eijiro Kirishima was a true test of endurance. In fact, both boys tied in battle, so the match was decided with arm wrestling (Eijiro won). By the sound of it, eating a lot of iron makes Tetsutetsu's quirk even stronger, too.
5 Eijiro Kirishima
At first, this entry seems redundant with Tetsutetsu already covered. But not really, since Eijiro has proven himself against even stronger opponents. He can harden his skin to an extreme degree, and he's got the soul of a fighter.
What's funny is that Eijiro used to doubt the heroic potential of his quirk, but that doubt has since melted away. He narrowly beat Tetsutetsu in combat, and he lasted a long time against the incredible powerhouse that is Katsuki Bakugo. He also fought well against scary villains while on patrol with Fat Gum. The young hero known as Red Riot is here to stay!
4 Gran Torino
This old man's best days are behind him, but he's still in the game. In fact, he's the one who trained All Might, and that's saying a heck of a lot. His quirk, jet, allows him to zip around the battlefield like a pinball, owing to the showerhead-like jets on his feet.
Gran Torino thoroughly impressed Izuku during training and proved tough to catch. He was also present when a hero squad kicked down the front door of the League of Villains lair and faced All For One. Retirement? Please!
3 Izuku Midoriya
Now we're really reaching the heights of melee power in My Hero Academia. This is the protagonist himself, born quirkless in a world of quirks and heroes. But he has the brave, selfless soul of a hero all the same, and All Might was deeply impressed. After Izuku completed a grueling training workout to get Olympics-worthy muscles, he was gifted with One For All.
Izuku is still figuring out his new quirk, but he's a quick learner, especially when he started doing more kicks and performed Full Cowling. He took down the monstrous villain Muscular, and he only very narrowly lost to a fully-powered Katsuki Bakugo. He even forced the genius Shoto Todoroki to go all out! And Izuku is still reaching for new heights...
2 Mirio Togata
In a manner of speaking, Mirio, Izuku, and All Might are all in the same club. They were born relatively powerless but had the soul of a hero nevertheless. Mirio's phasing quirk seemed totally useless... until this tough-as-nails boy figured out how to truly use it!
He can phase through the floor, walls, and anything else to ambush his opponents and allow any return fire to pass harmlessly through him. On top of that, he's built like a Greek god (and hits like one), and he uses vast battlefield experience and intuition to win the day. Even among fully professional heroes, his power is incredible.
1 All Might
There was never any doubt, was there? Toshinori Yagi, or All Might, the Symbol of Peace, is more a god than a man. In his prime, absolutely nothing could stand in his way, and he would save the day again and again while inspiring the people with his dazzling smile and reassuring words. In the past, he also helped put a stop (temporarily) to All For One's rampage.
Unfortunately, time has not been kind to All Might, and, as the villains noticed, his power is fading fast. He's the eighth user of One For All, and he has since entrusted it to Izuku. Still, despite his diminished power and serious injury, he fought off a seemingly invincible Nomu at USJ (to Tomura's shock and outrage). Finally, he mustered every scrap of strength to unleash a terrific United States of Smash to put down All For One for good. He's ending things with a bang, all right!