My Hero Academia is easily one of the most popular shonen anime series to come out over the past few years. The anime’s audience continues to grow and it tells a story that effectively matures along with the characters, which makes each new season feel new and not regressive of past adventures.
My Hero Academia has introduced some extremely powerful characters and the anime’s upcoming fifth season will likely bring even larger dangers forward. There is no shortage of intimidating and powerful villains in My Hero Academia, all of which are fascinating foils for the heroes in the series. It’s an anime where the next attack is always right around the corner.
10 Twice Is Highly Unstable & It’s One Of His Best Strengths
My Hero Academia showcases a wide range of personalities and there’s usually some degree of dysfunction that exists within the many villains. Twice is an extreme example of this and he often feels like the series’ answer to Deadpool, only he’s more chaotic than playful. Twice’s Double Quirk allows him to make exact replicas of people or objects, but he’s lost track of this and unsure if he himself is a double or the original. These destructive thoughts make Twice a wild card that should never be underestimated.
9 Himiko Toga Combines Wild Behavior With A Deceptive Quirk
Himiko Toga is a villain who becomes increasingly important in My Hero Academia’s later seasons. She’s used sparingly, which makes her violent acts stand out even more. Himiko’s Quirk, Transform, is activated through the disturbing ingestion of someone’s blood. This lets Himiko transform into that individual, right down to properly mimicking their voice. This Quirk means that everyone needs to consistently stay on their toes and not be too trusting. Himiko Toga’s unhealthy obsession over Midoriya also makes her even more unsettling. She’s set to accomplish big things in the villain community.
8 Gentle Criminal & La Brava Bring Out The Best In Each Other
Gentle Criminal and La Brava are a duo that pushes the line between heroes and villains. They become a fascinating character study over public perception and the need for validation. The two are introduced as jokes, but they turn into persistent opponents for a solo Izuku Midoriya.
Gentle Criminal’s Elasticity Quirk makes him surprisingly mobile and versatile, but he’s only a major threat when he’s aided by La Brava’s Love Quirk. La Brava can apply a tremendous boost in power to those she feels genuine love towards. It’s a duo that turns their codependency into a major asset.
7 The Entire League Of Villains Can’t Take Out Gigantomachia
Some of the characters in My Hero Academia are able to effectively hide their Quirks, but it's pretty much impossible to miss that Gigantomachia is an unusual individual. As the villain's name teases, Gigantomachia is an enormous size and has strength and durability to match. Gigantomachia has been All For One's bodyguard and a fundamental force on the League of Villains. Gigantomachia has been used in training exercises where it's revealed that the collective efforts of the League of Villains couldn't injure him. It requires a large team of accomplished individuals to get anywhere with Gigantomachia.
6 Re-Destro Has Taken Out Cities & Led Armies Of Villains
Destro is described as one of the most dangerous villains from the My Hero Academia universe, but he pre-dates the events of the series. However, Re-Destro, Rikiya Yotsubashi, is nearly just as dangerous. Re-Destro's Stress Quirk allows him to convert the stress in his body into brute strength. Stress doesn’t necessarily have a limit to it, so Re-Destro's power can get quite extreme. He's taken out an entire city and held his own against Shigaraki. He's not just one of Shigaraki's most valuable soldiers in the Paranormal Liberation Front, but he also used to lead the Meta Liberation Army.
5 Stain’s Reputation Makes Him A Boogeyman To Heroes
My Hero Academia is very interested in the power of the individual and how it’s just as important to represent a cause as it is to possess a strong Quirk. The Hero Killer, Stain, introduces a radically new status quo where he exhibits disgust over those that abuse the title of hero and don’t deserve it.
Stain incites a revolution through his vigilante nature, but he also has a very dangerous and disturbing Quirk to fall back on. The Bloodcurdle Quirk allows Stain to paralyze individuals when he licks their blood. He’s immobilized some very powerful heroes this way.
4 Nine Wields Many Quirks That Push Midoriya & Bakugo To Their Limits
Nine is the primary villain in the second My Hero Academia movie, Heroes Rising. Much like All For One, Nine is someone who is able to steal Quirks from other people, but he’s done this enough times to acquire eight powerful abilities and he still wants more. Nine’s defeat involves extreme cooperation from Deku and Bakugo and there’s a good deal of luck involved. Nine might actually be the strongest villain to enter the My Hero Academia universe just because of how many Quirks he possesses, but his limited tenure in Heroes Rising means that his full potential isn’t explored.
3 Kai Chisaki’s Overhaul Dismantles Others To Gain More Power
Kai Chisaki, otherwise known as Overhaul, is the predominant villain in My Hero Academia’s fourth season and he's someone who's as sociopathic as he is powerful. Overhaul runs the Shie Hassaikai criminal organization and he tries to erase Quirks from powerful heroes. Overhaul's Quirk takes a cue from Shigaraki's Decay in the sense that he can deconstruct anyone into nothingness. However, he can also reconstruct people to be a part of his body and become even stronger. It leads to one of the series' biggest battles, and Overhaul is even able to briefly withstands One For All at 100%.
2 The Heights Of Shigaraki Tomura’s Evil Have Yet To Be Seen
Shigaraki Tomura is an early evil that looms in My Hero Academia, but he hasn’t reached his full potential until recently in the series. Shigaraki’s disturbing appearance makes him quite intimidating, but he’s also the leader of the League of Villains and the Paranormal Liberation Front. Shigaraki’s Decay Quirk allows him to turn anyone to dust upon making contact, but he’s recently upgraded his power to erase people without even having to make contact. Shigaraki demonstrates this to catastrophic effect, but he’s still not satisfied and determined to undergo operations to become even more powerful and dangerous.
1 All For One Is The Ultimate Symbol Of Evil
All For One is a deeply malevolent individual that My Hero Academia perfectly establishes as the dark counterpart to All Might. Al For One is one of the few individuals in the series who has more than one Quirk at his disposal. All For One doesn't get many opportunities to show off the full extent of his strength, but he engages in battles against All Might and withstands One For All at its worst. All For One remains locked away under tight supervision, but it feels like he’ll eventually get to prove just how far his powers go.