When it comes to impressive quirks on My Hero Academia, the students of U.A. High have more than enough interesting powers to keep viewers engaged and interested in the series. But given that the anime focuses so heavily on the students — particularly those from Class 1-A — it can be easy to forget that the staff members at the school are Pros with equally as impressive abilities.
Each of the U.A. High staff members has a quirk that has landed them among the most respected Pro Heroes, but some have a more powerful combination of capabilities than others.
Here are the 10 most powerful staff members at U.A. High, ranked.
10 Thirteen
Thirteen is one of the faculty members at U.A. High who has a quirk that should be impressive. Unfortunately, we've never seen her do anything incredibly successful with it. "Black Hole" allows Thirteen to suck up her opponents, but the two times she's attempted to do so during the anime have both failed — leaving fans with the realization that there's actually a lot that can go wrong when Thirteen uses it.
Not only can unseen circumstances get in the way of Thirteen's quirk, but the Pro Hero isn't necessarily fast or skilled in combat to make up for this shortcoming. Uraraka easily takes her down with the offensive moves she learns at her internship during season two. It seems that Thirteen relies too much on her quirk to get by, and even that doesn’t ensure her winning.
9 Vlad King
Vlad King is the homeroom teacher for Class 1-B, and so, we don't see a ton of him throughout the anime. Class 1-B has made a few appearances — mostly so that Monoma can taunt his rival class — but they're mostly kept to the sidelines. Unfortunately, that means viewers rarely see Vlad King’s abilities in action.
From the one time we do see him fight, during the camp arc, it's clear that Vlad King's quirk is a pretty strong one. He's able to control blood and use it against his opponents, and he's able to take down a clone of Dabi with the ability — meaning it can't be all that useless. Still, we don't know enough about Vlad King's fighting style to place him higher on this list. And it doesn't bode well that he sometimes has to hurt himself to use his quirk.
8 Cementoss
Cementoss has a handy quirk when it comes to defense, and U.A. High makes sure to utilize it when the students are fighting one another. (Without Cementoss, Todoroki and Midoriya likely would have killed each other during the Sport's Festival.) Cementoss has the ability to manipulate anything made from cement, making his quirk more useful in more urban areas.
From what we've seen throughout the anime, Cementoss is particularly adept at creating huge walls of cement that are essentially impenetrable — and, as we see when Sato and Kirishima fight him, he's able to quickly replace them when they are knocked down. Still, even with his brute strength, Cementoss doesn’t seem all that impressive when it comes to agility or offensive maneuvers — and those are strengths many of the other staff members do have.
7 Snipe
Snipe is another one of the teachers My Hero Academia fans don’t see a ton of, but we do get to see his quirk in action during the second season. And in any situation where long-range attacks are possible, “Homing” does give the Pro Hero a promising advantage.
With his quirk, Snipe can control the trajectory of bullets — meaning his aim is nearly perfect. Unfortunately, when long-range attacks aren’t possible — or if there happen to be no bullets to control — Snipe’s ability does have a downside.
6 Nezu
Principal Nezu doesn't seem like much at first, and, admittedly, he won't pose a huge threat to any human who can get close enough to engage him in physical combat. That said, his fight against Kaminari and Ashido proves just how difficult getting near enough to defeat him would be. That’s because Nezu’s quirk, “High Spec,” makes him more intelligent than any human. In fact, that’s why he can live normally among them despite being an animal.
The fact that he is an animal, however, gives him extraordinary senses as well. Between his wit and his instincts, it’s hard to gain the upper hand against Nezu. He’d likely have a plan to defeat you before you even came up with one.
5 Present Mic
Present Mic is another one of U.A. High’s teachers who seems relatively harmless at first glance. But during his fight against Jiro and Koda, it quickly becomes clear just how useful Present Mic’s quirk can be. As it turns out, “Voice” can do far more than just make announcements during school events.
Using his quirk, Present Mic can reach volumes so loud that he can make his opponents’ ears bleed — an effect poor Jiro experiences firsthand. On top of keeping enemies at bay with his volume, Present Mic can also use his quirk to drown out sounds or choose what his enemies hear. This gives him an upper hand when it comes to both offense and defense. Only someone with a quirk allowing them to tunnel underground — like the bugs Koda uses against him — would be able to resist the effects.
4 Midnight
Amidst all the jokes about Midnight being a sadist, fans might forget that her quirk does make her a formidable opponent in battle. While she’d probably do fine in a test of speed or combat skill, Midnight doesn’t need to concern herself with all that. Her quirk, “Somnambulist,” allows her to put people to sleep by emitting a scent from her body.
Given that her enemies aren’t even able to stay conscious around her, Midnight obviously has the upper hand in most fights. The only real problem she faces is that her ability is less effective against women. (But it still isn’t completely useless.)
3 Ectoplasm
Although My Hero Academia fans only see Ectoplasm a handful of times, his quirk is undeniably one of the most powerful in comparison to those of his other staff members. He’s able to use “Clone” to make copies of himself — a skill that comes in handy when it comes to offense and defense. His opponents will have difficulty finding him, and he can use that to disguise his own attack.
And if his ability to clone himself isn’t enough, Ectoplasm also boasts impressive speed and has the ability to create a giant version of himself. With moves that boost his attack and defense, Ectoplasm has the best of both worlds.
2 Eraserhead
Eraserhead is Class 1-A's homeroom teacher, and he's got an impressive amount of skill for someone who spends so much time curled up in a yellow sleeping bag. Of course, Eraserhead’s quirk makes him pretty overpowered in battle: He’s able to temporarily erase the quirk of anyone he makes eye contact with.
But Eraserhead’s skill in battle doesn’t fully depend on his quirk. The Pro has demonstrated on multiple occasions that he’s extremely skilled in combat — and his scarf allows him to keep his enemies at bay or restrain them. With his quirk, physical strength, and gear, Eraserhead has proven himself one of the strongest teachers. How else could he take down so many League of a Villain flunkies?
1 All Might
It's no surprise that All Might is the most powerful teacher at U.A. High — though we might need to reconsider his place on this list after the events of season three. Assuming we're talking about the All Might we've seen for the majority of the series so far, though, he’s doubtlessly the strongest person at U.A. (He is the Number One Hero, after all.)
Using One For All makes All Might nearly invincible in battle, but even without his quirk, his agility and strength are a step ahead of everyone else’s — something Bakugo and Midoriya quickly pick up on during their final exams in season two. And considering All Might sent so many villains into hiding for so long, we’d have to conclude that he’s worthy of number one — even in comparison to his colleagues.