Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia is one of the most popular manga series in Jump currently. With an immersive world and enjoyable arcs, it is easy to see why it has gained so much popularity over the years.
One of the recent additions to the My Hero Academia series was the Gentle Criminal arc, which introduced Gentle and La Brava to us as U.A prepared for the Cultural Festival. Although not every main character took part in the arc, some of the strongest did make their presence known.
10 La Brava
La Brava is a villain who served as one of the associates of Gentle in the arc. Although she isn't gifted in terms of physical prowess, she does make up for the lack of it by her support Quirk ability, which is phenomenal, to say the least.
Her Quirk, called Love, allows her to give a power boost to anyone she has a close love bond with. The powers granted by this Quirk are increased further as La Brava's love increases. It was only thanks to her powers that Gentle was able to fight against Midoriya for as long as he did.
9 Midnight
Midnight is a Pro Hero and also one of the teachers at the U.A. High School. She possesses a Quirk named Somnambulist with which she can release a gas capable of putting anyone within its range to sleep.
Although the ability seems weak, it is quite useful when used properly. The true extent of her abilities is yet to be revealed, but just being a Pro Hero says a lot about her powers.
8 Gentle Criminal
Danjuro Tobita, better known by the name of Gentle Criminal, served as the main antagonist of the U.A. School Festival Arc. He is a very powerful villain, capable of taking on defeating many Pro Heroes by himself. In the arc, he managed to fight against Midoriya on an equal footing as well.
Gentle's Quirk is named Elasticity and it allows him to bestow elasticity to anything he touches. According to Midoriya, Gentle was the most difficult person he had ever fought at the time.
7 Shoto Todoroki
The son of Pro Hero Endeavor, Shoto is a student from Class 1-A at U.A. High School. He possesses a Quirk known as Half-Cold Half-Hot which allows him to use fire and ice as his weapons.
Upon unleashing his maximum powers, Todoroki is a force to be reckoned with and he grows even stronger than your average Pro Hero. Shoto is one of the strongest students of his generation and is on equal footing with Midoriya and Bakugo.
6 Izuku Midoriya
Midoriya is the main protagonist of My Hero Academia series and the 9th user of the One For All. He is a very powerful hero who has even managed to defeat those far above his level.
Trained by All Might and Grand Torino, it's not a surprise to see why Midoriya has grown as strong in a short duration of time. In the Gentle Criminal arc, Midoriya was primarily responsible for stopping Gentle and La Brava, and saving U.A in the process.
5 Katsuki Bakugo
Bakugo is a U.A. High School student who is gifted in terms of combat abilities. Known to have one of the strongest Quirks in the series, called Explosion, Bakugo can release nitroglycerin from his sweat glands and create explosions.
His physical strength is tremendous and is further enhanced thanks to his Quirk. Bakugo has fought and defeated several powerful characters, such as Kurogiri and even Izuku. Even All Might, the greatest Hero, acknowledged his skills.
4 Shota Aizawa
Aizawa is one of the teachers in U.A. Highschool who also serves as a Pro Hero. Renowned by his Hero name of Eraser Head, he uses his Quirk, known as Erasure, to nullify anyone's Quirk by looking at them.
Combined with his physical strength, Aizawa becomes strong enough to deal with multiple enemies at once. Aizawa's true powers aren't known, however, he is considered to be one of the strongest characters in the entire series.
3 Nejire Hado
Hado is a student at U.A. Highschool who is also one of the members of the Big Three. Being one of the strongest students, she possesses great powers, comparable to that of many powerful pro Heroes.
Her Quirk is called Wave Motion, and it allows her to convert her stamina into powerful shockwaves, capable of devastating her opponents. She likes to fight from distance which gives her great advantage over her enemies. However, that certainly doesn't mean she's weak in close combat as she's proven time and again that she is a complete fighter.
2 Ectoplasm
Ectoplasm is one of the Pro Heroes who teaches at U.A. High School. He possesses a great Quirk named Clones that allows him to replicate himself as clones, all of which seem to be extremely powerful.
Ectoplasm is a pretty strong Hero and he's known to excel in close-quarters combat. He proved to be strong enough to overpower Fumikage's Dark Shadow with ease, which says a lot about his physical prowess.
1 Tamaki
Another member of the U.A Big Three, Tamaki is known to possess insane strength as a fighter which allows him to overcome almost any opponent standing in his way.
He possesses a Quirk called Manifest which grants him the ability to turn his limbs into anything that he has previously eaten. The more Tamaki eat the more powerful that manifestation becomes. His powers are even greater than the likes of the Pro Hero Fat Gum, and even Eraser Head, despite being just a student.