Fans of shonen anime tend to be a little obsessed with power levels. Nowhere is this more clear than the debates over which My Hero Academia character is the most powerful. In a world where every hero's Quirk serves a useful function in society, ranking characters by sheer combat prowess is a little redundant. However, at the same time, if these heroes were to be in a fight, which one would be the most agile, the strongest? And which hero would be the weakest?

We will take into account not only the current powers of the heroes of My Hero Academia, but also the potential combine output. With that in mind, who is the strongest and the weakest hero in Class 1-A?

When looking at Class 1-A, it helps to sort out the 20 students of Class 1-A into categories: Who are the strongest and who are the weakest?

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It might seem easy to dismiss Hagakure as the weakest, being she's just invisible. However, invisibility is a useful stealth ability, which makes her incredibly dangerous. Heroes like Asui, whose powers aren't particularly flashy, still make great use of those abilities. Asui in particular, thanks to her frog abilities, is virtually unstoppable in water. Koda in particular is a walking force of destruction if he's near animals.

Heroes like Midoriya, Sato and Kaminari have extraordinary powers that come at extraordinary risks. When they're at their peaks, they're unstoppable. Their power cool-downs, however, are too much.

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When looking at the weakest students, a few stand out: Shoji, Ashido, Aoyama and Mineta.

It's not Mineta

Mineta might be the obvious weak link. His powers are a less-useful version of Sero's tape powers, after all: Mineta makes sticky grapes. However, Mineta has proved himself a threat on multiple occasions, which means the worst student in Class 1-A can't be him. So, if not, who?

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Aoyama's belly-button laser isn't a particularly lethal threat, but it can project him distances as well as inflict damage (minimal damage compared to Ashido's far superior acid). However, because his belly button can at least be a weapon, he probably can't qualify as the worst. As already mentioned, Ashido's acid can inflict more damage than Aoyama's belly button, so, again, of this bottom category, she stands atop them all.

Shoji can grow extra body parts, making him intimidating. However, that's not particularly useful when one considers how little this can benefit him. Shoji might be intimidating, but, in terms of power level, Shoji is the weakest.

The Five Strongest

The five strongest are easy to determine -- or, at least, three of the five are. Midoriya, Bakugo and Todoroki are very clearly among the strongest.

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Rounding out the other two slots, however, is trickier. Yaoyorozu has an incredible power that can be used in various ways, but it'soften used in support of other characters. Iida is incredibly fast, which is a vital power, but this ability is easily nullified if his leg-pipes are clogged. Kirishima's hardening power makes him incredibly durable and skilled, but there are still ways he can be beaten despite that.

The two other strongest, therefore, are Uraraka, for her gravity manipulation abilities, and Tokoyami for his Dark Shadow.

Let's Address This First

my-hero-academia

Let's remove Izuku Midoriya from the equation.

It is already confirmed, thanks to the narration in the second episode, that Midoriya will be the world's greatest hero. At some point, he will prove himself to be the most powerful character in the series. And, indeed, Midoriya is capable, at this point in the anime, of overpowering adversaries.

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However, Midoriya still hasn't figured out to utilize his powers in a way that doesn't inflict damage to himself. He's trained his body to be better, but the current cost of his power makes it difficult to measure his strength in relation to others. In terms of sheer unrelenting force, Midoriya is stronger. However, characters like Bakugo and Todoroki can overpower him.

Midoriya's greatest strength, which comes at no cost of his own flesh and blood, is his tactical genius. He is a brilliant tactician in the heat of battle. That makes him most efficient when working in a group where he can fall back on friends to help him put off actually using his powers. However, when fighting one-on-one, his victory rate is far slimmer than expected. Even when he does win, he often needs to take a trip to the hospital. So while he will one day be the strongest, he isn't there yet.

Narrowing it Down

From here, things get more complicated. Tokoyami's Dark Shadow is capable of amazing feats of power, but only in the dark. In the light, he is far more useful. That means anyone who can create light, such as Todoroki from his flames, could, in theory, totally neutralize Tokoyami's power set.

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On the other hand, Bakugo is incredibly powerful. As proven in every one of his fights, he's a terrific fighter, capable of explosive power. So is Todoroki. However, Uraraka's abilities have the potential to out-class both of theirs. Her power to manipulate gravity, should it develop in even more dangerous ways, could allow her to manipulate entire landscapes. She used her abilities in clever ways to stand up to Bakugo. If Bakugo's abilities didn't perfectly counter hers, she might have beaten him in the Sports Festival Arc. But Uraraka currently can't yet stand up to Bakugo. That leaves ...

Todoroki vs. Bakugo

The two fought during the Sports Festival Arc, with Bakugo winning. However, Todoroki had been exhausted following his fight with Midoriya, making it an unfair match. When comparing their potential power output, however, it's clear who the winner would have been.

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Bakugo is a tremendous force of destruction, yes. He can create massive explosions, and fight with the best of them. However, his abilities in no way have the same reach or power output as Todoroki. Todoroki's versatility in combat makes him an almost unstoppable opponent. Sure, Bakugo could power through his ice walls with his explosions and perhaps redirect the flames with enough force, but Bakugo's power comes from his using his body sweat as an explosive device.

Todoroki, however, seemingly has no limitations. As such, the most powerful student in Class 1-A, at this point, is Todoroki.

Fittingly, the top two narrowed down in this arc are the only ones who failed the Provisional License Exam in Class 1-A. Power does not translate into skill as a hero, as My Hero Academia proves. Every student is capable of greatness, but, equally important, power isn't the only factor in victory.

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