What's a good Shonen manga or western comic book series without some awesome villains to fight? Superman, Captain America, and All Might would just play chess in the park all day long if they didn't have classic villains to fight. A good villain is someone who's somewhat sympathetic, but ultimately, their goals and plans will harm or destroy many other people around them. A villain is ruthless, powerful, and confident, and they have values and worldviews that clash with those of the hero.
Meanwhile, My Hero Academia has plenty of cool villains already, and they're organized into the League, various crime families, and more. But what if we had more? Among the heroes and UA students, there are some characters whos quirks, personalities, or costumes would make them into fascinating villains. Let's see which heroes would shine if they walked the path of darkness instead.
10 Eijiro Kirishima
Let's get one thing out of the way: many of these characters are actually nice people, but their quirks and other attributes would look even cooler if used for villainy. Enter Eijiro Kirishima, the tough and confident manly-man of hero class 1-A. As we know him, he's a total pal, and he's got your back.
But with his pointed teeth and red hair, and Mad Max-style outfit, he already looks more like a scary minion of a crime lord. His hardening quirk means that he could take on several heroes at once, and the heroes would have to persevere and find true inner strength to take him down. The Shonen world has seen plenty of fights like that, after all. Now it could be Kirishima's turn!
9 Momo Yaoyorozu
Uh-oh! How did our beloved Momo turn evil? Perhaps she grew tired of the stifling rich family life and took a dark route to carve her own identity in the world? With Momo's brains and incredible quirk, she could easily create her own villain team and wreak havoc in all kinds of ways.
Her creation quirk would allow her to counteract nearly any plan or combination of quirks the heroes could throw at her, and she could also issue gas masks, swords, communications gear, and more to her villainous minions to make them more effective.
8 Neito Monoma
It's kind of scary to think about, but even within My Hero Academia, Neito is actually getting perilously close to becoming a villain. He is spiteful, envious, boastful, and secretly insecure. None of those are traits of a hero... but they appear on the checklist of many minor villains!
He's not stupid, though, and he could run a small villain gang and tear up the streets. His copy quirk could serve as a nasty surprise to any heroes who try to apprehend him, and he'd give them a real taste of their own medicine! How are you supposed to defeat your own quirk?
7 Best Jeanist
Like Eijiro Kirishima, the high-ranked hero known as Best Jeanist already has a villainous look (not to mention Gang Orca). He's calm and stern, and his all-denim outfit hides most of his face. Often, villains hide their faces to escape capture or to hide scars or deformations. Or just to look cool.
Let's also factor in this man's quirk, which allows him to create tough and long threads that can capture just about anyone, or slice them apart. He could easily set traps for heroes who try to apprehend him, or block off an alleyway and prevent heroic reinforcements from arriving. Bad guys also like to use powers such as this to capture victims and deliver a monologue. You're a spider in his web!
6 Midnight
She's an alluring beauty... and that's the point! She's called the R-rated hero, using her sleep vapors to put people (especially men) right to sleep. That's great for capturing villains, but it's even better if she's the villain!
Midnight's name and appearance are perfect for the "seductive killer" vibe, which some female villains in comics opt for. Her sleep vapors are an excellent way to disable powerful heroes to set up an escape, or she could use that quirk to knock out everyone in banks or jewelry store and make off with the goods!
5 Toru Hagakure
Hey, where is she? We can't find her! Exactly. In the real story of My Hero Academia, Toru Hagakure's quirk makes her body 100% invisible at all times, which gives her some serious aptitude for ambushes and stealth. She is the ultimate fly on the wall, especially if she is wearing little clothing.
Imagine her using that power for evil. Stealing would be a cinch, and she could escape any attempt to apprehend her. Her invisibility also gives her an aura of tantalizing mystery, and the heroes would never see her coming until it's too late!
4 Mei Hatsume
She is a UA student in the support department, and there, she builds all kinds of heroic gadgets, or "babies." No matter your quirk, Mei can build a helmet, visor, boots, jetpack, or whatever else you need. Her zoom-vision quirk gives her natural microscopes to work with.
But there's always an evil tinkerer, and Mei would make a fine villain when she uses her talents to build gadgets of destruction and crime. Every time the heroes fight members of evil-Mei's gang, they've got new "babies" to fight back with. Even lesser villains could use her gear, such as jetpacks or flamethrowers or poison dart throwers.
3 Inasa Yoarashi
Whoa, look at that scary costume! Are we sure that Inasa isn't already a villain? Rest assured, he's a student at the famed Shiketsu school, and he wants to be a hero 100%.
But we could easily translate him into a villain, too, and not change a single detail of that costume. His whirlwind quirk is powerful, and it would give the heroes a real headache in combat. Inasa's personality is surprisingly suitable for a villain too, since he's enthusiastic and loud. We can picture him pummeling the heroes and saying something like "Come on, is that all? Fight me for real! Have some fun with me, even if it kills you!" Indeed, some villains just enjoy fighting and want to draw out the best from their opponent.
2 Mt. Lady
She's a rather flirty and carefree hero who can expand herself to be around 70 feet tall, and in this giant form, no villain is beyond her reach. But suppose she were the villain? In this giant form, Mt. Lady could easily demolish anything, anywhere, and totally wreak havoc. She'd be King King with brains!
You'd never guess it, either, because in everyday life she'd probably maintain her casual and easygoing nature to fool everyone. But once she expands... watch out! Being big makes her an equally large target, though, so she'd need other villains covering her (enormous) back.
1 Melissa Shield
Even Melissa Shield is going to the dark side?! Well, actually, she easily could have, if it weren't for her stellar and selfless personality. This California blondie is quirkless, but being inspired by her scientist father, she uses her brains rather than quirks to make the world a better place.
In an alternate vision of the story, she'd be horribly bitter and feel invalidated in a world of quirks, so she'd become the queen of a crime family and use quirks to her own destructive and selfish ends. Or maybe she would only recruit other quirkless people, who would use specialized weapons to counter the quirks of heroes. Maybe a dark-side Mei Hatsume could help with that!