My Hero Academia's Class 1-A has twenty students, all of whom are talented heroes-in-training - devoted to fighting for good and stopping evildoers. However, for almost as long as the series has been around, members of its fandom have wondered what these same twenty students would look like - and how they would behave - if they were villains. Believe it or not, there's a veritable plethora of fan content created around this idea alone.
Today, we're going to look at 10 of the most creative pieces of fan art that detail a more sinister side to Class 1-A's students - be sure to check out the original artists!
10 Mina Ashido
Mina Ashido is one of the most enthusiastic, energetic students in Class 1-A; she enjoys life as a hero and, for the most part, wants to make sure her friends do as well. But what if that concept was flipped on its head? This fanart, created by @MambyBambi, showcases an older Mina - now a Queen among villains. The picture has a uniquely ominous aesthetic - from the wings dripping with acid to the authoritative pose Mina seems to be taking.
While it's hard to see Mina going this direction, this art serves as a perfect depiction of what she'd look like at her most evil.
9 Minoru Mineta
This remarkably interesting fanart is high-quality and almost Bohemian in its execution; created by Instagram user @nadaboodraws, it paints Class 1-A's most immature student a little more different than usual. He's a bit older than he was, clearly much more focused, and, of course, decidedly villainish.
The aforementioned artist created several other pieces of fanart relating to this villainous spin on Mineta, plus an entire story built around the concept (it explains his scar, as well as why he turned from heroism to depravity); you can check out all of that out here.
8 Shoto Todoroki & Momo Yaoyorozu
Plenty of fans ship Shoto and Momo, but this might not have been quite what they envisioned. Created by Tumblr user @verdandys-art, this fanart depicts the two becoming a successful villain duo. We could definitely see this as being possible in an alternate universe, especially since Momo and Todoroki have two of the most powerful Quirks in the entire series - not to mention that they definitely would work well together.
In praise of the art itself, it gives off a thoroughly villainous (in the best possible way) vibe, thanks to the juxtaposition of fierce red and blue colors and the palpable confidence of its subjects.
7 Katsuki Bakugo
Out of all the students in Class 1-A, Bakugo is definitely the one whose appearance best matches that of a villain. Even a screenshot of him from the anime (at least during one of his anger spurts) can make him look like a sinister ne'er-do-well, despite the fact that he's a member of the Hero Program.
This colorful, unique art by Whitney Peters (@nillas-art-den on Tumblr) takes Bakugo's evil side to a whole other level with expert, almost menacing shading and the addition of a fiery emblem.
6 Tsuyu Asui
Reddit user u/SlammGore presented us with this delightfully devilish version of Tsuyu, and honestly, it's pretty impressive. The artist decided to make as many changes as possible to ensure Tsuyu looks the villain role perfectly while still retaining her recognizability. While it's very sketchlike in its cartoonishness and shading, it's still a pretty cool piece of fan art.
Another great detail is how it plays polar opposites with Tsuyu's usually easygoing personality, almost as if she was holding in emotions and finally snapped - poignant but simple.
5 Fumikage Tokiyame
Twitter user @QorWary shared her spectacular vision of a villainous Tokoyami with the world in the form of a fanart post on Amino. Tokoyami's entire appearance seems shrouded in a mysterious calm, while, for the most part, his outfit parallels his previous look.
The obvious addition is a futuristic, almost cyberpunk, design that looks so amazing that it's easily the image's biggest talking point.
4 Kyoka Jirou
Jirou, as a villain, seems a little more chill than our previous examples - she's definitely enjoying her new self. Some deliciously evil adjustments have been made to her traditional outfit by this image's creator, Instagram user @xiaoann - most notably the blades now protruding from her audio jacks. Keep in mind isn't @xiaoann's first "villain version" of a Class 1-A student, by far; the insanely talented artist has given the baddie treatment to Kirishima, Izuku, Momo, Bakugo, Todoroki, and Uraraka as well.
We'd encourage you to check as many of these out as possible, as they're just as good as (if not better than) the other entries on this list.
3 Tenya Iida
This artwork certainly doesn't change much about Tenya Iida's design; instead, the underlying evil nature it cleverly cloaks is its key feature. The only noticeable marker of Tenya's evil persona is an uncharacteristic smirk that he makes no attempt to hide - it speaks volumes.
Tumblr user @Karita-Chan, the fanart maestro responsible for this piece, has created similar villain art of many of My Hero Academia's characters, including those in Class 1-A - you can view some of the best examples here.
2 Ochaco Uraraka
This villain Uraraka drawing works so well because it's not flashy or pretentious - rather, it's simple and subtle. The colors and shading are extremely well-realized, and the image's creator, @echo_106_ on Instagram, seems to have an understanding of art "hacks", so to speak.
Plus, this particular piece of fanart only gets better the longer you look at it, as the quasi-3D effects make Uraraka's distinctive features pop off the screen in a way that's both visually and aesthetically impressive.
1 Izuku Midoriya
While there's a lot of villain Deku fanart (and we do mean a lot), seemingly all over the Internet, this piece is almost unique. Created by Twitter user @A_LO_sang, it's genuinely creepy and clearly showcases Deku's evilness - without relying on gore or cheap image-editing tricks.
Succinct and modest (though not to a fault), the image relies on just four key colors to communicate its message, successfully accomplishing this task without error.