Any good superhero story will be defined not only by its heroes but by the exciting and terrifying villains who stand for chaos, destruction, and vengeance. My Hero Academia's large cast of characters (including the Vigilantes spinoff) features many diverse villains major and minor, and many of them get a chance to truly shine in battle. But others didn't get their fair share.
Some villains were captured or killed before they could make the most of their Quirks or their abilities, fought a weak opponent, or only had one fight scene when they could have had several. Specific villains and antagonists in the story stand out as those who should have starred in more action scenes to show everyone what they can truly do.
10 Muscular Only Fought One Mirror Match
The villain known as Muscular is a curious case. In a sense, this powerhouse member of the League of Villains did live up to his potential, since he used his incredible muscle-strengthening Quirk to deal a serious beating to Izuku Midoriya during their duel. Muscular held nothing back.
This was an exciting fight scene, to be sure, but it was Muscular's only real fight in the anime, and one wonders what Muscular would do if he faced elemental heroes such as Shoto Todoroki and Katsuki Bakugo. How would Muscular handle a squad of ranged heroes? Now that would be interesting to see.
9 Mustard Went Down Easily After Momo Made Gas Masks To Shield Against His Poison
Mustard is a character who relies almost entirely on his Quirk during combat, since his martial arts skills and physical strength are minimal. He made a good show of creating a poison gas vortex, but then he got cocky as he faced Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Itsuka Kendo close up.
Mustard used a revolver and scornful words to fight, but his poison gas attacks had little impact on the battle overall since Momo Yaoyorozu made gas masks for everyone. Mustard would be much more effective in an urban battlefield, spreading his poison gas from a hiding spot in a building.
8 Saiko Intelli Was Foiled By The Friendship In Class 1-A
Saiko Intelli is not an in-universe villain; rather, she is a minor villain from a storytelling point of view, since she was quite hostile to class 1-A in the provisional hero license exam. In particular, she and her classmates tried to take down four class 1-A students at once: Tsuyu Asui, Momo, Mezo Shoji, and Kyoka Jiro.
At first, Saiko had the edge, but the four U.A. classmates fought their way out of this trap, and it should be noted that Saiko's team outnumbered them at least two to one, but still lost. Surely, Saiko can accomplish more than this with her high-IQ Quirk.
7 Innsmouth Was The Octopus Villain Of A Very Short Filler Arc
Innsmouth the villain never got a chance to show everyone what he can do since he appeared in a very short filler arc to serve as an antagonist to Tsuyu Asui and the pro hero Selkie. Innsmouth is a smuggler and a master of the high seas, but he went down like a Saturday morning cartoon villain.
In the grand scheme of things, Innsmouth really wasn't that powerful a villain. Still, he could have been slippery, clever, and resourceful in the battle against pro heroes, and he could have terrorized the coastline for more than one episode. The ocean is his home, after all. Yet he went down so fast.
6 The Chainsaw Nomu Simply Retreated Before It Could Engage In An Intense Battle
The Nomu creatures are the creations of the League of Villains, and they are often gifted with incredibly powerful Quirks. Many Nomu have distinct combat roles that may reflect in their appearance and Quirks, and one of the scariest was the chainsaw Nomu that nearly killed Momo and Yosetsu Awase.
This Nomu could have put up a great fight against classes 1-A and 1-B, but it was soon recalled, and departed before any cool fight scenes could unfold. Instead, Momo had a tracker attached to the chainsaw Nomu, allowing her to find the whereabouts of Katsuki Bakugo later.
5 Magne's Quirk Had The Potential To Do More Than Just Draw People Together
Magne's combat style was roughly 50/50 between martial arts and Quirk usage, and Magne's Quirk could charge people with magnetic polarity. Men and women are attracted to each other, having opposite poles, and Magne can elegantly use this in combat to throw the enemy into disarray.
In the series, Magne did this to draw the male villains toward Himiko Toga to force them all into Kurogiri's Warp Gate ability, but otherwise, this Quirk was hardly ever put to use. How else could Magne have sowed discord in the battlefield with it? Now there's no way to know.
4 Toya Setsuno Could've Used His Larceny Quirk For More Petty Crimes
One of the Eight Bullets of the Shie Hassaikai gang is Toya Setsuno, a blond fellow who can use his Larceny Quirk to yank an item out of someone's hands or out of their pockets and draw it to his own hand. Toya even did this to deprive Tamaki Amajiki of several of his food-based weapons.
Toya fought well with his two comrades against Tamaki, but in theory, Toya could use this ability for all kinds of petty crime, from yanking the pistols out of police officers' hands to stealing purses and much more. This Quirk is actually better on the streets than in battle against pro heroes, for the most part.
3 Shin Nemoto Was The Ultimate Interrogator Who Didn't Gather As Much Intel As One Would Expect
Shin Nemoto is another member of the Eight Bullets, along with Toya. He is no good in physical combat; instead, Shin relies entirely on his Quirk, named Confession, to gain valuable intel for Shie Hassaikai to use against its enemies.
Shin can force someone to answer his questions truthfully when his Quirk is used, which is an excellent way to interrogate someone, aside from actual mind-reading. Here again, this Quirk is better off in the streets than against pro heroes, such as interrogating captured rival gang members or even captured police officers. But he didn't do much of this in the anime.
2 Rojiya Yonenaga Was The Villainous Captain America
Rojiya Yonenaga is a minor but flavorful villain in the broader My Hero Academia universe, being a part of the Yakuza until the hero killer Stain took them all down. These villains were modeled after the Avengers, and Rojiya was the stand-in for Captain America himself.
Rojiya had a strength-enhancing Quirk that allowed him to seize and throw manhole covers like deadly Frisbees to crush his enemies from afar or shield himself from return fire. It's too bad he went down so easily against Stain/Stendhal; it would have been so much fun to see a villainous Captain America at work.
1 Tetsu Was The Villainous Iron Man
The villain known only a "Tank" Tetsu was another Avengers-themed Yakuza member, whose Quirk allowed him to form and use a high-tech suit of armor that could fire energy beams from the palms. He is the villainous Iron Man, suited up for battle.
But not for long. Tetsu went down easily when Stendhal raided the Yakuza, and Tetsu barely got a chance to show off his stylish battle suit before he succumbed to Stendhal's Quirk and blade. This villain definitely deserved more screen time than that.