Ranking Deku's Quirks in My Hero Academia by their Practicality

Summary

Deku learns that his inherited Quirk, One For All, comes with both baggage and blessings as he gains the ability to manifest the Quirks of his predecessors.

Deku masters the various Quirks, defying conventional anime battle rules and integrating them seamlessly with his other talents to create ingenious tactics.

Each inherited Quirk possesses unique advantages and disadvantages, with certain ones proving more advantageous in specific scenarios. This emphasizes the significance of being adaptable.

In My Hero Academia, Deku experiences a significant revelation when he discovers that his inherited Quirk comes with both advantages and drawbacks upon seeing the previous wielders of One For All in his visions. He later realizes that he can access the Quirks of his predecessors, which grants him incredible new powers.

As Deku progresses, he learns to effectively utilize these powers by disregarding the traditional rules of anime battles. Furthermore, he showcases his intelligence by devising ingenious strategies that combine different percentages of One For All with his existing abilities. However, Deku's proficiency with his newfound Quirks ultimately depends on their usefulness in specific situations.

8. Transference

After receiving One For All from All Might, Deku discovers that the Quirk has been inherited through the generations, originating with All For One's brother. Although Yoichi was weak and ailment-ridden, he defied All For One's dictatorship. Instead of killing his brother, All For One chose to imprison him and forcibly bestow a Quirk upon him. Surprisingly, Yoichi possessed an unknown dormant ability that allowed him to pass on One For All to another individual. While this power lacks practicality in combat, Yoichi's capability to transfer One For All ensured that new heroes would persistently defy his brother's tyranny for many decades to come.

7. Float

Float, originally belonging to Nana Shimura, All Might's personal mentor, is a straightforward Quirk that grants the wielder the ability to hover in the air. The specific details of how she utilized this Quirk in conjunction with One For All while she was alive remain unclear. However, Deku has now been proficiently utilizing Float for some time. He unconsciously unlocks this second Quirk during his battle against the malevolent Tomura Shigaraki in order to protect his friends from the destructive power of Decay. With exceptional courage, Deku swiftly seizes everyone nearby with Blackwhip and levitates out of Tomura's reach, preventing the loss of several lives. Float also proves to be advantageous during his rematch with Muscular, enabling him to effortlessly evade the villain's punches. While Shimura's Quirk lacks inherent offensive or defensive capabilities, it surpasses the use of manufactured means of transportation.

6. Smokescreen

One For All's sixth holder, En, possesses a Quirk called Smokescreen, which allows them to generate a dense smog from their body, serving as effective camouflage. While this ability is impressive, Deku sometimes tends to go overboard and produces excessive smoke, obstructing their own visibility. En initially deems their Quirk useless in combat, until Deku unveils their Full Blast Signature Move to conceal themselves from Lady Nagant's scrutiny. However, against adversaries like All For One, who doesn't rely heavily on vision due to his Infrared Quirk compensating for his lack of eyesight, Smokescreen proves to be less advantageous.

5. Fa Jin

The Quirk possessed by Fa Jin, the as-yet-unnamed third user, shows a remarkable resemblance to the Springlike Limbs and Absorption & Release Quirks utilized by both All For One and one of his Nomu. By performing consistent body movements, Fa Jin can harness substantial amounts of potential energy, which is then stored in their muscles. This accumulated energy can later be converted into kinetic energy, resulting in a temporary yet significant boost in the user's physical agility and strength. Fa Jin, on its own, proves to be highly useful, but when integrated by Deku with the powers of One For All and Black Whip, its effectiveness increases greatly. In fact, Deku's incorporation of Fa Jin allows him to save Overhaul's life by effortlessly surpassing Lady Nagant's hypersonic projectiles. With sufficient practice, it is likely that the boundaries of Fa Jin's capabilities can be further expanded.

4. Blackwhip

Deku's initial Quirk subsequent to acquiring One For All is Blackwhip, which originates from Daigoro Banjo. This Quirk enables him to generate black vein-like extensions from his body, capable of being created simultaneously and directed for specific tasks. The potency of this Quirk is tied to the user's emotional state, which Deku cleverly utilizes to his advantage when restraining Tomura Shigaraki. Among Deku's Super Moves utilizing Blackwhip is Pinpoint Focus, in which he can illuminate a precise location of his choosing and extend a tendril from his mouth, mimicking the quirk employed by his fellow U.A. student, Tsuyu Asui. While Blackwhip offers an advantageous edge in intense combat, it remains unreliable due to its fragility and unpredictable nature.

3. Danger Sense

Hikage Shinomori's Danger Sense is arguably the most advantageous ability for a Pro Hero to possess as it alerts them to any impending threats in their immediate vicinity. Similar to Spider-Man's renowned Spider-Sense, this Quirk detects "malevolent thoughts" by scanning individuals around the user. However, it also implies that Deku may not be able to react swiftly if his opponents surpass him in speed or manage to conceal their malicious intentions. Despite failing to dodge Lady Nagant's bullets with Danger Sense, Deku recognizes the immense practicality that this Quirk holds in most situations. Notably, he would be able to detect All For One's presence from miles away.

2. Gearshift

Gearshift is the Quirk possessed by the Second User, who remains unnamed in the manga. It possesses the ability to manipulate the velocity and path of objects in motion, significantly amplifying the impact they ultimately deliver. This Quirk wields such immense power that it defies the laws of physics, completely disregarding the principle of inertia. However, due to its prolonged presence within One for All, the Quirk has become tremendously challenging to control, accompanied by a substantial recoil that can incapacitate the user if caution is not exercised. Given the extraordinary potency of Gearshift, it is classified as a "last resort," a measure that Deku should only resort to when pushed to his limits.

1. One For All

One For All is an indomitable force, surpassing the boundaries of human imagination within the story. Neither Deku, All Might, nor any of their predecessors can fully grasp the extent of this Quirk. Their understanding only encompasses the fact that One For All possesses a life force, encompassing every aspect of the term, and it is even speculated to possess consciousness.

This Quirk not only holds immeasurable power but also serves as a symbolic beacon that illuminates the darkness surrounding All For One. This is why the main antagonist in My Hero Academia is so desperate to steal it. All Might, as the only one of the nine users, has successfully defeated All For One twice in one-on-one battles. However, it will ultimately be Deku's responsibility to rid the world of this overpowering Quirk thief, a task that can only be accomplished with One For All in My Hero Academia.