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The following contains spoilers for My Hero Academia.
ThroughoutMy Hero Academia, All Might serves as the perfect end goal for Deku to reach with his newly acquired One For All Quirk. The #1 hero serves as a benchmark to Midoriya’s progress in developing his power, with a promise that even he as a Quirkless kid can one day hope to aspire to the heights that All Might has reached.
However, soon into acquiring the power,Deku finds out it’s not so easy to draw out One For All’s full strength. He is forced to only use it in increasing increments, well shy of its maximum potential. Given Deku’s slow progress that was comparably much easier for All Might when he was coming up, does Deku’s mastery of One For All inMy Hero Academiaever compete with All Might in his prime?
End of Series Deku is Implied to Be Stronger Than Prime All Might
Despite Never Mastering True 100%, Deku Probably Exceeded Prime All Might in Power
It may seem likeDeku would be significantly weaker than Prime All MightinMy Hero Academia, since he never managed to draw at the full strength of One For All by the end of the series. However, it’s crucial to note that the 100% Midoriya had was much stronger than the 100% Prime All Might could use because of the Quirks’ stockpiling ability. All Might stockpiled One For All for nearly 40 years, turning the Quirk into an absolute monster by the time Deku got his hands on it.
AlthoughDeku can only safely handle around 45%of One For All’s power by the end of the series, this amount, along with the rest of his abilities, are powerful enough to stand up to the stronger All for One and Tomura Shigaraki during the ending.
“Stupid Deku can consistently use full cowling… at 30 percent now. To keep it from wrecking his body… he only draws on 45 percent… at the moment of impact.” -Bakugo in Chapter 275 of the My Hero Academia Manga while racing alongside Deku.
Shigaraki, his body under the influence of All for One, bragged that he was tougher to kill than All Might in his prime, and chastised the heroes for trying to come at him with attacks that were too weak.
“Not strong enough. Think about it! Would Golden Age All Might have died from a measly attack like that? Of course not. Why are you people so dense?” -”Shigaraki” taunting the heroes in Episode 149.
It stands to reason that ifDeku was able to stand up to All for Oneand Shigaraki at the end of the series despite their impressive power, then he has exceeded Prime All Might.
How Strong Was Prime All Might?
Despite Being Incredibly Strong, Prime All Might Was Likely Weaker Than Some End of Series Characters
In Season 1, we are given a rough estimation of All Might in his prime when he squares off against the Nomu at the USJ. He states that he could have beaten the Nomu in only 5 punches instead of the 300 it actually took in his weakened state, making him at least 60 times stronger in his prime.
“I really have gotten weaker. Back in my heyday, five hits woulda been enough to knock that guy out. But today, it took more than 300 mighty blows.” -All Might in Episode 12.
While this statement makes Prime All Might seem like an impossibly strong figure, it’s worth pointing out that even at his strongest, All Might didn’t think he could beat the Nomu in one punch. When pitting Prime All Might against End of Series Shigaraki and All for One, he would have likely struggled much more against them compared to Deku’s performance, especially considering Deku’s access to all the previous wielders Quirks. Even with Aizawa erasing Shigaraki’s Quirks, his body was strong enough to suppress the combined assault of the strongest heroes. While it’s tough to definitively say for sure, it seems likebased on Deku’s performance in the final war arcthat he ultimately surpassed Prime All Might in strength.
