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The following contains spoilers for my Hero Academia.
Izuku Midoriya fromMy Hero Academiais truly a blessed protagonist. Not only did he get to inherit one of the most powerful Quirks in the world from his favorite hero, but he managed to evolve it to use the Quirks of the previous wielders. After calling upon the Quirk factors of his predecessors, Deku truly becomes an unstoppable force in the world ofMy Hero Academia. During his brief stint going rogue, it took the entirety of Class 1A just to slow Deku down while he was weakened from fighting villains for days nonstop.
All the vestige Quirks Deku utilizes are incredibly strong in their own ways, but some seem to be clearly a cut above the others. Which of the vestige Quirks could beconsidered the strongest Deku has access tothrough One for All?
Deku’s Vestige Quirks
Strengths and Drawbacks
As the ninth wielder of One For All inMy Hero Academia,Deku unlocks access to the vestige Quirksof every predecessor who had their own Quirk during their time with the power.
The Eighth Wielder Toshinori Yagi,also known as All Might, was Quirkless, so he didn’t have an ability for Deku to use after he evolved One For All. This is perfectly fine for the story, though, since Deku already has such a huge selection of powers at his disposal. Also, it was All Might’s Quirkless origins that allowed him to stockpile energy for One For All as long as he did, perhaps contributing the most to the Quirk’s power than any other user.
The Strongest Vestige Quirk
Going By the Numbers, Gearshift Seems to be the Most Powerful
One often true heuristic when looking at the strength of a power in anime is to find the one with the greatest drawback, since the author likely has to give it this drawback to balance out its immense power. Going by this standard, Gearshift seems to be a clear frontrunner among the vestige Quirks.
“Once you use this, it’s over. If you don’t defeat him in the next five minutes, the world will fall.” -The vestige of the second wielder, Toshitsugu Kudo, describing the stakes to Midoriya before he uses gearshift.
Gearshift’s drawback was so intense that during the final war arc, Deku considered transferring it to Shigaraki to avoid being taken out of the fight. With the ability to use gearshift in overdrive mode,Deku was able to pull outan estimated 120% of One For All’s power, delivering multiple punches that surpassed the sound barrier.
“It’s not the same Quirk I wielded, All For One. The power has changed. And at this moment, Izukuu Midoriya is exceeding his perceived limits. He’s operating at 120 percent!” -Kudo describing the power increase Midoriya is receiving while using overdrive.
Kudo also states that gearshift, when combined with the stockpiled power of One For All, “can break the laws of reality itself” with a single punch. Many of the other vestige Quirks havealso allowed Midoriya to overcome his natural limitsand use more of One For All’s overwhelming power, but none of them are quite described in these terms. It seems definitive that gearshift is Deku’s strongest vestige quirk, but it also comes with the highest drawback.
My Hero Academia
Cast
In My Hero Academia, some humans have superpowers called quirks. Izuku Midoriya, nicknamed Deku, is not one of them. Deku has always idolized heroes like the number one hero, All Might, and since he was a child, he has always wanted to be a hero. However, his lack of a quirk has always held him back, but a chance encounter with All Might after discovering a classmate in danger sets Deku on the path to becoming a true hero. My Hero Academia centers around Deku and a class of heroes-in-training at UA. This school shapes young quirk users into future heroes through fake rescue missions, combat training, and other hero-tempering tasks. With young Deku inheriting the “One-For-All” quirk, he will learn what it means to be a true hero while facing off with dastardly supervillains.
