My Hero Academia has taken off as one of the most popular pieces of superhero media of all time, with both the manga and anime standing as brilliant examples of the genre. One thing that makes My Hero Academia stand out amongst the rest of superhero media is the awesome villains. They also have some of the coolest powers and abilities.
From the minions to the big bads, there are some powerful villains in the world of My Hero Academia. That said, prominent villains whose Quirks haven't yet been described cannot be ranked accurately. All things considered, there are several factors that make it easier to rank the strongest villains in My Hero Academia.
Updated on June 28, 2023 by Ajay Aravind: Kohei Horikoshi's My Hero Academia might well be included in the Shonen Big 3. This manga's global influence cannot be understated, as evidenced by the media empire that followed. Although the original storyline is drawing to a close, anime fans might be happy to know that there's still at least one season left to go. With so many antagonists in the story, we've revamped this list of strongest villains in My Hero Academia with some extra information.
15 Magne
Audiences were first introduced to Magne in the training camp arc, where she displayed the power of her Magnetism Quirk. This meta ability allows her to magnetize people — women are polarized north, whereas men are polarized south.
This can be a powerful Quirk in crowds or against multiple opponents, as she can repel two people, causing them to go flying in opposite directions, or even stick a group of people together. Unfortunately, Magne's not a very strong fighter, explaining why Overhaul killed her so easily.
14 Mr. Compress
Mr. Compress, who shares his name with his extremely unique meta ability. He can turn his greatest enemy into a marble — even the biggest monster transforms into a tiny compressed orb that could be easily destroyed.
With this Quirk, Mr. Compress is not only able to capture and trap pretty much any opponent, but he can also select a specific body part to compress, potentially maiming his targets. All in all, it's a powerful form of incapacitation, but it has some limits and isn't the strongest in a direct battle.
13 Moonfish
The villain, Moonfish, is arguably the creepiest character in My Hero Academia. Moonfish has the power to turn his teeth into sharp blades that can grow to any size and shape, allowing him to attack, defend, and even travel using nothing but his mouth.
Although his techniques are rather unsettling, they're quite powerful given how easily he could fight off multiple people without even using his arms. Further, Moonfish's blades also seem capable of regenerating, which makes him very dangerous in a fight.
12 Muscular
Nothing in My Hero Academia beats raw power, a feature that Muscular has in spades. Known simply as Muscle Augmentation, Muscular's Quirk allows him to increase his strength by adding and augmenting muscle fibers, resulting in countless layers of muscle manifesting outside his body.
Just by looking at his Quirk in action, it's easy to see just how strong Muscular is. This is why it took all of Deku's strength and then some to take down the villain. Muscular later returns as Jailbreaker, but Deku easily dispatches the villain without much effort.
11 Kurogiri
Shigaraki's right-hand man, Kurogiri, remains a major My Hero Academia mystery. His Warp Gate Quirk allows him to produce and control a black fog that can be used to teleport anyone or anything he chooses.
This power has a number of different applications, from concealing his identity to fleeing a fight – even defending against attacks by teleporting his opponent away. With such a wide range and multiple applications of his Quirk, Kurogiri is clearly an overpowered villain. In fact, All For One's teleportation Quirk pales in comparison to Warp Gate.
10 Hero Killer: Stain
Hero Killer: Stain enters the story as a major villain, but begins his redemption arc much later in the story. Stain's Quirk, known as Bloodcurdle, allows him to paralyze his opponents after consuming their blood.
Combined with his exceptional combat prowess and enduring willpower, Stain is essentially a fighting powerhouse capable of defeating some of the strongest heroes. Although his Quirk has numerous drawbacks, this doesn't mean that Stain is less dangerous. On the contrary, he has evolved his martial skills to compensate for Bloodcurdle.
9 Himiko Toga
Himiko Toga is a villain whose meta ability is perfect for infiltration and espionage. Himiko's Quirk is known as Transform, and it allows her to transform into any person as long as she consumes their blood.
With this power, Himiko perfectly infiltrated the Hero License exam while posing as Camie Utsushimi. At this point in the story, Toga can also recreate the Quirks of those she's impersonating. She first undergoes a Quirk evolution with Ochaco Uraraka's Zero Gravity, using the latter to defeat her opponents. Toga has since become much stronger.
8 Dabi
Dabi was recently revealed to be Toya Todoroki, the long-lost brother of Shoto and the oldest son of Endeavor. His Blueflame Quirk is on par with his father, which is ironically what Endeavor wanted all along. Unfortunately, Dabi's descent into villainy ensures that he'd never use his abilities to help anyone other than himself and his friends.
Dabi may not be as strong as Shoto, but the older Todoroki's experience and endurance make all the difference in the world. Dabi is yet to make amends in the manga, but there's no doubting his overwhelming power.
7 The Nomu
The Nomu are outliers, as they're a group of artificially created humans that have been imbued with multiple superpowers as a whole, rather than being individual villains. Regardless, the Nomu are incredibly powerful in every iteration.
Though these artificial humans are practically brain dead, they are very strong — some of them are even capable of flawless regeneration. As demonstrated by the USJ Nomu, even the likes of All Might are going to find it very difficult to defeat these creatures.
6 High-End
There is one Nomu that stands above the rest, an artificial human known as High-End. This Nomu fought with Endeavor in one of the story's toughest battles ever, although the hero eventually ended up winning.
High-End is a highly intelligent Nomu with six different Quirks implanted in his body: a muscle augmentation Quirk, a regeneration Quirk, shoulder-mounted jets, arms that can shape-shift, a power-enhancing Quirk, and the ability to store other lower-level Nomus within.
5 Overhaul
Overhaul made his first anime appearance in the finale of the third season. He's easily one of the strongest villains in My Hero Academia. This man's power is almost god-like, giving him control over matter on a massive scale.
Overhaul's Quirk, also known as Overhaul, allows him to disassemble and reassemble anything he touches, which lets him heal wounds, disassemble people, alter his environment, and more. Though the fact that he has to touch whatever he's manipulating is a bit of a hindrance, Overhaul proves exactly why he's such a feared villain.
4 Twice
Twice is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of applying his Quirk, known as Double. With this Quirk, the villain is able to make exact duplicates of people upon knowing their exact measurements.
The only drawback is that the clones have their own autonomy and cannot be controlled. They are useful in a fight and possibly infiltration, but they have the same personality as the original, where things get tricky. That said, Twice unlocks a magnificent new feature before his death, making him far stronger than most villains in My Hero Academia.
3 Gigantomachia
Gigantomachia's origins are shrouded in mystery. This individual doesn't look like a human at all, but he was probably an ordinary man before receiving the Gigantification Quirk. Gigantomachia has six other Quirks lodged in his body, making him an extremely dangerous obstacle in the heroes' path.
His devotion to All For One and Tomura Shigaraki notwithstanding, Gigantomachia can easily be controlled by someone mimicking his masters' voices. Despite this disadvantage, the hero community is particularly wary of this villain, as his sudden appearance could easily make or break a battle.
2 Tomura Shigaraki
Tomura Shigaraki has one of the strongest meta abilities in the series. Known as Decay, Tomura's Quirk causes whatever he touches to decay and turn to dust. He barely has any control over this ability at first, but obtaining the All For One Quirk changes everything for this villain.
Tomura's new Quirk library is as vast and diverse as his mentor's, but he doesn't have a strong grasp over All For One just yet. However, Tomura's Decay is now strong enough to destroy entire cities. Deku is going to have a hard time against this overpowered villain.
1 All For One
All for One is still the absolute strongest villain in the world of My Hero Academia. His Quirk allows him to steal Quirks from others and give them to anyone he wishes. If that's not enough, he is one of the most shameless individuals in the story.
With this power, All for One has stockpiled a large number of Quirks, including a number of strength, durability, and healing-enhancing powers that he can combine into super attacks. Though he might be blind, All For One more than makes up for this drawback with his massive power. Fans can't wait to see someone beat the slimy smile off his face.