One of the most defining traits ofMy Hero Academiais its protagonist, the Quirkless Izuku Midoriya, who is in a world where most of his peers have superpowers. This unfortunate situation made his dream of becoming a superhero next to impossible - that is, until the world’s greatest hero All Might transferred his Quirk,One For All, to the young child. The feat not only jumpstarted Deku’s dream, but also allowed him to change the lives of his peers.
However, as the series reveals, One For All isn’t just an ability that grants its users superhuman strength, durability, and agility. As Deku learned how to harness One For All, so did he realize that the transferable Quirk also contains the previous Quirks of its users. This ability would be instrumental in the fight against the megalomaniacal villain All For One, but which One For All Quirk was Deku’s best asset in his battles?
First User
Nana Shimura
It’s quite surprising for a Superman analog like All Might to not have thepower of flight inMy Hero Academia, making it satisfying for both his mentor Nana Shimura and his apprentice Deku to unlock the ability via the QuirkFloat. The ability is as straightforward as it sounds: it lets its users suspend themselves in mid-air. However, the Quirk’s presence inside One For All has boosted its overall capabilities, this time allowing users to enjoy flight at extremely fast speeds.
Float’s potential is unlocked when utilized in conjunction with other Quirks. For instance, Deku can maximize his air pressure utilization via his Air Force technique alongside the momentum buildup from Fa Jin to propel himself at extremely high speeds.
Jump The Gun On Enemies With A Smokescreen
Description
Release a purple cloud of smoke from the user that can cover an extremely large area.
En Tayutai
Perhaps one the most straightforwardMy Hero AcademiaQuirks in One For All would beSmokescreen, owned by its sixth user En Tayutai. When triggered,Smokescreen will release a cloud of thick purple smokefrom the user. This can be made to cover a rather large area, although at the risk of making it difficult for even the user to see past the smoke. Shockwaves from Quirks such as Katsuki Bakugo’s Explosion can also clear the smoke rather quickly.
Despite En admitting that Smokescreen doesn’t have any offensive potential, Deku managed to maximize its usage in the battlefield. Smokescreen became an important tool in luring the inhumanly strong Muscular to a counter-attack, while it also distracted sharpshooter Lady Nagant long enough for Deku to regain the upper hand. Deku even used Smokescreen in conjunction with Gearshift to manipulate its dissipation speed, catching Tomura Shigaraki off-guard with a surprise Blackwhip attack.
Repeat Movements To Store Kinetic Energy
Store kinetic energy via repetitive movements before releasing them from any part of the body.
Bruce
Named after a Chinese martial arts technique where one generates explosive force with minimal movement,Fa Jinfrom third user Bruce has become one of Izuku’s sources of creative manipulation of One For All. At its core,Fa Jin can store kinetic energywhenever its user makes repetitive movements. They can release this energy from any part of their body, allowing users to achieve incredible feats of power and speed. While Deku can technically just use Fa Jin to launch his attacks into overdrive, his creative spirit has led to more dynamic uses of this Quirk.
For instance, Fa Jin managed to boost Float to provide faster flight and pinpoint direction switching, while it also enhanced Blackwhip to make much stronger chains to capture tougher foes. Deku also deduced that the power storage of One For All has improved Fa Jin to such an extent that using just 45% of One For All’s raw power can mimic 100% output with the right usage of Blackwhip and Fa Jin.
Sense Attacks From A Malicious Source
The user feels a sharp stabbing pain on their head in the presence of danger, such as an impending attack from a source with negative emotion.
Hikage Shinomori
During the Paranormal Liberation War, sensations of stabbing headaches had bothered Izuku while in combat, realizing almost too late that it was the manifestation ofDanger Sensefrom One For All’s fourth user, Hikage Shinomori. After his brief coma and meeting with the One For All’s previous owners in his subconscious, it’s explained thatthis ability will stimulate the user’s head whenever it feels a threatin their immediate surroundings. This only works if the source of the threat has negative feelings, which by extension allows the Quirk to detect incoming attacks.
The Quirk in itself has glaring weaknesses: continuous usage strains the body, a source perceived as a threat but not having hostile intent won’t be detected, a crowd with negative emotions can overwhelm the user, and fast-enough attacks might not be evaded efficiently. However, enough training and adjustment can make Danger Sense a dangerous ability: Izuku has used this in his vigilante stint to hunt criminals, while Tomura adjusted quickly after stealing the Quirk and managed to dodge Deku’s ordinarily-fast Blackchains.
Bypass Inertia To Control Speed
Control the way an object as big as a human body can interact with inertia, allowing them to achieve incredible feats of speed.
Kudo
The first official Quirk absorbed by One For All isGearshift, from second user Kudo. As an ability of its own, Gearshift can manipulate how objects travel through space - essentially being able to increase their speed. However, Gearshift’s stay in One For All allowed it to use its raw power output to potentially affect the cellular level. This improvement came with a massive setback, wherein Deku can only use it for five minutes at a time before being incapacitated by the physical strain and lack of oxygen.
However, Deku’slimited time training Gearshiftstill paved the way for extremely creative uses. For instance, Deku managed to attack Tomura Shigaraki with “Overdrive,” a combination of Gearshift and Fa Ji that can output the equivalent of 120% output of One For All. He even created Detroit Smash: Quintuple, wherein he uses Gearshift’s speed-altering properties to release five consecutive Detroit Smashes.
Tendrils Of Black Energy Act As Extended Limbs
Release tendrils of black energy that can be tailored to a wide variety of uses.
Banjo Daigoro
Izuku’s explosive rage during the Joint Training Battle manifested the black tendrils ofBlackwhip, surprising both Class 1-A and 1-B with an ability so far out from Deku’s original strength-based powerset. Originally from One For All’s fifth user Banjo Daigoro, this ability’s intensity seems tied to the user’s innate anger and rage. However, Deku’s training with the ability transformed this from an initially-uncontrollable power to one of his most important assets in the series.
Deku’s usage of Blackwhipimplies each tendril can be manually controlled to either grab, wrap around, and even strike objects. This allows Deku to navigate environments in a manner similar to webslinging. However, the “customizable” nature of Blackwhip proved to be extremely compatible with Deku’s creativity. For instance, he managed to wrap his arms with Blackwhip to safely use One For All’s explosive power without damaging his hands. In the Final War, a paralyzed Deku “puppeted” his body with Blackwhip-based armor with Gearshift manipulating his movements.
A Quirk Resulting From An Unlikely Fusion
The result of a fusion between Yoichi’s original Power Transfer Quirk and All For One’s bestowed Power Stockpiling Quirk.
Yoichi
The birth ofOne For Allin theMy Hero Academiastory turned out to be quite the literary irony for All For One, as the very ability he gave away turned out to be his undoing. When his twisted display of affection came in the form of providing a Power Stockpiling Quirk to his meek brother Yoichi, it had seemingly triggered a Quirk fusion. As it turns out, Yoichi already has an existing Power Transfer Quirk with no Quirk to transfer. When All For One gave Yoichi another Quirk, it meshed with his original ability and created One For All.
AmongOne For All’s existing Quirks, the original one is its most powerful ability. The presence of multiple Quirks over time has benefited from the Quirk’s Power Stockpiling origin, essentially boosting the base Quirks per transfer. This raw power is attached to the core One For All Quirk, providing its user with immense reserves that can boost their physique to superhuman qualities - so much so to the point that an ordinary body can’t fully support it. This trait has been One For All’s most prominent quality, with All Might using raw power alone and Deku using its power transfer quality to defeat All For One on different occasions.
