The Best ‘My Hero Academia’ Villains, Ranked

In a manga about kids going to high school to learn about being heroes, it’s very clear that My Hero Academia is going to have some wickedly diabolical villains. From the minor run-of-the-mill criminals to the overarching big bads in the series, My Hero Academia hosts a plethora of villains for readers to enjoy (and squirm at). Here are a few My Hero Academia villains that steal the show (in both the manga and anime). Bear in mind that spoilers will follow. These are the best My Hero Academia villains, ranked.

15. Mustard

While Mustard might not be the most three-dimensional of all the villains on here, he earns my respect for his old-fashioned, no-nonsense commitment to criminality. While the other villains on this list show to the fray with convoluted quirks that take a whole minute to explain, Mustard rocks up with nothing more than a GUN. While taking the time to talk about your quirk when you can let your buddies Smith and Wesson do it for you? Not to mention his scary-looking helmet and his second-worst-hot-dog-condiment namesake. He would be higher on this list if he opted for a name like “Relish”.

14. Gigantomachia

Like Mustard, Gigantomachia earns points for keeping it classic. He’s just yolked. Swole. Braulic. Beefy. Some heroes might be able to leap a tall building in a single bound, but Gigantomachia IS the building. And it’s way harder to vault over a high-rise apartment when it has creatine-ated arms trying to grab at you. He also earns points for his commitment to physical fitness. He doesn’t just refuse to skip leg day, he refuses to skip ANY day.

13. Re-Destro

Here’s where the villains start getting interesting. Re-Destro has a unique quirk that allows him to get more powerful the more stressed out he is. While you and I might confront our stress with a nice hot bath and some scented candles, Re-Destro channels his negative feelings into STRENGTH. If only you and I could do the same in this bewildering modern world. When Re-Destro gets stressed out to 100%, he turns into a giant monster demon-looking thing that is capable of terrifying feats of speed and strength. The only downside is that his need to stay constantly stressed to use his powers caused him to go bald. Maybe his quirk ain’t worth it after all.

12. Himiko Toga

What self-respecting shonen anime would dare air its episodes without including a Yandere character? My Hero Academia is a great anime because it has STANDARDS. And standards DEMAND a knife-wielding teenage girl who thirsts for human blood. Himiko Toga’s quirk allows her to copy the voice and appearance of a person whose blood she drinks. She can even copy their clothes! One cup of blood allows her to become another person for 18 hours. Nasty. True to Yandere form, her powers are enhanced when she harbors an unhealthy obsession with her target. If her victim is close enough to her heart, she is also able to use their QUIRKS. Himiko Toga is everything Future Diary‘s Gasai Yuno wishes she could be.

11. Gentle Criminal

Despite being only 32 years old, Gentle Criminal is GDILF material. The silver fox also possesses a similar Quirk to One Piece‘s Monkey D. Luffy: elasticity. Like the less charming pirate, Gentle Criminal is able to elastify (it’s a word now) not only his own body, but all objects in the surrounding area. As demonstrated by Monkey D., elasticity powers allow for shonen-protagonist level shows of strength. Despite his extraordinary power, Gentle Criminal lives up to his namesake by dampening his abilities in combat so as to not kill the heroes he does battle with. What a nice guy!

10. Muscular

When it comes to basic bad guys, Muscular perfectly fits the bill. A thuggish brute whose real name is Goto Imasuji, Muscular openly has admitted that he just wants to use his Quirk to kill others and rampage to his heart’s content. Imasuji’s Quirk allows him to cover himself in his muscle fibers, making him so strong that they go right through his skin to the outside of his body. He first appeared in the Forest Training Camp arc, able to easily hold his own against Midoryia, though he was later captured and defeated.

9. The Nomu

Initially, there was only one Nomu—the one who showed up during the assault on the U.S.J.. Later, though, the Nomu continually appeared again and again—and it was revealed that they were being made by the League of Villains. These mindless super-soldiers are heavily modified from corpses, being reanimated to possess various Quirks at once, with some of the High-End Nomu being able to contend with top heroes like All Might and Eraser Head. With their numbers continually multiplying, the Nomu are a dangerous force to be reckoned with.

8. Kurogiri

Though Kurogiri technically counts as a Nomu, he is the backbone of the League of Villains and always has an important role to play, enough to put him in a category of his own. Formerly a student, named Oboro Shirakumo, he was killed, and later repurposed into a Nomu. Though he remembers little of his prior self, he still retains his caring personality to some degree—and acts as the reason for the League of Villains. Though he usually remains in the background, Kurogiri is still an important character and villain—one who will, no doubt, leave a lasting impact on the series.

7. Stain

A dignified anti-hero whose past as a vigilante is nothing short of legendary, Stain is a powerful foe and force to be reckoned with. Known as Chizome Akaguro, Stain was formerly a vigilante before going full villain. He is the most dangerous villain in the whole series, having claimed the lives of almost 20 Pro Heroes and crippling many others to the point of no full recovery. His entire mission statement revolves around purging the world of “false heroes”, believing that society has become tainted with fake heroes only in it for money or fame. However, he is also able to recognize Midoriya as a real hero, saving him from a Winged Nomu despite being incapacitated later in the series. His fierce demeanor, intense strength, and indomitable willpower help guide him in his journey to rid the world of false heroes.

6. Twice

A comical and powerful villain, Jin Bubaigawara left a clear mark on the series as the comic relief Twice. His Double Quirk made him incredibly powerful, despite his goofy personality, allowing him to easily overtake all kinds of opponents. Everything revolved around duality for Twice: he would insult and compliment others in the same sentence, continually contradict himself, and often become manic when his mask was removed. Still, he held an incredible sense of loyalty to others, often becoming emotional when betrayed. With a fierce disposition and a powerful Quirk, Twice was a force to be reckoned with, all the way up to his death in the Paranormal Liberation War.

5. Gentle Criminal and La Brava

This celebrity duo of minor villains didn’t have a lot of appearances across the series, but that doesn’t make them any less memorable. Chasing after fame, Gentle Criminal is an unusual villain, in that he is after recognition, hoping to achieve viral fame by committing his villainous acts. He is later joined in his acts by La Brava, the young girl Manami Aiba, whose Love quirk aids the Elastic-quirk villain in his capers. This hilarious but tear-jerking duo has some fantastic theatrics at their disposal, and despite their few moments, they still continue to stand out.

4. Overhaul

Kai Chisaki, the leader of the Yakuza Shie Hassaikai, is undoubtedly one of the most threatening villains in the entire series. His vicious Quirk Overhaul, for which he is named, allows him to disassemble and reassemble matter however he sees fit, but this alone isn’t what makes him so threatening. Kai exploited Eri, a little girl with the Rewind Quirk, to create a powerful drug that could destroy any Quirk. Kai seemingly had good intentions on paper, but his manic personality quickly degraded these intentions: he is a sociopath who thinks that Quirks are a plague on society, seeking to eradicate them by any means possible. He is also a germaphobe, often becoming more unhinged if he comes into contact with anything that is unclean. Between his strange mannerisms and threatening persona, Overhaul is one of the series’ best and brightest baddies.

3. All for One

This guy is not only a powerful overarching presence but also, undoubtedly, one of the scariest. A man shrouded in mystery, All for One has been trying for centuries to acquire the Quirk One for All, the only Quirk that can oppose him, so that he can create Tomura Shigaraki into the ultimate being. Though his goals are straightforward, there’s no denying that All for One is absurdly terrifying, with the ability to steal others’ Quirks and redistribute them as he sees fit. It also makes sense, on paper, that All for One’s goals are so straightforward—after all, a show about heroes and villains would have a villain embodying what is effectively pure evil. Though he still remains a mystery, for the most part, there’s no denying that he is in a league of his own.

2. Dabi

Although Dabi is also relatively straightforward, he’s a unique villain, in that he was driven to evil due to a lack of appreciation. This makes him similar to other villains in series like Tai Lung from Kung Fu Panda. Despite the toll of his Quirk on his body, Dabi spent most of his childhood relentlessly seeking his father Endeavor’s approval, wanting to be a hero just like him. When all of his attempts failed and his father still believed he was a failure, Dabi lost his grasp on reality and turned into the villain he is today. Though he is usually calm and aloof, Dabi still carries a wounded, psychopathic personality under his colder self. We still don’t know much about him, but there’s no denying that Dabi is one of the coolest villains in the whole series.

1. Tomura Shigaraki

There’s no beating this deranged, wounded psychopath. Originally raised as Tenko Shimura, Shigaraki lived in an abusive household and was not given room to become a hero, as his father hated heroes. After snapping and unlocking his Decay Quirk, Shigaraki destroyed his relatives and his father, only wanting to kill others and cause suffering. When he was later taken in by All for One, he began a long road to becoming the ultimate being. Still on this track, all this time later, Shigaraki continues struggling against his horrible ideals. With him permanently being in a state of chaos, Shigaraki is the ultimate chaotic villain.

(featured image: Bones)