My Hero Academia‘s story is centered on a society with superpowers, showcasing a fierce battle between justice and evil. That’s why My Hero Academia features a large cast of powerful villains. Although in My Hero Academia, the antagonists aren’t just important for their strength, some villains are so overpowered that they are difficult for fans to rank.
My Hero Academia‘s quirks play an important role in determining the strongest villains in the anime, but also the creative and innovative ways they use their skills. Whether it’s their physical strength, having reached their full power, or having a quirk that makes them practically invincible, some of My Hero Academia‘s villains deserve to be considered the strongest.
Mr. Compress
As his villain name suggests, Mr. Compress can compress objects to the size of a small marble. Mr. Compress can use his Quirk on all kinds of objects and people, as seen when the League of Villains kidnapped Bakugo and Tokoyami. But the most dangerous part of Mr. Compress is that he can compress specific body parts.
Despite being a painless process, Mr. Compress can practically mutilate anyone with just a touch, as proved when he took Overhaul’s arms in exchange for the loss of his own limb and avenged Magne’s death. Unfortunately, Mr. Compress is the least developed member of the League of Villains, so he was never able to fully demonstrate his power.
Spinner
Spinner was one of the members of the League of Villains, being in the shadows for most of the story by not possessing a showy quirk or notable physical strength. Spinner became a swordsman after trying to imitate Stain‘s fighting style, although he didn’t reach his level of skill.
Even though Spinner was a fairly weak villain, he became larger and stronger thanks to All for One, gaining high resistance as his scale serves as armor. Sadly, Spinner’s mind broke down as a consequence of the quirks. If Spinner had sustained the effects of the quirk, he could have fought more effectively.
Kurogiri
Kurogiri is the second-in-command of the League of Villains, tasked with protecting Shigaraki on All For One’s orders. Kurogiri’s body is formed by a dark mist, which he uses to act as a portal, transporting himself and anyone else to any location he establishes.
Kurogiri’s warp ability is fearsome since he is able to make his enemies disappear by taking them to another location; he could even redirect Thirteen’s Black Hole Quirk, and he is practically intangible, which makes him immune to physical attacks. Unfortunately, Kurogiri hasn’t had many opportunities during My Hero Academia‘s story to show off his abilities in battle.
Gentle Criminal
Despite not being exactly a villain, Gentle Criminal was the main antagonist in the U.A. School Festival Arc. Gentle Criminal’s Elasticity quirk can be exploited in different ways, such as propelling himself into the air like a trampoline and blowing away his opponent by using several elastic barriers.
While Gentle did incredible feats like catching the falling UA building in My Hero Academia‘s Final War Arc, this was possible thanks to La Brava’s quirk power boost. Nevertheless, Gentle never really fought with all his strength, as he held back to not hurt Deku, which means he lacks the intent to kill to be as dangerous as real villains.
Stain
Stain’s quirk, “bloodcurdle,” prevents his opponent from moving after ingesting their blood. The immobilization time varies depending on the blood type, but can last for several minutes if his enemy shares the same type as him. As Stain pairs up his quirks with his agility, he is strong enough to have defeated several professional heroes, including Ingenium.
However, while he often fools his opponents and diverts their attention, Stain’s inherent weakness is that it’s not always easy to ingest the other person’s blood. Especially if he fights against someone with long-range attacks. Furthermore, even if it was a 3-on-1, Stain lost to Midoriya, Shoto, and Ida even though they were still immature heroes.
Muscular
Although Muscular appeared early in the series, he’s a pretty strong villain. Muscular was able to withstand Deku’s blows at 100%, which is an incredible feat for a villain, even if the attack didn’t have the full strength of One for All at the time.
Not only is Muscular’s durability remarkable, but so is his brutality, boasting the power to instantly defeat his enemies with a single punch. However, Muscular is inferior to strategic opponents, so if he receives a surprise attack before he can protect himself with his quirk, like a bullet from Lady Nagant, he will lose quickly.
Lady Nagant
Despite being a hero, Lady Nagant was a temporary villain who tried to kill Deku following All for One’s orders. Lady Nagant’s quirk allows her to use her arm as a rifle and her hair as bullets, becoming an extremely deadly quirk thanks to her insane shooting skills. Lady Nagant can even predict her opponent’s trajectory perfectly, shooting moving targets.
Lady Nagant also received the quirk “Air walk” from All For One, which gave her greater maneuverability in battle to aim for her targets, proving how powerful she was when she was able to match Deku’s speed. Nevertheless, even if Lady Nagant’s bullets have high penetration and destructive power, she is weak against enemies that have bodies with high resistance.
Hood
Hood was a unique kind of high-end nomu and the strongest created by Kyudai Garaki. While Nomu loses intelligence after being imbued with multiple quirks, Hood was able to formulate tactics in battle in addition to his regeneration and amazing durability. This makes Hood the perfect man-created weapon.
Hood’s strength is proved by how much both Hawks and Endeavor struggle to defeat him despite being at the top of the hero ranking. Hood even matched Hawks’ speed, who is known as one of the fastest heroes. Hood’s only weakness is against attacks that surpass his regeneration, like Endeavor’s prominence burn, which was even effective against All for One.
Overhaul
Overhaul may be My Hero Academia‘s most despicable villain. Kai Chisaki’s quirk, “overhaul,” allows him to disassemble and put back together any kind of substance. His high intellect and knowledge of materials and the human body allow him to use the full capacity of his quirk, since Overhaul can even heal wounds and destroy anyone with a single touch.
This potential is the reason why Overhaul was one of the possible vessels for All for One. However, despite his overpowered quirk allowing him to instantly kill almost everyone, Overhaul has to come into contact with them, being weak against enemies faster than him that he cannot touch directly.
Re-Destro
Re-Destro is one of My Hero Academia‘s most underrated villains. Re-Destro’s “stress” is one of the best physical-enhancing quirks in My Hero Academia, as the more stress he accumulates, the more power he can release. In addition to his incredible raw strength, Re-Destro is very agile, having only lost to Shigaraki due to the absurd power of decay.
Edgeshot defeated Re-Destro after the leader of the Meta Liberation Army lost his legs and his power faltered. The downside to his quirk is that Re-Destro can only fight at his peak capacity by accumulating stress over time, becoming weak as he loses it. Since Re-Destro fights in close range, he is a poor match for enemies he can’t touch.