Spoilers ahead for My Hero Academia. Proceed with caution.
Though Midoriya’s dream of becoming a hero may seem simple at first, actually achieving this goal has been far from easy, especially with how many unexpected twists and turns have impacted his personal journey.My Hero Academia’sstory is one that starts off slow, but quickly ramps up once it gets through the first handful of exams and tests. While the epic fights and unique characters already make the show fun to watch, what also helps to keep fans engaged is the plot twists.
Whether it’s someone revealing their true nature as a traitor, shocking character deaths, or even Midoriya obtaining brand-new powers out of nowhere, there have been plenty of memorable revelations that ended up changing the course ofMy Hero Academia’slong-running story. When matching them all up, though, these are the biggest twists of them all in terms of impact and memorability. Before jumping in, this list will contain spoilers up to the end of the manga.
8Hawks Kills Twice
The Heroes May Not Be As Virtuous As They Claim To Be
When fans are first introduced to Hawks during thePro-Hero arc, it’s clear that he’s a guy who is hiding something. Not long after he shows up in the story, Hawks can be seen speaking with several members of the League, insinuating that he’s actually a spy who has been working on their behalf the entire time.
However, Hawks proves his true allegiance when he brutally kills Twice in cold blood, after seeing him as too big of a threat to keep alive. Heroes try to avoid killing at all costs, since this can do serious damage to their reputations, so the fact that Hawks so willingly sliced Twice in two was truly unexpected.
7Shigaraki Is Related To Nana Shimura
All Might Shares An Odd Relation To Shigaraki
Though All For One is a villain who can easily overpower his opponents physically thanks to hiswide assortment of Quirks, he also knows exactly how to get under a person’s skin with his own words. This was shown when, during his epic duel with All Might, he randomly reveals that Shigaraki is actually the grandson of none other than Nana Shimura, All Might’s former mentor.
By this point in the story, fans weren’t aware of who Nana actually was, but the fact that Shigaraki was even remotely connected to All Might instantly made the stakes feel so much higher. It would also be the first glimpse given into Shigaraki’s tragic backstory, and what led him to become a villain in the first place.
6Kurogiri Was Aizawa’s Childhood Friend
After Some Intense Interrogation, Aizawa And Mic Learn The Horrifying Truth About Kurogiri
Kurogiri acts as an eerie butler and combat assistant to Shigaraki early on in the story, but he’s eventually apprehended by the heroes, giving them a chance to learn more about not only him but the League of Villains as a whole. When Aizawa and Present Mic are called in to question him, though, they learn something that shakes them to their cores. Kurogiri is actually Oboro, the childhood friend of both Aizawa and Mic, who tragically died in an accident while on duty.
All For One retrieved Oboro’s body and used it as the foundation to create a new experimental version of the Nomu. Even Oboro’s Cloud Quirk was altered in order to create a brand new Warp Gate ability. Since Oboro is first mentioned inVigilantes, this was a reveal that took many people aback. It also added a lot more character to Aizawa, giving him some much-needed development.
5All For One Gave Shigaraki Decay
It’s Revealed That All For One Was Molding Shigaraki Into The Perfect Villain From The Very Beginning
After Shigaraki’stragic backstoryis revealed, showing the young boy accidentally killing his entire family with Decay, it’s implied that this was an ability he simply hadn’t yet awakened, which is why it appeared out of nowhere. After all, the series does focus a lot on characters who are born with unfair Quirks, and how that can lead them down a dark path if they don’t have others to support them.
This, however, turns out not to be the case after it’s revealed near the very end of the story that All For One had secretly passed Decay down to Shigaraki after walking him home one day. The close bond shared between Shigaraki and his master all but crumbled after this devastating twist was revealed, highlighting just how evil AFO truly is.
4Aoyama Is A Traitor
It was always a little strange how the villains continuously knew exactly where Midoriya and the other students were anytime they set off for a new exam or test. Though none of the kids wanted to admit it, they eventually started to consider the possibility that someone had been keeping tabs on them from the inside, and though some hints had been dropped here and there, the reveal of Aoyama being the traitor still took many fans by surprise.
It turns out that Aoyama was bornQuirkless, but so that he could become a hero, his parents decided to pay a visit to All For One, who gave the boy his Quirk as a way to blackmail him and his family. This explains why Aoyama had such trouble mastering his Quirk, since he didn’t inherit it as a natural ability.
3Dabi Is Endeavor’s Son
After Being Ignored By His Father, Toya Took On The Persona Of A Villain
Compared to the other members of theLeague of Villains, Dabi is a lot quieter and introverted, often moping around behind the scenes while his comrades set out their next plan of attack. As the story goes on, though, Dabi starts becoming noticeably more irritated, especially whenever he sees Endeavor.
Outside of Dabi shouting out Endeavor’s real name, there’s barely any indication that Dabi was related to Endeavor, which is why the infamous ‘Dabi Dance’ is such a shocking moment. Not only does Dabi reveal his true identity, but he also exposes the misdeeds of his father, causing the people of Japan to lose confidence in heroes altogether.
2Bakugo’s Death
Killing Off One Of The Series' Most Beloved Characters Was Not On Anyone’s Bingo Card
Killing off a character in any anime series can be risky, but when they are as immensely popular as Bakugo, it’s understandable why there was such an outpouring of emotion when he was suddenly killed by Shigaraki during the final war. Despiteawakening his Quirkand unleashing his new Panzer gear in this fight, Bakugo simply couldn’t keep up with Shigaraki’s speed and strength, leading to his unfortunate demise.
Admittedly, Bakugo is brought back to life a little while later by Edgeshot, but there’s no doubt that the twist itself was still one that caught everyone off guard. As a member of the main trio, nobody could have expected that Bakugo would bite the bullet, but it was a great way to showcase just how absurdly powerful Shigaraki was by this point.
1Midoriya Awakens The Vestige’s Quirks
It Turns Out One For All Contains An Arsenal Of Quirks For Midoriya To Utilize
For the most part, the Joint Training arc between Class 1-A and B seems to be little more than a basic exercise, but near the end of the arc, something weird starts happening to Midoriya. Out of nowhere, his hands start spouting long black whips. Not long after, a mysterious figure by the name of Banjo starts communicating with Midoriya, revealing that Blackwhip is just one of several Quirks that Midoriya can expect to obtain, all of which were once owned by the previous users of One For All.
Nobody saw this twist coming when it was first revealed, and many felt that it could have actually ended up making Midoriya a little too powerful, having so many Quirks at his disposal. Thankfully, Midoriya learns these extra abilities at a gradual pace, though without them, he never would have been able tostand up against powerful villains like Nagant and Shigaraki, so they play a hugely important part in his adventure.
