My Hero Academia: Izuku Midoriya's 7 Greatest Achievements, Ranked - From Quirkless Dreamer to the Symbol of Peace

1. The Unforgettable First Step, Saving Bakugo from the Sludge Villain

No achievement matters more than the one that started everything. Before he had a single power, Deku proved his heroism with raw, reckless courage. When the Sludge Villain attacked his childhood rival Katsuki Bakugo, every experienced hero stood by, waiting for someone else to act. But Deku, despite being mocked as “Deku” (meaning “useless”), sprinted into danger. He didn’t have a plan, a weapon, or a Quirk. He just had the conviction that “people who need help can’t be ignored.”

That selfless sprint changed everything. All Might, watching from above, saw a true hero in the making. He chose Deku as the ninth wielder of One For All, and thus the Quirkless boy’s saga began. This moment is not just a narrative catalyst; it is the thesis of Deku’s entire character. He didn’t rush in for glory or power – he did it because it was the right thing to do. Ranked first because it embodies the unshakeable will that would define every later triumph.

2. Breaking Bones to Save a Child, Defeating Muscular at the Summer Training Camp

This achievement proves that heart can overcome overwhelming power. During the Forest Training Camp arc, the League of Villains attacked, and Deku found himself facing the brute Muscular, who was about to murder a child named Kota. Kota despised heroes, blaming them for his parents’ deaths. Deku could have escaped. Instead, he chose to stand his ground.

To land a single 100% punch, Deku shattered every bone in his right arm. The pain was unimaginable, but he kept swinging. He defeated Muscular not just by overpowering him, but by embodying the very ideal Kota had lost faith in. After the battle, a tearful Kota called Deku a hero. That emotional victory – the rekindling of a broken child’s trust – stands as one of Deku’s most poignant achievements. He proved that strength is meaningless without the will to protect, marking his first true test of self-sacrifice for a single innocent life.

3. The Hero Who Reshapes Fate, Rescuing Eri from Overhaul

Here Deku demonstrates tactical ingenuity alongside raw determination. In the Shie Hassaikai arc, Deku confronted Overhaul, a villain who had tortured and exploited a young girl named Eri for her Rewind Quirk. Overhaul’s power was overwhelming, and the situation seemed hopeless. But Deku devised a risky strategy: he would allow Eri to use her Rewind Quirk on him, endlessly resetting his body’s damage while he unleashed 100% Smashes.

This synergy was a gamble that nearly killed Deku, but it worked. He defeated Overhaul and freed Eri from her abuser. What makes this achievement remarkable is Deku’s tactical ingenuity – he turned Eri from a victim into an active participant in her own rescue. It also foreshadowed his ability to communicate with the vestiges of One For All, a skill that would become crucial later. Saving Eri was not just a battle won; it was a life rewritten. Ranked third for combining emotional stakes with strategic brilliance.

4. The Dark Hero Arc, Choosing to Fight Alone and Finding His Way Back

This achievement is less about a single victory and more about the courage to confront one’s own limits. After the Paranormal Liberation War, the weight of One For All’s legacy and the threat of All For One drove Deku to leave U.A. High School. He became a vigilante, hunting villains alone to protect his friends. During this period, he captured over a dozen powerful villains in a matter of weeks, including the notorious Lady Nagant, and forced All For One into a desperate corner. Yet the true test was mental: he pushed everyone away, running himself ragged to shoulder the world’s burden alone.

But his classmates refused to let him fall. They tracked him down, and in a moment of profound character growth, Bakugo – the same boy who had bullied him for years – knelt and apologized for calling him Deku. This reunion restored Deku’s faith in connection. He learned that being a hero doesn’t mean fighting alone. This achievement is not about a single villain defeated, but about the emotional courage to accept help – and to forgive. It marks the moment Deku stopped treating his power as a solitary curse and began to wield it with others.

5. Mastering the Impossible, Taming One For All and Its Six Vestige Quirks

Deku is the first and only user in the history of One For All to access the six vestige Quirks: Blackwhip, Float, Smokescreen, Danger Sense, Fa Jin, and Gearshift. All Might, the previous wielder, never managed to unlock a single one. Deku’s journey to master these abilities was fraught with struggle – he initially broke his bones just to use 5% of the power.

Through relentless training and guidance from the vestiges (the spirits of past users), Deku learned to control Blackwhip, float through the sky, cloak himself in smoke, sense danger before it strikes, accumulate kinetic energy with Fa Jin, and alter his velocity with Gearshift. By the Final War, he could wield 100% of One For All without self-destruction. This mastery turned a burden into a symphony of abilities, cementing his place as the most powerful user ever. Ranked fifth because it represents the technical apex of his growth, enabling all his later victories.

6. The Final Triumph, Defeating All For One

The century-old evil All For One, the demon who had tortured generations of One For All users, met his end at Deku’s hands. In the Final War Saga, All For One had consumed Tomura Shigaraki, creating a monstrous fusion of power and malice. All Might had failed to defeat this foe years ago, crippling himself in the process. Now, Deku had to succeed where his mentor could not.

With the combined strength of all seven vestiges, Deku delivered the final blow. He did not just win a fight; he broke a cycle of tragedy that had persisted for over a hundred years. This victory was the culmination of every bone broken, every tear shed, and every lesson learned. Deku proved that the true strength of One For All is not physical might alone, but the will to protect love and peace. Ranked second only to his first step, because defeating the ultimate evil was the necessary prelude to his final role.

7. Stepping Into the Shoes of a Symbol, Becoming the Greatest Hero of All Time

The series’ opening line – “This is the story of how I became the greatest hero of all time” – was fulfilled in the final chapters. After the war, Deku officially became the new Symbol of Peace, taking the mantle that All Might created. But he did not just inherit the title. He redefined it.

All Might himself acknowledged Deku as the best hero he had ever known. Deku’s heroism was never about being the strongest. It was about the selflessness that sent a Quirkless boy running toward a sludge monster, the empathy that saved a crying child, and the humility to accept his friends’ help. The My Hero Academia Final Season’s Anime of the Year win at the Crunchyroll Awards feels like a real-world capstone to this journey. Deku’s story reminds us that true greatness is not born from a Quirk, but from an unstoppable heart – one that never gives up, even when the world says you are useless.

Editor’s Note: This ranking prioritizes how each achievement shaped Deku’s identity as a hero—from the spark of courage that ignited his path to the legacy he built for future generations. While power milestones matter, it is the emotional and philosophical growth behind each victory that makes him the greatest hero of all time.