In the long timeline ofMy Hero Academia, the protagonist andfuture number 1 hero, Dekuhas made a number of strides along his difficult journey. When fans first met Deku, he was a shy, helpless child with no quirk and no hopes of becoming a pro hero.
Now, the Deku that stands in front of audiences has successfully earned his Hero License and is well on his way to becoming a successor All Might can be proud of. Deku often gets heavily criticized for being weak and it’s about time critics take a step back to appreciate exactly how much Deku has grown during his journey.
Updated on August 05, 2025 by Rhenn Taguiam:With My Hero Academia Season 7 teasing quite a build-up towards the climactic final episodes of the Final War Arc in Season 8, fans of the series might be wondering just what other surprises Deku has up his sleeve that can turn the tide of his fight against Tomura Shigaraki. As All For One’s apprentice seems to be growing even more powerful in each passing episode, Deku is seemingly driven to a corner in their showdown. Fans who love theorycrafting who’d love to analyze just how Deku might get out of this tough spot should revisit the way Deku’s powers evolved so far, especially when this might hold the clue as to how he can turn the tide to his advantage.
This list includes Deku’s development up to Season 7 Episode 13 of the anime, and will feature Spoilers for the events leading up to and during this point in the story.
19Middle School: Quirkless And Ostracized
Episode: S1, Ep1
At the very beginning of the series, the audience is introduced to a very insecure, shy protagonist. After ayoung aspiring Dekufinds out that he is Quirkless, the series fast-forwards to his middle-school days - where his dream to be a hero despite being Quirkless, something he can achieve by enrolling at the prestigious U.A. High, ended up with him being bullied by his classmates. At this point in Deku’s life, he had no one but his kind mother behind him to support his dream.
However, this isn’t to say Deku is totally useless. Despite knowing his dreams are almost becoming delusions, Deku’s “obsession” with superheroics are reflected not just in his superhero journal but his commentary on superhero activities he sees. While often shown as funny “ramblings” throughout the series, Deku’sskill of analyzing Quirkswill be an important part of his growth.
18Meeting All Might: Beginning The 10-Month Training Program
Episode: S1, Ep3
Early into Deku’s story, he serendipitously has a run-in with his idol - All Might, the number one pro hero in the world. Realizing his difficult position, Deku takes the opportunity to confide in All Might, asking him if it’s possible forsomeone Quirkless like himcan still be a hero. At first, All Might reluctantly tells Deku his dreams are unrealistic. However, after witnessing Deku rush in to try and save his classmate Bakugo from a villain, All Might has a change of heart. It is then that he tells Deku he has what it takes to be his successor and begins Deku’s training period.
Deku begins as an average student with no real physical aptitude - making this more challenging for the youngster, as All Might warned Deku he wouldn’t be able to handle his Quirk at that stage. The gruelling 10-Month Training Program might have just transformed Deku into the peak of human physicality, but this reveals something else about the youngster: hisindomitable will. Where others would easily give up, Deku will strive to succeed - even if he fails. In the end, All Might will see Deku clean their training area all by himself.
17Training Completed: Deku Inherits All For One
Deku finally completes the rigorous training plan All Might devised for him. After all his hard work and strict dieting (thanks to the helpful hand of his kind mother), Deku is finally deemed ready to have All Might’s Quirk transferred to him.
However, to Deku’s surprise, this process included thebizarre ritual of eating a strand of All Might’s hair. This is also where the audience learns the means of howAll Might’s Quirk passageworks: via the willing exchange of any kind of item that holds the previous user’s DNA.
16U.A. Entrance Exams: Deku Uses OFA For The First Time
Episode: S1, Ep4
During theentrance exams for U.A. High, Deku is forced to put his Quirk to the test for the first time. During this examination, he finds himself at a loss, overwhelmed by all his fellow applicants showing off their skills and expertise. In a serious bind while trying to save Uraraka, Deku finally successfully summons the power of One For All out of his intense need to save and protect others.
The audience witnesses not only the first time Deku uses his powers, but also its cost: as someone Quirkless, One For All is too overwhelming even for his peak human physique. This causes almost all of his bones to break, adding a caveat to his new gift:if he uses One For All too much, his body might not be able to handle it.
15Sports Festival: First Encounter With Previous OFA Users
Episode: S2, Ep7
After his successful entry into U.A. High, Deku participates in the school’s televised Sports Festival. In the face-offs, Deku is matched up with schoolmate Shinso Hitoshi who has the eerie ability to brainwash anyone he talks to as soon as they reply to a word he says while his Quirk is activated.
In a panicked frenzy after getting brainwashed by Shinso, Deku sees strange shadowy figures outside of the arena and manages to activate his Quirk, breaking free of Shinso’s control. When he explains this to All Might, even his mentor is surprised as he hasn’t encountered this before. They speculate these are the Vestiges of One For All’s previous owners, implying thatthe presences of multiple people inside Deku was able to overpower Shinso’s Quirk.
14Fight Against Muscular: First Usage Of OFA At 100 And 100,000,000%
Episode: S3, Ep4
When the League of Villains attack U.A. High during the U.S.J. Incident, the school decided to have the students go to a training camp - an event that goes awry when even the villains manage to track them down to their location. Unfortunately for Deku, he becomes the target of thepowerful villain Muscular, whose Quirk allows him to contend even against Izuku’s usage of One For All in terms of sheer strength. With the youngster Kota in danger of being killed, Deku is forced to use One For All in their fight.
This is extremely dangerous, as Izuku has already been warned of not overusing the Quirk. While Deku unleashes a punch ofOne For All at100%, he is horrified to see Muscular just tank the hit. Out of sheer desperation, and in his willingness to make sure Kota isn’t killed, Deku ignores all warnings from before and unleashesOne For All at 1,000,000%, finally rendering Muscular unconscious at the cost of breaking both his arms. He manages to still carry Kota through the pain and escape to find the rest of his comrades.
13Full Cowling: Deku Develops A New Style & New Armor
Episode: S3, Ep 14
During his recovery from the training camp incident, Deku is met with the unfortunate news that he can no longer use One For All with his arms or he will risk rendering them unusable. Deku, ever the determined youth, uses his analysis of his Quirk so far and comes to terms with the fact that even the shockwave of One For All’s abilities alone can’t be supported by his arms. Instead of looking once again to All Might for advice, he opts out of All Might’s usage of OFA for pure strength.
to develop his own style, he seeks help from a classmate who can also withstand intense pressures from his Quirk: the speedster Tenya Iida. When Iida explains that he trains his legs constantly to absorb the shock of his Quirk and release it for high-speed bursts, Deku gets an epiphany. Instead of relying on OFA for strength, Deku begins channeling the energy of his Quirk outwards through kicks to release powerful blasts - something he callsFull Cowling Shoot Style.Thanks tonew gear from Mei Hatsume’s leg-support armor, Deku can also do this safely.
12Fight Against Overhaul: Aided By Eri, Deku Freely Uses OFA At 100%
Episode: S4, Ep13
Despite learning howto use his Quirkmore effectively, Deku still struggled to fight the powerful Overhaul’s assembly-and-disassembly Quirk. While at some point on the verge of defeat, Deku tells Eri he has no intention of giving her back to the abusive villain. It’s at this point that Eri reveals the full extent of her Rewind Quirk, where she can “rewind” Deku to a state before unleashing his full strength.
Realizinghow Eri can help him use his powers without any repercussions, Deku begins channeling One For All with no regard for the effects on his body. He instructs Eri to keep “Rewinding” what she could while Deku sustained his attacks - something that finally allowed them to subdue Overhaul.
11Heroes Rising: Deku Transfers Half Of OFA To Bakugo
Film: My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
In what can be considered one of the most intense fights inMy Hero Academia, Deku and his classmates are tested to their limits in their fight against Nine. Unlike other villains they faced,Nine can use multiple Quirks, something they thought only All For One possessed. After seemingly being defeated and at the risk of total annihilation, Deku makes the decision of doing thePower Transferto Bakugo through his DNA - something that All Might did to Deku in their own Power Transfer.
With One For All now having two vessels, Bakugo and Deku join forces to finally defeat Nine. Like Deku, Bakugo’s body also suffers the full repercussions of using One For All. However, the both of them also now contain the full powers of OFA - allowing them to deal twice as damage to the villain.
10Nine Aftermath: OFA Users Transfer Quirk Back To Deku
After defeating Nine, Deku realizes that he’s just made the irreversible decision of giving up One For All to Bakugo - making his dream a worthwhile price if it meant saving Nabu Island. All Might finds the weakened Deku and Bakugo and discovers that although the embers of Deku’s Quirk went out, One For All still managed to find its way back to Deku, leaving Bakugo with no recollection of what happened.
All Might interprets this as theVestiges of One For All returning the Quirk to Deku, as though wishing him to continue being the chosen vessel. (Sorry, Bakugo!) The Vestiges being more active in this manner is a tease of more of their activities throughout the series as things get even more complicated for Deku and the Quirk community.
