My Hero Academiahas quickly become a staple of modern shōnen anime, and a big part of that is because of the series' villains. The villains in the series are at least as interesting as the heroes taking center stage, and sometimes, they’re even more intriguing. Series creator Kohei Horikoshi has done a great job ofgiving the villains legitimate backstories that make their existences believable.
Most villains in anime are soulless or unrelatable. While most people wouldn’t go to these extremes, the villains inMy Hero Academiafeel realistic because of their backstories. Most of them have suffered horribly and want to get back at the societies that they blame for their problems. They’re also some of the strongest characters in the entire series, forcing the heroes of the story into a corner on multiple occasions.
12Stain (Chizome Akaguro)
The Hero Killer Formely Known as Stendhal
Stain is one of the most complex characters inMy Hero Academia.He has a twisted sense of justice that has seen him fight heroes and villains alike, butfor most ofMy Hero Academia,he’s undoubtedly on the side of evil.He never allies with any villains, but he’s more than willing to stand against heroes on more than one occasion.
His fight against Ida, Shoto, and Midoriya put his ideals and power on full display. His Quirk, Bloodcurdle, allows him to paralyze anyone whose blood he licks. It’s an extremely effective Quirk in battle; coupled with his overwhelming strength with the blade, Bloodcurdle makes him a threat to anyone in his way.
11Lady Nagant (Kaina Tsutsumi)
A Reformed Villain Turned (Somewhat) Hero
Lady Nagant is another character whose loyalty has been found on both sides of the moral spectrum. She spent most ofMy Hero Academiaas a less-than-willing villain sent to destroy Midoriya, and she got pretty close. Her Quirk, Rifle, makes her a threat at long range,allowing her to snipe enemies from an almost unbelievable distance.
All For One understood Lady Nagant’s value and gave her two more Quirks: Air Walk, which allows her to walk through the air, and a secret self-destruction Quirk that All For One planned on using if Lady Nagant failed her mission.
10Near High-End Nomu
Strong Enough to Take on the Strongest Heroes in the Series
The Nomus are some of the most threatening villains in the series, and during the Paranormal Liberation War, a series of Near High-End Nomus are released onto the battlefield.Each of the Near High-Ends is nearly as strong as the toughest heroes around, forcing the heroes to think of another way to stop them.
If it wasn’t for Lemillion’s much-needed appearance on the battlefield, the heroes would have suffered a catastrophic defeat. The Near High-End Nomus are much stronger than regular Nomus and, as their name implies, almost as strong as High-End Nomus like Hood.
9Geten (Himura)
Distant Relative of the Todoroki Family
Geten, also known as Iceman, was a high-ranking member of the Meta Liberation Army and one of the strongest villains in it. His ability to control ice is easily on the same level as Shoto Todoroki, one of thestrongest heroes inMy Hero Academia.He’s also strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Dabi, a character with an almost unbelievable control of fire.
Not much is seen of Geten in the main series, butwhen he’s on-screen, there aren’t many who can stop him.Geten can turn an entire battlefield into ice in less time than it takes most characters to run across it. He’s brutally powerful in the Meta Liberation Army Arc and only gets stronger during the Paranormal Liberation War.
8Re-Destro (Rikiya Yotsubashi)
The Leader of the Meta Liberation Army
Re-Destro was the Grand commander of the Meta Liberation Army and the strongest villain of the arc, before he met Tomura Shigaraki on the battlefield. His Quirk is known as Stress, allowing Re-Destro to convert any stress that he feels into raw power.
His Quirk gives him enough power to level part of a city in an instant.It also allowed him to fight Shigaraki one-on-one for a while, a feat even most of the strongest heroes in the series couldn’t pull off. He later helps Shigarki towards his goal of reshaping the world, and Shigaraki gained an incredibly powerful ally in the process.
7Dabi (Toya Todoroki)
The Fallen Son of the Todoroki Family
Dabi, like most of the villains inMy Hero Academia,has a brutal past that seemingly forced him into life as a villain. He was once the son of Enji Todoroki, the hero known as Endeavor. When he wasn’t able to combine ice and fire Quirks like Endeavor wanted, he was cast aside.
Dabi might have the strongest flame abilities in the entire franchise.His ability to use blue flames plus his willingness to kill himself in the process makes him an unreal threat to anyone in front of him. He could’ve been an exceptional hero if his life had gone another way, but unfortunately for everyone, he didn’t.
6Hood
The Strongest High-End Nomu
Hood might be the strongest High-End Nomu of them all. He was strong enough to push Endeavor, the Number One Hero at the time, past his limits. The Nomus are already some of the most powerful characters in the series, butHood’s abilities to tank some of Endeavor’s most vicious blows shows that he’s on another level.
Hood is so strong that he forced Endeavor to use his strongest ability to kill him. Endeavor used his Plus Ultra Prominence Burn, an ability so strong that he was forced to fly high into the sky to use it, preventing himself from lighting the entire city on fire in the process.
5Twice (Jin Bubaigawara)
Twice is capable of destruction on a level that most other villains can’t come near. His Quirk, Double, allows him to create a clone of anything he touches. While Jin himself can only create one copy at a time, his copies can make copies,giving Twice the ability to create a near infinite number of clones.
This ability is taken to its ultimate form through Twice’s strongest ability: Sad Man’s Parade. Twice makes a clone, who then makes a clone, and the process continues until there is nothing left but his clones. It’s an absurd ability made even stronger when Toga consumes his blood, but even without her, Twice is a force to be reckoned with.
4Gigantomachia
Several Ridiculous Quirks in One Massive Beast
Gigantomachia is every bit as powerful as he looks. He’s a behemoth, a walking one-man-army, and one of the biggest threats the heroes of the series have ever faced. He acted as All For One’s bodyguard for most of the series, and All For One made sure to make Gigantomachia absolutely destructive.
Gigantomachia is the recipient of several Quirks, thanks to All For One.All of his Quirks make him a menace in battle, giving him the ability to ignore pain, increase his senses, harden his muscles to unreal levels, and much more. If it wasn’t for the combined efforts of several powerful heroes, nothing would have stopped this menace.
3Himiko Toga
One of the Saddest Characters in the Series
Himiko Toga is a tragic character inMy Hero Academia.She’s an example of the flaws of the new society that revolves around Quirks, as her Quirk forces her to commit acts most people deem heinous. She never really got a chance to be a good person, and when the League of Villains took her in, she found her first real home.
Himiko Toga’s Quirk is Transform, a powerful ability that allows her to transform into whoever’s blood she ingests. When the Quirk evolved, it gave her the ability to not only transform into other people, but to use their Quirk as well.She’s able to use nearly any Quirk in the series so long as she consumes that person’s blood, giving her endless uses and Quirk combinations.
