Deku

Lore & Background

Izuku is first seen as a 4-year-old boy about to be beaten up by three classmates, one of them being Katsuki Bakugo. Unlike his parents and 80% of the world's population, Izuku is Quirkless. Despite this, he grew up with aspirations to be a hero and idolized All Might. Ten years later, 14-year-old Izuku has a chance encounter with Toshinori Yagi, otherwise known as All Might, and asks if he could be a hero without a Quirk. All Might initially tells him to dream more realistically. Later, when an unnamed villain with mud-like liquid abilities attacks Katsuki, Izuku runs to try and save him, motivating the worn-out All Might to finish off the villain. An impressed All Might meets Izuku and tells him he wants him to inherit his Quirk "One for All". After ten months of training, Izuku eats a strand of All Might's hair to obtain One for All, just hours before the UA entrance exam. He first uses One for All during the practical exam to save Ochaco Uraraka from a giant robot, causing him to pass. In honor of his acceptance, his mother Inko fabricates him a teal-colored super-suit based on a sketch Izuku once drew. Izuku is placed in a class with Katsuki and Ochaco, who inspires him to embrace "Deku" as his hero name due to sounding similar to "dekiru", which roughly translates to "you can do it."

In Their Own Story

Throughout the series, Izuku becomes an encouraging influence to his classmates, such as allowing class prodigy Shoto Todoroki to let go of traumas that prevented him from using his powers to its fullest potential, helping Ochaco Uraraka win the hero vs. villain exercise, teaching Fumikage Tokoyami how to use his Quirk for defense purposes, and helping Kyoka Jiro organize her notes for the school festival. After nearly a year of school activities and internships, Izuku learns that All For One's apprentice Tomura Shigaraki has become powerful enough to steal One for All. Due to this, Izuku decides to leave U.A. so he can combat Shigaraki and his army of villains without endangering his classmates, who he had informed of his departure. Prior to leaving, he informs his classmates and several of the top heroes about One for All, the latter of whom assist him in hunting down the villains. His classmates tracked him down and were able to bring him back to U.A. successfully, while reminding him about how helpful he was to his class and why they see him as a friend even though he was born Quirkless, as well as Katsuki apologizing for his bullying attitude to Midoriya.

Reader's Guide

Izuku's Quirk, One For All, can stockpile one's power, increasing the user's physical capabilities and being transferred from one person to another. Since this Quirk can be passed down from user to user, the different Quirks of the previous One For All holders also become embedded into One For All as well. These powers include: Gearshift – the Quirk formerly held by the second user Toshitsugu Kudo, which allows the user to shift the speed of himself and anything he touches, ignoring inertia; Fa Jin – the Quirk formerly held by the third user Bruce Lee, which enables the user to build up and store kinetic energy as they move, which can then be released as an explosive burst of speed and power; and Danger Sense – the Quirk formerly held by an unspecified previous holder. Izuku's journey from a Quirkless boy to the 9th holder of One For All is marked by his analytical mind, his willingness to act selflessly, and his gradual mastery of these inherited abilities.

Did You Know?

• Izuku was initially created as Jack Midoriya, an ill salaryman working for a superhero supply company, in a 2008 one-shot comic called My Hero.
• A prototype for Izuku was Mikumo Akatani, a black-haired Quirkless boy who would have utilized gadgets to become a hero.
• Izuku's Japanese voice actor, Daiki Yamashita, stated that during voice recordings he had to eat a lot to prepare due to how often the character screams.
• Izuku's English voice actor, Justin Briner, originally auditioned for other characters in Class 1-A and described Izuku as a 'nerd' due to how relatable he is.
• Izuku appears as a playable character in the video games My Hero Academia: Battle for All, My Hero One's Justice, My Hero One's Justice 2, My Hero Ultra Rumble, My Hero Academia: Smash Rising, and My Hero Academia: All's Justice.