Izuku Midoriya

Lore & Background

Izuku Midoriya was initially created as Jack Midoriya (Japanese: 緑谷 ジャック, Hepburn: Midoriya Jakku), an ill salaryman working for a superhero supply company. This prototype appears only in a 2008 one-shot comic written by Horikoshi called My Hero. He was later changed to a high-school student for My Hero Academia (with the chronic illness repurposed for All Might's character), however, his character remains largely unchanged. This prototype for My Hero Academia's main protagonist was Mikumo Akatani (Japanese: 赤谷 海雲, Hepburn: Akatani Mikumo), a black-haired Quirkless boy who would have utilized gadgets to become a hero. Horikoshi revised the design of Akatani's character, as he was especially dissatisfied with the hair and shortened it for Midoriya. Initially the protagonist was to remain Quirkless. Horikoshi changed the direction of Midoriya's character by adding his acquisition of One For All, due to suggestions from editors that argued that a powerless main protagonist would be overshadowed by other superpowered characters. Izuku is first seen in My Hero Academia as a 4-year-old boy about to be beaten up by three classmates, one of them being Katsuki Bakugo, who can create explosions. Unlike his parents and 80% of the world's population, Izuku is Quirkless, as in he was born without any unique superpower, or "Quirk", to call his own. Despite this setback, he grew up with aspirations to be a hero in his own right and began to idolize the superhero All Might. Izuku was raised primarily by his mother, Inko, who can make small objects float towards her. His father, Hisashi, whose Quirk allows him to breathe fire, is not seen because he is working abroad in the United States. Throughout his childhood and into his teen years, Izuku would often be bullied by Katsuki Bakugo, who would give him the nickname "Deku" (an alternate kun'yomi reading of his given name's kanji that is homophonous with 木偶, meaning "useless person; good for nothing"; treated as a clipped compound of "Defenseless Izuku" in English translations) to mock his perceived worthlessness in superhero society. Ten years later, 14-year-old Izuku has a chance encounter with Toshinori Yagi, otherwise known as All Might, and asks him if he, too, could be a hero, even though he possesses no Quirk. All Might, after he reveals his true appearance, responds by telling him to dream more realistically and to consider becoming a police officer. Later, when an unnamed villain with mud-like liquid abilities attacks Katsuki, Izuku, without proper thought, runs up to try and save him, which in turn gives the worn-out All Might (who can only do hero work for about three hours a day due to a fight with All for One that destroyed half of his respiratory system) the motivation to finish off the villain. Later, an impressed All Might meets up with Izuku and tells him that he wants him to inherit his Quirk "One for All". Izuku accepts the offer and, after ten months of training under All Might in order to prove his worth (in that time, Izuku turns 15), he is asked to eat a strand of All Might's hair to obtain One for All, just hours before the UA entrance exam. Izuku first uses One for All during the practical part of the exam to save Ochaco Uraraka from being attacked by a giant robot, causing him to pass the exam. In honor of his acceptance, his mother Inko fabricates him his very own super-suit, a teal-colored suit based on a sketch Izuku once drew. Izuku is placed in a class with Katsuki and Ochaco, the latter of whom inspires him to embrace "Deku" as his hero name due to sounding similar to "dekiru" (出来る), which roughly translates to "you can do it." He also became secretly infatuated with Ochaco, as he almost always blushes around her, and is the one girl he cares about the most; however, he keeps his feelings for her hidden out of fear of rejection, not knowing she also develops romantic feelings for him as well. Throughout the course of 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, some of which are intercepted by villain attacks, 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.

In Their Own Story

Izuku is first seen in My Hero Academia as a 4-year-old boy about to be beaten up by three classmates, one of them being Katsuki Bakugo, who can create explosions. Unlike his parents and 80% of the world's population, Izuku is Quirkless. Ten years later, 14-year-old Izuku has a chance encounter with Toshinori Yagi, otherwise known as All Might, and asks him if he, too, could be a hero, even though he possesses no Quirk. All Might responds by telling him to dream more realistically and to consider becoming a police officer. Later, when an unnamed villain with mud-like liquid abilities attacks Katsuki, Izuku runs up to try and save him, which gives the worn-out All Might the motivation to finish off the villain. An impressed All Might meets up with Izuku and tells him that he wants him to inherit his Quirk "One for All". Izuku accepts and, after ten months of training under All Might (in that time, Izuku turns 15), he is asked to eat a strand of All Might's hair to obtain One for All, just hours before the UA entrance exam. Izuku first uses One for All during the practical part of the exam to save Ochaco Uraraka from being attacked by a giant robot, causing him to pass the exam. In honor of his acceptance, his mother Inko fabricates him his very own super-suit, a teal-colored suit based on a sketch Izuku once drew. Izuku is placed in a class with Katsuki and Ochaco, the latter of whom inspires him to embrace "Deku" as his hero name due to sounding similar to "dekiru" (出来る), which roughly translates to "you can do it." After nearly a year of school activities and internships, some of which are intercepted by villain attacks, 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. 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 Midoriya'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 are: Gearshift – The Quirk formerly held by the second user Toshitsugu Kudo. This allows the user to shift the speed of himself and anything he touches, ignoring inertia in the process. Fa Jin – The Quirk formerly held by the third user Bruce Lee. This enables the user to build up and store kinetic energy as they move, this energy can then be released as an explosive burst of speed and power. Danger Sense – The Quirk formerly held (the source cuts off here, but the listed powers are Gearshift, Fa Jin, and Danger Sense). Izuku plays central roles in the movies My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission, and My Hero Academia: You're Next. He also appears in the spinoff light novel series My Hero Academia: School Briefs, and the comic parody My Hero Academia: Smash!!, which depicts My Hero Academia's events in a more comedic manner. He 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. In a crossover promotion with Avengers: Infinity War, Izuku shares a brief conversation with Captain America. He also appears as a playable character in the video game Jump Force along with All Might, Katsuki and Shoto. He also appeared in a Pixel Gun 3D set event, but is named "Quirky Boy", alongside two of his own weapons, the Double Quirk, and the Grenade Quirk. Izuku appears alongside Katsuki, Ochaco, and All Might in Fortnite as crossover characters. He was also a character skin option as Tracer for crossover promotion in Overwatch 2, which became available from October 17 to 30, 2024. Shin Tamura portrayed Izuku in a My Hero Academia stage play.

Did You Know?

• Izuku was initially created as Jack Midoriya, an ill salaryman working for a superhero supply company, in a 2008 one-shot called My Hero.
• Another prototype for the protagonist was Mikumo Akatani, a black-haired Quirkless boy who would have used gadgets to become a hero.
• Horikoshi originally planned for the protagonist to remain Quirkless, but changed direction due to editor suggestions.
• Izuku's father Hisashi has a fire-breathing Quirk and works abroad in the United States, so he is not seen in the series.
• Izuku's English voice actor Justin Briner originally auditioned for other characters in Class 1-A before landing the role of Izuku.