History DeconstructedCharacterArchetype / MyHeroAcademia

* The League of Villains deconstructs the LegionOfDoom and BigBadEnsemble. They start out as virtually nothing and almost don't get anywhere because of ''de jure'' leader Tomura Shigaraki's [[PsychopathicManchild severe lack of maturity]]. They also fall on hard times.
* Stain is the deconstruction of the AntiVillain and WellIntentionedExtremist. He makes it clear that he only views All Might and by extension Izuku as the only one worthy of being called a hero while the rest are fakes that need to be [[ThePurge culled out]]. He fails to realize that while many heroes ''are'' egotistical they're [[BunnyEarsLawyer still good regardless and make civilians feel at ease]]. And he even fails to consider that {{Nominal Hero}}es might [[HeelRealization actually realize what they're doing is wrong]] and change their ways, so rather than inspiring a more altruistic and less corrupt hero society he murders any heroes he deems "fake". Moreover, rather than inspiring heroes to do better he instead inspires villains to follow in his footsteps and become every bit as ruthless as him. And considering that Stain hates villains as much as he hates fake heroes that's the absolute last thing he would want.

* As the story progresses and [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaIzukuMidoriya Izuku Midoriya]] undergoes CharacterDevelopment, it starts to deconstruct several of Midoriya's StockShonenHero traits, especially during the Dark Hero Arc.
** The AllLovingHero. Midoriya's kindness and empathy are his greatest strengths and it was these very traits that made All Might recognize him as his successor. The Dark Hero Arc shows that while these are great traits to have, they can be used against him. [[spoiler:A major plot point his him wrestling with the possibility that he may have to kill Tomura Shigaraki even though he views him as a victim of All For One. During his rematch with Muscular he tries to understand why he's the way he is only to learn the hard way that [[BeyondRedemption not everyone can be reasoned with]]. Not long after that All For One sends Lady Nagant, a HitmanWithAHeart who has a DarkAndTroubledPast to capture him and has her explode right in front of him, knowing full well that Midoriya would try to reach out and try to redeem her.]]
** The AscendedFanboy. Midoriya has always admired All Might even before receiving his Quirk from him. However, at the beginning of the series, his idolization of All Might severely held him back as he tried too hard to mimic All Might's style. It's only after developing Full Cowl and later Shoot Style does he start to move away from imitating All Might and becoming his own hero. And then this trope rears its ugly head again during the Dark Hero Arc where [[spoiler:his relentless drive to stop All For One causes him to isolate himself from everyone, including All Might and the Pro Heroes working alongside him, which is what All Might himself did during his run as the Symbol of Peace. It takes Midoriya's friends reminding him that he doesn't have to shoulder the burden alone and he should let his friends fight alongside him.]]

** Immediately afterwards, Endeavor deconstructs TheAtoner. [[spoiler:After winning the #1 Hero spot on a technicality, a heart-to-heart with All Might convinces Endeavor to reevaluate his life and attempt to fix his mistakes regarding his family. However, Endeavor quickly learns that there are some things that are impossible to reconcile. His wife still fears him, Natsuo still hates him, Fuyumi is willing to be civil for the sake of the family, and Shoto is still on the fence about actually forgiving him. It all boils to a head when Natsuo is attacked by the villain Ending. Endeavor realizes that the damage done to his family is irreparable and decides the best way for them to heal is to cut himself out of their lives. To that end, he moves his family to a safer location while he lives at their old house alone. But then things [[FromBadToWorse take a turn for the worst]] during the Paranormal Liberation War Arc where he learns that his son Touya is still alive...and has become the notorious villain Dabi. And worse still, Dabi has broadcasted all of his family's dirty laundry for all of Japan to see, effectively tarnishing Endeavor's reputation. A brutal demonstration that no matter how much you want to atone for your mistakes, the consequences of your actions will follow you wherever you go. It didn't help that Endeavor never went public with any of this before and simply hoped the past would stay buried. Had Enji been honest about his past sins, it would've thrown a wrench in Dabi's plans.]]

* [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaOverhaul Kai Chisaki, alias Overhaul]] is a deconstruction of AlwaysSomeoneBetter. Initially Overhaul appears to be Shigaraki's better in every way: He has more resources, a larger force, is a more effective long-term planner and his Quirk is even a better version of Shigaraki's. By all accounts he would have been the next BigBad but it's ''because'' of this that Shigaraki [[LetsGetDangerous steps up his game]] and ultimately OutGambits him. His scale as a potentially worse threat than the League drives both the heroes and villains alike to bring him down, ending with Overhaul's organization dismantled, Shigaraki removing his arms to render him Quirkless and using him as a stepping stone by reaping the benefits of his life's work.
** His character also deconstructs the concept of a HateSink. His arrogance, condescending treatment of others and willingness to kill them at the slightest mistake means the only people who are genuinely loyal to him in the Hassaikai are people so broken by society that they're desperate to find a place to fit in, and follow Chisaki's orders at the expense of their own well-being simply because he [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe gave them a place to belong]]-- Something Overhaul clearly only did because [[PragmaticVillainy he had a use for them]], rather than out of genuine kindness. The rank-and-file Mooks in the organization make it clear none of them hold any genuine admiration or respect towards Overhaul and the only reason they don't turn on him is that he would kill them easily if they did. His abhorrent actions in using [[HumanResources Eri's body]] to make his anti-quirk weapons make it easy for Nighteye to arrange a joint multi-agency raid on his hideout in collaboration with the police, both because of the potential threat his plans could bring and because every one of them finds common ground in wanting to stop his horrific treatment of the innocent girl. His antagonism and brutalization of the League, including killing one of their members, fails to cow them into submission, and in fact galvanizes the RagtagBunchOfMisfits into banding together and even working in tandem with their hated enemies' own attack on Overhaul to take him down, since he ultimately made himself too many enemies for himself to reasonably handle, especially since, unlike All For One, the series' other resident HateSink, he doesn't have the charisma to inspire UndyingLoyalty in any but the most insane of his followers, leaving him fighting alone by the end.
* The deconstruction of BadPowersBadPeople goes to [[spoiler: [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaHimikoToga Himiko Toga]]. She was ostracized by her own parents for her [[BloodLust obsession with blood]] even at a young age, despite being specifically because her Quirk is blood-based rather than out of any innate sociopathy. The stress of trying to be "normal" and deny her urges eventually caused her to snap and become the SerialKiller she is today]].
* Re-Destro deconstructs TheLeader. At first, Re-Destro appears to be the ideal embodiment of the various qualities that go into making a good leader, especially when compared to the seemingly slipshod way that Shigaraki runs his operation. However, because the Meta Liberation Army rigidly revolves around the CultOfPersonality built around its leaders, Re-Destro's subordinates are so [[BlindObedience lacking in initiative]] that when they come up against the much smaller organized but infinitely more resourceful [[BadassCrew League of Villains]], what should be an overwhelming victory slowly gets dragged out into a war of attrition. Similarly, because of the constant pressure to try and live up to the image of the perfect leader since childhood, Re-Destro has come to find the role suffocating and stressful to the point that [[spoiler: it contributes heavily to his decision to hand over leadership of the MLA to Shigaraki]].

* Lady Nagant
** Her characterization deconstructs the HitmanWithAHeart. She was used by the Hero Public Safety Commission as a hitman to assassinate potential threats to society even before they commit any crimes, depriving them of due process or even a right to a trial. At first she complied with her orders for the sake of protecting society, but soon the guilt and pressure began to eat away at her to the point of her suffering PTSD and she soon became disillusioned with Hero Society. It all boiled to a head when she confronts the president of the Commission, who not so subtly threatens to have her killed if she attempts to quit, prompting Nagant to shoot him dead and leading to her being the cold and cynical individual she is today. [[spoiler: It's further deconstructed in that AFO is implied to have sent her after Izuku specifically because of this trait- not to beat the potential SpannerInTheWorks before he better masters his powers, but solely just so that Izuku would attempt to reach out to Nagant once he realizes [[BrokenBird what kind of person she was]]-- and AFO could render his efforts pointless by detonating her [[ForcedToWatch right in front of him]], using the tragedy of her existence and Izuku's failure to save her to further demoralize the young hero before their proper rematch.]]

[[folder:All For One '''(Unmarked Spoilers''')]]

** The AllLovingHero. Midoriya's kindness and empathy are his greatest strengths and it was these very traits that made All Might recognize him as his successor. The Dark Hero Arc shows that while these are great traits to have, they can be used against him. [[spoiler:A major plot point his him wrestling with the possibility that he may have to kill Tomura Shigaraki even though he views him as a victim of All For One. During his rematch with Muscular, he tries to understand why Muscular is the way he is only to learn the hard way that [[BeyondRedemption not everyone can be reasoned with.]] Not long after that, All For One sends in Lady Nagant, a HitmanWithAHeart who has a DarkAndTroubledPast to capture him and has her explode right in front of him, knowing full well that Midoriya would try to reach out and try to redeem her.]]

* Stain is the deconstruction of the AntiVillain and the WellIntentionedExtremist. He makes it clear that he only views All Might, and by extension Izuku, as the only one worthy of being called a hero, while the rest are fakes that need to be [[ThePurge culled out]]. He fails to realize that while many heroes ''are'' egotistical, they are still very good at their jobs regardless and make civilians feel at ease. And he fails to even consider that {{Nominal Hero}}es might [[HeelRealization actually realize what they're doing is wrong]] and change their ways, so rather than using his charisma to inspire a more altruistic and less corrupt hero society he just murders any hero he deems "fake". More over, rather than inspiring heroes to do better, he instead inspires villains to follow in his footsteps and become every bit as ruthless as him. And considering that Stain hates villains as much as he hates "fake" heroes, that's the absolute last thing he would want.
** There is also the implication that his firm belief in the fact [[HeroismIncentive heroes shouldn't be paid for being heroic]] would lead him to view [[TheCutie Uraraka]] as [[OnlyInItForTheMoney fundamentally corrupted]] since she did enter the hero career in the hope to get rich, even though her actual goal of trying to support her family is actually quite noble, while also displaying similar level of altruism as Izuku otherwise.
* [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaOverhaul Kai Chisaki, alias Overhaul]], is a deconstruction of AlwaysSomeoneBetter. Initially, Overhaul appears to be Shigaraki's better in every way: he has more resources, a larger force, is a more effective long-term planner, and his Quirk is even a better version of Shigaraki's Decay. By all accounts, he would have been the next BigBad, reducing Shigaraki to a BigBadWannabe, but it's ''because'' of this that Shigaraki steps up his game and ultimately outgambits him. His scale as a potentially worse threat than the League drives both the heroes and villains alike to bring him down, ending with Overhaul's organization dismantled, [[spoiler:and Shigaraki removing his arms to render him Quirkless and using him as a stepping stone by reaping the benefits of his life's work.]]
** His character also deconstructs the concept of a HateSink. His arrogance, condescending treatment of his allies and willingness to kill them at the slightest mistake mean that the only people who are genuinely loyal to him in the Hassaikai are people so broken by society that they're desperate to find a place to fit in, and follow Chisaki's orders at the expense of their own well-being simply because he [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe gave them a place to belong]]-- Something Overhaul clearly only did because [[PragmaticVillainy he had a use for them]], rather than out of genuine kindness. The rank-and-file Mooks in the organization make it clear none of them hold any genuine admiration or respect towards Overhaul and the only reason they don't turn on him is that he would kill them easily if they did. His abhorrent actions in using [[HumanResources Eri's body]] to make his anti-quirk weapons make it easy for Nighteye to arrange a joint multi-agency raid on his hideout in collaboration with the police, both because of the potential threat his plans could bring and because every one of them finds common ground in wanting to stop his horrific treatment of the innocent girl. His antagonism and brutalization of the League, including killing one of their members, fails to cow them into submission, and in fact galvanizes the RagtagBunchOfMisfits into banding together and even working in tandem with their hated enemies' own attack on Overhaul to take him down, since he ultimately made himself too many enemies for himself to reasonably handle, especially since, unlike All For One, the series' other resident HateSink, he doesn't have the charisma to inspire UndyingLoyalty in any but the most insane of his followers, leaving him fighting alone by the end.

* All For One deconstructs the InvincibleVillain and SmugSuper. All For One is every bit a dangerous threat, however, the final arcs demonstrate his effectiveness is severely hampered by sheer hubris. Almost all of the setbacks he suffers are the results of him underestimating opponents and overestimating his abilities. The heroes even know All For One thinks he can't lose and exploit his arrogance at several points during the Final Battle. Being so used to things going his way [[DidntSeeThatComing leaves him flat-footed when taken off guard]].

* The GenericDoomsdayVillain is also deconstructed. His [[ThenLetMeBeEvil embracing the role of a villain]] [[ForTheEvulz because he wants to]] and refusal to [[CharacterDevelopment grow and change as a person]] leaves him little more than [[FlatCharacter a caricature of a living being, utterly lacking in depth or redeeming traits]]. The heroes make no attempts to do [[BeyondRedemption anything less than kill him]] by the time of the FinalBattle and nobody truly supports him willingly, [[NotInThisForYourRevolution instead allying out of desperation and a need for the power he holds to try and make their own dreams come true]]. Even his vestige admits [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]] is hollow and pointless as he realizes too late that [[DeaderThanDead his brother Yoichi's vestige in One For All is long gone]]. Yet he still pursues this meaningless goal because he understands that villains are expected to do so.

* The BadBoss is also deconstructed. Though All For One claims to value subordinates he truly only sees them as tools to be manipulated and discarded at his leisure. And because of how cruelly he treats his underlings none of them are genuinely loyal, only serving him out of either fear or for their own ends and gladly turning on him when the opportunity presents itself. Aoyama and his family help the heroes lure him For One into a trap for the final battle and Lady Nagant, having survived his assassination attempt comes to Midoriya's aid by shooting Shigaraki's hand to prevent him from using his [[MakeThemRot Decay]] Quirk. His abusive treatment of his underlings is so bad that even ''[[TheJuggernaut Gigantomachia]]'' turns on him despite having been ''the'' codifier for BlindObedience towards his master up to that point.

* The ArchEnemy is another deconstruction. All For One declares Izuku to be his new nemesis during the Dark Hero Arc and goes out of his way to destroy him so he can complete his long-spanning goal of stealing One For All. However, this hyperfixation on Midoriya as well as his sheer arrogance and obsession with comic books causes him to ignore other potential threats to his plans as he sincerely believes he cannot be challenged by anyone other than a user of One For All, viewing other heroes as "[[TheJobber jobbers]]" who exist just to show off his strength. This costs him his life during his fight with Team Endeavor when they, with help from the collective wills of those whose Quirks he stole work together to destroy his life-support mask, allowing Endeavor to nearly burn him alive with Prominence Burn. He has to use [[DeathByDeaging Rewind]] on himself in order to keep fighting and confirms he's ensured his death sentence. More than that, Shigaraki is the one who comes to claim the position of Midoriya's ''true'' ArchEnemy and the ''de facto'' BigBad to boot by suppressing All For One's vestige and even when he regains control it's only because of Midoriya solely focusing on redeeming the Shimura out of Shigaraki. In the end his obsession with Midoriya is the only thing keeping him motivated as he lost everything else to everyone else.

* The final arcs, particularly his battle with Team Endeavor deconstruct the AscendedFanboy, namely demonstrating the negative aspects of this trope. What do you get when someone who identifies with and aspires to be a [[Maou The Demon King demon lord]] from an {{Isekai}} manga is suddenly granted the power to live out his childhood fantasy? A dangerous narcissist, megalomaniac and sociopath with delusions of grandeur. Having been an avid fan of comics as a child, All For One seems to genuinely view the world as a real-life comic book starring him as the invincible Demon Lord. Naturally this mindset backfires on him constantly as he keeps assuming events will proceed in a certain manner and learns the hard way that RealLife doesn't follow the rules of a comic book or other media.
* The GenericDoomsdayVillain is also deconstructed. His embracing the role of a villain [[ForTheEvulz because he wants to]] and refusal to [[CharacterDevelopment grow or change as a person]] leaves him little more than [[FlatCharacter a caricature of a living being]], utterly lacking in depth or redeeming traits. The heroes make no attempts to do [[BeyondRedemption anything less than kill him]] by the time of the FinalBattle and nobody truly supports him willingly, [[NotInThisForYourRevolution instead allying out of desperation and a need for the power he holds to try and make their own dreams come true]]. Even his vestige admits [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]] is hollow and pointless as he realizes too late that [[DeaderThanDead his brother Yoichi's vestige in One For All is long gone]]. Yet he still pursues this meaningless goal because he understands the villains are expected to do that.
* His battle with Team Endeavor also deconstructs the HandicappedBadass and DarkLordOnLifeSupport. His first battle with [[BigGood All Might]] left him severely injured to the point he has to rely on a life support system and sensory Quirks to function. During the final battle the collective wills of those whose Quirks he stole start rebelling against him, leaving him open to an attack by Tokoyami that destroys his CoolMask. [[NoOntologicalInertia Once his mask's been destroyed his body begins shutting down]], leaving him unable to defend himself from Endeavor who burns him alive with a point-blank [[FinishingMove Prominence Burn]]. If not for Eri's [[TimeRewindMechanic Rewind]] Quirk he would've died then and there.

As All For One's character is explored throughout the series, particularly in the final arcs he's gradually revealed to be a deconstruction of classic {{supervillain}}s such as [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]] and the [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker the Joker]] as well as various tropes associated with such characters.
* In general he's a deconstruction of the CardCarryingVillain who [[ForTheEvulz commits evil for no other reason than to do it]], demonstrating [[CompleteMonster just how depraved and monstrous someone would have to be]] to actually ''want'' to be a villain, [[TheSociopath exploring the reasons]] someone might be that way and the {{Logical Weakness}}es that come from it. All For One freely admits one of his long-held goals was to be HatedByAll as a testament to his thorough villainy and towards the final arc the negative consequences of ''actually being'' such a despicable figure start reflecting back on him to his detriment.
* The Dark Hero Arc deconstructs All For One's status as TheSociopath. He's {{narcissist}}ic, charismatic, [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]], intelligent and [[LackOfEmpathy utterly devoid of empathy]]. Ironically, it's because of his sociopathy that he's unable to accomplish his lifelong goal to steal One For All as it leaves him incapable of generating the emotional growth needed to overcome the will of its Torch Bearers. Hence his goal is to have his Quirk vestige [[GrandTheftMe possess his apprentice Shigaraki]] and use his [[ThePowerOfHate boundless hatred]] for Hero Society to steal One For All. This ultimately backfires on him ''spectacularly'' during the Final War Arc when Shigaraki's emotional willpower proves stronger, allowing him to [[FightingFromTheInside retake his body]].

* Of TheChessmaster and DiabolicalMastermind. All For One is clever and intelligent but also incredibly arrogant and [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorbed]]. Just the concept that his enemies might be stronger or smarter than he thinks never even crosses his mind. When they spring a trap on him he [[ThisCannotBe can't comprehend how it's possible]] and finds himself unable to think on the fly.

* His battle with Team Endeavor also deconstructs the HandicappedBadass and DarkLordOnLifeSupport. His first battle with [[BigGood All Might]] left him severely injured to the point he has to rely on a life support system and several sensory Quirks to function. During the final battle the collective wills of those whose Quirks he stole start rebelling against him, leaving him open to an attack by Tokoyami that destroys his life support mask. [[NoOntologicalInertia Once his mask is destroyed his body begins shutting down]], leaving him unable to defend himself from Endeavor who burns him alive with a point-blank [[FinishingMove Prominence Burn]]. If not for Eri's Rewind Quirk he would've died then and there.
* The BadBoss is also deconstructed. Though All For One claims to value his subordinates, he truly only sees them as tools to be manipulated and discarded at his leisure. And because of how cruelly he treats his underlings, none of them are truly loyal to him, only serving him out of either fear or for their own ends, and will gladly turn on him when the opportunity presents itself. Aoyama and his family helps the heroes lure All For One into a trap for the final battle and Lady Nagant, having survived All For One's assassination attempt on her, comes to Midoriya's aid by shooting Shigaraki's hand to prevent him from using Decay. His abusive treatment of his underlings is so bad, even ''Gigantomachia'' eventually turns on him, despite having been ''the'' codifier for BlindObedience towards his master up to that point.
* The ArchEnemy is another deconstruction. All For One declares Izuku Midoriya to be his new nemesis during the Dark Hero Arc and goes out of his way to destroy him so he can complete his centuries-spanning goal of stealing One For All. However, this hyperfixation on Midoriya, as well as his sheer arrogance and obsession with comic books, causes him to ignore other potential threats to his plans as he sincerely believes he cannot be challenged by anyone other than a user of One For All, viewing other heroes as "Jobber Characters" who exist just to show off his strength. This costs him his life during his fight with Team Endeavor when they, with help from the collective wills of those whose Quirks he stole, work together to destroy his life-support mask, allowing Endeavor to nearly burn him alive with Prominence Burn. He has to use [[DeathByDeaging Rewind]] on himself in order to keep fighting, and he confirms he's ensured his death sentence. More than that, Shigaraki is the one who comes to claim the position of Midoriya's ''true'' ArchEnemy and de-facto BigBad to boot by suppressing All For One's vestige, and even when All For One regains control, it's only because of Midoriya solely focusing on redeeming the Shimura out of Shigaraki. In the end, All For One's obsession with Midoriya is the only thing keeping him motivated as he lost everything else to everyone else.
* TheDreaded. All For One's immense powers, resources, imaginative cruelty and sadistic enjoyment of tormenting others makes him a fearsome enemy to all and his stated goal is to be the world's most feared and reviled villain much like the Demon Lord in the comics he read about as a child. However, his reputation as this ends up having the opposite effect as rather than run, the heroes as well as former villains such as Lady Nagant and Gentle Criminal all team up to take him down once and for all. Also, as Inasa points out in the final battle, because he spent so long [[ShadowDictator ruling from the shadows]], the passage of time has left him [[{{Unperson}} a non-entity]] to the present generation, who see him as somebody clinging to his past glories in [[IRejectYourReality denial]] of his insignificance.
* His rampant egoism ultimately deconstructs the EvilMentor, especially in a series that has a CentralTheme about [[PassingTheTorch Succession]]. After his defeat at All Might's hands All For One decided to make Tomura Shigaraki his successor, taking great strides to help him grow from a PsychopathicManchild into "[[TheDreaded The Symbol of Fear]]". However, it's eventually revealed that his idea of a "[[SuperiorSuccessor successor]]" is simply himself in Tomura's younger and enhanced body by having his Quirk and vestige possess him. Unfortunately for All For One, he did ''too good'' a job in teaching Shigaraki as the latter is able to [[BastardUnderstudy bide his time and wait for the opportune moment to suppress All For One's vestige and retake his body for his own]]

** Her quirk deconstructs BadPowersGoodPeople. Lady Nagant's ability is an organic gun that comes out of her arm, which pairs with her secondary ability to create bullets from her own hair. So what does the government do with this extremely powerful weapon that can fire untraceable rounds which can curve and track a target? Put them to work putting down potential threats. The deconstruction comes in when Nagant, once a [[FriendlySniper warm hearted and friendly]] Hero is no longer able to consider herself a good person, instead just a blood stained killer forced to uphold a lie. Ultimately she succumbs to despair, and snaps under the pressure of trying to uphold a society she sees as corrupt.

!!Considering that the very existence of [[Characters/MyHeroAcademiaAllForOne All For One]] is a massive spoiler, and how connected he is to almost every other villain in the story as well as the Quirks he has handled, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff all spoilers on this folder are unmarked]]!
As All For One's character is explored throughout the series, particularly in the final arcs, he's gradually revealed to be a deconstruction of classic comic book supervillains such as [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]], and the [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] as well as the various tropes associated with such characters.
* In general, All For One is a deconstruction of the CardCarryingVillain who commits evil for [[ForTheEvulz no other reason than to do it]], demonstrating just how depraved and monstrous a person would have to be to actually ''want'' to be a villain, [[TheSociopath exploring the reasons]] why someone might be that way and the {{Logical Weakness}}es that come from it. All For One freely admits that one of his long-held goals was always to be HatedByAll as a testament to his thorough villainy, and towards the final arc the negative consequences of ''actually being'' such a despicable figure start to reflect back on him to his detriment.
* The Dark Hero Arc deconstructs All For One's status as TheSociopath. He's narcissistic, charismatic, manipulative, intelligent, and utterly devoid of empathy. Ironically, it is because of his sociopathy that he is unable to accomplish his lifelong goal to steal One For All as it leaves him incapable of generating the emotional growth needed to overcome the will of the Torch Bearers. Hence, his goal is to have his Quirk vestige possess Shigaraki and use his boundless hatred for Hero Society to steal One For All. And this ultimately backfires on him ''spectacularly'' during the Final War Arc when Shigaraki's own emotional willpower proves to be far stronger, allowing him to retake his body from All For One's control.
* All For One deconstructs the InvincibleVillain and SmugSuper. All For One is every bit a dangerous threat, however, the final arcs demonstrate that his effectiveness as a villain is severely hampered by his sheer hubris. Almost all of the setbacks he suffers are the result of him underestimating his opponents and overestimating his abilities. The heroes even know All For One thinks he can't lose and exploit his arrogance at several points during the final battle. Being so used to things going his way leaves him flat-footed when he's taken off guard.
* Of TheChessmaster and the DiabolicalMastermind. All For One is a clever and intelligent villain, but is also incredibly arrogant and self-absorbed. The concept that his enemies might be stronger or smarter than he thinks never even crossed his mind. When they spring a trap on him, he can't comprehend how it's possible for them to do so and finds himself unable to think on the fly.
* The final arcs, particularly his battle with Team Endeavor, deconstructs the AscendedFanboy, namely demonstrating the negative aspects of this trope. What do you get when someone who identifies with, and aspires to be a demon lord from an Isekai manga is suddenly granted the power to live out his childhood fantasy? A dangerously narcissistic and megalomaniacal sociopath with delusions of grandeur. Having been an avid fan of comics as a child, All For One seems to genuinely view the world as a real-live comic book starring him as the invincible Demon Lord. Naturally, this mindset backfires on him constantly as he keeps assuming events will proceed in a certain way and learns the hard way that real life doesn't follow the rules of a comic book.
* The GenericDoomsdayVillain is also deconstructed. His embracement of the role of a villain just [[ForTheEvulz because he wants to]] and refusal to [[CharacterDevelopment grow or change as a person]] leaves him as little more than [[FlatCharacter a caricature of a human being]], utterly lacking in depth or redeeming traits. The heroes make no attempts to do [[BeyondRedemption anything less than kill him]] by the time of the FinalBattle, and nobody truly supports his end goals willingly, instead allying with him out of desperation and a need for the power he holds to try and make their own dreams come true. Even his vestige in Shigaraki admits that [[TakeOverTheWorld world domination]] is a hollow, pointless victory as he realizes too late that [[DeaderThanDead his brother's vestige is long gone]] in the One For All, which was his real subconscious end goal all along. Yet he still pursues this meaningless goal because he understands that the Demon Lord is supposed to do that in the comics.
* His battle with Team Endeavor also deconstructs the HandicappedBadass and the DarkLordOnLifeSupport. His battle with All Might in the past left him severely injured to where has to rely on a life support system and several sensory Quirks to function. During the final battle, the collective wills of those whose Quirks he stole start rebelling against him, leaving him open to an attack by Tokoyami that destroys his life support mask. Once his mask is destroyed, his body begins shutting down, leaving him unable to defend himself from Endeavor, who burns him alive with a point-blank Prominence Burn. If not for Eri's Rewind Quirk, he would've died then and there.

* The GenericDoomsdayVillain is also deconstructed. His embracement of the role of a villain just [[ForTheEvulz because he wants to]] and refusal to [[CharacterDevelopment grow or change as a person]] leaves him as little more than [[FlatCharacter a caricature of a human being]], utterly lacking in depth or redeeming traits. The heroes make no attempts to do [[BeyondRedemption anything less than kill him]] by the time of the FinalBattle, and nobody truly supports his end goals willingly, instead allying with him out of desperation and a need for the power he holds to try and make their own dreams come true.

* The ArchEnemy is another deconstruction. All For One declares Izuku Midoriya to be his new nemesis during the Dark Hero Arc and goes out of his way to destroy him so he can complete his centuries-spanning goal of stealing One For All. However, this hyperfixation on Midoriya, as well as his sheer arrogance and obsession with comic books, causes him to ignore other potential threats to his plans as he sincerely believes he cannot be challenged by anyone other than a user of One For All, viewing other heroes as "Jobber Characters" who exist just to show off his strength. This costs him his life during his fight with Team Endeavor when they, with help from the collective wills of those whose Quirks he stole, work together to destroy his life-support mask, allowing Endeavor to nearly burn him alive with Prominence Burn. He has to use [[DeathByDeaging Rewind]] on himself in order to keep fighting, and he confirms he's ensured his death sentence. More than that, Shigaraki is the one who comes to claim the position of Midoriya's ''true'' ArchEnemy and de-facto BigBad to boot by destroying All For One's vestige, ensuring he will ''never'' achieve his dream of being [[MaouTheDemonKing the Demon Lord]].

* His rampant egoism ultimately deconstructs the EvilMentor, especially in a series that has a CentralTheme about [[PassingTheTorch Succession]]. After his defeat at All Might's hands All For One decided to make Tomura Shigaraki his successor, taking great strides to help him grow from a PsychopathicManchild into "[[TheDreaded The Symbol of Fear]]". However, it's eventually revealed that his idea of a "[[SuperiorSuccessor successor]]" is simply himself in Tomura's younger and enhanced body by having his Quirk and vestige possess him. Unfortunately for All For One, he did ''too good'' a job in teaching Shigaraki as the latter is able to [[BastardUnderstudy bide his time and wait for the opportune moment to destroy All For One's vestige and retake his body for good.]]

* PersonalityPowers are also deconstructed through his titular Quirk. Having the ability to instantly steal the strength he needs to win from others has lead to All For One developing a dependence on this tactic to succeed in his plans. Despite being aware that the issue with absorbing [[ForbiddenFruit One For All]] stems from his own [[TheSociopath lack of strong emotions]], he instead embarks on a [[ComplexityAddiction convoluted scheme]] to foster Tomura's hatred against the world to a level that he can then [[SplitPersonalityMerge steal]] it and use it to finally assimilate One For All. This backfires from him trying to monopolize a force he ''implicitly groomed'' to be more powerful than himself, and finds it's [[BullyingADragon too much to handle]]. Likewise, "stealing the strength to win" means that he lacks any true strength of his own, which is showcased in the Vestige Realm, a metaphysical location wherein All For One cannot monopolize any of his accumulated abilities to benefit himself, and suffers multiple setbacks and defeats from various parties because of it. These two factors ultimately result in his own Vestige getting destroyed by Tomura's to seize the role of BigBad from him for good.

* His younger twin Yoichi deconstructs the LivingEmotionalCrutch character. It's eventually revealed that underneath all the lies and falsehoods he gives about his motivations, All For one ''genuinely'' did care about his twin, and was emotionally devastated by their separation, especially since [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil his own actions seemingly made it permanent]]. This is notable, as the narrative repeatedly enforces the fact that beyond Yoichi, All For One is [[TheSociopath absolutely incapable of considering others in any capacity]], and actually revels in this as a strength. However, because All For One so adamantly believes VirtueIsWeakness, he's in self-denial about any positive qualities he may possess. This means that Yoichi's best efforts to make his brother understand that GoodFeelsGood were rejected out of hand, and his connection to Yoichi only made the latter a walking DoomMagnet for anybody that All For One saw as getting close to him or keeping them apart. Even when All For One lets slips in his final monologue that he committed so many acts of villainy because he believed it'd make him remembered forever in infamy, he still doesn't understand that he really wanted companionship and acceptance by others, being fundamentally incapable of recognizing his inner weakness because of his overblown ego.

* His younger twin Yoichi deconstructs the the LivingEmotionalCrutch character. It's eventually revealed that underneath all the lies and falsehoods he gives about his motivations, All For one ''genuinely'' did care about his twin, and was emotionally devastated by their separation, especially since [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil his own actions seemingly made it permanent]]. This is notable, as the narrative repeatedly enforces the fact that beyond Yoichi, All For One is [[TheSociopath absolutely incapable of considering others in any capacity]], and actually revels in this as a strength. However, because All For One so adamantly believes VirtueIsWeakness, he's in self-denial about any positive qualities he may possess. This means that Yoichi's best efforts to make his brother understand that GoodFeelsGood were rejected out of hand, and his connection to Yoichi only made the latter a walking DoomMagnet for anybody that All For One saw as getting close to him or keeping them apart. Even when All For One lets slips in his final monologue that he committed so many acts of villainy because he believed it'd make him remembered forever in infamy, he still doesn't understand that he really wanted companionship and acceptance by others, being fundamentally incapable of recognizing his inner weakness because of his overblown ego.