History Awesome / MyHeroAcademia

* [[Awesome/MyHeroAcademiaFinalWarArc Final War Arc]]
** [[Awesome/MyHeroAcademiaFinalWarArcPart1 Part 1]]
** [[Awesome/MyHeroAcademiaFinalWarArcPart2 Part 2]]

* [[Awesome/MyHeroAcademiaFinalWarSaga Final War Saga]]
** [[Awesome/MyHeroAcademiaFinalWarSagaPart1 Part 1]]
** [[Awesome/MyHeroAcademiaFinalWarSagaPart2 Part 2]]

Awesome moments for the Final Act Saga can be found [[Awesome/MyHeroAcademiaFinalActSaga here]].

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Entrance Exam Arc (Chapters 1-4, Episodes 1-4)]]
* The video of All Might's debut as a hero. Saving a hundred people and continuing to save more while telling everyone around that now that he's there, everything's going to be fine. It's no wonder Midoriya and so many other children like him look up to All Might. The longer the series goes on and the more we see of the era before All Might, the more powerful his debut is.
* The first fight we see All Might in sees him one shot a supervillain. Not by punching him in the face, punching ''the air'' so hard the airwave does it.
* [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Midoriya attempting to save Bakugo from the sludge monster despite not having any powers]]. His bravery inspires All Might to go beyond his own limit and take it out, and his intervention saves Bakugo from dying of asphyxiation. This was so awesome that All Might took back what he said and offered Midoriya the chance to be a hero.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkjDWnZW_yA The whole scene shows how much of a hero Midoriya truly is.]] Midoriya is right off the heels of having All Might tell him he can't be a hero, watching Bakugo being killed by the same sludge monster that almost killed Midoriya, who is proving so tough that ''professional heroes'' can't do anything other than wait for All Might, all while Midoriya is having a HeroicBSOD over being responsible for the monster coming back. And yet just before the monster possesses Bakugo, [[HeroesFrontierStep Midoriya rushes to save him]] and manages to reach Bakugo thanks to the application of his [[AwesomenessByAnalysis studying all the heroes]]. All to the triumphant reveal of "[[AwesomeMusic/MyHeroAcademia You Say Run]]". Bad. Ass.
*** The final cherry on top? It utterly ''destroyed'' Bakugo's ego. Nobody but All Might cared about what Midoriya did. All everyone else saw was some idiot kid who got in way over his head and nearly got killed. And the heroes have nothing but praise for Bakugo for his demonstration of power and he's showered with career offers. But it falls completely on deaf ears, and he drives himself to make a fool of himself in front of Midoriya later in an attempt to salvage his dignity. Why? Why would he feel that need when nobody else saw it that way? Because at that moment, Bakugo was given an extremely uncomfortable reality check in what true heroism is all about. He saw, in that exact moment, that the worthless, pathetic, Quirkless fanboy he's bullied for more than half of his life is already a better hero than he'll ''ever'' be.
* All Might giving Midoriya One-For-All. In everything he has seen, no doubt All Might has seen countless heroes and heroic individuals. Yet out of all of them, it was the meek Midoriya who proved himself worthy, the only one worthy that he knows to wield One-For-All, showing the strength of character Midoriya has. Only one other person was considered worthy and that was Mirio. While he definitely is just as heroic and worthy as Midoriya (if not more experienced), the fact that a Quirkless person like Midoriya was willing to risk his life after everything that happened to him was likely why he chose Izuku.
* Midoriya shows off his {{Determinator}} status by going above and beyond All Might's grueling exercise regimen (All Might had told Midoriya to clear trash from just one section of the beach; he cleared ''the whole beach''). In ten months, he goes from a scrawny kid to having an impressive physique. His perseverance is such that All Might chooses him to be the one who inherits One For All.
** For context to make this even more awesome: The beach wasn't filled with run-of-the-mill trash either, it had become what was basically a full-blow junkyard overflowing with big heavy garbage people were too lazy to take to a proper dump. The section All Might originally wanted him to clear was -- at most -- ''one third'' of the total garbage that had accumulated. Izuku's seen hauling things like fridges and car tires during the montage. By himself, without a Quirk. By the time he's done, he's got a CharlesAtlasSuperpower body on his small frame, the beach is ''spotless'' and All Might is speechless.
* The time has come for the actual exam -- and Midoriya is woefully unprepared. The zero-point villain causes untold destruction upon its arrival. All of the students, Midoriya included, turn tail and run. But then Midoriya hears the whimper of the girl who was nice to him earlier -- Ochako. She's trapped under rubble, struggling against the weight, and isn't going to be able to free herself before the villain runs her over. Midoriya rushes forward, One For All courses through his body, power overflowing in his legs and arm. The other examinees -- and the ''judges'' -- watch in awe as he ''soars'' into the air, all the way up to the robot's level, and punches the robot so hard, he caves in its face, bursts its head like a rotten melon, and ''knocks it over with explosions ripping down its spine''. It doesn't matter that he broke his body; it doesn't matter if he passes the exam or not. In that moment, Midoriya already ''was'' a '''hero'''.
** Crossing over with [[Funny/MyHeroAcademia funny moments]], if you look closely behind All Might, you can see that Principal Nezu is outright ''cheering'' for Izuku. That little creature has been running U.A. for years, seen countless of these exams, and undoubtedly watched the giant robot be destroyed dozens of times. And Midoriya was ''still'' able to induce that response in him.
** Ochako deserves some credit, too: she must've used her Quirk to free herself, and then immediately after used it to float herself up towards Midoriya on some debris, then used it on Midoriya to save him. All in the space of seconds. And she did it in spite of being perfectly aware of her Quirk's side effects, which she [[VomitDiscretionShot suffers shortly after]].
** All the students are shocked and impressed by Midoriya's punch, but they assume he's still going to flunk. Iida is the only one who realizes that he passed the WhatYouAreInTheDark portion of the exam (a part that Iida grudgingly admits he failed himself).
** Midoriya ''does'' end up passing -- not only that, he earned enough rescue points that he came in ''7th place'' for the entire exam. Out of the 36 students who were accepted into the hero course from the public exams. Not only that, it's implied from the presentation that the judges for rescue points all gave him a ''perfect'' score. In other words, he couldn't be more heroic and selfless if he tried.
** Ochako was so impressed with what Midoriya did, and felt so guilty about him not getting any combat points because of it, that she went to Present Mic and asked him to give Midoriya some of her points. Awesome for Midoriya, inspiring her like that, but also for her: she was willing to potentially give up what she desired most just to help someone else. And the judges took notice of her own heroism. While she had accumulated 28 combat points, she also garnered ''45 rescue points''. She qualified ''3rd''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Quirk Apprehension Test Arc (Chapters 5-7, Episode 5)]]
* On the first day, Midoriya's homeroom teacher Shota Aizawa springs a Quirk Aptitude Test on the students of Class 1-A. He declares that the student who performs the worst will be expelled immediately. Midoriya is understandably panicked, since he can't control how much power he uses with One For All. After a montage of Midoriya trying (and failing) to stand out in the tests with just his normal strength, it's time for the softball throw -- incidentally, the last of the tests that One For All would help with. Midoriya winds up, attempts to use One For All... and is surprised when the power fizzles out. It's then that Aizawa is revealed to be a Pro Hero named Eraser Head, with [[PowerNullifier the power to temporarily erase Quirks]].\\
\\
He proceeds to give Midoriya a ''brutal'' TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, highlighting that he only has two options: not use his Quirk, and fail; or use it, destroy his body, be unable to complete the other tests, and fail. Either way, Aizawa says, Midoriya shouldn't have been allowed into the school, as he would just be a liability in the field.\\
\\
He then releases Midoriya and tells him to take his final throw. Midoriya mulls over the two options in front of him -- [[TakeAThirdOption and takes a third.]]\\
\\
"You Say Run" ''roars'' in the background as All Might, who has been watching out of concern, gapes in shock. Midoriya winds up for his throw, and then channels 100% of One For All into the tip of ''one'' finger. That finger is '''shattered''', but the ball ''rockets'' into the stratosphere, stunning ''everyone'' -- from Bakugo, who was still unaware of Izuku's new Quirk, all the way to Aizawa. Midoriya slowly stands up straight, smiling, and clenches his fist in spite of the broken finger, letting Aizawa know that he isn't done yet. All Might is practically [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee fanboying]] over how cool Midoriya has become, while Aizawa is so impressed that he reveals his [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold heart of gold]] and decides to say the 'expulsion' thing was a motivational lie, keeping Midoriya in the class.
** Oh, and as for Midoriya's score? 705.3 meters -- .1 meters ''more'' than Bakugo. The only student who scored higher was Ochako on a technicality.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Battle Trial Arc (Chapters 8-11, Episodes 6-8)]]
* Midoriya, on the second day of school, is required to undergo a two on two training exercise... at a time when he can't risk using One For All because he might kill someone. Said exercise has Bakugo on the opposing side:
** In the opening rounds of the battle, Midoriya combines BadassBookworm with AwesomeByAnalysis, using everything he knows about Bakugo along with all of the lessons in school that Bakugo never really paid attention to, and he not only evades Bakugo's first attack but also predicts his opponent's next move, gets inside of his guard, and judo throws Bakugo. [[BadassNormal Bear in mind, this is without using any powers whatsoever.]]
** Iida has a small moment against Uraraka, while [[EvilIsHammy playing the hammy villain]], he had the foresight of getting rid of literally everything in the room that wasn't nailed down before she arrived, leaving her with nothing to use as makeshift weapons and allowing him to simply use his speed [[MovingTheGoalposts to move the bomb]] so it can't be claimed.
** How Izuku and Uraraka win against Iida and Bakugo is downright insane. Iida is too fast for Uraraka to reach the bomb before he can grab it, and Izuku isn't able to put a scratch on Bakugo, [[TookALevelInBadass who's become much less wild in his usage of his Quirk.]] After Bakugo runs Izuku into a corner, taunting him over "hiding his Quirk" and suggesting it means Midoriya was underestimating Bakugo, Izuku explains how he does look up to Bakugo, and that's why he wants to beat him and calls him an idiot. Bakugo and Midoriya rush towards each other, both charging up, but right as All Might tells them to stop, Izuku redirects his Smash up, blocks Bakugo's explosive punch, and unleashes the mother of all [[Franchise/StreetFighter Shoryukens]], utterly eradicating the rest of the building, and sending enough shrapnel for Uraraka to bat towards Iida with a pillar, securing the win.
** What's even more impressive about the above feat is that Izuku and Uraraka had never worked together as a team before, and yet in the span of ''minutes, while both were under fire'', were able to perfectly coordinate a [[ConfusionFu recklessly high-risk, over-the-top plan that would be utterly impossible to counter simply because of how insane it was]] without either one missing a beat. Talk about perfect teammates.
* Shoji and Todoroki's performance against Ojiro and Hagakure has to be seen to be believed. First, Shoji uses his superhuman hearing to perform a thorough intelligence gathering about the nature and location of their foe, and thanks to the fact that he's so detailed that he mentions the seemingly-innocuous fact that both of them are barefoot, Todoroki manges to, within five seconds, as if it had been his plan the entire time, realize he can just freeze the entire building and completely incapacitate both of his barefoot opponents by freezing their feet to the floor. While most of the story focus is on Todoroki, and while it would have most likely been a CurbStompBattle even if Todoroki were on his own, with Shoji's help Todoroki ''completely humiliated'' them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Unforeseen Simulation Joint Arc (Chapters 12-21, Episodes 9-13)]]
* Iida's calming of all the students during an emergency evacuation. Bonus point because this inspires Midoriya to make him class president.
* The anime adaptation makes the League of Villains' entrance a form of CreepyAwesome, mainly due to "Uncontrollable Evil" playing as they step through the portal.
* Eraser Head taking the fight to the villains. Words do not do him justice, but we can try:
** First off, Eraser Head has nothing protecting him from damage; if he's hit he's down. This doesn't matter because he's ''[[FragileSpeedster too damn fast to be tagged]]''.
** Secondly, [[GogglesDoSomethingUnusual his cool glasses keep the bad guys from seeing who he's looking at]] so they don't know who's Quirkless.
** Add his [[ScarfOfAsskicking cool scarf]] to the equation, and you get an ''incredibly epic CurbStompBattle''.
* One has to give Tomura credit; while he's not TheChessmaster he'll later become by any means here, a brief sign of it shows when he uses AwesomenessByAnalysis to deduce the specifics of Aizawa's abilities and pose a genuine threat to the teacher that had previously wiped the floor with his forces.
* The teamwork used by Midoriya, Tsuyu, and Mineta when they're surrounded by aquatic villains and seem to have no means of escape. This is the first time they've worked together before and yet they manage to escape:
** First is the analysis and planning: Midoriya determines that the invasion was carefully orchestrated, and Tsuyu points out that if they were so confident, they'd probably have a way to threaten All Might, which means they can't just sit tight. Midoriya then realizes that due to the way Kurogiri warped the students, the villains probably don't know their Quirks,[[note]]The hint was that Tsu was sent to an aquatic environment where her Frog Quirk works best instead of a hot or cold environment where she'd be at a disadvantage.[[/note]] which gives the heroes the advantage of surprise.
** Midoriya uses his knowledge of physics and Delaware Smash to spread out the water villains.
** Mineta overcomes his fear enough to use his Quirk to help restrain the villains. When the wave brings back the water from Midoriya's impact, the villains wind up getting stuck together because of Mineta's sticky balls and launched into the air from the water sprout.
** And as all this goes on, Tsuyu grabs Midoriya and Mineta to make their getaway.
* A villainous example, Kurogiri's nearly killing No. 13 with WeaponizedTeleportation.
* Denki Kaminari takes out a whole group of villains as well, once his teammates protect themselves from his lightning Quirk with an insulating sheet.
* In an amazing display of teamwork, Sero attaches his tape to Kurogiri's armor while Sato throws the guy aside thanks to a mix of his strength and Uraraka's anti-gravity powers. Plus give Tenya some credit for being able to outrun this smokey freak.
* Bakugo's showing CharacterDevelopment when he says he won't kill Kurogiri for revenge but to cut off the villains escape plans. He even points out that even if they let the villains escape, Kurogiri can bring more now or at another time when they are ill-prepared.
* After Kurogiri scatters the students across the USJ dome and sends hordes of villains after all the individual groups, the various students are shown using teamwork and clever use of their Quirks to overcome their lacking numbers. Then the scene cuts to Todoroki, who is effortlessly [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] an entire group of opponents singlehandedly, all the while not even changing his usual bored expression, including casually interrogating one of them while mentioning the effects of frostbite if he leaves them there. It just goes to show how many leagues above everyone else his Quirk stands in power.
** It's later revealed that Hagakure got teleported to the same area as Todoroki. Instead of trying to fight the villains alongside him, she just ''hid'', knowing that not getting in his way and allowing him to fight at full power would be more effective than working together.
* Ojiro was fighting alone, with no classmates to back him up, and yet he was able to survive using only hit-and-run-tactics and his BareFistedMonk skills. Hagakure even points out just how good at fighting he is, considering his only Quirk is a tail. Though he's hardly the flashiest hero and doesn't have a ton of screentime, thanks to this scene, there's no denying that he's strong in his own right.
* Beaten to within an inch of his life, Eraser Head still has the strength to use his Quirk to save Tsuyu from Tomura. [[VillainRespect Even Tomura has to admit Eraser Head is "so cool" for that.]]
* When Nomu tries to kill Midoriya, and Tsuyu is faced with Tomura, Tsuyu still makes a last-ditch effort to save Midoriya, ''even as Tomura tries to kill her.'' That's the mark of a hero.
* All Might's BigDamnHeroes, where he proudly proclaims '''[[BadassBoast "HAVE NO FEAR, FOR I HAVE COME."]]'''. He is such a HopeBringer that just his arrival instantly boosts the morale of everyone who was fighting for their lives against the villains. Izuku even notices that in sheer contrast to his earlier appearances where [[StepfordSmiler he's always literally smiling even in the face of danger]] while using his powers, All Might is very clearly '''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness scowling]]''' akin to his depowered form. [[PapaWolf Do not harm his co-workers or especially students]].
* Nomu and Kurogiri execute a combo attack that not only nullifies All Might's pile drive but immobilizes him. For all his strength, he can't fight back against a PortalCut. Midoriya's interference meant nothing against a warp gate. If not for Bakugo and Todoroki, All Might would have died.
* Bakugo and Todoroki save ''All Might'' from being killed by Kurogiri and Nomu's sneak attack. Just when Kurogiri is about to PortalCut the Symbol of Peace in half and teleports Midoriya away from the battle, Bakugo [[DynamicEntry jumps in out of nowhere]] and brings down the warp gate, while Todoroki effortlessly [[KillItWithIce covers Nomu]] in just enough ice for All Might to escape.
* All Might's fight with Nomu, when he goes beyond the limits of his powers to protect his students. First, he deduces that since Nomu has the power of shock ABSORPTION, not NULLIFICATION, it means that there's a limit to how much he can absorb. All Might then RapidFireFisticuffs him until he reaches that limit, hitting faster than even Nomu can keep up with. Then, when Nomu reaches the limit for how much impact he can absorb, All Might punches him through trees, bashes him up into the air before slamming him down into the ground, and then wrapping the fight up with the MegatonPunch to end all Megaton Punches. [[AdaptationExpansion The fight is even better in the Anime]], where All Might '''''hurls''''' Nomu all over the USJ, causing gale-force shockwaves with every punch and causing the ground to shatter from the sheer force of the impacts before hitting him with an uppercut so powerful [[PowerGlows it glows]] and then sends the monster crashing through the dome of the USJ so hard that the impact can be felt throughout the ''entire complex''. All with a great quote to cap it all off.
-->'''All Might:''' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Now for a lesson. You may have heard these words before... but I'll teach you what they really mean!]] ''[[BeyondTheImpossible Go beyond!]]'' '''[[BadassCreed PLUS!]]''' '''''[[BadassBoast ULTRAAAAAAAAA!!]]'''''
** And what's more, Nomu was created to withstand All Might at 100% of his power, and at a stronger version than All Might was at the time. All Might's solution? '''''GO BEYOND 100%!''''' And all of this while All Might had less than a minute in powered up form! Bonus points for Plus Ultra [[MeaningfulName roughly meaning "further beyond" in Latin.]]
** A minor one, but a commenter pointed out All Might being able to count how many punches he used is impressive in its own right, given how fast he and the Nomu were going.
** Oh, and did we mention that [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic "You Say Run"]] is blasting throughout the whole fight?
* After All Might is disabled due to his fight with Nomu and the villains the students had previously defeated start to regroup, Iida returns [[TheCavalry with a group of professional heroes to help combat the remaining villains]]. All of them make impressive displays of their respective Quirks. Specifically...
** Snipe using his ImprobableAimingSkills to blow a hole in Shigaraki's hand to save Izuku and shooting another villain in the shoulder when he was about to kill Kaminari.
** Present Mic using a BigYes to push back a group of villains approaching the heroes.
** Ectoplasm using his SelfDuplication Quirk to clone himself and kick another villain in the face.
** And to top it off, as Shigaraki is making his escape, Snipe proceeds to shoot him through both arms and legs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:U.A. Sports Festival Arc (Chapters 22-44, Episodes 14-25)]]
* Season 2 of the anime ''starts'' with a preview of what kind of hero Midoriya will eventually become -- single-handedly defending the city from ''an army of villains'', throwing a punch so powerful that it ''lights up half the Earth''.
* During the Obstacle Race preliminary of the Sports Festival, Midoriya can't rely on One For All to get him through, so he picks up a large piece of metal plating from a demolished obstacle-robot. He then spends the rest of the race using it to [[ImprobableWeaponUser smash another attacking robot]], [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe shield himself from other attacks,]] and when he reaches the minefield at the end of the race, he digs up a bunch of mines and piles them up, then jumps onto them while using the plate to shield himself from the blast and [[ExplosionPropulsion use the explosion to launch himself over the minefield]] and [[CrazyEnoughToWork take first place]].
** Then it goes into funny territory when he realizes he did not account for how he should land and that he would lose acceleration quickly with Todoroki and Bakugo [[EnemyMine stopping their fight to go after him]]. Then it gets awesome again when Midoriya steps on their backs while falling, using them as propulsion to throw himself and the plate in the ground to gain another ExplosionPropulsion while pushing Bakugo and Todoroki aside.
* Iida's secret weapon; Overclocking the engines in his legs to FlashStep speed at the expense of them stalling afterward made it a risky all-or-nothing gambit. Before that moment, Team Todoroki and Team Midoriya had been in a stalemate, so it isn't an exaggeration to say that Iida's contribution was the tipping point that allowed his team to steal the [[GoldenSnitch 10,000,000 point headband]] from Midoriya, securing his position as both a FriendlyRival and WorthyOpponent to Midoriya.
** [[BullyingADragon After Monoma steals Bakugo's headband]], Bakugo rages for like five seconds before he immediately comes up with a plan: Have Sero shoot some tape in the direction they want to go, Mina put dissolving solution on the ground and then blasts towards them. He then ''smashes'' through the air bubble the team were using to protect themselves and steals ''all'' of Monoma's headbands.
--->'''Bakugo:''' '''[[ItsPersonal Kirishima, we have a change of plans.]]'''
* Mei's performance in the first elimination round of the tournament. She goes to Iida before the game and offers him special gear to complement his super-speed abilities, claiming she wants to help make the fight fairer and bring out his true potential. And Iida trusts her completely. But rather than this turning out to be what you'd expect, a dirty underhanded trick to sabotage him, in reality she was completely genuine about what she said the gear could do... and she ''still'' manages to kick his ass, utterly humiliate him with her gadgets, turn him into a walking advertisement, show off her gear for ten whole minutes, ''and then intentionally resign with a shit-eating grin on her face, having already flawlessly accomplished everything she came to the festival to do''. Doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.
* After Todoroki gets the 10,000,000 point headband thanks to Iida's secret acceleration technique, Midoriya charges him and uses "One for All" for the first time in the games. Todoroki [[OhCrap panics]] and activates his flame powers to defend himself. Todoroki swore that he would never use his flame powers in battle, and so far he's kept that vow. Midoriya just accomplished what ''actual'' supervillains couldn't.
* Tokoyami stealing Todoroki's headband at literally the last second, allowing Team Midoriya to win enough points to advance to the next round.
* Izuku's match with Shinso. After Izuku escapes the mind control, he quickly overcomes Shinso in hand-to-hand. He shrugs off a punch strong enough to bloody his nose and judo throws him out of the ring. He did this with two broken fingers!
** Shinso being there at all. He has a seemingly useless Quirk (why he failed the Hero Course entrance test), he has an average high schooler's physique while his opponents are all extremely fit, and yet, by being creative and cunning, he arrived all the way to the final event, and would have likely ''won the whole thing'' had One For All not come with a MindHive.
* During their fight, Sero manages to grab Todoroki with his tape and prepares to inflict a RingOut. Todoroki's countermove? Trap him inside of a '''gigantic''' ice wall twice as tall and half as long ''as the stadium''. Even the pro heroes are impressed.
** It's implied that Todoroki ''allowed'' Sero to snare him in order to use the tap as a conduit.
** Just before this battle, Endeavor scolded him for not using the flame Quirk and said that his ice Quirk is too limited for him to succeed. Thus, the giant ice wall is even bigger "screw you, dad!" -- more like a great big "[[PrecisionFStrike fuck you]], dad!", in fact.
* Tokoyami uses Dark Shadow to strike hard and fast, keeping Yaoyorozu on the defensive, then pushes her out of bounds by repeatedly attacking her shield.
* Uraraka's impressive gambit against Bakugo, who has huge combat and even environmental advantages, goading him into making a lot of debris. Debris which she launches into the air before sending it right at him. He counters this by unleashing a huge explosion that takes out every single speck of debris at once. Bakugo's arm trembles due to the overexertion and he almost sounds rattled. Even after her all or nothing attack fails Uraraka keeps fighting, and it's not Bakugo who defeats her but her own body giving out after going far beyond her limits. After the fight, Bakugo accuses Midoriya of coaching her, but he counters that he ''didn't''; Uraraka developed the plan all on her own, and if Bakugo had a hard time with her, credit ''her'' for it. Realizing this, Bakugo ''himself'' acknowledges the level of fight Uraraka brought to the ring when Kaminari chastises him for going full power against "a frail girl":
-->'''Bakugo:''' I definitely wouldn't call her "frail."
* Endeavor crosses paths with Midoriya and compares his power to All Might's before telling him to give his son a good fight. Knowing of Todoroki's issues with his father pressuring him to surpass All Might, Midoriya delivers a [[KirkSummation powerful comeback]] with just eight words.
-->'''Midoriya''': I'm not All Might. And Todoroki isn't you.
* Midoriya vs Todoroki is one of the show's most famous scenes, with Midoriya clashing with one of the top performers of the entire tournament, it's a given something awesome would happen. And awesome it was.
** The fight starts with Midoriya on the defensive. Midoriya counters Todoroki's attempts to freeze him by using One For All to flick his fingers hard enough to create shockwaves that stop the ice from reaching him, even as this breaks his fingers one by one. Eventually, Todoroki sends out an ice blast that forces Midoriya to break his hand to stop it. Todoroki goes for the kill, only for Midoriya to use One for All ''again'' with his broken fingers, shattering them further. By the end of the chapter, Todoroki is starting to feel the effects of [[HeroicRROD overusing his ice powers]], but Midoriya has broken both of his arms playing defense. Even so, he points out that as much damage as he's done to himself, Todoroki hasn't been able to touch him using only half of his power, then [[{{Determinator}} clenches a fist with his broken fingers]] and loudly challenges Todoroki to BringIt.
** Midoriya calling Todoroki pathetic for holding himself back, and delivering a heavy blow to him with his broken arm. Aizawa notes how disturbing it is for Midoriya to keep fighting with broken limbs, and wonders how he can even stand to go that far during a match.
** Midoriya also shows signs that he's starting to figure out "One For All" since he consciously manages to hold back enough to avoid punching a hole through Todoroki, which Aizawa notices.
** In order to keep fighting despite having crippled his hands, Midoriya did a super-powered thumb-flick while [[NowThatsUsingYourTeeth using his own mouth]] to enable said thumb-flick. That takes at least some thinking outside of the box.
** Aizawa repeatedly proves to have greater insight than the vast majority of the pro heroes, even those employed by the school; while the other teachers are criticizing Midoriya for his needlessly self-destructive tendencies, Aizawa (who once threatened to expel Midoriya over the same issue) recognizes that Midoriya's actually doing the best he can with what he's got.
** After Midoriya lands his hit on Todoroki, he lays into Todoroki for only using half of his total power just to spite his father. This speech causes Todoroki to flashback to an interview with All Might, talking about how even if a person's powers were given by their parents, it's still their own. This finally allows Todoroki to let loose his fire-side in a gargantuan tower of flame.
** A small moment that is in many ways awesome in the older sense of the word, that which inspires awe. In the final clash between Midoriya and Todoroki, both Cementoss and Midnight are trying to stop them and neither of them even noticed. Midnight was too far away and the conflicting hot and cold areas around Todoroki caused enough chaotic wind to blow her pheromone mist away. But Cementoss? He raised ''multiple'' cement walls between the two combatants and both of them blew through them like they weren't even there. Their combined power rendered the efforts of two pro heroes ''irrelevant''.
** The fight is also a CMOA for Todoroki. After having been unable to land a single good hit on Midoriya for the entire fight, once he activates his left side he ends it within ''seconds'', meeting Midoriya's full power head-on and overpowering One For All with a gargantuan beam of heat.
** Lastly, it shows more what a truly ''heroic'' person Midoriya was. While he could've probably saved the pep-talk for another time and definitely could've made it easier on himself to win, he chooses not to. Why? Not just to further test himself, not just in order to get Todoroki to accept his true power to be the best hero, but mainly because he saw someone in trouble and ''wanted to help''. He may have lost a match, but he ''earned'' a victory in helping Todoroki become a better hero while doing the heroic act of saving someone, including from themselves.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Vs. Hero Killer Arc (Chapters 45-59, Episodes 26-33)]]
* Training with Gran Torino proves extremely enlightening for Midoriya. Oddball as he is, the old hero's lessons actually put Midoriya thinking in the right direction. In just 24 hours, he figures out a way to use One For All without breaking himself each time, and when he puts it to the test, Gran Torino actually has to dodge like he means it, and Midoriya ''still'' draws blood.
-->'''Gran Torino:''' This kid could turn out to be a real monster...
* The third anime ending is based on the cover from the second popularity poll results with the characters dressed like they were in an RPG. Only it expands to feature even more of Class 1-A and Izuku on a full heroic quest, just like in the series, where he leaves home, then recruits allies, and Bakugo is a ''dragon rider'' who reluctantly teams up with him. And then they all gather to take down the BigBad. As they get ready for the FinalBattle, Izuku's power aura as a swordsman is the giant golden figure of All Might. It's supposed to be a storybook play on the stage of UA's performance hall, but still, amazing amaze-balls to the core.
* Deku putting what he learned from Gran Torino into practice to punch Stain right in the face, saving Iida in the process.
** The buildup to that. After Stain gives Iida a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech for [[RevengeBeforeReason how unheroic and blinded by revenge he's being]], and prepares to kill him in the name of purging the unworthy, Iida, despite being shaken at the fact that the VillainHasAPoint, refuses to go quietly to his death, and uses what he thinks are his last moments alive [[KirkSummation calling Stain out on his horseshit]] by telling him that whatever delusions he has about himself, he'll never be anything more than the monster who crippled a good man for an unbelievably petty reason.
--->'''Iida''': ''Say whatever you want about me! YOU'RE STILL JUST A CRIMINAL WHO HURT MY BROTHER!''
* Deku shows his training with the "Full Cowl", a technique which cloaks his body in One For All and lets him actively gauge how much force he's using. This, combined with his sheer cleverness in battle as well as his ''truly'' heroic outlook and motivations actually convinces Stain to ''not kill him''. He is the first hero seen [[VillainRespect able to actually satisfy Stain's outlook on what kind of heroes deserve to live]].
* Iida recovers from the Stain's paralysis just in time to protect Todoroki from being cut in half by using his [[FlashStep Recipro-burst]] to break Stain's katana. He then gets Todoroki to cool his engines so that he and Midoriya can catch Stain in the middle of a CombinationAttack.
* In the anime, Endeavor shows why he is the second-ranked Hero. Not only does he casually take down two Nomus with little effort (while every other pro hero sans Gran Torino had trouble fighting them), his beatdown of them includes fire-based SuperStrength sending one Nomu flying, flames so hot they ''turn blue'' and carbonize cells and when the other Nomu was carrying someone away, he proceeded to toss a fireball before giving chase by heating up his feet, ran up nearby walls, ''melting them'' so he can stick on them for leverage, jumped at the Nomu and ''struck it down with a spear made out of fire'' before catching the victim and using his flames directed downward to slow their descent. Say what you will about the guy, but there is no denying that he is a badass.
* In spite of being being severely injured from his fight with Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki, [[{{Determinator}} Stain]] uses a hidden knife to cut the rope binding his wrists, lick up a drop of blood from the Nomu that captured Midoriya, and strikes it down midair, saving Midoriya.
* When Stain sees [[NominalHero Endeavor]], the power of his bloodlust towards him and the other "false" heroes is so great and palpable that it causes everyone, including Gran Torino and Endeavor, to freeze in their tracks. The killer then delivers a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech scathing ultimatum]] that only a ''true'' Hero like All-Might has the right to kill him, a moral high-ground that '''none''' of the pretenders present possesses. Every Hero present, even Endeavor (who is ranked as just behind All Might in terms of power), is frozen in terror by the sheer fury of Stain's "righteous" rage, knowing his accusation of their unworthiness to be all too ''true.'' It only stops when the murderer passes out, still standing, from a perforated lung.
* The anime exclusive episode "Everyone's Internships":
** Tsuyu interns under Captain Selkie and his sidekick Sirius, following their pursuit of stowaway criminals. Sirius emphasizes to her the importance of following and believing in the captain and each other. When Tsuyu and Sirius encounter the villain Innsmouth without the captain or the rest of the crew, Innsmouth takes Sirius hostage and tries to force Tsuyu to tell the rest of the crew through the radio that they could not find the stowaways. Sirius tells her not to but is silenced by Innsmouth. Tsu takes Sirius' words to heart, and...
---> '''Tsuyu:''' The stowaways are at Double Rock!
** Furious, Innsmouth attacks Tsuyu, who skillfully dodges and is only caught when she tries to rescue Sirius. Then Selkie shows up, having already caught the other two stowaways, and [[GrievousHarmWithABody hits Innsmouth with them! Innsmouth then blinds Selkie with ink, but the captain uses echolocation that comes with his Quirk to skillfully evade, overpower, and slam the villain into the water. As a show of how powerful he is, the splash that forms is several times larger than Double Rock!]] Tsuyu is amazed by the captain, who later, in turn, praises her as an excellent hero.
* Several students get to show off what they learned from their week of training and apprenticeship in an exercise. The goal is a race from start to finish, and as everyone lines up everyone thinks Sero has got a perfect advantage until they see Deku leaping over buildings easily, amazing everyone.
** Made all the better by their conversation right before the exercise started. While they can't agree on which of the first 5 competing will win, they unanimously agree Deku will finish last by virtue of having a power that injures him when used and doesn't boost mobility anyway (whereas the other 4 have all demonstrated the ability to move faster via their Quirks). Full Cowl represents the first of Deku's major [[TookALevelInBadass Levels in Badass]]. Because he can now ''control'' how much of One For All he uses, he can now use it practically without ruining himself every time; at just ''five percent power'', he is legitimately keeping up with the class and standing with them as equals.
* Chapter 59 has a retroactive one for All Might. In spite of the fight leaving him with a crippling wound that's all but stated outright to be slowly killing him, All Might managed to injure All For One -- a man who has God only knows how many Quirks at his disposal and [[EvilOverlord who basically ruled Japan in the shadows for a good long while]] -- so badly that even now [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport he's hooked up to several medical machines]] and [[BodyHorror what we see of his body is almost entirely scar tissue]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Final Exam Arc (Chapters 60-69, Episodes 34-38)]]
* Tokoyami and Tsuyu's teamwork in Chapter 61. Opting to flee when Ectoplasm comes at them the instant the exercise starts, they combine her ability to stick to walls and a long tongue with his dark shadow to launch each other away.
** Of special note is how they win -- Tsuyu reacts within a ''split-second'' of seeing Ectoplasm's giant clone to snatch the detaining cuffs from Tokoyami with her tongue, so they can be given to Dark Shadow while the giant clone has her and Tokoyami trapped. Again, she came up with this strategy with ''less than a second to react''. Recovery Girl had earlier given an assessment that Tsuyu had no clear weakness, and it's evident that wasn't an exaggeration.
** At the end of the same chapter, All Might's demonstration of strength. With just the air pressure created from the shockwave of a single punch, he causes serious damage to a whole row of buildings.
* Deku & Bakugo vs. All Might:
** Deku has finally had enough of Bakugo acting up and punches him square in the face after he gets grabbed by All Might and goes on about how he'd rather lose than get help. Deku then proceeds to carry Bakugo away while [[WhatTheHellHero yelling at him about how insulting it sounds for the guy who won't shut up about winning to talk about wanting to lose]].
** Bakugo decides to finally, begrudgingly get help from Deku by lending him one of his exploding gauntlets to tag-team against All Might. And Deku grudgingly gives Bakugo credit; that blast has quite a ''kick'': "''My shoulder! He really uses this thing?!''"
** Deku and Bakugo are able to hurt ''All Might'' using Bakugo's stored sweat with a massive explosion, all the while avoiding collateral damage by firing it in the direction All Might destroyed earlier. [[SoProudOfYou All Might takes a moment to reflect on how proud he is of them]] for teamwork and remembering his first lesson.
** All Might shatters Bakugo's gauntlets but Bakugo reveals that [[IAmNotLeftHanded he doesn't actually need them]]; they're a safety feature. He starts damaging his arms with each major blast but he continues with nary a flinch.
---> '''Bakugo''': If I don't take any risks, there's no way I can beat you. ''Right, All Might?!''
** Bakugo faints while trying to buy Deku enough time to escape and complete the trial. All Might is prepared to chase after him. He is ''not'' prepared for what Deku does instead: ignore all common sense and ''punch All Might in the face'', grab Bakugo, and run for the exit so they can win together. Deku was actually struggling toward the exit with an ''injured back'', but seeing Kacchan in trouble gives him the HeroicSecondWind he needs to activate Full Cowl and pull his crazy stunt, all in the name of rescuing him.
** Also mixed with {{Heartwarming}}, but All Might looks on this mix of ''pure pride'' on his face as Izuku goes to overcome his fears and punch his idol, all to save someone. Why? Because that's how Izuku always was. It's a wonderful CallBack to his growth yet also a reminder of why he was already a hero before getting One-For-All.
** Bakugo managed to take multiple punches from the number 1 hero in the world, and get back up to continue fighting! Granted All Might was fighting with weights and still winning, but the fact that this child still in his first year of high school was capable of taking so much damage before fainting is worth noting. Even All Might looks surprised every time Bakugo comes back before finally being knocked unconscious.
* Principal Nedzu [[{{Pun}} schooling]] Ashido and Kaminari, all without either being able to see him. Due to his quirk, High Specs, he's able to precisely knock down areas of buildings with a crane to cause chain reactions:
-->'''Nedzu:''' Such calculations are as easy for me to make as a simple cup of tea!
* Todoroki and Yaoyorozu vs. Eraser Head.
** Momo reveals her plan: those matryoshka dolls she created? They all have FLASHBANGS hidden in them, and a handful of them go off right in Aizawa-sensei's face.
** Todoroki and Yaoyorozu manage to be the first to defeat their teacher outright through strategy, though he was taking it a bit easier on them.
* Mineta ''singlehandedly'' enacts a BatmanGambit to defeat Midnight, one in which he actually works off their ''similarities''[[note]]That is, both being perverts...[[/note]]. For starters, his whining and [[TearsOfFear fearful blubbering]] were all part of a ruse to appeal to Midnight's sadistic streak, luring her away from the exit. When she caught up to him, he used some of Sero's tape to keep himself from breathing in her KnockoutGas and used his sticky balls to keep her there so he could carry Sero out without being caught in her area of effect.
** [[{{Determinator}} Mineta downright]] ''[[{{Determinator}} asphyxiates]]'' [[{{Determinator}} himself]] so he can take out Midnight and rush past her. By the time he gets out of range, Mineta actually '''hurls''' from the lack of oxygen, yet still manages to carry Sero through the Exit Gate. Give the little perv due props, that's badass.
** Finally, the rules of the test stipulate only ''one'' member need escape via the gate, which is how Iida passes even though he didn't get out himself. Mineta makes a point of going back for Sero when, strictly speaking, he didn't have to.
* Aoyama and Uraraka are clinging to a railing as No. 13 uses their black hole power on them and nothing they do is having any effect. As a panicking Uraraka starts pondering on what Midoriya would do, a calm Aoyama knows she's thinking of that and teases her by asking her if she loves Midoriya. Uraraka gets so flustered that she panics and lets go of the railing without noticing and goes flying towards No. 13 thanks to their power. No. 13 didn't expect this and shuts their power off, while Uraraka reacts by slamming into No. 13 and slapping the handcuffs on them, taking advantage of their lack of fighting skills.
* Credit goes to Uraraka again when she catches up to Midoriya at the shopping mall and finds him being held hostage by Shigaraki. She immediately figures out what's happening, and despite her obvious terror, tells the villain in no uncertain terms to ''get away from her friend''. And it ''works'', though Shigaraki had gotten what he wanted out of Midoriya by that point.
** Midoriya getting held hostage is mainly nerve-wracking, and he reflexively panics when Shigaraki goes into an enlightened rant (which then results in Shigaraki coming ''that close'' to activating his Quirk), but despite his evident terror, the former manages to remain relatively level-headed enough to give Shigaraki his honest opinion without much changes in his voice when answering Shigaraki's question about himself and Stain.
--->'''Midoriya:''' What's the difference between you two? ... I [[ForTheEvulz neither understand]] you nor accept you... Whereas for the Hero Killer, I don't accept him either but I ''do'' [[WellIntentionedExtremist understand him]]. For both me and the Hero Killer, we started out by watching All Might. And back then, I was saved by him. At the very least, he didn't destroy because he ''wanted'' to. And he [[{{Determinator}} didn't give up so fickly]]. His methods were wrong, but he tried to live according to an ideal... That's what I think.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:School Trip Arc (Chapters 70-83, Episodes 39-45)]]
* The class is dropped into a "forest of magical beasts" for testing purposes. When confronted by large stone monsters, most of the class freak out, before cutting to a panel of Midoriya, Iida, Todoroki, and Bakugo all smashing it to pieces simultaneously.
** The anime adapts this in an amazing manner -- we see an expanded version of this fight, with ''everyone'' in Class 1-A getting involved in some way. Sero grounds a flying beast by taping up its wings, Uraraka and Asui team up to slam a rock beast into the ground, Kirishima and Sato smash one to bits, Mineta traps another so that Kaminari can shock it apart, Hagakure lures some so that Ashido's acid can melt their legs, Yaoyorozu creates a cannon to blast them, Shoji and Jiro use their Quirks for surveillance, and Koda -- whose Quirk was portrayed as useless against the beasts in the manga -- calls up a swarm of birds to distract them.
* Deku scaling the side of a sheer cliff by foot by using [=OfA=] to save Kota. His phone ends up being destroyed, and that combined with everyone being scattered and dealing with the other villains means Midoriya has to take on the villain singlehandedly.
** Tetsutetsu [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight ignoring his orders to flee so that he can help his peers]].
* Deku vs Muscular, especially in the Anime adaptation.
** Deku being able to realize Kota was at his hideout after witnessing Pixie-Bob's assault shows how much his analytical skills help. This is what helps Deku manage to make it and rescue Kota at the last second.
** Despite spending the first part getting thrown around like a ragdoll, Deku still manages to find the strength to attack Muscular after Kota tries to fight back.
** Muscular gets a villainous moment when he predicted Midoriya would attack after Kota's confrontation. However, despite this, Midoriya manages to get himself attached to Muscular and manages his first-ever 100% One for All smash. Then he catches Kota with his teeth after that flings him off.
** Another villainous moment for Muscular for being able to tank that one.
** The entire ending of the fight. After Muscular decides to seriously go after Midoriya, Midoriya decides to counter his attack with a smash, and buy time for Kota to escape. It's awesome enough that he manages to keep Muscular off.
** Then, as Midoriya is about to be flattened, Kota uses his own Quirk to distract Muscular, which gives Midoriya the opening he needs. With that opening, Midoriya [[ArcWords goes beyond]] and unleashes a '''1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash!''' This one cuts right through Muscular and sends him right into the nearby cliff. It's so awesome even ''Kota'' is inspired by Deku's heroism.[[note]]WordOfGod say that while Midoriya didn't actually use one million percent of his power, he did legitimately go beyond his limits to get Muscular off of him and knock him out cold at the same time, all with one hit from a very badly-damaged arm to an opponent who was clearly stronger than him. So it's still awesome.[[/note]] For the first time, Deku acted the ideal he so much aspired, and in so doing drew out two simple but powerful words that are the title of the chapter/episode:
--->'''Kota:''' ''(in the Japanese dub)'' My... '''My hero!'''\\
''(in the English dub)'' A hero... '''My hero!'''
*** To drive home just how an incredible feat the victory over Muscular is, the moment Magne realizes it she decides that killing Midoriya is more urgent than ''her fight with Tiger''.
* Aizawa-sensei completely avoiding the blast from Dabi and quickly taking him down, even if it turned out to just be a Quirk-based duplicate of him.
** After mangling both his arms in the fight with the Water Hose murderer, what does Deku do immediately after the fight? He gets Kota to safety and then jumps back into the fray, shattering Spinner's weapon, and relaying important news for Mandalay to spread, doing all this just with the use of his legs.
* Tetsutetsu and Kendo knocking out Mustard and stopping the poisonous gas. Props to Kendo for coming up with an idea to use her enlarged hands to blow away the gas and thus give Tetsutetsu the opening for the final hit, where he shows some smarts by going for Mustard's mask; wearing a mask means [[RequiredSecondaryPowers Mustard's not immune to his own gas]], so even if the blow didn't KO him, it would prevent him using his Quirk.
* Tokoyami shows just how powerful his shadow can be, by one-shotting a villain giving Bakugo and Todoroki a lot of trouble, it looks like even All Might would have trouble with a fully powered shadow. And then Bakugo shows his tactical savvy again: he waits until ''after'' the shadow mauls the villain before shining some light to get it back under Tokoyami's control again.
-->'''Dark Shadow''': You don't matter, ''INSIGNIFICANT BUG!''
* Ochaco gets to show off some of the martial arts she learned from Machine Gun Head, singlehandedly disarming and pinning Toga after Tsuyu gets immobilized.
** In the long run, Toga one-upped Ochaco in the moment by managing to take enough of her blood.
* Midoriya coming up with a spur-of-the-moment plan to make use of the abilities of everyone present in order to catch up to Mr. Compress before he could get away with Tokoyami and Bakugo, once again showing that his mind is his greatest strength.
* Before Mr. Compress could escape with Tokoyami and Bakugo, Aoyama lets out a blast from his Quirk that allows the others to at least rescue Tokoyami. Made even more awesome when you consider the fact that for most of the attack Aoyama was cowering behind a nearby bush scared out of his mind praying that the League didn't find him.
* Awase shielding Momo from the Chainsaw Nomu's attack.
* One that's easily overlooked, and carries over to the next arc: Momo, with a bad gash on her head, after only a moment of assessing the situation, realizes that the Nomu retreating must mean, that the villains succeeded in capturing Bakugo. So in order to have a chance of finding him, she creates a bug and gives it to a member of Class-B to plant it on the Nomu. As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ_JmNVPCUc this [=YouTuber=]]] pointed out, the bug and the tracker she later creates are incredibly complex devices, and for them to work, Momo (among other things) has to be able to write a computer program in electric charges! And she did it, in a matter of seconds!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hideout Raid Arc (Chapters 84-97, Episodes 46-50)]]
* One reporter correctly deduces that the League are trying to recruit Bakugo; when he questions the UA teachers about it at a press conference, Aizawa acknowledges that he's done a poor job at curbing Bakugo's temper -- but temper or not, Bakugo wants to be the Number 1 Hero. As far as Aizawa is concerned, the villains don't have a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding.
** Aizawa's right. Shigaraki and the League have given Bakugo a whole lecture on what their villainous alliance stands for, and tempted him with his desire to win above almost all else. Shigaraki tells Dabi to undo Bakugo's restraints as a test of faith -- though he's sure [[TemptingFate Bakugo's smart enough to realize he can't fight all of them]]. Bakugo doesn't even hesitate -- the moment he's free and sure he's intact, he BLASTS Shigaraki in the face and tells them to fuck off. He calls out the villains for [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech making so many excuses for what they want to do]], and says he'll never join them, rejecting Shigaraki's NotSoDifferentRemark.

Chapters 87 and 88/Episodes 47 and 48:
* In order to get Bakugo and Ragdoll back, the pro heroes have the story's first AvengersAssemble moment, gathering quite the all-star team: Endeavor; Best Jeanist; the No. 5 Hero, Edgeshot; the No. 10 Hero, Gang Orca; Gran Torino; Tiger from the Wild Wild Pussycats; Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady; and of course, All Might himself. They, along with the entire police force, create a plan to safely recover the abductees, capture the members of the League of Villains, and even stop the League from using their Nomu as back up. On top of that, they stage the press conference with Aizawa, Vlad, and Nezu in order to lull the villains into thinking the heroes are clueless. When the raid happens, it's the ''villains'' who are caught completely flat footed.
** Edgeshot pretends to be a pizza delivery guy to distract the League -- so All Might can '''[[DynamicEntry SMASH!!]]''' through the wall behind them!
** An instant later, Kamui Woods finally gets to put his special move from Episode 1 to good use.
---> '''Kamui Woods''': [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Preemptive! Binding! Laquer Chain Prison!]]
** When Shigaraki calls for Kurogiri to warp in their backup, it cuts back across town to the warehouse where the Nomu are kept. Midoriya and the others watch in awe as Mt. Lady uses a ''truck as a boot'' and brings down half the building with one kick, disrupting Kurogiri's coordinates. She and Best Jeanist then secure the Nomu While Tiger finds Ragdoll.
** Edgeshot uses his ability to fold himself in order to pass through Kurogiri's body and knock him unconscious.
** In a very surprising turn, Gran Torino shows how the Police of this world aren't useless after all, because they managed to figure out the civilian names of almost all the League members. Even if they escape, they'll never be able to live normal lives again.
** That would have been the end of it, were it not for one unresolved thread. TheManBehindTheMan. [[KnightOfCerebus All For One]].
*** Before he even appears in person, he uses his own warp Quirk to send dozens of Nomu to the bar for the heroes to fight, then pulls the League members and Bukugo to his location. Speaking of...
*** He [[EmergingFromTheShadows appears in the darkness]] of the ruined warehouse, and is promptly restrained by Best Jeanist's [[ClothingCombat Fiber Master]] Quirk. The manga then shows a single black bar before immediately cutting to All for One levitating over a completely devastated and ruined Kamino Ward; the anime achieves the same effect by cutting to the end credits as soon as he attacks, cutting back to the devastation afterward. In a split second, he lives up to his status as TheDreaded and The BigBad of the series by taking out an entire team of pro heroes, and causing so much destruction that it looks like a natural disaster. With '''''one''''' attack. The result is '''incredibly''' jarring and a perfect way to demonstrate how utterly powerful [[GreaterScopeVillain All for One]] is compared to any villains introduced before; the perfect antithesis of All Might. He's so ruthlessly efficient that Midoriya initially mistakes him as ''Death itself''. All of the students are reduced to shivers and cowering behind a wall, looking like they're about to vomit. And they're haunted by visions of their own deaths...
*** Credit to Best Jeanist: he managed to get everyone else out of the way of that attack so that they were only knocked out instead of killed. His incredible reflexes earn him [[VillainRespect sincere praise]] from All For One. And even though he's already injured and terrified, Jeanist figures out who All For One is and tries to stop him, earning himself a hole in his guts for the trouble. Which he survives.
* Chapter 89: The gang of would-be rescuers is paralyzed by the sheer terror of All for One's presence, but Midoriya works himself out of it by focusing on how to rescue Bakugo. The instant he sees it happening, ''Iida'' works himself out of it ''to protect Midoriya''.
* All Might makes his second DynamicEntry in as many episodes by falling out of the sky and punching All For One. But the villain manages to catch and ''stop'' the blows; the resulting clash nearly blows everyone away, even the students in hiding.
** All for One [[TheMentor giving life advice to his protege]], just before calmly twirling around and clashing with All Might is one for the villains. It's not every day you get a Villain Mentor fighting the strong, implacable Hero to buy time for the other villains to escape.
* All For One countering All Might's second attack sends the hero flying through several buildings, nearly doubling the damage zone. He lists off the Quirks he used (Air Cannon, Spring-Like Limbs, Kinetic Booster Times Four [[note]]It's unclear whether that's how much the Quirk enhances him compared to a normal human, or the number of Quirks with that power he's accumulated[[/note]], Strength Enhancer Times Three [[note]]Same thing[[/note]]), then says he'll add ''more'' next time.
* One particularly twisted moment occurs early on in the confrontation, when All Might tries to reach Bakugo only to be impaled by All For One's CombatTentacles and flung into a building, while the villain perverts All Might's {{Catchphrase}}. Dub only, unforunately.
--> '''All Might''': (to Bakugo) I'm coming for you!\\
'''All For One''': I don't think so! Because [[IronicEcho I am here]]!
* After a minute, Midoriya manages to overcome his fear and figure out a plan to rescue Bakugo without fighting the villains or getting in All Might's way. The students use Midoriya, Iida, and Kirishima's Quirks to provide enough momentum and defense to break through the wall they were hiding behind, while Todoroki uses his ice to launch them into the ''air,'' out of the villains' reach. The key to success, however, is having ''Kirishima'' be the one to reach out to Bakugo; Midoriya knows that Bakugo would never listen to him, or even Todoroki or Iida. But him and Kirishima have built up respect and possibly even friendship over the school year. It works; Bakugo sees Kirishima and blasts himself up to grab his hand.
** The villains attempt to pursue by having Magne launch Compress into the air. Mt. Lady gets one more chance to shine though, growing to her colossal form with a shout of "TITAN CLASS!" and bodily intercepting. She had only just recovered from All For One's initial attack, and fell unconscious again after.
** Further attempts are halted by Gran Torino arriving, and All For One sending the younger League members away via Kurogiri's portal.
** Bakugo deserves a little credit -- he mainly dodged while confronting the League, knowing they had the advantage and that he needed to leave so All Might could fight unimpeded. He was aware of his enemies' strengths and the lay of the battlefield, and was looking for a way to strategically retreat even before his classmates appeared.
** And the final icing on this cake: Iida ''only'' agreed to Midoriya's plan because it was a way for them to rescue Bakugo ''without getting involved in the fight''. Taking to the sky kept them out of the villains' reach, exposed them for only the brief moment they'd need to snatch Bakugo, and simuntaneously provided their escape route, as by the time they touched back down, they were well away from the fight, and even with the other heroes arriving, they were all already making tracks.
----
* It's after this that the true battle begins. All Might vs All For One, their [[LastDance final and ultimate battle]].
** All For One taunts All Might by talking about how the hero defeated all of the other villains, or sent them into hiding, and that his success as the Symbol of Peace only came about because of those "sacrifices". He continues, mocking All Might for not going all out because of the innocent people that might be nearby. But All Might [[ShutUpHannibal calls him out spectacularly]].
---> '''All Might''': "Shut up! That's what you do... you toy with people's very lives! You break them! You steal from them! You take advantage and manipulate them! You sneer at them, when they're just trying to live everyday lives! And for that, '''[[ThisIsUnforgivable I can't forgive you]]'''!!!"
** With that, All Might pins All For One with a mighty blow that would've taken out a lesser villain. However...
** All Might's time is up. He's barely holding on to his muscle form. All For One continues to taunt him, this time over the death of his predecessor. The villain then blasts All Might into the air when he's distracted, and Gran Torino is just barely able to intercept him before he hits a news helicopter. In spite of it all, All Might stands up. But then All For One readies another, even stronger attack. He abuses his opponent's need to defend innocent people by forcing him to take the blast head-on so a trapped civilian won't be killed. The blast, which is ''just air'', carves massive troughs in the ground. When the dust clears, All Might is still standing... in his ''true'' form, revealed to all the world as an emaciated skeleton of a man.
---> '''All For One''': I want you to suffer until your last breath, and die broken and disgraced, for all the world to see! ... I will obliterate ''everything'' you've protected! First to go will be your self-respect and ridiculous public image. Show the world how pitiful you really are, ''Symbol of Peace''.
** Even so, All Might clenches his fist and does his best to smile, stating that in his heart, he remains a hero and the Symbol of Peace!
** All For One then reveals that [[WhamLine Tomura is the grandson of All Might's mentor]], Nana Shimura. He purposefully groomed the boy into becoming a villain that hates heroes, and All Might especially, [[BreakingSpeech hoping to break All Might's spirit]]. For a moment, ''[[HeroicBSOD it works]]''... until All Might hears a civilian trapped nearby calling for help. [[HeroicSecondWind At which point he is reminded of his duties as a hero]], snaps himself out of the HeroicBSOD, smiles, powers up one arm for an attack, and gives All For One a short but awesome ShutUpHannibal speech.
---> '''All Might''': You're right, All For One. There's so much... so much we heroes have to protect. And that's why '''we don't lose'''!
** However, All For One recognizes that this is the last of All Might's strength, and prepares to attack him again. That's when the other pro heroes arrive!\\
Endeavor and Edgeshot distract All For One, while Tiger and Kamui Woods finish evacuating the trapped civilians and unconscious heroes.
** As Tiger tells him, and Gran Torino reiterates for the audience, in spite of everything All For One has done, the ''entire '''WORLD''''' is currently, ''literally'' cheering All Might on. The citizens, the pros, his students -- every one of them is shouting his name to the heavens. [[AsideComment And you probably are, too.]]\\
\\

** As the other heroes disperse, All For One loses his patience and fulfills his earlier promise...
---> '''All For One''': Spring-Like Limbs! Kinetic Booster Times Four! Strength Enhancer Times Three! Multiplier! Hypertrophy! Rivets! Airwalk! Spear-Like Bones! ... In order to put you down for good, I'm going to punch you with the ultimate combination of Quirks I have stored up inside of me right now! This will ''end you''.
*** To be clear: after mutating to express those Quirks, All For One's left "arm" is almost as big as the entire rest of his body, and looks like rocks and metal spikes sticking out of a pile of stitched-together flesh. It's an abomination that wouldn't look out of place on the likes of [[Characters/DCAMUVillains Doomsday]], and looks even more monstrous attached to the relatively human All For One. As he attacks All Might, he makes it clear -- One For All isn't inside All Might at ''all'', anymore; he's just been coasting on the embers. Not only that, but AFO is aware that Midoriya is the one who has inherited the power. He chastises All Might for not being able to control the child, and mockingly says that he'll die full of regrets -- as a hero, and a teacher.
** When the big punch lands and their fists meet, the air between All Might and All For One ''warps'', before exploding back outward. Then AFO adds one more Quirk: ''[[AttackReflector Impact Recoil]]''. All Might's arm ''ripples'', cracking and crunching, and blood sprays everywhere. He's pushed back through wall after wall, and AFO continues to taunt him about his weakened state. It really looks like this might be another case of TheBadGuyWins...\\
\\

** And then All Might digs in his heel.\\
\\
All For One's taunting and thinly veiled threat against Midoriya was a ''[[PapaWolf bad]] [[HeroicWillpower move.]]''
--->'''All Might''': ''Not just as a "symbol"... Just like what my master did for me... I, too, [[PapaWolf until I'm done bringing him up]]...''\\
'''All For One''': To go to such unsightly lengths to fight against it... [[OhCrap I]] [[ThisIsGonnaSuck miscalculated]].\\
'''All Might''': '''''[[{{Determinator}} I WILL NOT DIE!!!]]'''''
** All Might transfers the power he has left from his right arm to his left, allowing the right to be hit with the force of All For One's blow -- then uses his left arm to Smash AFO in the face with a blow that creates a ''windstorm''.
--->'''All For One''': Trickery?! This is so unlike you... but it's weak!
** All for One is utterly ''baffled'', since he never expected his honorable opponent to use such a deceitful trick, but he dismisses it, as the punch wasn't hard enough to damage him. It did, however, leave AFO ''off balance'' and unable to reorient himself in time. He then has the mother of all OhCrap moments when he realizes ''it was a feint''.\\
\\
At that point, All Might transfers the power out of his left arm, and back into '''''his wrecked right arm''''', a move just as insane as anything Midoriya has done. All Might has learned a fair bit from his student as well.
---> '''All Might:''' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner That's because... I didn't]] '''[[PreAssKickingOneLiner put my back into it!]]'''
** He reaches deep within and [[ArcWords goes beyond]], calling on the memory of his beloved mentor.
---> '''Nana Shimura''': This power has been passed down from hero to hero, each praying that [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture it will bring joy and peace to humanity]]. That One For All would give the world hope. And now [[PassingTheTorch it is your turn]]. Do your best, Toshinori!
** He grabs hold of that power in his fist, dodges All For One's desperate counterstrike, and then puts his ''whole body'' into delivering one. Final. Blow. For a moment, the flickering embers of power in his heart grow into a raging inferno, as he punches his nemesis into the dirt ''so'' hard it creates a ''tornado'' that lifts entire '''buildings''':\\
\\
[-'''All Might''': Good bye, ''All For One!''-]\\
\\
[-'''Toshinori Yagi''':-] '''[[MegatonPunch UNITED!]] [[FinishingMove STATES OF!]] ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill SMAAAAAASH!!]]'''''\\
\\

*** He basically [[DefiedTrope destroyed]] his own various {{Death Flag}}s that have been scattered everywhere throughout the series.
*** This scene is set to the absolutely ''gorgeously'' triumphant [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJgTQvhUiYs All Might with U.A. Students]].\\
\\

** Afterwards, he stands up, raises his fist to the sky, and flexes into his buff form, all while his normally goofy and over-the-top theme music is playing in the background like a victory march. Everyone watching cheers, many of them crying. Edgeshot says that All Might shouldn't overexert himself, but Gran Torino halts him, insisting that All Might is still doing his duty. His final act as the Symbol of Peace and No. 1 hero.
----
* Midoriya's mother putting her foot down and refusing to let her son continue being in harm's way at U.A.
* In response, Midoriya runs out of the room, leaving his mother and Toshinori to think that it's because his mom refused to let him continue attending U.A. On the contrary, Midoriya comes back and shows both All Might and his mother the Thank You letter Kota gave him for rescuing him at the camp, and how he called Midoriya his hero. It culminates in him stating that he's fine with having to attend another Hero school if it puts his mother's mind at ease, and is more than willing to take other paths into becoming a Hero, as long as he can still become one.
** All Might is once again inspired by Midoriya's courage and determination, musters up the strength to go into his Power form, and kneels before Midoriya's mother to convince her to let Midoriya continue his studies at U.A, even going as far to admit that Midoriya is a fitting "Symbol of Peace".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hero License Exam Arc (Chapters 98-121, Episodes 51-61)]]
* Chapter 101 has a few of the students expanding their abilities:
** Midoriya coming up with a simple yet brilliant solution to ensuring that he doesn't permanently cripple his arms due to overuse of One For All. Start focusing on using his legs to execute kicking attacks, which helps him save All Might from a falling piece of rubble. Full Cowl: Shoot Style is the second of Deku's major [[TookALevelInBadass Levels in Badass]] plus his first real move away from just imitating All Might and developing a hero style and identity to call his own.
** Bakugo develops his Armor Piercer move, which allows him to focus his explosions into a narrow area for greater penetrating power.
** Instead of just using his shadow for external attacks, Tokoyami learns to layer his shadow over his body to augment his own combat abilities.
** It's revealed that in just the 4 months she's been enrolled at UA, Hatsume has built ''countless'' prototype inventions.
* Chapter 103: The provisional license exam begins and all the other participating schools immediately target the U.A. students because their Quirks have been exposed, thanks to the sports festival. However, Midoriya anticipates this immediately and has already rallied his classmates to work together against it.[[note]]Their new moves prove effective; despite several salvos (including some Quirk-based attacks), none of the U.A. students are hit, forcing a TimeForPlanB.[[/note]] Even though a teacher from one of the other schools called him out on not warning his students, Eraser Head responds perfectly.
--> '''Eraser Head:''' Being a hero means being able to get yourself out of a pinch. Once you become a pro, it's a given that your Quirk has been exposed to the world. I'm sorry to say, but we're looking a bit farther ahead than everyone else.
* Chapter 104: Inasa is the first examinee to pass the first test, by wiping out 120 other examinees '''''simultaneously'''''.
-->'''Inasa:''' "I believe that heroes are hot-blooded! Everybody's fighting!! Everybody's fired up!! I love it when things get hot!! This intense battle! Allow me to partake in this hotness!! '''PLEASE''' AND '''''THANK YOU'''''!!!"
* Chapter 105: When battling against what initially appears to be the Shiketsu High girl Camie Utsushimi... but ultimately turns out to be Himiko Toga in disguise, Midoriya uses his analytical abilities to deduce that Himiko's Quirk allows her to shapeshift and ''foils'' her attempt to fool him by pretending to be Uraraka, as he quickly realizes the fake never used Zero Gravity.
** The ability of Mei Hatsume's mech supports is shown to absorb the recoil from a strong kick and send that energy out as a second shockwave, instantaneously, it's like being kicked twice. It also protects Midoriya's legs from further recoil damage.
** Toga's physical skills are impressive, especially considering she has a non-offensive Quirk. As Camie, She hits Deku with a ball, is so fast he barely can keep up with her and she even manages to restrain him.
* In an [[{{Filler}} anime-only]] segment, Todoroki is challenged by a group of ninja-themed students who work together to counter both his fire and ice. He eventually succeeds by using the terrain to his advantage by setting off an explosion to stun them, then incapacitates them with his ice long enough to hit their sensors.
* In another anime-only segment, a team consisting of Yaoyorozu, Tsu, Kyoka, and Shoji face an all-girl squad led by the hyper-intelligent [[TheStrategist Saiko Intelli]]. This clash is ''full'' of cerebral awesome:
** The enemy team systematically disable Kyoka and Shoji's sensory advantage, then trap the U.A. students in a room that is filled with cold air to put Tsu into a state of hibernation. They are only defeated because...
** Momo figures out their plan and realizes that they intend to force her to use her Quirk to seal off the vents, draining her of her energy and leaving the team defenseless. Motivated by [[TheParagon Midoriya's]] selflessness, she opts for a high-risk attack instead of the strategy that the leader had anticipated: she creates earmuffs for her team and a powerful amp for Kyoka, who unleashes a sound blast that defeats Intelli's unexpecting team.
** Also worth noting the fact that Kyoka was shot in the left ear at the time, which means she could only use one of her plugs and, thus, only half of her usual power. Didn't stop her from incapacitating ''an entire squad through a solid concrete wall'' with her amped heartbeat... hell, she almost incapacitated ''herself'' as well, even through her earmuffs.
** When Kyoka, Shoji, and Tsu leave, Intelli locks them out and makes a last-ditch effort to tag Momo out. However, Momo quickly restrains her hand with handcuffs, and after Shoji breaks the door open, Tsu restrains her other hand. Momo's three teammates declare that they won't leave their teammate behind. Shocked and impressed, Intelli concedes defeat.
* Chapter 107: Kaminari stepping up to save both Bakugo and Kirishima after the two have been captured using his new tech and a special grenade that Bakugo gave him as insurance.
-->'''Kaminari''': ''AIN'T YOU DISSING MY MATES?!''
** After that, '''none''' in Class A has been eliminated yet. To add to the awesome is the fact that a majority of the class is already waiting for the rest.
* Chapter 108: Aoyama decides to step up his game, his laser blast gathers the rest of the U.A. class to save him and Iida. All of this comes with the added bonus of the '''ENTIRE''' Class A passing the first part of the exam!
** Koji and Toru get a big chance to shine in battle, especially considering that their Quirks are not of the offensive type. Koji manages to summon a flock of doves so enormous that it would make Alfred Hitchcock proud, which is the distraction that the rest of the Class A students needed to jump in for the attack, aided greatly by Toru using a new move that allows her to refract light inside of her and then intensify it into an extremely bright flash, blinding all other students present and leaving them at the mercy of Class A.
* Chapter 111: The second test challenges the examinees to work together with an intense rescue scenario, made even more chaotic when a group of heroes shows up to play the role of attacking villains. Todoroki ends up butting heads with Inasa over the latter's resentment of Endeavor ([[SinsOfOurFathers and by extension, Todoroki himself]]). The combination of Todoroki's shaky emotions and Inasa's wind powers cause him to lose control of his flames and accidentally send them directly at Shindo, who is incapacitated nearby. Cue Midoriya showing up just in time to carry Shindou out of the way, before rounding on Todoroki and Inasa to give them what for.
-->'''Midoriya:''' ''[[WhatTheHellHero WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!]]''
* Chapter 112: The chapter itself shares its name with Midoriya's epic WhatTheHellHero moment quoted above, and boils down to the effect of those words on Todoroki and Inasa. Specifically, it causes them to realize how their selfish actions got them into trouble and leads to them combining their Quirks to trap Gang Orca.
** The chapter revealed that Shindo was PlayingPossum the entire time; because of the effects of his own Quirk (Vibrate), his body is already used to being paralyzed and recovers quickly. He manages to take out Gang Orca's henchmen who were going after the civilians. In one fell swoop despite his body still being numb.
** Contrasting Todoroki and Inasa's butting heads, Shindo and Midoriya are able to quickly collaborate with Shindo using his quirk to knock the mooks around and Midoriya then closing in to deliver finishing blows. This is despite Midoriya technically disrupting Shindo's plan to deliver a surprise attack on Gang Orca by rescuing him.
* Chapter 113:
** After spending the previous stage of the exam trying to eliminate each other, all the students join together in this chapter to defend the civilians and fight of Gang Orca's men. It's also shown that Bakugo, Kirishima, and Kaminari spent the ''entire'' stage [[OffScreenMomentOfAwesome focusing on saving civilians]]. Them saving the last batch of civilians is what actually ends the stage of the exam.
** After the exam is over, Gang Orca admits that between the fire prison Todoroki and Inasa created, and Midoriya's surprise attack, he doesn't think he would have actually been able to continue the fight, even without a power-limiter.
* Chapter 114:
** The results of the exam: Even though Bakugo and Todoroki did not pass it was nice to see the rest of the class make the cut. Plus, a HopeSpot: since Bakugo and Todoroki ''did'' pass the first half, they get a second chance; take a special course, pass the make-up test, they get their licenses.
** Special mention should go to Yaoyorozu. The second phase gives each examinee 100 points, detracting points for each mistake without any opportunities to recoup those losses. While the passing score is 50 points and not many of the members of class got above 80 points, Yaoyorozu got a score of '''94''', a virtually perfect performance. No wonder Jiro's shocked upon seeing it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Internship Arc (Chapters 121-162, Episodes 62-78)]]
* Chapter 119: One For All: 8%.
* Chapter 120: Bakugo beating Midoriya, in both the fight between them and the popularity contest.
* Chapter 122: The Top Three of the U.A.'s 3rd Year Students make their first appearance! Including one who happened to be All Might's potential successor ''before'' Midoriya!
* Chapter 123: Mirio Togata, of the U.A's Big Three, shows off his Quirk and skills against all of Class 1-A with exception of Bakugo and Todoroki to prove why he's comparable to even the ''Pros''! In just 5 seconds, he takes out HALF OF THEM! All while yelling "POWER!" like he's Terry Crews.
* Chapter 124:
** Despite Midoriya catching Mirio's attention by attempting to counter him, Mirio ''countered'' his counterattack because he trained for that in case his enemies would do so. Then Mirio takes out the remaining Class 1-A with no scratch on him whatsoever.
** Mirio's Quirk: Permeation. Despite the harsh drawbacks to his Quirk on intangibility, he eventually made it work into DifficultButAwesome by his own natural talent.
** Let's give props to Mirio to where he started from. Unlike Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki, who are gifted with powerful Quirks, Mirio started from the bottom and eventually worked his way up to the top.
** Mirio acknowledging Midoriya's potential, and even thought about him getting interned by "Sir". Gran Torino might also be thinking the same thing, and this is the guy who happened to be All Might's former sidekick.
* Chapter 127: Under Mirio's recommendation, Deku goes to meet "Sir": Sir Nighteye, the former sidekick to All Might himself. Nighteye challenges Deku to take from his hand the stamp he needs to sign the internship contract. Deku tries his damnedest, using moves that make Nighteye think of Gran Torino. Nevertheless, using his own Quirk ([[CombatClairvoyance Foresight]]) Nighteye avoids every move and denies him the stamp. But, after the test, Nighteye notices something that forces him to reconsider. Throughout the entire frenetic test, Deku had taken great pains not to damage a single piece of the massive All Might memorabilia collection in Nighteye's office; Deku had been ''holding back'' because he knew what they meant for Nighteye, and yet he ''still'' managed to do as well as he did; Nighteye changes his mind and lets Deku sign-on.
** Pay attention: When he realizes the insane lengths Midoriya went to to protect the All Might memorabilia ''while trying to get the stamp'', Night-Eye finally does what Mirio told Midoriya he had to get him to do in order to get the internship: laugh. A tiny one, but it was clear as day.
* Chapter 129: [[TheWoobie Eri]] is clearly terrified of returning to [[KnightofCerebus Overhaul]], but runs back [[HeroicSacrifice to keep him from killing Izuku and Mirio.]] It's even more heroic when you learn [[PoweredByAForsakenChild what she's going back to.]]
* Chapter 133: Kirishima chases a low-level thug into a dead end. Driven into a corner, the criminal injects himself with the "[[PsychoSerum Trigger]]" drug, which combines with his Quirk to make dozens of long blades project from his body, and they prove to be sharp enough to cut through even Kirishima's hardened skin. Kirishima responds by showing off the benefits of his recent Quirk training, which lets him push his SuperToughness to a whole new level and shatter the thug's blades, giving himself an even more badass appearance in the process.
** '''''RED RIOT: UNBREAKABLE'''''.
* In Chapter 138, we get a look at the Quirk of the 9th nationally ranked hero, Ryukyu, who Ochaco and Tsuyu are interning with. She can transform into a freaking ''' DRAGON'''. Not only that but a western one with huge wings and everything.
** This needs repeating. The world of ''My Hero Academia'' has a DRAGON as one of its top-tier heroes.
** And not just any dragon -- one that [[{{Expy}} looks like a]] [[Manga/YuGiOh Blue-Eyes White Dragon]]!
* In Chapter 139, after being dropped into a room with three Expendables, Suneater encourages the other heroes to continue on ahead because he can handle them by himself. Fatgum, knowing that Suneater isn't the sort to boast about himself, agrees to put his faith in Suneater's abilities. Amajiki then spends the next two chapters ''proving'' that faith wasn't misplaced.
* Chapter 143: Despite being [[CurbStompBattle Blown into a wall]] by Rappa last chapter Kirishima swallows his fear and gets between him and Fatgum tanking each blow with sheer grit alone, giving Fat the opening he needed to launch his finishing blow.
--> '''Kirishima:''' ''(thinking)'' [[HoldTheLine If I crack, then I'll harden again!]] [[HeroicResolve Stay strong! Protect others! Even if it means your life!]]\\
...\\
'''Fatgum (To Tengai and Rappa):''' There's just one reason you're gonna lose! Because all of us, me included, underestimated him!! Get a taste of the manly heart of the hero called Red Riot and his chivalrous spirit!
* In Chapter 144, In a flashback, we see that Mina Ashido once met [[TheDragon Gigantomachia]] and lied to him about the location of a hero agency. Let that sink in; she was the first of Class 1A to even see a League of Villains member, and it was second most dangerous one, and she survived!
* Chapter 145 flashes back to a low point in Kirishima's life. It was then he saw something: a recorded interview with an older hero named Crimson Riot. Hearing his words inspired him to adopt a spirit of chivalry, to live without regrets. From then on, Kirishima vows not to hesitate again: to face danger head-on. This is what pushes him to once again pursue U.A., and he pulled it off (RewatchBonus: Go back to the entrance exam results when it showed Uraraka qualifying third. Kirishima was ''second'', behind only Bakugo.). Now, it's thanks to his HeroicResolve that Fatgum has the opening he needs to break through the barrier and defeat Rappa.
* In Chapter 146, For his gutsy actions, Kirishima gets [[VillainRespect Rappa's respect]], to the point where he breaks rank and leads Fat to medical supplies to help tend to Kirishima's wounds and even explained some of Chisaki's power.
* In Chapter 150, after catching up to Overhaul, Mirio is ambushed by the remaining two Bullets. One of them uses his Quirk to disorient Mirio physically while the other [[BreakThemByTalking attacks him psychologically]] by making him confront the fact that he let Chisaki take Eri back when they met before. But Mirio is the sort of person who acknowledges and overcomes his weaknesses, and his own Quirk subjects him to disorienting sensations as it is, so he powers through and counters with his ''[[ShoutOut Phantom Menace]]'' [[BouncingBattler technique]].
** After knocking out the Bullets, he immediately launches an attack on Chisaki and Chronostasis. He appears next to Chisaki so suddenly that he forces the other man to dodge away from his attack while simultaneously demonstrating incredible control of his Quirk by launching a kick that phases harmlessly through Eri and impacts only Chronostasis. This gives him the chance to take Eri from the latter's grasp and get some distance, where he proclaims that [[DeclarationOfProtection he'll be her hero]].
** He continues pushing the limit the next chapter by not only skillfully turning the parts of his body that are coming under attack intangible, but also doing so while protecting Eri so that she isn't hurt by Chisaki or the others. Even when the entire floor is reconstructed to be a spike trap of stones, he manages to hold her up while also phasing through fatal damage.
* Just how awesome Mirio is coming to a head in Chapter 152. The previous two chapters had been titled "Mirio Togata" and "Mirio Togata!!" This one (and the corresponding Episode 74) is titled "Lemillion" to let you know right off the bat that his true heroism is going to shine. He does it by TakingTheBullet for Eri, letting himself get hit by a perfected Quirk-destroying bullet. And then, barely missing a beat, he just keeps laying into Overhaul using [[BroughtDownToBadass nothing but the physical conditioning and foresight he trained for]] to help him master his Quirk in the first place. He ends up taking hits without the ability to phase through Overhaul's attacks, but he continues to fight and protect Eri for five whole minutes before getting badly wounded, buying just enough time for [[BigDamnHeroes Izuku]] to [[DynamicEntry smash his way into the room]]. While still under the effect of an intoxication Quirk. If there was ''ever'' a question of whether someone could truly be a hero while Quirkless, Mirio just proved it with a resounding yes.
--> '''Overhaul:''' Ironic, isn't it? You came here to save this girl, and it's ''her'' Quirk that will end everything you've come to rely on! ''YOU'RE POWERLESS!!''\\
'''Mirio:''' ''[[ShutUpHannibal No! I am not powerless!]]'' '''''[[HeroicResolve I AM STILL LEMILLION!!]]'''''
* Say what you will about Overhaul but you have to hand it to him, the use of his Quirk to fuse himself with his ally into a OneWingedAngel form is pretty incredible.
* Chapter 154: One For All '''20%.'''
--> '''Deku:''' '''''[[ScrewDestiny I WILL BEND THE FUTURE!!]]'''''
** Even though Mirio has seemingly lost his Quirk for good[[note]]The Quirk that removes others ''is'' Eri's after all, so if she makes it out, [[HopeSpot he's got a chance]][[/note]], the level of sheer, unequivocal ''[[CurbStompBattle beatdown]]'' he put on Chisaki is haunting the yakuza even though his victory over him is sealed. He keeps speaking directly towards Mirio like the young man were his archnemesis, constantly looking back his way as though half-expecting him to get back up and resume the beating, trying frantically to, if even not retrieve Eri, kill Mirio right away. Sir Nighteye makes no qualms in pointing out just how ''terrified'' of Lemillion Overhaul had to be in order to use one of his incredibly-limited in supply completed Quirk-disabling bullets on him.
* Chapter 155: Just as all hope seemed lost with only Deku determined to save and change the future that Nighteye visioned, [[TheCavalry Team Ryukyu arrives just in time to help]] [[BigDamnHeroes and change the tides of the fight to the heroes favor.]]
* Chapter 156: After everything she's been through, being told she's cursed, [[BlamingTheVictim blamed for her own suffering]], and [[PoweredByAForsakenChild exploited]] for [[BlessedWithSuck a power she can't even control]], the [[{{Determinator}} determination and sacrifices]] of the heroes finally break through Eri's despair. When Chisaki snatches her out of Deku's reach to try to carry her away from the battle, she harnesses her own Quirk for the first time in order to undo his OneWingedAngel fusion and uses Mirio's cape to reach Deku. After all the torture she's suffered at Chisaki's hands, [[TheDogBitesBack she's fighting back.]]
* Chapter 157: Eri has healed Deku's injuries with her rewinding Quirk. However, since she has no control over it, she could accidentally kill Deku by rewinding him too far. And Chisaki is bearing down on both of them with a monstrous stone creation he made using his Quirk. What is Deku's solution? He intentionally uses Eri's Rewinding to his advantage, knowing that it can heal all the wounds he accumulates, and...
-->'''Izuku Midoriya:''' Eri... [[PreAssKickingOneLiner will you lend me your power?]]
** '''ONE FOR ALL: FULL COWL''' -- '''''[[SerialEscalation 100%]]'''''
* In Chapter 158, Overhaul gives TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Deku. Overhaul is himself a humongous EldritchAbomination and the city is terrified. In response, Deku [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu sends Overhaul flying high into the sky with one kick!!!]] Even Toga is amazed. Now in his [[SuperMode One For All: Full Cowl 100% Mode]], Deku proceeds to SpeedBlitz Overhaul in midair, followed up with a massive barrage of RapidFireFisticuffs that blows away most of the villain's added mass. He then punches Overhaul so hard in the face that [[TheUnmasking his mask comes off...]] What is remarkable is that this whole time, little Eri is clinging onto Deku's back with only Mirio's superhero cape securing her to Deku. Which is itself [[RuleOfSymbolism an awesome way of all three of them fighting back against Overhaul.]]
** The anime's depiction of the aforementioned RapidFireFisticuffs also deserves special mention. Deku zooms above Overhaul, pulls his fist back, and then just seems to vibrate for a second while emitting a flash without seemingly moving. Suddenly, the entire sky is covered with ''huge'' fists that cascade down on Overhaul, giving the impression that Deku punched ''at or near the speed of light''. The final punch to Overhaul's face also appears to be so fierce that the villain's remaining "meat mass" instantly calcifies and crumbles. And it should go without saying that the entire sequence features some of the finest quality art and animation of the series to date.
** The anime also adds in [[TheDreaded All For One]]'s theme during the aforementioned scene, perfectly capturing Overhaul's feelings of fear and despair as he's faced with Deku using One For All at 100%.
** An overlooked moment from the same chapter/episode. Ryukyu tells Uraraka to get Nighteye to an ambulance. That means using Zero Gravity on Nighteye and herself to fly out of the hole. Even knowing how much using her Quirk on herself nauseates her, you can see her face as she holds her breath. She's obviously doing everything she can to keep her composure while performing this simple but crucial job.
* Deku finally defeats [[TheDreaded Overhaul]] in a one-on-one duel. Nighteye had predicted Deku's death at the hands of Overhaul, but Deku practically stomped on all of his own {{Death Flag}}s.
** Can we take a moment to appreciate that Deku [[BeyondTheImpossible CHANGED THE FUTURE]] with nothing but his fists, his will and an abused, scared little girl desperately clinging to her hero? This qualifies as both Heartwarming and Awesome.
* Once Deku achieves One for All: 100%, the fight with Overhaul is essentially over. Despite achieving a terrifying OneWingedAngel form, Overhaul is completely overpowered by Deku in moments. Deku's blows tear apart Overhaul's body, and is so fast that Overhaul can't lay a finger on him. Overhaul's Quirk, once frightently powerful that essentially gave him a TouchOfDeath, is completely useless against Deku's overwhelming might. Overhaul's Quirk merely buys him time to reform his body, only for Deku to tear it apart again. Deku is only able to do this right now because Eri's Quirk is rewinding all the backlash that would've left him like after his fight with Muscular, but what's happening now can easily be seen as a very exciting taste of Deku's full potential. If this is what Deku's going to be like when he finally masters One For All, two words spring to mind: '''''HOLY SHIT!'''''
** Toga, {{Blood Knight}}ess supreme, the definition of InLoveWithYourCarnage, has only this to say in reply:
--->'''Toga:''' "''Dang'', Izuku. ''[[VillainRespect Nice.]]''"
* Chapter 160 gives us a spotlight chapter for the League of Villains, and it shows how ''dangerously'' effective they can be. Gaining info on the vehicle carrying a recently-incarcerated Overhaul from Toga and Twice, a second group of the League composed of Shigaraki, Dabi, Mr. Compress, and Spinner ambush it on the highway in a scene that looks like something straight out of an action film. Here are the highlights
** Shigaraki jumping on the escort car.
** Mr. Compress throwing miniaturized boulders under the escort cop car to launch it off balance and get Shigaraki onto the prison van from the escort car while the aftermath of said launch causes the other escort vehicles to spiral out of control.
** Dabi taking on [[DishingOutDirt Sand Hero Snatch]] one-on-one and burning away all of his attacks before Snatch gets trapped inside one of Compress's balls (along with the fire Dabi made, burning him to death).
** Shigaraki using Compress' launch to land on the prison van, bursting his hand through the windshield and disintegrating the driver.
** Spinner proves himself to be quite the BadassDriver.
** All of this is capped off in the end by Shigaraki and Mr.Compress mutilating Overhaul by removing his arms through their own Quirks, and stealing the perfected drugs that he made, all while boasting how everything he did was for naught and that the League of Villains will be the next "Overlords" that Overhaul could only dream of being, leaving Overhaul to scream in rage.
* In Chapter 161, the heroes are amazed that despite Overhaul's monster rampage and destruction of four houses, there were no casualties. Only three civilians received light scratches. Nejire Hado then reveals that half of it was thanks to Deku. He had blasted Overhaul into the sky and resolved the fight in the air to minimize collateral damage.
* Chapter 162 Despite having just lost both his Quirk and his mentor, Mirio continues being the ever-smiling optimist we've come to know him as, doing exercises in his hospital bed. His reason? He knows Nighteye wouldn't want him feeling down, not to mention his last Foresight predicted that he'd become a splendid hero.
** Mirio's optimism combined with the fact that he continued protecting Eri even without a Quirk, compared to his own dejection and the fact he needed Eri's help, makes Deku fully realize why Nighteye wanted Mirio to be the successor, and starts to offer to transfer his power to Mirio. The kid's ready to give up the dream he finally has within his grasp, to help his senior. And then Mirio one-ups him once again by refusing before Deku could even finish making the offer, reasoning that all that would achieve is putting Deku into his shoes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hero License Course Arc (Chapters 163-168, Episode 79-80)]]
* Because of their behavior during the exam, Todoroki and Bakugo, along with Inasa Yoarashi have to survive a special trial along with Camie Utsushimi, ''the genuine article'' who as it turns out got swapped out during the actual exam thanks to Toga's scheming and needs to make up as well. Their trial: tame the Precious Brats of Masegaki, a class full of precocious, misbehaving Quirk-powered brats. The point: they can't muscle their way out of this, and they have to think fast. So they take on the brats' problems one by one. A bunch of them decide to attack. The teens NoSell the assault and figure out who's calling the shots. While Yoarashi and Todoroki cooperate and appease most of the brats with an ice slide, Bakugo confronts the "boss" and (crossing with SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments) opens up that he shouldn't look down on people. It works. The brats listen to the teens and even chip in to clean up, helped along with encouraging hints. Gang Orca finally compliments them: ''now'' they get it.
* Chapter 167 has hinted that Endeavor might be starting to rethink his own behavior, but that's not the awesome moment. When confronted with his father's uncharacteristic kindness, Todoroki ''rejects'' it. Considering that he's lived with his father's violent abuse all his life, and that Endeavor didn't offer anything but [[SoProudOfYou an expression of pride]] that, from Todoroki's perspective, is probably either hollow or [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame insulting]], it was quietly impressive to see him stand up for himself. It's a good reminder that after everything he's been through, Todoroki doesn't owe Endeavor anything, least of all his forgiveness.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Culture Festival Arc (Chapters 169-183, Episodes 81-86)]]
* 169: Gentle's debut sees him getting jumped by five heroes as he robs a store for one of his videos. Cue him having an OhCrapSmile, cutting the feed... [[BaitAndSwitch and him having handed the heroes their asses when we next see him.]]
* In 172, we get to see some of the non-combat based awesome things for several characters. Ashido is a killer dancer, Jiro is apparently an amazing singer, Tokoyami is a masterful guitarist and Kaminari is no slouch at it, either. It even turns out Bakugo is a practiced drummer. Same chapter, Midoriya takes his next [[TookALevelInBadass level in badass]]; now that he knows how to use One For All at 20% safely by using it only for brief periods, he can boost himself and add concussive wind blasts to his attacks: using them either directly or to maneuver by RecoilBoost. Three chapters later, Hatsume gives him gloves that let him adapt his Delaware Smash technique to fire air bullets; he can now attack at range: something that had been bothering him since the Overhaul fight.
** Ashido is also good at ''teaching'' her dancing skills.
* 174 has All Might, in his unpowered form, casually catch a what appears to be a giant-sized [[Franchise/HarryPotter Golden Snitch]] that was flying at him and Deku from behind without turning around.
* 175: Midoriya being able to guess Gentle's plan and identity just from hearing his voice and that he bought some fancy tea. AwesomenessByAnalysis indeed!
** Credit needs to be given to Gentle as well [[AwesomenessByAnalysis for figuring out that Midoriya was a U.A. student due to mentioning having a classmate who shares the same fancy tea.]]
* 176: Gentle repels Deku coming at him full throttle simply by turning the air into an elastic substance.
** Deku manages to recover from Gentle's attack ''in midair'' and fire a blast of pressurized wind at him, within just a few hours of breaking in his upgraded gloves. He then uses the opening to leap off a nearby telephone pole and wrestle Gentle into a building that was under construction.
** The fact that Deku is starting to build a reputation from his feats going as far as back as the Sports Festival. When Gentle and La Brava recognized Deku as [[{{Determinator}} "that crazy kid who purposely broke his arms fighting"]], they have a {{freakout}} and start to take him more seriously. Think about it. Deku is starting to become NightmareFuel for low-scale villains, and he's still a hero in training!
* 177: Deku lifting a steel support beam off of himself with ''one arm'' while using the other to launch an attack on Gentle. "How tenacious!" indeed. That said, credit has to go to Gentle for an improvised gambit using said beam, bluffing that he'd drop it on a civilian and knowing well that Deku would delay himself to save the civilian.
* 178: Deku rapidly calculating the locations of Gentle's invisible air trampolines, then rebounding an air bullet off of one so that it hits Gentle from behind, giving him an opening to pin Gentle and La Brava to the ground.
** The reveal of La Brava's Quirk, [[ThePowerOfLove "Love".]] After a flashback showing just how much it means to her to have someone who accepts her feelings, her Quirk channels her love for Gentle into a massive power-up, giving him the strength to throw Deku off of them.
** Gentle knocks Deku unconscious with just one karate chop on his neck and defeats him. [[BaitAndSwitch Or so it seems.]] Deku actually managed to tank Gentle's blow and is ready to shoot him.
--->'''Gentle''' (To an unconscious Deku): Love always wins in the end.\\
'''Deku''': I have fought lots of people faster and stronger than you. [[WhamLine I HAVEN'T LOST YET!!]]
* Chapter 179 is a series of spectacular exchanges between Midoriya and Gentle as they clash ferociously. As Midoriya has said, he's been frequently shown to fight opponents on a much higher level than himself. This is a rare occasion where we get to see him fighting an opponent on, or at least close to, his own level, showing just how far he's evolved since the beginning of the series.
** Gentle's flashbacks also indicate that he's [[TookALevelInBadass come a long way]] since his days as an aspiring hero. Apparently, villainy suits him pretty well.
* Chapter 180: The Deku vs Gentle finale counts as one. Gentle acknowledges Deku as the strongest opponent he has ever fought. He even throws away his reputation and style to go all out, as a mark of respect towards Deku.
** A massive moment for Gentle, as Izuku acknowledges him as the "''toughest opponent he has ever fought''" up to that point. Let that sink in for a moment and recall what kind of monsters Izuku has traded blows with in the past, yet ''Gentle'' proved himself to be a notch above ''all'' of them from Izuku's perspective in terms of a challenge: mainly because all the other villains Izuku had fought had been genuine villains; Gentle was different, or rather, he was no different at all; Midoriya admits later that, had things turned out differently, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen he could've been in Gentle's position]]. Mad respect from the "madman" himself for Gentle.
** Gentle silently admits that Deku succeeded in thwarting his plans and protecting U.A. and the festival.
** Gentle's last plan? It's not a last-ditch attempt to fight Deku at all... no, it's a ploy to keep La Brava from punishment. Gentle manifests the last vestige of La Brava's power-up and hurls Deku away. Sure, it doesn't work, but Deku sympathizes with Gentle so much that he ends up helping him out!
** This is also Izuku's second victory against a villain where he didn't have to injure himself in any way to win and the first time he was able to do so alone.
* Chapter 182/Episode 86: One that has nothing to do with combat in the form of the concert: the main reason Midoriya went to the trouble of engaging Gentle to begin with. All of 1A's work pays off with an incredible show of music and spectacle that wows the crowd and wins over even its most spiteful critics. More importantly, it does something that even defeating Overhaul and rescuing his victims couldn't do: [[WhenSheSmiles it lets Eri smile]].
** Then gloriously performed in the anime with the SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgwUenaQqlM Hero too]]. The manga, naturally, couldn't convey music and didn't include any lyrics, leaving it up to the reader to imagine how good it was. The anime lives up to it; fittingly, the lyrics are about how being a hero isn't just about being strong and winning against bad guys. It's also about standing up for your beliefs, making others smile through your own positivity and kind actions, and following dreams and goals that you know will make you happy, which can apply to several characters beyond the ones featured in the story.
*** It achieves the goal of finally saving Eri: if her rescue from the Shie Hassaikai was the first half of a milestone in her life to give her a new, hopeful start, the other half was for her to experience real joy and happiness at a festival promoting optimism and passionate talent, which her two heroes helped with making happen. This as a whole allows her to emotionally move that much further away from Overhaul's cruel influence, which is shown in the anime as a billowing shadow that parts with Eri cheerfully raising her arms towards the end of the song and breaking out in a huge, joyous smile.
*** The song is also a heartfelt sendoff for All Might, Sir Nighteye, and Mirio, all of whom believed in those same principles and keep on doing so even when they had their heroic careers cut short.
*** After 1A's song-and-dance, you can see the tears of joy in Midoriya's eyes when Eri is excitedly recounting the performance, still with that great big smile. Inviting her to the festival ''and'' fighting Gentle to protect it; ''this'' is where it all paid off for him.
*** A definite moment for Jiro, and the song applies to her as well. During the performance, we see a flashback to when she chose being a hero over being a musician; surprisingly, her parents accepted her decision by noting one big thing; both heroes and musicians look to bring joy to people, and Jiro finally understands that she doesn't have to choose between heroism and music. Using her music to make people smile is heroic in itself and can be a part of her hero identity just like her Quirk. The end result: her passionate performance spurs everyone on, contributing to its success.
*** The class cranked things up in the latter half in the performance, surprising the reader/viewer with additional elements such as birds being directed by Koda to manipulate the lights, dancing on the ice bridges produced by Todoroki, and Uraraka being swung around by Tsu so she can touch some of audience below with Zero Gravity and let them float in the air.[[note]]The finale reveals they're safely tethered by Sero's Tape.[[/note]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Hero Arc (Chapter 184-192, Episodes 87-90)]]
* Everything about Hawks' Quirk "Fierce Wings". He is able to separate his wings into individual feathers and have complete control over each one. 186 shows him stop crimes and help people all while holding a conversation with Endeavor, and 187 has him rescue 76 civilians with ease.
* Endeavor's entire fight against the High-End Nomu would definitely qualify, especially as it's deliberately set up as a CallBack to the All Might vs. All for One fight.
** Endeavor starts strong as he hits the High End with everything, he's got in an attempt to incapacitate the creature as quickly as possible. Were it not for [[HealingFactor Super Regeneration]], Endeavor would've won easily.
** After getting beaten on by High-End to the point where he got a scar and can't even move his body, Endeavor ''still'' keeps fighting, propelling himself with nothing but the power of his flames. Hawks provides safe evacuation for civilians in the building he and Endeavor were in and some backup against the High-End Nomu, but it's still Endeavor's fight.
** The end of the fight is also worth mentioning; Despite being half-blind and essentially running on pure adrenaline, Endeavor still has enough strength to propel himself and High-End upwards (with the help of Hawks' feathers) to the sky away from the public and pulls off his strongest move ''to completely incinerate him from the inside out.'' He tried this same move before only for High-End to easily dodge and counter, Endeavor made sure he wouldn't be able to dodge it this time. Bonus points for shouting U.A.'s motto of "Plus Ultra", a saying he's always hated, before doing so and striking the same pose as All Might did in the aftermath of his Kamino battle with All For One. His son Shoto realizes as he does this that this represents a turning point in his father, thus the title of the chapter/episode: "His Start", as in a new beginning for Endeavor.
** Points to High-End, who showed that the Nomus have come a long way from the mindless drones they were before. It's capable of speech, comprised of multiple Quirks, and is intelligent enough to skillfully dodge Endeavor's fatal blows to its head and mount a counter-attack.
*** Hood, the High-End in question, almost ''killed'' Endeavor. It's a damn miracle that Enji Todoroki survived the duel, let alone won the fight. If that second Prominence Burn didn't work, it was over for Hero Society. Losing two Number #1 Heroes one after another would've been a death blow to public morale and faith in the system.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Joint Training Arc (Chapter 193-217, Episodes 91-102)]]
* Chapter 193 deals with All For One in his early days.
** Midoriya has a [[DreamingOfTimesGoneBy dream]] where he meets the previous users of One For All. We clearly see their faces for the first time. Midoriya also watches the memory of the [[GreaterScopeParagon first user of One For All]] confronting All For One.
** At that time the world was in chaos and All For One thought he could bring order by uniting people under him. He traded Quirks extensively in exchange for people's loyalty to him. Those who didn't cooperate were killed. Naturally, his brother was revolted.
** After the {{Flashback}} ends, the first user of One For All speaks to Deku. He tells Deku he wanted to show a bit more of the past. The brother takes Deku's hand and assures him that [[YouAreNotAlone he's not alone]].
** Midoriya is implied to be the first One For All user to unlock the ability to interact with his deceased predecessors of the Quirk.
* Chapter 195 has the first battle of the Joint Training exercise begin. Kirishima, Tsuyu, Kaminari, Koda, and Shinso vs Ibara, Jurota, Hiryu, and Kosei. Right off the bat, we have a number of awesome moments.
** Class 1-B immediately take the initiative of the fight. Using Ibara as a lure Jurota and Kosei charges into the fight, using [[TheNoseKnows Jurota's amazing senses to pinpoint their location,]] to take on all five members of Class 1-A's team alone and do surprisingly well. Jurota flooring both Tsu and Kirishima in a surprise attack and Kosei trapping Koda in a soundproof box to prevent him from calling animals to help in an excellent display of how much his Quirk has developed since he was last seen using it in the Sports Festival.
** The chapter also goes into a little bit more with Shinso, mainly his new costume which adds a mask and bandages like Aizawa. During Jurota and Kosei's ambush, we see the use for the mask, mimicking other voices, which allows him to use his brainwashing Quirk easily. He completely halts Jurota with this and brings the ambush to a sudden stop.
* Chapter 196:
** The first joint training battle continues and it almost entirely serves as an example of how powerful [[BeastMan Jurota Shishida]] is. After being woken up from his brainwashing by Kosei he proceeds to NoSell a direct attack from [[ShockAndAwe Kaminari]], someone who has incapacitated entire groups of people with his Quirk before and strikes him so hard he goes flying into a wall. When Kirishima and Koda try to stop his pursuit of Tsu, [[CurbStompBattle Jurota transforms back into his normal form to dodge their attacks before taking both of them out of the fight for good. Throwing Kirishima straight into the air, and directly towards the waiting Ibara, while completely locking down Koda with sheer strength and ferrying him straight to their team's prison cage]].
** The chapter isn't without wins for Class 1-A however. Tsuyu takes advantage of Kaminari's attacks separating the two attackers to grab Kosei and take him straight to their prison in a very similar way to Jurota's capture of Koda.
** After the ambush, Kaminari provides the much-needed tools for their team to retaliate by revealing he attached a Point-and-Shooter disc to Jurota during the attack and can now track his exact location with his visor.
* With Chapter 197 comes victory for 1-A and the end of the first joint training battle, in a climax full of awesome moments.
** [[BookDumb Resident class idiot Kaminari]] ends up displaying some incredible tactical thinking. Knowing the enemy team see him as the biggest threat, he takes advantage of the fact that Tsuyu's mucus is disguising his scent from Jurota and lets Ibara capture him in order to get close enough to try and take out Jurota with the point-and-shooter disc still attached to him. When that part of the plan fails, [[XanatosGambit Kaminari still comes out on top as his distraction allows his teammates to get in close and grant Shinso the opportunity to enthrall Ibara with his power and take out arguably the biggest threat to their team]].
** Rin's quick thinking ends up saving Jurota from Kaminari's attempt to electrocute him. [[ImprobableAimingSkills With pinpoint accuracy he blasts Kaminari's disk off Jurota's costume to redirect the lightning]] and proceeds to take charge when everything goes to hell for class 1-B's team, immediately attempting to wake Ibara from her mind control and issuing a constant stream of orders to his remaining teammate.
** Unfortunately for Rin and Class 1-B, Shinso's mere presence alone proves to be far too much of a hindrance to their teamwork. Unable to respond to Rin's commands or offer insight on where the enemy is due to risk of being mind-controlled, Jurota is forced to ignore Rin and go straight for Shinso. A plan which backfires spectacularly when Shinso's training with the capture cloth allows him to stay in the fight long enough for Tsu to [[GrievousHarmWithABody throw Rin straight at Jurota's head with enough force to take them both out of the fight]]. Victory for 1-A.
* Chapter 201:
** Class 1-B's victory over 1-A proves that the time they spent training offscreen wasn't for nothing. Being a group of {{Ensemble Dark Horse}}s that [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter often get ignored and forgotten]], seeing them come out on top is very satisfying to their fans. Made especially awesome in that the 1-B team did not have a single one of their members captured.
** Komori deserves a special mention. Appearing to be a mere JokeCharacter at first, with her Quirk seeming more like an annoying hindrance, [[BewareTheSillyOnes she manages to singlehandedly take out one of the most powerful students in Class 1-A, Tokoyami, with one move and saves herself as well as Kuroiro from capture]]. Who knew that being able to grow mushrooms on any surface nearby [[LethalHarmlessPowers included inside a person's throat]].
* Chapter 203:
** For those who were worried that Endeavor was EasilyForgiven for being a [[AbusiveParents spectacularly shitty dad]], the opening of the chapter shows that Shoto's been completely ignoring his attempts to contact him.
** Honenuki finally gets a chance to demonstrate why he got into UA with recommendations. He ''melts'' Todoroki's ice wall, essentially a small glacier, in a matter of seconds, giving himself and his teammates an overwhelming advantage and almost capturing Iida.
** Later on, Tetsutetsu barrels his way through Todoroki's ice barrier (with the help of Pony's projectiles) and knocks him through a pipe. It goes to show that in spite of all the raw power he has at his disposal, Todoroki is still no match for the [[DumbMuscle Dumb Muscle]] in close combat.
* Chapter 204: Iida unveils his new move, Recipro Turbo. His brother recommended Iida to pull out his mufflers (an excruciating process) and train harder so that a stronger, more efficient set of mufflers would grow. For ten minutes, Iida is given SuperSpeed and Deku deems it to be on par with Gran Torino.
* Chapter 205:
** At the end of the previous chapter, Todoroki had decided to listen to Endeavor's advice about going 'Plus Ultra' with his flames. Unfortunately for him, Tetsutetsu manages to tank ''everything thrown at him'' and ultimately come out on top against one of 1-A's most powerful Quirks. Granted, Todoroki was immobilised by Juzo and taken out with a metal beam to the back of the head before his final desperate attack, but it doesn't change the fact that Tetsutetsu went hand-to-hand against a bloke burning so hot the effect was felt throughout the arena, began melting the cameras and tiring out the user more than anything previously had, and still managed to match him blow-for-blow. Turns out Tetsutetsu had trained himself to be heat-tolerant [[TrainingFromHell by literally baking himself in an oven]]. Bad Quirk match-ups were mentioned all the way back in the Sports Festival arc, but it seems we might have finally found one where Shoto ends up with the disadvantage; Tetsutetsu can tolerate cold ''and'' heat.
** The sheer tenacity shown by Juzo Honenuki. It's been shown that he's more of a tactical combatant than a front-line fighter, yet after taking a direct hit to the head from Iida, who is currently moving at speeds never before seen from him, he's stubborn enough to pull one last trick with the thought that even though he 'failed', his allies might not have to suffer from his mistake. With the help from Tetsutetsu and the knowledge that if he passes out then everything he's softened will revert to its previous state, his last trick incapacitates Iida, burying him beneath a steel tower before succumbing to unconsciousness.
* Chapter 206: Pony singlehandedly manages to send Ojiro to jail and keep herself and her unconscious teammates out of Shoji's reach, thus running down the time limit, ensuring a tie instead of a loss, and showing that stalling for time while staying out of opponent's reach can be a viable strategy.
* Chapter 207:
** Setsuna showcases from the get-go why she got into U.A. through recommendations, displaying a Quirk (Lizard Tail Splitter) that's perfect for scouting, spying and distracting (and we've yet to see the offensive capabilities of her Quirk) which, combined with some brilliant strategics from her, her team takes the 1-A team by surprise with an ambush, putting the 1-A team at an immediate disadvantage.
** By the end of the chapter, it looks like Kyoka's about to be taken out of commission by Togaru, when out of nowhere, Bakugo jumps in front of her and blasts Togaru away. Throughout the whole chapter, it looked like Bakugo was doing what he usually does, just charging straight in without a care for who's with him because he believes he can handle things mostly by himself and just needs simple support from his teammates, but by jumping in front of Kyoka to save her, Bakugo, for the first time, displays two things he had been lacking since the beginning of the story: proper teamwork, and going out of his way to save someone else. CharacterDevelopment in spades.
* Chapter 208:
** The BadassBoast Bakugo delivers when giving chase to the opposing team really shows how far he's advanced in working with others, especially when compared to his previous declaration at the sports festival.
--->'''Bakugo''': I've decided! We're gonna win this match with a perfect victory! 4-0, with everyone unscathed! That's the only kind of victory there is for the strongest guys out there!
** The coordination team 1-A shows throughout the fight is phenomenal. When the rest of team 1-B retreats in an effort to regroup after their initial ambush attempt failed, Bakugo immediately gives chase. Awase tries to cover the retreat by welding Bakugo in place, only for [[DumbMuscle Sato]] to immediately free him. Awase then covers himself in solid steel plates in an effort to tank Bakugo's explosions, only for the other boy to bypass him entirely, leaving Awase open to a sonic attack and capture by Jiro and Sero. Dazed and disorganized, Bondo and Kamakiri are swiftly dealt with while Tokage is forced to watch on helplessly. When she tries to [[DetachmentCombat reassemble herself to assist her teammates]] we learn that Sero anticipated her actions and the limitations of her Quirk, and attached one of Bakugo's grenades to one of her detached segments. The explosion it produces is all the opportunity Bakugo needs to take her down. [[CurbStompBattle Class A wins 4-0, a completely overwhelming victory]].
** What makes their victory especially awesome is that their team 1-A's strategizing wasn't particularly superior to that of team 1-B, but [[TeamSpirit their teamwork was just so perfect]] that team 1-B just couldn't match up.
* Chapter 210:
** After 3 years and 180 chapters of being the ButtMonkey, we ''finally'' get to see the return of [[SitcomArchNemesis Monoma]] as a [[TheStrategist formidable]] [[TheTrickster opponent]] and it is ''glorious''.
** Both Monoma and Midoriya guess each other's strategies accurately. Monoma taunts Midoriya, but the latter does not take the bait, suspecting that Monoma may brainwash him.
* Chapter 211:
** Upon noticing that Midoriya is in trouble, Uraraka immediately rushes in to help him.
** Carrying on from the previous chapter, Monoma continues to showcase his competency as a hero in training, managing to nimbly dodge the rampaging effects on an out of control One For All.
** While horrific (and painful) for the characters, it's quite an awesome spectacle to see Midoriya's new tentacle goo ability rampage around and cause destruction.
* Chapter 212: Uraraka and Shinso's combined efforts of stopping the rampaging Deku succeeds in a grand display of teamwork, improvisation, and trust between them, two complete strangers, in the heat of the moment.
* Chapter 213: Daigoro Banjo, the fifth user of One For All, explains to Deku that One For All doesn't just empower his body; the Quirk also carries with it all of the previous holders' Quirks. Before it was passed on to Deku, One For All was only used to empower the user's physical body, but now it's grown strong enough to grant him access to six Quirks that are stronger than their previous holders in addition to the raw power that surpasses All Might's.
** Midoriya used to be Quirkless and had always wanted a Quirk. Now in a world where the norm is OnePersonOnePower, Midoriya has a total of ''[[SerialEscalation SEVEN]]'' super-strong Quirks and he has the potential to wield them all without suffering from Quirk overload. Deku, after ''everything'' he has endured and suffered in life, finally struck the KarmicJackpot at last.
*** Even better, remember his fight with Overhaul, when he managed to use One For All at 100% thanks to Eri. That was with just the 'Power Stockpiling' part of One For All. Before he was able to tap into the other Quirks. [[SerialEscalation That fight is no longer even close to his true potential.]]
* Chapter 214: Surprisingly, Mineta is putting a solid fight with three opponents stronger than him. Mineta uses Mina's Quirk to increase his speed and his sticky balls to jump around like Gran Torino, holding Shoda, Yanagi, and Kodai at bay. Monoma copies One For All but is defeated by Ochaco. Deku decides to go Quirkless against Shinso out of fear that One For All might rampage. At the last moment, he remembers what the bald user had told him. Deku activates Black Whip and this time the new Quirk obeys him. The last panel with Deku using Black Whip looks badass. Later revealed that Deku needs a higher percentage of One For All to naturally control Black Whip.
** Despite his attempt ultimately ending in failure, Monoma's internal monologue during his attempt to steal [[HopeSpot One For All]] is pretty badass.
--->'''Monoma:''' [[PowerCopying I can't get stronger]] [[LogicalWeakness on my own]]. [[GenreSavvy I don't possess the right stuff to be the main character]]. [[AntiHero I can't walk down that straight, noble path like you people]]. [[IAmWhatIAm Still, I don't resent what I've been given]]. [[RefugeInAudacity Because it's necessary to pull off these kinds of masterful performances]] -- [[WeakButSkilled The ones in which the supporting role]] [[HopeSpot upstages the lead!]]"
* Chapter 215 ends with victory for Class 1-A, 4-0 with each team member contributing to the victory.
** Props to Monoma as well for just how far ahead he planned. He has a limit to how many copied Quirks he can store, and he keeps three pocket watches to track how long he uses each. Based on this, you'd think his limit is three stored Quirks, as he has a pocket watch for each. However, you'd be wrong. He can actually store at least four and only keeps three pocket watches as a way to mislead opponents about his limits. That's an incredible amount of forethought and planning to put into a costume design that most enemies wouldn't read into that much. Not only that, he's trained himself to be able to Copy quirks for longer than five minutes. He shows this off by using the secret fourth Quirk, Shoda's Twin Impact, at least five minutes after a point he'd have touched Shoda, to throw Deku off his balance and nearly give Shinso the opportunity to capture him.
** Deku quickly recovers from Monoma's Twin Impact and draws out One for All again to immobilize Shinso by dragging him in with his own capture weapon.
** Uraraka proves herself one of the strongest combatants by taking down Monoma and bringing him back to the jail on her own. She then doesn't fall for Monoma's goading about Deku. She trusts his word that he can handle himself and instead returns to back up her teammates, knocking Yanagi out cold and then taking advantage of Mineta's Pop Offs to pin Kodai's arms behind her back against a pole.
** With Poltergeist and Size neutralized, Ashido then takes advantage of Uraraka's attack to take out Shoda with an uppercut reminiscent of how she beat Aoyama in the Sports Festival. Bonus points because Shoda is the best melee combatant on the enemy team, both because of his Quirk and his boxing hobby.
** The 4-0 win is also noteworthy because of Bakugo's BadassBoast in his match. With this victory, in a ''four-on-five'', Midoriya basically sends the message, "I'm still keeping up with you!"
* Chapter 216: Despite losing the fifth match, Shinso's performance in both matches he participated in was enough to land him a spot in the Hero Course at the beginning of his second year.
* Chapter 217: In a funny, karmic way, seeing Mina subject Mineta to the [[Literature/AClockworkOrange Ludovico Technique]] is a satisfying sight.
** There's also the fact that, for all intents and purposes, Bakugo is now helping Izuku and All-Might keep the full secret of One For All. He quickly proves he can make meaningful contributions going forth by not just helping Izuku test any of his new abilities but also through providing his personal insight, making the observation that perhaps Izuku's blossoming new Quirks may have something to do with All For One.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Meta Liberation Army Arc (Chapter 218-240, Episode 100, Episodes 108-112)]]
* Chapter 218-219: Bakugo and Todoroki suddenly teaming up to capture a gang of purse-snatchers barely half an hour after earning their provisional licenses.
** To elaborate, Todoroki uses his famous move from the Sports Festival in order to neutralize the robber's Seltzer Quirk, while Bakugo not only does a flying explosion combo in midair but also manages to keep the stolen wallets and jewelry intact before doing so.
** All Might safely evacuating civilians from the area and managing to ''run in his weakened form'' to save a woman from a falling lamppost. Even if he doesn't have One For All anymore, he still has the heart of a hero.
** The Meta Liberation Army deserves a couple of points for being GenreSavvy as to monitor their black-market equipment and DestroyTheEvidence the moment the situation goes south. That, and managing to track, capture, and beat up the hard-to-find Giran.
** Which then leads to Giran refusing to sell out his League brethren even as he's captured (destroying all his client lists in the process), even going as far as to [[DefiantToTheEnd say]] [[PrecisionFStrike that the CEO should, quote, "crawl back up in his daddy's ballsack."]] Now that's loyalty -- and outright savagery!
** And of course, Gigantomachina being so powerful as to swat the new League members aside and outright dismiss them.
* Chapter 220: EvenEvilHasStandards as the League of Villains confronts what's essentially the MHA-verse's KKK and takes them out.
* Chapter 223:
** In the interim between the previous chapter and this one, the League spent ''a month and a half'' fighting Gigantomachia. Particularly impressive in Shigaraki's case, because Gigantomachia has been focused on him the entire time while the other members were able to tap in or out in shifts. Meanwhile, Shigaraki has been relentlessly hunted by Gigantomachia whenever the giant is awake, giving him only a three-hour window every two days in which he can rest. Despite this, not only has Shigaraki not been deterred at all, he's kept his smile throughout the whole ordeal!
** In an OffscreenMomentOfAwesome, Giran stays completely silent throughout the torture despite having five of his fingers cut off.
** Credit to the MLA, they tracked down the League's location thanks to their members' IT firm tracing their phone call, threatening to tip off the heroes if they refuse to accept their challenge. And they wasted Giran's sacrifice thanks to easily recovering the data. And they have ''116,000'' loyal adherents for their cause and over ''100,000'' copies of their manifesto published.
* Chapter 224: Shigaraki comes up with a pretty good plan to solve two of his problems by pitting them against each other. Knowing Gigantomachia will keep hunting him down no matter what, he simply accepts MLA's challenge so that they're between him and the giant when the next attack comes. Then once the MLA's decimated by Gigantomachia's rampage, he plans to attack Gigantomachia, hoping the MLA weakened him enough to finally take him down. Whether or not it ends up working, it takes guts to have two different threats to your life and make it work for you.
* Chapter 226: Toga's Quirk has a surprising level up: If she ''really'' wants to be the person she's copying, she can copy that person down to the ''Quirk'': in this case, Uraraka's Zero Gravity; recall, it was her ''inability'' to use Zero Gravity that clued in Deku during the licensing exam--not anymore. She uses her abilities to lift the enemies into the air... and then releasing her Quirk, turning the enemies into a giant collective stain on the pavement.
* Chapter 227: Shigaraki gets a moment to shine by killing an entire crowd of MLA followers IN ONE MOVE!
* Chapter 229: The MLA gets hit by a massive NiceJobFixingItVillain, when they use puppets modeled after Twice to hold him down, and force him to watch as they kill Toga. They expected that being uncovered and surrounded by his own copies, would trigger his trauma, and let them do it, but because Toga was nice to him, he fights back, forcing them to break both his arms. This backfires spectacularly, because it proves to Twice that he is, in fact, [[TomatoInTheMirror the real one all along, and not just a copy he created of himself as he always feared]]. This knowledge allowed him to instead overcome his trauma and fear of disappearing, and create an entire army of himself once again.
--> '''Twice''': [[MesACrowd My Quirk is "Double"]], [[BadassBoast and you're about to learn just how scary it can be, Liberation Army!]]
* Chapter 230:
** Twice makes good on his threat and [[MesACrowd becomes a swarm.]] [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer This is not an exaggeration,]] the word "horde" simply isn't good enough for how he [[ZergRush overwhelms the Liberation Army mooks through sheer weight of numbers]] and proceeds to spread out like a bloodthirsty army of ants. Even Re-Destro seems dumbstruck by this turn of events, even if only for a single panel. Made even more awesome in the anime adaptation, where "Uncontrollable Evil" [[ThemeSongPowerUp plays]] for the first time since the second season.
** Not to be outdone, [[AnIcePerson Geten]] proves that they're one of the strongest members of the MLA so far. Being able to clash with Dabi on even footing a few chapters ago was but a brief indication of his full power, as here they use their Quirk to manipulate the ''entire water supply of the city'' by being able to freeze it with ice they had previously sent down there. This lets them reduce entire chunks of the city to rubble in the span of moments, and they manage to cut swathes in the clone army that Twice produced.
* Chapter 232:
** One of Twice's clones manages to get past the Liberation Army and into the room with Re-Destro. That's all he needs to confront him with a half-dozen of himself and clones of Mr. Compress, Dabi, and Shigaraki. Re-Destro then gets one of his own by demolishing almost all of them in one attack.
** A group of Twice's clones gets confronted with the "all of them think they're the original" hangup, only to almost immediately shake it off because it's not important compared to completing their mission. It is remarkable determination from a man who was terrified by that very conundrum for years and shows just how much he's put that barrier behind him.
** Shigaraki's Quirk has been shown to make short work of people and smaller objects before, but here we get a glimpse at its full power when he [[PersonOfMassDestruction disintegrates an entire skyscraper in seconds with a single touch]].
* Chapter 233:
** Spinner during his fight with Trumpet gets flanked by the politician's flunkies and mocked for his life as a hikikomori and is told flat out that he doesn't have the power to change anything. Spinner, however, is well aware of his life and gives an awesome speech both showcasing his new resolve to see Shigaraki's world come to fruition and calling the Meta Liberation army out as being [[NotSoDifferentRemark no different than him.]]
--->'''Spinner''': I've got nothing I love as Toga does. Nothing I really wanna do. But back then, I just know... Something lit a fire in my heart. All I could think was how I wanted a glimpse of the future he was imagining! Sure... I'm just a nobody who jumped on a bandwagon but what's wrong with that!? Nothing, right!? And you people ain't much better!!! Ain't that right, politician?"
** After Shigaraki destroys the main tower he faces off against Re-Destro, it goes badly for him and he loses a part of his hand and one of his family hands. We also find out that Re-Destro's meta ability is [[HulkingOut the ability to accumulate stress and use it to grow more powerful]].
** As Slidin' Go is directing traffic to hide the Meta Liberation Army's crimes [[VillainousRescue a familiar rumbling can be heard in the distance...]]
* Chapter 234:
** Shigaraki's crippled left hand is being held between Re-Destro's bulked up fingers who then proceeds to crush it. Shigaraki, whose mind in breaking from the trauma of losing one of his family hands, puts his remaining two fingers on Re-Destro's finger and breaks it. Re-Destro quickly realizes that Shigaraki is in the process of fully awakening his powers. Shigaraki then dashes towards Re-Destro who realizes that he is far more nimble and quick then he was back at Kamino Ward and as such [[TookALevelInBadass far more dangerous.]]
** Re-Destro decides he's done playing around and proceeds to bulk up his body at [[OneWingedAngel 80% Liberation]] and proceeds to fire a blast that sends Shigaraki flying and tears the adjacent building apart.
** Re-Destro gets a panicked call from Skeptic who tells him to be wary the League hadn't played all of their cards yet, they have a true monster at their call. [[BigDamnHeroes Gigantomachia has arrived.]] Absolutely none of the Meta Liberation Army saw this coming, under the correct assumption they had a finite amount of Nomu, but never could predict that they had their own Doomsday.
* Chapter 235: After seeing how unaffected Shigaraki was from his attack Re-Destro is shocked to realize that before the attack could hit him Shigaraki ''touched and destroyed it''. The realization that Shigaraki destroyed his strongest attack causes Re-Destro to have the beginning of a VillainousBreakdown as he ignores Skeptic's warning that Gigantomachia is coming and bulks up, even more, all so he can destroy his enemy.
-->'''Re-Destro:''' Burden. I extract my own stress, make it corporeal and blast it over a wide range. The pinnacle of my Meta Ability honed since childhood! An attack that cannot be evaded! But he touched it! In that instant! He moved into it! And ignored the instinct to defend. Moving only to destroy!
* Chapter 237: After remembering his past Shigaraki destroys his father's hand, saying that it is no longer necessary for him. Up until now, the hands served to bottle up Shigaraki's emotions so that he could harness his anger for destruction. With the hand destroyed Shigaraki has effectively "liberated" himself from his past and now fully accepted [[IAmWhatIAm himself for who he is.]] Bonus points are that Shigaraki's word bubbles, which are usually drawn in a rough, bumpy style, to indicate his mental instability, become normal word bubbles, [[SanityStrengthening showing that his new mental fortitude has improved his sanity.]] In the anime, this is shown by his voice losing some of the mad raspiness.
* Chapter 238:
** With his newfound resolve the "liberated" Shigaraki proceeds to completely CurbStomp Re-Destro without even trying. Despite charging at him at 100% and firing his ''Burden'' attack at point-blank, a move whose shockwave destroys about half of Deika city by itself, Re-Destro's move is immediately destroyed by Shigaraki before it can fully leave his hands. A flustered Re-Destro then proceeds to put on a set of PoweredArmor to increase the output of his ''Stress'' to 150%. Shigaraki's response? [[DissonantSerenity To casually observe how stiff Re-Destro looks and comment on how cool his new powerup is.]] All the while Re-Destro is left with an unknown feeling in his chest that how it seems to be making his powers weaker. While we don't get to see exactly what Shigaraki does by the end of the chapter, it's enough to put Re-Destro in his place as he comments on how Shigaraki seems liberated from everything.
** Bonus points for what Shigaraki's new presence does to Gigantomachia. With his arrival on the battlefield the giant has done exactly what Shigaraki promised he would do; sow chaos amongst the Liberation Army. However, the rest of the League is completely terrified and are worried that they will be too weak to stop him. All the while Gigantomachia is tearing through Deika city screaming for his master's successor. Suddenly he arrives at the site of Shigaraki and Re-Destro's battle and he sees something that leaves him [[StunnedSilence completely gobsmacked]] with him trembling and his eyes now visible. Whatever Shigaraki is doing it was enough to spook ''[[TheJuggernaut Gigantomachia.]]'' Looks like his boasts about being the future king weren't unfounded after all.
** The Doctor deserves some appreciation too. When Compress calls him and tells him to warp the League out of Deika city before Gigantomachia starts attacking them the Doctor flat out refuses and tells him that he won't help out people who allowed themselves to fall for such an obvious trap. When Compress asks him is he is okay with allowing All For One's successor to die the Doctor replies that this is exactly why [[StealthMentor Shigaraki needed to be driven into a corner.]] Considering what Shigaraki is now capable of, it seems the Doctor was right.
* Chapter 239: As of now, in Re-Destro's own words:
-->'''Re-Destro''': [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership The Metahuman Liberation Army is yours to command.]]
** In other words: Shigaraki has essentially just gained control of a Quirk support company that has recently ventured into hero support, an IT company that just traced his group with no real effort, a political party and (pending the fallout of Curious's death) a publishing company -- both of which have been used as propaganda arms! -- and, most importantly to Shigaraki, all the money that comes with such entities. In the same fell swoop, he also manages to prove to Gigantomachia that he's a worthy successor to All For One, which by extension wins him the loyalty of Dr. Ujiko and the use of the High End Noumu. The League of Villains just went [[FromNobodyToNightmare from nobodies to nightmares]] all in the span of a few hours, and the heroes don't even know it!
* Just as with the League's first appearance and Twice's rampage, the anime's music amplifies the moment of Shigaraki being coronated as the leader of the Liberation Front... instead of just playing "Uncontrollable Evil" this time, instead the anime plays "Paranormal Liberation Front," an epic remix of "Uncontrollable Evil," as Shigaraki dons his mantle.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Endeavor Internship Arc (Chapter 241-252, Episodes 101-106)]]
* Chapter 245: Hawks, in spite of the heavy surveillance placed on him by the PLF, managed to communicate about the merging of the MLA and the [=LoV=] to the Public Safety Committee, as well to Endeavor. How? By highlighting certain sections in Destro's own book!
** Props need to be given to Endeavor as well. [[AwesomenessByAnalysis He realized something was off from the way Hawks was acting compared to before]], and figured out Hawks' CovertDistressCode from the few clues he gave, something even Hawks wasn't sure Endeavor could do.
* Chapter 247: Shoto telling his father that he may seem to conform to his wishes when in actuality he's learning to be a hero on his own terms and he has not forgotten what he's done to his mother.
* Chapter 248: Endeavor demonstrates his methods to the interns while concurrently resolving incidents quickly. He is surprisingly good at mentoring people if he wants to.
* Chapter 251: Deku, Bakugo, and Shoto get a chance to show off just how much they improved on their Quirks in just one week of internship training by working together with Endeavor to save Natsuo. The way they each helped was also surprising:
** Bakugo was first, having rocketed forward by concentrating the explosions in his palms to outspeed even Endeavor, snatching Natsuo from Ending's clutches and choosing to "save a person" over "winning a fight" in this case.
** Deku follows in close behind, using Air Force to give himself a RecoilBoost before whipping out Blackwhip to safely catch and lower the thrown cars to the ground with his downward momentum. This is significant as it's the first time he successfully used Blackwhip without it cutting out on him, meaning his burst capacity with One For All has reached the 30% needed to pull it off.
** Finally, Shoto shows how he's come to terms with the fire-side of his Quirk when he uses his father's technique to finish off Ending with a rocket-powered punch and then capturing him in ice. It shows he's learned how to switch more rapidly between his two sides, giving him a better handle on his powers by using both sides in turn to regulate his body temperature.
* The anime-only Episode 103, once again showcasing Captain Selkie. Facing a bunch of drugged-up Quirk-using smugglers, Selkie requests a team-up with Ryukyu's agency. This means Tsu (who's interning with Ryukyu along with Uraraka and Hado) gets to link up with Selkie again to bust the smugglers. With Ryukyu and Hado providing air cover and Selkie running the search underwater, they team soon locate and confront the smugglers. But they prove sneaky, able to evade Selkie by employing a seaplane. Which gives the highlight moment to Uraraka (also providing a showcase of her new hero costume). She gets launched into the air by Sirius's harpoon and Zero-G's herself in position to use the biggest change to her new costume: the grappling hook inspired by Midoriya's Blackwhip. She latches onto the plane, reels herself aboard, and neutralizes the pilot. But then the plane starts losing control and is about to crash. [[DareToBeBadass Spurred on by Ryukyu]] and assisted by Hado, Uraraka grits herself and zero-G's the huge, heavy cargo plane for just long enough for Ryukyu to get a hold of it and help it to a safe landing, saving the environment from contamination by the toxic Trigger precursors ([[VomitDiscretionShot and paying the price afterwards]]).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Paranormal Liberation War Arc (Chapter 253-306, Episodes 113-131)]]
* In Chapter 255, Aizawa briefly manages to get through Kurogiri to Shirakumo. Though Kuroguri goes catatonic not long after, Shirakumo managed to mutter out "hospital" as the place where he was turned into a Nomu.
* Chapter 256: The main cast class has a chance to show how far they've come. Not one of them disappoints. The highlight has to be Deku, who's mastered Black Whip -- think back to how he had no control over this power when it first emerged. Look what he's doing with it now.
* Chapter 259: Endeavour confronts Doctor Maruta and declares him under arrest.
* Chapter 260:
** The Doctor reveals that Endeavour confronted his clone, but then, Mirko finally gets the chance to show off why she's the 5th ranked hero in Japan -- she singlehandedly tears through an entire hallway of Noumu without breaking a sweat, and demolishes a wall with one move, ''[[BloodKnight grinning]]'' the entire time.
---> '''Mirko:''' What a rush!
** Eraser Head and Present Mic have some ''very'' choice words for the good doctor who turned their friend into a monster.
---> '''Yamada:''' Wow...[[TranquilFury neat]]. You could apply [[VariantPowerCopying all that]] to regenerative medical care. Basically, it's like using cheat codes. Yet...why use it the way you did?! WHY'D YOU DO IT, YOU OLD PIECE OF TRASH?!
---> '''Aizawa:''' [[ItsPersonal The people]] who you experimented on and tossed aside, they're all crying out: "This is our payback!"
* Chapter 262: Mirko fighting against four High-End Nomu at the same time. Especially once she gets her arm ''ripped off'' at the bicep. Besides a brief acknowledgment of the pain, Mirko only focuses on her arm after killing one of the Nomu, at which point she makes a tourniquet out of her own hair. Bad. Ass.
* Chapter 263:
** Kaminari overcoming his fear and absorbing the electricity of one of the PLF advisors, who was confident his attack could take out all the heroes there.
** Cementoss shows off what he really is capable of when on the offense by ''ripping open an entire mansion'' for the heroes to invade.
* Chapter 265:
** Tsukuyomi vs Re-Destro: Tokoyami unleashes the full might of Dark Shadow with his new move '''Ragnarok''', crushing an entire hallway to seal off the villain's escape route. Re-Destro immediately goes to 100% Stress and meets it ''head-on''. The only things stopping Re-Destro is the fact that his Quirk doesn't extend to his new cybernetic legs, which rip apart under the force of Dark Shadow, who promptly throws him clean through a wall!
** Hawks vs Twice: as powerful a Quirk as Double is, Hawks has the advantage in speed, and shows ''why'' he's the Number Two ranked hero, shredding apart the Twice clones before they even have the chance to attack. Even when Twice summons up copies of all his friends in the League, Hawks destroys them in the time it takes to shift from one panel to the next! Twice gets props for being DefiantToTheEnd and just straight up ''charging'' at Hawks, but that just ends with him getting slashed in the chest and pinned to the ground. It looks like Hawks has come out on top... until Dabi blows through the wall with a truly ''massive'' gout of fire, coming to Twice's rescue.
* Chapter 266:
** Dabi and Twice tag-teaming to try and outmaneuver Hawks is a sight to behold. Especially when you consider Dabi's usual status as the League's resident AloofAlly. All of which is capped off by the two sharing a high-five for luck as Dabi creates an opening for Twice to make a break for it.
*** Dabi gets another one by shouting out Hawks' real name, actually making the the [[NervesOfSteel level-headed]] #2 hero freeze up for a crucial second.
** Hawks takes Twice down before he can release another Sad Man's Parade and overwhelm the Heroes. He does this while burning from one of Dabi's attacks.
* Chapter 267:
** Villainous example: even though he's completely selfish in his motivations, Dabi's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown of Hawks and the accompanying HannibalLecture make it clear just why he's such a terrifying foe.
---> '''Dabi:''' More than Twice... more than anyone... you should've been keeping both eyes on me. The League? Shigaraki? I never gave a crap about them. A single person with a single conviction has the power to change the world. There are no true heroes. I plan to make Stain's will a reality. See ya, Hawks. Your life's another thing I don't care about.
** Tokoyami saving Hawks from Dabi despite being taken earlier to the back by Fatgum along with the other students.
** Endeavor arriving and defeating one of the High-Ends to save Mirko.
*** Heck, the sheer unrelenting nature of Mirko by this point is something astounding. To elaborate: She's down one arm less, has a chunk of her ear torn off, slashed at her waist, and gets stabbed in her leg. All of this while she's very clearly suffering blood loss...''and she just keeps going.''
* Chapter 268:
** We see just how far Mirko got into the doctor's lair: she actually came ''this close'' to busting Shigaraki's tank with a kick. Even after she gets pulled away, the glass has a noticeable crack on it.
*** Shigaraki's presence alone is enough for Mirko's rabbit senses to scream at her not to let him wake up.
** Eraser Head and Present Mic hold their own very nicely against the Nomu. Another reminder that the teachers at UA know how to be heroes.
* Chapter 269:
** Aizawa manages to keep track and suppress the Quirks of at least three different Nomu, urging the others to go on and finish the job. Looks like his students aren't the only ones who've gotten stronger since that attack at USJ.
** Present Mic finds Shigaraki's tank and blasts it to pieces with '''Loud Voice'''. Then he goes and slugs the doctor right in the mouth. You could tell both of those contained at least 3 months' worth of pent-up anger, just waiting to blow.
---> '''Present Mic:''' That one's for making my friend cry!
* Chapter 271: The Liberation Front starts pushing back.
** Dabi effortlessly pressures Tokoyami and Dark Shadow while they're trying to save Hawks, even taking a page out of [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Azula's]] book where he uses his flames to [[NotQuiteFlight hover in midair]].
*** Props to Tokoyami for successfully evading him and saving Hawks' life.
** [[AnIcePerson Geten]] launches Mt. Lady with a literal ''iceberg'' out of the mansion and rallies the others into concentrating on one point each and taking the Heroes down.
** At the end of the chapter, [[TheJuggernaut Gigantomachia]] gets off his butt and sniffs the air...
---> '''Gigantomachia''': Master's scent!
* Chapter 272:
** Shigaraki uses Decay to successfully kill multiple heroes, including the No. 6 ranked hero, within seconds of waking up from a coma. If not for Ryukyu, Gran Torino, and Endeavor's quick response, it's safe to say 95% of the hospital team would have died on the spot.
** Crust performs a HeroicSacrifice to save Aizawa from Shigaraki by slicing off the arm of the High-End Nomu that was clinging to Aizawa, then says goodbye with a silent thumbs-up and a smile, even as his body is disintegrating.
** Pixie-Bob covering her teammates' retreat by facing Shigaraki's wave of destruction head-on with a rockslide.
** Midoriya sets a new record by letting off a St. Louis Smash at ''45 percent'', showing how much he's grown in the past few months.
* Chapter 273:
** Todoroki throws up a wall of ice to buy time for them to evacuate.
** Even though his St.Louis Smash doesn't really stop the wave of decay, Midoriya still proves his growth by pulling along vehicles with Blackwhip.
** Post-humous example: Even though he accidently triggered Shigaraki's resuscitation, X-Less blasted the machine housing replicated Quirk-destroying bullets, damaging most of them. At least one less thing to worry about.
** Toga cuts down a number of heroes Heroes in her RoaringRampageOfRevenge as Gigantomachia burst out of the ground behind her.
** The last page of the chapter: Endeavor launching himself like a rocket at Shigaraki, who greets him almost casually.
* Chapter 274:
** The high-pitched battle between Endeavor and Shigaraki, where the latter displays Super Regeneration and [[BlowYouAway Air Cannon]] to hold off the No. 1 hero. Then he uses Search to hone in on the current One for All user: Midoriya.
*** Endeavor for his part avoids Shigaraki's TouchOfDeath and shows impressive power and versatility with his flames before Shigaraki takes off.
** The second he overhears the words "One For All," Midoriya figures out Shigaraki's coming after him now. Which means that the civilians, heroes and his classmates/friends are in danger just by being near him. So what does Deku do? He immediately starts leaping away from them and calls Endeavor on the private channel to explain what he's up to.
** And Bakugo goes along with him, having come to the same conclusion and deciding to provide his rival backup.
* Chapter 275:
** A sign of how far they've both come: Midoriya can use 30% of One for All in Full Cowl and briefly bring out 45% for quick bursts without trouble. And Bakugo can still keep up with Midoriya with just his explosions.
** Shigaraki catches up to them, shows them a terrifying vision of rotting away from his touch... and Gran Torino swoops in and pulls away the two youngsters. He then scolds them, telling [[YouAreNotAlone there are Heroes still standing]].
** Ryukyu then shows up and swats Shigaraki away with one swipe of her claw.
** And the reason Shigaraki's Decay didn't work when he touched her? Because further away, [[PapaWolf a certain teacher]] is [[AntiMagic glaring down at him]].
--->'''Aizawa''': Shigaraki... '''don't you dare lay a rotten finger on my students.'''\\
'''Shigaraki''': ...[[VillainRespect You really are pretty cool, Eraser Head]].
* Chapter 276:
** Shigaraki proves how successful his enhancements are by being able to overpower both Endeavor and Ryukyu ''with just his natural strength'' as Eraser Head was currently erasing his Quirks. He's so strong that Endeavor compares his strength with ''All Might''. To add insult to injury, Shigaraki mocks their signature pose while standing over Endeavor.
** Izuku and Bakugo's BigDamnHeroes moment at the end when they save Eraser Head from being killed by Shigaraki, and note that it's their turn to save him.
*** Izuku is much faster than Gran Torino, tackling Shigaraki when Gran Torino was inches away from the villain. Gran Torino had a large headstart, and still Izuku outpaced him, with Bakugo following him.
* Chapter 277:
** A villainous one for Shigaraki: once he realized All For One still has some lingering mental power over him, he casually shreds the mental image of his former master and declares his intention to forge his own path, independent of AFO's wishes. The Liberation Army arc saw him prove himself as All For One's equal, but this is the chapter where he truly surpasses the villainous overlord and steps fully out of his shadow.
*** In the process, he actually ''looks down on'' All For One for being brought low by the will of All Might, a single person. A far cry from the man who once fixated on All Might as the person he had to kill and relied on his master's patronage to be any more of a threat than a single petulant madman.
** Bakugo's making good on his wish to cut loose, unleashing multiple high-level explosions in rapid succession.
** The end of the chapter shows why Shigaraki's backup still hasn't arrived: Mt. Lady is ''singlehandedly'' holding '''Gigantomachia''' in place, struggling with the monster that had been called a walking natural disaster and utterly ''refusing'' to give a single inch -- a far cry from the glory-seeking rookie back in Chapter 1.
* Chapter 278 gives us multiple moments from both sides:
** Re-Destro and Geten are going all out back at the mansion, with Edgeshot and Cementoss, respectively, facing off against them.
** Gigantomachia goes into total [[TheJuggernaut Juggernaut]] mode, tossing Mt. Lady aside and heading straight for Shigaraki's location with little pause.
** Kamui Woods and Midnight match pace with the big lug so the latter can use her Quirk to put him to sleep, only for Dabi to blast the current No. 7 hero out of the air and Mr. Compress to intercept the teacher with debris. The heroes didn't notice Shigaraki's lieutenants clustered on top of Gigantomachia, and it cost them.
** Even with her falling hundreds of feet, along with the aforementioned rubble, Midnight is still conscious and coherent enough to call Yaoyorozu. She instructs her student to make an anesthetic.
** Meanwhile, Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods latch onto Gigantomacia's foot, trying to slow him down even in their battered states.
** Yaoyorozu is worried, of course, having another moment of self-doubt, but then she rallies, making the anesthetic and beginning to formulate a plan with her classmates.
*** Even with what's going on, not a single one of the students makes a break for it. Like [[CowardlyLion Kaminari]] says, they're supposed to be heroes.
* Chapter 279 gives us Yaoyorozu's well thought out strategy to take Gigantomachia down, getting [[DishingOutDirt Mudman]] to trap the titan in a massive pit full of explosives while the strength Quirk people try to force his jaw open to feed him the sedative.
** One for the villains, for how effectively they're able to counter each part of Yaoyorozu's strategy.
** Mt.Lady [[HeroicSecondWind getting up]] and immediately forcing Gigantomachia's jaw open, squashing him down into the pit. She hasn't heard the plan, but has seen enough to figure out the basics, and what she can do to ensure they succeed.
* Chapter 280 gives us a retroactive one for Ashido. The villain who was looking for his master that she tricked by giving false directions? None other than Gigantomachia!
** After hope seems lost, who finally gets the sedative into Gigantomachia's mouth? [[ImplacableMan Red Riot: Kirishima!]] Grabbing Ashido's sedative as well as his own and going into his Unbreakable form, he climbs up the Rocky giant's arm[[note]]yes, that means he's gotten harder than Gigantomachia, as he's forcing handholds with his fingers[[/note]] to fling the bottles in. Keep in mind that it was only a couple of years ago that he was paralyzed at the mere sight of Gigantomachia, so it feels that much more rewarding to finally see him come full circle!
*** He also pushes Mina out from under Gigantomachia's hand right before she's about to be crushed, which contrasts beautifully with the shame he had over her having to stand up to that monster alone.
** We also cutaway to the fight between Endeavor and Shigaraki, and it seems that against all odds, Endeavor has him on the ropes!
** By the same token, Shigaraki's ShutUpKirk response to Endeavor.
--->'''Shigaraki''': You... Heroes... Hurt your own families... Just to help complete strangers! Dad told me that. You want ideals..? I've got 'em! I've had 'em.'''
* As of Chapter 281, Shigaraki demonstrates how far has come since the PsychopathicManchild he was at the start of the series by [[HannibalLecture laying out a coherent and perceptive ideology]] for the first time: that heroes simply pretend to promote justice, when they actually ignore too many societal issues instead of addressing them, which has resulted in creating the current CrapsaccharineWorld of the series.
-->'''Shigaraki''': You heroes pretend to be society's guardians. For generations, you pretended not to see those you couldn't protect and swept their pain under the rug. It's tainted everything you've built. That means your system's all rotten from the inside with maggots crawling out. It all builds up, little by little, over time. You've got the common trash, all too dependent on being protected. And the brave guardians who created the trash that need coddling. It's a corrupt, vicious cycle. Everything I've witnessed... this whole system you've built has always rejected me. Now I'm ready to reject it. That's why I destroy. That's why I took this power for myself. Simple enough, yeah? I don't care if you don't understand. That's what makes us... '''heroes and villains.'''
* Chapter 282 begins with Deku shattering Shigaraki's jaw with a 100% smash, fully intending to kill him. Shigaraki prevents further damage by grabbing Deku's arm with his teeth. He hurls a Quirk erasing bullet at Aizawa, who amputates his own leg to prevent his Quirk from being destroyed. Shoto arrives and staves off Shigaraki's rampage while Deku takes the opportunity to punch the villain in the stomach. He quickly saves Aizawa and Rock Lock.
* In Chapter 283, Midoriya manages to use Blackwhip in conjunction with Nana Shimura's Float Quirk, saving the other heroes from Shigaraki's Decay and taking his first step toward mastering the multiple Quirks contained in One For All.
* Chapters 284 and 285: Midoriya unleashes devastating attacks against Shigaraki, with no intention of sparing his arms or the villain. The scope is so great that massive blasts emanate from the blows, strongly reminiscent of All Might's most powerful attacks. And given how he still hasn't tapped into One For All's full power, that's saying a lot!
* Chapter 286: Midoriya is so enraged that he resorts to [[NowThatsUsingYourTeeth chomping]] Shigaraki's Forcible Quirk tentacles and snaps them, while sporting a [[GlowingEyesOfDoom monstrous pair of eyes]] that resemble those of the Nomu Hood. Tomura/All For One attempts to steal One For All but him and Midoriya are transported to the vestige world. The chapter ends with a WhamShot of Nana Shimura arriving to help Midoriya. And judging by her words, she's not alone, either.
* Chapter 287: Midoriya is not only saved by Nana but also All For One's brother. When All For One tries to take One For All, he resorts to his usual underhanded methods -- he insults and derides Midoriya, [[HannibalLecture claiming]] that his brother made a mistake in selecting him. The latter has [[ShutUpHannibal none of it]], and repels his big brother.
--> "''No. It wasn't [a mistake]. Someone who exploits people, like you, could never understand what drives this boy to shed blood. He rages for the sake of others. For them, he does his best until he can do no more. This young man is possessed by a drive to save others that eclipses all common understanding. Our power is his, and we shall follow him.''"
* Chapter 290:
** As Gigantomachia approaches, All For One comments inside Shigaraki's head that despite minimising the damage inflicted by Midoriya and Endeavor with a 'mutant' Quirk, Shigaraki is unable to move and the only way to achieve victory is to retreat.
** After five years and 133 chapters of speculation and [[AmbiguouslyRelated build-up]], we finally get the [[LongLostRelative long-anticipated revelation many fans have long suspected]]:
--->'''Dabi''': [[AntagonisticOffspring I have a great name. Call me]] '''[[MyGreatestFailure Toya]]'''.
*** The fact that this revelation ''still'' manages to pack an emotional wallop despite being [[CaptainObviousReveal an immensely popular fan theory]] really does speak volumes about how far Horikoshi has come as a writer since the series first began.
** Furthermore Dabi, with Sceptic's help, hacked the video airwaves and shared his life story all across Japan. Most likely ensuring that regardless of whether or not he wins his fight with Endeavor, his father's hero career will be forever tarnished.
* Chapter 291:
** Dabi proves he's put a lot of work into taking down not just Endeavor, but the entire Hero system: in his recording, he shows a DNA test result that proves a 99.9% match between them, a sample taken from the battle with Hood, and while acknowledging that a villain telling them this undermines credibility, he goes on to show ''edited footage of Hawks killing Twice''. Dabi even tacks on his (alleged) murder of Best Jeanist and the covered-up fact that the #2 Hero is the son of a notorious criminal. The finale is a HannibalLecture to the masses that their Heroes aren't the purehearted paragons the country sees them as.
** As Dabi prepares to [[{{Patricide}} kill Endeavor]], both he and Gigantomachia are restrained by several automated cable drums falling from the sky, all controlled by [[FakingTheDead Best Jeanist]] in a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Heroes]] moment. And to top it off, a stylish PreAssKickingOneLiner.
--->'''Best Jeanist''': Apologies for the delay! [[HesBack As of today, Best Jeanist is back on duty!]]
*** Even without his actions, Best Jeanist's perfectly-timed arrival acts as a massive ShutUpHannibal to Dabi's entire speech, casting doubt on everything he just said and protecting or salvaging the heroes' reputation. He's top three for a reason.
* Chapter 292:
** To further cement why he's the No. 3 Hero in Japan, Best Jeanist is able to use his Quirk, which All for One had dismissed as weak, to restrain Gigantomachia. Even if Machia has fallen back into standby mode, his sheer size makes that no small feat. And even after Shigaraki momentarily wakes up and orders Machia to break free, [[{{Determinator}} Jeanist does his best to keep the giant in place]].
** As the Nomus race toward the battlefield to engage Jeanist so that Gigantomachia can break free and escape with Shigaraki, things once again seem to have turned in the villains' favor. But just before the Nomus reach the preoccupied No. 3 Hero, [[TheCavalry Lemillion]] [[HesBack triumphantly]] [[DynamicEntry returns]], [[TheAce effortlessly]] [[BigDamnHeroes knocking out the attacking Nomu]] [[BattleCry while shouting PO-WERRR!]]. The look on Midoriya's face [[HopeBringer helps sell just how significant this turn is]].
* Chapter 293:
** A flashback shows how hard Eri was training to make her Quirk useful. Small wonder she was able to restore Lemillion's Quirk.
** Bakugo's BigDamnHeroes moment, saving Jeanist from a horde of Nomus with a chain reaction of explosions alongside Ingenium and Nejire Chan.
*** Worth mentioning is how Nejire was able to get back up from being hit with Dabi's fire with little worse for wear. She wasn't part of the Big 3 for nothing.
** Dabi's got Shoto in a chokehold and preparing to incinerate him with [[TakingYouWithMe a suicide attack]], all to twist the knife in front of a powerless Endeavor. But who comes to the rescue? None other than ''Deku himself,'' employing a Quirk in a creative fashion despite their present condition.
---> '''Deku''': Who cares if my arms and legs are done? Froppy style!!
** As Dabi rants about everything Endeavor's done, Deku decides to [[ShutUpHannibal chime in]] [[PatrickStewartSpeech with his own two cents]]:
---> '''Deku''': Sure, the past never dies! And that's why I'm watching Endeavor real hard as he [[TheAtoner tries to be better!]] And guess what?! ''You aren't Endeavor!!''
** Just as Gigantomachia starts to tear loose from Jeanist's bindings, Endeavor hits his HeroicSecondWind and ''rockets'' into the giant, sending him crashing back down.
** And the final kicker? Gigantomachia feels his strength sapping away...because the sedative that the rest of the team applied earlier ''finally'' kicked in! Who says the rest of the gang can't make a difference?
* Chapter 294:
** Best Jeanist keeps Gigantomachia restrained as the sedative begins to take effect, even while he starts coughing blood. This moment is made even better as he praises the efforts of every other hero and student who fought in the war, with their combined efforts presenting this opportunity at victory.
** Lemillion, Nejire, and Iida hold the line against Nomus to prevent them from attacking Best Jeanist. If Lemillion is correct, then he guesses that each one of the attacking Nomu are just as strong as the Nomu, Hood, who almost defeated Endeavor.
** Dabi decides to fall back with the others seeing as Endeavor isn't [[HeroicBSOD fully broken in spirit yet]]. When Shoto tries to stop him, the older brother blasts him unconscious with his own version of Jet Burn. Goes to show that even if Shoto is Endeavor's "masterpiece", [[FlawedPrototype Toya]] isn't some pushover in comparison.
** This chapter is nothing short of a Crowning Moment of Awesome for Mr Compress as he reaffirms his ambitions and dedication to his comrades in the League of Villains by pulling off a [[DeliberateInjuryGambit lethal and risky plan]] to free himself, Spinner, and Shigaraki from Best Jeanist's bindings.
*** First, he uses his Quirk to compress part of his lower body to untangle himself from his bindings, then uses it on Shigaraki and Spinner to free them. He then leaps up Gigantomachia's back effortlessly, despite his injury.
*** When Best Jeanist uses his Quirk to restrain Compress using his clothes, Compress uses his free hand to repeatedly tear at his clothing to remain free while still bleeding out.
*** With the last few chapters being epic reveals and turning points, Horikoshi still hasn't run out of surprises with another [[TheReveal big reveal]] no one saw coming. As Compress reaches the top of Gigantomachia, he reveals that he is the descendant of legendary villain, Oji Harima, The Peerless Thief. He then unmasks himself properly for the first time in the series, then uncompresses Shigaraki and Spinner with Lemillion charging to stop them as Gigantomachia's bindings start breaking off.
* Chapter 296:
** Even with all the destruction and despair, it should be noted that the bulk of the Paranormal Liberation Front has been arrested (16,929 members to be exact). [[WeakButSkilled Edgeshot]], the #4 Hero, singlehandedly defeated [[RankScalesWithAsskicking Re-Destro]] while [[DishingOutDirt Cementoss]] managed to trap [[AnIcePerson Geten]] for good before collapsing.
** Honestly, All For One hijacking Shigaraki's unconscious body after he collapses from the sheer beating he took is one for him, simply because has effectively cloned himself (the AFO in Shigaraki's body seems to be independent of the AFO currently in prison) and now that both the villains and heroes have wiped each other out, he's free to plan his own prison break.
* The prison break itself: Most people thought it'd be it's own arc, but All For One breaks out of prison literally just one chapter later (Chapter 297), brings as many villains as physically possible with him (including returning ones), and then orchestrates prison breaks across Japan to throw the now very weak Heroes off his trail.
* Chapter 304: The Fourth User of One For All, Hikage Shinomori, gets a moment for realizing he wasn't strong enough to defeat All For One and going into hiding to train and strengthen One For All. In fact, he is likely the only user of One For All to not have died at the hands of All For One, only dying due to an unknown side effect of One For All. The eighteen years he lived holding One For All gave his successors a far better chance at fighting back against All For One, as it's mentioned Daigoro and En faced All For One multiple times before he finally did them in.
* Chapter 305:
** Despite being reminded that Tomura Shigaraki was molded by All for One into a vile, hateful young man even ''before'' the latter possessed him, and that there may not ''be'' any saving him, Midoriya admits that while it may yet come to kill or be killed, he's ''still'' going to try and save Shigaraki. Despite all he's been through up till now, Deku's still the embodiment of hope and a worthy successor of One For All.
** Even more awesome? Despite this series not shying away from how harsh reality could be in a world of super-powers, all of One For All's previous wielders -- at least, the ones apart from the two who've remained silent up till now -- agree with Midoriya's line of thinking.
[[/folder]]

As mentioned above, Awesome moments for the Final Act Saga can be found [[Awesome/MyHeroAcademiaFinalActSaga here]].

** Gigantomachia goes into total {{Juggernaut}} mode, tossing Mt. Lady aside and heading straight for Shigaraki's location with little pause.

* The video of All Might's debut as a hero. Saving a hundred people and continuing to save more while telling everyone around that now that he's there, everything's going to be fine. It's no wonder Midoriya and so many other children like him look up to All Might.

* Principal Nedzu [[IncrediblyLamePun schooling]] Ashido and Kaminari, all without either being able to see him. Due to his quirk, High Specs, he's able to precisely knock down areas of buildings with a crane to cause chain reactions:

* Because of their behavior during the exam, Todoroki and Bakugo, along with Inasa Yoarashi have to survive a special trial along with Camie Utsushimi, who it turns out got swapped out during the actual exam and needs to make up as well. Their trial: tame the Precious Brats of Masegaki, a class full of precocious, misbehaving Quirk-powered brats. The point: they can't muscle their way out of this, and they have to think fast. So they take on the brats' problems one by one. A bunch of them decide to attack. The teens NoSell the assault and figure out who's calling the shots. While Yoarashi and Todoroki cooperate and appease most of the brats with an ice slide, Bakugo confronts the "boss" and (crossing with SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments) opens up that he shouldn't look down on people. It works. The brats listen to the teens and even chip in to clean up, helped along with encouraging hints. Gang Orca finally compliments them: ''now'' they get it.

** Camie's physical skills are impressive, especially considering she has a non-offensive Quirk. She hits Deku with a ball, is so fast he barely can keep up with her and she even manages to restrain him.

* Chapter 105: When battling against the Shiketsu High girl, Midoriya uses his analytical abilities to deduce that her Quirk allows her to shapeshift and ''foils'' her attempt to fool him by pretending to be Uraraka, as he quickly realizes the fake never used Zero Gravity.

* Tetsutetsu and Kendo knocking out Mustard and stopping the poisonous gas. Props to Kendo for coming up with an idea to use her enlarged hands to blow away the gas and thus give Tetsutetsu the opening for the final hit, where he shows some smarts by going for Mustard's mask; wearing a mask means Mustard's not immune to his own gas, so even if the blow didn't KO him, it would prevent him using his Quirk.

** Midoriya ''does'' end up passing -- not only that, he earned enough rescue points that he came in ''7th place'' for the entire exam. Out of the 40 students who were accepted into the hero course.