Izuku Midoriya starts My Hero Academia with no Quirk and a dream that everyone around him treats as impossible. By the end, he is the hero who finishes the fight All Might never could. What makes Deku the greatest hero in the series is not raw power. It is a pattern of choices, repeated across every arc, where he throws himself into danger because someone else needs saving.
Quick answer: Deku is treated as the story’s greatest hero because he consistently prioritizes saving others over his own safety, from rushing at a villain while quirkless to giving up One For All to defeat All For One. In canon, he currently ranks as the Number 4 Hero, as confirmed in the Eri One-Shot.
His body moved before his brain did: saving Bakugo from the slime villain
The very first episode sets the standard for everything that follows. When a sludge villain captures Katsuki Bakugo, Izuku has no powers and no plan. He still runs straight into the danger, and later admits his body moved on its own. All Might ends up making the actual rescue, but the moment matters because it shows Deku already thinks like a hero before he has any means to act like one.
That reckless run is exactly what convinces All Might. Winning over an ordinary pro hero is hard enough, but Deku impresses the greatest hero alive while carrying no Quirk at all. All Might tells him he can be a hero and later chooses him as his successor, handing over One For All, one of the strongest Quirks in existence. Everything else in Deku’s career grows out of that decision.
The U.A. entrance exam repeats the pattern with real stakes. Near the end of the test, a giant zero-point robot traps Ochaco Uraraka under debris. Deku has almost no points and barely understands his new power, but he uses One For All for the first time to destroy the machine and free her. All Might points out that the exam was secretly grading self-sacrifice, and Deku was the one applicant who showed it.
Changing the mind of the Hero Killer
Stain built his entire crusade on the belief that almost no one deserves the title of hero. He had killed and injured many pros, including Iida’s brother, all in the name of exposing fakes. Then he fought Izuku. Even after being captured, Stain walked away convinced that Deku was different, someone genuinely worthy of following All Might. Getting the Hero Killer to acknowledge you is one of the clearest early signs that Deku is the real thing.
The confrontation happens because Deku and Todoroki refuse to leave Iida alone against a killer. Iida insists he does not need help, but Deku decides that offering help even when it is not asked for is part of being a hero. Breaking that unspoken rule to reach a friend in danger is the same instinct that drives his biggest later choices.
Breaking every bone for Kota against Muscular
Kota hated heroes. Both his parents died on the job, and that loss turned into resentment for the whole profession. During the League of Villains’ attack on the summer training camp, Kota ends up cornered by Muscular, a villain far beyond Deku’s level at the time. Deku steps in anyway, pushing One For All past its limit and shattering his own bones to keep a child he barely knows alive.
The finishing blow, a 1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash, tears through Muscular’s layered muscle fibers and ends the fight. More importantly, it turns Kota from a hero-hater into Deku’s number one supporter in real time. The victory shows what Deku is willing to spend to protect someone who cannot protect themselves.
Ignoring orders to rescue Bakugo from the League of Villains
When the League of Villains kidnaps Bakugo, the students are told plainly to stay out of it. The enemies are too strong and far above their level. Deku pushes forward regardless and leads his friends to go after Bakugo anyway. Without that stubbornness, Bakugo likely would not have been recovered. It is another case where Deku decides that the right outcome is worth breaking the rules for.
Saving Eri and defying Sir Nighteye’s prediction
Eri sits at the center of the Shie Hassaikai arc. Abused by her captors and used as a tool, she had spent her life waiting for a rescue that never came. Deku and Mirio are the ones who decide to help her, which leads to the raid on Overhaul’s hideout. Mirio plays a huge part in reaching her, but it is Deku who borrows Eri’s power to bring down Chisaki for good.
Sir Nighteye’s Foresight predicted Deku’s death in that battle. Deku charges ahead anyway, with Eri on his back rewinding the damage One For All does to his body. When he wins, he does more than beat Overhaul. He proves that fate is not fixed and that he controls his own path, while giving Eri her first real sense of safety.
Trying to save the villain the world abandoned
Shigaraki is the main antagonist and Deku’s fated rival, yet the story frames him as a child the world failed. Tenko started out much like Izuku, but where Deku got All Might’s outstretched hand, Tenko never got anyone’s. Deku is the one hero who looks at Shigaraki and still sees the boy screaming to be saved underneath.
Because he swore to save everyone, Deku tries to save Shigaraki even after all the harm he has caused. That refusal to write anyone off, even his greatest enemy, is what separates his idea of heroism from simple victory. It is also why the finale hits so hard when the choice becomes impossible.
Giving up One For All to beat All For One
The Final War arc is where everything comes together. Deku first fights Shigaraki, and after realizing normal attacks will not work, he and the Vestiges spend One For All bit by bit to break through and briefly free Shigaraki from All For One’s grip. All For One eventually seizes Shigaraki’s body completely, taking the vessel he always wanted.
Then Deku makes the choice almost no one in his place would. With help from the heroes at his side and the last of his energy, he gives up the power of One For All forever to destroy All For One for good. It is the job All Might failed to finish years earlier, and Deku completes it. He trades away his hero career and nearly everything he had built, all so the people around him could keep smiling.
Every defining Deku moment at a glance
| Moment | Who he saved | What it proved |
|---|---|---|
| Sludge villain rescue | Bakugo | Acted heroically while quirkless |
| Impressing All Might | — | Earned One For All as successor |
| U.A. entrance exam | Uraraka | Put rescue over passing the test |
| Hero Killer fight | Iida | Won over Stain’s respect |
| Training camp | Kota | Broke his own body against Muscular |
| Kamino rescue | Bakugo | Defied orders to bring him back |
| Shie Hassaikai raid | Eri | Defeated Overhaul and beat fate |
| Final War | Shigaraki | Gave up One For All to end All For One |
There is a detail that surprises a lot of fans. Deku does not end the story ranked as the world’s Number 1. In current canon, confirmed in the Eri One-Shot, he sits at Number 4. That number matters less than the reason the series keeps pointing to. Denki Kaminari puts it best late in the finale, noting that Deku never gave the same untouchable comfort All Might did, but watching him get up again and again pushed everyone else to stand and act instead of waiting to be rescued. All Might was a Symbol of Peace people leaned on. Deku became a spark that made other people move. That is the version of greatness the story ultimately rewards, and it is why, in the eyes of the fans and All Might himself, Izuku Midoriya is the greatest hero it ever produced.
