4 iconic comebacks · ranked by impact · verified episode numbers
Muscular overpowers everyone and nearly kills Kota. Deku uses One For All at 100% — destroying both his arms — in a last-ditch punch that sends Muscular through a cliff face. He cannot move his arms after. He still holds himself up.
Why it lands: Deku breaking every bone in his body by choice, for a child he just met. The purest expression of his heroism.
All Might is visibly losing his power mid-fight, his muscle form collapsing mid-battle on live television. The world watches. Then he declares: 'I am here.' He gathers everything left in his body and delivers the United States of SMASH — his final attack, forever spending his power to protect everyone.
Why it lands: The Symbol of Peace burns out in front of the world. Every person watching cried. Characters and audience alike.
Shigaraki is about to kill Deku. Bakugo — the boy who has tormented Deku for most of their lives — flies between them and takes the attack himself. Then, barely alive, tells Deku to win. The bully's redemption arc ends with his near-death for the boy he bullied.
Why it lands: The full weight of years of character development landing in a single act. Bakugo's entire arc paid off in one second.
Todoroki has refused to use his left-side fire (his father's power) his entire career. Deku screams at him that it's his power — not Endeavor's. Todoroki ignites his fire side for the first time and the arena heats to an uncomfortable temperature in seconds.
Why it lands: A boy reclaiming something stolen from him by his father. The most emotionally clean comeback in the show.
Episode numbers verified against the aired broadcast order. My Hero Academia is the property of its respective creators.