My Hero Academia ended on a bittersweet note when protagonist Izuku Midoriya/Deku lost the power of One For All, which had been his main weapon until that point. Even if One For All felt like sheer plot armor at times, it was still an inspiring symbol of how far Deku could go as an underdog whose powers were better late than never. Now it’s all over, since One For All is gone and won’t come back, but not all is lost for Deku the hero, not even by a long shot.
The new Ultra Age fanbook for My Hero Academia expands on the ending of the original manga, with author Kohei Horikoshi adding a few key notes about Deku’s latest hero costume. This costume, which has yet to appear in any serious on-screen fights, is a high-tech costume which helps get Deku back in the game and puts him on equal footing with his former classmates. Now, My Hero Academia fans wish to hear these exciting details and see what they say about Deku’s Quirk and lack thereof.
How Does Deku's New Hero Costume Function?
Deku Has an Enhanced Version of the Hercules Suit
Deku’s final hero costume was only briefly shown in Chapter 430 of the My Hero Academia manga, with Deku donning his hero costume right before he leaped into action alongside his 19 former classmates to end the manga on a cheerful note. It was cathartic to see Deku the Quirkless hero turned teacher rejoin his Class 1-A peers as an equal, but there is more to that scene than emotional satisfaction and a renewed sense of togetherness. Manga readers still want to know the hard details of what exactly Deku is doing. Manga like My Hero Academia thrive and feel more immersive when the narrative explains exactly how various Quirks, support items, and even weapons function. What is Deku’s new hero costume capable of?
So far, the known details are far from exhaustive, but they still give fans hope that Deku is still fighting the same fight even with no Quirk to call his own. Overall, Deku’s high-tech hero costume is designed to emulate the functions One For All once had, including the multiple Quirks which were imprinted into it from previous users, such as the Blackwhip Quirk. Horikoshi focused on the idea of Blackwhip, in particular, describing the suit’s extendable cables which function the same way Blackwhip once did. Few other exact details are known, but Horikoshi did say the costume is a prototype capable of combining «various abilities,» so this suit is certainly more than just Blackwhip in suit form. The wording suggests three or more «Quirk» functions built into this suit, and ideally, the number will be as close as possible to the full seven Quirks once had access to.
Fans may also note that while this suit’s maximum power hasn’t yet been established, fans can rest assured it’s hugely powerful, which is promising for Deku’s return in the pro hero industry. All Might himself noted how technology had already progressed a great deal ever since the days of «Iron Might,» so most likely, Deku is even stronger than that in his new costume. At the very least, fans know Deku became the 4th most powerful pro hero of all, competing with the likes of Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki, among others. The mere fact Deku is the 4th-ranked hero with zero Quirks shows how powerful his suit is, which is certainly rooted in its high-tech mimicry of One For All.
Deku's Newest Pro Hero Suit Gives Hope for Other Prospective Heroes
Technology Is Now a Quirk in Its Own Right
The power and features of Deku’s brand-new pro hero suit is an encouraging sign not just for himself, but for anyone who has the heart but not the Quirk to be a pro hero. It’s not even a new idea, since All Might once wore the Hercules combat suit so he could slow down his nemesis, All For One, on the field of battle. The Hercules suit was impressive, mimicking many of Class 1-A’s Quirks to hold off the Symbol of Evil and weaken him, and Deku’s new costume is even stronger than that. If Deku’s brand-new suit can eclipse a high-tech suit that pummeled All For One, then it’s clear being born with a Quirk is no longer the sole route to becoming a worthy pro hero. Quirks still matter a great deal, especially since they keep getting stronger over the years, but that high bar isn’t impossible to clear if technology is involved.
Even if Quirks keep getting stronger over time and the percentage of people born with no Quirks keeps decreasing, there will still be some people out there who have the heart but not the Quirk to be a pro hero. Such individuals may have a weak Quirk or none at all, but if they have the courage, idealism, and willpower to fight crime as a hero, they deserve an alternate route into the pro hero industry. Those people are all the next Deku, needing only a powerful hero costume and someone who believes in them so they can launch their own crime-fighting career. These high-tech suits are probably rare and expensive, and not just anyone who adores pro heroes should get one. Still, there may be a way to bring those suits to the few worthy individuals who have everything but a strong Quirk to be a hero. Dai, the boy whom Deku sympathizes with in My Hero Academia‘s closing scenes, could possibly get a suit.
If people like Deku can get such a powerful pro hero suit to match heroes with strong Quirks, then that may help reduce the instances of cases like Gentle Criminal’s own. Gentle Criminal, once known as Danjuro Tobita, had the will but not the Quirk power needed to become a pro hero, so he became a bitter washout who resorted to petty crime to make something of himself. Powered suits like Deku’s can give the likes of Gentle Criminal a second chance and prevent bitter washouts from retaliating against a system that rejected them. Similarly, such suits would help vigilantes like Koichi Haimawari become proper pro heroes without resorting to questionable vigilantism.
Deku's Pro Hero Suit Calls One For All Into Question
Deku Didn't Always Need a Quirk to Be a Hero
Another interesting factor about Deku’s high-tech hero suit isn’t just how it works or how it can revive One For All in machine form, but what this suit says about Deku’s need for Quirks. Since Deku’s new suit is so powerful and effective, some fans may wonder: did Deku ever need the power of One For All to begin with? Even before Deku was seen in this latest suit, some My Hero Academia fans wondered if Deku really needed a Quirk of his own to follow his heart and become a worthy hero. After all, Deku was burdened with a Quirk that was too strong for him to use at first, and he had to train just to wield it safely, let alone develop moves with it. Having One For All almost felt like it took something away from Deku, distracting him from developing his own, safer fighting style. Deku could have been different without One For All, perhaps better on some levels.
Granted, there were a few scenes where Deku definitely needed One For All, such as when he defeated Overhaul and when he sacrificed One For All to destroy Tomura Shigaraki when no one else could. Aside from those plot-heavy moments where Deku needed to win with special protagonist powers, though, the case for Deku having One For All actually wasn’t that strong in the story. Now, with Deku having a powerful suit which replicates One For All’s power so effectively, One For All is even more diminished. The suit is no doubt safer than any Quirk, and if Deku never had One For All, he still could have trained to use a suit like this one.
The existence of this powerful suit makes Deku 50/50 between needing a Quirk and not needing one, which balances him well. Deku is thus an effective case for each side, validating both heroic Quirk users and Quirkless people who just need a little extra help being heroes. In turn, this balances the entire world of My Hero Academia, where Quirks mean a lot — but they don’t mean everything.
