The Role Of Deku’s Support Items in Mastering One For All

Summary

• Support items are crucial for enhancing quirks, aiding hero combat, and mitigating drawbacks.
• Deku’s support items like Iron Soles, Air Force Gloves, and Mid-Gauntlet optimize One For All.
• Deku’s gradual use of support items showcases development in mastering One For All’s power.

Throughout its seven seasons, My Hero Academia has clearly cemented its support items as an essential element for quirks. From Bakugo’s Gauntlets to Kaminari’s Sharpshooter Gear, each hero has been able to maximize the potential of their quirk through the use of support items. The very same notion applies to Deku, My Hero Academia’s titular character, and his mastery over the all-powerful quirk known as One For All.

While One For All is an incredibly powerful quirk on its own that requires little to no support items, as seen in the case of All Might, Deku’s weak body could not keep up with the quirk’s strain. To mitigate this issue, Deku has received several support items throughout My Hero Academia, whether it’s Mei Hatsume’s Air Force Gloves or Melissa Sheild’s Full Gauntlet. These support items have played a crucial role in allowing Deku to master One For All, albeit in a unique way.

The Role Of Support items

Support Items Are a Crucial Aspect of Hero Work

Support items have long been deemed a crucial element for heroes and their quirks, as this equipment serves as an add-on to quirks to streamline their usage. Support equipment comes in many forms, with some items serving as a boost to existing quirks, while others offer a ledge to heroes to make up for the drawbacks of their quirks. In some cases, support items aren’t related to the quirks at all, such as Eraser Head’s Capturing Weapon that serves as a close-range combat tool.

Deku’s support items serve both purposes, with items such as Iron Soles, Air Force Gloves, and Mid-Gauntlet maximizing One For All’s potential, all while reducing its devastating drawbacks to Deku’s body. These items were all specially designed with Deku’s fighting style in mind, though One For All’s destructive power was also taken into account. Throughout Deku’s training, these support items have played a crucial role in aiding his quirk development, in-turn maximizing his usage of One For All’s power.

Armor-Plated Iron Soles

Deku’s Very First Specialized Support Item

Iron Soles were one of the first support items specifically designed for Deku, all while keeping One For All’s destructive force in mind. Developed by Mei Hatsume, Iron Soles serve as an armor of sorts for his legs, meaning these cleats minimize the rebound effect of his Shoot Style on his body. However, there’s another added function to the item, as the toes of Iron Soles spring out whenever Deku lands a blow, adding a sort of double impact on his opponents.

Iron Soles were developed specifically for Deku’s Full-Cowl Shoot Style, an ultimate move that revolves around releasing One For All in a powerful shock wave through his legs. Since this move puts an immense strain on Deku’s legs, Mei Hatsume developed Iron Soles to combat this debilitating drawback, while simultaneously boosting the impact of his Shoot Style with the added metal toes that spring out for a blowback motion.

The addition of Iron Soles to Deku’s hero costume and overall arsenal was rather significant, as this marked the beginning of Deku’s optimization of One For All through the use of support items. With armor-plated Iron Soles, Deku was finally able to land devastating blows on opponents without suffering from the debilitating drawbacks of One For All on his body. In a way, Iron Soles opened up new avenues for support items to make One For All more effective for Deku’s fighting style.

Air Force Gloves

Turning One For All Into a Long-Range Quirk

Another one of Mei Hatsume’s inventions, the Air Force Gloves were engineered based on Deku’s requests for upgrades to his hero costume and support equipment. These support gloves were developed to funnel One For All’s wind blasts in a single area, resulting in a more concussive blast without any stress on Deku’s hands and fingers. While Deku can still use wind blasts without support gloves, the Air Force Gloves add a protective layer to his fingers, all while increasing his firepower by several folds

I’m not sure how much it’ll help, but with one of my babies, you should be able to fire them like shots! – Mei Hatsume

The Air Force Gloves remained an integral part of Deku’s hero costume till the Paranormal Liberation War, as the support item was destroyed during this large-scale conflict. Deku may have moved on from this item, yet the Air Force Gloves played a major role in allowing Deku to use One For All effectively without putting a strain on his hands. It’s safe to say that these support gloves directly influenced Deku’s mastery over his Full Cowl Shoot Style, a unique use of One For All that uses blasts of wind to debilitate opponents.

Full Gauntlet

Melissa Shield’s Prized Invention

Introduced in the My Hero Academia: Two Heroes movie, the Full Gauntlet is a specialized support equipment engineered by Melissa Shield, a genius inventor from America. The Full Gauntlet takes on the form of a small band in its sealed form, but once activated, it covers the user’s hands and forearms. Despite its meager size, the Full Gauntlet allowed Deku to use three One For All Smashes at 100 percent, a feat that would normally leave Deku’s body entirely paralyzed.

This support equipment essentially takes off the stress on Deku’s body by acting as a buffer, along with increasing the impact of his attacks. It also allowed Deku to freely use One For All below 100 percent, making his Full Cowl attacks significantly more potent. Despite being destroyed at the conclusion of the My Hero Academia: Two Heroes film, the Full Gauntlet served as a basis for the Mid-Gauntlet later witnessed in My Hero Academia’s final war arc.

In a way, the Full Gauntlet served as an initial framework for the more compact Mid-Gauntlet to take center stage down the line. Before the introduction of this support item, Deku’s Smash attacks relied entirely on his own strength, leading to the rebound injuring his body significantly. However, the Full Gauntlet paved the way for support items to aid Deku’s One For All Smash attacks, in-turn reducing the toll on his body and maximizing his quirk potential.

Mid-Gauntlet

The Latest Support Item In Deku’s Arsenal

The Mid-Gauntlet is the latest support item to be added to Deku’s hero costume in My Hero Academia. Imported directly from America, the Mid-Gauntlet works on a similar principle to the Full Gauntlet, albeit at a slightly lower potency. Mid-Gauntlet reinforces the user’s body overall, in-turn reducing recoil and drawbacks of any strength-based quirk on the body. For Deku, the support item reduces the strain of One For All, coupled with strengthening his Smash attacks.

They provide support all over your body, but they can’t withstand 100% power – All Might

Unlike the Full Gauntlet, the Mid-Gauntlet cannot sustain One For All at 100 percent, as such an immense force would shatter the support item instantly. The original Mid-Gauntlets from America were destroyed during the fight against Lady Nagant. However, Mei Hatsume was able to repair and upgrade the Mid-Gauntlet by merging the item with Deku’s former Air Force Gloves, resulting in a much stronger hybrid support item.

The Mid-Gauntlet has played a crucial role in Deku’s fights in the final war arc. By strengthening his body and protecting him against the rebound effect of One For All and its previous users’ quirks, Deku has been able to stand his ground against Tomura Shigaraki and the rest of My Hero Academia’s endgame villains. While the full extent of One For All in the hands of Deku is yet to be witnessed, there’s no denying that these support items have allowed him to stand on par with his antagonistic counterparts, along with mastering the many complexities of One For All.

My Hero Academia is available to stream on Prime Video.