Things Deku Can Do That All Might Can’t In MHA

My Hero Academia features a large cast of characters that have formed endearing relationships with each other, and the friendship between Izuku Midoriya and Toshinori Yagi (AKA All Might) is one of the absolute best examples. After all, Deku not only got to inherit the quirk of Japan’s #1 Pro Hero, but he also became his student, his protégé, and even something of an adoptive son to him.

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But, no matter how close Izuku is to All Might, he never became a carbon copy of his idol: they are both very different Pro Heroes in a lot of different aspects, like the way they use the One for All quirk, their approach toward fighting villains, and more. At the end of the day, there are a lot of things Deku can do that All Might can’t, and these are some of the most prominent examples.

1

Applying One For All In Different Ways

Full Cowl Is A Brilliant Technique That’s 100% Exclusive To Deku

All Might was always quite simple when it came to putting his powerful One for All quirk to use. He would mainly unleash devastating punches, create wind streams, and maybe even jump at high altitudes. Of course, these are all completely valid applications, especially since they allowed him to become the Symbol of Peace, but Deku couldn’t go along the same easy route.

Since he had a harder time adapting his body to the immense power of One for All, Deku had to be way more cautious and smarter with the ways he applied it to his body, which was also especially useful for hiding his inherited quirk from his classmates and teachers. Fortunately, Gran Torino helped him come up with the Full Cowl technique, which allowed Deku to evenly spread the power of One for All throughout his body, which in turn increased his speed and enhanced his physical strength without destroying his limbs.

2

Combining One For All With Support Items

All Might Didn’t Need To Use Accessories When He Was A Young Pro Hero

Since All Might adapted so quickly to his quirk and used it in a much more straightforward way, he never really needed to use support items like many other Pro Heroes. It was only after he lost One for All that a quirkless Toshinori Yagi began using different equipment more often, like Hercules, his intelligent armored car, and his incredibly useful “Armored All Might” battle armor.

On the other hand, Deku managed to use his body’s weaknesses to One for All as an unexpected advantage that inspired him to combine his great power with the practicality of support items. The brilliant Hatsune Mei created his Iron Soles, which enhanced the power of his kicks, and his Air Force Gloves, which allowed him to shoot devastating bullets of pressurized air. All Might didn’t really use his legs in battle, nor did he have any type of long-range projectile, so these support items gave Deku more options.

3

Talking To The One For All Vestiges

All Might Was Never Able To Communicate With Previous Users

There’s no denying that One for All is a fascinating quirk that stockpiled and transferred the combined strength of all its users to the next one. It’s also no surprise that it allowed All Might to become so incredibly powerful, seeing as he was the seventh person to wield it, but he never found out that the spirits of all previous One for All users (also known as vestiges) were always residing inside his quirk.

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Unlike his mentor, Izuku Midoriya was eventually able to reach the vestiges and communicate with them, who also became like new teachers for him, all while he learned all about their personal life stories and quirks. Furthermore, this unique relationship between Deku and the One for All vestiges also allowed him to fully grasp how important his role in the war against All for One was.

4

Using More Than One Quirk At The Same Time

Deku Was Able To Unlock The Other Six Quirks Inside One For All

Both All Might and Deku were born quirkless, which gave them a significant advantage over all the other One for All users, whose bodies quickly deteriorated because they couldn’t hold more than one quirk at the same time for very long. However, when Deku made contact with the vestiges, he also unlocked an incredibly useful new power: the ability to use all of their quirks.

He began with Daigoro Banjo’s Blackwhip, he later acquired Nana Shimura’s Float, and he eventually mastered the six quirks residing inside One for All, all while he directly interacted with their original users. This development was so far outside All Might’s knowledge that he had to ask other students with similar quirks (like Sero and Uraraka) to teach Deku how to properly wield them.

5

Repeatedly Interacting With His Mentor

Deku Was Able To Ask His Teacher For Advice Whenever He Wanted

Many years in the past, a young Toshinori Yagi inherited One for All from the legendary Nana Shimura, who became his teacher and taught him almost everything he needed to know about this powerful new quirk (with some assistance from Gran Torino, of course). Unfortunately, Nana was eventually killed by All For One, and All Might had to keep growing up as a Pro Hero without talking to his beloved master and mother figure ever again.

Of course, Izuku was All Might’s successor and thus, their relationship was very similar to Toshinori and Nana’s. The main difference is that Deku’s mentor was able to defeat All for One and retire before he was killed on the battlefield, which allowed him to keep teaching and advising his protégé as many times as he wanted, whenever it was necessary. Ironically enough, this constant flow of new knowledge from his mentor was one of the key things that helped Deku become such a great Pro Hero and even surpass All Might in many ways.

6

Relying On Other Heroes

All Might Was Always Able To Fight Villains By Himself

Everybody knows that All Might was such an incredibly powerful Pro Hero that most of the time he was able to defeat strong villains all by himself, without even needing assistance from his fellow Pro Heroes. This was perfectly exemplified in the spin-off My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, which featured several story arcs that were solved the moment All Might arrived on the scene.

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In comparison, Deku has always been more of a team player who didn’t have any problems relying on his friends on the battlefield. Of course, he wasn’t able to fight by himself at the beginning of his journey because he was nowhere near as powerful as All Might, but it was a blessing in disguise because it still allowed him to fight on equal terms alongside some of his most trustworthy and strong allies, like Katsuki Bakugo, Shoto Todoroki or Ochaco Uraraka. If that wasn’t enough, Deku needed the assistance of pretty much all of his friends and allies in the final battle against Tomura Shigaraki.

7

Understanding The Villains On A Personal Level

Deku Always Tried To Empathize With The Villains He Faced

All Might has always been more of a “punch first, ask questions later” type of Pro Hero, who instinctively used his immense power to fight and defeat dangerous villains without ever trying to understand why and how they ended up in that position. This didn’t stop him from becoming a respected Pro Hero and the Symbol of Peace, but it also made him oblivious to some of the darker and more unfair aspects of Japan’s hero society.

On the other hand, Deku’s approach to fighting villains was quite different since he was more open to the idea of listening to them, empathizing with their struggles, and even trying to redeem them in some way. He did this on many occasions with even the most dangerous antagonists, like Gentle Criminal, Himiko Toga, or Tomura Shigaraki himself. This didn’t mean that he was always going to forgive them, but the least he could do was try to understand their personal stories and motives. Deku’s kind attitude is one of the many things that cemented him as a legendary Pro Hero who was able to change society for the better, and even All Might was eventually able to learn that valuable skill from him. At the end of the day, it was the teacher who learned from his student.