My Hero Academia theory proves why Midoriya's own quirk would have made him the next Shigaraki

Izuku Midoriya, aka Deku, is one of the most beloved characters of My Hero Academia. Serving as the protagonist of the series, Midoriya is the embodiment of the classic hero archetype. Despite being born Quirkless, he possessed a strong desire to go out of his way to help people in need. This desire to help people is what drew All Might's attention to him.

On the other hand, Tomura Shigaraki is the complete opposite of Midoriya. He is a ruthless and sadistic villain who would stop at nothing to bring the hero society to its knees. As one can see, Midoriya and Shigaraki represent contrasting sides of the hero-villain spectrum in My Hero Academia.

According to an interesting fan theory, if Midoriya was born with a Quirk, it might have led him down a dark path and resulted in him becoming a villain like Shigaraki.

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Izuku Midoriya's inherited Quirk might have made him a terrifying villain in My Hero Academia

Among the vast cast of characters in My Hero Academia, Izuku Midoriya and Tomura Shigaraki stand as two of the most compelling characters of the series. On one hand, Midoriya's journey in the story highlights his compassion and unfaltering determination to selflessly help others, even at the risk of his own life.

On the other hand, Tomura Shigaraki, aka Tenko Shimura, represents the antithesis of heroism. Serving as the leader of the League of Villains and one of the primary antagonists of the series, Shigaraki's journey in the narrative is characterized by his nihilistic views and a deep-rooted hatred for the hero society that had failed him when he was a child.

Due to his traumatic past, where he unintentionally caused the death of his entire family, Shigaraki ended up with a strong disdain for the hero-centric world and sought to destroy it all.

According to a popular My Hero Academia theory, had Deku been born with an inherited Quirk, he would have sooner or later turned into a villain like Shigaraki.

The theory talks about the Quirks of Midoriya's parents, and what would have happened if he had acquired a Quirk that combined the features of his parents' powers.

Deku vs Shigaraki as seen in My Hero Academia season 6 (image via Studio Bones)

While Midoriya's mother has the ability to pull small objects towards her, his father had a rather powerful ability involving fire breath. Instead of being born Quirkless, there's a chance that Midoriya might have inherited a combination of the two Quirks.

If his parents' Quirks were to be combined, it might have given him an ability that, although not as powerful as Shigaraki's Quirk, would have still led him down a dark path.

The theory further states that the mixture of the two Quirks might have resulted in an ability to set small objects on fire. It's hard to see how possessing such an ability would have enabled Midoriya to turn out to be the hero he is today, as it would have caused more harm than good.

In fact, it would be viewed as an inferior version of Endeavor's fire abilities. Thereby, it could have led to him either not becoming a hero at all, or become a villain after being relentlessly bullied by Bakugo.

Izuku Midoriya as seen in My Hero Academia(image source Studio Bones)

Furthermore, it would have resulted in him being recruited by All For One sooner or later, who would be quick to notice Midoriya's determination and resentment from failing to become a hero.

From thereon, instead of becoming 'the next Shigaraki', he could have become All For One's right hand man, who would torture his victims by lighting small parts of their bodies on fire. While not an extremely powerful ability, it certainly would be a hassle if he could set fire to random parts of his opponent's body parts.

It's sometimes easy to think that things could have turned out very differently had Midoriya been born with a power instead of being powerless. Although majority of times he might not have turned out to be a villain, there's always a possibility of things taking a wrong turn.

For example, having a power that does more harm than good, thereby crushing one's ambitions of becoming a hero and being constantly bullied for it might have certainly set someone on a dark path.

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Final thoughts

Throughout the entirety of My Hero Academia, Izuku Midoriya stands as a beacon of hope for his allies. His inherent kindness and sense of responsibility often leads him to see potential for redemption even in his adversaries.

Fans can thereby be thankful that Midoriya ended up as a hero that the world would need in its darkest hour, as a shining beacon of light that brings hope to the hero society.