For the past few years, My Hero Academia has been going through its final arc. Izuku Midoriya, AKA Deku, and the rest of Hero Society are fighting Tomura Shigaraki, All For One and The League of Villains in one intense final battle, while this epic story is slowly coming to an end.

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After all, author Kohei Horikoshi has been developing this world and its characters for almost ten years and, just like every other Shōnen manga, there are many different possibilities for how everything is going to wrap up. Fans of the series have been thinking up many different possible endings for My Hero Academia, but nobody knows how exactly it is going to unfold. These are some of the most prominent theories.

Updated April 26, 2024 by Julián Fernández Loyarte: Several more chapters have been released and the stakes for the ending of My Hero Academia have changed completely. But there is still a long way to go before the end, so this article has been updated greatly to represent the recent developments in the manga.

The arrival of the rest of Class 1-A to the battlefield has also altered the possible conclusion of the series, so a new entry has been added to reflect that.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

1 Deku Kills All For One, And Saves Shigaraki

Izuku Fulfills His Promise

One of the most important questions about the conclusion of My Hero Academia is how exactly is Deku going to stop Shigaraki. Especially after he has been manipulated by All For One for so many years? The series has addressed this dilemma in the past, which may have given readers a few hints about what exactly is going to happen between this hero and villain duo.

Izuku Midoriya is aware of how much suffering exists within Shigaraki, and it’s likely he’ll use this opportunity to help him heal and even join forces to defeat All For One together. This would be comparable to many arcs in other Shōnen manga (mainly Naruto) in which the hero talks to the villain to redeem them. So, some fans may see this as a clichéd ending.

On top of that, it has recently been revealed that All For One manipulated Shigaraki's entire life, so he would end up becoming the fearsome villain that he is now. It was all a ploy to take over his body to get a second chance at fulfilling his evil plans and to get even more powerful. The soul of Shigaraki is currently lost within his own body, so there's a big possibility that Deku will have to kill All For One and free Shigaraki's soul in the process, which seems to be the most likely resolution of this devastating development.

2 Deku Only Saves Tenko Shimura

Izuku Does What He Must

Back when Deku discussed Shigaraki’s defeat with the One For All vestiges, a morbid option arose. Since the evil villain had killed so many people and done so much harm to the world, maybe killing him would be the only possible option. This, of course, means that the protagonist has a very tough decision in front of him, especially for such a kind-hearted character who has never killed a villain yet.

But the series has made a point to show that, deep inside Tomura Shigaraki, a fragment of his original and more innocent personality, Tenko Shimura, remains. This has led to many popular theories about Izuku somehow getting inside the villain’s mind and saving him from the inside, while also killing his physical body that has already been corrupted by All For One. This would be one of the most logical endings, as it would align with the recurring themes of the series.

Now that All For One is completely taking over Shigaraki's body, this conclusion seems to be even more likely. While Deku might kill the villain and save Shigaraki's body, there's also a huge possibility that he'll be forced to destroy both of them to put a stop to All For One, killing Tomura Shigaraki at the same time. However, if Deku also gets a last chance to talk and make amends with his innocent soul AKA "Tenko Shimura," it's possible that he'll be saved before his real self's eventual demise.

3 Deku’s Sacrifice

Izuku Saves Everyone But Himself

While there’s a big possibility of the protagonist killing the main villain in one way or another, the likelihood of Izuku Midoriya killing himself to save everyone is also quite big. It wouldn’t be too far out to see Deku somehow making a big heroic sacrifice that would take out Shigaraki, but end his life in the process. This would be a more balanced way of ending the lives of both characters.

In the past, the My Hero Academia series has proven that Deku’s heroic ideals can sometimes go too far to save people and that he can recklessly prioritize the lives of others before his health and safety. So a big sacrifice isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility, even if the concept of a protagonist dying isn’t a common trope in this genre.

4 Farewell, One For All

The End of A Long Running Rivalry

At one point in the story of My Hero Academia, the vestiges inside One For All reveal to Deku that he and All Might managed to survive for many years because they were quirkless since those born with quirks would have shorter lifespans after inheriting One For All. It’s also important to keep in mind that this quirk was accidentally created by All For One when he tried to give a quirk to his brother, whom he thought was quirkless.

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This has led many people to believe that Izuku Midoriya will defeat Tomura Shigaraki, but may also sacrifice One For All in the process. This would be similar to how Star and Stripe had to sacrifice her quirk, New Order, to weaken Shigaraki. After all, this quirk exists mostly to defeat All For One, so it would fulfill its objective after the final battle.

Recent developments in the manga have confirmed that Deku has already lost some of the quirks from One For All's vestiges, as he needed to sacrifice them to enter Shigaraki's consciousness. He currently only wields the basic version of All For One, so the possibility of permanently losing everything and ending the series as a quirkless person once again is quite high. Even if he gets them back thanks to Eri's Rewind, this would be a temporary solution, and he'd end up losing them again at the end of the battle.

5 The Entire Class Becomes The #1 Pro Heroes Together

Midoriya Shares This Prestigious Title With His Friends, Allies And Classmates

One of the most iconic lines in all of My Hero Academia comes from its very first chapter, as Deku (in the role of the narrator) says: "This is the story of how I became the greatest hero," which alluded to the fact that he would become the #1 Hero of Japan (or maybe even the world) at some point before the series' conclusion. But the meaning of this line changed completely in Chapter 324 when the narrating Deku clarified that "This is the story of how we all became the greatest heroes," which was quite intriguing.

While at the time this was a reference to how the students of Class 1-A were helping each other to save the country and improve their flawed hero society, the meaning of this line has been altered even further in the most recent chapters. After Deku was ruthlessly maimed by All For One, most of his friends, classmates, and even teachers from U.A. High School came to his aid, including Mineta, Kaminari, Momo, Aizawa, and Present Mic. So there's a possibility that Deku, alongside most of his friends from Class 1-A, will share the title of #1 Pro Hero by the end of the story.

6 The Skycrawler Comes To The Rescue

Help From The Outside

An important plot point of the Final War Arc is the complete lack of heroes from other countries trying to help Japan, which was caused by the death of America’s #1 Hero, Star and Stripe, at the hands of Shigaraki Tomura. But even though this is a conflict that is happening entirely within Japan, the entire world is going to be in trouble if the villains come out victorious. So the rest of the world will have to get involved sooner or later.

Longtime readers of the manga may be familiar with My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. At the end of that spin-off’s story, protagonist Koichi Haimawari, AKA The Skycrawler, moves to the United States and becomes Captain Celebrity’s sidekick. Many fans are expecting him to save the day, alongside other international superheroes. This would be a perfect way to finally combine both series.

7 The Quirk Singularity Theory

An Inevitable Ending

The Quirk Singularity Doomsday Theory is one of the most interesting concepts that has been introduced in My Hero Academia. The hypothesis behind this theory is that, since quirks are evolving, combining and becoming more powerful with each new generation, they will eventually become so overpowered that the human body will not be able to control them, which would lead to a big shift in society, or maybe the end of the world.

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The Quirk Singularity Theory is something that has been mentioned a few times during the story but was never given a lot of focus. It’s possible that, in the end, the heroes will win the final battle. But then, after a brief flash-forward, readers will finally see this theory going into effect and shifting the fate of the world just when the story is reaching its conclusion. This would be quite a bittersweet ending.

My Hero Academia (2016)

Action

Superhero

Release Date

April 3, 2016

Studio

Bones

Japanese Title

Boku no Hero Academia

Number of Episodes

141+