While heroes ultimately become role models viewers can look up to, villains are the ones who create the primary conflicts of the story. Although being brainy isn't a necessary trait for a bad guy, evil geniuses add more heft and further increase the stakes of the battle between good versus evil.
My Hero Academia boasts a roster of villains, many of whom have more brains than brawn, allowing them to overpower even the strongest heroes. Instead of relying heavily on physical strength, these evil geniuses are able to masterfully deduce complex plans and strategies.
Updated on July 30th, 2021 by Tanner Fox: The recently debuted fifth season of My Hero Academia may play up the competition between U.A.'s Class 1-A and Class 1-B, but that doesn't mean the series' villains are to be forgotten. Operating in the shadows, Tomura Shigaraki, the disciple of key antagonist All For One, is still working to eliminate Deku and his classmates and establish a new reign of evil.
What's more, the stakes continue to rise as fans learn new info about crucial evildoers like Dabi and the army of Nomus. While they're not all hyper-intelligent, it's clear that there are more than 10 wickedly smart villains in the My Hero Academia series.
Gentle Criminal
Sporting the impressive ability of elasticizing objects by manipulating their molecules, Gentle obsesses over his reputation. That's why he avoids getting involved in any ungentlemanly acts.
This is where his lack of intelligence becomes obvious. Although he aspires to be a great villain and is confident about his abilities, he refutes his own motives with his skewed moral code. Luckily for him, the highly intellectual La Brava is his partner.
Twice
Twice's subpar intelligence is well-known by now. Although quite gifted when it comes to cloning abilities, it is these abilities that have made him mentally unstable. As the story goes, he developed two contradicting personalities after one of his clones had him question what's real and what isn't.
Due to this identity crisis, Twice may show feats of intelligence in one moment, but similar acts of the sheer silliness of another.
Hood
My Hero Academia's Nomu are as disturbing as they are imposing, and few are more terrifying than Hood. A so-called "high-end" Nomu variant, not only is Hood one of the strongest in All For One's army, but he's also able to maintain a semblance of intelligence.
While most Nomu are nothing more than mindless muscle, Hood showcases an undeniable level of intelligence. In fact, he's able to combine his brains and brawn to nearly defeat Endeavor, Japan's Number One hero.
Himiko Toga
It's easy to be fooled by Toga's demeanor, but, on the inside, she's nothing but a cold-blooded killer who's driven by her own ulterior motives. Unlike most MHA characters, her abilities are not confined to a fixed skill set. Instead, she possesses a gamut of abilities that allow her to shift back and forth between espionage and combat.
Although her overbearing emotions for Twice might cloud her judgment at times, she's usually one step ahead of the curve and can give powerful heroes like Eraser Head some tough competition during battles.
Mr. Compress
Mr. Compress may not come off as the brightest bulb in the box, but he is among the most intelligent members of the League of Villains. Being a former magician, he has mastered the art of creating illusions and other deceptive tactics to escape almost any situation. To ensure that his enemies don't misuse his compression marbles, he creates several decoys of them to dupe the ones who steal them.
Although given a C-grade in intelligence in the Ultra Analysis Book, Mr. Compress' firm grasp on his niche skillset makes him quite an intellectual villain.
Hari Kurono
The right-hand mand to Overhaul, the de-facto leader of Shie Hassaikai, Hari Kurono has been witness to an incredible amount of tragedy. From the brutal deaths of his fellow subordinates at the hands of the group's leader to the unspeakable treatment of Eri, Kurono could certainly be described as a cold and calloused individual.
Though he's not a great asset in battle, there's no denying that Kurono is intelligent. Serving under Overhaul for any amount of time would require some serious intellect, and his role in the defense of the Shie Hassaikai compound proved that he wasn't favored by his boss for no reason.
Dabi
It is, as they say "Like father, like son." Just like Endeavor, Dabi is a highly-skilled fighter and is always analyzing the weaknesses of his enemies. But, along with looking past the strengths of his enemies, Dabi is also known for waging psychological warfare on them during combat.
He knows that his cremation quirk can hurt his body over time, so he outwits his enemies by engaging them in conversations while recovering in the process. Dabi's also a long-term planner and patiently puts bits and pieces of his puzzles to frame a bigger picture. An example of this is when he revealed his true identity as Toya Todoroki and ruined Endeavor's reputation.
Kurogiri
A key player in the first season of the My Hero Academia anime, Kurogiri's Quirk, Warp Gate, allows him to teleport his friends and enemies to any location of his choosing. Vital to the attack on the USJ, he's an indispensable asset to Shigaraki and his villainous team.
Later on, it is revealed that, despite his undeniable intellect, Kurogiri is actually a Nomu created to protect All For One's successor, Tomura Shigaraki. What's more, before his transformation, he was a friend of U.A. professor Shota Aizawa.
Nine
If not anything else, Nine possesses leadership skills that can only be matched by a few. In My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, he first takes a calculated risk by subjecting himself to human experiments. He's then quick to realize that, before he can rule the world with his quirk stealing abilities, he must first acquire a Cell Activation Quirk to sustain himself.
Soon after, he realizes that Deku possesses a lot more power in one quirk than he could possess through many quirks. So, before Deku reaches his potential, Nine cleverly tries to eradicate him.
Stain
What makes Stain rank above many villains of the series is his ability to not only use his quirk with the utmost expertise, but also his adaptability during battles. Using cheap tricks such as misdirection and environment manipulation, the villain creates ideal conditions for himself to win.
Moreover, he also exhibits a "fake" bloodlust for his enemies just to intimidate them and instill numbing fear.
Kagero Okuta
Also known by the villain name Giran, Kagero Okuta serves as a broker between nefarious organizations, exchanging knowledge and information and serving as a go-between for Japan's seedy underbelly. Though he lacks any physical power, he's very shrewd and would be incredibly difficult to outwit.
A man of standards, Okuta never deals with those who don't respect him, and, when pressed to divulge his secrets, he's extremely stalwart. He's no villainous mastermind, but he certainly has brains.
Kai Chisaki
The forte with which Kai Chisaki, A.K.A. Overhaul, rises up in ranks in season 4 is beyond terrifying. He never lets his ego get the best of him, and he forever stays calm and classy, even in the toughest situations.
One of his grand feats is the Quirk-destroying drug that he invented himself along with an antidote. Other than that, Chisaki is also capable of escaping punishment when he hides the evidence of his crimes. Using his quirk, he can disassemble the bodies of his victims, erases all evidence they may possess, and then puts them back together with no signs of his wrongdoings.
Tomura Shigaraki
Touted as the successor of All For One, Shigaraki has only one goal—destroy the society by killing its "symbol of peace," All Might, and then create a new world where he rules all. While his Decay Quirk is enough to defeat the strongest of enemies, his intellect during battle allows him to stay one step ahead almost all the time.
For instance, in Episode 10 of season 1, he quickly identifies Eraser Head's weaknesses and uses them to overpower him. When it comes to his season-long battle against Overhaul, he patiently deduces a long-term plan to ultimately defeat the supervillain.
Kyudai Garaki
Though not much is known about Kyudai Garaki, his actions have had an incredible impact on the lives of everyone featured in the My Hero Academia anime. A man of extreme intelligence and a loyal servant of All For One, Garaki can be credited with the creation of All For One's Nomu army.
His quirk isn't particularly well understood, though it is known that it has granted him an abnormally long lifespan. Some theories also posit that he stole Izuku Midoriya's original Quirk when he was a child.
All For One
While All For One's quirk-stealing abilities need no introduction, his genius intellect often goes unnoticed beneath his strong demeanor. After having battled the greatest of heroes and living long enough to see himself as one of the most powerful forces of the world, All For One becomes an expert strategist in guerrilla warfare.
Not to mention, he also acquires vast knowledge and insight from the quirks he steals. With so much contributing to his wisdom, it comes as no surprise that his intelligence is more or less unmatched in the My Hero Academia universe.