This list will contain spoilers up to the Joint Training story arc of My Hero Academia.
In the world of My Hero Academia, anybody who has big dreams of becoming a hero needs to possess selfless qualities, that is, to be willing to put their own bodies on the line for the sake of protecting innocent civilians. It’s already important to have these sorts of characteristics in place before signing up, but what can also help a character reach the hero position is if they possess a selfless Quirk ability.
Despite having no offensive capabilities whatsoever, these Quirks in My Hero Academia still stand out for their creativity and uniqueness.
Throughout the series, there have been a plethora of unique and interesting Quirks that have been introduced, though most of these tend to be centered around enhancing the individual, such as granting them more strength, speed, or durability. In stark contrast, this list will be taking a closer look at the most selfless quirks which are designed to benefit others, but when stacking them all up against one another, which of these abilities suits that description the best? It’s time to take a deep dive into the most selfless Quirk seen throughout My Hero Academia’s story.
8
Fat Absorption
A Quirk Which Turns The Host Into An Impenetrable Human Shield
Fat Gum may not be as fast as many of his fellow Pro Heroes, but he makes up for this by having some truly staggering durability, which is granted by his Fat Absorption quirk. Anyone who tries to attack Fat Gum head-on will immediately be absorbed into his large body, making him essentially one giant human shield who will always stand tall as a proud hero no matter how much punishment he is forced to take from his enemies.
As was demonstrated during the Overhaul Arc, Fat Gum often uses this ability to protect others in the line of fire, keeping the other hero safe while on a dangerous mission. That being said, a Fat Gum can still dish out some of his own damage after he loses his fat and becomes thin again, though he’s most commonly seen in the series porting his bigger form, which can block incoming attacks from harming his friends.
7
Zero Gravity
Ochaco Sacrifices Her Own Wellbeing To Save Others From Danger
Any time that Uraraka decides to activate her Zero Gravity Quirk, it won’t be long before she starts to feel a little sick. Zero Gravity comes with a pretty big drawback, considering it’s not exactly comfortable for Uraraka to throw it out at random, but that being said, it can be absolutely essential for rescuing civilians who have been trapped under debris and fallen objects.
While these My Hero Academia characters strive to be protectors of society, their personal Quirks seem much more suited for villainy.
As a result, anytime Uraraka uses Zero Gravity, she is automatically putting other people’s safety over her own well-being. Now, admittedly, Toga was able to use Zero Gravity for her own devious purposes by killing some MLA soldiers, but it’s clearly a Quirk created for the sake of providing safety and assistance rather than spreading fear and chaos.
6
Barrier
One Of The Best Defensive Quirks In The Series Designed Around Protecting Allies
Fans might remember Tengai as one of the annoying villains that Red Riot and Fat Gum were forced to take on during the raid on Overhaul’s base. As a former monk who eventually became another one of Overhaul’s goons, Tengai doesn’t exactly enjoy fighting all that much, so it’s a good thing his Quirk, Barrier, allows him to support others from the backlines rather than get his hands dirty.
Just as the name implies, Barrier creates a temporary shield around Tengai’s allies, which, according to Fat Gum, is even stronger than a steel wall, giving an idea of how durable this force field really is. Of course, Tengai is also able to use this shield on himself, but it’s more so designed for supportive purposes. The shield can still be broken with enough force, but it was made pretty clear in the Overhaul arc that achieving this is far from easy.
5
Love
La Brava Provides A Significant Power Boost By Showing Her Affection
When La Brava is first introduced to the story during the UA school festival, she comes across as little more than a fairly weak companion to the devious Gentle Criminal. However, while La Brava may enjoy sitting on the sidelines and recording her role model in all his villainous glory, she also has a pretty powerful Quirk up her sleeve, which he uses to give Gentle an advantage over Deku during their intense fight.
Once Le Brava confesses her love for a person, they will then receive a significant increase in their strength for a few minutes. Of course, considering Le Brava is absolutely smitten by Gentle, she was able to lend him an incredible surge of power, which was almost enough to overcome even Deku. Admittedly, the Quirk is very situational, since it’s implied La Brava does need to have a genuine affection for her target, though in practice, it’s certainly not an ability to scoff at.
4
Serpentress
Uwabami Is A Go-To Hero For Seeking Out And Helping Civilians
When she’s not advertising her newest perfume and shopping for brand-new jewelry, Uwabami can often be found using her Serpentress Quirk to help the other heroes in rescuing groups of civilians. At first glance, the three snakes poking out of Uwabami’s head may seem dangerous, but rather than being used for offense, these little guys are actually able to sense the location of any civilians in need from miles away.
These My Hero Academia Quirks are inherently designed to benefit the user rather than protecting others.
As shown during the final war against the villains, this ability becomes crucial for allowing the heroes to know exactly where they are needed the most. It may not be all that flashy or complex, but this is definitely still one of those supportive Quirks that greatly benefits the other heroes in their missions.
3
One For All
One For All’s Purpose Was To Make The World A Safer Place
Users: Deku / All Might / Previous Vestiges
On the surface, One For All may seem like a Quirk that is rather selfish in practice. After all, it grants the host a tremendous power boost which could easily be used to wreak havoc across the country, but as the Vestiges eventually explain to Deku, this is not what the Quirk was designed for. Since One For All is the only known Quirk that cannot be stolen, it means those who inherit it are essentially the only ones who can take down the evil mastermind known as All For One.
One For All, as many fans will be aware, is a malicious villain who has no qualms about stealing other people’s Quirks and killing anyone who stands in his way, so taking him down once and for all is guaranteed to make Japan a much safer place. When taking this into account, the central purpose of the Quirk is for the user to put their body on the line for the sake of making the world a better place, which is a responsibility Deku learns to take on over the course of the story.
2
Erasure
Aizawa Can Shut Down A Villain To Make Life Easier For His Comrades
In the Vigilantes spin-off series during the School Days arc, it’s revealed that Aizawa didn’t exactly feel very confident about using his Quirk while in school. Considering it was seen as far more of a supportive ability, which was extremely difficult to use and also came with a bunch of caveats, he struggled to find ways to use it effectively, but this started to change once he began rising up the ranks in UA.
In the main series, Aizawa is able to use his Erasure Quirk to shut down any villains he lays his eyes on, restricting them from using their own Quirks for the duration. While this does force him to remain stationary, at the same time, it allows Aizawa’s allies to intercept the villains without needing to put themselves at too much risk. It’s important to remember that using Erasure can sometimes take a pretty heavy toll on Aizawa’s body and can badly harm his eyes, so he’s essentially sacrificing his own vision to ensure his heroes on the ground have an easier time.
1
Heal
The Recovery Girl Has Patched Deku Back Up More Times Than He Can Count
Considering how often the heroes embark on highly dangerous missions, it’s a good thing they have Recovery Girl back at the UA to heal them up any time they receive some serious injuries. Heal is a pretty straightforward Quirk in how it works, but to say it has been an absolute lifesaver of an ability would be selling it short. While it doesn’t benefit Recovery Girl in any way, Heal is instead designed to patch up anyone who was badly wounded while on the battlefield, which certainly applies to Deku, who has paid a visit to the local doctor more than a few times.
The catch, however, is that the person receiving the healing needs to still possess enough stamina for the ability to spread around their body. If they don’t have enough energy left in the tank, the healing process could result in their death, though, considering how experienced Recovery Girl is at using it, this is a very rare occurrence. Needless to say, though, when it comes to selfless Quirks, it’s hard to find any that are more fitting of the description than Heal.
