All Might Is Stronger Than He’s Ever Been In My Hero Academia

Warning! Spoilers ahead for My Hero Academia chapter 327!

All Might no longer possesses One For All , but he just exhibited a strong sense of will in My Hero Academia that allows him to break a longstanding and detrimental habit that plagued him as a hero.

While a powerful quirk, One For All seems to fill the wielder’s mind with delusions of grandeur as both All Might and Deku have taken it upon themselves to fight evil alone at their own expense. All Might fights the villain All For One twice on his own, and each time, he sustains immense injuries that eventually culminate in his premature retirement. As All Might’s successor and recipient of One For All, Deku later endeavors to face All For One with no help, which causes him to undergo a dark transformation that almost claims his life.  During his retirement, the hero killer Stain recently provided All Might with the opportunity to redeem himself so long as the former hero confronted him alone, but All Might surprisingly takes the high road, as revealed in chapter 327 of My Hero Academia.

Stain first presents All Might with notes from his time in the high-security prison Tartarus to investigate, which, as Hawks and Best Jeanist reveal in chapter 327, he’d clearly written for All Might’s eyes only. Stain then invites All Might to take him down as the killer of 40 heroes. But All Might doesn’t comply, clearly breaking his pattern of carrying heavy burdens on his own by relinquishing Stain’s notes over to his comrades. It’s clear that Endeavor is rightfully taking the role that Stain had originally intended for All Might as the lead investigator of his findings, for as Hawks and Best Jeanist discuss Stain’s letter, Endeavor can be seen charging through the sky towards an unknown destination. The fact that Hawks and Best Jeanist are in a car implies they are following the current number-one hero covertly to create the impression that Endeavor is alone and to provide support when needed. All Might even goes so far as to inform Deku during his unfortunate apology that he acquired new intel, rather than keeping it secret.

It shows incredible strength of character that All Might is able to break a habit that has been so deeply embedded in his psyche ever since becoming a hero, especially since relapsing could have possibly made him useful again and maybe, to some small degree, even a heroic figure. If the previous chapters are of any indication, All Might is clearly struggling in his retirement, a feeling that’s exacerbated by how much he suffered before gaining his powers. Born quirkless, All Might had been forced to watch other heroes save the day from the sidelines when he craved to help those in need above all else. So once he became the recipient of One For All, All Might didn’t take his newfound powers for granted, pushing himself until he could serve as the people’s number-one hero.

Although All Might is now powerless, he’s arguably more powerful than he’s ever been in My Hero Academia because he’s allowing the flame that he ignited in others to burn more brightly than he ever did as a hero. And, ironically, it’s because of Stain. Even though the hero killer attempted to get All Might back on his feet to reclaim the number-one spot, Stain actually reminds his hero of how strong All Might made everyone else and to allow them to flourish even if it means he must once again watch from the sidelines.

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