United States Of Smash: 10 Coolest Hero Signature Moves In My Hero Academia, Ranked

Those who possess Quirks in My Hero Academia number among the millions, but those who are able to utilize the full range of its powers are rare, and are usually drawn in two directions — towards heroism, or towards villainy. Among the heroes, even fewer have managed to come up with a unique array of Super Moves, each of which is a defining features of that character.

These signature moves are specially developed, taking months or years of practice on average (with a few exceptions, obviously.) It’s easy to judge the nature of these techniques in terms of strength or expertise, but what does it take to be designated “cool”? Is it in the spectacle? Or in the difficulty of achievement? Or does it have to do with the emotional aspect of the respective powers?

10 Red Riot Unbreakable — Kirishima

Kirishima’s Hardening Quirk is largely armor-based, granting him incredible protection against vast amounts of external damage. However, when he unleashes the Red Riot Unbreakable, his entire body turns into a horrifyingly intimidating force of nature, that simultaneously grants him incredible defense, but also magnifies his offensive powers greatly.

The only problem with this move is that it cannot withstand attacks that are overwhelmingly strong, considering that Kendo Rappa successfully destroys it, and it also has an activation limit not exceeding 40 seconds.

9 Grape Rush — Mineta

Mineta Minoru does not sound like the kind of character who would be cool in any kind of way, given his utterly shameless perspective on women. However, his Grape Rush is incredibly impressive in that it actually defeats Midnight, a talented Pro-Hero in her own right, and allows him to pass the final exam of semester one.

Of course, this move only works because Mineta smartly uses his teammate Hanta’s tape to seal his nose and mouth shut, thereby avoiding the soporific effects of Midnight’s Quirk.

8 Indiscriminate Shock 1.3 Million Volts — Kaminari

Although Kaminari’s utilization of this technique results in a temporary loss of basic mental faculties for a short period, the Indiscriminate Shock 1.3 Million Volts is astonishingly effective.

He slowly charges his anatomy with hundreds of thousands of volts of electricity, but rather than channel it, he lets it loose randomly in all directions. This way, it has the ability to damage or knock unconscious multiple adversaries (as well as any allies who fail to leave the area of effect in time.)

7 Howitzer Impact — Bakugo

Katsuki Bakugo’s Explosion is already quite dangerous, but the Howitzer Impact makes all his other moves look like child’s play. It involves him flying with the help of timed blasts, consequently moving in a spiral so as to produce an oxygen-rich self-contained firestorm in the form of a twister.

The Howitzer Impact is then aimed at the intended target, which then subsequently strikes them with the force of a massive bomb. It has the capacity to break him out of barriers as strong as Todoroki’s Ice Wall.

6 Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall — Todoroki

Speaking of the Heaven-Piercing Ice Wall, an extension of the Half-Hot Half-Cold by Todoroki Shoto, it is not a technique that can be taken lightly. The move is one of the largest displays of power shown in the series, generating a gargantuan embankment of ice that can be used to trap his opponents or temporarily block their path so he can escape in time.

Todoroki has used it successfully on several occasions, although it fails against Midoriya and One For All (at least until he uses the fire side of his Quirk.)

5 Phantom Menace — Mirio

Phantom Menace is Mirio Togata’s signature move, based on the Quirk of Permeation. It is a marvelous twist on his phasing abilities, given that he can instantaneously “appear” and “disappear” out of thin air by intelligently utilizing the physical repulsion between himself and the solid matter he moves through.

With the Phantom Menace, Mirio’s attacks become so quick, not to mention extremely forceful, that any opponents have little choice but to enter a purely defensive mode. Magnificent doesn’t even begin to cut it.

4 Comet Home Run — Uraraka

Uraraka’s diminutive size and timid-ish personality is exactly why her explosive super moves are all the more fantastic. During the Battle Trial, Deku shatters the upper stories of the building that both their teams are located in, which allows her to quickly grab a stray pillar, make it gravity-free, and smack a large number of broken rubble floating in mid-air.

This forces Tenya to evade the oncoming storm of stone. In the split second that he’s distracted, Uraraka effortlessly touches the “payload”, thereby triumphant in her mission.

3 Prominence Burn — Endeavor

Endeavor’s Prominence Burn is easily one of the most epic moves ever seen in My Hero Academia — for instance, it’s sheer firepower (literally) is so potent that it can utterly decimate opponents as dangerous as High End Nomu: Hood, a creature who can recuperate from near-death injuries in the blink of an eye.

It fails to work the first time as Hood manages to prevent its head from being destroyed, but it’s not so lucky the second time. The only other person who is able to use Prominence Burn is [redacted], as it’s a massive spoiler from the manga.

2 1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash — Deku

While not as powerful as many Pro-Hero signature moves, the 1,000,000% Delaware Detroit Smash is phenomenal because Deku forces the One For All beyond its limits by fusing two techniques together, a feat that All Might himself has not exhibited as yet.

It’s glorious not just because of the unadulterated force emanating from the strike he performs against the villain, Muscular, but also due to the emotional quotient involved — Deku extends himself to such a point only to protect the life of the innocent Kota, who had experienced enough suffering without having to go through even more.

1 United States Of Smash — All Might

All Might’s United States of Smash is without question the coolest hero signature move in the series; in fact, it’s even cooler than All For One’s final Quirk combination, simply because it completely defeats the antagonist who had not been brought to justice for over a century.

It absorbs every drop of the One For All and focuses it into the hero’s right arm, which both takes All For One down as well as leaves behind an enormous crater from indirect contact with the ground. Undeniably awesome.

About The Author

Ajay Aravind
(429 Articles Published)

In real life, Ajay disguises himself as an academic, mainly writing textbooks for children — who all hate him for making their lives more miserable. He also writes about TV and film, strewing his opinions across the internet to see if people care (they don’t). You can find him @stain_dprinc_ss on Twitter.

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