Which Hero Academia Characters Get Major Power-Ups Later?

Man, if you’re asking who gets the biggest glow-ups later in 'My Hero Academia', my brain immediately goes to Izuku Midoriya—because his whole arc is basically one long power-up montage. He starts as a quirkless kid and ends up inheriting One For All, but the real twist is that One For All isn’t just raw strength anymore. Over time he slowly learns to access other holders’ quirks—things with cool names like Blackwhip and Float—and then has to train his body and mind to use them without breaking himself. Watching him learn to string those abilities together (and wrestle with the consequences of pushing his limits) is what hooked me in the later arcs.

Beyond Deku, there are a bunch of characters who get major upgrades in very different ways. Katsuki Bakugo becomes smarter about tactical uses of Explosion and upgrades his gear so his power feels more refined, not just louder. Shoto Todoroki’s growth is more psychological; he starts blending his fire and ice far more naturally and becomes a genuinely balanced powerhouse. On the villain side, Tomura Shigaraki undergoes an alarming transformation into a much more dangerous threat thanks to external augmentations and All For One’s meddling, which raises the stakes for everyone. I also love how characters like Ochaco, Tokoyami, Momo, Iida, and Kirishima evolve through training and clever application of their quirks—some get technical improvements, some gain new techniques, and some get gear or strategy upgrades that make them feel fresh.

So yeah, between inherited quirks, hard training, smarter gear, and narrative power spikes for villains, the series keeps delivering satisfying upgrades. I still get chills thinking about the moment each character first shows a new move in battle—especially when it’s paired with a personal breakthrough.

When I talk about late-series power-ups in 'My Hero Academia', three stand out for me: Izuku, Tomura, and Bakugo. Izuku’s upgrade is huge because One For All becomes a toolbox of other quirks, so his fights change from pure muscle to multi-ability choreography. Tomura’s change is the scariest because it’s an engineered, villain-side jump in capability that reshapes every encounter he’s in. Bakugo’s growth feels more surgical—better control, smarter gear choices, and tactical maturity.

I also love how lower-profile upgrades matter: Kirishima’s hardening becomes far more reliable in long fights, Ochaco learns to use her gravity manipulation in riskier, more precise ways, and Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow gets trained into a more controllable asset. Those kinds of evolution scenes—training montages, internship breakthroughs, and surgeon-like refinements—are what make the later arcs feel so rewarding.

I’m a sucker for growth arcs, and 'My Hero Academia' serves those up deliciously. If you want a compact list of major power-ups later on, I’d point to Izuku Midoriya, Tomura Shigaraki, Katsuki Bakugo, and a handful of Class 1-A students who level up through training. But I’m more interested in how those power-ups happen rather than just naming them.

Deku’s progression is the clearest: his quirk literally evolves into a multi-quirk system as he taps into the abilities of previous One For All users, and that forces a lot of creative training scenes. Bakugo’s improvements are less flashy but just as satisfying—he hones control, adapts his combat style, and makes better use of his support gear so his explosions become surgical instead of all-or-nothing. Shigaraki’s “upgrade” is the dark mirror of hero growth: he’s boosted through science and villainous mentorship, becoming more destructive and unpredictable. Iida, Momo, Ochaco, Kirishima, and Tokoyami each get clear upgrades too—some through physical conditioning (Iida and Kirishima), some through tactical development and quirk refinement (Momo, Ochaco, Tokoyami).

One cool trend I like is that many of these power-ups aren’t just raw numbers going up—they force the characters to change how they fight, think, or live. That makes later battles feel earned. If you want specific scenes to rewatch, check the training/internship arcs and the big confrontations where new abilities first appear; those beats really highlight the growth.