My Hero Academia Villains, Ranked By Intelligence | ScreenRant
While heroes ultimately become role models viewers can look up to, villains are the ones who create the primary conflicts of the story. And 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 brain than brawn that allows them to overpower even the strongest heroes. Instead of relying heavily on physical strength, these evil geniuses give viewers a bang for their buck by masterfully deducing complex plans and strategies.
10 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 comes into full-picture.
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.
9 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.
8 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 a tough competition during battles.
7 Dr. Compress
Dr. Compress may not come off as the brightest pill, 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, Dr. Compress' firm grasp on his niche skill set makes him quite an intellectual villain.
6 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.
5 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 takes no time to realize 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.
4 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.
3 Kai Chisaki
The forte with which Kai Chisaki (aka 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.
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.
2 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. And when it comes to his season-long battle against Overhaul, fans will very well remember how he patiently deduces a long-term plan to ultimately defeat the supervillain.
1 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 received a perfect 6/6 score in the Ultra Analysis Book.