At long last, One for All’s final new quirk has been fully revealed. Here’s all there is to know about Deku’s new power and its potential.
For quite a while now, it has been clear that My Hero Academia’s endgame is in multiple quirks. The series’ most powerful villain, All for One already had multiple quirks at his introduction, and the ability has also been seen in the ‘nomu’ bioweapons, and passed on to other villains like Shigaraki and Spinner.
Luckily for the heroes, Deku has been provided with multiple quirks as well. These are the quirks that have been developing within his main quirk ‘One for All’, passed down from its previous users. However, the final quirk in the set has been a mystery for a long time, causing fans to theorize extensively on what it could be. Well, it has finally been revealed, and it might be the strongest quirk he’s ever gotten.
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How It Works
.jpg "My Hero Academia: Deku's Final Quirk, Explained (2)")
Deku’s final quirk is known as ‘gearshift’. It’s a quirk that is activated via physical contact. It allows the user to change the velocity of anything they touch, meaning they can spontaneously slow things down, or speed things up. Originally, the quirk was only able to work on smaller objects, but due to the stockpiled power within One for All, it’s now strong enough to be used on other people, or even the user themselves.
In his fight with Shigaraki, Deku shows off the quirk’s offensive potential by using it to punch an empowered Shigaraki away at increasingly high speeds, letting him deal more damage. He also uses it to propel himself at higher speeds as well, helping him catch up to Shigaraki afterwards and stay on the assault. Since his other quirk ‘fa-jin’ charges up via movement, this technique also allows him more uses of fa-jin, which boosts his power even further to the point where he can consistently hit above 100% of OFA.
The quirk does have some defensive utility as well. Just when Shigaraki started to get a handle on the rhythm of Deku’s attacks, he started to use gearshift to slow himself down mid-flight, throwing off his opponent’s predictions. Since he can propel forward in an instant, he can safely dodge or delay attacks, and then get straight back into the assault.
History
Like all the quirks within OFA, gearshift comes from one of the OFA successors. Specifically, it comes from the 2nd user of the quirk, who originally received it from All for One’s brother. This user has long been the object of theories, as he not only bears a striking resemblance to Bakugo, but has also been the most distant of the 8 predecessors whenever they spoke to Deku. There is still a chance he is somehow related to Deku’s rival, but his quirk doesn’t give any indication if he is or not.
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As previously stated, the quirk could originally only be used on smaller objects, so the 2nd user opted to use it as a gun of sorts. He would fire small, bullet shaped projectiles out of a device on his arm, using his quirk to boost their speed. In a flashback, he also seems to have been able to pause their flight in midair, only to fire them off later. The fact that this quirk has been in OFA the longest means it has probably received the biggest power boost, which might explain why it took so long for Deku to unlock.
How Will It Affect Deku's Abilities
Getting this quirk in time for the final battle might actually be what helps Deku emerge victorious. While it was originally weak, its current form would be fit for a top ranked hero all by itself. With a mind as strategic as Deku’s, the ability to alter velocity on the fly has many possibilities. He’s shown off its offensive and defensive potential, but this is just in a solo fight. If used right, he could easily use it to rescue others, sending them flying out of the way of danger in an instant, or slowing them down to avoid them getting hit.
Combined with the 5 other quirks at Deku’s disposal, things can get even better. Its combination with fa-jin is easily the most powerful combo at Deku’s disposal. But, he could possibly also use it to affect the speed of ‘smokescreen’s smoke, or ‘black whip’s tendrils. Despite all this potential however, the 2nd user stated that Deku would only have 5 minutes to end the fight with gearshift, implying there is some unrevealed penalty to the quirk that might factor in later.
