My Hero Academia: Was Deku's Quirk stolen by his doctor?

My Hero Academia has a variety of fan theories floating around, with one of the most popular revolving around Deku’s Quirk. The protagonist was famously known for being Quirkless, after which he inherited All Might’s One For All and worked hard to become a hero.

However, subtle hints throughout the manga have a portion of the fan base believing that Deku may have had a Quirk that was stolen by his doctor. While there are convincing arguments for the theory, My Hero Academia never confirms that Deku’s Quirk was stolen by his doctor.

This debate stems from Deku’s past, where he was informed by a doctor called Tsubasa that he was a rare individual who did not possess a Quirk. However, as the series progressed, fans discovered that Tsubasa was none other than Dr. Kyudai Garaki, a villain and close affiliate of All For One.

The duo had been infamous for stealing and placing Quirks within others. The most notorious case of this was seen with Tomura Shigaraki, who was secretly given the Quirk Decay. This caused the young boy to lose control and kill his entire family.

Additionally, since Tomura and Deku were the only patients of Garaki who appeared on screen, some fans also believed that Decay was originally Deku’s Quirk. While Garaki had shown Deku a scan of the two joints on his pinky toe, which proved he was Quirkless, this may have been faked to fool the protagonist and his mother.

As a result, this theory has gained quite a lot of traction, with a portion of the fandom looking deep into other possible hints across the story. At the same time, several counterarguments indicate why there was no intricate plan in the works surrounding Deku’s Quirk.

Why Deku’s Quirk was not stolen by his doctor in My Hero Academia

The typical time that a Quirk manifests within children is by the age of four. Some exceptions possess it straight from birth, but Deku was not one such case since it would have been impossible for his mother not to sense it. Another key piece of evidence lies in the timeline.

Tomura was around the age of five when his Quirk manifested, which meant Deku would have only been a baby if his Quirk had been stolen from him. As mentioned, Decay is a destructive Quirk, and at that age, Deku would not have had control over it, which would make it unlikely that anyone around him noticed a change.

In addition, Hikage Shinomori, the fourth One For All user in My Hero Academia, revealed that possessing One For All would cause rapid aging and break down the bodies of those who were not Quirkless. This was another reason why All Might chose Deku, since he could avoid the side effects.

As a result, even if Deku’s Quirk were stripped away from him, the vestiges present inside his body should have noticed something, but they never pointed out anything unusual. By the end of the series, Deku had aged normally, with no after-effects of having used One For All.

Most importantly, Deku having had a Quirk previously would water down his character arc and what Horikoshi desires to depict through his story. The protagonist, who was powerless, tirelessly worked towards growing stronger and was finally rewarded for his efforts with One For All.

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By the end, he was forced to sacrifice that very same Quirk to protect his loved ones, which he did without hesitation. This makes Deku’s story an inspiring and touching tale of heroism and resilience. If he had always possessed a Quirk, or if it was stolen by his doctor, it would take away from the experience.

Since the mangaka has never confirmed anything related to Deku’s original Quirk in My Hero Academia, it remains nothing but a fascinating topic of discussion with no proof at this point.

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