The world of My Hero Academia has officially entered a new era after the conclusion of the Final War. This new era was officially ushered in with the release of My Hero Academia chapter 430, as well as episode 170 on December 13, 2025. The ending of the series was further expanded into 2026 with the release of episode 171 on May 2, 2026, as well as an OVA titled “I Am a Hero Too” on August 2, 2026.
With the My Hero Academia world continually expanding, a new era has been ushered in where Quirks are getting stronger, but alongside them, a new power system has been introduced. This new power system throws a ton of focus on science and technology, and with them, Hero Equipment. While considered supplementary for the longest time, Hero Equipment has officially evolved to the point where it can be the sole source of strength for any powerful fighter in the world of My Hero Academia. This new era will be plagued with new problems for Japan’s Hero Society.
Kohei Horikoshi Is Expanding MHA Power System With New Technology
For the longest time, Quirks have been the primary power system in the world of My Hero Academia, and that isn’t going to change any time soon. Quirks were first revealed in the very first chapter of My Hero Academia on July 7, 2014, and they have continued to evolve ever since. In fact, Quirks generally tend to grow stronger with each upcoming generation, and that is not going to change either.
“Support Items are all the rage these days!! I’m aiming to get hired at Lightly Labs!” — Izuku’s Student, My Hero Academia Chapter #430
However, in the world of My Hero Academia, science and technology are making drastic progress. This was first confirmed to us with the release of chapter 430 on August 5, 2024, and reiterated in episode 170 of the series on December 13, 2025. A proper look at this new reality of the world of My Hero Academia was given to us as late as August 2, 2026, in the new OVA titled “I Am a Hero Too.”
While the vast majority of this OVA featured Eri, we also got a new look at Izuku Midoriya, who has now become Japan’s fourth-best Hero without even having a Quirk. This is ushering in a new world where these legendary powers are not required for one to scale the highest of peaks in terms of strength. According to All Might, in the past 8 years, especially after his battle against All For One in the Final War, science and technology have made huge leaps. Combining that with the data collected during their fight, it has become possible to create powerful Hero Armors that replicate Quirks and even surpass them in some ways.
“I wanted to give you a special gift. The data from my fight against All For One opened up room for crazy possibilities. Technology has continued to evolve alongside Quirks. Take this to heart, kid. This too is a power you’ve earned, fair and square.” — All Might gives Deku his Armor, My Hero Academia Chapter #430
Izuku Midoriya was once again allowed to become a hero with this hero armor, which perfectly replicates the powers of One For All, according to Horikoshi himself. Not only does this hero armor replicate the powers of One For All, but it also replicates the abilities of various vestiges, allowing him to utilize those powers on the side. On top of that, it also allows him to combine various vestige abilities together, which makes this hero armor incredibly versatile and allows him to fight at the peak of his powers once again. Given how far science and technology have come, it has now officially become a new power system in the world of My Hero Academia, where one doesn’t even require Quirks to fight at the top level.
Question: How does the armor that Deku received from Class A function?
Horikoshi: It tries to mimic various OFA abilities; for example, it has cable extensions that function like his ability, Black Whip. It also serves as a prototype where he can try to combine various abilities.
— Kohei Horikoshi explains Deku’s new armor, Ultra Age
Support Equipment And Armor Suits Are The New MHA Power System
Once upon a time in the world of My Hero Academia, support equipment was just that: meant for support. However, as explained in the final manga release by Kohei Horikoshi, support equipment is now just as important as Quirks themselves. This puts the likes of Hatsume, Melissa, and Dave Shield in a completely new light and puts new importance on them.
At the same time, there are also hero armors, which only two characters have wielded so far: All Might, who did it in the battle against All For One, and Izuku Midoriya, who received it very recently in the story. Regardless, while Izuku and All Might are the only two characters who have wielded this power, they are not going to be the only ones in the grand scheme of things. With money comes corruption, and with that comes a craving for power. This means the rich will eventually gain access to these powerful abilities in one way or another, which paves the way for another new era for the villains of the My Hero Academia world where technology dominates.
Why Technology Could Surpass Quirks Soon
Quirks are growing stronger with each generation, which is somewhat in line with the Quirk Singularity theory posed by Dr. Kudai Garaki. At the same time, technology is growing at an even more unprecedented rate. In just 8 years, Izuku Midoriya’s Quirk powers were fully replicated using technology in the world of My Hero Academia. In another decade, Izuku will reach an even higher level of strength, where even his prime, which he showcased in the final war, will be surpassed. In 20 years from now, this technology will have made even greater advancements.
There will come a point in the world of My Hero Academia where all Quirks will become obsolete compared to what technology can do, and thus it also paves the way for Izuku to become the strongest Hero of all time. Furthermore, all the other top Heroes will have enough financial means to create stronger armors for themselves and combine them with Quirks at the same time, making them powerful in their own right.
All things considered, support equipment and hero armors are now a new power system, and they will continue to grow and potentially even eclipse Quirks by the end of the next decade in the My Hero Academia world. This is something that we are eagerly waiting to see, and hopefully, Kohei Horikoshi expands upon the world of My Hero Academia further and gives us a proper look at this new ending.
All the manga chapters of Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia are available for fans to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.