When My Hero Academia began, Kohei Horikoshi, the creator of the series, established a Symbol of Peace for Japanese society, and this individual was none other than the greatest Hero to ever exist — All Might. All Might stood as Japan’s Number One Hero for decades, and his strength was unrivaled, even by powerful villains like All For One. Under All Might, the crime rate in Japan fell below 6%, and he completely revolutionized the entire country, which is why he was honored as the Symbol of Peace all over the country.
However, the My Hero Academia world has changed drastically ever since. The series eventually released its final volume on December 4, 2024, featuring content up to chapter 431. In the epilogue of the series, it is clear to see that Japan has announced the death of the Symbol of Peace and that in the new era, this Symbol simply doesn’t exist. There are a multitude of Heroes working together, but there is still room for someone to rise and claim the position of the Symbol of Peace later down the line, as My Hero Academia could potentially be expanded as a story.
Kohei Horikoshi Fails To Replace All Might As The Symbol of Peace For Japan
When My Hero Academia began, Kohei Horikoshi made it quite clear that his intention was to see Izuku Midoriya reach the very pinnacle as a Hero and replace All Might. At the beginning, Izuku saw All Might as his idol and wanted to replicate him. It was also mentioned at the very beginning of the story that what we were witnessing was a story of how Izuku became the Greatest Hero of all time.
However, things changed drastically as the story continued. Instead of it being a story of how Izuku became the Greatest Hero, it ended up becoming a story of how all of Class 1-A ended up becoming the greatest of heroes of all time. In essence, Izuku’s dream was diluted by the time the story reached its end. To make things worse, he was never able to replicate All Might by becoming the Symbol of Peace either.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it all. But as long as I can inspire others, then I’d say this is still the tale of how we became great Heroes. All of us, for all time…this is actually the tale of how we’ll keep reaching out to help at all times” — Izuku Midoriya changes his goal, My Hero Academia Chapter #430
This is because Izuku, while accomplishing the goal of becoming one of the greatest Heroes, lost the powers of One For All. In My Hero Academia Chapter 430. This was confirmed to us after the 8-year time skip, when he was seen working at UA as a teacher instead of a Pro Hero. Thankfully, Izuku Midoriya was gifted new Hero Armor, which allowed him to become a Pro Hero once again, but his strength is most certainly not enough to make him a Symbol of Peace. In other words, Izuku Midoriya failed to replicate what All Might did as an adult and cannot stand as the Symbol of Peace in Japan.
“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
Why Mirio Togata Cannot Replicate All Might
In the current world order of My Hero Academia, Japan’s new Number One is none other than Mirio Togata, also known as Lemillion. It goes without saying that he is incredibly powerful. Even when he was a student in UA, it was clear to see that he was the man closest to All Might, and this was directly mentioned by Shota Aizawa himself. Naturally, this person is incredibly strong and possibly even stronger than Endeavor was as the Number One Hero, so over the years, his strength is bound to have grown even further, but that does not make him a replacement for All Might.
As has been made repeatedly clear by Kohei Horikoshi throughout the run of My Hero Academia, All Might was a freak of nature and one whose strength could only be replicated by Izuku Midoriya when wielding One For All. But Izuku’s One For All is no longer in existence. As such, All Might’s feats cannot be replicated by anyone, which, in other words, means that the Japanese Hero Society does not have a Symbol of Peace, even though Midoriya exists.
It must also be said that not having a Symbol of Peace in itself is not a bad thing. When All Might existed as the Symbol of Peace, the Japanese Hero Society was overly reliant on him. This is why cracks started to appear when All Might’s era ended, and the others were not able to replicate what he did. The current Hero Society is far more balanced. Mirio Togata, Shoto Todoroki, Izuku Midoriya, Bakugo Katsuki, and Mt. Lady, alongside many others, all share relative levels of strength. As such, there is no need for one person to stand atop all and shoulder all the burden all by themselves. This burden is now shared among the Pro Heroes, which some may argue is a better way to go about things.
Izuku Midoriya Could Become The Symbol of Peace In The Future
Regardless of Japan not having a proper Symbol of Peace right now, it must be said that My Hero Academia is far from truly ending. Even though the manga and the anime have wrapped up, the world of My Hero Academia continues to expand. This was proven to us on August 2, 2026, when Crunchyroll released the special OVA titled I Am a Hero Too. In this episode, it was revealed that Heroes continue to make progress. Izuku Midoriya, the protagonist of the series, had risen to the rank of Number 4 hero in Japan, with Katsuki Bakugo right behind him in Number 5. Over the next year, their progression will continue, and given that they are far from even reaching their primes as Pro Heroes, we will see them attain higher levels of strength in the future.
“The Number 4 Hero, Deku, rocketed up the Hero Charts with unprecedented hype! Feeling inspired, huh? The Great Explosive Murder God Dynamite is making an impressive leap to No. 5.” — Official Hero Rank Announcement for Izuku Midoriya, My Hero Academia One-Shot
If My Hero Academia is expanded upon by Kohei Horikoshi, which at this point is increasingly likely, then it is entirely possible for the protagonist to rise even further up the ranks and establish himself as the Symbol of Peace. For what it’s worth, it was stated in the last chapter of My Hero Academia that technology has come a long way in the 8-year timeskip. Izuku’s hero armor replicates all the powers of the One For All and even allows him to combine different vestige abilities. If this hero armor truly is as great as it is made out to be and fully replicates the powers of One For All, then there is no reason for Izuku not to stand tall at the end of it all as Japan’s true strongest and the next Symbol of Peace.
All chapters of Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.