Izuku Midoriya’s Carnage Form In My Hero Academia, Explained

This article contains spoilers from My Hero Academia Final Season.

Season 8 of My Hero Academia is shaping up to be a standout anime of 2025, packed with constant suspense and heartfelt moments. This final season takes Izuku Midoriya to his limits, revealing incredible new strength and resilience as he battles Tomura Shigaraki and All For One, all while the world desperately hopes for a better future.

I’m watching Midoriya, and it feels like everything is riding on him right now. This new transformation of his came at exactly the right – or rather, the most desperate – time. It’s clear this ‘carnage form’ is a risky move, a last-ditch effort to change the course of the battle. What’s really striking is that he’s fighting a battle within himself as much as against his opponent. He’s walking a tightrope between acting on pure desperation and maintaining the precision he needs, because losing isn’t an option.

My Hero Academia Season 8 Unveils Izuku Midoriya’s Carnage Form

Izuku Midoriya’s Carnage Form Gives Him an Unexpectedly Dark Edge

Izuku Midoriya’s carnage form is a reference to Marvel’s villain, Carnage.
Izuku Midoriya used carnage form in an attempt to transfer OFA quirks to Shigaraki Tomura.

Izuku Midoriya’s powerful transformation is a desperate attempt to overcome Tomura Shigaraki’s strong will and defenses. This form pushes Midoriya to his absolute limit, causing immense pain and strain with every movement as he fights to stay conscious and in control. Despite the incredible toll it takes on him, it’s currently the most effective way to combat someone like Shigaraki, who can decay objects and heal quickly.

Fans are struck by how intimidating Izuku Midoriya’s ‘carnage’ form looks – it’s heavily inspired by the Marvel villain, Carnage, and even appears villainous to characters like Shigaraki, making it hard to see Midoriya as the hero he is. Despite this frightening appearance, the form actually represents Midoriya’s strong determination to both defeat evil and save Shigaraki.

Midoriya’s powerful, destructive form—called Overlay by creator Kohei Horikoshi—visually represents a controlled chaos. Blackwhip tendrils and dark lines cover his injured body. Though the transformation appears frightening, it’s fueled by the immense pain and suffering Midoriya endures in his determination to fight on.

Izuku Midoriya’s Carnage Form Depends Largely on Blackwhip

Blackwhip Keeps Midoriya Izuku Alive and Moving

Izuku Midoriya’s powerful, destructive form can’t fully appear without Blackwhip. This transformation relies on Blackwhip for both support and offense, letting Midoriya continue fighting even when his body is severely stressed. Banjo’s quirk essentially controls Midoriya’s body, helping to manage the intense strain and damage caused by using Gearshift and the Blackwhip tendrils.

Fans of My Hero Academia have likened Midoriya’s powerful, yet destructive, form to a supercharged wheelchair, as a way to easily understand what it does. This is a striking image that perfectly illustrates how Blackwhip both supports and enhances Midoriya’s weakened body when he’s in this state. Despite the intense pain, this form actually keeps Midoriya from being completely helpless, enabling him to keep fighting.

Midoriya has once more adopted that dark form (carnage) of his! —Momo Yaoyorozu

Besides Blackwhip, the second person to wield One For All, Kudo played a key role in urging Midoriya to keep fighting even while overwhelmed. Recognizing that directly confronting Shigaraki – now empowered by All For One – would be futile, Kudo advised finding a new strategy to overcome Shigaraki’s overwhelming hatred.

Izuku Midoriya’s Carnage Form Isn’t the Strongest

Midoriya’s Carnage Form Serves a Single Purpose

Although Izuku Midoriya’s ‘carnage form’ looks intimidating, it isn’t actually his most powerful transformation. This form relies heavily on his Blackwhip quirk, leading many fans to believe that other forms, like Full Cowling at 100% or other One For All upgrades, are more effective in a direct fight. However, in the climactic battle against Shigaraki, the carnage form proved to be the best option.

Okay, so things got intense during the fight! When I was in my full-power form, I managed to get all of One For All’s quirks into Shigaraki through a blood transfer. It was a huge gamble, but it worked – the previous owners of the quirks actually started affecting him from the inside! This ended up merging Shigaraki’s and my memories together, which wasn’t the original plan at all – we were supposed to beat him with raw power. Honestly, if I hadn’t taken that risk right then, Kudo was right – I probably would have lost.

2025-11-24 17:38