WARNING: The following contains spoilers up to and including My Hero Academia, Chapter #306, by Kohei Horikoshi, Caleb Cook and John Hunt, available in English from Viz Media.
My Hero Academia took a darker turn with its intense War arc (also known as the Paranormal Liberation War arc), in which Japan's pro-heroes rallied in a last-ditch attempt to stop Tomura Shigaraki's rise to power. Thanks to him acquiring the All For One Quirk, Shigaraki gained access to a formidable arsenal, and his own Decay Quirk allowed him to unleash a massive area-of-effect attack that promised instant death to all it touched. Despite the demise of the villain Twice, all the momentum of the arc was on the villains' side, and it seemed likely we would see the death of at least one fan-favorite character.
At the time, it was hard to say how this heroes vs. villains war would end, although the general fan consensus was that the heroes would lose. While this prediction turned out to be correct, the surprising lack of death in the War Arc threw most character death predictions awry, including the ones in this article. Many of My Hero Academia's frontline heroes would lay down their lives in a heartbeat to save Japan, and here were the five who seemed most likely to do just that -- as well as an update at the end of this article on whether they really did.
Eraser Head
Eraser Head, the beloved homeroom teacher for Class 1-A, has the same problem that got Twice killed earlier on in the War Arc: his Quirk is just too powerful for the series to keep around. The standoff between him and the All For One-enhanced Shigaraki is one eye-blink away from disaster. Eraserhead may have used his Quirk to temporarily nullify Shigaraki's powers, but this will only last so long as he doesn't blink.
With Eraser Head injured and most of the hero back-up support occupied fighting the "nearly high-end" Nomu, it's only a matter of time before he falters and the heroes have to contend with the powers of a fully-unleashed Shigaraki. Let's not forget that Gigantomachia and the rest of the Paranormal Liberation Front are en route, too, and Shigaraki has some Quirk-erasing bullets in his pocket.
Considering Eraser Head has proven himself to be the main thorn in Shigaraki's side among the hero forces, it's a reasonable prediction to say one of three things will happen to him: death, the loss of his Quirk or someone sacrificing themselves to save him.
Gran Torino
As an elderly mentor figure to Deku, Gran Torino never had the greatest chance of surviving the series. For a while, he seemed to be safe after escaping Shigaraki's massive wave of decay in Chapter #272, but ever since he began fighting Shigaraki in close quarters combat alongside Eraserhead, Rock Lock, Manual, Endeavor, Deku and Bakugo, his chances haven't looked good. Shigaraki is after Deku, and he'll surely slaughter Gran Torino for interfering if he gets the chance.
Worsening matters, Gran Torino's super-speed makes him the perfect candidate for taking a death blow meant for someone else.
Hawks
So many uncertainties surround Hawks since we last saw him critically wounded in Chapter #271. With his signature red wings completely burned away, it's unlikely he'll ever regain the use of his Quirk if he survives this arc. Until we know if his condition is stable, however, worrying about his Quirk may be a luxury Hawks fans don't have. The #2 Pro-Hero was told the villain Dabi's true identity, after all -- a secret no one has yet lived to tell.
Keep an eye out for the next time Hawks appears in the manga. It'll either be his dying words or confirmation of his survival.
Endeavor
Ever since Endeavor began his redemption arc over 100 chapters ago, he's had more death flags than anyone in the series. Redemption Equals Death is a common trope in all forms of media, after all, and he could easily bite the bullet now that he's mostly been forgiven by his family. The vision he had just prior to the War arc -- of his wife and children happy together with him absent -- also has a foreboding element to it.
It seems unlikely that Endeavor would die without his son, Shoto Todoroki, there to witness it, so Endeavor fans can at least find comfort in the fact that Shoto is currently aiding evacuation efforts in another section of the city. While it would only take a manga panel or two for Shoto to join him on the frontlines, the death of Japan's current #1 hero would surely require more build-up than what we've seen so far.
Katsuki Bakugo
Of all the characters on this list, Bakugo is the least likely to die given that he is Deku's main rival in the series. But it's not an impossible outcome either. Caught in the middle of a showdown with villains far above his own weight class, fans have speculated that he could even die saving Deku. As Bakugo mentioned to Deku in Chapter #274, he and Gran Torino are the only ones on the battlefield that know the secret of One For All, as well as how vital it is that Shigaraki doesn't take the power for his own.
Bakugo also makes the list because another possible outcome: losing his Explosion Quirk. Becoming Quirkless on account of a Quirk-erasing bullet would be a fate worse than death to him. As an ex-bully that used to torment Deku for his condition, Bakugo becoming Quirkless himself sounds so poetic that it might just happen.
My Hero Academia Heroes Who Died In the War Arc
Ultimately, only two recognizable heroes died in the War Arc: Midnight and Crust. The rest shockingly all survived -- albeit with injuries -- even though some like Gran Torino probably should have died. Despite My Hero Academia's willingness to brutally kill off characters like Magne, Twice and Nighteye, for some reason, this arc was very subdued when it came to demonstrating the cost of the villains winning the war.
No character on this list died, though every single one of them emerged from the war with severe injuries. Aizawa had to amputate his leg, Gran Torino survived a hole being punched into his midsection, Hawks had his wings burned clean off, Endeavor's lungs were injured and Bakugo was stabbed saving Deku. None of these injuries seem like they'll be lasting ones, thanks to the medical advancements present in the series as well as Eri's powerful healing Quirk, but they're still the worst outcomes any major hero faced as a result of the war.
The lack of death in the war poses an interesting question now that My Hero Academia is in its final arc. Have we already seen the worst, or are there more deaths yet to come? With the dwindling number of chapters remaining in the series, we'll know soon enough.
