Pitting Saitama, the overwhelmingly powerful protagonist of One-Punch Man, against various characters, has always been an exciting exercise. This time, the focus changes to a comparison between Saitama and All Might, the most respected hero from My Hero Academia, to determine who would emerge victorious in a direct battle.
Whether it’s a matchup from his universe, like the ones explored with Blast, Boros, Garou, or God, or a crossover battle against figures such as Superman, Gojo, or Goku, comparing his abilities to other formidable fighters is always intriguing.
One punch or ultimate sacrifice, who wins the fight (Photo: One Punch Man/Madhouse)Saitama would come out on top in a fight against All Might. While the universes of One-Punch Man and My Hero Academia differ in many ways, they share enough similarities to make a fair comparison between their characters.
Saitama’s abilities far exceed those of All Might, as the latter is not a godlike being and lacks the kind of supernatural strength required to inflict real damage on Saitama. Because of this, the One-Punch Man would claim victory in this clash.
With a brief answer established, the rest of this discussion will be divided into three sections. The first two will introduce the characters, outlining their powers and capabilities, and the final section will provide a conclusive assessment of why Saitama would triumph in a face-off against All Might.
Saitama and His Powers
Saitama, a young man who has grown indifferent to everyday life, frequently takes on mysterious creatures in pursuit of becoming a legendary hero. His signature move, the widely feared “One Punch,” is a simple yet devastating strike capable of eliminating even the most formidable opponents.
Whether it be the King of the Seas, Ashura Rhino, the King of the Underworld, or even a massive meteorite, none have managed to withstand his overwhelming strength. Possessing incredible speed, Saitama moves so fast that even the swift ninja Thundering Sonic appears sluggish in comparison.
His agility allows him to complete a 1,500-meter course in an instant, and even Genos’ advanced targeting systems struggle to track his movements. His velocity is so extreme that he can scale vertical surfaces, such as running up the side of a building just to save a piece of salmon he planned to eat for lunch.
Even against Boros, who uses Meteoric Boost to enhance his speed, Saitama remains noticeably faster. His base movement alone is sufficient to evade the saber strikes of the skilled ninja Flashy Flash.
His endurance is equally astonishing—he withstands all kinds of physical and elemental attacks without suffering a scratch. During Genos’ massive Incineration blast, which produced an enormous explosion, Saitama stood unscathed right next to him, completely unaffected by the heat or impact.
Once he decides to hold his ground, even an immensely powerful fighter like Suiryū finds it difficult to make him budge, despite launching the Nebulous Fist of the Rabid Tiger. Before attaining his current strength, Saitama possessed the durability of an ordinary human, yet as an adult, he was already able to recover from an attack by the Tiger-level monster Crabotaur and retaliate immediately.
His accuracy, however, remains at an average human level. He has made miscalculations before, such as when he unintentionally struck Sonic in the genitals while merely intending to intimidate him.
When using his Worship Streak Series, Saitama exerts slightly more effort, but as Boros observes, even then, he reveals only a fraction of his true power. At this stage, however, his strength is still overwhelming enough to effortlessly dispatch threats classified as Dragon-level or even God-level.
All Might and His Powers
Toshinori Yagi, widely recognized as All Might, is one of the most renowned characters in My Hero Academia, a manga series created by Kōhei Horikoshi. He also features prominently in the anime adaptation and films such as My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (2018) and My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (2019).
As the top hero and the revered “symbol of peace,” All Might has served as an inspiration to an entire generation, including Izuku Midoriya, to whom he passed down the powerful Quirk known as One for All.
Though publicly seen as an unshakable hero with an ever-present smile, his ability to maintain this persona was diminishing, a fact known only to Midoriya. His career reached the last after his final battle with All for One.
Having inherited One for All from Nana Shimura, All Might gain access to superhuman strength, which enhanced his agility, reflexes, and speed while also allowing him to leap extraordinary distances. As the most powerful prohero of his time, he was widely acknowledged as the ultimate beacon of justice.
He was strong enough to defeat Nomu, a villain engineered specifically to counter him, as well as the fearsome All For One, a villain who once held dominance over Japan. His victory against All For One distinguished him as the only wielder of One for All to achieve such a feat.
His ability to sustain his powers, however, declined rapidly following his battle with All For One, in which he suffered a critical abdominal injury. After transferring One For All to Izuku, his time limit for using his Quirk dwindled further.
Eventually, after his second confrontation with All For One, he lost his abilities entirely, though he retained the ability to briefly transform into his Hero Form. At his peak, All Might’s Detroit Smash was potent enough to defeat formidable villains and even alter the weather.
With a single punch, he could demolish entire buildings while simultaneously carrying heavy loads. The extent of his power was likened to that of a nuclear weapon. For instance, he could dispel Cumulonimbus clouds with one punch while launching Nomu into the stratosphere.
His immense physical strength was complemented by remarkable speed, allowing him to react instantaneously in battle. His stamina was equally noteworthy, as demonstrated during the attack on the USJ, where he withstood multiple attacks from Nomu.
During the Final Test Saga, he also endured several explosions caused by Katsuki without sustaining any damage. Possessing a highly charismatic personality, All Might embody the quintessential heroic ideal.
His enthusiastic and extroverted nature made him a beloved figure, and he always maintained his signature smile while saving those in need. In his real form, however, he became far less energetic, frequently coughing up blood and avoiding public attention to conceal his deteriorating health.
Despite these differences, his optimism and dedication to his students, especially Midoriya, remained unwavering. His deep sense of responsibility made him fiercely protective, particularly of his students, and his anger surfaced when they were placed in danger for the sake of targeting him.
Though an exceptional hero, his abilities as a teacher were often lacking. Despite his dedication to preparing lessons and striving to guide his students—especially Izuku—he frequently relied on notes to teach effectively. Professor Aizawa even noticed that Toshinori carried a book titled Even Fools Can Be Teachers in his pocket.
His former mentor, Gran Torino, also criticized his inability to properly train Izuku. Toshinori himself acknowledged his shortcomings as an educator, expressing in a letter to Gran Torino that he needed help in ensuring Midoriya’s proper development.
His primary reason for accepting a teaching position at the U.A. was to personally mentor Izuku, guiding him toward mastery of his inherited power.
Who Would Win?
With a thorough breakdown of their abilities, it’s time to determine the winner of this matchup. Evaluating Saitama and All Might against each other proved to be a relatively straightforward task.
Saitama’s overwhelming might leaves no room for debate (Photo: One Punch Man/Madhouse)Since One-Punch Man and My Hero Academia both center around superheroes and battles, their underlying structures bear similarities. While One-Punch Man leans into parody and exaggeration, whereas My Hero Academia takes a more serious approach, their foundations are close enough to facilitate this comparison.
Despite both being incredibly strong, Saitama’s capabilities far exceed All Might’s. Even though All Might is portrayed as an overwhelmingly powerful hero within his world, Saitama’s abilities exist on an entirely different level.
All Might’s Quirk makes him more powerful than his peers, but it doesn’t grant him supernatural durability or divine strength—elements that Saitama effortlessly possesses. This means Saitama could withstand anything All Might throws at him without issue.
Conversely, All Might would struggle to handle Saitama’s attacks, as his durability is insufficient to withstand such overwhelming force.
While some opponents in One-Punch Man have survived Saitama’s blows momentarily, All Might would not be among them. Given these factors, the last is clear—Saitama would emerge victorious in this showdown.