Why is Midoriya's power so low according to the official character book?

Question

According to the official character book or Boku no Hero Academia Wikia, Midoriya power is 1/5. However, other students have powers much higher than him:

• Yuga 2/5
• Tenya 4/5
• Eijiro 4/5
• Denki 3/5
• Fumikage 2/5
• Shoto 5/5
• Katsuki 5/5

This doesn't make sense. Midoriya is supposed to have the most powerful quirk, One for All. In the battle with Shoto, when they clashed, they were almost even.

How does this power level from the official character book makes sense? I could understand if he doesn't have 6/5 (like All Might) but maybe 5/5 like Shoto or Katsuki or 4/5 (barely under Shoto since in their battle they clashed and Shoto won for a little), but certainly not 1/5.

Why is Midoriya power so low according to the official character book?

Answer 1

Official character book only covers between Chapters 1 to 88. This is where All Might and other heroes assault the League of Villains to save Bakugo.

So if you consider fights that Midoriya was in, until there, I think you can see the pattern. Midoriya usually breaks his bones while fighting. Yes, there are some fights where he doesn't, but not that much. The fight between him and Muscular is a good example.

• Even if you defeat someone that is so powerful but destroy yourself in the process, that makes you a liability. You defeated one big guy, good. But if a low-tier villain can one-shot you after that fight, could you really call yourself that powerful?

• Only a handful of people know that Midoriya inherited One for All. To others, he is not super powerful. The Tournament Arc is a good example of it. How many pro heroes were willing to recruit him?

Answer 2

I think that the stats on power are based on how much power that the person can control and not based on the overall power that the person’s quirk has. Bakugo has full control over his quirk but Midoriya barely does. He’s getting there though.

Answer 3

I think the reason is that Deku didn't have control over his power. Only a few people know that Deku is really powerful but he can only use 20% of his power right now. However, other people consider him weak because they assume that his power is kind of ok, though it breaks his bones.

Personally, I would give him a 3/5 power and 5/5 speed. Even though they list his speed 1/5, Muscular said that he is very fast. He demonstrated good control over his speed.