10 Characters Stronger than Sung Jinwoo in Solo Leveling

Within just two season, Solo Leveling’s Sung Jinwoo has become one of the strongest characters in the series, but even he can’t take down some of his strongest enemies on his own. Jinwoo started the series as the weakest Hunter in the world, taking on low-ranking Dungeons so that he could afford to pay for his mom’s medical bills and his sister’s education.

By the end of the series (and even the middle), there are few Hunters, monsters, or Monarchs who can stand toe-to-toe with the Second Shadow Monarch, but it wasn’t like that the whole time. While there aren’t many, there are a few characters who were stronger than Sung Jinwoo when they first fought, forcing the protagonist to ask for help, change tactics, or retreat so that he can live to fight another day.

10

Cerberus

The Gatekeeper of the Demon Castle

The Demon Castle proved to be too much for Sung Jinwoo when he first arrived at the end of the first season of Solo Leveling. It’s one of the first arcs of the series, and it serves as a brutal reminder that even though Jinwoo had become the only Hunter in the world to get stronger, he wasn’t the strongest.

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Before Jinwoo could even enter the Demon Castle, he had to go through its Gatekeeper. Cerberus served as the guardian of the fiery building, dominating Jinwoo in battle so ferociously that Jinwoo had to retreat and come up with a new plan. He was able to come back later and finish what he started, but at first, Cerberus had Jinwoo’s number.

9

Querehsha

The Monarch of Plagues

Querehsha is the Queen of Insects and the Monarch of Plagues in Solo Leveling. As a Monarch, she’s stronger than every Hunter in the series by some margin, and she posed a real threat to Sung Jinwoo when they first met.

Querehsha and a few of the other Monarchs decided to kill Sung Jinwoo because they thought (correctly) that he would pose a serious threat to them in the future. Teaming up with Rakan and Sillad, Querehsha succeeded in overpowering Jinwoo, forcing him to rely on unseen allies to save his life.

8

Poisoned-Tooth Giant Desert Centipedes

The System Showed Jinwoo That It Wasn’t a Joke

Jinwoo can’t be blamed for not believing that the System was real at first. He seemingly died in the Double Dungeon, only to awaken in a hospital with no serious injuries. He was then greeted by a floating screen that nobody else could see, telling him to complete a series of quests.

After failing to complete the quests, the System punished Jinwoo by making him survive Poisoned-Tooth Giant Desert Centipedes for hours. Jinwoo didn’t have a chance against these massive monsters, as he had just reawoken as a Hunter and was still, presumably, an E-Rank.

7

Rakan

Rakan Was the Second Character to Kill Sung Jinwoo

Rakan is the King of Beasts and the Monarch of Fangs in Solo Leveling. He’s one of the strongest Monarchs in the series and one of the two characters to (somewhat) kill Jinwoo. When Sillad, Qurehsha, and Rakan teamed up to take Sung Jinwoo down, there was little the Second Shadow Monarch could do about it.

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The Monarchs in Solo Leveling are stronger than even National Level Hunters, and even Sung Jinwoo’s strongest Shadows could barely help him. Rakan was able to kill Jinwoo, proving that Jinwoo wasn’t enough to take on multiple Monarchs at once. Thanks to Sung Il-Hwan’s help, Jinwoo was able to awaken his Black Heart and regain all the powers of Ashborn, the first Shadow Monarch.

6

Kandiaru

The Architect Had Jinwoo’s Number

Kandiaru is one of the strongest villains in Solo Leveling because of how closely he’s connected with Jinwoo’s powers. He’s the entity that made a deal with Ashborn before the first Shadow Monarch died. He told Ashborn that he would find and cultivate a suitable host body for Ashborn to use when he came to Earth, preparing them through the mysterious System.

Sung Jinwoo was nothing more than a vessel to Kandiaru. When Jinwoo went back to the Double Dungeon, Kandiaru (known as The Architect) severed Jinwoo’s connection to his Shadow Army and was able to overpower him fairly quickly. If it wasn’t for the arrival of several S-Rank Hunters, Jinwoo wouldn’t have stood a chance.

5

Sillad

Jinwoo’s Dad Came in at the Right Time

Sillad is the King of Snow Folk and the Monarch of Frost. He’s one of the strongest, most cruel villains in the series. During the Monarchs War Arc, Sillad found Go Gunhee in Korea and identified him as a vessel of the Rulers. He killed Go Gunhee brutally, but Jinwoo was on his trail quickly.

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Sillad realized he’d need more help to take on the Second Shadow Monarch, enlisting Rakan and Querehsha. With their help, Sillad was able to take down Jinwoo towards the end of the series. While Jinwoo wasn’t dead for long, it was still an impressive feat for the Monarch of Frost to pull off.

4

Baran

Esil Came in at the Right Time

Baran is the King of Demons and the Monarch of White Flames. He’s the only Monarch to not fully appear in Solo Leveling, as Ashborn killed him before the series started. Kandiaru recreated Baran to serve as the final boss of the Demon Castle, and even his clone was almost too much for Jinwoo to handle.

Baran is one of the strongest characters in Solo Leveling, and his fight against Jinwoo proved that his abilities were truly on another level from every other enemy that Jinwoo had faced up until that point in the series. Baran was about to blow Jinwoo’s head off when Esil distracted him for a second, giving Jinwoo the opportunity to gather his strength and finish Baran off with an amazing uppercut.

3

Baruka

The Leader of the Ice Elves Could’ve Been One of Jinwoo’s Strongest Shadows

Baruka is one of the biggest what ifs in Solo Leveling. He’s one of the most charismatic, frightening, and interesting characters in the series, and he would have made for one of Jinwoo’s strongest Shadows if Jinwoo was able to obtain him.

During the Red Gate Arc, Jinwoo had to take the leader of the Ice Elves head on. Jinwoo realized early that Baruka (also known as Barca) was too much for him to handle alone. He called up Igris to help him, but even the two of them fighting together could barely face Baruka. Jinwoo then goaded Kim Chul into attacking him, killed him, created the Shadow known as Iron out of his body, and finally won by fighting Barca 3v1.

2

The Blood-Red Commander Igris

If Igris Used His Sword, Jinwoo Would’ve Died

The Blood-Red Commander Igris serves as the final boss of the first season. He’s an incredibly powerful soldier who flies across the battlefield faster than anyone else Jinwoo had faced before. Jinwoo did very well in their fight, but even he couldn’t hold a candle to the commander.

Jinwoo admitted after their fight that if Igris hadn’t voluntarily put his sword down during their fight, he would have died. It’s a crazy admittance from a character who becomes one of the strongest in the entire series, but he never would’ve gotten there if Igris didn’t have an immense amount of pride in battle.

1

Antares

The Monarch of Destruction

Antares is the King of Dragons, the Monarch of Destruction, and the final boss of Solo Leveling. He’s the strongest villain in the series by some margin. He’s so insanely powerful that he decimates droves of people within the first few minutes of his entrance onto the Earth.

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Even after acquiring all the former Shadow Monarch’s powers and the strongest Shadows in existence, Jinwoo barely stood a chance against Antares. He only won the battle because he was able to call upon the Rulers who could finish Antares for him. Antares makes for a great final villain who Jinwoo gets to fight a second time in the epilogue, this time taking him out on his own.

Solo Leveling

Release Date

2024 – 2025-00-00

Directors

Shunsuke Nakashige

Writers

Noboru Kimura

• 

  Taito Ban

  Shun Mizushino (voice)

• 

  Genta Nakamura

  Kenta Morobishi (voice)