Strongest Character's Final Forms Ranked and Explained in Solo Leveling (2026 update)
- animefocusnetwork
- 6 days ago
- 7 min read
Published on March 19, 2026
We all know that Jinwoo is the most powerful being in the current universe, but where exactly do the others stand. We have heavy weights like Thomas Andre and Liu Zhigang, but how do they actually compare to the evil beings like the monarchs.
Solo Leveling has always been more "level up" focused instead of pure story telling, and honestly, a lot of people prefer that. Sure, good story telling like Witch Hat Atelier and Reincarnated as a Slime (worldbuilding and politics) is great, but every now and then we absolutely NEED a good action anime or manga / manhwa to read or watch.
Top Strongest Characters in Solo Leveling Ranked
From Great beings to weak E-ranks, Solo Leveling has it all. In this list we break down all the strongest character and what sets them apart from the rest. This order is from Weakest to the complete strongest and takes place in the original Light Novel series from the original creator.
Liu Zhigang
As the story unfolds we think the S-Rank hunters are at the very top of the power food chain, but that was not the case after the introduction of the National Level Hunters. Liu Zhigang is one of them and is widely regarded as China's strongest hunter. What sets this hunter apart from ordinary S-rank hunters? To put it simply, they have the power to take down an entire nation.
Liu wields immense power and is a sword master. We see him in the anime at the end of the Jeju Island arc taking down a ton of flying ants with a swing of a sword, which is actually one of his signature moves. As the vessel of the Rulers, he also possesses an advanced power like telekinesis which is the Ruler's Authority and enhanced durability.
Thomas Andre
This is one of the more prominent National Hunters in the series, probably mainly because it's America's National Level Hunter and personally my favorite Nation Level one. Thomas serves as the guild master of the Scavenger Guild and possesses immense power as we see during his fight with Jinwoo. However, he doesn't quite add up as the appropriate opponent because Jinwoo absolutely dominates him, but he is still a level above Liu Zhigang and is also the strongest of the National Level Hunters.
Frost Monarch (Sillad)
Salid is one of the nine ancient monarchs and serves as the king of the snow folk which is the ice elves as seen during season 2 when Jinwoo enters the red gate. This monarch has absolute mastery over all ice and frost. He has long silver hair, and white eyes to resemble snow or frost as his title implies.
His personality is familiar, calm but very arrogant. To be honest he acts the same way as the frost elves we see in the red gate, acting tough and confident, yet calm almost like a sophisticated being. He can freeze his opponents instantly and is even able to spit ice torrent or induce sleep. This makes him a very powerful monarch but not the top tier when compared to Rakan for example. Based on his strategic ways, his more clever, but this list is based purely on power not strategic actions.
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Beast Monarch (Rakan)
Opposed to Silad's calm arrogant demeanor, the Beast Monarch, Rakan is aggressive and arrogant and most importantly bloodthirsty, which fits his titles narrative. He has the ability to transform into a gigantic white wolf through his special skill Spiritual Body Manifestation which also boosts his stats tremendously. This is also his main signature move.
His power is raw and almost primal-like and can trash the top tier hunters like Thomas Andre. Overall he's a brutal powerhouse monarch who relies on ferocity and beast instincts rather than fancy tricks or strategic thinking like the Frost Monarch.
Baran (Monarch of White Flames)
Baran the Monarch of White Flames is notably stronger than the two I mentioned before. He is a powerful demonic entity with a muscular build and glowing white eyes and takes on the elements of lightning and flames. He was once a close ally of Ashborn the Shadow Monarch when they were in the eternal war with the Rulers, but betrayed him out of fear. This ultimately led to his death by Ashborn long before the Solo Leveling story actually started.
However, Jinwoo actually did fight him in Season 2 when he was on top of a dragon, but this was only a clone or recreation used for training purposes. The real one wields overwhelming strength, speed and durability and breathes lightning torrents. This still makes him kind of an unknown or more lacking in major lore.
Bellion
Bellion serves as Jinwoo's strongest shadow in his army but more specifically, he is the Grand Marshal of Jinwoo's shadow army. There are many reasons why he deserves this spot: he was the very first shadow created by the Monarch Ashborn, who now serves Jinwoo. He was born from the fruit of the World Tree, served Ashborn as a lieutenant, and became the first shadow soldier created using Ashborn's power.
He is a ferocious warrior with black wings and jagged armour, glowing purple skin, and white eyes. Despite his strength and ferocity, he is entirely loyal to Jinwoo and joins him in the later arcs of the series. Ultimately, as the pinnacle of the shadow army, no other is better suited for this spot than him.
Absolute Being
This is the overarching antagonist in the Solo Leveling world. While he is a godly figure who created the universe and life from light and darkness, his strength still doesn’t add up. That’s why he’s not at the very top of this list. He did possess the power to create and destroy life on a cosmic scale, yet he was ultimately killed by the rebelling Rulers.
He sat back on the throne and lacked combat experience and for this reason alone, he is strong but falls short when it comes to combat. This puts him in our fourth spot. Personally he would have been the most powerful if he simply improved his combat and destructive ability, instead he was lazy haha.
Antares (Monarch of Destruction)
Antares, who is the Monarch of Destruction and King of Dragons, is the strongest and oldest of all the nine Monarchs in Solo Leveling. He is the supreme leader of the Monarchs and embodies pure destruction and thrives on total devastation. This kind of comes with the name, but he embodies the "destruction" aspect to a T.
In his human-like form, he appears as a tall, muscular figure with long red hair, glowing red eyes, dark red claws, reddish-silver armor, and a reddish-brown tailcoat. He possesses the terrifying ability to fully transform into a massive dragon or partially shift his body for devastating attacks during battle.
While this isn't terrifying in itself, he does Lead the Monarchs in their eternal war against the Rulers and humanity and stands as one of the most overwhelming and fearsome forces in the series. This pushes even Sung Jinwoo to his absolute limits in their climactic battle. However theres one person he has trouble beating and that's the one and only Shadow Monarch, Ashborn!
Ashborn (Original Shadow Monarch)
Previously I said that Antares was the strongest of all the Monarchs. That is true before Ashborn awakened in a sense. After the downfall of the Absolute Being, meaning when Ashborn was just a Ruler, the leader of the Monarchs could have stood a chance.
But then Ashborn triggered an activating ability, transforming him into the Shadow Monarch upon his death and gaining dominion over all the dead. His new title is Monarch of Shadows, King of the Dead. This gained him the ability to raise the dead to his side, but more importantly, he was so strong and at the same time tired of the endless war, so he decided to choose a successor to end the war and protect humanity.
While it’s not 100 percent known why he didn’t end it himself, I speculate it could be that he didn’t want to end another creation’s life. The source material points that his was emotionally fatigued and exhausted from the endless war.
Sung Jin-Woo (Shadow Monarch)
This leads us to the main protagonist, Sung Jinwo the new Shadow Monarch. Jinwoo inherited Ashborns abilities and entire powerset and army but surpassed him through extremely relentous growth, combat experience and adaptation.
So what makes him more powerful than Ashborn? Well it simply comes down to pure fighting power. Jinwoo achieved something Ashborn couldn't, that's the defeat of Antarses all on his own. Meaning completely solo without any army after 27 years of war in the revised timeline (this was after uing the cup of reincarnation).
Ultimately as of now Jinwoo stands as the most strongest in the universe of solo leveling!
Editor's Thoughts
One of my most favorite manhwa out there! I really recommend you guys at least read this series either in the light novel which is here or the manhwa. Reading it adds more to the story and of course there will always be cut-out scenes to compensate for pacing.
I am reminded once again why I love this series so much. From a weak E-rank hunter to the world’s strongest. Who doesn’t like a story like that, right? Solo Leveling is truly a masterpiece if you are a fan of a shonen series. — Dean
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