The immensely popular manhwa Solo Leveling is renowned for its cast of impressively powerful characters. The series classifies characters into four tiers based on their abilities – Rulers, Monarchs, Humans, and Monsters.
The mightiest are the Rulers and Monarchs, created from darkness by the Absolute Being to destroy humanity. This makes the Monarchs the primary antagonists. With their incredible strength and skills, the Monarchs justifiably have an aura of dominance in Solo Leveling. Their purpose as destroyers of mankind also cements them as formidable foes.
The manhwa creates heightened stakes and intrigue around these immensely fearsome beings by establishing defined power levels and thoroughly exploring each Monarch’s capabilities. Their introduction as enemies adds gripping new dangers to the story.
In summary, the Monarchs are integral as the powerful villains in Solo Leveling, characterized by nearly unrivaled abilities. Their threat factor makes them engaging antagonists.
All about Monarchs in Solo Leveling
Monarchs stand at the pinnacle of power, only rivaled by Rulers. Created directly by the Absolute Being, they possess immense strength compared to humans and monsters.
Given their godlike abilities, ranking the strongest Monarchs demonstrates the staggering power scales in Solo Leveling. While all Monarchs have almost inconceivable skill levels, certain key figures stand out as the apex.
Factoring in their unique magic, physical prowess, leadership, and feats shown in the manhwa, the strongest Monarchs are:
10. Legia
Legia, the King of Giants, plays a relatively minor role as a Monarch in Solo Leveling. He stands out as the first and only Monarch captured by the Rulers. After the Absolute Being’s death, Legia was imprisoned on Earth by the Rulers and used as a mana battery to empower the human realm. Despite his great power, eons of draining his magic left Legia depleted.
Legia shows only two main abilities – Truth Induction and Spiritual Body Manifestation. He meets his demise by betraying Jin-Woo after making a loyalty pact, proving no match for Jin-Woo’s strength.
While formidable compared to humans, Legia’s long imprisonment robbed him of reaching his true potential as a Monarch. His brief role showed cunning but limited capabilities before Jin-Woo defeated him.
9. Tarnak
Tarnak, the Monarch of Monstrous Humanoids, is one of the few whom Jin-Woo didn’t kill. Arrogant and self-centered, Tarnak harbored a hatred of humans like fellow Monarch Yogumunt. He dismissed Jin-Woo’s status as Shadow Monarch due to his human origins. However, Tarnak recognized he was outmatched without his general Antares’ aid.
Tarnak’s main abilities were telepathy and manifesting a spiritual body since he lacked a physical vessel on Earth that limited his powers. Alongside Antares, he invaded Earth but was ambushed and quickly defeated when targeting Thomas Andre.
Despite being immensely strong as a Monarch, Tarnak met his demise through overconfidence and underestimating his foes. His disdain for Jin-Woo’s humanity clouded his judgment.
8. Yogumunt
Yogumunt, the King of Demonic Specters, stands as one of the nine monarchs forged by the Absolute Being. Proud and disdainful of humans, he views them as feeble and inferior. This disdain extends even to Sung Il-Hwan, Jin-Woo’s father, whom Yogumunt deems weak.
Despite his arrogance, Yogumunt possesses wisdom enough to acknowledge the strength of those who surpass him. Sung Jin-Woo proves to be such a foe after their initial encounter. Hindered by the absence of a Vessel, Yogumunt cannot unleash his full power on Earth, relying mainly on the ‘Spiritual Body Manifestation’ skill.
7. Rakan – King of Beasts
Rakan, the King of Beasts, embodies aggression, arrogance, and cruelty. He harbors intense disdain and bloodlust toward humans, viewing them as mere prey. Despite his bravado, Rakan reveals cowardice when confronted by adversaries of superior power, such as Antares and Jin-Woo.
Rakan is a hypocrite and offers to switch sides with Jin-Woo to evade certain death, showcasing his self-serving nature. Among monarchs, Rakan ranks notably powerful, boasting abilities like Telekinesis, Regeneration, and Spiritual Body Manifestation.
6. Querehsha
Querehsha, the Insect Queen, was one of the nine monarchs, characterized by her sadistic nature and thirst for bloodshed. Unlike Yogumunt, she derived pleasure from killing humans and treating them as prey. Surprisingly, she exhibited a maternal attitude toward her minions.
As a monarch, Querehsha possessed immense power and various abilities, including necromancy, mana manipulation, regeneration, poison induction, and spiritual body manifestation.
Despite her strength, Querehsha met her demise early in the series, underestimating Jin-Woo’s power and failing to recognize his imminent threat. This led to her swift defeat at Jin-Woo’s hands.
5. Hochwan – The Frost Monarch
The Frost Monarch, also known as the King of the Snow People, was one of the initial monarchs introduced in the series. Like his fellow monarchs, he exuded great pride in his abilities, although his demeanor often veered towards exaggeration. Unlike some of his counterparts, the Frost Monarch harbored a distaste for conflict and bloodshed, as evidenced during the Jeju Island Invasion Arc.
Despite his reluctance towards violence, the Frost Monarch was incredibly powerful, possessing notable abilities such as Ice Magic, Sleep Induction, and Spiritual Body Manifestation, common among monarchs. However, his power didn’t shield him from irrational actions driven by fear, such as his attempt to urge other monarchs to hastily eliminate Sung Jin-Woo, the Vessel of the Shadow Monarch.
4. Baran
Baran, known as the King of Demons, possesses a formidable and imposing presence despite lacking a human Vessel. His reputation is built on cruelty and a demeanor that exudes timidity.
Baran, however, is anything but timid in battle, demonstrating a willingness to confront adversaries even when facing certain defeat, as evidenced in his clash with Ashborn during the Rulers’ and Monarchs’ previous confrontation.
As a monarch, Baran commands significant power, with Jin-Woo’s defeat of a copy of Baran in the Castle of Demons hinting at the original Baran’s even greater strength. His abilities include Hell’s Army, Lightning Breathing, and Spiritual Body Manifestation, making him a formidable foe in any battle.
3. Ashborn
Ashborn, the First Shadow Monarch, is one of the most powerful beings in Solo Leveling, rivaled only by a few. Feared by Rulers and Monarchs for his immense strength drawn from darkness, Ashborn was betrayed by the other Monarchs in battle against the Rulers.
Unlike others, Ashborn valued life and grew weary of the endless conflicts between Rulers and Monarchs. He sought a successor to end the fighting. With abilities tied to darkness, Ashborn had near-limitless potential.
As both a Ruler and Monarch, Ashborn wielded unique powers like Ruler’s Authority, Monarch’s Domain, Shadow Manipulation, and Shadow Switching. Though believed dead, Ashborn lives on with his chosen successor, Jin-Woo.
Ashborn’s compassion and pursuit of peace set him apart from other godlike entities in Solo Leveling. By selecting Jin-Woo as heir to his incredible abilities, Ashborn’s legacy and hopes for ending the wars continue through his successor. Even in death, the First Shadow Monarch’s might and ideals impact the story.
2. Antares
Antares, the final villain as King of Dragons, is the oldest and strongest Monarch created. Made to destroy all life, Antares relishes chaos and evil. He holds a dismissive view of humanity.
However, Antares values honor, extending recognition to worthy foes like Jin-Woo, who can impress him in battle. This makes Jin-Woo the only human Antares acknowledges.
Fitting his title, Antares boasts immense power, proving Jin-Woo’s greatest challenge. His abilities like Dragon Fear, Destruction Breath, Spirit Manifestation, and Telepathy cement his supremacy.
As personification of destruction, Antares lives to sow calamity. But he abides by his code and acknowledges those who match his might, like Jin-Woo. This balance of malice and honor makes him a complex villain.
Through Jin-Woo and the Rulers’ combined efforts, Antares finally falls without pushing Jin-Woo to his utmost limits. As the mightiest Monarch, he provides the ultimate test for Jin-Woo’s ascendance.
1. Sung Jin-Woo
Jin-Woo, the protagonist, starts as the infamously Weakest E-Class Hunter but becomes the strongest in the universe, second only to the Absolute Being. Humble yet hungry for strength, Jin-Woo is chosen by Ashborn as his successor.
By fully absorbing Ashborn’s powers as Shadow Monarch, Jin-Woo surpasses even Ashborn, defeating Antares and reversing time with the Cup of Reincarnation. As Ashborn’s heir, Jin-Woo gains abilities like Shadow Control while developing his skills like Bloodthirst, Quicksilver, and Dagger Charge.
After defeating all Monarchs in the rewound timeline, Jin-Woo stands unrivaled except for the Absolute Being—his extraordinary growth from weakest to almost almighty drives the narrative.
