Sung Jinwoo’sShadows are some of the strongest characters inSolo Levelingon their own, but it can be hard to tell which of his Shadows reigns supreme. Before they were his Shadows, most of Jinwoo’s immortal soldiers were his enemies in some capacity. They were tough tests for the future Shadow Monarch, and after defeating them, Jinwoo was sure to add them to his growing Shadow Army.
As Shadow Soldiers, Jinwoo’s Shadows can level up with him, getting stronger just like their master. They’re also capable of obtaining speech and developing personalities, making for some of the funniest interactions in the series. The strongest trait of all the Shadows is their immortality, as even when they die, it costs Jinwoo just a little bit of mana to resurrect them and allow them to fight again.
12Tank
Rank: Knight
Sung Jinwoo gets Tank towards the beginning of the second season ofSolo Leveling.The second season ofSolo Levelingwas somehow even more successful than the first, with yetanother premiere that broke huge records. Jinwoo and a few other Hunters were heading into what seemed like a normal Dungeon, but it turned out to be a notorious Red Gate.
Inside the Red Gate was a pack of deadly Ice Bears, some of the strongest enemies Jinwoo had encountered at that point in the series. Not only did Jinwoo kill them all, but he added them all to his Shadow Army.The strongest of the Ice Bears stood out from the rest, and was given the name ‘Tank’ to represent his amazing abilities.
11Jima
Rank: Elite Knight
Jima is one of the weakest named Shadows in Jinwoo’s army, and even then the former Boss Naga is on the same level as the average S-Rank Hunter. Jima is stronger than every other Hunter in Korea, bar Cha Hae-In and Sung Jinwoo himself. As the leader of the Nagas, Jima wields a powerful pair of deadly tridents.
Jima is able to change his own size. He can condense himself to be about twice as tall as Jinwoo or grow to be the size of a giant. Both forms are great in battle, as he can either contend with Jinwoo’s biggest enemies orslink down and become nearly untouchable in battle.
10Kaisel
Kaisel might be the most useful out of Jinwoo’s Shadows, at least in terms of mobility. Kaisel was once Kaisellin, the White Flame Monarch’s battle mount. Baran, the White Flame Monarch and King of the Demons, was the boss of the Demon Castle. After defeating Baran inone of the best fights of the series, Jinwoo was quick to add his mount to his army.
Kaisel isn’t just Jinwoo’s ride. He’s one of the strongest Shadow Soldiers and one of the few that can fight from the skies. Whenever Jinwoo comes across aerial enemies, like in the Jeju Island Arc,Kaisel’s help is indispensable. While he’s not a full Dragon like Kamish, his strengths as a Wyvern are more than useful to Jinwoo throughout the series.
9Iron
Iron is the first Shadow that Jinwoo got from a fellow Hunter. In the webtoon, it’s heavily implied that Jinwoo actually baited Kim Chul into attacking him so he could get another Shadow out of the A-Rank Hunter. The anime tells a bit of a different tale, but no matter the medium,Iron might be Jinwoo’s strongest defender apart from Tusk.
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When he was alive as Kim Chul, Iron was an expert defender with a massive shield. He kept his shield after becoming a Shadow and gained a giant battleaxe as well. Iron is one of the funniest Shadows in Jinwoo’s arsenal, with a personality that’s always providing laughs. In battle, Iron is like a berserker, rushing towards his opponents without a care in the world.
8Min Byung-Gyu (Temporary)
Min Byung-Gyu could have been one of Jinwoo’s strongest Shadows.He’s one of the three Shadows Jinwoo acquired that he didn’t keep. During the Jeju Island Arc, arguablythe best arc of the series, Min Byung-Gyu was convinced to reprise his role as a Hunter by his friend Baek Yoonho, an S-Rank Hunter and leader of the White Tiger Guild.
Min Byung-Hyu was scared of battle and hated it, but he came back because of how bleak the situation looked. He proved himself incredibly useful as an S-Rank healer and A-Rank fighter, giving his strike team the support they needed. Out of nowhere, however, he was killed by the Ant King.
He was brought back to life as Jinwoo’s Shadow when Jinwoo realized only Min Byung-Gyu had the healing abilities to save Cha Hae-In’s life. While Jinwoo would have been more than happy to add such a powerful fighter to his army, Yoonho asked him to let his friend go, as Min Byung-Gyu never wanted to fight in the first place. Jinwoo obliged, letting one of the best healers in the series pass on once and for all.
7Ant Queen (Temporary)
Rank: General
Right after dismissing the powerful Min Byung-Gyu, Jinwoo was forced to dismiss the Ant Queen as well. The Ant Queen was the initial boss of the S-Rank Dungeon that was Jeju Island. Cha Hae-In proved herself as one ofthe strongest Hunters inSolo Levelingwhen she killed the Ant Queen fairly easily, beheading her with a single swing of her sword.
Jinwoo quickly added the Ant Queen to his Shadow Army, but he couldn’t keep her. Beru, the newly arisen Ant King, informed his master that the ants couldn’t handle having two leaders at once.They were overwhelmed by Jinwoo’s authority and the Ant Queen’s, forcing Jinwoo to dispel a very strong Shadow.
6Tusk
At one point in the series,Tusk was the strongest Shadow in Jinwoo’s army.Before he was Tusk, he was known as Kargalgan, a high orc shaman wielding magic at an insanely high level. He was so strong that he taunted the Hunters who stumbled into his Gate, telling them that he was going to toy with them before they died.
Jinwoo’s fight with Kargalgan is so good that Crunchyroll posted the entire thing on their YouTube channel for all to see. Kargalgan gives Jinwoo a pretty hard time, but the Shadow Monarch is no match for a simple high orc. Jinwoo kills Kargalgan and adds him to his army in front of everyone, showcasing his true power to the world for one of the first times in the series.
5Greed
There might not be any Shadows more satisfying to see added to Sung Jinwoo’s army than Greed. Before he was Greed, he was Hwang Dongsoo, an S-Rank Hunter and younger brother of Hwang Dongsuk. Dongsoo looked to get his revenge on Sung Jinwoo for killing his brother, even though Dongsuk betrayed Jinwoo first.
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Dongsoo knew he wasn’t strong enough to fight Jinwoo, baiting the Shadow Monarch into fighting Scavenger’s Guild Leader Thomas Andre. Not only did Dongsoo’s plan fail, but his soul was consumed by Jinwoo in the process. He became Greed, one of the strongest Shadows in Jinwoo’s army, witha name that perfectly reflected Dongsoo’s fatal flaw.
4Kamish (Temporary)
Out of the three Shadows Jinwoo wasn’t able to keep,Kamish might be the most disappointing to have to leave. Like the Ant Queen and Min Byung-Gyu, Kamish wasn’t able to receive a name from the Shadow Monarch before he moved on to the next life. When Kamish was alive, he was the boss of the first ever S-Rank Gate.
The Hunter’s Association preserved his corpse for years. When Jinwoo felt Kamish’s presence, he couldn’t help but try to add the behemoth to his arsenal. Unfortunately, it had been too long since Kamish had died, and he wasn’t able to stay as Jinwoo’s Shadow.
3Beru
Rank: Marshal
Beru is the funniest Shadow in Jinwoo’s army. The fact that Jinwoo’s soldiers can develop personalities is one of the best parts ofSolo Leveling,and Beru embodies the trait perfectly. Before he was Beru, he was the Ant King,the strongest threat to humanity since Kamish himself.
As a Shadow, Beru is insanely loyal and one of the first soldiers to speak with Jinwoo. He’s also absurdly strong, serving as the strongest Shadow of Jinwoo’s forces for a large part of the series. As the Ant King, Beru overpowered several S-Rank Hunters with ease, and he’s only gotten stronger since joining Jinwoo’s forces.
