Solo Leveling has quickly become one of the most exciting new shōnen series around, and a huge part of the series' success lies in the powerful characters in it. Solo Leveling is filled with powerful characters from top to bottom. As Sung Jinwoo, the protagonist of the series, gets stronger, so do his friends and enemies. Even his Shadows have the ability to level up along with their master, making his personal army strong enough to take down the worst of foes.

The power-scale for Solo Leveling gets very complicated as the series progresses. While some aspects are straightforward, like S-Rank Hunters being stronger than A-Rank Hunters, there comes a point in the series where rankings are almost entirely meaningless. Characters get so strong that ranking systems mean nothing to them, making the strongest characters hard to determine.

10 Igris

Ashborn's Left-Hand Man And Jinwoo's Second-Strongest Shadow

Igris is one of Jinwoo's coolest Shadows and one of his strongest, and that's saying something. Before Igris became Jinwoo's Shadow, he was the final boss of the first season, putting up one of the best fights in it. After Jinwoo sures his limits in their fight, he successfully adds Igris to his Shadow Army. Igris was always one of the strongest, and when Jinwoo finally unlocks all the former Shadow Monarch's powers, the Blood-Red Commander becomes even stronger.

Igris was the strongest Shadow in Jinwoo's Shadow Army until Tusk and Beru came along. Tusk and Beru had his number until Igris leveled up, revealing his true strength. Igris used to fight alongside Ashborn, and he was so strong that even the other Monarchs recognized him as one of the "Two Wings" of the original Shadow Army.

9 Thomas Andre

The Top-Ranked Nation-Level Hunter

Thomas Andre is ranked as the strongest Hunter in the entire world. Beyond S-Rank Hunters lie the National Level Hunters — Hunters that rival an entire nation in of pure strength. Thomas Andre's strength is seen a few times in the second half of the series, and he's every bit as terrifying as his rank would make him seem. He's also one of the Ruler's vessels, giving him access to a level of power only a few in the series can get close to.

Thomas Andre is strong enough to hold some of the Monarchs back for a little bit, and with the help of some of Jinwoo's Shadows, he was even able to trap and kill a Monarch. His fight with Jinwoo is one of the best fights in the entire series, and when it gets animated, everyone will get to see exactly why Thomas Andre earned his spot as the strongest Hunter across the globe.

8 Bellion

Ashborn's Right-Hand Man And Jinwoo's Strongest Shadow

Bellion is Jinwoo's strongest Shadow in his entire army and one of the strongest characters in the entire series. He's the only named Shadow that Jinwoo didn't capture himself; he was Ashborn's final gift to Jinwoo, and boy was it a good one. Bellion's strength is on an entirely different level from the rest of the Shadow Army. Beru was the strongest Shadow in the army when Bellion first arrived.

Bellion was the first Shadow ever created by Ashborn, the first Shadow Monarch.

Beru challenged Bellion to a fight, and even though Beru made quick work of Cha Hae-In in a training match, he didn't stand a chance against Bellion. Bellion was born from the fruit of the World Tree, a mythical tree so large that it could cover the entire sky with one of its branches. To say Bellion is not like any other Shadow is an understatement. He's at least as strong as the National Level Hunters, and thanks to Jinwoo's myriad of boosts he can give him, he's much stronger.

7 The Titans

Said To Be Nearly On Par With The Rulers

The Titans are one of the strongest groups in the entire series, but it doesn't seem like that. Before Jinwoo used the Cup of Reincarnation, the Titans would head towards the world of the Monarchs and Rulers and steal their power. They were said to be nearly as strong as the Rulers themselves. Unfortunately for the Titans, by the time they had found Jinwoo, he was much stronger than they were expecting.

An entire army of Titans flooded the Earth's sky, but it didn't matter — Jinwoo had an army too. While the leader of the Titans was trying to tell Jinwoo that the Shadow Monarch wouldn't stand a chance in battle, Bellion beheaded him in an instant. Jinwoo and his army made quick work of the Titans, showing that Jinwoo as the second Shadow Monarch had achieved a nearly unbelievable level of strength.

6 Sung Il-Hwan

A Potential Nation-Level Hunter And An Emissary For The Rulers

Sung Il-Hwan is Jinwoo's dad. He was one of the first ever Hunters. He existed before the National Level Hunter Ranking, but if he was around when they created the rank, he would have been at the top. Sung Il-Hwan fights like a beast. While his son relies on a mixture of magic, might, and daggers to get close to his opponent, Il-Hwan flies straight at people. He doesn't have the patience to mess around, and nobody learned that quicker than Hwang Dongsoo.

Hwang Dongsoo was one of the strongest villains in the series when he tried to threaten Sung Il-Hwan. Il-Hwan had no intention of fighting until Dongsoo threatened his family. Handcuffs weren't enough to stop Il-Hwan, and neither was Dongsoo. He beat Dongsoo so brutally that the S-Rank Hunter didn't wake up for a few days afterward.

5 The Rulers And Monarchs

Created To Fight Eternally For The Absolute Being's Enjoyment

The Rulers and the Monarchs are the two biggest forces behind Solo Leveling. While the Monarchs' strength is more often put on display, the Rulers are said to be equal in strength with them. The Absolute Being created the two races to fight each other eternally so that he would have some form of entertainment. They were so closely matched in battle that the Rulers asked him for help defeating the Monarchs.

When he didn't help them, they realized his true intentions. Since then, the Monarchs and Rulers have been at war, using the Earth as their battleground. They each choose humans as their vessels, working to create enough magical energy on Earth to use themselves. There are a few Monarchs that are stronger than the Rulers, but for the most part, the two groups are pretty evenly matched.

4 Ashborn

The First Shadow Monarch And Former Ruler

Ashborn is one of the most complicated characters in Solo Leveling. He started out as a Ruler, and by all s, he was one of the strongest. He was known as the "Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light" among the Rulers. Ashborn was eternally loyal to the Absolute Being, even after the Absolute Being's true intentions came to light. While the other Rulers rebelled, Ashborn didn't, and it cost him his life. Ashborn was about to die when he realized that the Absolute Being had another intention for him.

"I am the record of your bitter struggle. I am the evidence of your resistance. I am the reward of your pain. I am death, I am eternal rest, and I am also terror. I am you." Ashborn to Sung Jinwoo

He awoke as the Shadow Monarch, conquering Death itself. Unlike his fellow Monarch Antares, Ashborn never liked fighting. He wanted the war to stop between the Rulers and the Monarchs, even thinking about forgiving the Rulers for their betrayal when nobody else would.

3 Antares

The King Of Dragons And The Monarch Of Destruction

Antares is the strongest Monarch in the series for most of it. He's even stronger than Sung Jinwoo himself in the first timeline. Jinwoo realized he was no match for Antares, so instead of beating the King of the Dragons himself, he created an opportunity for the Ruler to appear on Earth and kill Antares for him.

Antares was so strong that even National Level Hunters couldn't touch him. If Antares was a National Level Hunter, then National Level Hunters wouldn't even be considered E-Rank.

Not only was Antares in a league of his own when he first came to the series, but his army was stronger than anything Earth had ever seen before. Kamish was the boss of the first S-Rank dungeon, and even he was nothing compared to the dragons in Antares' army.

2 Sung Jinwoo

The Second Shadow Monarch

Sung Jinwoo is, without a shadow of a doubt, the strongest (somewhat) mortal character in Solo Leveling. At this point, it might be hard to that at the beginning of the series, Sung Jinwoo was quite literally the weakest Hunter in the entire world.

After surviving near-death experiences time and time again, Ashborn chose him to be his successor. He couldn't have chosen better, as Jinwoo has more tenacity than almost every other character in the series combined.

Jinwoo's fights are the best part of Solo Leveling. He's always fighting characters way stronger than him, like when he fought the King of Demons in the Demon Castle. Jinwoo eventually becomes strong enough to kill Antares without the help of the Rulers.

He spent 27 grueling years in the realm of the Monarchs, hunting each of them down before finally reaching the Monarch of Destruction. With 27 more years of experience under his belt, Jinwoo finally killed Antares, cementing his spot as one of the strongest beings in existence.

1 The Absolute Being

The Creator Of The Monarchs And The Rulers

The Absolute Being must be the strongest character in Solo Leveling. His true strength is never put fully on display, but some of his actions are. He created both the Rulers and the Monarchs, two of the strongest groups of beings in the universe.

He also created reality-breaking tools like the Cup of Reincarnation, giving its s the ability to rewind time by 10 years whenever they want. He created the Rulers and Monarchs seemingly for the sole purpose of killing each other, creating some form of entertainment for the all-powerful being.

When the Rulers found out his true intention, he was killed by his very creations. The webtoon shows several spears going into his back on his throne, implying that several Rulers were required to take the Absolute Being down. If he ever got off of his throne and chose to do something, neither the Rulers nor the Monarchs would have stood a chance.