A measly E-rank hunter, the world’s weakest, Sung Jinwoo was bestowed with the overpowered ability to level up. Jinwoo attained the power of necromancy with the help of the System. Bearing the title of Shadow Monarch, he got the ultimate power to reanimate the dead as shadows. Starting with Igris, the red knight, to the ever-powerful Beru, Sung Jinwoo quickly raised a formidable army of shadows in Solo Leveling with his powers. If you want to know how they stack up, I have analyzed their powers and ranked Jinwoo’s strongest shadows in our list here.
Spoilers Warning This article contains heavy spoilers about the shadows of Sung Jinwoo. Thus, we highly suggest you to read the manhwa completely beforehand in order to avoid ruining your intended experience.
13. Kaisel
- Rank: Knight Grade
During Jinwoo’s return to the Demon Castle, he clashed against Baron and his wyvern, Kaisellin. After successfully defeating them, Jinwoo extracted the shadow of Kaisellin and named him Kaisel. While Kaisel absolutely looked like an overpowered majestic dragon, there was no scope for him to shine in its entire screentime.
Kaisel was never called for a battle and was only used as a traveling medium by Jinwoo. I wanted to see much more of Kaisel and was damn disappointed with its character utilization in the end. As we never had a chance to see this dragon’s true strength as a shadow, it is the least formidable shadow in Sung Jinwoo’s army.
12. Tank
- Rank: Knight Grade
During the unfortunate Red Gate Incident, Sung Jinwoo came up against the Ice Bears in the frozen area. They had an Alpha Ice Bear among them whom Sung Jinwoo defeated with ease and extracted its shadow. Although the normal ones look like polar bears, the alphas are distinctive with a gigantic physique equal to an army tank. Hence, Jinwoo befittingly named this shadow, Tank.
Tank started as an Elite Grade and eventually reached the level of a Knight Grade. As a knight-level shadow, it had stronger defense and offensive features, thanks to its robust physique, razor-sharp claws, and fangs. Tank’s strength was equal to that of an A-Rank hunter, thus, Tank became a good starter pawn in battles.
11. Jima
- Rank: Elite Knight Grade
When the Ahjin Guild collaborated with the Knights Guild to take on a high-end A-Rank Gate, our protagonist Jinwoo met Boss Naga (humanoid x snake). As expected, he extracted its shadow after eliminating it and named it Jima. Jima was as strong as it was before being extracted and granted the Elite Knight Grade.
Hence, Jima was as capable as that of a mid-range S-Rank hunter. The Nagas possessed incredibly hard skin (used to make shields and armor) so they had a natural line of defense. Additionally, they also had the special ability to grow in size and regenerate body parts along with formidable strength due to their enormous size.
10. Iron
- Rank: Elite Knight Grade
Remember Kim Chul? He was an A-Rank hunter who tried to kill Jinwoo during the Red Gate incident. Jinwoo kills him as the hunter loses his mind inside the dungeon. He was later extracted as a shadow, Jinwoo gave him the title Iron, and as the name, he remained a loyal shadow of Jinwoo.
However, he didn’t have a major part in the storyline although he gained an Elite Knight Grade status. He had a handful of abilities such as Shout of Provocation, Regeneration, Great Strength, and Defense as he was a Tanker in real life previously.
9. Shadow Giants
- Rank: Elite Knight Grade
After Jinwoo revisited the Double Dungeon where it all started, an S-Rank gate spawned across Japan. This was the gateway for powerful giants entering Japan and stomping their way through everything (similar to the Rumbling from AOT). This is when Sung Jinwoo stepped up to obliterate up to 30 gigantic beings, all by himself! Each giant was said to possess powers that rivaled an S-Rank hunter easily.
Thus, in the end, Sung Jinwoo had a total of 28 giants at his disposal after extracting their shadows successfully. These are the most powerful pawns in Sung Jinwoo’s army that serve in the frontline as they can easily handle S-Rank level hunters without breaking a sweat.
8. Min Byung-Gyu (Temporary)
- Rank: Unknown
Min Byung-Gyu was an S-Rank healer who participated in the Jeju Island Raid, which eventually led to his death at the hands of the Ant King. As an S-Rank healer, Byung-Gyu was exceptional with healing, buffs, and stealth magic. He also mentioned that in terms of combat, he would be equal to that of an A-Rank hunter which was not very bad for a healer, right?
After his unexpected death, Jinwoo had to extract his shadow for a short time to heal his fellow hunter, Cha Hae-In who was on the verge of her death. Staying true to his word, Jinwoo honored him by revoking the extraction and letting his soul rest in peace as Byung-Gyu wanted after saving Cha Hae-In.
Even though he was a temporary shadow, a mention on our list of the strongest shadows is well-deserved for this S-rank hunter.
7. Ant Queen (Temporary)
- Rank: General Grade
The Ant Queen was the final boss of the S-Rank Gate that spawned on Jeju Island in Solo Leveling. Well, you must have an idea of how powerful she was as the boss of an S-Rank gate. However, Beru, the Ant King, remarked that more than her battle prowess, the Queen’s true power resides in her reproduction abilities.
Ant Queen was able to reproduce hundreds of ants for over four years, the main aspect being that the newer generations of ants are automatically more advanced than the older ones. She was able to hold her ground against a strike team full of S-Rank hunters, thanks to her ultimate strength. Plus, we only saw one of the abilities, the poison spewed by her.
Overall, as a General Grade shadow, the Ant Queen had an equal footing to that of a top-tier S-Rank hunter in Solo Leveling. However, Ant Queen is ranked lower on our list because she was utilized as a shadow only for a temporary period.
6. Greed
- Rank: General Grade
Jinwoo killing Hwang Dongsuk set his younger brother, Hwang Dongsoo, on a revenge path. Hwang Dongsoo wanted to eliminate Jinwoo from existence. However, everyone knows how that mission went as Dongsoo was crushed to the ground by both Jinwoo and his father.
Later, when Sung Jinwoo finished him off for tormenting Jinho, he extracted his shadow and made him bow in front of him. So, an S-Rank hunter was reborn as one of the strongest shadows of Sung Jinwoo, but we couldn’t see him in action for a long time like the other top shadows you will learn more below.
5. Tusk
- Rank: General Grade
Tusk was the shadow extracted from Kargalgan, the boss of the Hunters Guild Gate in Solo Leveling. Kargalgan was a mighty high orc shaman whose expertise was in the field of magic.
After being reborn as Tusk, he also became one of the most loyal shadows of Jinwoo. He graduated from Elite Knight Grade to General Grade, showcasing the volume of magical powers he gained and trained. To top it off, Jinwoo bestowed the Orb of Avarice to Tusk which automatically boosted the powers of his fire magic.
Tusk was a proper powerful shaman and mastered a multitude of magics which helped Sung Jinwoo greatly throughout his hair-raising adventures. He was easily the most powerful mage shadow we ever came across. So, Tusk was one of the most versatile and powerful shadows in Jinwoo’s shadow army.
4. Kamish (Temporary)
- Rank: Unknown grade
Kamish was the first ever boss encountered in the first S-Rank gate in the world of Solo Leveling. The dragon was infamously known as humanity’s greatest calamity to this day. However, after mass-murdering a lot of hunters and destroying the American Nation (West Coast of the US), it was finally slain by the last standing five S-Rank Hunters who went on to become National Level Hunters later on. Furthermore, Kamish’s corpse was preserved by the Federal Bureau of Hunters.
During the International Guild Conference Arc, Jinwoo brought it back from the dead as a shadow. However, since it has been dead for a very long time, its mana levels vanquished. So, Kamish lasted as Jinwoo’s shadow for only a short period and vanished into thin air.
Jinwoo never had any good luck with dragons. First, it was Kaisel and now Kamish, though, Kamish was an absolute monster in its prime.
3. Beru
- Rank: Marshal Grade
From now on, we have entered the top three spots starting with the fan-favorite king, Beru, who is one of the most loyal shadows of Sung Jinwoo. He is the extracted shadow of the fearsome Ant King who had slain a handful of S-Rank hunters as if they were nothing. Luckily, he switched teams as Beru now remaining as fierce and powerful as ever in his prime.
Beru is an exemplary versatile shadow who excelled in almost all his abilities. He had incredible strength and resilience, could fly and move at an unreal pace, and more importantly, could also perform healing magic.
Therefore, you can understand how Beru was the real deal when the debate was about the strongest versatile shadow.
2. Igris
- Rank: Marshal Grade
Next up, we have another fan-favorite swordsman Igris, I have to mention that he’s the top one for me. If you don’t remember, Igris was the very first shadow Sung Jinwoo extracted and it will always hold a special place in every fan’s heart. As Igris was a loyal commander of Ashborn, he was entrusted with examining the potential of the Shadow Monarch’s successor and that is when Sung Jinwoo met him as well.
Igris has been one of the most loyal and powerful shadow soldiers who had Jinwoo’s back from day one. He initially started as Knight grade and continuously upskilled to become the Marshal grade shadow. The biggest plus of Igris is the fact that he can keep upskilling to become stronger in every aspect. But do note that for most of the time, Igris fought in his battles with his true power sealed.
Igris was an exceptional swordsman and had a plethora of abilities like telekinesis, and regeneration along with impeccable strength to overthrow anything. During the Monarchs War arc, Igris’ seal was broken as soon as Sung Jinwoo truly awakened as the Shadow Monarch. The newly awakened Igris had the edge over Beru to become the second strongest shadow and was only beaten by a shadow whom you can learn about below.
1. Bellion
- Rank: Grand-Marshal Grade
Bellion arrived late during the end game but immediately stole the show to become the strongest shadow in the history of Sung Jinwoo’s army. Technically, Bellion was the first shadow ever made possible by Ashborn’s power. So, the first ever shadow created was the last one to join Sung Jinwoo’s army during the Final Battle Arc (see Solo Leveling arcs in order here).
Before his arrival, Marshal used to be the highest grade a shadow could ever attain. However, after Bellion’s entry, he clashed against Beru, only to end up easily beating him and clinching the brand new title of Grand Marshal Grade shadow. Bellion was the perfect shadow one could ask for, as he was outstanding in all aspects aspects such as strength, speed, expertise in weapons, leadership, etc.
Well, this marks the end of the list of the strongest shadows of Sung Jinwoo. Jinwoo got his hands on some of the most overpowered shadows in this realm throughout the story. At the same time, he was unlucky enough to achieve some shadows only to have them for such a short time.
Over time, he earned a ton of loyal soldiers who would go to extreme lengths for him. That said, if you think there is a need for change in the above ranking, feel free to let us know through the comments below.
Undoubtedly, Bellion is the most powerful shadow of Sung Jinwoo and the only shadow to have the Grand-Marshal grade. He is the first shadow to be ever created by Ashborn and joins Jinwoo during the final arc.
At the end of the series, Sung Jinwoo is said to have around ten million shadow soldiers in his army. We have ranked the top most shadow soldiers above.
This is one of the most heated debate topics among the Solo Leveling community. In our opinion, Beru gets the upper hand slightly as he is more versatile and the most loyal shadow of Jinwoo.
