Is Jinwoo stronger than his father Sung Il-hwan in Solo Leveling? Power levels, explored

Modified Feb 02, 2025 05:30 GMT

Is Jinwoo stronger than his father Sung Il-hwan? Power levels, explored (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Solo Leveling season 2 debuted the appearance of Sung Il-Hwan, the main protagonist's father. Moreover, his debut episode also teased his potential as one of Korea's strongest Hunters because he overpowered Hwang Dongsoo without any sweat. This had the fans thinking about whether Il-Hwan might be stronger than his son, the new Shadow Monarch.

Currently, in the anime, Sung Il-Hwan is stronger than his son by a long shot, given how he has the powers of the Rulers. However, during the Monarch War Arc, when the male protagonist became the true Shadow Monarch, he could easily overpower II-Hwan due to Jinwoo's versatile fighting style and set of shadow soldiers.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the Solo Leveling manga series and has the author's opinion.

Solo Leveling: Exploring the power difference between Sung Jinwoo and Sung Il-Hwan

Sung Jinwoo as seen in the anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Sung Jinwoo is Solo Leveling's main protagonist, introduced as the weakest Hunter (E-ranked). However, he coincidently entered the double dungeon. This dungeon was astronomically higher than the protagonist's level and due to this, he died.

However, before he died, he was selected by the System as the next Shadow Monarch. From this point, the protagonist started leveling up alone by cleaning dungeons and completing quests assigned by the System. Eventually, he reached the level of an S-ranked Hunter.

Sung Il-Hwan as seen in the anime (Image via A-1 Pictures)

Sung Il-Hwan is an unranked Korean Hunter who was entrapped inside a dungeon and failed to escape. However, 10 years after this event, he escaped through the opening of an abroad dungeon. Due to his appearance, he was mistaken as a dungeon beast until further interrogation.

Il-Hwan's potential as a Hunter is speculative, given how the Solo Leveling anime has yet to showcase what he did inside the dungeon (or his origins). However, he would still be stronger than his son (as of the Demon Castle Arc) because Il-Hwan could easily over Hwang Dongsoo, an S-ranked Hunter.

The reason behind Il-Hwan's powers is the power the male character was gifted by the Rulers (during his time inside the dungeon). Moreover, Il-Hwan could also use Ruler's Authority (just like his son) so he could be considered one of the most powerful beings in the series' world.

However, things changed later during the Monarch War Arc. When three Monarchs infiltrated Earth to kill the male protagonist, Jinwoo and Il-Hwan partnered to stop them. During this fight, Il-Hwan showcased his true potential but couldn't do much due to the monarchs' overpowering nature.

However, Sung Jinwoo awakened his true powers as a Shadow Monarch during this battle and became the strongest being on the entire planet. By default, this made Jinwoo stronger than his father or any other being in existence. So, where Jinwoo might not be stronger than his father in the anime, things would change in the future when the protagonist awakens his true powers.

Final thoughts

Il-Hwan might also be the most underrated fighter in Solo Leveling. Despite being an unranked Hunter, his potential was considered equal to that of an S-ranked Hunter. Moreover, his ability to overpower Monarchs (for instance the Frost Monarch) showcased how much of a power Hunter he was.

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Edited by Sreerupa Das