WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Solo Leveling Chapter 179 by Chugong, Dubu and h-goon, available in English now on Tappytoon.
Jinwoo has firmly established himself as the strongest Hunter in Solo Leveling's world, and part of the reason for his rapid growth is his shadow army. As the Shadow Monarch, Jinwoo has the ability to extract his fallen enemies' shadows and resurrect them as part of his army. As shadows, they're much harder to kill, making them formidable foes to face.
Numerous shadows have been acquired over the course of the story, but a specific few are considered Jinwoo's core shadow army group. It can get confusing to remember everyone and who they were before they became shadows, so here's a quick recap on the major ones.
Igris, the Loyal Knight
Igris, the very first shadow Jinwoo ever extracted in Solo Leveling, is a fan favorite just for how cool he is. Jinwoo encountered Igris -- known as Knight Commander Igris the Red while he was alive -- when he went into the boss's lair and found the knight guarding an empty throne. He had a hard time fighting Igris and in the end, chose to swap out his weapon for sheer muscle. Surprisingly Igris chose to do the same, evidently due to his chivalrous nature as a knight. Using a combination of strength and luck, Jinwoo defeats Igris and uses shadow extraction on him.
Deeming his name to be too long, Jinwoo renames him as Igris when he comes back as a shadow. Igris is incredibly loyal and respectful to Jinwoo and is his oldest shadow soldier. He doesn't talk much, but every action that he takes is seeped in honor and he's very protective.
Tank, the Ice Bear
The next major shadow Jinwoo extracted in Solo Leveling was when he entered a C-Rank Gate that turned out to be a Red Gate. Red Gates are dangerous in that they're usually at least a B-Rank. They cut off those inside from the outside world, and the only way the Hunters can escape is to either kill the boss or wait for the dungeon to break on its own.
One of the enemies Jinwoo faced in there were the ice bears. Tank emerged as the leader, enormous and powerful with scars all over his body and face. Jinwoo summoned Igris and the knight easily killed the ice bear, allowing Jinwoo to turn the bear into the shadow Tank.
Iron, the First Hunter Shadow
Jinwoo had so far only done shadow extraction on monsters he's fought but he has no shortage of human enemies, including Kim Chul. During the Red Gate incident, Kim Chul nominated himself to be the leader but was primarily interested in keeping the strong alive. He continuously kept throwing the blame on everyone but himself when things went awry.
Even with Igris, Jinwoo knew he couldn't defeat the boss of the Red Gate dungeon, but his chance came when Kim Chul attacked him. Jinwoo ordered Igris to kill him, thus granting him the opportunity to turn Kim Chul -- who was an A-Rank Hunter -- into a shadow. It's a little disconcerting to realize Jinwoo deliberately orchestrated this. Unfortunately, Iron is still a bit of a dimwit even after becoming a shadow.
Tusk, the High Orc Shadow
When Jinwoo tagged onto a group of Hunters entering an A-Rank Gate, he didn't expect to encounter a group of powerful High Orcs. The Hunters are led into the throne room where they meet the boss, Kargalgan. Although their foe is able to use spells, he is no match for Jinwoo given how much he has grown in Solo Leveling -- not to mention having three powerful shadows in his arsenal.
After coming back as a shadow, Jinwoo renames the A-Rank dungeon boss as Tusk after forgetting what his original name was. Though fearsome to look at, Tusk has his moments, such as when he's flattered at he's getting his picture taken.
Beru, the Historical Drama Fanatic
The "Jeju Island" arc was one of Solo Leveling's most dangerous and exciting storylines. Jeju Island has long been uninhabitable due to the enormous ants that roamed around and killed anyone who set foot it. They also now have the ability to fly, making them all the more dangerous. S-Rank Hunters hailing from Korea and Japan flew to Jeju Island to get rid of them once and for all.
As the Ant King, Beru was arrogant and constantly on the lookout to fight strong people, one of whom was Jinwoo. Soon enough, Beru realized this was unlike any other opponent he'd ever faced -- despite how quick the former was, Jinwoo was much faster. Up until Chapter 167, Beru was the only shadow who could talk. Despite being a murderous ant in his past life, he is extremely loyal like Igris. Ever since he discovered Korean historical dramas, he's taken to calling Jinwoo 'king' and 'his Majesty' while using vernacular from those times.
Min Byung-Gu, the Reluctant Shadow
One of the S-Rank Hunters who joined the Jeju Island raid was the Healer Min Byung-Gu, who had retired shortly after a previous raid. Due to his traumatic memories from the past, he was reluctant to join this time but nonetheless he went there for his friends' sake. Unfortunately, Byung-Gu was killed and eaten by Beru (before Jinwoo turned the former Ant King into his shadow).
Due to how quickly Cha Hae-In was succumbing to her injuries, Jinwoo used shadow extraction on Byung-Gu in the hopes of using his healing powers to save her. He actually failed twice due to Byung-Gu's refusal to come back to life in such a way -- and Jinwoo himself didn't want to do it -- but he succeeded on his final attempt. After Hae-In was healed, Jinwoo released Byung-Gu, allowing the Hunter to rest in peace.
Greed, the Avenging Shadow
The death of his brother infuriated Hwang Dongsoo, and he has been constantly searching for Jinwoo to exact revenge. It wasn't easy to find the elusive Hunter, however, so the next best way was to kidnap Jinho, Jinwoo's friend. When Jinwoo eventually found him in the factory, he immediately started fighting Dongsoo. It didn't matter that his foe was one of the strongest Hunters out there -- up against a furious Jinwoo, he had no chance.
Along with Kim Chul, Dongsoo is one of the few Hunters Jinwoo has ever turned into a shadow in Solo Leveling. However, this shadow extraction wasn't done in as calculated a way as the one with Iron. This one was fueled by Jinwoo's anger and his overwhelmingly strong sense of protection.
Kamish, the Short-Lived Shadow
Emerging from the first S-Rank Gate, Kamish wiped out all the best Hunters at the time save for five, who eventually became National Level Hunters. He was eventually killed by those Hunters and his corpse had been kept in the Hunter's Bureau headquarters since then. On his second try, Jinwoo successfully extracts Kamish's shadow.
Kamish once served Antares but like all shadows, his loyalty shifted to Jinwoo. Surprisingly, the dragon has a bit of a humorous side when his tail wags like a dog. Unfortunately, Kamish doesn't stay as Jinwoo's shadow for very long before he disintegrates. Because it's been so long since he died and was revived, the effects of the shadow extraction have weakened.
Bellion, the Grand Marshal
Bellion made his entrance in Chapter 167 of Solo Leveling, shortly after the defeat of the three Monarchs. Unlike the rest of the shadows, he didn't 'arise' from Jinwoo's powers. Instead, he came as part of the former Shadow Monarch's army and had fought alongside Ashborn many years ago -- when Ashborn battled the revolting Rulers and became a Monarch. Since his return, Bellion has pledged his allegiance to the new Shadow Monarch, Jinwoo. Having fought the Monarchs before, his experience has been a key asset.
