This article contains spoilers for ten Hunter x Hunter manga and anime.

Summary

Meruem, the King of the Chimera Ants, is the most powerful villain in Hunter X Hunter's Chimera Ant arc.
Meruem's ability to absorb Nen and grow stronger makes him unmatched by any character in the series.
No one, not even strong characters like Netero or Adult Gon, can compare to the limitless potential of Meruem's power growth.

Hunter X Hunter is an incredibly popular story that has garnered, over the years, a very loyal fan base, patiently awaiting the new updates from author, Yoshihiro Togashi, who has gone on long hiatuses. Recently, Togashi announced the manga's return, to everyone's joy. Hunter X Hunter’s 2011 anime catapulted it into fame, and it covered all the events until the end of the 13th Election arc. It's the only anime that covered the Chimera Ant arc, arguably the most popular arc to come out of this manga.

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The Chimera Ant arc has been highly acclaimed for its masterful storytelling and build-up. It started in the manga in chapter 186 and concluded in chapter 318, which would translate into episodes 76 to 136 of the anime. It is the longest Hunter X Hunter arc to date, and follows the story after the conclusion of the Greed Island arc, where Gon reunites with a childhood figure, Kite. The main antagonist of this arc is none other than Meruem, who fans know is a very strong individual. In fact, fans know him to be one of the strongest in the entire story, if not the strongest. While a glimpse of his powers was given to the fans in the Chimera Ant arc, his true power was still never shown, and fans don't truly comprehend how fearsome he was.

Who is Meruem?

The King of the Chimera Ants
The Most Powerful Antagonist Seen So Far

The Chimera Ants are anthropomorphic ants that evolved to have mixed animal attributes after their queen consumed all sorts of animals. She notably birthed a group of very powerful ants, the 3 Royal guards, starting with Neferpitou – all of this before birthing the most powerful creature, Meruem, who becomes the King of the Chimera Ants.

In the hands of an incompetent, power brings nothing but ruin

Meruem is the most powerful offspring to be given birth to by the Chimera Ant Queen. He first appears properly after being birthed in chapter 213 of the manga. Appearance-wise, just as all the Chimera Ants, he looks anthropomorphic. In his case, he looks less like an animal and more robotic, having some turtle-like features. While he is small in build, he is very toned, with a green body. He possesses a powerful tail that acts as a weapon with a tall sting. His appearance could be heavily influenced by Cell from the Dragon Ball franchise.

After his birth, Meruem showed a cruel nature and one where he acted superior to everyone, reflecting the Queen's goals of birthing the perfect offspring. As the arc progressed, and as Meruem got to play against the blind girl Komugi at Gungi, where he lost again and again, his character went through a lot of progression and mentality shift. Instead of looking down on humans, he started seeing them as beings with potential. This is further accentuated after he fought the head of the Hunter Association, Netero.

Meruem Had Incredible Powers And Skill Up His Sleeve

Meruem Absorbs The Nen of People He Consumes

Nen Type: Emitter

Hunter X Hunter is a series that spans hundreds of chapters, and yet no one has come close to surpassing Meruem. While he was only a month and a few days old, he showed immense power and feats to hold up to being the perfect being. His Nen was thought by fans to fall under the Specialist category, as it was unconfirmed by Togashi, and it was definitely a fair assumption to be made. However, as it turns out, Meruem is actually an Emitter, something fans were able to confirm via notes from Togashi at an exhibition. His main power is being able to absorb other people's nen by consuming them.

In every single aspect, Meruem's powers are terrifying. His strength, stamina, durability, speed, and agility are all fairly balanced, and he excels in all of these and holds no weakness. This is without mentioning his incredible intelligence. He is, to put it simply, even more than a prodigy. All of this was put to the test when he confronted Netero during their fight. Netero was supposed to be one of the strongest Nen users even into his old age, but even he was no match for Meruem. Netero had to use his Poor Man's Rose as a last resort by sacrificing himself.

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Meruem's durability was such that he even managed to survive this, while gravely injured, before consuming a part of Shaiapouf and Menthuthuyoupi, which allowed him to recover. His power actually increased even further. If he was the perfect being before, he had ascended to a being superior to that. He was now able to use abilities inherited from the consumption of the nen users.

If given more time, this would've just been a fraction of his power, as his power grew each time he consumed another nen user, so killing him as early as possible was the only way to stop this monster.

Can Anyone Compare To Meruem In Hunter X Hunter?

Netero and Adult Gon Wouldn’t be Able to Beat The King

In Hunter x Hunter, no one can compare to Meruem. One of the strongest nen users, Netero, was only able to hold down the King for a short while before losing an arm and a leg and deciding to sacrifice his life. This especially came on the back of him receiving a lot of preparation time to prepare the 0th hand.

One person who, based on what Neferpitou said, could rival the king was Gon in his adult form. Gon sacrificed his nen to attain this form to kill Neferpitou so he was certainly extremely powerful. However, Pitou was talking about Meruem pre-explosion, who was a lot weaker compared to his newer form.

Meruem was also only a month old when the events of the Chimera Ant arc occurred, meaning he had much space to grow in power, and essentially infinite potential. If, in a month’s age, he was stronger than characters like Netero, in a year, he would’ve perhaps been undefeatable by every character combined. His power to grow is limitless, thanks to him growing stronger by consuming others.

A few characters that could possibly, at least, entertain him for a time would be individuals such as Ging Freecs, Chrollo, or even his own Royal Guards. All this is to say that, so far, no character comes close to the perfection of the King, and it's highly unlikely anyone ever will reach his level as the story continues.

Meruem, King of Ants. You have no idea do you? You know nothing of the bottomless malice within the human heart.

That said, it’s possible that someone in the Dark Continent might be able to match, or even surpass King Meruem. Although, that’s left to see, as the fans have yet to enter the Dark Continent, and seeing the current pace of the story, that probably won’t happen for some time.

A character that originates from the Dark Continent, Nanika, could have a shot at taking down Meruem. Nanika can pretty much do anything someone wishes for. A wish to kill Meruem would probably, however, result in the next wisher having to realize extremely hard requests from her, and if they fail, it will probably cost the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people.

Hunter x Hunter is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The HxH manga is set to finally return on October 7th, 2024.

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