Togashi never shies away from showing just how grandiose the world ofHunter x Hunteris and just how weak even the strongest of characters we meet really are. Of these, the strongest being shown in all of Hunter x Hunter has been Meruem, the seemingly infallible King of the Chimera Ants. However, even if Netero failed to subdue him in their first encounter, there are still some Hunter x Hunter characters who can beat, maybe even kill Meruem.

Now, (almost) none of these characters would actually defeat the Chimera Ant King in a fair 1v1; Meruem is just too absurdly strong for anyone to even come close to doing so. However, each of these characters has a Nen ability that can somehow overcome Meruem and serve as a win condition against him. If there’s any person in Hunter x Hunter who comes closer than even Netero to defeating the Chimera Ant King, it’d be one of these.

8Knuckle

Out of anyone on this list, Knuckle is the least likely to beat Meruem in a fight, even if all odds fall in his favor. However, so long as Knuckle can team up with someone with more offensive abilities, Knuckle’s A.P.R. can weaken Meruem’s defenses to the point that any Nen-infused attack can likely damage him, at least to an extent.

A.P.R. is also called Potclean.

Knuckle has an ability called Hakoware, which can summon a tiny Nen Beast called A.P.R. that can attach to an enemy Knuckle has hit. Upon activating, any hit Knuckle makes on the enemy grants them Knuckle’s Aura as debt. When the Aura granted by Knuckle becomes higher than the total Aura currently held by the party, the Hatsu is activated, forcing a state of Zetsu on the target and rendering them unable to use Nen.

7Phinks Macgub

Phinks is one of thePhantom Troupe’s best combatants, being an enhancer who holds his own against other top tiers like Uvogin and Nobunaga. However, just being strong isn’t enough to beat Meruem, and even the entire Phantom Troupe together might die before even getting to scratch the King in a direct fight.

However, Phink’s Ripper Cyclotron ability may be able to output enough power to not only beat Meruem, but one-shot him. Ripper Cyclotron increases the damage Phinks’s next punch will deal based on how many times he winds his arm. From what we’ve seen so far, there doesn’t seem to be a limit on just how many times he can spin it around. As such, maybe it’ll take a thousand or so swings before he can deal damage, but so long as Meruem waits around, or if Phinks manages to surprise him, paired with another character’s ability, Ripper Cyclotron has the potential to tear Meruem to shreds.

6Chrollo Lucifer

The Phantom Troupe’s head is a character who isn’t weak by any means, but he shines not due to his power but with his intellect. Chrollo’s ability, Skill Hunter, lets him collect any number of specialized Hatsu by taking it from others. This makes it so that if Chrollo is given enough time and information on a target, he can certainly find a collection of abilities that directly counter his target and a plan to confirm his victory.

As for specific ways he could best Meruem, each ability on this list can be stolen by Chrollo and used on the Ant King. If that isn’t enough of an answer, Chrollo has an even greater chance than the actual owners of the ability, since he can combo them together. If Chrollo steals a stealth-type ability, such as Meleoron’s Perfect Plan, there’s nothing that stops him from charging up a stolen Ripper Cyclotron a ton while completely intangible and then unleashing a blow that Meruem won’t even know the direction of before he disintegrates.

5Knov

Sometimes, all that holds you back is your own mind. Out of anyone in Hunter x Hunter, this stands best for Knov, an otherwise impressive hunter shackled by his own insecurity and fright upon witnessing the terror of the Chimera Ants.

Knov could theoretically also trap Meruem in his Hide And Seek ability’s mansion until he starves to death.

Knov has an emission-based hatsu called Scream that can open a portal to transport stuff. However, another part of this ability has to do with reality separation. This can let Knov open the portal and slash someone with it, bypassing all of their defenses since he’s not directly attacking, just displacing parts of their body. There’s no reason to believe this won’t work against Meruem, since he has no defense and is getting his head teleported away from his body.

4Halkenburg Hui Gou Rou

The entries so far have mostly been theoretical. While the reasoning and logic behind them is true, in the end, they all come down to speculation. Moving on to the manga-only characters, we have our first person with an actual chance of completely overpowering Meruem’s defenses in a single hit.

Halkenburg Hui Gou Rou is one of theKakin Princes taking part in the Succession Waraboard the Black Whale. Despite only having learnt what Nen is recently, Halkenburg has what’s likely the strongest Nen ability in Hunter x Hunter with his Possession Arrow.

This ability lets Halkenburg shoot an arrow at a target. Upon being hit, the target falls into a state of slumber and swaps bodies with one of Halkenburg’s followers. This ability cannot be blocked under any circumstances, and there’s nothing Meruem can do to defend against the arrow itself, or anything Halkenburg and his men will do with him once he’s in a normal human body.

3Camilla Hui Gou Rou

Moving on to our second manga-exclusive character has us meet our second Kakin prince, Camilla Hui Gou Rou. Camilla is a very impulsive character who runs straight into battle without any notion of preserving her own life. This level of boldness would likely be a detriment to any character, but paired with Camilla’s Hatsu, it might end up benefiting her instead.

Camilla’s Nen ability, Cat’s Name, is an instant win condition against any opponent that kills her. Upon the condition being met, the ability steals the perpetrator’s life and gives it to Camilla. It’s a relatively simple ability that makes Camilla immortal through the use of Nen’s intricacies and its relation with sacrifice and death to enable it.

2Nanika

Hunter x Hunter shows us that there are always bigger fish in the pond. We start by seeing how Gon dominates others much older and stronger than him, only to realize he loses to even the most incompetent Nen users in Heaven’s Arena. Then, even after he’s gotten stronger, we meet Chimera Ants that completely overpower them. Even after training specifically to go against these monstrosities, the eventual threat of Meruem is so strong that Gon never even gets to interact with him.

Fortunately, this stands true for the King as well. No matter how strong or overpowered Meruem may be, a simple child’s wish can instantly take his life away, with this child being Alluka Zoldyk (or rather, the Ai residing within her). This Ai is one of theFive Great Threats brought back from the Dark Continentand is capable of doing almost anything, so long as a proper price is paid to her.

1Komugi

This might be a cop out, but it’ll be disrespectful to not mention the only character who actually beat Meruem in Hunter x Hunter. This may not be in direct combat, but Komugi, a normal human girl, continuously beat Meruem again and again in Gungi, a board game where all things are governed by intellect.

These repeated defeats were one of the major plot points and thematic elements in the Chimera Ant arc in general, showing Meruem humility and eventually leading him to be more peaceful. Even if Komugi likely can’t even kill a fly, besting Meruem in a contest of wit so many times is a feat deserving of much more praise than even the most impressive of achievements.