A lot of fans are wondering, what if Thomas Andre had joined the Jeju Island Raid? Could he have defeated the Ant King a.k.a Beru?
Thomas Andre made his first appearance in Solo Leveling Episode 21. The anime also gave a small hint about National Hunters, but it did not explain why they are way stronger than normal S-Rank hunters. That explanation will come much later.
For now, what we do know is that if an S-Rank hunter clears S-Rank Dungeons, they get the title of a National Hunter. These hunters are so strong that they are considered equal to an entire country’s military power.
Goto Ryuji, the strongest hunter in Japan, joined the Jeju Island Raid for this exact reason, to clear the S-Rank Dungeon Break and become a National Hunter.
But the Japanese Hunter Association had other plans, and it completely backfired. The Ant King killed Goto Ryuji, proving that even the strongest hunter in Japan was much weaker than a National Hunter.
Solo Leveling has always avoided talking about nationality and citizenship in the anime, which is why many I speculated they might remove the part where Japan betrayed Korea in the Jeju Island Raid.
But A-1 Pictures surprised everyone by keeping this part in the anime. Even though the studio is Japanese, they stayed faithful to the manhwa, which is honestly impressive.
Who Is Thomas Andre in Solo Leveling?
So far, Thomas Andre has only appeared for a few seconds in the anime. He is the leader of the Scavenger Guild, the strongest guild in America, and one of the five National Hunters.
These National Hunters are so powerful that entire countries rely on them for protection. They also live a luxurious life since their power is irreplaceable.
Out of all five National Hunters, Thomas Andre is the strongest, making him the No.1 Hunter in the world at this point in the story.
Would Thomas Andre Have Won Against the Ant King?
After Hwang Dongsoo tried to sneak into Korea to kill Jinwoo and avenge his brother, Thomas Andre also traveled to Korea.
He met with Go Gun-Hee, the chairman of Korea’s Hunter Association, but the anime did not show this scene. The reason for his visit was not explained either.
Gun-Hee had already refused Hwang entry into Korea, so Thomas had no reason to stay. And since he was a National Hunter, his fee was too high for Korea to afford. That is why he never joined the Jeju Island Raid. But what if he did? Would he have been able to defeat the Ant King?
The same Ant King who wiped out all the S-Rank hunters, killed seven Japanese hunters, including Goto Ryuji, and one-shot every S-Rank Hunter in Korea, and killed Korea’s strongest healer. To answer this, we need to go into some spoilers.
Why Thomas Andre Would Have Won?
Thomas Andre is not just an average S-Rank hunter, he is much stronger. At this point in the story, he is even stronger than Jinwoo after the Demon Castle Dungeon.
If Thomas had fought the Ant King, he would have won easily. His physical strength, speed, and durability are all on another level. He is literally built to fight magic beasts. And then there are his abilities:
- Reinforcement – Covers his entire body in golden armor, increasing both his defense and attack power. If an S-Rank Hunter punches him, they would injure themselves instead of hurting Thomas.
- Capture – Works like a black hole, pulling in S-Rank-level enemies and trapping them. He can telekinetically drag anyone toward him.
- Power Smash – His strongest move. A mana-infused punch so powerful it can instantly destroy an S-Rank Hunter or beast.
With these abilities, Thomas Andre would have completely dominated the Ant King without taking any real damage.
Would you have liked to see Thomas fight the Ant King in the anime? Share your theories about what would have happened if he actually fought Ant King instead of Sung Jinwoo.
