Highlights
- Dark powers in manhwa are unique, intertwined with the essence of darkness itself, offering thrilling narratives and powerful characters.
- Characters like Sung Jing-Woo and Jin Runcandel showcase the allure and consequences of wielding dark-attributed powers in their quests.
- From necromancers to defenders like Atlas, manhwa delves into the supernatural with characters who balance unbridled power and personal growth.
The manhwa medium has witnessed many characters with different abilities and powers. Still, from these characters, a specific power attribute stands apart from the rest: characters with dark powers or dark-attributed powers. Unlike any other, these characters derive their powers from the essence of darkness itself.
From necromancers capable of toying with life and death to wielders of dark magic capable of bending reality to its whims, these characters epitomize the supernatural and all it entails. Through these characters, readers bear witness to how these characters strike a delicate balance between the allure of unbridled power and the consequence of wielding such powers. Concerning these characters in context, here are some of the best that readily come to mind.
10 Han Sungyoon ( Boundless Necromancer)
Anime-Planet Ratings: 3.9 / 5
- Creator(s): Seonun, 2 Sarang
- Genre: Action, Fantasy
- Release Years: Ongoing
All life, including Han Sungyoon’s, was suddenly thrown into chaos following the first-ever dungeon break. Losing both parents, Sungyoon swears revenge by doing whatever it takes to gain enough power in this new world. However, it doesn’t all go according to plan, as Sungyoon can not even raise any of his stats after several years of tirelessly trying to take the hunter exams.
On the verge of giving up on his goals, Sungyoon is suddenly summoned into the Tower of Trials, an alternate dimension where he can awaken and unlock unique skill traits, giving him the power of necromancy. With his newly acquired skills, Sungyoon finds himself on a faster path to his goals.
9 Seongwu ( Solo Necromancy)
Anime-Planet Ratings: 3.9 / 5
- Creator(s): Jijeomjang, Kim Dong-Jun
- Genre: Action, Fantasy
- Release Years: Ongoing
From the title of the manhwa, Seongwu’s abilities originate from necromancy. After time stopped and all humans were left to decide on whichever class and sub-classes to pick, Seongwu was the only one logical enough to consider the necromancy class.
Through it, Seongwu gains the power to summon dead creatures and even makes them his subordinates. Leaning on his experience as an ex-special forces soldier, Seongwu can combine his necromancy abilities with close combat skills, making him a fearsome opponent for his enemies in the story.
8 Atlas (Demon Defense Agency)
Anime-Planet Ratings: N/A
- Creator(s): Laurelpursuit
- Genre: Action, Romance, Supernatural, Thriller
- Release Years: Ongoing
Earth’s greatest Defender, Atlas, is the Demon Defense Agency manhwa protagonist and the best DDA agent ever. Atlas is a man whose sole mission is the elimination of demons from society. With the highest confirmed demon kills of all DDA agents, Atlas’s power comes from his Imperium, which is made from the strongest demon core to have been extracted.
The story starts with Atlas being announced as a traitor to the Demon Defense Agency and is on the run. What follows through the story is the gradual justification of Atlas’s betrayal of the agency and the risk it poses for the world.
7 Jin Runcandel (Swordmaster’s Youngest Son)
Anime-Planet Ratings: 4.3 / 5
- Creator(s): Hwangje Penguin, Lee Jewon
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
- Release Years: Ongoing
Born the youngest of the Runcandel Household, Jin Runcandel is the story’s protagonist and one of the twelve heirs of the Runcandel Household. Immensely talented in magic and swordsmanship, Jin is the first magic swordsman of the family since the founder, Temar Runcandel.
However, the shining light in his armory of abilities is his contract with the God of Shadows, Solderet. Capable of wielding all forms and manner of shadow magic and essentially becoming one with all shadows, Jin finds himself on a path to surpass even the founder of the Runcandel Household.
6 Cassian Lee ( Villain To Kill)
Anime-Planet Ratings: 4.1 / 5
- Creator(s): Fupin, Eunji
- Genre: Action
- Release Years: Ongoing
Cassian is the central figure of a world with only good and evil sides. Good and bad in this context are represented by the Psykers and villains; Cassian, before his murder, was one of the top-rated Psykers in the world.
Betrayed by his psyker colleagues and murdered, Cassian awakens in the body of high schooler Gangu Gwon, and in his rage, he awakens as a villain with dark-attributed abilities and the potential of the Catastrophe class. With his previous life experience as a psyker, Cassian grows rapidly and, along the way, becomes the Gadam vilzone’s boss and simultaneously develops his abilities.
5 Kim Gi-Gyu (The Player Who Can’t Level Up)
Anime-Planet Ratings: 4.0 / 5
- Creator(s): GaVinGe, Park Jeongjae
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
- Release Years: Ongoing
The main character of The Player Who Can’t Level Up manhwa, Kim Gigyu, has suffered a troubling early life, and things weren’t looking any better into his middle twenties as he was the only player of the Tower who could not level up, earning him the titular nickname.
All of his woes take a fortunate turn when he gains access to Egos, sentient beings that can grant powers to their users, one of which turns out to be the King of Hell, Lucifer, also known as Lou, who gives him the power of death. Through these Egos, Kim Gigyu finally begins his life as a player of the Tower.
4 Kim Sehan (Return To Player)
Anime-Planet Ratings: 4.0 / 5
- Creator(s): Index, Sehon
- Genre: Action, Fantasy
- Release Years: Ongoing
The central character of the Return To Player series, Sehan Kim, is the only survivor of the first playthrough. Still, he didn’t survive by being the strongest, the fastest, or even the most skillful; he just possessed a tenacious will to survive no matter the odds.
Given the chance of another playthrough, Sehan is more than determined to turn the game on its head and avert a future that only he has experienced. By killing the constellation, Karas, Sehan gains the Eye of the Crow ability, making him the constellation of dark origins: a power with which he will beat the gods at their own game.
3 Frankenstein (Noblesse)
Anime-Planet Ratings: 4.3 / 5
- Creator(s): Son Jae-Ho, Lee Gwang-Su
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural
- Release Years: 2007-2019
Frankenstein is the main deuteragonist of the Noblesse series and the right-hand man to the story’s protagonist, Raizel. Extremely loyal and devoted to his master, Frankenstein has served Raizel for eight hundred and twenty years before and after his awakening. Frankenstein shares the same views as his master regarding the protection of humans and, because of this, is very wary and spiteful of the vampire nobles.
His empathy for humans is so great that all he does to obtain his powers is experiment on himself. These experiments led to the creation of his Soul Weapon, the Dark Spear, a significant component of his abilities. Despite being so powerful, Frankenstein only has one wish and goal: to protect his master and humans from the powers of the vampire nobles, the werewolves, and the Union.
2 Jin Mu-Won (Legend Of The Northern Blade)
Anime-Planet Ratings: 4.4 / 5
- Creator(s): Woogack, Hae Min
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
- Release Years: Ongoing
The fifth-generation sect leader of the Northern Heavenly Sect, Jin Mu-Won, is also known in the series as the Northern Blade. Having watched his father die as a result of a devious plot that ended up marking the desecration of the Northern Heavenly Sect, Mu-Won is forced to live and learn martial arts in his home.
He is also the sole practitioner of the dark secret martial arts’ Gathering of the Ten Thousand Shadows’, and in tandem with his martial arts, he wields Snow Flower, a sword created from a meteorite that Mu-Won came upon which also holds a dark a vengeful spirit. After honing his skills thoroughly, Mu-Won sets on the path of revenge against all those responsible for the fall of the Northern Heavenly Sect.
1 Sung Jing-Woo ( Solo Leveling)
Anime-Planet Ratings: 4.7 / 5
- Creator(s): Chugong, Jang Sung-Rak, Disciples
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
- Release Years: 2018-2023
Famously the world’s E-Rank Hunter, Sung Jing-Woo had spent most of his early adult life as a weak hunter who could barely make ends meet. His life takes a dramatic turn after a dungeon raid that goes wrong when he is left as the lone survivor of the expedition.
He gets chosen as a player of the System, a reward that brings him to inherit the Shadow Monarch’s powers and memories. Through his new-found skills, Sung Jing-Woo finds himself on the path to becoming Earth’s greatest Hunter.
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