

In the Hunter X Hunter anime,
[Meruem](http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Meruem) is said to be (arguably)
the strongest character in the series. However while reading about
[Hisoka](http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Hisoka), I found that he once
thought to challenge [Ging](http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Ging_Freecss)
to a battle to death, which seems astonishing because
[Netero](http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Isaac_Netero) once said that Ging
is one of the five best Nen users in the world.

Is there any reference (either in the manga or in the anime) that conclusively
says that Meruem is far more powerful than Hisoka?

**Note** : In the anime,
[Neferpitou](http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Neferpitou)'s aura is
reported to have much more murderous intent that both Hisoka and Illumi's, but
I don't know whether it necessarily implies that Hisoka is weaker than Meruem.


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hunter-x-hunter
Is there any reference which confirms that Meruem is much more powerful than Hisoka?


When it comes to a fight between Nen users, pure power doesn't mean
everything. One may have an ability than can overpower a type of opponent (for
instance: Kurapika vs. Uvogin).

In terms of pure power, Meruem is far stronger than Hisoka (probably stronger
than any living being). I'd say Hisoka is about the same level as a Royal
Guard (mainly because Hisoka has a lot of battle experience).

That being said, Hisoka doesn't seek for anyone weaker than him when he wants
to fight. So the fact that he thought to challenge Ging doesn't mean he's able
to gauge his power and think he can beat him.

I can't give you any reference, personally I think the 2011 anime (didn't read
the scans) shows that Meruem is the strongest being we ever saw by far. There
is something else though. Before the final battle between Hunters and Ants,
Netero says that someone will have to be sacrificed. I think he simply knew
that nobody could beat the Ant King in a fight and already thought about using
a bomb.


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Meruem is actually the strongest living being in term of Nen Aura. This is
also due to his Nen consumption ability, as seen in [his wiki
article](http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Meruem):

> Meruem's initial ability gives him strength through consumption. Meruem's
> aura grows every time he devours a user of Nen, with their aura synthesizing
> to his own.

Additionally, [Netero](http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Isaac_Netero), who
was one of the strongest characters in Hunter X Hunter, couldn't really beat
Meruem. Don't forget what he said to Meruem when he met him:

> When? When did I start waiting for my opponent to make the first move? When,
> indeed? It became a routine. The loser held out his hands in gratitude for
> the lesson and I graciously accepted without skipping a beat. As if that was
> what I wanted!! That's not how it should be!! For so long, I sought the
> height of perfection. I dreamed of giving my heart and soul to battle an
> unstoppable adversary!! I'm a lucky man. I'm thankful for everything that
> led me to this point...that led me to you!!

So considering this, Hisoka has to be weaker than Netero, who is indeed weaker
than Meruem.

But as already said in [Kalilz's
answer](https://anime.stackexchange.com/a/15157/1398):

> When it comes to a fight between Nen users, pure power doesn't mean
> everything. One may have an ability than can overpower a type of opponent.


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In the beginning of the anime, Hisoka point blank tells Netero he wants to
fight him, but Netero ignores him. This is significant because as stated
during the fight with Meruem, Netero has been bored for a long time and is
grateful to have a chance to fight someone that could kill him. Again, he
ignored Hisoka, not because Hisoka was hiding his bloodlust or aura (the
examiners felt it and so did the other applicants; also, he almost killed an
examiner the last time he took the test, so it would be odd if Netero wasn't
aware of him.)

Yet, did Netero fight him? Nope. He just ignored him. So Netero clearly
doesn't find Hisoka to be worth fighting. And why should he? We have seen
Hisoka go all out already in his fight with Chrollo and he showed no other
ability than his gum... and while a flexible use of nen, it provides him with
no way of hurting someone like Netero. Netero's fight with the King dealt
thousands of punches in the blink of an eye. Hisoka has shown no such speed or
endurance to tank attacks of that caliber. Sun and Moon, the attack Chrollo
uses to kill Hisoka, explodes Heaven Arena, sure, but Netero's Zero Hand
melted stone! There would be nothing left from Hisoka. And yet, Meruem tanked
all those attacks from Netero.

So yes, I would put him way above Hisoka. What can Hisoka do? Throw a card?
Won't damage the King's skin. Hold him down with gum? Hisoka couldn't move
Razor's puppet and had to release the nen gum. I seriously doubt he could stop
Meruem from moving. One slap from the King's tail and Hisoka is dead. Hisoka
is not fast enough to dodge an attack from the Ant King.

Now Hisoka wanting to fight Ging... his bloodlust clouds his vision. He wanted
to fight Netero, and he could never win that fight. He wanted to fight Chrollo
and Chrollo killed him. I would also like to point out Killua thought he could
kill Netero during the exam... so clearly rankings by Killua or Hisoka are not
to be relied on.


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This can be answered by using the only quantitative source of strength we have
for HxH. I've said it before however,

> When it comes to a fight between Nen users, pure power doesn't mean
> everything. One may have an ability than can overpower a type of opponent.

However the below data points conclusively prove that Meruem is WAY more
powerful than Hisoka and he can only beat him under extraordinary
circumstances.

According to the "Hunter × Hunter Manual" section found in the Yu ☆ Yu ☆
Hakusho official character book (Shueisha Jump remix), Hisoka's stats are:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wG0rS.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/wG0rS.png)

Comparing them to Meruem

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5Ffln.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5Ffln.png)

Sources: Read The Trivia Section at the page's bottom  
[Meruem: HxH Wikia](http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Meruem)  
[Hisoka: HxH Wikia](http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Hisoka_Morow)


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Hisoka died from an explosion in the Heaven's Arena, Compare that with Meruem
who survived a Nuke. Even the calamities (except may be Bryon and Ai) are
probably weaker than him.


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