Digital comics known as webtoons have been steadily gaining popularity in recent years, especially with platforms like WEBTOON and Tapas propagating the media. Beginning with only a handful of titles, there are now hundreds of series readers can choose from. The content ranges from short, episodic gag series to long, plot-heavy titles. Just like in other similar media, the action/fantasy genre never fails todraw in hoards of fans.
One particular theme that fans of the genre can't seem to have enough of is when the main character creates an army. The word "army" does not necessarily mean a human army, or trained military personnel. Instead, it refers to a fighting unit that follows the protagonist's commands. From Solo Leveling to Taming Master, here are the best webtoons that integrate army building in their narrative.
Sung Jinwoo Is Building an Army Of Shadows In Solo Leveling
When mysterious portals known as "Gates" start to appear across the globe, the world of Solo Leveling has never been the same. Inside each Gate is a unique ecosystem teeming with monsters and foreign substances. If the Gate is not properly subdued, then an outbreak may occur, where the monsters residing within the Gate escape and terrorize the real world. But as the monsters appear, some humans are also blessed with certain abilities. These individuals are then referred to as Hunters, and their primary task is to subjugate the Gates and eliminate every monster in it. Among them is the E-Rank Hunter Sung Jinwoo.
Sung Jinwoo may have started as an E-Rank Hunter who risks his life to earn some chump change, but that doesn't last long. When he decides to offer himself to save his companions, he is granted a power-up instead of being killed. His new power allows him to turn corpses into shadows that will follow all of his commands. In the beginning, he is only able to make a handful of shadows at a time. However, his army grows as his strength and power grow. The moment he became the Monarch of Shadows, his power has exceeded that of any human. It even comes to a point where he is commanding a sea of shadows, and each possesses power beyond an average human Hunter.
Solo Leveling is available to read in English at Tapas.
The Lone Necromancer Has an Army of Skeletons
The Lone Necromancer has a rather simple plot. Its main character, Seongwu, has just been released from his obligatory military service when weird events begin to occur. The world as he knows it plunges into chaos. Cards appear in front of everyone, giving them various classes. Seongwu chooses the Necromancer class, and he soon finds out what that means. Monsters begin to appear and kill the people. When they look outside, all they see is a hellscape, with numerous corpses littered everywhere. Seongwu must use his newfound power to save himself and his fellow students.
Just like his class suggests, Seongwu has the ability to create a minion from the dead. To be specific, Seongwu can generate skeletons from corpses. Similar to Solo Leveling's Sung Jinwoo, these skeletons follow Seongwu without question. They even willingly sacrifice their feeble bodies for the sake of their master. Logically, the stronger the corpse, the stronger the resulting skeleton. Seongwu has been doing his best to increase his army of skeleton's power, both in quality and quantity. But interestingly, Seongwu's skeletons have another purpose. They are not simply soldiers, but they are also walking bombs. Seongwu can detonate them at any time using one of his skills, causing a considerable amount of area damage.
The Long Necromancer is available to read in English at WEBTOON.
The Gamer's Golems Rivals Tony Stark's Robot Army
The Gamer is one of the earliest titles to get serialization on the WEBTOON platform, and the series currently has more than 400 episodes. The story follows an ordinary student Jihan Han, whose life makes a 180 after acquiring a peculiar ability. One day, he suddenly gains the power to view the world as if it were a video game. He can see both his and other peoples' stats, and he initially even receives various quests. As a gaming addict, he knows just what to do to take advantage of his situation. He takes the role of a mage and uses everything in his capability to secure his space in his newfound world.
As a mage, Jihan believes that his role is to fight from a distance. He makes sure to be perfectly prepared prior to engage in any battle, and his preparation includes mass-producing golems. These golems have certain functions, ranging from utility to combat. With hundreds of episodes under the series' belt, Jihan has produced hundreds of thousands of said golems, and he continues to make more. In fact, he has created a facility to automatically produce these golems.
The Gamer is available to read in English at WEBTOON.
Powerful Creatures Dominate the World Of Taming Master
Unlike the other webtoons in this article, Taming Master is not set in a seemingly apocalyptic setting. Its narrative takes place in the virtual world of Kaillan, where the college gamer Jinsung is playing the character Ian. He is originally an archer, but he suddenly changes classes when they are made available. He decides to abandon the bow, and become a Taming Master instead.
As his class suggests, Ian's abilities are all related to turning Kaillan's creatures into his own. The more monsters he has, the more abilities he has at his disposal. The only drawback is that leveling up becomes a real hassle, as he always has to share his experience with his monsters. Even so, that only means Ian has to handpick the creatures he will be taking under him. And that's what he did. Ian's army of creatures may only be a handful, but each of them can easily take on big-named characters.
Taming Master is available to read in English at Tapas.