Meruem

Meruem, also known as The King and The Chimera Ant King, is a character from the Hunter x Hunter series.
== Charactah Account ==
The Queen's masterpiece and crowning achievement, the King is by far the strongest Chimera Ant she created and was born with the best traits of everything she had ever consumed, including intelligence off the charts. He began as completely ruthless, splatting even fellow ants' heads if they did so much as hesitate when he gave an order. The King moved to the neighboring country of East Gorteau, a brutal dictatorship not unlike North Korea, and immediately took charge there. The King has the ability to, upon death of a nen-powered individual, absorb his or her nen into himself, though it manifests as raw power. Due to this, he has manipulated East Gorteau's entire population to be killed off except for those with nen control, whom he'll kill and consume himself.
Out of boredom, he called in champion players of various board games, such as chess, shogi, and go. He kept playing against them until he defeated them, then killed them off. However, he met his match in a blind girl named Komugi, East Gorteau's gungi champion. No matter how much he plays her, she curbstomps him every time. Having such a brilliant mind and no way to fend for herself, the King starts to feel sorry for her and also begins respecting humans and other creatures. The King's sympathy towards Komugi eventually grows into casual chatter and then outright affection for her, spurring Shaiapouf's envy. Netero is his first opponent in combat who gives him a good fight, though by then, he has become appreciative of talented people, Netero included, and would rather not fight. He is forced into it anyway and kills Netero. Netero's death, however, sets off a nuclear device, detonating the palace and nearly killing Meruem, who is revived by his guards, but becomes afflicted with amnesia. After a series of events, it's revealed that the device's radiation has given him severe cellular degeneration, and that Pouf and Youpi have died due to this. After reuniting with Komugi and playing Gungi one final time, he dies in her arms.
== Appearance ==
=== Anime ===
* Hunter x Hunter (2011)
=== Manga ===
* Hunter x Hunter
=== Video Games ===
* Hunter × Hunter: Battle All-Stars
* Hunter × Hunter: Battle Collection
* Jump Force
* Jumputi Heroes
* Monster Strike
== Trivia ==
* According to the Chimera Ant Queen, "Meruem" means "light that illuminates all". Fittingly, Meruem's En takes the form of an all-encompassing flash of light that extends his sense to all that is around him.
** Meruem's name resembles the Arabic name which can be romanized as either "Maryam" or "Meryem", and is equivalent to the English name "Mary". The origin of the name, however, is uncertain. It is speculated to derive from the Egyptian words "mry" ("beloved") or "mr" ("love"), which would be in keeping with those portions of the names of the Royal Guards derived from Egyptian deities.
* In the Viz translation of Volume 21, the Chimera Ant Queen gives his name as "Meryem". This is amended to "Meruem" from their translation of Volume 28 and onwards. Some Japanese Hunter × Hunter goods and the extra book cover of the "Hunter × Hunter - Sôshû-hen - Treasure" Vol. 9 also feature this romanization of his name; other merch stamp an alternative, "Meeleem" (curiously a palindrome).
* In Hunter × Hunter Battle Collection, Meruem is considered a Specialist.
== Gallery ==
File:Meruem Render 01.png
File:Meruem Render 02.png
File:Meruem 01.png
File:Meruem 02.png
File:Meruem 03.png
File:Meruem 04.png
File:Meruem 05.png
== External Links ==
* Meruem at Hunterpedia
Category:Characters
Category:Males
Category:Hunter x Hunter