10 Most Powerful Shadow and Bone Characters, Ranked

In the world of Shadow and Bone, the Grisha tend to be the most powerful characters. Grisha are humans who are able to summon and manipulate physical matter. The ability to summon light or darkness, stop or slow down the heart, manipulate the wind, and other similar skills makes them far more powerful than the average human.

While Grisha are usually the most powerful individuals, there are others who are able to achieve difficult feats and hold their own against Grisha through a variety of impressive skills demonstrated during the show’s first season too. But who are the most powerful characters in the series?

10 David Kostyk

David is a Durast and a Fabrikator. He creates gloves that allow Alina to split the light that she summons, although she is able to do this without the gloves. Thanks to a ring made of pure iridium that Genya gave to Alina, he is able to track Alina, which is how he leads the Darkling to Alina and Morozova’s Stag.

David also is the one who creates Morozova’s collar by melding the antlers of Morzova’s Stag into Alina’s neck and a piece of the antlers into the Darkling’s hand. This bridges the gap between their powers and allows the Darkling to control her Sun Summoning abilities, at least until Alina severs this connection later on. While he is very talented when it comes to the Small Sciences, David is not much of a hand-to-hand fighter. When the Crows try to steal the carriage he is in, David tries to defend himself by throwing a book at Jesper and is swiftly knocked out by Kaz’s cane.

9 Luda

Luda is a Healer who the Darkling was in love with hundreds of years earlier. When the King’s soldiers fire arrows at the Darkling, Luda is able to heal each wound. No matter how many arrows the soldiers fire, the Darkling just plucks them out of his body because of how quickly and effectively Luda is able to heal him.

Luda and the Darkling made a formidable team, but they couldn’t last forever. The King’s soldiers–who are non-Grisha–are able to successfully apprehend and kill her.

8 Inej Ghafa

While Inej is not a Grisha, she is able to outsmart them and even kill if necessary. Inej has refused to kill for her entire life, but she breaks her code by hurling her knife into the skull of an Inferni in order to save Kaz Brekker’s life. The Inferni’s sister–who is also an Inferni–manages to hunt down and wound Inej. Inej stabs this Inferni in the abdomen and kills her as well. Inej even manages to bury a knife into the Darkling’s chest, although this is unable to kill him.

Beyond her skills with a knife and with hand-to-hand combat, Inej is an agile and perceptive individual. This enables her to perform practically any task and blend in through almost any disguise, from performing as an acrobat to pretending to be a guard in the Little Palace. Her perceptiveness helps her pick up on what’s left unsaid, thus allowing her to better understand others and see the bigger picture. There’s also her useful ability to stitch a serious wound.

7 Jesper Fahey

Jesper is an unparalleled sharpshooter whose bullets always find their mark. He can aim at a coin flung into the air, a playing card in someone’s mouth, volcra attacking a moving train, or a Grisha wearing a kefta, and he always hits his target.

These abilities allow Jesper to incapacitate the Darkling’s ruthless Heartrender Ivan. The only reason Jesper doesn’t kill Ivan is that a child is watching. When they meet again on the skiff traveling through the Fold, Jesper successfully shoots Ivan, this time knocking the Grisha off the skiff to a grisly fate within the Fold. Jesper’s exceptional abilities have made others curious about whether he is a Grisha.

6 Nina Zenik

The Heartrender Nina Zenik uses her abilities in many resourceful ways that she could never have predicted. When the ship she is captive on is shipwrecked during a vicious storm, Nina breaks free of her shackles and uses her abilities to keep herself and Matthias Helvar warm so they can stay alive in the freezing cold water while Matthias paddles to shore.

She keeps Matthias warm in the whaler’s hut and later on slows down his heart so he will release his angry, firm grip on her. Nina is a resourceful individual and a quick thinker, claiming that Matthias is a slaver trying to sell her. This deceit prevents Fedyor and the other Grisha from taking Matthias into custody to be executed.

5 Zoya Nazyalensky

Zoya is a Squaller, meaning she is able to manipulate the wind and air pressure around her. These abilities enable her to drive skiffs through the Fold. Without Zoya, many individuals would be unable to safely cross through the Fold.

Zoya’s abilities also make her a formidable opponent when fighting other Grisha. She flings one of the Darkling’s Heartrenders into the darkness of the Fold. This is only a small taste of what she can do. Moving forward, she will be an invaluable ally to Alina and the Crows and the Darkling will regret betraying her.

4 Genya Safin

Genya is a Tailor and initially appears to be a glorified beautician, but she is capable of far more. She can heal wounds, which she does to make Alina look more “presentable” for the King and Queen of Ravka. Genya can alter someone’s appearance in more complex ways as well. She makes Marie look as though she has the face of Alina during the Winter Fete. When the Conductor Arken Visser tries to assassinate Alina, he actually assassinates Marie because she looks identical to Alina.

In addition to these tailoring abilities, Genya is able to win others’ trust and use this trust against them. By getting close to Alina, she is able to spy on her for the Darkling. Being a trusted attendant for Ravkan royalty also allows her to poison the King of Ravka.

3 Baghra

Baghra has trained countless Grisha, most importantly her son the Darkling and the Sun Summoner Alina Starkov. She is a Shadow Summoner just like her son and it is revealed that she taught him how to kill. It can be assumed that she taught him many of the other Shadow Summoning abilities he uses as well. Baghra is also shown to have deep knowledge of merzost, which makes her wise enough to know that using it would be a mistake.

Hundreds of years later, she teaches Alina how to harness her abilities on her own without relying on others. Baghra enables Alina to believe in herself and gets her to stop holding herself back. Without Baghra’s training, Alina would not have been able to take control of her destiny and perform the incredible feats that she did toward the end of season 1.

2 Alina Starkov

Alina is the one and only Sun Summoner. Her ability is unprecedented and makes her the only individual with the potential to destroy the Fold. When traveling through the Fold, her powers can ward off the volcra and create safe passage like nothing else can.

Even though others such as the Darkling try to control her power for themselves, Alina is ultimately able to remove these shackles and amplify her power for herself. As she continues to hone her unparalleled abilities, Alina will only grow stronger and eventually tear down the Fold, thus making her the most powerful Grisha.

1 The Darkling

The Darkling is the one who was able to create the Fold in the first place using merzost. In the finale, he even expands the Fold and creates his own shadow army out of it. Being able to create such powerful things from nothing is a dangerous but potent ability. When using the Cut, the Darkling summons shadows that can be turned into blades he flings at his enemies, cutting through and killing them in one fell swoop.

He’s lived for hundreds of years, taken on many names and identities (the latest being General Kirigan), and greatly influenced the world’s politics, wars, and treatment of Grisha. As a human amplifier, the Darkling can even amplify Alina’s Sun Summoning powers. As of now, these abilities and extensive history make him the most powerful Grisha and the most powerful character in Shadow and Bone. 

About The Author

Matthew Rudoy
(280 Articles Published)

Matthew Rudoy is a freelance writer who loves to write about his favorite movies and TV shows. In addition to Screen Rant, he also currently contributes to Dork Side of the Force. He has previously self-published two fantasy/sci-fi novels titled CORRUPTION and DESTRUCTION. While his favorite movies and TV shows tend to also fall in the fantasy and sci-fi genres, he enjoys and is open to anything that provides an engaging story, strong character development, and in-depth world-building. Matthew is grateful for the opportunity to write for Screen Rant and looks forward to continue contributing to the site.

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