The Phantom Troupe’s End, Explained

This article contains spoilers for the Hunter x Hunter manga.

Key Takeaways

• The Phantom Troupe faces danger and potential annihilation in the Succession Contest arc.
• Chrollo seeks to upgrade Skill Hunter for Hisoka showdown, risking the Troupe’s future.
• Hisoka poses a formidable threat to the Spiders, possibly leading to Chrollo’s demise.

Hunter x Hunter has always been known for its amazing cast of antagonists, with the most popular being none other than the Phantom Troupe. The Troupe have been involved in the story multiple times, but this arc, the Succession Contest, might be their very last.

Chrollo and his Spider is in danger, and they could all be hunted down before the end of this arc. The Phantom Troupe will either be wiped out or changed dramatically.

The History of the Phantom Troupe So Far

• Thieves Hailing From Meteor City
• The Ones Who Killed The Kurta Clan

The Phantom Troupe, also known as the Spider, is one of the most popular and beloved group of antagonists in HxH, and in all of anime. Fans heard about them prior to seeing them through Kurapika during the Hunter Exam arc. Togashi revealed a good look of the group as a whole during the Yorknew City arc, which was centered on them greatly and had them as the main antagonists.

The Phantom Troupe is led by Chrollo Lucilfer, a powerful specialist nen user who has the ability to steal other people’s nen abilities – if certain conditions are met. This makes Chrollo one of the most powerful characters in HxH. When it comes to the members of the Phantom Troupe, fans know the characters have changed in the past, mainly due to being killed and replaced. The original founding members of the Spider were, however, Chrollo, Pakunoda, Feitan, Machi, Uvogin, Nobunaga, Shalnark, Franklin, and Phinks. Hisoka was also a part of the Spider for some time, but he betrayed them and left as his only motivation for even joining them in the first place was to fight Chrollo.

The Phantom Troupe was formed due to the death of Sarsa, a small girl whom the others were friends with, who was kidnapped, tortured, and killed. Ever since then, the Phantom Troupe have been a group of thieves who have killed people involved with Sarsa’s death. They’re also known for the massacre of the Kurta clan, Kurapika’s clan, that led him down the path he is on right now. Kurapika killed two of the founding members of the Troupe, Uvogin and Pakunoda.

During the Succession Contest arc unfolding right now, Hisoka finally gets to get his fight against Chrollo, which he lost due to Chrollo’s extensive preparation time and the new abilities of Skill Hunter. Despite dying, Hisoka was revived with Bungee Gum, and he immediately killed Shalnark and Kortopi. Hisoka pledged to kill all the Spiders, and the Spiders are after Hisoka for the murder of their fellow Troupe members.

The Phantom Troupe’s Current Whereabouts

The Spider is on the Black Whale

After Chrollo’s fight and the death of Shalnark and Kortopi, the Phantom Troupe joined the trip aboard the Black Whale that left for what the Kakin Empire believes to be the Dark Continent. Currently, the Phantom Troupe members are as follows: Chrollo, Illumi, Shizuku, Feitan, Phinks, Kalluto, Bonolenov, Machi, Franklin, and Nobunaga.

The reason for joining this trip was to steal some pretty important treasures – the Kakin national treasures. Those treasures are the Seed Urn, the Zen Buddha, and the Blade of Divine Favor. It was unknown until recently as to why they’re after these national treasures, and now it is clear that the reason is to evolve Chrollo’s Nen ability, Skill Hunter. Stealing a national treasure seems to be the condition for this power upgrade, and Chrollo is currently on the hunt for them.

Meanwhile, fans know the exact whereabouts of some other Phantom Troupe characters. Nobunaga, Feitan, and Phinks, formed a group. They were acting alongside the Xi-Yu for some time when entering the Heil-Ly hideout. With a transmitter placed in the hideout, the group was heading there via a passage opened by the Cha-R mafia family. However, Nobunaga has recently split up with the rest of the group, and headed his own way, while Feitan and Phinks will go to the hideout.

If I happen to die, one of you can replace me. And there may come a time when a leg has more importance than the head. Make the right call. My orders are top priority. However, I am not your top priority. Our goal is not to keep an individual alive, but the spider. — Chrollo

Fans also know that Bonolenov was quite involved in HxH recently. Bonolenov had disguised himself as Hisoka using his Nen ability and tried to trick the Xi-Yu, which didn’t work quite well.

Bonolenov has recently located the real Hisoka and is currently there. This puts him at quite a lot of risk, as Hisoka plans to kill all the members of the Troupe.

The Future of the Phantom Troupe

The Troupe Could Fall Apart after Chrollo’s Death

The Phantom Troupe is currently in grave danger. They’re hunting down Hisoka, however, they are the real prey. After his revival, Hisoka has only grown in power, and will be harder to defeat. It’s also possible that Hisoka is unkillable in normal ways. He could potentially always use Bungee Gum to pump his heart and lungs back. That’s why Chrollo wants to upgrade Skill Hunter and acquire a rare and powerful ability, although what that ability is is currently unknown.

It seems that, at the very least, Chrollo will be dying in this arc to try and take down Hisoka. If he manages to get his hands on that ability, he definitely has a chance, but if he runs into Hisoka before that happens, then he most certainly can’t win.

Chrollo has the best chance against Hisoka, but that isn’t the case for the other Spiders who will get defeated and killed with ease if they cross his path, which they are actively looking to do.

Even if I should die… it’s the very idea that will instill fear of the spider that I designed..!! — Chrollo Lucilfer

Hisoka will definitely be taking down a few Spiders, at the very least, in this arc, starting most likely with Bonolenov, who is currently very close to him. Bonolenov has no hopes of winning against Hisoka, as he is the most disadvantaged against him in the group.

Even if Chrollo manages to kill Hisoka, but dies in the process, the Phantom Troupe could get a new head, but the Spider could easily fall apart from all of that. The Spider can survive without Chrollo, but they would not have much of a direction to head into. Fans should also not forget that Kurapika is on the Black Whale, and if he is to run into a Spider, that could end up very badly for them, as he is extremely powerful when facing them. The Spider will have to deal with all of Kurapika, Hisoka, and possibly the Xi-Yu after Bonolenov killed one of their members.

Hunter x Hunter is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of Hunter x Hunter, Hunter x Hunter chapter 408, is set to be November 24th, 2024.