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Isaac Netero is - well, was - one of the key figures in theHunter X Hunterworld, from a political perspective to raw power. He was the President of the Hunter Association, having a lot of power within the politics of many countries, and he was one of the most powerful Nen users, fast enough to challenge the King of the Chimera Ants himself.
That said, he was a man full of secrets, and there’s still much we don’t know about his past. Especially now that we have Beyond Netero, Isaac’s son, who became a major player in the expedition to the Dark Continent and is in a very antagonistic role at that. But who is he?
To avoid confusion, we’ll refer to both Neteros by their first names — Isaac and Beyond — from this point forward.
Who Is Beyond Netero?
As mentioned above, the biggest detail about this character is the fact thathe is Isaac’s son.When comparing the two of them, from their looks to their behavior and personality traits,they are extremely similar.In fact, when the Zodiacs first hear Beyond’s speech, they feel like their President came back from the grave.
What sets these two characters apart are their motivations and how they approach them.Isaac has always searched for rivals and challenges as a way to improve himself and for mere entertainment, and his son is likely another rival to him, considering their dispute over the Dark Continent.
Beyond, however, has a specific goal of venturing tothe Dark Continent,and it’s clear that he’ll do whatever it takes to achieve his goal, even if it means killing people in his way or even screwing over with the politics of multiple nations to get there.
Has Beyond Netero Been To The Dark Continent?
Yes, he has.He went to the Dark Continent around 50 years prior to the Dark Continent arc,in an expedition organized by the Kukan’yu Kingdom. The expedition ended terribly after they found one of the many dangers on the continent, a disease named Zobae, which killed most of the travelers.
However, for some reason, it made one of the survivors virtually immortal — and it destroyed their sanity in the process.
Since then,Isaac forbade his son from going there until his death.Thus, Beyond spent his time building a good relationship with another nation, the Kakin Empire, and when Isaac died, Beyond announced his intentions to the world, and made the Dark Continent public knowledge.He used the Kakin Empire to organize another expedition to the Dark Continent,and the trip there is where the manga’s story currently takes place in 2024.
What Is His Goal?
That’s the big question. On the one hand, he stated his intentions loud and clear: He wanted to explore the lands no one was capable of doing properly,to be the first man to visit the many places on the Dark Continent and go through it all.
On the other hand,it’s heavily implied that he wants to take over the Kakin Empire,but we don’t know why — it’s likely that he wants it just to have an easy way to go to the Dark Continent whenever he wants to, because the Kakin Empire doesn’t seem to be his endgame plan, but rather means to an end.
The details are scarce since the story is still ongoing in the manga, but there are even suspicions that one of Beyond’s children (more on that later) is one of the princes in the succession contest, implying that he wants one of his children to become the leader of the Kakin Empire. All that said, we still need to wait and see if that’s the case.
Is Beyond Actually Isaac’s Son?
While we have no paternity test to rely on,there’s no reason not to believe so.As mentioned before,they are very similar characters,even if Beyond is closer to being an evil person, while Isaac stays in a more neutral alignment.
And Beyond isn’t just someone who looks a lot like a younger version of Isaac.The way they talk is similar, and they are men who let their desires dictate their choices— if Isaac was interested in the Dark Continent, they would likely be on the same side.
It’s also heavily implied that they have a personal conflict when it comes to the continent.After all, Isaac banned his son from going there until his death, and Isaac also left a recording where he asks the Zodiacs to have a successful expedition first, which would thwart Beyond’s plans, a request that Isaac admitted being just a personal favor and that the Zodiacs are not obligated to go through.
Are There Other ‘Neteros’ Out There?
Yes, though we’re not sure how many yet.The idea was introduced by a character named Longhi, one ofPrince Tubeppa’sbodyguards, andLonghi claimed to be Beyond’s daughter.Not only that, butshe claimed Beyond had several children in the Kakin Empire,and unlockedtheir Nenwhile they were still babies, so they would easily rise in the Empire’s ranks.
Beyond also cursed his childrenwith curses that activated upon their death and could even kill princes during the succession contest.There’s even a chance that one or multiple princes are his childrenbecause everyone who’s a child of one of Nasubi’s wives is eligible for the succession contest, so they don’t need to be Kakin’s ruler’s children to be part of the contest. This is why there’s a good chance Beyond might have one of his children as the leader of the Kakin Empire in the future.
