Summary
The wonderful world ofOne Piececan be extremely misleading. Sometimes, the series’ creator Eiichiro Oda will introduce a character that seems weak due to their design, personality, and/or power set, but they end up defying expectations and turn out to be quite strong instead. However, the exact opposite has happened as well.
One Piecehas also featured its fair share of prominent characters who seemed like they were going to be powerful but ended up disappointing fans due to their lack of strength and crushing defeats. Naturally, this has happened countless times throughout the series’ lifespan, but the following characters are the most egregious examples of this practice so far.
1Smoker
The Series' First Logia Devil Fruit User Left A Lot To Be Desired
Back when he first appeared during the Loguetown Arc,Smokerseemed almost untouchable, not only because his design and presence made him quite intimidating,but also because he was the first user of a Logia Devil Fruit ever introduced in the series. Thanks to his ability to create and manipulate smoke, he became an efficient fighter who could go toe-to-toe against the likes of Monkey D. Dragon or Portgas D. Ace.
For a long time, it seemed like Smoker was going to be one of Luffy’s most formidable rivals but, unfortunately, he lost a lot of his strength after the time skip, most likely because of the introduction of Armament Haki that can nullify his Logia powers. While he’s still quite powerful, he kept losing fight after fight, by receiving major beatdowns from characters like Trafalgar Law, Caesar Clown, and Donquixote Doflamingo. Most fans are hoping Smoker will get a big power-up in the near future as he can keep up with the current power level of the series.
2Sir Crocodile
Lost To A Pre-Time Skip Luffy With No Gears And No Haki
In reality,Sir Crocodilewas very powerful in his introductory arc, as the sand-based powers of his Suna Suna no Mi, coupled with his tactical mind and his ruthless fighting style, made him into a formidable opponent that easily defeated Luffy on three separate occasions. The only problem is, however, that his crushing loss at the hands of the protagonist at the end of the Arabasta Arc became a lot more pathetic in retrospect.
Despite being the leader of Baroque Works and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Sir Crocodile was defeated very early on in the series, and he lost to a version of Luffy that was still unable to use Haki or any of his Gears. As a result, he looks surprisingly weak in comparison to all the other prominent villains that were introduced after him.
3Bellamy
The Supposed Main Antagonist Of An Arc Was Taken Down With Just One Punch
Bellamy the Hyenais one of the most infamous characters in all ofOne Piece. He was introduced at the very beginning of the Jaya Arc, as a violent, rude, and heartless pirate who disrespected Luffy’s dreams. It was immediately evident that he was supposed to be the main antagonist of the arc, and things quickly got very intense between his crew and the Straw Hat Pirates.
However, and much to the audience’s surprise, there was no slow build-up or extended confrontation between both crews. Luffy later met up with Bellamy to retrieve the gold that was stolen from Mont Blanc Noland and, although the evil pirate wielded the powers of the Bane Bane no Mi,it took Luffy just one single punch to defeat him. While Bellamy eventually got much stronger after the time skip, the same thing happened during their rematch in the Dressrosa Arc, as Luffy once again took him down with a single punch.
4Basil Hawkins
He Didn’t Do Much, Despite Having A Unique Devil Fruit
Among all the members of the Worst Generation,Basil Hawkinsis one of the most intriguing ones, because of his ominous presence, his tendency to try and predict fate, and his unique combination of voodoo powers and a Devil Fruit, the Wara Wara no Mi, which allows him to redirect any damage he receives to any straw dolls he creates. Because of all these qualities, Hawkins had the potential to become a dangerous threat to Luffy and the other members of the Worst Generation.
Nevertheless, he didn’t end up doing much in the subsequent story arcs, especially in the Wano Country Arc, where he was reintroduced as a new member of the Beasts Pirates. He fought Roronoa Zoro, Trafalgar Law, and Killer and, while he caused them a lot of trouble with his mischievous powers, he lost every single encounter he took part in. And if that wasn’t enough, he ended up succumbing to his wounds at the very end of the arc, meaning that he will most likely never appear in the story again.
5X Drake
A Heroic Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit User That Couldn’t Earn Many Victories
X Drakeis yet another Worst Generation pirate who immediately caught the attention of fans when he first appeared in the Sabaody Archipelago Arc. Not only did he immediately come off as very strong because he simultaneously wielded a rapier and an axe, but he could also turn himself into an Allosaurus,meaning that he was also the first Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit user ever seen in the series.
On top of all that, it was later revealed that X Drake is actually a member of SWORD who infiltrated the Beasts Pirates to take them down from the inside. There’s no denying that all of these qualities made him quite an interesting character who had the potential to become powerful, but, sadly, X Drake could never live up to these huge expectations. Aside from one insignificant victory over one of the Numbers, he kept losing over and over throughout the arc, against the likes of Sanji and the CP0. By the time the Raid on Onigashima came to a close, he ended up in a hospital bed, healing his wounds.
The First Post-Time Skip Main Antagonist Was Quite Easy To Defeat
The Fish-Man Island Arc is set right after the legendary two-year time skip and, as a result, its main antagonist,Hody Jones, had to confront the Straw Hat Pirates right after their long and rigorous training. This made it seem like he was going to be just as powerful as any other main antagonist in the series, maybe even more, but he ended up being a major disappointment.
Even though his role in the story is supposed to represent the rampant discrimination faced by Fish-Men and Merfolk, Hody Jones ends up being a surprisingly weak villain who loses to Zoro in an underwater fight early on in the arc and eventually has to rely on the Energy Steroids to even stand a chance against Monkey D. Luffy. Nevertheless,none of this was enough to stop the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, who quite easily defeated him without needing to use any of his Gears.
7Diamante
The “Hero Of The Colosseum” Was Not Much Of A Fighter
The Donquixote Family has many different subdivisions, with one of them being the Diamante Army, which specializes in fighting, and it’s led by the eponymousDiamante, also known as the “Hero” of the Corrida Colosseum. He was quite clearly being slowly built up as one of the main antagonists the Straw Hat Pirates would be forced to fight in the extensive Dressrosa Arc.
However, Diamante never really achieved any impressive feats throughout the rest of the arc that could justify all that build-up. His Devil Fruit, the Hira Hira no Mi, is neither powerful nor impressive. He wasn’t able to stop Sabo from eating the Mera Mera no Mi, and he was eventually defeated by Kyros, a one-legged gladiator without Haki or any Devil Fruit powers. Many fans can’t help but wonder why Doflamingo even assigned Diamante as the crew’s combatant in the first place.
8Jack
His Initial Appearance In The Zou Arc Made Him Seem A Lot More Dangerous Than He Actually Was
The first appearance ofJack the Droughtmarked an extremely important moment in this story, as the Straw Hat Pirates and their allieswere finally going to face a pirate that belonged to the crew of one of the Four Emperors. Jack himself initially lived up to his reputation, as he didn’t hesitate to use one of Caesar Clown’s chemical weapons to obliterate Zou and its inhabitants, not to mention that he also tortured their two rulers, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, for many days. And if all that wasn’t enough, his Devil Fruit also allowed him to turn into a giant Mammoth that could destroy giant structures with ease.
Nevertheless, Jack didn’t do much after his introductory arc, and he later paled in comparison to the other All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates. Firstly, he was defeated by Zunesha in a humiliating way. Not only that, but he also didn’t do much during the Raid on Onigashima, as he struggled to fight the Minks and the Nine Red Scabbards, not to mention he didn’t even get a proper fight with a member of the Straw Hat Pirates like Queen and King did. For a character that was originally portrayed as a dangerous force of destruction, Jack ended up being quite underwhelming as both a fighter and a villain.
