Summary
One Pieceis a long-running series known for its rotating cast of antagonists. Oftentimes, major villains are not killed off, which allows them to become potentially relevant to the continuing narrative. This list seeks to look at each major villain in the story, what happened to them after their defeat, and if they could become relevant to the greater plot of the series once again, if that has not happened already.
Some major villains will most likely not return to the story again, but other villains either already have or inevitably will return to the greater narrative, possibly even crossing paths with the Straw Hat Pirates once more.
12Arlong
Imprisoned: Location Unclear
Arlong is a sawshark fish-man who was the captain of the Arlong Pirates and the main villain of theArlong Park Arc. He believes his kind are superior to humans, in a mirror image of the racist ideals many powerful humans have against fish-men. His actions notably devastated Nami’s hometown, and kidnapped her for his otherwise all fish-man pirate crew. He was defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates, with each officer of his crew succumbing to Luffy or one of his crewmates. Arlong, along with most of his crew, was taken into custody. Chronologically, he was never seen post-arrest. He and the captured members of his crew are incarcerated, possibly at Impel Down, due to his status as the pirate with the biggest bounty in the East Blue at the time of capture.
He did return via flashbacks, which added to his character. He was notably prejudiced against humans as a young adult, teaching fish-man children to hate them as well. He was also a crew mate of the legendary fish-man pirate, and former slave, Fisher Tiger. His prejudice grew further once Tiger was betrayed after attempting to save a human slave girl. Tiger died, refusing a human blood transfusion and remarking on how, despite his own hatred for humans, he wished fish-man children would be untainted by such perspectives. Arlong was later arrested and jailed for attempting to murder the humans he deemed responsible for Tiger’s death. He broke with Jinbe after his former crewmate became a warlord, despite this being the reason for his release.
Hatchan, the sole known escapee of the crew’s arrest, reformed into a kinder person. He mentioned his remorse for Nami’s pain at the hands of Arlong, and aided the Straw Hat Pirates when he crossed paths with the crew once again. At the moment, it seems unlikely Arlong himself will return.
11Wapol
On the Run
Wapol, the disgraced ruler of the Sakura Kingdom (né: Drum Kingdom) was known for his cruelty, cowardice, and greed. His actions included fleeing the kingdom after it suffered a pirate attack, and exiling or co-opting its doctors so he could profiteer directly from any medical procedure. Wapol’s Devil Fruit, the Baku Baku no Mi, allowed him to eat and assimilate virtually everything, perhaps this was a metaphor for his goals. He was later defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates, with his former guard, Dalton being elected in his place.
Wapol was exiled once more from his Kingdom. He turned to binge-eating multiple times, but eventually ended up homeless. After devouring garbage, toys were created as an inadvertent byproduct of his actions. This snowballed into a successful enterprise that resulted in him eventually being gifted a new kingdom, the Evil Black Drum Kingdom.
Due to becoming a king once more, Wapol was allowed to attend the Levely, a meeting of royalty to discuss World Government policy, again. Unfortunately, while there, he witnessedthe Five Eldersassassinating Nefertari Cobra, and learned of the existence of Imu, the true ruler of the world. Realizing the danger this knowledge placed him in, he has escaped alongside Vivi, with both of them currently being harbored by “Big News” Morgans.
10Crocodile
The Secret Emperor
Crocodile was once a heavily ambitious pirate. He once wished to become King of the Pirates. However, he eventually settled for taking over Alabasta, via a heavily organized coup. He cultivated a public image for himself as a noble hero. In truth, he was Mr. 0,the secret head of Baroque Works, who carried out illegal operations to secure power for himself. Despite his careful planning, the involvement of the Straw Hat Pirates led to his plans being laid bare, and his organization dissolving. Nico Robin, his former partner, later invited herself onto Luffy’s crew.
Crocodile was arrested and imprisoned, like many of his former subordinates, but he did not choose to escape when granted the opportunity, at first. He ended up being the first defeated major villain to gain plot relevance after teaming up with Luffy to escape Impel Down, along with his remaining Baroque Works Officers. While Mr. 2 Bon Clay voluntarily stayed behind, Crocodile and the other two officers, Daz Bonez and Galdino, escaped. The three later participated in the War at Marineford and evaded capture.
After traveling for some time with Daz, Crocodile decided to organize the Cross Guild, a paramilitary group which could put bounties on marines, along with Dracule Mihawk. To this end, he organized with Buggy, a fellow Impel Down escapee. This led to an unfortunate miscommunication where Buggy was made the leader of this group, much to Crocodile’s chagrin. However, Crocodile and Mihawk decided to keep him as a figurehead of the powerful organization. As Cross Guild is now considered one of the four major pirate crews, they, along with Crocodile, definitely have some relevance to the story, which will continue into the future.
9Enel
Man on the Moon
After destroying his home island, Birka, and taking over Skypeia, Enel cemented himself as a “God.” However, his godhood was refuted by Luffy, whose Devil Fruit powers rendered him immune to Enel’s. He ended up restarting the Ark Maxim after his defeat, and traveled through space seeking out the “Fairy Vearth.”
Eventually landing on the moon, Enel discovers an automaton in mourning. Enel later identifies a crew of space pirates, who he saw desecrating his “Fairy Vearth” and brutally beat them into submission. From there, he gains the loyalty of four automata whose creator indirectly died due to the pirates' actions. Enel eventually discovered many more automata, left behind their creators, the largely-extinct lunarians. Having many subjects and no real opposition, Enel now became the effective ruler of the moon. With this distinction, it is not likely he will return again.
8Rob Lucci
Currently on Egghead
Lucci was a former member ofCipher Pol 9, a high-ranking group of government agents, dispatched for the sake of retrieving and executing Nico Robin. They were situated, for a time, at Water 7 to retrieve details on a powerful weapon’s blueprint hidden in the area. He and his colleagues were defeated by the Straw Hats, disgraced by the World Government, and betrayed by their leader, Spandam.
He and his fellow agents spent some time on the run, assaulting pirates and marines alike. An SBS column confirmed they uncovered and stopped a government conspiracy organized by Spandam’s father, Spandine. This led them to being reinstated and promoted to Cipher Pol 0. Since the timeskip, Lucci has reappeared in various capacities. His most prominent role at present was encountering the Straw Hat Pirates at Egghead. He and his partner, Kaku, are revealed to have awakened their Devil Fruits, and manage to continually antagonize the Straw Hats throughout. However, the pair end up betrayed by their partner, Stussy, and deeply wounded in the midst of their conflicts.
7Gecko Moria
Jailed in Hachinosu
Gecko Moria was the Captain of the Thriller Bark Pirates. This crew was mostly made of undead pirates, after his former crew of living pirates was killed by Kaido. He and his crewmates were defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates. After this failure, Moria was fired for being too weak. Despite the government’s attempt to execute him, he survived and was reported as still being visible.
He attempted to search Blackbeard’s island, Hachinosu, for his former crewmate, Absalom. Unfortunately, he discovered that Absalom was killed and his Devil Fruit power was stolen by Shiryu, one of Blackbeard’s Ten Titanic Captains. Regardless, Blackbeard offered him a position within his crew. Moria was outraged at his crewmate’s death, and was imprisoned upon refusing to join. Perona, another crewmate, attempted to free him, but the success of this outcome is unknown thus far. Moria will likely reappear again, perhaps as a member of Cross Guild, if not teaming up with anyone who will allow him to get revenge on Blackbeard.
6Magellan
Demoted to Vice Warden
This devil-faced warden is deeply devoted to the World Government. His Doku Doku no Mi, allows him to produce destructive poisons. Unfortunately, his reputation was fractured uponImpel Down’s recent prison break, where hundreds of pirates escaped into the free world. He himself felt so humiliated by the event he even wished to kill himself, but Fleet Admiral Sengoku demanded that he stay alive.
He was demoted to vice warden for his failure, with his former subordinate, Hannyabal, achieving his long-held dream of becoming warden in his place. Magellan has since been seen briefly discussing his thoughts on the future with an incarcerated Donquixote Doflamingo. He might return in a somewhat greater capacity, possibly to handle the outcome of a prospective future breakout, seeing as various powerful villains are imprisoned there, even now. However, even if he does return, it will likely not be outside the prison’s gates.
5Hody Jones
Getting Too Old For This
Hody and his crewmates were among the children who bought into Arlong’s anti-human ideology. They largely stayed on Fish-Man Island, and likely have little to no personal experience with humans themselves to base these ideals on. Nonetheless, Hody wished to take over the Ryugyu Kingdom, hating their stance on building fish-man/human relations. He was defeated by Luffy and his crewmates, ironically reinforcing support for humans through his actions.
Hody is likely one of the most definitive candidates not to return for a future fight. He heavily overdosed on energy steroids during his battle with Luffy, which led him to prematurely age into a feeble elderly man, despite being only 30. He and his fellow rapidly aged crewmates were imprisoned in the Ryugyu Kingdom.
4Caesar Clown
Reconnecting with an Old Friend
Caesar Clown was a jealous former colleague of Dr. Vegapunk, who wished to surpass the scientist. Unlike Vegapunk, he had no issues with moral ramifications of experimenting on children and similarly evil endeavors, making him the main antagonist of the Punk Hazard Arc. He used government connections, with the likes of Donquixote Doflamingo, to preclude himself from punishment. Unfortunately for him, both he and his superior were defeated and stripped of protection.
Caesar was, for a time, effectively an unwilling hostage of the Straw Hats, who ended up being forced to aid them in their efforts against Big Mom to regain his heart, which Trafalgar D. Water Law stole from him. After his debt was paid, he escaped. Eventually, Caesar encounters the Vinsmoke siblings on Whole Cake Island, and aids them in fighting against the Charlotte siblings. This led Caesar to meet another former colleague of his, Vinsmoke Judge, the mutually-disowned father of Sanji. Judge and Caesar decide to organize NEO MADS, an intended successor to MADS, a scientist organization the pair were once part of, along with Vegapunk. The extent to which this will affect the central narrative isunclear at present.
3Donquixote Doflamingo
Captured, But For How Long?
This former World Noble had his power forcibly taken from him by his father, who cut the immediate family off from their power. He attempted to grasp at it, building up a crew, organizing a coup in Dressrosa, and using sensitive knowledge he held as a noble to keep the World Government at bay. However, he still ended up being defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates, along with their numerous allies, and subsequently became imprisoned in Impel Down.
However, even removed from his power, he seems oddly at ease about everything. While any potentially compromising information may be a death sentence in the government’s clutches, it could be worthwhile for anyone willing to release him. He has been continually built up as a parallel to Crocodile, which makes fans think he could reasonably escape the prison, much like his counterpart. Some fans speculatehe may even join Cross Guild, similar to how he offered Crocodile a position in his own crew before the timeskip.
