Highlights
- Donquixote Doflamingo is considered the best One Piece villain due to his powerful crew and unique abilities.
- The Donquixote Pirates are divided into three armies, each led by an Elite Officer with their own Devil Fruit powers.
- Doflamingo’s ruthless nature and willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals make him a formidable antagonist.
Despite being the main antagonist of the Dressrosa arc over 400 chapters ago, Donquixote Doflamingo is still regarded by many, to this day, as the best villain ever introduced in the One Piece story. Due to this, he continues to live in infamy within the minds of most fans, as he’s usually used as a yardstick to measure the greatness of pretty much every other antagonist in the series.
However, as powerful and notorious as this Warlord of the Sea was, Doflamingo would likely have been unable to make as big of a splash as he did in the world of One Piece without the help of his crew. Due to the structure of this ‘family’, Doflamingo was able to capture the entire island of Dressrosa in a single night, so let’s look at this crew and go over why it is such an infamous collection of pirates!
History of the Crew
|
First Appearance |
One Piece, Episode 151, “The 100,000,000 Man! The World’s Highest Authority and the Pirate Blackbeard” |
|---|---|
|
Story Arc |
Jaya Arc |
Donquixote Doflamingo is one of the notorious Seven Warlords of the Sea, making him one of the strongest and most important characters in the entire One Piece series. Due to this, he amassed great wealth and notoriety over the years. Born as one of the Celestial Dragons, Doflamingo’s father moved himself and his family out of Marijoa in order to live like normal humans. However, this act ended in disaster, leading to his family being persecuted.
Being born before they departed from the Sacred Land, Doflamingo knew of all the privileges that came with being a Celestial Dragon as well as all the hardships that came from the endless persecution they felt from the rest of the world. This gave him a unique perspective that allowed him to know what both ends of the spectrum feel like, something which definitely helped him in his ascent into power. This was further bolstered by the rest of the crew making him their Supreme Leader.
Structure of the Donquixote Pirates
Just by going off their name, it’s pretty easy to tell who the leader is! While it was explained that the command of the crew is equally divided among the top brass of the organization, Doflamingo is the one with the utmost power and control out of all of them. Under him, there are 3 Elite Officers who each have a certain army to control that comprises of other officers, and they are each divided into 4 suits of a deck of cards. However, the suit of hearts is currently out of commission.
Trebol Army
Supreme Commander: Trebol; Club Seat
The Trebol Army is led by one of the most hated characters in the One Piece fandom; Trebol. Despite his notoriety within the community, he remains one of the most important members of the entire structure since he was the one to recruit Doflamingo into the life of organized crime when he was just 10 years old. Moreover, he also gave him the Ito Ito no Mi Devil Fruit, which was the source of Doflamingo’s awesome and unique powers.
You fool! Don’t for a second think that someone like you could ever defeat Doffy!
The Army itself consists of many underlings, with the officers being Violet (before her defection), Sugar, and Giolla. Due to this, the missions that this army undertakes are operations that somehow require the usage of special abilities, which can be seen with the 3 officers each having Devil Fruit powers. There are also many foot soldiers that the leaders of this army have control over and the officer Sugar is perhaps the most important member of the entire operation, since her power essentially gives Doflamingo his entire workforce!
Elite Officers:
- Violet: Originally Princess Viola, she joined the crew in order to save her father’s life. She has eaten the Giro Giro no Mi, giving her vision that lets her see through objects and over great distances.
- Sugar: Sugar took the form of a young girl despite being 22 years old due to the properties of her Devil Fruit. Her Hobi Hobi no Mi allows her to turn people into obedient toys.
- Giolla: The user of the Ato Ato no Mi, Giolla had an underrated power to turn all her enemies into works of art, essentially making them useless in a fight.
Pica Army
Supreme Commander: Pica; Spade Seat
Pica is the most dangerous Elite Officer of the Donquixote Pirates, mainly due to his incredible Ishi Ishi no Mi Devil Fruit. This is a Paramecia Type fruit that allows him to control and completely assimilate himself into stone of any kind! Due to this, he was able to merge with the stone of the Dressrosa Palace and that which is underground, transforming himself into a towering monster that few could stop.
You are not a king. You are not even fit to be a king!
The Pica Army comprises of Buffalo, Baby 5, and Gladius, and they specialize in commando missions since each of these members is fairly powerful in their own right. However, Pica’s own strength is quite formidable, aside from his Devil Fruit, due to his gargantuan size.
Elite Officers:
- Baby 5: One of the youngest members of the entire organization, Baby 5 ate the Buki Buki no Mi, which allows her to fully control and manipulate her body to become a weapon.
- Buffalo: Buffalo’s abilities are not really focused on combat. His Guru Guru no Mi lets him fly, making him perfect for deployment and reconnaissance missions.
- Gladius: The user of the Pamu Pamu no Mi, Gladius is one of the most dangerous members of the crew due to his powers of making himself and any inorganic matter he touches explode violently.
Diamante Army
Supreme Commander: Diamante; Diamond Suit
Much like Trebol, Diamante himself is also quite a detestable pirate. Eater of the Hira Hira no Mi, he can make his body or anything he touches get the properties of fabric, making them malleable and difficult to pin down. He was the one who killed Rebecca’s mother, Scarlet, for seemingly no reason, making him one of the more ruthless characters in the series.
Watch out! My cloak is made of steel!
Unlike the other subdivisions, the Diamante Army focuses on fighting missions, which is seen by how the leader is also the head of the Corrida Colosseum. Each officer in this army, namely Dellinger, Lao G, Senor Pink, and Machvise, are all active fighters within the ranks of the Colosseum and each has a 100% win rate due to this. This is also the only army that houses 4 members instead of the regular 3.
Elite Officers:
- Dellinger: Dellinger is a ruthless combatant who, despite having no Devil Fruit abilities, is extremely dangerous to go up against, mainly because he is half fighting-fish-fish-man.
- Lao G: The oldest officer in the entire organization, Lao G also works under Diamante and is one of the only 2 members, alongside Dellinger, to not have Devil Fruit powers, owing his strength to his martial arts.
- Senor Pink: Senor Pink ate the Sui Sui no Mi, a Devil Fruit that lets him swim through any solid surface, making him a powerful combatant.
- Machvise: Machvise ate the incredible Ton Ton no Mi, a powerful Devil Fruit that lets him change the weight of his body with a simple command, going up to even 10,000 tons!
Donquixote Doflamingo
Captain and Supreme Commander of the Donquixote Pirates
Doflamingo is regarded by most fans of the series as the greatest villain in all of One Piece. Starting his life as a Celestial Dragon knowing all the luxuries and privileges of the world, he was eventually rejected by his people, turning him into a soulless monster known to everyone as the ‘Heavenly Demon’. During his rise as a major player in the dark underworld, he also had a brother named Donquixote Rosinante, known as Corazon, who served as his second in command and the one to sit on the ‘Heart Seat’.
Kids who have never seen peace and kids who have never seen war have different values! Those who stand at the top determine what’s wrong and what’s right!
However, after learning that Corazon was working against him and had saved Trafalgar Law, Doflamingo proceeded to shoot him in cold blood, cementing himself as one of the most ruthless pirates on the Grand Line. His malice was truly shown when he took over the country of Dressrosa in a single night, showing that he was willing to do whatever it took to shatter the world to pieces!
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