One Piece: Decoding The Designs Of Vegapunk And His Satellites

One of the most important aspects of the initial segment of the Egghead Arc was the introduction of Dr. Vegapunk, the foremost scientist in the world of One Piece. The build up to his debut spanned hundreds of chapters, with many characters telling tall tales of his exploits and discoveries, ensuring that his presence was always felt throughout the story in some capacity. However, one thing that might have surprised many fans at first, was the revelation that Vegapunk was not one person, but actually seven distinct entities.

Although they reside in different bodies, the Vegapunk's six satellites and his main body, the "Stella," all have distinct designs that correspond to the purpose they were created for. In keeping with Eiichiro Oda's knack for imbuing locations and character designs in One Piece with influences from real world history and popular culture, Vegapunk and his satellites also bear many similarities to well known historical and fictional figures. Here is how this can be observed in each of Vegapunk's seven bodies.

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Stella

Resembling an old man with wild gray hair, a prominent mustache, and a long drooping tongue, the appearance of Vegapunk's original body — now known as the Stella — is an obvious nod to a famous photograph of Albert Einstein. The photograph itself has now attained iconic status in popular culture, and is now indelibly tied to Einstein's persona, decades after his passing. Vegapunk's comparisons with Einstein are quite fitting, since the latter was regarded as one of the greatest scientists in history and a paragon of intelligence.

While the Stella's design does take heavy influence from the photograph, it also exaggerates certain features, such as the length of Einstein's outstretched tongue, which extends all the way down to Vegapunk's waist. Additionally, the notion of Vegapunk's brain being extracted from his head is almost certainly a hint at how Einstein's own brain was extracted from his body upon his death for research purposes.

The Stella's elongated head is neatly sliced at a certain height, and is capped by an apple-shaped headpiece hoisted atop a thin support structure resembling an apple core. It is fairly obvious that this is a reference to the well-known story behind Sir Isaac Newton's discovery of gravitation, where he took notice of the Earth's gravitational force when struck on the head by an apple that fell from a tree above him.

Shaka

As the embodiment of the "good" within Vegapunk, Shaka's design is quite restrained, as he is of average height, and clad in a dark coat and tall boots, with a futuristic metal helmet that reveals nothing of his face. The helmet bears the number "01" on its reflective front surface, commencing a numerical hierarchy that extends to all of Vegapunk's satellites.

Shaka's outfit leaves practically no skin exposed across his entire body, to the point where his real appearance under the helmet has not been shown at all. One obvious influence on Shaka's design could be attributed to the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, in terms of the helmets they don during their performances. Shaka's helmet in particular, is near identical to the one worn by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, with its gold outer shell and extended visor, which wraps around the entire face.

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Lilith

Representing the "evil" within Vegapunk, Lilith is the first feminine satellite as per the numbering scheme, where she is designated as Vegapunk number "02," by the lettering on her pink jumpsuit. On top of this, her design also features a purple jacket, black boots, dark gloves, and a red aviator helmet.

These elements are mildly reminiscent of the attire of pilots in the early years of aviation history, which is oddly fitting considering Lilith's specialization. In fact, Lilith is an expert engineer who routinely pilots various mech suits, including the gargantuan Vegaforce-01. She is also the one who supervises the modified Sea Beasts, and exerts some level of control over them.

Edison

Although Edison was obviously named after a famed American inventor — responsible for the creation of the gramophone, motion picture camera, and the first practical light bulb — his appearance is that of a small mechanical creature. Similar in size to a young child, Edison's head is shaped much like an American football, with two protrusions at its back in the style of a power plug used for appliances.

The number "03" is emblazoned across his forehead, denoting his place in the hierarchy. By virtue of being the "thinking" unit among Vegapunk's satellites, Edison has a relatively frail frame, metallic fingers, slim legs, and blocky feet. He is the first among the entirely robotic versions of Vegapunk from the scientist's six satellites.

Pythagoras

The second mechanical being among Vegapunk's six satellites, Pythagoras is named for an ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician, and polymath, who most famously discovered the Pythagorean theorem. In sharp contrast to Edison's small stature, Pythagoras is much larger in size, and he is the incarnation of Vegapunk's "wisdom."

Pythagoras' design is based on the character Robocon from the Japanese tokusatsu comedy series "Ganbare!! Robocon," with a spherical head featuring a protruding turn key, as well as a bright red color scheme. "Punk 04" is inscribed on the left side of his chest, and his limbs are all made from bending metal rods. While Pythagoras' torso is quite rotund and bulky, his limbs are fairly slender.

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Atlas

Encapsulating the "violence" within Vegapunk, Atlas is designated as number "05" among the satellites and is an extremely large figure. It can be inferred that Atlas possesses the greatest fighting abilities of all of Vegapunk's bodies, due to her stature and quick temper. Atlas' face is also partly mechanical, although it cannot be said for sure whether this extends to her entire body. As the second of Vegapunk's female forms, Atlas has a round face, flushed cheeks, short, curly hair — with two longer curls running down to her abdomen — and large, expressive eyes.

She wears a short dress which features her numerical designation along with dark boots, and gloves attached to light sleeves. Named for the Titan responsible for carrying the heavens in Greek mythology, Atlas' design is fairly influenced by the protagonist of Osamu Tezuka's "Astro Boy" series, which is known by its original name of "Mighty Atom" in Japan. Her appearance reflects the retrofuturistic aesthetic of Egghead Island in its purest form.

York

Towering over even the likes of Brook — who is the tallest member of the Straw Hat Pirates — York is the manifestation of Vegapunk's "greed," and the most lazy and gluttonous of all six satellites. With long wavy hair tied up in pig tails, York possesses a deceptively youthful appearance, and wears a cut-off top along with bikini bottoms and long boots that extend up to her knees. Her outfit also features a light colored jacket and a pair of goggles.

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