Enel is the main antagonist of the Skypiea arc and, to date, is still considered one of the most powerful villains ever introduced in both the manga and TV series. This is considering the myriad of villains that Luffy and the Straw Hats have faced Post Time-Skip.
Enel made his first appearance during the earlier episodes of One Piece when the Straw Hats ventured to their first Sky Island, and since then, he has remained in the minds of fans worldwide due to his sheer power and unhinged nature. However, there’s a lot more to Enel than meets the eye.
Who is Enel?
In both the manga and TV series, we see Enel as a pale-skinned man with a wiry yet toned build. His most distinguishing features are his height (about 8’9), and the four wooden Shime-Daiko drums attached to a gray ring stuck centrally into his shoulder blades. Enel is sometimes referred to as Eneru and is the former “God of Skypiea”, an honorary name granted to the ruler of Skypiea. However, Enel took his title quite literally during his reign, proclaiming himself as an actual God and ruling as such. As a result of his nature, he is supremely confident in himself and his abilities and thus comes across as brave, cocky, and carefree. And, to his credit, he has the power to back it up.
How Strong Enel is?
Enel is one of the strongest characters and can put up a good fight against the 7 Warlords of the Sea and Yonkos, even Vice Admirals. Some fans doubt this, however, and point to the fact that Pre-Timeskip Luffy still defeated him. And, if Luffy could beat him without any of his gears, then how strong could he be right? Wrong! Although Luffy defeats Enel, there are a lot of things that still make Enel one of the strongest villains to date.
What is Enel’s Goro Goro no Mi Devil Fruit?
Enel is the wielder of the Goro Goro no Mi (or the Rumble Rumble Fruit), a Logia devil fruit that basically makes him living lightning. This means that he is able to create, manipulate, and change his body to lightning at will. Enel is able to channel lightning-based attacks through his body or through materials conducive to the element. And, with a maximum voltage output of about 200 million volts for a single attac. It’s self-explanatory why the fruit is classified as one of the most offensively styled Devil Fruits revealed to date, just by its very nature.
Furthermore, as a lightning man, Enel is intangible to most attacks and can move at lighting-fast speed in whatever direction he chooses, which by itself puts the fruit a spot above Admiral Kizaru’s Pika Pika no Mi (or Light Light Fruit) which only allows the Admiral to move in a straight line, though at a faster speed.
Has Enel Mastered His Devil Fruit?
A Devil Fruit is said to have been mastered when the user has learned to awaken the Fruit, thereby unleashing its full potential. Unfortunately, though, it hasn’t been confirmed whether or not Enel has reached that pinnacle. However, mastered or not, Enel has certainly found some amazing applications of it. With the Goro Goro no Mi, Enel is able to quickly melt and reform anything to form basically whatever he wants. This allowed him to create both his flying ark and trident. His ship, the Ark Maxim, acts as a conductor to channel and enhance his abilities. And this is to the point that, with it, his powers are amplified enough to wipe out an entire island without a sweat. One of the most insane uses of his Devil Fruit, however, is when he literally jump-started his own heart after it briefly entered cardiac arrest from an attack.
Enel’s Use of Haki
Enel is also one of the first villains in both the manga as well as the One Piece TV series to use Haki (or Mantra, as people on Skypiea call it). In one of the most creative applications of Haki so far, he combined his Mantra / Haki with the electromagnetic properties of his Devil Fruit and amplified it enough for him to read electromagnetic waves in the air. These enhancements made him near-omniscient around Sky Island as he was literally able to pick up and listen to specific conversations across all of his domains.
Is Enel Intelligent?
Even without his Devil Fruit and Haki, Enel’s intellect still makes him a formidable opponent. For example, although Luffy’s natural counter to his Goro Goro no mi abilities surprised him, Enel quickly adapted and subdued Luffy several times using either his superb staff skills or by just trapping him in a giant ball of solid gold. Furthermore, for his goal of reaching the moon, which he considered Fairy Vearth, Enel conscripted the help of the Skypieans and designed the Ark Maxim, a gigantic ship capable of flying. Also, we can see his intelligence where he ensures that the Maxim is made of solid gold, which, when heated by his powers, allows him to manipulate the entire construction without a crew.
Was Enel Born in Skypiea?
At the time of the Skypiea arc, not much we do not know much about Enel’s background. However, Oda reveals later on during the arc that Enel is a native of Birka, a Sky Island that he eventually destroyed before migrating to Skypiea. Upon arriving on Skypiea, he immediately dethroned the ruler, Gan Fall, and took over the island.
Enel’s Early Defeat
Enel is one of the first villains to be revealed in both the One Piece manga and TV series but he meets his match early on when Luffy defeats him in an epic battle. As a rubber man, Luffy is a perfect counter to Enel’s lighting abilities. This is why he is able to negate both Enel’s intangibility and the sheer destruction of the Goro Goro no Mi. To his credit, Enel attempted to adapt several times during the battle and actually wounded Luffy, or otherwise incapacitated him, several times during their battle.
However, Luffy’s tenacity makes him keep coming back until he defeats Enel. At the end of the battle, Luffy knocks Enel unconscious and he falls, together with his ship, into the sea clouds. However, he regained consciousness and could start the Ark Maxim backup using his power. With a vow never to suffer defeat again, he set his sights on Fairy Vearth, which he believes to be on the moon.
Great Space Operations
After the events of the Sky Island arc, Enel finally arrives at the moon on board the Ark Maxim, where he discovers the moon’s inhabitants in a battle with several fox-like Space Pirates. Enel witnesses one of the pirate’s attacks and, angry at seeing his “Vearth” being desecrated, goes to the Pirate’s hideout and begins to ‘punish’ them. This makes the First Lieutenant believe that Enel is avenging him and his comrades, and they graciously thank him when he returns.
Establishing a New Kingdom on the Moon
After settling, Enel commences an exploration of the moon with the moon’s inhabitants and ends up climbing down into a crater created by the Space Pirates. Now, beneath the lunar surface, he discovers an abandoned city in ruins. He discharges a few lighting attacks, which inadvertently revives a sleeping army of Automata. With the help of murals along the city walls, Enel discovers that the ruins belong to an ancient civilization called Birka. Yes, you’re right! It shares the same name as his birthplace. Inevitably, he establishes a new empire on the moon, with the Automata as his followers.
Will Enel Return in The One Piece Anime ?
Enel’s return is one of the anticipated events amongst One Piece fans. This is partly because of the character himself and partly because of the level of depth in the entire Sky Island arc and the secrets it holds for us. Fortunately, Enel’s return is almost inevitable at this point as he holds the truth about the winged races as well as their origin and background—all of which are an integral part of the story. Among other things, his return will definitely mean a second fight with his powerful adversary, Luffy.
