The Punk Hazard arc was already off to a breakneck start with tons of players on the board, but it introduced another key player in the second half. Caesar Clown, One Piece’s scientist who doesn’t have any moral qualms, His experiments on Punk Hazard kick off the Wano Saga’s central thread, the artificial Devil Fruits. So, who is Caesar Clown, and why does he play such a pivotal role in One Piece’s most recent saga?
Heads up, this article will contain spoilers for One Piece through the current Egghead Island arc, chapter 1089 of the manga. That’s the only warning, so turn back now or be spoiled!
Who is Caesar Clown?
The short answer is that Caesar Clown is pure evil. He’s a vile coward, obsessed with “scientific progress”, which translates to money for weapons he creates. Caesar has no qualms about researching or creating weapons, but it always has to be for the right price. He’s taken money from everyone, whether it be the World Government, Warlords of the Sea, or even an Emperor. For a time he was an apprentice to Vegapunk, working for the Navy. This led to the Punk Hazard incident where a “lab accident” wiped out most people on the island.
In another show of evil, this wasn’t an accident but a planned test of his latest weapon. Caesar set off the weapon himself, hiding in a sealed bunker until it was finished to observe the results. Most places would consider that a war crime, and rightfully, the World Government fires him. That’s it, they only fire him. No other repercussions and he immediately flees from any kind of justice.
Caesar Clown’s Artificial Devil Fruits
While it’s not Caesar Clown’s original research, he does carry on Vegapunk’s attempt at Artificial Devil Fruits. He doesn’t quite get the results Vegapunk did though, as his artificial SMILE Fruits don’t have near the accuracy rate Vegapunk’s single attempt does. While Vegapunk made a near-perfect copy of Kaido’s Devil Fruit, which Momonosuke ate, Caesar’s make monstrous Zoan abominations.
There isn’t an official explanation for what goes into the SAD gas that Caesar uses, but he ships that off to Donquixote Doflamingo in Dressrosa. There Doflamingo subjugates the Tontatta people to tend an orchard of the fake fruits. It’s a vicious criminal underworld that Luffy helps to dismantle piece by piece.
Smoker vs Vergo
Armament Haki is like a cheat code for fighting Logia Devil Fruit users. While the Logia types can usually change the make-up of their body, like Smoker and Caesar Clown, Armament Haki will negate that and damage them as normal. It’s easier not to think about it, and just know that it was made as a way to keep Logia Devil Fruits from becoming too overpowered. When Smoker fights Vergo, it’s the best representation of this newfound power dynamic. The two Vice-Admirals square off, Smoker fighting to take Vergo down as he’s revealed himself a traitor loyal to Doflamingo.
Smoker is at a disadvantage despite his greatest efforts but is saved thanks to intervention by Trafalgar Law. The Warlord of the Sea slices Vergo in half, along with the entire building. Not very happy that he’s saved by a Pirate, but Smoker is grateful nonetheless.
Who Are the Kids at Punk Hazard?
The Straw Hats are surprised by plenty of things they find on the island, like centaurs and strange weather. When they find a group of kids though, they see a whole different side of Caesar Clown. He’s already an evil, money-hungry bastard, but the kids at Punk Hazard are being used in an experiment on human enlargement. Caesar kidnapped all of these children from their homes, insisting they were sick and needed to be treated. The poor children fall for the lie, and now Caesar has them stuck there thanks to his ‘candy’.
It’s just another instance of pure evil, as Caesar has been feeding the kids candy laced with drugs. Extremely addictive, if the children don’t get a regular dose, the withdrawal symptoms are worse than some of the harshest drugs. The kids become vicious monsters, often losing their mind in pursuit of more candy to make the pain stop as their body undergoes withdrawal. It’s just an unbelievably cruel act by Caesar, on some of the most vulnerable humans.
Law vs Monet
Law and Monet go at it while Smoker and Vergo are fighting, with Law desperately trying to keep her from contacting Doflamingo for backup. His determination isn’t enough though, and Monet manages to get a call out before Law finally takes her down. Knocked out and near death, she lies in the ruins of Punk Hazard’s lab and thinks back on her service to Doflamingo.
How Does Monet Die?
While she doesn’t die right then after her fight with Law, she is unknowingly murdered by Caesar Clown. Monet lays in the lab wreckage, contemplating what she did with her life. On the other side of the island, Caesar is in a standoff with the temporary pirate-Navy alliance. He was given a heart earlier by Law, told that it belonged to Smoker. Caesar decides this is the time to use it, and stabs the heart straight through as Smoker attacks him.
To his surprise, Smoker seems unaffected. Because he is, since it wasn’t Smoker’s heart that Caesar Clown drives a knife through. It was instead Monet’s heart, which Law had switched out without them noticing when he “returned” it to them. Monet dies, and on a small tree nearby her Devil Fruit grows anew.
Smiley
Smiley is the updated version of Caesar Clown’s weapon from the infamous Punk Hazard Incident. While it’s originally just a massive blob of toxic goo that will kill anyone or anything that dares touch it, things get way worse. Caesar feeds the giant blob a Devil Fruit, which turns it into a massive Axolotl of toxic sludge. Even worse, it can spew gas that encases all it touches, killing them.
This monster rampages around the island, destroying everything in sight while the entire ordeal is broadcast live. Caesar is using this as a demo run of sorts for black market arms dealers, hoping to make a fortune. Luffy’s able to defeat the beast, but it expels an incredibly deadly gas upon death that makes its way across the crumbling island.
Why is Caesar Clown Working for Doflamingo?
As far as his motives, Caesar Clown is one hundred percent in this for the money. He’s a maniac obsessed with perfecting more and more weapons of death. All he wants is to sell off any weapon he can to fund his next killing tool, and Doflamingo is just another source of steady income. Not that it means they’re exclusive though, as Caesar Clown is working more side gigs than the average American.
His experiments on making regular humans into giants are funded by Big Mom herself. She’s obsessed with the idea, insisting it needs to happen to complete her family. Her dream for everyone to sit at the same table for a meal, all equal at the same place, probably doesn’t mesh well with child experimentation.
New Allies for the Straw Hats
Despite the best efforts by Caesar Clown and Doflamingo’s lackeys, an unlikely alliance manages to overcome all. The Straw Hat Pirates team up with Trafalgar Law in an alliance to take down Doflamingo. This alliance will end up moving further into taking down Kaido, an Emperor of the Sea, and completely throwing the balance of power in the New World off.
Not only do they make an alliance with the Heart Pirates thanks to Law, but another alliance with the samurai of Wano begins. The Straw Hats rescue Kin’emon early on in Punk Hazard, and eventually find his “son” Momonosuke. Momonosuke wandered onto a ship that transported the children used for gigantification experiments, which stuck him in the Punk Hazard lab. He manages to make a somewhat escape, hiding out in the lab where he eventually eats the artificial Devil Fruit left there by Vegapunk. This earns him a dragon form thanks to the copy of Kaido’s Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon. It’s one of One Piece’s best jokes that a badass-looking Devil Fruit like Kaido’s is called a Fish-Fish Fruit.
What’s next After Punk Hazard?
When the Straw Hats make their alliances they leave the kids with Smoker and Tashigi, entrusting them with their care. In turn, the Straw Hats and Law head off for Dressrosa, the Kingdom ruled over by Donquixote Doflamingo, Warlord of the Sea. Law has a score to settle, Kin’emon has a friend to find, and Luffy is just along for the ride. It’s the start of a landslide that will bring down an empire, and the pirates are just warming up.
They sail off toward Dressrosa with Caesar in tow as a hostage, knowing that Doflamingo won’t put his cash cow in danger. They negotiate a trade- they’ll give Caesar Clown back, as long as Doflamingo rebukes his Warlord of the Sea title. It’s a damn bold plan, but isn’t going to happen quite how they expect. Next up in the Dressrosa arc, the Straw Hats have to make a decision, and a new fighting force is born!
