A Warlord of the Sea and deadly foe the Straw Hats face early on, Gecko Moria is a different breed. That breed is psychopath, as the pirate is more of a mad scientist and puppeteer than a seafarer. Explore the shadows of Thriller Bark and see just who is Gecko Moria!
Warning, this article contains spoilers for One Piece up to chapter 1090. The manga is available to read on Mangaplus, Viz, and Shonen Jump in the United States. So catch up before moving on with the article!
Who is Gecko Moria?
An absolute terror on a scientific and Devil Fruit level. Gecko Moria is just one of many mad scientists in the world of One Piece, but he takes it a step further by toying around with life. Through his Devil Fruit powers, Moria brings the dead back and creates terrifying chimeras from bodies, with no regard for their life. He’s a monster in every sense of the word, and will prove it by fighting dirty with his army of zombies.
Moria uses his privilege as a Warlord of the Sea to carry out whatever experiments he pleases with no oversight. This also allows him to bring on Hogback, a former associate of Vegapunk who’s in exile due to his unethical experiments. The guy has no qualms about what ethics may be, willing to go to any lengths for scientific progress in the most Frankenstein way possible. Graverobbing is a solid pastime that he enjoys no matter where he may go.
The Florian Triangle
One Piece’s equivalent to the real-world Bermuda Triangle, the Florian Triangle is a dangerous span of the sea from Water 7 to the Sabaody Archipelago. It’s full of fog, so thick it obscures the sun from view, and ships are known to go missing. Some, once they enter the fog, never reappear or their ship is found empty later. The entire place is an old sailor’s tale of doom, and pirates avoid it if at all possible.
Of course, this is why Moria floats out offering barrels in the sea. In sailor mythology, it’s good luck to send out a barrel of alcohol to float as an offering to the sea. Zoro won’t let a good barrel of grog go untapped though, and sets off Moria’s trap when it shoots a massive flare into the sky. This summons the island ship of Thriller Bark over, and brings the fog with it.
Gecko Moria Devil Fruit
Gecko Moria ate the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, which gives him control over any shadow cast near him. He’s also able to control his own shadow, splitting it off into clones or to spy on his enemies. That’s only the basics of his powers, as Moria uses his Devil Fruit to rip the shadows away from hapless pirates. These he either saves for himself, increasing his strength, or attaches to one of his undead abominations to revive them.
Gecko Moria has taken it even further than that though, stealing corpses of great warriors from ages past for his wild experiments. He ransacks Wano during Kaido’s early days, and has his entire crew killed before his eyes as a result. He makes it out with the body of Ryuma the Dragon Slayer though. It’s this body that he attaches Brook’s shadow to, giving it the swordsman’s abilities to fight. Moria’s ultimate move, Shadow Asgard, pulls every shadow he’s taken into him, transforming the Warlord.
Thriller Bark
The ship/island that Gecko Moria captains throughout the Grand Line, Thriller Bark is huge. This place is big enough on its own to store Oars the Continent Puller, a giant from ages past. The Thousand Sunny docks no problem, it has an entire castle with surrounding forest, and a massive tower with Moria’s Jolly Roger smack in the middle. Thriller Bark is a terrifying sight to behold for any sailors unfortunate enough to sail into it.
They often don’t sail out, as Moria gases any ships that come in before stealing their shadows and letting them loose. These poor souls are set to drift out at sea, and damned to disintegrate if the sunlight touches them. Most sit huddled under their ship decks until they starve, while others adapt to a lightless existence. Meanwhile, their shadows stay on Thriller Bark, with their personality still there in traces while they revive some zombies.
Gecko Moria’s Crew
Three different generals make up the crew of Moria’s Pirates. His first mate, Absalom, is a disgusting individual with a perverted disposition that would make Sanji disgusted. What makes it worse is his Clear-Clear Fruit, which makes him invisible. Meanwhile, Perona is a diva with the Hollow-Hollow Fruit, with a massive shadow doll named Kumacy backing her. Then there’s Doctor Hogback and his less-than-lovable servants.
While they all bring issues to the Straw Hats, only Perona is the one to stick around. She’s sent away near the end of Thriller Bark to the Muggy Kingdom where she stays with Mihawk. Absalom was recently killed by the Blackbeard Pirates, and his Clear-Clear Fruit abilities are now with Shiryu of the Rain.
Is Gecko Moria Still Alive?
Moria has a streak of bad luck when the Straw Hats take down his resurrected Oars along with all of Thriller Bark. He has the fortune of being hidden in his own territory though, and keeps his Warlord title unlike Crocodile. Moria reappears at Marineford only a couple of weeks later, though still battered and bruised from his fight with Luffy. Despite his zombies, Moria isn’t much help in the battle and Donquixote Doflamingo attacks him near the battle’s end.
He surprisingly comes back again later, though it involves him crashing Thriller Bark into Blackbeard’s Fullalead Island. Moria thinks he’s safe when Absalom appears further into the island, but it’s just a trick and Absalom is already dead. Shiryu of the Rain attacks Moria using Absalom’s Clear-Clear Fruit. Now Moria seems to be a prisoner of the Blackbeard Pirates, though it remains to be seen if they keep him alive.
The former Warlord of the Sea is too strong for an offscreen death, so he’ll likely come back at some point. Until then, his power and talent are subject to the Blackbeard Pirates’ demands. Hopefully, they don’t put the Shadow-Shadow Fruit to use with some captured Marine heroes. One thing is for sure, Gecko Moria still has plenty to offer the future of One Piece!
