The main character of One Piece, Monkey D Luffy is the founder of the Straw Hat Pirates. He’s a young boy at the start of the story, full of heart and a dream to succeed. There’s a lot more to him than his dreams of becoming Pirate King though, and the rubber boy with a Straw Hat isn’t someone to be underestimated. So, set sail and find out just who Monkey D Luffy really is!
Fair warning that this contains spoilers for One Piece through the current Egghead Island arc in chapter 1090. If not caught up, the manga is available online from Mangaplus or Viz. That’s it, final warning!
Who is Monkey D Luffy?
Monkey D Luffy, the eponymous Straw Hat Pirate, is one of the frontrunners of the Worst Generation. He’s captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, a crew consisting of multiple members each with high bounties. While he sounds like a fearsome pirate, and is made out to be by the Navy, Luffy only wants to spread joy and freedom wherever he goes. If there’s anything he loves, it’s partying with friends and just having fun! Despite his bounty and reputation from the Navy, Luffy ends up helping more than he hurts anyone.
More than bringing joy, Luffy is someone who brings freedom and liberation wherever he goes. This is even more obvious when he awakens his true Zoan Devil Fruit much later on in Wano, and achieves the power of the ancient Joyboy with it. Luffy cares more than anything about his friends, and he’s never made a promise he couldn’t keep, leading him to topple entire armies as the spark of the revolution.
Romance Dawn
When fans first meet Luffy, he’s just a kid in Windmill Village. Originally shown as an orphan, Luffy hands out around the tavern where pirates usually come in when they hit port. This is how he meets Shanks, captain of the Red Hair Pirates. He’s a distinctive man, with bright red hair and three long marks over his eye, but he also shows Luffy that being a pirate isn’t just about fighting and wrecking things. Shanks is the first to instill in Luffy that piracy is really about freedom, and that bringing freedom is what a pirate is meant to do.
It’s only further backed up when Luffy is kidnapped, dragged out to sea by a mountain bandit trying to flee. Thanks to his Devil Fruit abilities, the young Luffy isn’t able to swim. He starts to sink when the Lord of the Coast, a massive Neptunian, eyes him as dinner. Shanks comes in just in time, saving Luffy and scaring off the Lord of the Coast, though he loses his arm in the process. Though he’s lost an arm Shanks doesn’t blame Luffy, and tells the young boy it was worth saving him.
What are Luffy’s Powers?
Shanks is also the reason Luffy gets his Devil Fruit powers. The Red Hair Pirates just came back from a journey, and a successful raid on a Navy ship commandeered by future Beast Pirate Whose Who. They manage to steal the Devil Fruit that the World Government was transporting, and though they have no idea what it does, keep it with them. Nobody has a chance to even try it though before Luffy sees it and mistakes it as a regular snack. Before Shanks knows it, Luffy devours the entire Gum-Gum Fruit and gains the greatest power in the seas.
The Gum-Gum Fruit (for now) is a Devil Fruit that allows the user to bend and stretch just like rubber. Luffy makes use of it for attacks, with everything from the Gum-Gum Pistol where he stretches his arm back before snapping it back at enemies like a rubber band to the Gum-Gum UFO. It sounds just as ridiculous as it looks. As Luffy improves his powers he develops his Gears, which utilize his rubber body in different ways.
Gear Second and Third
Luffy has, to date, four Gear upgrades. Gear Second sees him rapidly pump the rubber in his muscles, sending oxygen through his body faster. This gives Luffy a major speed boost, making him even faster than the Six Powers Shave technique. When he debuts Gear Third, it’s with the Gum-Gum Jet Shell. This attack uses a combination of Luffy’s Gum-Gum Balloon with Gear Second, but instead of Luffy just inflating his stomach he inflates his bones. The drawback of Gear Three pre-time skip is that after Luffy uses it he shrinks to a miniature size for a few minutes, leaving him vulnerable.
Post-time skip, Luffy is able to use Gear Third with no consequence to his body. Even better, he learns to infuse his Gear Three attacks with Haki, making them even more devastating. Gears Fourth and Fifth get their own categories down below, they’re not forgotten!
The Straw Hat Pirates
When Luffy first sets out from Windmill Village on his journey it’s only by pure stupid luck he doesn’t die right after setting out. Luffy, who can’t swim, sets out on his own to build a crew on his way to the Grand Line. Even worse, he’s convinced that one of the first crew members he needs is a musician, since being a pirate is about singing too. Despite all this, he earns the trust of Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, and Nami as he traverses the East Blue. This isn’t the end though, as he only recruits more after entering the Grand Line.
The Straw Hat Pirates gain Tony Tony Chopper and Nico Robin in quick succession, then after Enies Lobby the shipwright Franky joins. It’s not until the mysterious Thriller Bark that Luffy and company finally get their musician, a ninety-year-old skeleton, Brook. He rounds out the oddball Straw Hat Crew until former Warlord of the Sea Jimbei, a famous Fishman, after the Whole Cake Island arc. There are currently open invitations for Yamato and Vivi to join the Straw Hats as well, but it remains to be seen if they will.
Luffy’s Bounties
The Navy took notice of Luffy when he brought down Ax-Hand Morgan, but it wasn’t until he took down the infamous Arlong they gave him a bounty. Thirty million Berries for his first bounty, one of the greatest the East Blue has ever seen. His second comes not too long after when the Straw Hat Pirates help Princess Vivi of Alabasta stop Crocodile. Not proud to have their Warlord of the Sea taken down by a pirate, the Navy instead recognizes Captain Smoker as the hero and ups Luffy’s bounty to one hundred million Berries.
That’s still not enough for Luffy, as he repeatedly raises it throughout his run of chaos on the Grand Line. His current bounty stands at a whopping three BILLION Berries! That’s still in a tie with two of his Worst Generation peers Eustass Kid and Trafalgar D Water Law. Luffy’s proud of the number, but wasn’t so proud of having to share first place with Law and Kid. Even more depressing, Buggy has a higher bounty than them.
Does Luffy Have a Family?
Monkey D Luffy has plenty of family, and every single one of them exists to cause trouble for the powers that be. His grandfather Monkey D Garp is a hero of the Navy, though he uses that title to do what he wants instead of what the Navy orders him. Garp’s sense of justice is typically much more lenient than the Navy’s, and he’s known for being a pretty jolly fellow around the Marineford and G-5 Naval Headquarters. He even gets the honor later of escorting Princess Shirahoshi of the Ryugyu Kingdom to the most recent Reverie, though it didn’t end too well.
Luffy’s father isn’t a whole lot better when it comes to following rules or obeying authority. Monkey D Dragon is the founder and current leader of the Revolutionary Army. This group operates against the powers of the World Government, not desiring to take revenge on the kings and queens that attend the Reverie, but rather the Gorosei and those truly in charge. Dragon is still an incredibly mysterious figure, and Luffy has no idea who his father is until Garp informs him after the events of Enies Lobby.
Ace and Sabo
Along with Dragon and Garp, Luffy has two brothers. Although they’re both in the adoptive sense instead of a blood relation. Portgaz D Ace is Luffy’s oldest brother. He’s fiery in more ways than one, with a fighting spirit and sense of justice that mirrors his Flame-Flame Fruit. Ace is the son of Gold Roger, King of the Pirates, hidden with Garp at his request. Garp immediately offloads him to the Dadan Family, surprising nobody. There Ace meets Sabo, whom he plans to escape and become pirates with before Luffy walks into their plans.
Sabo is the child of an aristocratic family in the kingdom of Goa where Windmill Village is located. He’s not a fan of his parents, and doesn’t care about their desires to become Celestial Dragons. Instead, Sabo dreams of becoming a pirate and bringing freedom to all who need it. When Celestial Dragons eventually do visit, Sabo makes an attempt to flee after an intense fight with his father. Everyone assumes he’s dead when their ship hits him, throwing him into the water. Though later Luffy finds out Sabo was rescued by none other than Monkey D Dragon, and is now the Revolutionaries’ Chief of Staff.
3D2Y
When Ace is given over by Blackbeard in exchange for a Warlord title, Sengoku schedules his execution immediately. Luffy hears about this and rushes to help his brother before the execution. Despite the help he finds in Impel Down, Ace eventually dies at the Battle of Marineford. While Luffy watches his brother die, murdered by Akainu the Admiral, he passes out from grief and shock. Luffy comes to after the war is over in all kinds of bandages, a new scar on his chest. All these wounds to find out that all of his fighting was for nothing, too weak to save his brother.
He doesn’t have a good way to tell the other Straw Hats what he needs to do. They were all split up by Bartholomew Kuma during their brawl on the Sabaody Archipelago. Luffy figures out a way to get the message out though. He remembers telling them they would all meet back in three days when they split up originally. He writes 3D2Y on his arm, crosses out the 3D, and goes out with Jimbei to the battle site. There, he raises his hand for the watching news reporters to photograph him, sending his message his friends. They all get it- meet back at the Thousand Sunny in two years. In that time, they’re going to train and grow stronger to take on the New World!
What Haki Can Luffy Use?
When he first discovers his Haki abilities at Marineford, it’s a huge surprise to everyone that he has Conqueror’s Haki. Some also call it Haki of the Supreme King, but it depends on where they are usually. Luffy doesn’t know how to use any of it at first, but he later learns from Silvers Rayleigh how to channel his Haki and use all three kinds. His Armament Haki is already in great shape by the time everyone reunites, and he can use his Conqueror Haki at will, with limits.
As he journeys through the New World, Luffy hones every type of Haki. His battle with Katakuri in Whole Cake Island greatly develops his Observation Haki, and allows him to peek into the future so he can avoid hits or danger. As he develops his Conqueror Haki, Luffy also finds out how to imbue his hits with this powerful energy, reinforcing his power even more so than it was already.
Luffy’s Pirate Allies
Throughout the span of One Piece, Luffy makes an ally of almost everyone he comes into contact with. Whether it’s the princesses of Fishman Island, Alabasta, or Dressrosa to Trafalgar D Water Law. Luffy will be friendly to anyone if he doesn’t know them, and will be absolutely loyal to friends. Law joins the Straw Hats for the majority of their journey through the New World. Even to the point of forming an alliance at Punk Hazard and helping in Wano at the Raid on Onigashima.
Even more than allies like Law, Luffy ends up in command of his own fleet! After he frees the gladiators from the Dressrosa Coliseum, and Doflamingo is brought down, they all swear allegiance to Luffy. Luffy says he doesn’t want to be in charge of a fleet, surprising no one. Instead he tells them to fly the Straw Hat flag if they ever need him, and he’ll come to help. This gains him powerful allies like Cavendish, Bartolomeo, and the fleet of the great explorer Orlumbus. Now, Luffy has command over one of the greatest pirate fleets the Grand Line has ever known, and he doesn’t even want it!
Bounceman and Snakeman
When Luffy fights the Joker of Dressrosa, Donquixote Doflamingo, he has to unveil an entirely new technique to defeat him. As Luffy bites his arm, everyone assumes it’s going to be a new Gear Third. Instead he becomes Bounceman in Gear Fourth. Huge arms with massive muscles and a fierce upper-body. All bouncing along on tiny legs to stay upright as Luffy concentrates the air in his bones using Haki. This form allows him to fly and make even greater Haki-boosted attacks, such as the Gum-Gum Kong Gatling.
Snakeman, meanwhile, is his answer to fighting Katakuri after the events of Whole Cake Island. This form of Gear Fourth provides a huge boost to Luffy’s speed, and he’s able to change the direction of his limbs while stretching. Luffy uses this to chase Katakuri down, and brings both forms out later in his fight against Kaido.
What is Gear Fifth?
Gear Fifth is the true Awakening of Luffy’s Devil Fruit, which isn’t actually the Gum-Gum Fruit as everyone believes. No, Luffy’s Devil Fruit is actually the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika. This allows Luffy to fully Awaken his powers and briefly take on the form of Nika the Sun God. His hair and clothes turn white, and he has no limits on how his body changes or morphs. Luffy can even change other surfaces to rubber and manipulate other people’s bodies, as he does to Kaido.
The Gorosei say that the Devil Fruit has a will of its own as a Mythical Zoan type. It allows the user to fight in any ridiculous way they like, with the only limit being their imagination. Luffy obviously takes this to heart, as his fighting style becomes a Bugs Bunny cartoon during this state. He bounces on the ground like a trampoline, reaches through Kaido’s eyes, and even makes a fist larger than Onigashima!
Is Luffy an Emperor Now?
Hell yeah, Luffy is finally a true Emperor of the Sea! Luffy enters the New World swinging after the two-year absence of the Straw Hat Pirates. He speed runs the New World, quickly making his way through a Warlord of the Sea. That’s enough to piss off the Navy, but then he causes an entire incident on Whole Cake Island. People tend to pay attention when someone takes down the strongest son of Big Mom. From there he makes a beeline to Wano, and though it takes him some time in the small country (organizing a rebellion in secret is hard!) he topples Kaido.
Now, Luffy is officially recognized as one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, right beside his idol Shanks. Unfortunately, the other two Emperors aren’t quite so friendly with everyone, as it’s Blackbeard and Buggy the Clown. Luffy knows that Buggy is an idiot and no threat at all, but he has one hell of a grudge to bear against Blackbeard after everything that he went through with Ace.
Will Luffy Become King of the Pirates?
No question about it, Luffy will become the King of the Pirates before everything is said and done. The Straw Hat Pirate is about to leave for Elbaph in the current manga, and that’s the home base of his hero, Shanks. With that, the hunt for the One Piece is heating up as Buggy decides to make his play for it too. Now, everyone is on a crash course for the final island of Laughtale, and only one can be the Pirate King!
Monkey D Luffy is one of the most diverse characters in a Shonen story, showing joy, grief, and grit through everything. Though One Piece is entering its final saga, the story of Straw Hat Luffy is going to be told for ages, the story of the great Pirate King!
