Smoker was introduced as the Straw Hats’ first big Naval adversary at the end of East Blue Saga. After twenty-six years of One Piece, he’s become a complex character in his relationship with Luffy’s crew and views on his own position. So, who is Vice-Admiral Smoker in One Piece, and what caused his character evolution?
Forewarning, this will go into spoilers on the latest chapter of One Piece, 1088. That’s the spoiler warning, so beware all who read on!
Who is Smoker ?
White Chase Smoker appears first as a captain in the Navy at Loguetown. This also happens to be his hometown, as he grew up there and was a witness to the execution of Gol D Roger. Roger’s words inspire many to a life of piracy, while Smoker instead went into the Navy. His disciplined nature, dedication to justice, and great strength make him a fantastic soldier. When he meets the Straw Hats in Loguetown, Smoker becomes their main pursuer from the Navy for much of the Alabasta Saga.
Smoker now is a Vice- Admiral at the G-5 Navy base in the New World. He swears to use his power for justice and the good of all. However, since the events of Alabasta, his faith is crumbling in how the Navy runs. Shaking it more are many of his fellow marines, and there’s no way a confrontation won’t happen at this point. Despite his tough look and exterior, Smoker is actually an incredibly kind and caring person. When he knocks an ice cream from a little girl’s hand on accident, he gives her money to buy double what she had and patted her on the head. It’s the complete opposite of what he looks like, but works for the character’s personality.
What is Smoker Power?
Smoker hasn’t shown much use of Haki yet, but he’s proficient enough in combat without it. He has the abilities of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, a Logia Devil Fruit that makes his entire body a cloud of smoke. He uses this to channel his moves a lot like Luffy does, making multiple fists of smoke or giant solid clouds of it to punish his enemies. Smoker also has the benefit of a weapon called a jitte that he uses, which really just resembles a long steel pipe he beats others with.
He has a secret weapon in his jitte though, with a Sea Prism Stone embedded into the tip. He can use this to do greater damage to Devil Fruit users, and utilizes it quite a bit against Luffy initially. Smoker unfortunately hasn’t seen much action since his fight with Vergo in Punk Hazard, but it’s possible he may learn to awaken his Devil Fruit ability soon.
The Hero of Alabasta
Despite his own opinion of being relatively useless during the Albastan Revolution, Smoker is a hero of the Navy. He accepts the title grudgingly only because he knows that the Navy can’t allow a pirate to be seen as a hero. That’s not the beginning of the Alabasta coverup though, as the Navy goes even further to cover up their own Warlord’s part in the situation, sealing Crocodile away in a prison. It’s only the first instance that Smoker starts to question what the Navy really may be up to.
Marineford
Smoker’s role at Marineford is more commentary on occasion, but he does take on a few pirates during the battle. He believes that the war is a dangerous tactic that will likely only result in lives lost. Unfortunately, taking out Whitebeard is higher on the Navy priority list, and the battle rages on. Smoker and his partner Tashigi are just one of the first to notice everything is going to hell. Along with Koby, they intervene to try and curb the Navy’s bloodlust on the battlefield.
Vice-Admiral Smoker
After Marineford and for his part in the battle, Smoker achieves Vice-Admiral rank, including a reassignment to Navy Base G-5. Now, he has much more power over how things go, but still suspects things. His Vice-Admiral rank does nothing to resolve the doubt he feels about the Navy’s role in history. Smoker is especially suspicious of the World Government, especially after he hears of the events at Marineford.
It’s this distrust that will help Smoker sniff out Vergo as a traitor in Punk Hazard. He’s one of the Vice-Admirals who share the same ideology as Garp. They believe that the Navy can change from the inside if good people step up.
Punk Hazard
A lot of the Straw Hat’s adventures in the New World have a mirror to the Grand Line. Whereas Smoker showed up to eventually assist in Alabasta, he does the same in Punk Hazard. His intervention here is more than finding out a Warlord is abusing power, but instead that a Warlord’s subordinate has infiltrated the Navy’s ranks! It’s yet another revelation that shakes Smoker’s faith in the Navy, and it’s getting very close to a breaking point for the Vice-Admiral.
Where is Smoker?
In the current Egghead Island arc, Smoker is missing in action. It’s a mystery too, as in the latest chapters Tashigi works with SWORD to rescue Koby. Tashigi is usually with Smoker, so it seems to be a hint that he’s up to something even more important. Theories range that Smoker will either show up on Egghead Island and see the Navy for the atrocity it really is, or he’ll help Vivi. It’s totally up in the air as he was last seen helping Tashigi with the Punk Hazard kids, but his big moment has to be coming soon, hopefully.
One Piece has certainly seen the Straw Hats making unlikely allies lately, so it’s totally possible Smoker may switch sides. That said, it’s also likely he’ll end up siding with SWORD or Fujitora in some form. The possibilities are really endless when it comes to Oda’s writing.
Smoker might not be around yet in the manga, but he’s sure to make an appearance soon. In the meantime, fans can catch up with One Piece on Crunchyroll and Netflix in the United States!
