It’s such an “Oda thing” to make something called “Mother Flame” quite literally be a flame, and a tiny one at that, but beneath this seemingly straight-forward design lays a much, MUCH deeper meaning (which is also very much an Oda thing). I don’t think people realize just how intrinsically tied The Mother Flame and its creator Dr. Vegapunk are to the very source of life on Earth – the Sun. After all, Vegapunk’s other namesake, “Stella”, quite literally translates to “Star” or "Sun".
Dr. Vegapunk’s Origin
I’m sure that by now pretty much everyone is aware that Vegapunk is heavily based on a real life theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein. Old Vegapunk’s design - that of an old man with gray hair, a mustache and a large tongue - is pretty much a 1-to-1 adaptation of Einstein’s appearance, down to even the tongue.
However, Vegapunk isn’t meant to be a simple 1-to-1 adaptation of Einstein, but rather an amalgamation of a bunch of real life scientists. The apple-like lid on Vegapunk’s head is a reference to the famous story of Sir Isaac Newton discovering gravity after an apple fell down on his head. Vegapunk’s goal of providing the world with free energy is something that Nikola Tesla always dreamed of doing. And yet, ironically, the ^((2nd)) most important inspiration behind the character of Vegapunk is actually a not-so real scientist – the mythical inventor Daedalus.
Jacob Peter Gowy's The Fall of Icarus (1635–1637).
The Myth of Daedalus and Icarus
The name of Chapter 1114, “The Wings of Icarus”, is a reference to the famous story of Daedalus and Icarus. According to the Greek mythos, Daedalus was a mythical inventor who created wings made of feathers and wax to escape from Crete (an island) where he and his son, Icarus, were held captive. Icarus, in his arrogance, ignored his father's warnings and, wanting to reach Heaven, flew higher and higher until he got too close to the Sun. His wings melted, and he fell into the sea where he met his end. This is where the saying “he flew too close to the sun” comes from. Interestingly, the myth of Daedalus and Icarus is quite similar to another Greek myth, the fall of Phaethon.
Phaethon was the son of Apollo, the Greek God of the sun and light who insisted on driving the chariot of the sun. Even though Apollo warned him time and time again that this would bring about his end, Phaethon refused to back down. Eventually, Phaethon got what he wanted, only to realize that he did not have what it takes to control the chariot’s horses and fell down to his death.
In the case of Vegapunk, “flying too close to the Sun” would be a metaphor for him studying the Poneglyphs and learning about the Void Century which is what eventually gets him killed. However, when Vegapunk talks about flying too close to the Sun the panel of Mother Flame appears on the page. I believe this is because Mother Flame is quite literally a piece of the Sun.
Chapter 1114
The Mother Flame
When talking about the real life scientist that inspired Vegapunk’s character, I purposefully left out one - J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer was a theoretical physicist often called the “father of the atomic bomb” due to his contribution to its development.
The Atom(ic) bomb got its name due to the process known as “Nuclear Fission” in which an atom is split into smaller nuclei, releasing a VERY LARGE amount of (nuclear) energy (which then makes the bomb go “boom”). Another process from which nuclear energy is derived is “Nuclear Fusion”. Like its name suggests, fusion is the opposite process of fission in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form one or more different atomic nuclei. It’s the process used in Thermonuclear/fusion weapons, second-generation nuclear weapon design, and, more importantly, nuclear fusion is how the Sun generates its energy.
A diagram of fusion in the Sun.
What Vegapunk created wasn’t the flame we saw but rather the container (the “tank of water”) in which it is located. The flame - a piece of the sun - is the energy source whose power is then harvested and contained in the machine and which is then used to power the weapon known as the “Mother Flame”.
Mother Flame next to a basic diagram of a thermonuclear weapon. The A&Mu on the machine is a pun for “Atom”. In Japanese you can read “&” as “to”, which then makes it “Atomu”.
This would explain Vegapunk’s willingness to create such a thing. You see, nuclear power - besides generating A LOT of energy - is one of the cleanest, sustainable energy sources as it reduces carbon emissions. If Vegapunk wanted to create a power source to fuel the entire world which is sinking due to man-made causes, then harnessing the power of the sun is the way to go. And just like in real life, such a powerful invention is destined to be used as a weapon of mass destruction.
The Ancient Weapon Uranus
The moment we got our first look at the Mother Flame in Chapter 1060, we had people theorize it was the yet-to-be revealed Ancient Weapon Uranus. I was a bit skeptical at first, but after the latest Chapter I think it would be hard to imagine a weapon more fitting to an “Ancient Weapon” moniker. The only question now is; which one is the weapon - the power source (flame) or the machine it powers? I’m pretty confident in what the answer is, but I want to walk you through my train of thoughts first.
We know that the “Great Kingdom” was an ancient civilization which 900 years ago had a technology even more advanced than the one of today. We also know that the Twenty Kings/Kingdoms, that would eventually form the World Government of today, united in the common cause of destroying the said Kingdom by the end of the Void Century, 800 years ago. However, “just because you shot Jesse James, doesn’t make you Jesse James”; just because they defeated the Great Kingdom doesn’t mean they can properly utilize their technology. This is where Vegapunk comes in.
Vegapunk is the first and only person to successfully recreate the technology from the Great Kingdom. The Five Elders value his work so much that they are willing to compromise on many different occasions, most recently seen with Mars avoiding destroying Punk Records in the fear of losing The Mother Flame. If he were to destroy it, then there would be no guarantee that another of its kind could be created. That’s precisely why I believe that the Ancient Weapon that we know by the name of Uranus is the little flame we see inside the machine - the source of the machine’s power.
The Lunarians
“Luna” is a Latin word for "moon" and in fiction, the term "Lunarian" is sometimes used to describe the inhabitants of the moon, but despite all this, there has yet to be any indication that Lunarians actually originate from it. When Enel learns the history of the Sky People in his Cover Story (Enel's Great Space Operations), Lunarians cannot be found among the tribes, which possess distinctive wings on their backs as well, that came from the Moon.
Chapter 470 Cover Story - Lunarians are nowhere to be seen.
Furthermore, Lunarian biology is rather unique when compared to that of Sky People, to put it lightly. They possess tremendous vitality and resilience to harm that borders on invulnerability, allowing them to thrive in any natural environment alongside the ability to generate and manipulate fire. In the world of One Piece, we have seen with the Fish-men that these intrinsic characteristics are born out of necessity, as Fish-men are said to possess ten times the physical strength of normal humans to survive the underwater pressure.
So why would Lunarians have such resilience, while the Sky People don't, if they indeed both originate from the Moon? Is it because Lunarians don’t originate from the Moon but rather from the Sun? Their night-invulnerability and fire manipulation could be a natural evolution born out of necessity to survive the harsh heat of the sun.
I know what you are thinking; even for One Piece, it is silly for anyone to be able to survive the heat of 15 million degrees Celsius (!), but that is the heat of the Sun’s core. The heat of the Sun’s surface is “only” 5,500 degrees C which is around the heat of Earth’s core (5,200-6,000 degrees) and around 20 times hotter than the hottest lava. I can totally see Lunarians feasibly surviving that in a world where a normal person can just fly to the moon, breath in space, and not freeze to death in the process. Or maybe I’m thinking too big. Maybe they just came from a Planet that is very close to the Sun.
The Lunarians might have, at one point in time, lived on the Moon where they got their name from, but they originate from the Sun from where they brought a piece of it – the Mother Flame.
Chapter 472 Cover Story
Conclusion
One last myth I wanted to mention is about Prometheus. Prometheus is one of the Titans and a god of fire, best known for defying the Olympian gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge, and more generally, civilization. He is also sometimes presented as the father of Deucalion, the hero of the flood story, which I feel is quite relevant with the recent revelation of the One Piece’s world sinking. I do not know exactly who is meant to represent Prometheus but it’s very likely that the Mother Flame was stolen from the inhabitants of Great Kingdom, 800 years ago when the 20 Kings united to destroy it, and then finally used in the present to re-shape the world.
I do not think that it’s a coincidence that Vegapunk designed Seraphims after Lunarians and that Oda named them after the highest order of Angels in Christian angelology, nor do I think that the name of Chapter 1114 (Wings of Icarus) is just some random creative decision. Everything so far points toward the Lunarians being the ones that brought the Mother Flame from the Sun – and with it technology and knowledge – before having it stolen during the Void Century.
Tl;dr
The Mother Flame is a literal piece of the Sun, brought to Earth by Lunarians, and an analogy of a nuclear Power/Weapon. In order to create a source of endless energy for the world, Vegapunk harnessed the power of the flame, which was then used to power the Ancient Weapon Uranus.
If you enjoyed reading this, make sure to give me a follow for more weekly/bi-weekly One Piece posts!
Dr. Vegapunk’s Origin
I’m sure that by now pretty much everyone is aware that Vegapunk is heavily based on a real life theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein. Old Vegapunk’s design - that of an old man with gray hair, a mustache and a large tongue - is pretty much a 1-to-1 adaptation of Einstein’s appearance, down to even the tongue.
However, Vegapunk isn’t meant to be a simple 1-to-1 adaptation of Einstein, but rather an amalgamation of a bunch of real life scientists. The apple-like lid on Vegapunk’s head is a reference to the famous story of Sir Isaac Newton discovering gravity after an apple fell down on his head. Vegapunk’s goal of providing the world with free energy is something that Nikola Tesla always dreamed of doing. And yet, ironically, the ^((2nd)) most important inspiration behind the character of Vegapunk is actually a not-so real scientist – the mythical inventor Daedalus.
Jacob Peter Gowy's The Fall of Icarus (1635–1637).
The Myth of Daedalus and Icarus
The name of Chapter 1114, “The Wings of Icarus”, is a reference to the famous story of Daedalus and Icarus. According to the Greek mythos, Daedalus was a mythical inventor who created wings made of feathers and wax to escape from Crete (an island) where he and his son, Icarus, were held captive. Icarus, in his arrogance, ignored his father's warnings and, wanting to reach Heaven, flew higher and higher until he got too close to the Sun. His wings melted, and he fell into the sea where he met his end. This is where the saying “he flew too close to the sun” comes from. Interestingly, the myth of Daedalus and Icarus is quite similar to another Greek myth, the fall of Phaethon.
Phaethon was the son of Apollo, the Greek God of the sun and light who insisted on driving the chariot of the sun. Even though Apollo warned him time and time again that this would bring about his end, Phaethon refused to back down. Eventually, Phaethon got what he wanted, only to realize that he did not have what it takes to control the chariot’s horses and fell down to his death.
In the case of Vegapunk, “flying too close to the Sun” would be a metaphor for him studying the Poneglyphs and learning about the Void Century which is what eventually gets him killed. However, when Vegapunk talks about flying too close to the Sun the panel of Mother Flame appears on the page. I believe this is because Mother Flame is quite literally a piece of the Sun.
Chapter 1114
The Mother Flame
When talking about the real life scientist that inspired Vegapunk’s character, I purposefully left out one - J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer was a theoretical physicist often called the “father of the atomic bomb” due to his contribution to its development.
The Atom(ic) bomb got its name due to the process known as “Nuclear Fission” in which an atom is split into smaller nuclei, releasing a VERY LARGE amount of (nuclear) energy (which then makes the bomb go “boom”). Another process from which nuclear energy is derived is “Nuclear Fusion”. Like its name suggests, fusion is the opposite process of fission in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form one or more different atomic nuclei. It’s the process used in Thermonuclear/fusion weapons, second-generation nuclear weapon design, and, more importantly, nuclear fusion is how the Sun generates its energy.
A diagram of fusion in the Sun.
What Vegapunk created wasn’t the flame we saw but rather the container (the “tank of water”) in which it is located. The flame - a piece of the sun - is the energy source whose power is then harvested and contained in the machine and which is then used to power the weapon known as the “Mother Flame”.
Mother Flame next to a basic diagram of a thermonuclear weapon. The A&Mu on the machine is a pun for “Atom”. In Japanese you can read “&” as “to”, which then makes it “Atomu”.
This would explain Vegapunk’s willingness to create such a thing. You see, nuclear power - besides generating A LOT of energy - is one of the cleanest, sustainable energy sources as it reduces carbon emissions. If Vegapunk wanted to create a power source to fuel the entire world which is sinking due to man-made causes, then harnessing the power of the sun is the way to go. And just like in real life, such a powerful invention is destined to be used as a weapon of mass destruction.
The Ancient Weapon Uranus
The moment we got our first look at the Mother Flame in Chapter 1060, we had people theorize it was the yet-to-be revealed Ancient Weapon Uranus. I was a bit skeptical at first, but after the latest Chapter I think it would be hard to imagine a weapon more fitting to an “Ancient Weapon” moniker. The only question now is; which one is the weapon - the power source (flame) or the machine it powers? I’m pretty confident in what the answer is, but I want to walk you through my train of thoughts first.
We know that the “Great Kingdom” was an ancient civilization which 900 years ago had a technology even more advanced than the one of today. We also know that the Twenty Kings/Kingdoms, that would eventually form the World Government of today, united in the common cause of destroying the said Kingdom by the end of the Void Century, 800 years ago. However, “just because you shot Jesse James, doesn’t make you Jesse James”; just because they defeated the Great Kingdom doesn’t mean they can properly utilize their technology. This is where Vegapunk comes in.
Vegapunk is the first and only person to successfully recreate the technology from the Great Kingdom. The Five Elders value his work so much that they are willing to compromise on many different occasions, most recently seen with Mars avoiding destroying Punk Records in the fear of losing The Mother Flame. If he were to destroy it, then there would be no guarantee that another of its kind could be created. That’s precisely why I believe that the Ancient Weapon that we know by the name of Uranus is the little flame we see inside the machine - the source of the machine’s power.
The Lunarians
“Luna” is a Latin word for "moon" and in fiction, the term "Lunarian" is sometimes used to describe the inhabitants of the moon, but despite all this, there has yet to be any indication that Lunarians actually originate from it. When Enel learns the history of the Sky People in his Cover Story (Enel's Great Space Operations), Lunarians cannot be found among the tribes, which possess distinctive wings on their backs as well, that came from the Moon.
Chapter 470 Cover Story - Lunarians are nowhere to be seen.
Furthermore, Lunarian biology is rather unique when compared to that of Sky People, to put it lightly. They possess tremendous vitality and resilience to harm that borders on invulnerability, allowing them to thrive in any natural environment alongside the ability to generate and manipulate fire. In the world of One Piece, we have seen with the Fish-men that these intrinsic characteristics are born out of necessity, as Fish-men are said to possess ten times the physical strength of normal humans to survive the underwater pressure.
So why would Lunarians have such resilience, while the Sky People don't, if they indeed both originate from the Moon? Is it because Lunarians don’t originate from the Moon but rather from the Sun? Their night-invulnerability and fire manipulation could be a natural evolution born out of necessity to survive the harsh heat of the sun.
I know what you are thinking; even for One Piece, it is silly for anyone to be able to survive the heat of 15 million degrees Celsius (!), but that is the heat of the Sun’s core. The heat of the Sun’s surface is “only” 5,500 degrees C which is around the heat of Earth’s core (5,200-6,000 degrees) and around 20 times hotter than the hottest lava. I can totally see Lunarians feasibly surviving that in a world where a normal person can just fly to the moon, breath in space, and not freeze to death in the process. Or maybe I’m thinking too big. Maybe they just came from a Planet that is very close to the Sun.
The Lunarians might have, at one point in time, lived on the Moon where they got their name from, but they originate from the Sun from where they brought a piece of it – the Mother Flame.
Chapter 472 Cover Story
Conclusion
One last myth I wanted to mention is about Prometheus. Prometheus is one of the Titans and a god of fire, best known for defying the Olympian gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge, and more generally, civilization. He is also sometimes presented as the father of Deucalion, the hero of the flood story, which I feel is quite relevant with the recent revelation of the One Piece’s world sinking. I do not know exactly who is meant to represent Prometheus but it’s very likely that the Mother Flame was stolen from the inhabitants of Great Kingdom, 800 years ago when the 20 Kings united to destroy it, and then finally used in the present to re-shape the world.
I do not think that it’s a coincidence that Vegapunk designed Seraphims after Lunarians and that Oda named them after the highest order of Angels in Christian angelology, nor do I think that the name of Chapter 1114 (Wings of Icarus) is just some random creative decision. Everything so far points toward the Lunarians being the ones that brought the Mother Flame from the Sun – and with it technology and knowledge – before having it stolen during the Void Century.
Tl;dr
The Mother Flame is a literal piece of the Sun, brought to Earth by Lunarians, and an analogy of a nuclear Power/Weapon. In order to create a source of endless energy for the world, Vegapunk harnessed the power of the flame, which was then used to power the Ancient Weapon Uranus.
If you enjoyed reading this, make sure to give me a follow for more weekly/bi-weekly One Piece posts!
