Hello, everyone!
In my time on this forum, my theories on potential future Straw Hats have focused almost exclusively on female candidates, with the only notable exception being a theory on Momonosuke, and even that one was saying that he would be an honorary crewmate that doesn't count as of the main crew, similar to Vivi. In general, I think I just prefer the idea of having more women in the crew, probably because I just tend to get more attached to the female characters, but there is one male character in particular that I've been strongly behind for some time: Bellamy the Hyena.
Background
The last time I talked about Bellamy's chances of joining the crew was back in the Oro Jackson days when I reviewed the "Good People Theory," the idea that Luffy only recruits people that he identifies as "good." When Bellamy was first introduced to the series, he graciously ordered a drink for Luffy, giving Luffy the impression that Bellamy is surprisingly nice.
Of course, this was just a ploy to get Luffy to let his guard down and leave him open for a sneak attack, but it wasn't the first time that Luffy identified someone as good before having his expectations betrayed. He thought Robin was a good person based on the fact that she helped Vivi learn who Crocodile was, only to change his mind when Vivi accused Robin of telling Crocodile that his identity had been leaked.
While at face value these scenes both told us that Luffy isn't a particularly good judge of character, they both ended up becoming foreshadowing that these two weren't just generic villains, but people capable of good and change. After Bellamy apologizes to Luffy at Dressrosa for his actions at Jaya, Luffy acknowledges how Bellamy has changed as a person.
This, in conjunction with calling Bellamy his friend, effectively reaffirms Luffy's initial judgment that Bellamy is, in fact, a nice guy.
After the events of Dressrosa, many of the warriors that aided Luffy in defeating the Donquixote Pirates declared themselves members of an expanded Straw Hat Crew, the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. For whatever reason, though, Bellamy chose not to count himself among them, explicitly stating that he wouldn't become one of Luffy's followers.
Still, Bellamy did take a piece of Luffy's Vivre Card, implying that when the time comes for the Grand Fleet to come to Luffy's aid, Bellamy will be right there with them. However, because Bellamy chose not to become a Fleet Captain in that moment, it seems likely that Oda doesn't have any intention on having him do so in the future, as he could easily have given him that rank at the time. Instead, I think that it's possible that Oda has bigger plans for Bellamy, and what bigger plan could there be than having him join the Straw Hat Crew proper?
This idea is strongly backed up by the fact that Bellamy lost his crew when traveling to Skypiea: because he doesn't have a crew anymore, he can't very well be a Fleet Captain, but he could easily be recruited by someone else. I would argue that this would make him something of a parallel to Brook, another former captain who lost his crew before being recruited by Luffy.
Speaking of, Bellamy could reasonably be seen as a parallel for Usopp and Franky as the third recruit of the New World on the basis that all three were known troublemakers in their hometowns with a group bearing their names (the Usopp Pirates, the Franky Family, the Bellamy Pirates). Bellamy doesn't quite fit other parallels with them such as not having a unique nose or having been abandoned by a parent (unless Doflamingo counts as the patriarch of the Donquixote Family), but I'm not sure that matching every single parallel is necessary. Alternatively, his next reintroduction could give him parallels to Sanji and Brook, such as meeting the crew aboard a floating vessel, carrying steaming food/drink, wearing a suit, etc. I don't think this aspect is too important, but it's something to keep an eye out for.
Role
When I first suggested the possibility of Bellamy becoming a Straw Hat, I felt like it wasn't particularly likely on the basis that Bellamy didn't have any particular skills outside of fighting. There was never any indication that Bellamy had any unique talents or hobbies, and being the captain of his ship didn't do anything to help suggest what he could bring to the table as a Straw Hat. At the time, I concluded that he could do a job that benefits from his physical strength like being a rigger, setting and pulling the sails as needed based on the orders of the navigator or the helmsman, but again, it didn't really seem like he was being set up for that kind of role.
About a year after I wrote that theory, though, Oda saw fit to provide an answer to that very question.
During the Grand Fleet cover story arc, Bellamy is given a quick "bonus story," once again making it clear that he isn't one of the Fleet Captains while still establishing that he is associated with the Straw Hats in some way. In this bonus story, we learn that Bellamy has retired from piracy altogether and traveled to the Village of Dyed Goods to learn the art of dyeing. Specifically, he is shown learning vexillography, the art of designing flags.
No, I did not make this theory just to share the fact that I learned the word "vexillography." That was just a fun perk.
Hearing that Bellamy has retired from piracy at first seems like a blow to this theory; if he isn't a pirate anymore, he can't join the Straw Hat Pirates. However, aside from the fact that we can already be sure he'll be meeting Luffy again thanks to taking a piece of Luffy's vivre card, we do have one other piece of evidence to suggest that Bellamy has a future in the story: Bellamy's Vivre Card Databook entry.
Bellamy didn't take up vexillography just so he'd have a hobby in place of piracy. He wanted to find a way to repay Luffy for his kindness and his friendship by making himself useful to him, and the best he could think to do so was to make flags for him in particular. What I imagine this means is that Bellamy will arrive to the final battle with enough flags bearing the Straw Hat Jolly Roger for all of the Grand Fleet and any new allies that may have joined since he last met Luffy, all of them being made of the reportedly unrippable fabric produced in the Village of Dyed Goods. From this, the most obvious role that Bellamy could fill would be as the Straw Hat Crew's artist, a role that used to be a surprisingly popular fan request.
Most roles on the crew were established either based on need: the crew was lost, thus they needed a navigator; the crew was hungry, thus they needed a chef; Nami was sick, thus the crew needed a doctor. As Luffy said in his fight with Arlong, his crew is made up of people with skills that he himself doesn't possess.
While the role of an artist isn't exactly crucial to the survival of the crew, it's undeniable that it's a skill that Luffy doesn't have, as demonstrated by the times he's tried to paint either his own Jolly Roger or a new Jolly Roger for the Foxy Pirates.
Now, one could definitely make the argument that an artist is unnecessary not because of its benefits, but because the crew already has artists onboard. Not only has Usopp proven himself to be perfectly competent by painting the Straw Hat Jolly Roger himself, but popular recruit candidate Carrot has also demonstrated a talent for illustration.
That said, it isn't like Usopp hasn't been superseded in his secondary positions by other, more talented recruits in the past (Franky taking over as shipwright, for example), and Carrot's talent has only been shown in the context of hand-drawing rather than painting, so it's entirely likely that Bellamy will somehow cultivate his artistry beyond simply painting a Jolly Roger on a big sail. How Oda would elevate Bellamy's painting is anyone's guess, maybe he'd be skilled enough to quickly paint camouflage over the Sunny when needed or somehow incorporate paint into his spring-based fighting style, but either way, if an artist were to join the Straw Hats, they would need to be something more impressive than "just a painter."
Alternatively, he could simply have the role of sailmaker. Traditionally a land-based profession, larger ships did tend to have sailmakers on board for the sake of maintaining and repairing sails. This is likely currently overseen by Franky, and I'm sure he's exceptionally skilled at it, but having a dedicated sailmaker could help Franky focus more on the carpentry of the ship. Furthermore, much like I suggested with his painting skills, it's possible that his sailmaking will bring something to the table that far outstrips Franky's skills in that department.
Like I said earlier, the cloth from the Village of Dyed Goods is ostensibly unrippable, but that probably doesn't make it indestructible. It presumably needs to be cut to shape and size to fit a client's needs, so it probably can be at least be cut in some way, just perhaps not torn from being stretched or taking impacts like a cannonball. Even wood from Treasure Tree Adam can be damaged despite its reputation for its durability, so I can't imagine that the Dyed Goods Fabric (name pending) is truly indestructible either. Because of its unique nature, this fabric may well require a special touch from a trained sailmaker rather than a carpenter who simply knows how to make sails. Maybe there's even a trick to creating the cloth in the first place and Bellamy is able to make things beyond just sails, like new high-defense outfits for the crew or can make unique shapes that allow the Sunny to maneuver in novel ways.
A third option, or should I say our first option, is once again my initial suggestion of rigger. Being that Bellamy will have been exposed to sails for however long before his next appearance, it's entirely possible that he will become acquainted with their usage and operations, giving him a role in the crew beyond simply delivering his high-quality cloth to Luffy and the other captains. Of course, once again the need for this is debatable, as Jinbe's unique method of helmsmanship includes directly manipulating the sails with ropes using his Fishman strength while standing at the helm.
It is worth noting that the rigging Jinbe had the crew do was a bit of a rush job given that they were about to be swallowed by a tidal wave caused by Big Mom, so more robust sailing techniques might require a second set of hands. Furthermore, Bellamy's Spring-Spring Fruit may be useful in ascending to the heights needed to position and manipulate ropes like this, so it's possible that Bellamy and Jinbe would be an unstoppable tag team when it comes to steering ships.
Of the three roles I've suggested, I think sailmaker implies the most unique skill set while also potentially encapsulating the tasks associated with both artist and rigger. Also, there generally isn't a single "rigger" aboard a ship, it's usually a team effort, so it probably wouldn't be appropriate for Bellamy to be the only one bearing that responsibility. Therefore, for the time being, I'm inclined to consider Bellamy a strong candidate for the crew's sailmaker with secondary tasks in other sail-related roles.
Whichever role Bellamy takes, I do find it quite fitting that Bellamy in particular has taken up designing pirate flags. This isn't so much because of his role in the narrative, but more because of his namesake, Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy. Though Jolly Rogers and the skull-and-crossbones existed prior to Black Sam, the most common iteration in popular culture used today (a skull with two bones beneath it rather than behind it) was either created or popularized by Black Sam in the early 1700s.
Black Sam was also known by the epithet of "Prince of Pirates," so it would be extremely fitting for our Bellamy to not only be on the crew of the Pirate King but also to supply him with a new and improved Jolly Roger.
Characterization
But even with a skill set to provide for the crew, a few questions still remain for Bellamy's potential recruitment, a few commonalities with the crew that Bellamy still seems to lack. In particular, Bellamy doesn't seem to have a tragic backstory or a dream.
Bellamy's backstory is that he was a spoiled rich kid who was going through a rebellious phase and idolized Doflamingo, a man who lived freely and took what he wanted when he wanted it.
Furthermore, his mentality at the time was that he didn't believe in "dreams," that the only thing that mattered when measuring a pirate was their ability to accrue gold and notoriety. Everything about Bellamy's past makes him antithetical to the lives and doctrines of the Straw Hat Crew: he's never known hardship nor has he ever known what it's like to want something bad enough to dream for it. Without a dream, Bellamy has never had to apply himself, never willingly put himself through hardship to achieve anything.
Until after he met Luffy, that is.
Bellamy lost quite a bit after losing to Luffy. At first, it was just his reputation and his hero's respect, but once he tried to follow Luffy's wild fantasies to prove to himself whether or not Sky Island existed, he learned what it meant to lose something: he lost his entire crew.
It's not clear whether Bellamy's crew died or left him (presumably because of his obsession with finding Sky Island), but a flashback recapping Bellamy's timeskip escapades would certainly have the same kind of feel and weight as any other Straw Hat's backstory flashback.
Furthermore, that same conversation about the loss of Bellamy's crew also establishes something of a dream for Bellamy: joining Doflamingo's crew. Before, all Bellamy wanted was to flaunt his hero's symbol for clout, but now he believes that he's too small to survive without being on the same ship as Doflamingo. Fighting at Corrida Colosseum was supposed to be how he would work his way onto Doflamingo's crew, but after failing to win and then subsequently failing his orders to assassinate Luffy, Bellamy was completely abandoned by Doflamingo.
Losing his crew certainly had a profound effect on Bellamy, but losing any hope of respect from his hero shattered him, leading to his desire to die at Luffy's hands.
Bellamy's backstory is too shallow to qualify him for the Straw Hat Crew, but his story more than qualifies him. He lost his crew, he found and lost his dream, and then found a new hero standing in the wreckage.
What exactly Bellamy's dream will be is hard to say. I think "joining the Straw Hats" would be far too shallow, and "seeing Luffy become Pirate King" is too externally focused. "Becoming the best dyer" is certainly possible, but I don't think it fits with who Bellamy is or the arc that he's gone through so far. It could be interesting for him to want "to see the Straw Hat Jolly Roger spread across the world," incorporating his new skills and his new hero into his dream, but I'm not sure Oda would want Bellamy to simply fall back into the habit of putting others on a pedestal. Instead, I think it would be best if his dream somehow incorporated the major shift that he's undergone on the topic of dreams in the first place.
My first instinct was for his dream to be "to find a dream," but that's even vaguer than Usopp's dream to become a Brave Warrior of the Sea, and inherently doesn't have a proper endpoint. Instead, I think his dream will be something to the effect of "discovering the truth of people's dreams." He's already proven to himself that Sky Island is real, but there are many more mysteries that he once discounted that could be real. What about the Emerald City? What about those mysterious shapes in the fog of the Florian Triangle? And of course, what really is One Piece?
After everything Bellamy's experienced, it would make sense for him to want to learn just how wrong he's been. Sure, some things would have a "scientific" explanation, and that's okay. The point isn't to prove whether people's fantasies are or aren't real, but to prove that Bellamy is no longer the kind of man who dismisses the wonders of the world just because he hasn't seen them himself. It's alright to conclude that a ship fell from the sky because of the Knock-Up Stream, but it's not enough if one hasn't eliminated the possibility that a Sky Island exists. This could even play into his new role as a sailmaker: traveling across the world to discover the truth, carried by the very sails he crafts.
Alternatives
Of course, it's entirely possible that Bellamy's refusal to become a Fleet Captain was simply because he wasn't ready yet. He wasn't ready to follow someone after having his idol disown him, and he wasn't ready to lead anyone as he had completely lost all of his friends. Bellamy's journey of self-discovery to the Village of Dyed Goods may well be set-up for him to return to being a captain with a new crew in tow.
Who would make up Bellamy's new crew is difficult to say. If his old crew didn't actually die and just broke up, it might be nice to see them reunite, having grown to be more worldly people just as Bellamy did. If not, maybe Bellamy will come to the final battle with any friends he made on Skypiea like Wyper or Conis. We can be sure he didn't hurt them on the basis that they all seem to be living well in the post-timeskip cover stories, so seeing what kind of connection he made with them would be very interesting.
Maybe he'll recruit the scattered remnants of the Donquixote Pirates if they ever escape from Impel Down. @PeperLevi was quite concerned about what would happen to Sugar if Monet joined the Straw Hats, to which I suggested that perhaps Sugar could join Bellamy on the basis that they do already have a connection and it would allow Sugar to still technically be in the same crew as Monet without forcing them to be tethered together. I can't see the likes of Pica, Trebol and Diamante joining Bellamy, but Sugar and friendlier members like Senor Pink seem like reasonable possibilities under the right circumstances. Bellamy may even co-opt the Donquixote Pirates Jolly Roger seeing as it's permanently marked onto his chest, making the transition for former Donquixote crewmates a bit easier.
Or perhaps he'll simply stay in retirement. There would be no shame in Bellamy remaining a dyer on land, inheriting the workshop of the old man he's learning the craft from at the moment. Just because he goes out of his way to deliver hand-painted flags to Luffy doesn't mean he has to return to piracy, and who even knows what kind of life he'll have built for himself in the Village of Dyed Goods?
While I would certainly like Bellamy to join the Straw Hats, it is far from the only logical outcome for his story. Still, the marked improvement that Bellamy has shown as a person over the course of the story would, in my opinion, make him a welcome addition to the Straw Hat family, whether he joins the crew proper, the Grand Fleet, or an ally providing support from the sidelines.
Final Thoughts
There are definitely potential recruits that I want to see join the crew much more, but I certainly wouldn't have any objections to Bellamy. He's shown remarkable character development, is learning a skill that could potentially have interesting implications for the crew, and could have really interesting dynamics with the crew on the basis of how he's interacted with them in the past. Whatever Oda plans to do with him, though, I'm just excited to see where Bellamy goes from here.
Until next time,
-Tokiro Oumaga
In my time on this forum, my theories on potential future Straw Hats have focused almost exclusively on female candidates, with the only notable exception being a theory on Momonosuke, and even that one was saying that he would be an honorary crewmate that doesn't count as of the main crew, similar to Vivi. In general, I think I just prefer the idea of having more women in the crew, probably because I just tend to get more attached to the female characters, but there is one male character in particular that I've been strongly behind for some time: Bellamy the Hyena.
Background
The last time I talked about Bellamy's chances of joining the crew was back in the Oro Jackson days when I reviewed the "Good People Theory," the idea that Luffy only recruits people that he identifies as "good." When Bellamy was first introduced to the series, he graciously ordered a drink for Luffy, giving Luffy the impression that Bellamy is surprisingly nice.
Of course, this was just a ploy to get Luffy to let his guard down and leave him open for a sneak attack, but it wasn't the first time that Luffy identified someone as good before having his expectations betrayed. He thought Robin was a good person based on the fact that she helped Vivi learn who Crocodile was, only to change his mind when Vivi accused Robin of telling Crocodile that his identity had been leaked.
While at face value these scenes both told us that Luffy isn't a particularly good judge of character, they both ended up becoming foreshadowing that these two weren't just generic villains, but people capable of good and change. After Bellamy apologizes to Luffy at Dressrosa for his actions at Jaya, Luffy acknowledges how Bellamy has changed as a person.
This, in conjunction with calling Bellamy his friend, effectively reaffirms Luffy's initial judgment that Bellamy is, in fact, a nice guy.
After the events of Dressrosa, many of the warriors that aided Luffy in defeating the Donquixote Pirates declared themselves members of an expanded Straw Hat Crew, the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. For whatever reason, though, Bellamy chose not to count himself among them, explicitly stating that he wouldn't become one of Luffy's followers.
Still, Bellamy did take a piece of Luffy's Vivre Card, implying that when the time comes for the Grand Fleet to come to Luffy's aid, Bellamy will be right there with them. However, because Bellamy chose not to become a Fleet Captain in that moment, it seems likely that Oda doesn't have any intention on having him do so in the future, as he could easily have given him that rank at the time. Instead, I think that it's possible that Oda has bigger plans for Bellamy, and what bigger plan could there be than having him join the Straw Hat Crew proper?
This idea is strongly backed up by the fact that Bellamy lost his crew when traveling to Skypiea: because he doesn't have a crew anymore, he can't very well be a Fleet Captain, but he could easily be recruited by someone else. I would argue that this would make him something of a parallel to Brook, another former captain who lost his crew before being recruited by Luffy.
Speaking of, Bellamy could reasonably be seen as a parallel for Usopp and Franky as the third recruit of the New World on the basis that all three were known troublemakers in their hometowns with a group bearing their names (the Usopp Pirates, the Franky Family, the Bellamy Pirates). Bellamy doesn't quite fit other parallels with them such as not having a unique nose or having been abandoned by a parent (unless Doflamingo counts as the patriarch of the Donquixote Family), but I'm not sure that matching every single parallel is necessary. Alternatively, his next reintroduction could give him parallels to Sanji and Brook, such as meeting the crew aboard a floating vessel, carrying steaming food/drink, wearing a suit, etc. I don't think this aspect is too important, but it's something to keep an eye out for.
Role
When I first suggested the possibility of Bellamy becoming a Straw Hat, I felt like it wasn't particularly likely on the basis that Bellamy didn't have any particular skills outside of fighting. There was never any indication that Bellamy had any unique talents or hobbies, and being the captain of his ship didn't do anything to help suggest what he could bring to the table as a Straw Hat. At the time, I concluded that he could do a job that benefits from his physical strength like being a rigger, setting and pulling the sails as needed based on the orders of the navigator or the helmsman, but again, it didn't really seem like he was being set up for that kind of role.
About a year after I wrote that theory, though, Oda saw fit to provide an answer to that very question.
During the Grand Fleet cover story arc, Bellamy is given a quick "bonus story," once again making it clear that he isn't one of the Fleet Captains while still establishing that he is associated with the Straw Hats in some way. In this bonus story, we learn that Bellamy has retired from piracy altogether and traveled to the Village of Dyed Goods to learn the art of dyeing. Specifically, he is shown learning vexillography, the art of designing flags.
No, I did not make this theory just to share the fact that I learned the word "vexillography." That was just a fun perk.
Hearing that Bellamy has retired from piracy at first seems like a blow to this theory; if he isn't a pirate anymore, he can't join the Straw Hat Pirates. However, aside from the fact that we can already be sure he'll be meeting Luffy again thanks to taking a piece of Luffy's vivre card, we do have one other piece of evidence to suggest that Bellamy has a future in the story: Bellamy's Vivre Card Databook entry.
Bellamy didn't take up vexillography just so he'd have a hobby in place of piracy. He wanted to find a way to repay Luffy for his kindness and his friendship by making himself useful to him, and the best he could think to do so was to make flags for him in particular. What I imagine this means is that Bellamy will arrive to the final battle with enough flags bearing the Straw Hat Jolly Roger for all of the Grand Fleet and any new allies that may have joined since he last met Luffy, all of them being made of the reportedly unrippable fabric produced in the Village of Dyed Goods. From this, the most obvious role that Bellamy could fill would be as the Straw Hat Crew's artist, a role that used to be a surprisingly popular fan request.
Most roles on the crew were established either based on need: the crew was lost, thus they needed a navigator; the crew was hungry, thus they needed a chef; Nami was sick, thus the crew needed a doctor. As Luffy said in his fight with Arlong, his crew is made up of people with skills that he himself doesn't possess.
While the role of an artist isn't exactly crucial to the survival of the crew, it's undeniable that it's a skill that Luffy doesn't have, as demonstrated by the times he's tried to paint either his own Jolly Roger or a new Jolly Roger for the Foxy Pirates.
Now, one could definitely make the argument that an artist is unnecessary not because of its benefits, but because the crew already has artists onboard. Not only has Usopp proven himself to be perfectly competent by painting the Straw Hat Jolly Roger himself, but popular recruit candidate Carrot has also demonstrated a talent for illustration.
That said, it isn't like Usopp hasn't been superseded in his secondary positions by other, more talented recruits in the past (Franky taking over as shipwright, for example), and Carrot's talent has only been shown in the context of hand-drawing rather than painting, so it's entirely likely that Bellamy will somehow cultivate his artistry beyond simply painting a Jolly Roger on a big sail. How Oda would elevate Bellamy's painting is anyone's guess, maybe he'd be skilled enough to quickly paint camouflage over the Sunny when needed or somehow incorporate paint into his spring-based fighting style, but either way, if an artist were to join the Straw Hats, they would need to be something more impressive than "just a painter."
Alternatively, he could simply have the role of sailmaker. Traditionally a land-based profession, larger ships did tend to have sailmakers on board for the sake of maintaining and repairing sails. This is likely currently overseen by Franky, and I'm sure he's exceptionally skilled at it, but having a dedicated sailmaker could help Franky focus more on the carpentry of the ship. Furthermore, much like I suggested with his painting skills, it's possible that his sailmaking will bring something to the table that far outstrips Franky's skills in that department.
Like I said earlier, the cloth from the Village of Dyed Goods is ostensibly unrippable, but that probably doesn't make it indestructible. It presumably needs to be cut to shape and size to fit a client's needs, so it probably can be at least be cut in some way, just perhaps not torn from being stretched or taking impacts like a cannonball. Even wood from Treasure Tree Adam can be damaged despite its reputation for its durability, so I can't imagine that the Dyed Goods Fabric (name pending) is truly indestructible either. Because of its unique nature, this fabric may well require a special touch from a trained sailmaker rather than a carpenter who simply knows how to make sails. Maybe there's even a trick to creating the cloth in the first place and Bellamy is able to make things beyond just sails, like new high-defense outfits for the crew or can make unique shapes that allow the Sunny to maneuver in novel ways.
A third option, or should I say our first option, is once again my initial suggestion of rigger. Being that Bellamy will have been exposed to sails for however long before his next appearance, it's entirely possible that he will become acquainted with their usage and operations, giving him a role in the crew beyond simply delivering his high-quality cloth to Luffy and the other captains. Of course, once again the need for this is debatable, as Jinbe's unique method of helmsmanship includes directly manipulating the sails with ropes using his Fishman strength while standing at the helm.
It is worth noting that the rigging Jinbe had the crew do was a bit of a rush job given that they were about to be swallowed by a tidal wave caused by Big Mom, so more robust sailing techniques might require a second set of hands. Furthermore, Bellamy's Spring-Spring Fruit may be useful in ascending to the heights needed to position and manipulate ropes like this, so it's possible that Bellamy and Jinbe would be an unstoppable tag team when it comes to steering ships.
Of the three roles I've suggested, I think sailmaker implies the most unique skill set while also potentially encapsulating the tasks associated with both artist and rigger. Also, there generally isn't a single "rigger" aboard a ship, it's usually a team effort, so it probably wouldn't be appropriate for Bellamy to be the only one bearing that responsibility. Therefore, for the time being, I'm inclined to consider Bellamy a strong candidate for the crew's sailmaker with secondary tasks in other sail-related roles.
Whichever role Bellamy takes, I do find it quite fitting that Bellamy in particular has taken up designing pirate flags. This isn't so much because of his role in the narrative, but more because of his namesake, Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy. Though Jolly Rogers and the skull-and-crossbones existed prior to Black Sam, the most common iteration in popular culture used today (a skull with two bones beneath it rather than behind it) was either created or popularized by Black Sam in the early 1700s.
Black Sam was also known by the epithet of "Prince of Pirates," so it would be extremely fitting for our Bellamy to not only be on the crew of the Pirate King but also to supply him with a new and improved Jolly Roger.
Characterization
But even with a skill set to provide for the crew, a few questions still remain for Bellamy's potential recruitment, a few commonalities with the crew that Bellamy still seems to lack. In particular, Bellamy doesn't seem to have a tragic backstory or a dream.
Bellamy's backstory is that he was a spoiled rich kid who was going through a rebellious phase and idolized Doflamingo, a man who lived freely and took what he wanted when he wanted it.
Furthermore, his mentality at the time was that he didn't believe in "dreams," that the only thing that mattered when measuring a pirate was their ability to accrue gold and notoriety. Everything about Bellamy's past makes him antithetical to the lives and doctrines of the Straw Hat Crew: he's never known hardship nor has he ever known what it's like to want something bad enough to dream for it. Without a dream, Bellamy has never had to apply himself, never willingly put himself through hardship to achieve anything.
Until after he met Luffy, that is.
Bellamy lost quite a bit after losing to Luffy. At first, it was just his reputation and his hero's respect, but once he tried to follow Luffy's wild fantasies to prove to himself whether or not Sky Island existed, he learned what it meant to lose something: he lost his entire crew.
It's not clear whether Bellamy's crew died or left him (presumably because of his obsession with finding Sky Island), but a flashback recapping Bellamy's timeskip escapades would certainly have the same kind of feel and weight as any other Straw Hat's backstory flashback.
Furthermore, that same conversation about the loss of Bellamy's crew also establishes something of a dream for Bellamy: joining Doflamingo's crew. Before, all Bellamy wanted was to flaunt his hero's symbol for clout, but now he believes that he's too small to survive without being on the same ship as Doflamingo. Fighting at Corrida Colosseum was supposed to be how he would work his way onto Doflamingo's crew, but after failing to win and then subsequently failing his orders to assassinate Luffy, Bellamy was completely abandoned by Doflamingo.
Losing his crew certainly had a profound effect on Bellamy, but losing any hope of respect from his hero shattered him, leading to his desire to die at Luffy's hands.
Bellamy's backstory is too shallow to qualify him for the Straw Hat Crew, but his story more than qualifies him. He lost his crew, he found and lost his dream, and then found a new hero standing in the wreckage.
What exactly Bellamy's dream will be is hard to say. I think "joining the Straw Hats" would be far too shallow, and "seeing Luffy become Pirate King" is too externally focused. "Becoming the best dyer" is certainly possible, but I don't think it fits with who Bellamy is or the arc that he's gone through so far. It could be interesting for him to want "to see the Straw Hat Jolly Roger spread across the world," incorporating his new skills and his new hero into his dream, but I'm not sure Oda would want Bellamy to simply fall back into the habit of putting others on a pedestal. Instead, I think it would be best if his dream somehow incorporated the major shift that he's undergone on the topic of dreams in the first place.
My first instinct was for his dream to be "to find a dream," but that's even vaguer than Usopp's dream to become a Brave Warrior of the Sea, and inherently doesn't have a proper endpoint. Instead, I think his dream will be something to the effect of "discovering the truth of people's dreams." He's already proven to himself that Sky Island is real, but there are many more mysteries that he once discounted that could be real. What about the Emerald City? What about those mysterious shapes in the fog of the Florian Triangle? And of course, what really is One Piece?
After everything Bellamy's experienced, it would make sense for him to want to learn just how wrong he's been. Sure, some things would have a "scientific" explanation, and that's okay. The point isn't to prove whether people's fantasies are or aren't real, but to prove that Bellamy is no longer the kind of man who dismisses the wonders of the world just because he hasn't seen them himself. It's alright to conclude that a ship fell from the sky because of the Knock-Up Stream, but it's not enough if one hasn't eliminated the possibility that a Sky Island exists. This could even play into his new role as a sailmaker: traveling across the world to discover the truth, carried by the very sails he crafts.
Alternatives
Of course, it's entirely possible that Bellamy's refusal to become a Fleet Captain was simply because he wasn't ready yet. He wasn't ready to follow someone after having his idol disown him, and he wasn't ready to lead anyone as he had completely lost all of his friends. Bellamy's journey of self-discovery to the Village of Dyed Goods may well be set-up for him to return to being a captain with a new crew in tow.
Who would make up Bellamy's new crew is difficult to say. If his old crew didn't actually die and just broke up, it might be nice to see them reunite, having grown to be more worldly people just as Bellamy did. If not, maybe Bellamy will come to the final battle with any friends he made on Skypiea like Wyper or Conis. We can be sure he didn't hurt them on the basis that they all seem to be living well in the post-timeskip cover stories, so seeing what kind of connection he made with them would be very interesting.
Maybe he'll recruit the scattered remnants of the Donquixote Pirates if they ever escape from Impel Down. @PeperLevi was quite concerned about what would happen to Sugar if Monet joined the Straw Hats, to which I suggested that perhaps Sugar could join Bellamy on the basis that they do already have a connection and it would allow Sugar to still technically be in the same crew as Monet without forcing them to be tethered together. I can't see the likes of Pica, Trebol and Diamante joining Bellamy, but Sugar and friendlier members like Senor Pink seem like reasonable possibilities under the right circumstances. Bellamy may even co-opt the Donquixote Pirates Jolly Roger seeing as it's permanently marked onto his chest, making the transition for former Donquixote crewmates a bit easier.
Or perhaps he'll simply stay in retirement. There would be no shame in Bellamy remaining a dyer on land, inheriting the workshop of the old man he's learning the craft from at the moment. Just because he goes out of his way to deliver hand-painted flags to Luffy doesn't mean he has to return to piracy, and who even knows what kind of life he'll have built for himself in the Village of Dyed Goods?
While I would certainly like Bellamy to join the Straw Hats, it is far from the only logical outcome for his story. Still, the marked improvement that Bellamy has shown as a person over the course of the story would, in my opinion, make him a welcome addition to the Straw Hat family, whether he joins the crew proper, the Grand Fleet, or an ally providing support from the sidelines.
Final Thoughts
Because Luffy once referred to Bellamy as a good person, just as he's done with every single member of his crew, there is reason to believe that Bellamy is a candidate for joining the Straw Hat Pirates. Furthermore, though Bellamy has retired from piracy, he did take a piece of Luffy's vivre card during the formation of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet as well as being featured during the Grand Fleet cover story, implying a connection to the Straw Hats while also giving some distance between him and the other Fleet Captains.
In his retirement, Bellamy has taken up flag design specifically with the intention of creating flags for Luffy. This could imply that when Bellamy meets Luffy again, he could be recruited as the Straw Hats' artist or sailmaker, using whatever skills he's learned to benefit the crew in some way beyond just giving them a new sail made of high-quality material.
Though Bellamy's current backstory and explicit distaste for dreams don't line up with the characterization of the Straw Hat Crew, his character arc more than makes up for it. The loss of his crew and disownment by Doflamingo give him trauma not dissimilar from the Straw Hats, and his newfound desire to be helpful to Luffy has given him the drive to make something of himself. Whether he's explicitly found a specific dream yet is unclear, but he could well center a dream around Luffy such as seeing the Straw Hat Crew's Jolly Roger spread across the world. Alternatively, he may dream to discover the truth of all of the other dreams he once dismissed to truly understand how small-minded he'd been.
If he doesn't join the crew, Bellamy could easily become a Fleet Captain either after reuniting with his old crew (assuming they aren't dead) or recruiting former Donquixote Pirates under a repurposed Donquixote Jolly Roger. If Bellamy doesn't join the crew in any way, though, it would still be nice to see him living a domestic life running his dyeing business while still supporting Luffy.
In his retirement, Bellamy has taken up flag design specifically with the intention of creating flags for Luffy. This could imply that when Bellamy meets Luffy again, he could be recruited as the Straw Hats' artist or sailmaker, using whatever skills he's learned to benefit the crew in some way beyond just giving them a new sail made of high-quality material.
Though Bellamy's current backstory and explicit distaste for dreams don't line up with the characterization of the Straw Hat Crew, his character arc more than makes up for it. The loss of his crew and disownment by Doflamingo give him trauma not dissimilar from the Straw Hats, and his newfound desire to be helpful to Luffy has given him the drive to make something of himself. Whether he's explicitly found a specific dream yet is unclear, but he could well center a dream around Luffy such as seeing the Straw Hat Crew's Jolly Roger spread across the world. Alternatively, he may dream to discover the truth of all of the other dreams he once dismissed to truly understand how small-minded he'd been.
If he doesn't join the crew, Bellamy could easily become a Fleet Captain either after reuniting with his old crew (assuming they aren't dead) or recruiting former Donquixote Pirates under a repurposed Donquixote Jolly Roger. If Bellamy doesn't join the crew in any way, though, it would still be nice to see him living a domestic life running his dyeing business while still supporting Luffy.
There are definitely potential recruits that I want to see join the crew much more, but I certainly wouldn't have any objections to Bellamy. He's shown remarkable character development, is learning a skill that could potentially have interesting implications for the crew, and could have really interesting dynamics with the crew on the basis of how he's interacted with them in the past. Whatever Oda plans to do with him, though, I'm just excited to see where Bellamy goes from here.
Until next time,
-Tokiro Oumaga
