Character Discussion I think Oda wrapped up Hawkins' story pretty well

[NotTommy]

I didn't think he was handled perfectly in Wano but as a Basil Hawkins fan, I wanted to express my thoughts on the end to his contribution to the story.

I thought the Hawkins reveal of him actually being the 1 percent man was a nice and fitting conclusion to his character. A man that always stuck to a pre-determind fate, ended up embarassed and humiliated once he saw his former allies went against their own similar fates and were succeeding in defying them. Rather than bail again and try to appease Kid and Killer, he remained allied to the Beast Pirates, knowing full well that it'll lead to his demise since he'd rather take death than shame himself further and beg for help from those he turned against.

Overall, he's a character that's meant to contrast with the Rooftop 5, in particular Kid and Killer. The differences between them are reflected in their mindsets and choices (also skillet but I'd rather not go into that now). Hawkins is ashamed, like Killer pointed out, because he bent the knee to Kaido while Kid and Killer proved you can succeed while defying Kaido and he'd be even more pathetic if he tried switching allegiances again.

I definitely respect the guy a lot more after this and it was definitely much more satisfying than the alternative of him just sticking with the Beast Pirates under the belief that they'd win when he had no reason to continue fighting for them. Instead he took his fate like a man and chose to get what was coming to him.

I didn't have a lot to say, maybe in the future, I'll write a more detailed essay on Hawkins. I just wanted to express how I felt after reading his death.

 

[Finalbeta]

He truly humiliated him yes

 

[Garp the Fist]

Hawkins was actually pretty cool from beginning to end in the arc, there was just too many characters for him to be focused on that much.

He’s a nice contrast to Apoo’s unrepentant scumbaggery.

There are many worse characters in Wano than Hawkins in the end.

Like Drake who’s right next to him.

 

[Kyou]

His story was to sporadic for me

 

[PurpleSwordsman]

I'm not really convinced about how author handled him, not at this moment at least. This guy was a rational type, who made decisions based on his cards, but suddenly his pride was more important... It's a good contrast with Apoo though.

Btw, his prediction of 1% makes no sense, he had 92% chances of victory against Killer and it was Killer who finally killed him, wtf??

 

[rerere]

Btw, his prediction of 1% makes no sense, he had 92% chances of victory against Killer and it was Killer who finally killed him, wtf??

No, Killer had 92% chances of dying during the night, and that included:
- The first Beast Pirates horde on the Live Floor
- The battle against the Emperors on the Rooftop
- The battle against Hawkins, in which the blackmail doll was basically imposing him to sacrifice himself for Kidd

 

[PurpleSwordsman]

No, Killer had 92% chances of dying during the night, and that included:
- The first Beast Pirates horde on the Live Floor
- The battle against the Emperors on the Rooftop
- The battle against Hawkins, in which the blackmail doll was basically imposing him to sacrifice himself for Kidd

92% is in their duel, "here" he said, not Killer's overall chances of dying that night.
https://scans-hot.leanbox.us/manga/One-Piece/1011-010.png
Hawkins mentioned before that he is grateful for not confronting Kid AND Killer, so his predictions are about the 1 vs 1.

 

[rerere]

92% is in their duel, "here" he said, not Killer's overall chances of dying that night.
https://scans-hot.leanbox.us/manga/One-Piece/1011-010.png
Hawkins mentioned before that he is grateful for not confronting Kid AND Killer, so his predictions are about the 1 vs 1.

I've always interpreted that 'here' as 'here in Onigashima' tbh
But even if that refers to the battle with Hawkins, that percentage is really only due to this:

He was not fighting and letting Hawkins beat the shit out of him in order to not harm Kidd anymore.
Hadn't he used his brain to figure out how to get around the blackmail, he would've obviously be killed.

 

[Perun]

I've always interpreted that 'here' as 'here in Onigashima' tbh
But even if that refers to the battle with Hawkins, that percentage is really only due to this:

He was not fighting and letting Hawkins beat the shit out of him in order to not harm Kidd anymore.
Hadn't he used his brain to figure out how to get around the blackmail, he would've obviously be killed.

But the thing is we never saw him being in that much danger durring the fight and after it,you would think that if someone has 90% chance of losing(vs Hawkins or later on ether way),he would end up injured pretty badly till then end of war,but we never got any of that.

 

[PurpleSwordsman]

I've always interpreted that 'here' as 'here in Onigashima' tbh
But even if that refers to the battle with Hawkins, that percentage is really only due to this:

He was not fighting and letting Hawkins beat the shit out of him in order to not harm Kidd anymore.
Hadn't he used his brain to figure out how to get around the blackmail, he would've obviously be killed.

Yes, obviously this trick of him is what allowed him to have that high chance of winning.
But the point here is how great is the disparity between than 1% of his death against Killer and his 92% of victory against Killer too! How can there be such a huge difference?

Taking into account that Killer barely left injured after the fight with Yonko, his most of injuries was against Hawkins. And Hawkins was even better, he didnt fight previously. So the % given by Hawkins are basically all about their duel, meaning that at least/most, Hawkins should have had only 8% of dying, not 1%.
1% considering this, is like he was doomed from the start and he should have taken another course of action in this war. Like, you have 1% of dying and you still will do X thing despite it? He was mocking Killer because he had only 8% chances of winning lmao!! It makes no sense.

 

[rerere]

But the thing is we never saw him being in that much danger durring the fight and after it,you would think that if someone has 90% chance of losing(vs Hawkins or later on ether way),he would end up injured pretty badly till then end of war,but we never got any of that.

Percentage should only predict the outcome, not the amount of damage taken in the process
If Killer's brain had been slower, he would've also come out of it more injured
If Killer's brain didn't function properly in that circumstance, he would've died, making the 92% predictment real

Yes, obviously this trick of him is what allowed him to have that high chance of winning.
But the point here is how great is the disparity between than 1% of his death against Killer and his 92% of victory against Killer too! How can there be such a huge difference?

Taking into account that Killer barely left injured after the fight with Yonko, his most of injuries was against Hawkins. And Hawkins was even better, he didnt fight previously. So the % given by Hawkins are basically all about their duel, meaning that at least/most, Hawkins should have had only 8% of dying, not 1%.
1% considering this, is like he was doomed from the start and he should have taken another course of action in this war. Like, you have 1% of dying and you still will do X thing despite it? He was mocking Killer because he had only 8% chances of winning lmao!! It makes no sense.

That's exactly why I'm even more convinced that the chances of Killer were given due to all the night in Onigashima His win against Hawkins, even with the blackmail doll, was only a matter of time cause he's to smart and to strong for him.

On the other hand, Hawkins was doomed from the start cause he would have met either Kidd or Killer during the night, that was certain, and the result of the battle was obvious. That 1% includes little factors like:
- Him actually killing Killer cause the latter fails to get around the blackmail
- Him being saved by Drake now (possible)
Otherwise he would've for sure been dead.

Honestly, Hawkins could've also been bluffing when talking about that 8%. He was trashtalking Killer to intimidate him, so dropping an unfavorable percentage on top of that to have more leverage is something I could see Hawkins do.
I mean, we saw him bluffing about his lives too..

 

[kurwa]

nah, that was shit.

It came out of nowhere how he is this honorable person now. It was never even hinted
What was that shit with using Kidd as a hostage then?

 

[NotTommy]

Also, I think it's really cool how even though they all contrast with the Rooftop 5, Oda made all the non-rooftop Supernova distinct in how they approached their current situations. Even if he didn't handled all of them well (Drake's turn was kinda disappointing since he just got exposed then swapped). He still made them unique in their mindsets and methods.

Apoo probably had the least issues since his story was the simplest. He was an opportunitst through and through and was an informant rather than a Headliner (I'm not really sure on how he joined). He was focused on his own skin and his own gain regardless of how he came off to others. In contrast, Hawkins dedicated himself to his cards then accepted his fate rather than humiliate himself further when they showed him an awful outcome. Drake was cool in regards to his Marine stuff but as a spy, he didn't do the best job. He was exposed, attacked then forced to flee and beg to join the enemy side. Atleast he followed his justice and did his best to take down Bowler Hat even at the cost of his life and looking pathetic by using a sneak-attack (but sadly he didn't even succeed there).

I think another reason why Hawkins kinda comes off better than Drake is that Hawkins losing kinda adds to the tragedy of his character. Even when both he and Killer have awful odds and it's down to who can best fate, he still loses cause he's simply not good enough even with his powers so it's a bit sadder but Drake just looks underwhelming and it doesn't add much to his story though I'm confident he'll improve under Sword (plus I'm pretty sure Oda mentioned in an SBS he was kinda watched over by Sengoku like Rosinante so he could simply train from here on out).

 

[Fn Lucci]

Oda put his ass out with the disconnect between a story featuring Apoo and a story featuring Hawkins.

Apoo didn't have to crawl back, wasn't held accountable for his actions, and will likely just walk off in the literal hands of someone he betrayed. Hawkins betrayed his own predictions with the only logic being what Apoo explicitly proved wrong.

 

[Finalbeta]

He deserved better @Kejon

 

[Herrera95]

as a Basil Hawkins fan

Only good thing about Hawkins is that Anime took a huge L by 1% man reveal.

 

[Gauntlet]

I didn't know character assassination was a good thing. News to me.

 

[Monkey D Theories]

I'm not really convinced about how author handled him, not at this moment at least. This guy was a rational type, who made decisions based on his cards, but suddenly his pride was more important... It's a good contrast with Apoo though.

Btw, his prediction of 1% makes no sense, he had 92% chances of victory against Killer and it was Killer who finally killed him, wtf??

I think the reason it was 1% is because were he to actually kill Killer, Kid would have probably killed him.

 

[Owl Ki]

He died a dog's death that sod all folk cared about. He lived a bitch and he died a bitch.

 

[Longleg Larry]

I think the 1% thing represented his last shred pride, understandable why he held onto it. I least respect him a little more for choosing his hill to die on.

But based on how it played out, Apoo was better for not having such principles