Now, I don't think there will be "Next Roger", "Next Whitebeard" or "Next Garp". Certainly, people will be there "carrying their wills" - I believe Coby is Garp's successor in that regard, BTW - but their narrative roles will be different. Roger nor Whitebeard ever challenged the World Government directly, which Luffy will do, and that alone should show Luffy will not be Roger's copy, or Whitebeard's.
In fact, I believe that as a Pirate King, Luffy will be closer to Whitebeard. Whitebeard has served several roles in the story, and one of these is showing what an ideal Pirate King would look like. Whitebeard, not Shanks or even Roger, is the goal Luffy is aiming for - whether he himself realizes it or not. It is no accident why Whitebeard and the Paramount War were the first major battle Luffy had witnessed, why Whitebeard's death threw the world into chaos, why only after he had died the remaining Emperors - Kaido, Big Mom, Shanks and of course Blackbeard - started making moves towards acquiring the One Piece and becoming the Pirate King. Whitebeard was essentially a "regent", a man who was the Pirate King without ever formally claiming the title. Whitebeard's combination of mental and physical power, his influence, his fleet, but also his kindness and care for people he considered family is something we have actually seen Luffy emulate time and again. Luffy declared war against the World Government for Robin's sake; Whitebeard fought a war for Ace's sake. Whitebeard claimed many islands as his own, not in order to extract tribute from them but simply to protect them; Luffy claimed Fishman Island as his territory to protect people there from Big Mom's reprisal (and I believe it is no accident that the island was Whitebeard's territory before it was claimed by Big Mom and then Luffy).
And we saw some parallels in the story already.
(Rereading this chapter is what actually inspired me to make the thread)
Now, as I said, Luffy is not actually the next Whitebeard. Man who inspired him to become a pirate and seek the title of the Pirate King is Shanks; and there are certainly parallels to be drawn there (and Shanks himself is kinda Whitebeard-like in relationship with his own fleet, as useless as they are). But notice the terminology being used here:
"Father's cup".
"Sons' cups".
Now who does this remind you of?
All of this builds onto the entire theme of loyalty that Whitebeard pirates have: they are family, and will die for each other. And this theme can also be seen with Luffy. Remember this scene?
Oda basically spells it out that Luffy's greatest ability is making other people into his allies. That is literally what Whitebeard did. One might argue if he ever went so far as to make former enemies into allies - yet Ace did try to kill Whitebeard multiple times, only to eventually became suicidally loyal to the old man.
As I said, there is a lot to be said for parallels between Luffy and Shanks and Luffy and Roger. Luffy's focus on freedom and partying certainly fits what we have seen from Shanks this far; yet while it is not as pronounced, it also fits what we have seen from Whitebeard. Whitebeard himself says there is only one rule on his ship: do not harm your crewmates, your family. In other words, Whitebeard doesn't care what his crewmembers do, so long as they remain safe. They are free. Whitebeard himself may not have been as goofy as Luffy or Shanks in their free time (I can't imagine Whitebeard getting into the antics with his crew the way Luffy does), but I believe his overall command style was rather Luffy-like: do what you want, just remember we are family.
In fact, I believe that as a Pirate King, Luffy will be closer to Whitebeard. Whitebeard has served several roles in the story, and one of these is showing what an ideal Pirate King would look like. Whitebeard, not Shanks or even Roger, is the goal Luffy is aiming for - whether he himself realizes it or not. It is no accident why Whitebeard and the Paramount War were the first major battle Luffy had witnessed, why Whitebeard's death threw the world into chaos, why only after he had died the remaining Emperors - Kaido, Big Mom, Shanks and of course Blackbeard - started making moves towards acquiring the One Piece and becoming the Pirate King. Whitebeard was essentially a "regent", a man who was the Pirate King without ever formally claiming the title. Whitebeard's combination of mental and physical power, his influence, his fleet, but also his kindness and care for people he considered family is something we have actually seen Luffy emulate time and again. Luffy declared war against the World Government for Robin's sake; Whitebeard fought a war for Ace's sake. Whitebeard claimed many islands as his own, not in order to extract tribute from them but simply to protect them; Luffy claimed Fishman Island as his territory to protect people there from Big Mom's reprisal (and I believe it is no accident that the island was Whitebeard's territory before it was claimed by Big Mom and then Luffy).
And we saw some parallels in the story already.
(Rereading this chapter is what actually inspired me to make the thread)
Now, as I said, Luffy is not actually the next Whitebeard. Man who inspired him to become a pirate and seek the title of the Pirate King is Shanks; and there are certainly parallels to be drawn there (and Shanks himself is kinda Whitebeard-like in relationship with his own fleet, as useless as they are). But notice the terminology being used here:
"Father's cup".
"Sons' cups".
Now who does this remind you of?
All of this builds onto the entire theme of loyalty that Whitebeard pirates have: they are family, and will die for each other. And this theme can also be seen with Luffy. Remember this scene?
Oda basically spells it out that Luffy's greatest ability is making other people into his allies. That is literally what Whitebeard did. One might argue if he ever went so far as to make former enemies into allies - yet Ace did try to kill Whitebeard multiple times, only to eventually became suicidally loyal to the old man.
As I said, there is a lot to be said for parallels between Luffy and Shanks and Luffy and Roger. Luffy's focus on freedom and partying certainly fits what we have seen from Shanks this far; yet while it is not as pronounced, it also fits what we have seen from Whitebeard. Whitebeard himself says there is only one rule on his ship: do not harm your crewmates, your family. In other words, Whitebeard doesn't care what his crewmembers do, so long as they remain safe. They are free. Whitebeard himself may not have been as goofy as Luffy or Shanks in their free time (I can't imagine Whitebeard getting into the antics with his crew the way Luffy does), but I believe his overall command style was rather Luffy-like: do what you want, just remember we are family.
