Blackbeard and Oden share an unusual amount of similarities and probably got to know each other well back in the day. It's even possible Blackbeard's life plans were influenced by what he saw from Oden's path. Regardless, I doubt we'll ever get Blackbeard's thoughts on Oden unless he becomes an active player in the Wano arc. Here are a few observations:
- Oden was the first person to turn on Whitebeard and jump ship that we know of. Blackbeard becomes the second person to do this. But BB did this in a sinister manner, breaking WB's iron rule and ultimately betraying the family and becoming their villain.
- Oden displayed enough potential to take over Whitebeard's position when he aged and got sick, a possibility the Marines accused Whitebeard of doing by grooming Ace to be his replacement. Even if Whitebeard died in Marineford, he feels some level of comfort in Ace growing up to protect and lead the family. Blackbeard eventually usurped Whitebeard, taking his power and most of his territories, essentially his position in the world.
- Oden as part of the Roger Pirates was one of the pioneers who found One Piece. Blackbeard left Whitebeard because he also aspires to find One Piece. For both characters, Whitebeard was an obstacle who kept them from fully realizing this dream.
- Oden can read the Poneglyphs, knows ancient Kozuki family history, and must have deciphered the Rio Poneglyph. Blackbeard's hobby is archaeology according to the SBS. The biggest archaeological mystery of his age is what happened during the Void Century and the Poneglyphs, which may be part of why Blackbeard is so motivated to find One Piece. Blackbeard may currently posses a method to read Poneglyphs if he truly hopes to be a Pirate King contender.
- Oden and Blackbeard both scarred a current Yonkou. Okay, you can just ignore this one.
What do you think? Could Oden have served as a possible role model for young Blackbeard? Was he a distant admirer or did he see Oden like he does Luffy? If you think of Oden as a Samurai Luffy, then Blackbeard was established as the anti-Luffy the moment he started eating cherry pies. If the connection becomes apparent and strong enough, is this a good enough reason to thematically connect Blackbeard to Wano and have him show up in surprise at the last minute?
- Oden was the first person to turn on Whitebeard and jump ship that we know of. Blackbeard becomes the second person to do this. But BB did this in a sinister manner, breaking WB's iron rule and ultimately betraying the family and becoming their villain.
- Oden displayed enough potential to take over Whitebeard's position when he aged and got sick, a possibility the Marines accused Whitebeard of doing by grooming Ace to be his replacement. Even if Whitebeard died in Marineford, he feels some level of comfort in Ace growing up to protect and lead the family. Blackbeard eventually usurped Whitebeard, taking his power and most of his territories, essentially his position in the world.
- Oden as part of the Roger Pirates was one of the pioneers who found One Piece. Blackbeard left Whitebeard because he also aspires to find One Piece. For both characters, Whitebeard was an obstacle who kept them from fully realizing this dream.
- Oden can read the Poneglyphs, knows ancient Kozuki family history, and must have deciphered the Rio Poneglyph. Blackbeard's hobby is archaeology according to the SBS. The biggest archaeological mystery of his age is what happened during the Void Century and the Poneglyphs, which may be part of why Blackbeard is so motivated to find One Piece. Blackbeard may currently posses a method to read Poneglyphs if he truly hopes to be a Pirate King contender.
- Oden and Blackbeard both scarred a current Yonkou. Okay, you can just ignore this one.
What do you think? Could Oden have served as a possible role model for young Blackbeard? Was he a distant admirer or did he see Oden like he does Luffy? If you think of Oden as a Samurai Luffy, then Blackbeard was established as the anti-Luffy the moment he started eating cherry pies. If the connection becomes apparent and strong enough, is this a good enough reason to thematically connect Blackbeard to Wano and have him show up in surprise at the last minute?
