Intro
Who's Who dropped a bombshell when he revealed he lost the Gomu Gomu No Mi for the WG. A bombshell which says a lot about him.
Who's Who has been a character shrouded in intrigue ever since he was first alluded to in chapter 976, with the infamous cliffhanger feet.
Theories and speculation surrounded him. Who could he be? Why does he want to become an All Star? Who does he want to kill? All of these played a part in learning someone who's actions have different meanings in retrospect. This method of holistic development is a talent Oda is particularly renowned for. A notable example of this would be the minks, who we learn during Jack's assault on their home were defending Raizo. Oda turned what were mere martyrs for drama from our perspective into noble and loyal companions, which gives extra appreciation towards the minks when revisiting their fight against Jack.
Who's Who Up To Now
While Who's Who's deal isn't nearly as dramatic, it still underlines Oda's merits to subvert our expectations and having us reflect on what he wrote all the same. But to understand that, we must go back and examine Who's Who's key moments. Our first proper look at Who's Who's character was during a conversation with his fellow Flying Six.
Though this excerpt can be dismissed as banter, Oda fuels it via Who's Who's apparent desire to become one of Kaido's top executives, the Calamities.
This extends to also battling the Calamities.
So already we know that Who's Who has been thinking about a Calamity's death, as well as the chance to battle and become one. This aim of his is reinforced when he ignored the commotion caused by Luffy and the other WG members when they were discovered on Onigashima, instead devoted to accomplishing a task granted to him in order to receive the chance to challenge a Calamity.
Continuing on from that, he responds to Queen's declaration that there is someone he wishes to kill. His answer was as follows:
When looked alongside his eagerness to become a Calamity, as well his offhand remark of killing Queen, the picture starts becoming clear that he wishes to kill Queen, as so it was to be believed.
However, we soon see Who's Who joining sides with Queen to apprehend Drake, who has been outed as a spy within their ranks.
Suddenly, Who's Who's desires to kill Queen vanished, and any ulterior motive that may have been associated with it. Though more revelations would later come once he confronts Jinbe of the Straw Hats. Who's Who claims to know him during his Warlord days.
We discover that Who's Who was affiliated with the World Government, specifically CP9, where he was among the promising members, Lucci included.
But the most shocking reveal was, as mentioned at the start, being the one responsible for losing the Gomu Gomu No Mi. And now he sees Luffy as a constant reminder of his failure and imprisonment.
Despite losing everything years ago, he is now content with who he is now.
Round Up
Recent developments completely shift what we knew of Who's Who prior, and offers new ground and even questions to his earlier actions. Why he wants to become a Calamity, who he really wanted to kill, and his ultimate allegiances.
-
-
-
To start, who he wished to kill can easily be interpreted as Luffy, the constant reminder of his failures. However, this is in conflict with his behavior of ignoring Luffy and the other Worst Generation when they were causing noise. To rebuttal, Who's Who considered his mission of finding Yamato more important. Finding Yamato meant challenging Calamity as a reward.
We know that Who's Who, despite what happened in the past, is satisfied with his current life as a Beast Pirate, and his aim at the Calamity position is possibly motivated by his past failure as a CP9 agent. Who's Who had as much promise as Lucci, but it was squandered due to one mistake. Where he couldn't make it as an Agent, he could as a Pirate.
Wrap Up
The main purpose of this little article is to highlight Oda's ability to misdirect to keep us engaged and surprise us positively, but also how any bit of dialogue, even artwork is important to consider while reading. It may make you rethink what came before, or reveal elements of a character you didn't know were there. Who's Who's name may refer to a card game, but he is a "Who's Who" of an individual, for is a puzzle of a character that is fun to piece together. A puzzle we are most likely not done with.
Some tags: @Buusatan94 @RiShin @RayanOO @Bogard @SmokedOut, etc
Who's Who dropped a bombshell when he revealed he lost the Gomu Gomu No Mi for the WG. A bombshell which says a lot about him.
Who's Who has been a character shrouded in intrigue ever since he was first alluded to in chapter 976, with the infamous cliffhanger feet.
Theories and speculation surrounded him. Who could he be? Why does he want to become an All Star? Who does he want to kill? All of these played a part in learning someone who's actions have different meanings in retrospect. This method of holistic development is a talent Oda is particularly renowned for. A notable example of this would be the minks, who we learn during Jack's assault on their home were defending Raizo. Oda turned what were mere martyrs for drama from our perspective into noble and loyal companions, which gives extra appreciation towards the minks when revisiting their fight against Jack.
Who's Who Up To Now
While Who's Who's deal isn't nearly as dramatic, it still underlines Oda's merits to subvert our expectations and having us reflect on what he wrote all the same. But to understand that, we must go back and examine Who's Who's key moments. Our first proper look at Who's Who's character was during a conversation with his fellow Flying Six.
Though this excerpt can be dismissed as banter, Oda fuels it via Who's Who's apparent desire to become one of Kaido's top executives, the Calamities.
This extends to also battling the Calamities.
So already we know that Who's Who has been thinking about a Calamity's death, as well as the chance to battle and become one. This aim of his is reinforced when he ignored the commotion caused by Luffy and the other WG members when they were discovered on Onigashima, instead devoted to accomplishing a task granted to him in order to receive the chance to challenge a Calamity.
Continuing on from that, he responds to Queen's declaration that there is someone he wishes to kill. His answer was as follows:
When looked alongside his eagerness to become a Calamity, as well his offhand remark of killing Queen, the picture starts becoming clear that he wishes to kill Queen, as so it was to be believed.
However, we soon see Who's Who joining sides with Queen to apprehend Drake, who has been outed as a spy within their ranks.
Suddenly, Who's Who's desires to kill Queen vanished, and any ulterior motive that may have been associated with it. Though more revelations would later come once he confronts Jinbe of the Straw Hats. Who's Who claims to know him during his Warlord days.
We discover that Who's Who was affiliated with the World Government, specifically CP9, where he was among the promising members, Lucci included.
But the most shocking reveal was, as mentioned at the start, being the one responsible for losing the Gomu Gomu No Mi. And now he sees Luffy as a constant reminder of his failure and imprisonment.
Despite losing everything years ago, he is now content with who he is now.
Round Up
Recent developments completely shift what we knew of Who's Who prior, and offers new ground and even questions to his earlier actions. Why he wants to become a Calamity, who he really wanted to kill, and his ultimate allegiances.
-
-
-
To start, who he wished to kill can easily be interpreted as Luffy, the constant reminder of his failures. However, this is in conflict with his behavior of ignoring Luffy and the other Worst Generation when they were causing noise. To rebuttal, Who's Who considered his mission of finding Yamato more important. Finding Yamato meant challenging Calamity as a reward.
We know that Who's Who, despite what happened in the past, is satisfied with his current life as a Beast Pirate, and his aim at the Calamity position is possibly motivated by his past failure as a CP9 agent. Who's Who had as much promise as Lucci, but it was squandered due to one mistake. Where he couldn't make it as an Agent, he could as a Pirate.
Wrap Up
The main purpose of this little article is to highlight Oda's ability to misdirect to keep us engaged and surprise us positively, but also how any bit of dialogue, even artwork is important to consider while reading. It may make you rethink what came before, or reveal elements of a character you didn't know were there. Who's Who's name may refer to a card game, but he is a "Who's Who" of an individual, for is a puzzle of a character that is fun to piece together. A puzzle we are most likely not done with.
Some tags: @Buusatan94 @RiShin @RayanOO @Bogard @SmokedOut, etc
