One Piece: Sanji’s Powerful New Abilities Officially Make Him a Superhero

Warning: contains spoilers for One Piece #1034

The cook of One Piece’s Straw Hat Pirates, Sanji, is among the group’s strongest fighters, recognized as “one of the wings that will make the Pirate King soar”. In One Piece‘s latest chapter, he revealed an upgrade that not only boosts his power significantly but also makes him comparable to a superhero.

Among the crew of Luffy, the aspiring Pirate King, “Black Leg” Sanji stood out from the beginning as one of the crew’s most reliable combatants, being ranked as number three in terms of power, coming after his captain and close to the second-in-command Zoro. Recent revelations about Sanji’s troubled past, however, may change this forever. Sanji is the third son of Vinsmoke Judge. Judge is the king of Germa Kingdom, leader of the Germa 66 military force, and a genius who was once part of a group known as MADS, comprising the world’s best (and craziest) scientists. After discovering the “lineage factor”, Judge experimented on his children while they were still in their mother’s womb, giving them superhuman abilities that transformed them into perfect soldiers, albeit at the cost of their emotions.

Until now, readers believed that Sanji had been exempt from this, thanks to his mother’s merciful intervention. Chapter #1034, however, showed that this was not the case, as Sanji showcased abilities that make him very close to a superhero. While in the past Sanji had already shown the superhuman ability to light his legs on fire, this had never been connected to genetic alterations, until now. Sanji’s new hidden abilities appeared for the first time in chapter #1028, when his body showed inhuman resilience and recovery power after being crushed by Queen “the Plague”, All-Star of the Beast Pirates, and one of Kaidou’s top three executives. This “awakening” was triggered by Sanji’s use of his Raiding Suit, a piece of advanced technology that Judge gifted to his sons. Due to Sanji’s rejection of his family, he hesitated in using the suit but had to put his concerns aside during the fight with Kaidou’s Beast Pirates, the strongest foes the Straw Hats ever faced.  Despite that, Sanji was still afraid that using his father’s technology was making him lose his emotions, turning into a ruthless soldier like his brothers. After mistakenly thinking that he had hurt a harmless woman during the battle, Sanji destroyed the Raiding Suit. At the same time, however, he accepted his newly-awakened abilities (and thus his family’s legacy), in order to help Luffy achieve his dream of becoming the Pirate King.

In chapter #1034, Sanji assesses his new powers. He has gained a reinforced exoskeleton, enhanced strength, and super speed, and he combines all of that with his previous abilities to strike Queen with overwhelming force. These attributes are identical to a list of powers that could belong to any superhero comic character. What is striking is that the Vinsmokes already have a clear connection to the world of comic books. The Germa 66 are known throughout the world of One Piece as the main antagonists of the propaganda comic strip “Sora, Warrior of the Sea” issued by the World Government. The appearance of the army’s commanders, once they wear the Raid Suits, is modeled on the “Super Sentai” series (known as Power Rangers in the West), a popular superhero-themed show in Japan. Sanji himself has always shown a superhero-like demeanor, rushing to save damsels in distress whenever possible.

Sanji‘s newfound superhuman abilities and his family’s history make him the closest thing to a superhero in the world of One Piece. Fans will soon find out if this will be enough to help his crew defeat the fearsome Beast Pirates and their leader Kaidou.

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