This article contains spoilers for the One Piece manga.
The One Piece saw the author, Eiichiro Oda, wrap up one of its most exciting flashbacks yet, that of God Valley. Ever since its first mention 6 years ago, the God Valley flashback has been a talking point among the fans and it's finally been fully revealed now. On the fateful island of God Valley, Oda shed light on many One Piece mysteries, such as Rocks’s death, Blackbeard’s early life, how Shanks ended up with the Roger Pirates, and the existence of Davy Jones, along with some other important stuff. While all this was absolutely massive, Oda didn't just stop there.
He also went on to do major character reveals on God Valley, and One Piece chapter 1165 saw the author introduce the character who would likely go on to become Whitebeard’s original right hand before Marco, named Polo Gram. Not much is known about Polo Gram, and fans don't know what happened to him. But, fans have definitely appreciated the small lore drops about the Whitebeard pirates.
Polo Gram Was Likely Whitebeard’s Original First Mate
As fans have come to know, Whitebeard didn’t start off his pirate career with the Whitebeard Pirates. Long before that, he was actually a member of the Rocks Pirates, and sailed under the flag of Captain Rocks D. Xebec. Sadly, the Rocks Pirates broke off after the events of God Valley and the death of their captain.
After that, many of the former Rocks Pirates went on to become reputable and fearsome captains and lead their own pirate crew, which also included Whitebeard himself. Not much is known about the early days of the Whitebeard Pirates, but Oda might have just revealed the very first person to join Newgate on his adventures, and it’s a man known as Polo Gram.
Polo Gram, during the days of God Valley was the captain of the Polo Pirates, a crew that made its way to God Valley, among others. That’s where Polo and Whitebeard met. Polo was a big fan of Whitebeard, and invited him to sail with him on his ship — a proposal that Whitebeard rejected.
Sometime after that, Polo Gram must have ended up joining Whitebeard himself, and this is evident by the fact that he looks just like Marco. He, together with his son, likely stayed with Whitebeard for a long time. In that case, Polo Gram would've been the first member of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Polo Gram Was The Father of Marco, Whitebeard’s First Division Commander
Polo Gram is definitely an interesting addition to the story by Oda. He is hinted to be Whitebeard’s First Mate through his obvious connection to Whitebeard’s First Division Commander, Marco the Phoenix. They have the same appearance, and it is quite evident that he's Marco's dad. Some have brought up the possibility of Polo dying and reincarnating as Marco, but that wouldn't make sense as Marco was already 7 during the time of God Valley.
As such, the idea of Polo reincarnating after dying and rising like a phoenix is nothing more than an idea that doesn't make much sense. Polo is, without a doubt, Marco's father. Not only that, but Polo and Marco’s names are an obvious pun relating to a famous explorer, known as Marco Polo. Fans are definitely curious to know what happened to Polo and what led to Marco taking his spot as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates later down the line.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece will be on break next week. One Piece Chapter 1166 will be out in two weeks. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1166 is November 23, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
