Summary
- Many prominent One Piece characters have defeated Luffy in combat, showcasing his vulnerability.
- Notable characters like Smoker, Caesar Clown, and Admiral Kizaru have overpowered Luffy.
- Luffy's defeats by villains like Sir Crocodile, Magellan, and Kaido highlight how he has grown as a character.
Monkey D. Luffy is the iconic protagonist of the shonen action series One Piece, so it makes a lot of sense that he is one of the most powerful characters in his own fictional universe, especially because he keeps getting stronger and stronger in each new story arc. Nevertheless, this doesn’t necessarily mean that he has won every single fight he was involved in.
One Piece: 39 Strongest Characters In The Series
These are the strongest characters to sail the seas of the One Piece world.
A surprising number of prominent figures in One Piece have overpowered Luffy and defeated him in combat (sometimes even more than once), which is quite impressive when considering how incredibly powerful he has gotten over the years. While, of course, he always manages to win the inevitable rematch, it's almost impossible to believe that the following characters have gained the upper hand in their fights against One Piece's protagonist.
8 Smoker
Defeated Luffy In Loguetown
- First Appearance: Chapter 97 (Manga), Episode 48 (Anime)
While nowadays most fans criticize Smoker for his lackluster performance in the Punk Hazard Arc, it is important to remember that he was written as an imposing obstacle to Luffy and his crew back when he was first introduced. His powerful Logia Devil Fruit, the Moku Moku no Mi, combined with his impressive jitte skills and his strict personality, made him come off as a huge threat to the Straw Hat Pirates.
Smoker not only managed to outpace Luffy with his smoke-based powers, but he was also able to overpower both him and Sanji without any real issue. If it wasn’t for Dragon’s sudden arrival, part of the crew would have gotten captured by the Marines as early as the Loguetown Arc. Sadly, Smoker doesn’t feel anywhere near as strong now, but most fans are hoping he’ll get a proper redemption in a future story arc.
7 Caesar Clown
Defeated Luffy In Punk Hazard
- First Appearance: Chapter 658 (Manga), Episode 581 (Anime)
Luffy had gotten incredibly strong during the two-year time skip, so the story needed to introduce a threatening villain who could actually stand a chance against him, even if it was via unconventional methods. That’s exactly why Caesar Clown was introduced as the main antagonist of the Punk Hazard Arc.
Caesar may not be as powerful as other prominent One Piece villains, but his brilliant but unhinged mind and his Logia Devil Fruit, the Gasu Gasu no Mi, proved to be a lethal combination, especially for a character as straight-forward and simple-minded as Luffy. Caesar quickly overpowered him with his poisonous gas in their first encounter, but, fortunately, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates managed to take him down in their eventual rematch.
6 Sir Crocodile
Defeated Luffy In Arabasta (Twice!)
- First Appearance: Chapter 126 (Manga), Episode 76 (Anime)
Sir Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the leader of Baroque Works, was the first truly big villain that Monkey D. Luffy faced on his journey, and in order to have him come off as threatening and powerful, author Eiichiro Oda made him overpower the protagonist on two different occasions in the same story arc.
8 Strongest One Piece Characters Who Have Never Fought Luffy
For one reason or another, Luffy has never engaged in a major battle with these characters in One Piece.
Luffy struggled to fight Logia Devil Fruit users early on in the series, so he didn’t really have a way to land a hit, let alone damage Crocodile during their first encounter, which concluded with the Warlord of the Sea stabbing him through the chest with a hook. Their second fight didn’t go much better for Luffy, even though he realized he could hit Crocodile if he covered his body with water. He finally managed to defeat the evil pirate in their third and final match, however, which was also extremely challenging for him.
5 Magellan
Defeated Luffy In Impel Down
- First Appearance: Chapter 528 (Manga), Episode 425 (Anime)
Luffy almost always defeats the main antagonist of a story arc, no matter what. But there have been a few surprising exceptions, with Magellan being one of the most infamous examples. As the chief warden of the Impel Down prison during the Impel Down Arc, he was obviously the main antagonist of the arc, and he immediately proved to be a major threat to all the other characters involved.
Magellan’s Devil Fruit, the Doku Doku no Mi, allows him to generate and control enormous amounts of poison. With this deadly power, he was able to overpower and intoxicate Luffy, who could have easily died right there if it wasn’t for the actions of Bon Clay. While the protagonist was able to properly confront Magellan for a second time at the end of the arc (mainly thanks to Mr. 3’s wax powers), their rematch ended in a draw. Furthermore, it would be really satisfying to see Luffy defeat Magellan in a future arc, especially if he decides to go back to Impel Down someday.
4 Rob Lucci
Defeated Luffy In Water 7
- First Appearance: Chapter 323 (Manga), Episode 230 (Anime)
The Water 7 Arc was a dark and unfortunate time for the Straw Hat Pirates; they discovered that the Going Merry could not travel any further, Nico Robin abruptly abandoned the crew, and they later had to confront Cipher Pol 9, a secret government organization of deadly assassins. Every single one of them proved to be a formidable opponent, but the strongest one was definitely their leader: Rob Lucci.
Not only did he showcase a flawless mastery over the six main Rokushiki techniques, but he was also able to turn into a giant humanoid leopard, thanks to his Devil Fruit, the Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Leopard. These two abilities were enough for him to overpower and defeat Luffy during their initial encounter, but it’s important to keep in mind that he was also quite shocked to find out that some of the friendly shipwrights from the Galley-La Company were actually undercover CP9 agents. This revelation caught Luffy by surprise, which allowed Lucci to quickly dispose of him.
3 Kuzan (Admiral Aokiji)
Defeated Luffy In Long Ring Long Land
- First Appearance: Chapter 303 (Manga), Episode 225 (Anime)
The threat of the three Marine Admirals was slowly but efficiently established throughout the first story arcs of the series, and all that buildup finally paid off when the Straw Hat Pirates encountered Admiral Aokiji at the very end of the Long Ring Long Land Arc. At first, they were all misled by his carefree attitude, but he quickly proved how powerful and dangerous he actually was.
8 Most Satisfying Fights In One Piece, Ranked
The characters of One Piece come to blows quite frequently, and some of those battles proved to be quite an entertaining spectacle.
Kuzan used the impressive cryokinetic abilities of the Hie Hie no Mi to overpower and immobilize the entire crew, and he was even able to completely freeze both Robin and Luffy. Kuzan let the young pirate captain live just because he had previously taken down Crocodile, but this encounter changed Luffy forever and is the main reason he was inspired to get stronger during the Water 7 and Enies Lobby arcs.
2 Borsalino (Admiral Kizaru)
Defeated Luffy In The Sabaody Archipelago
- First Appearance: Chapter 504 (Manga), Episode 398 (Anime)
The moment Luffy punched Saint Charlos in the face is still highly regarded as the most satisfying scene in the entire series, but there’s no denying that the main character’s reckless actions nearly ruined his piracy career and almost got his entire crew killed. The Marines sent Admiral Kizaru to deal with that problem, and he immediately overpowered all the Straw Hat Pirates.
Despite his lazy and calm personality, Borsalino proved to be quite a dangerous threat to the crew, mainly due to the immense power of the Pika Pika no Mi, which allowed him to unleash destructive attacks and move at literal light speed while also being completely immune to physical harm from people who can’t use Haki. His encounter with the Straw Hats was almost a massacre, as none of them could even land a hit on the Admiral (not even Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji). To make matters worse, they were already exhausted from their fight against a Pacifista earlier in the arc. If it wasn’t for Bartholomew Kuma’s selfless actions, the Straw Hat Pirates would never have made it out of Sabaody Archipelago alive. Fortunately, Luffy was able to go toe-to-toe with Borsalino more than two years later.
1 Kaido
Defeated Luffy In Wano (Thrice)
- First Appearance: Chapter 795 (Manga), Episode 736 (Anime)
Kaido, the captain of the Beasts Pirates and one of the Four Emperors, was known around the world as the “Strongest Creature,” so he was obviously going to be quite a huge obstacle for Luffy and his crew. Nevertheless, he may have underestimated the absurd strength of this evil pirate, because Kaido overpowered and defeated Luffy not once, not twice, but three different times during the Wano Country Arc.
During their initial encounter in the Kuri region, Luffy couldn’t even pierce through Kaido’s tough defenses; this foe was able to knock him out with a single Thunder Bagua. They fought again on the rooftop of Onigashima, and, despite the main character’s immense growth and his new Advanced Supreme King Haki, the Strongest Creature was able to overpower him off-screen and throw his body into the ocean. Kaido eventually defeated Luffy a third time, mainly due to the abrupt actions of Guernika from CP0, but he would most likely have won the encounter anyway. It wasn’t until Luffy awakened his Devil Fruit and unleashed the over-the-top powers of his new Gear 5 form upon the evil pirate that he was finally able to take him down and save the country of Wano.
- 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
- Seasons
- 21
