A friend called them Lawās Heroic Band of Normies, and I like that. This was before Penguin and Shachi got to show their mettle at Winner Island (Jean Bart and Bepo too).
They helped Zou defend itself from Jack, and were at Sabaody (Human Auction House battles). They went into the fray at Marineford (not the crews of the other supernovas).
I think they fought as much as Kidās non-supernova crew at Wano. Toei did erase Bepo from some scenes and even transported the core crew back to the Polar Tang for a continuity break episode, and cut some key dialogue.
Oda made a point of either crew worrying about, but also defending their captains, and the captains of the rival crew during Kid and Lawās battle with Big Mom.
I think Law is maybe embarrassed by the Heartsā emotion/sentimentality/normalcy, but not by the Hearts. He calls them uchi ć¦ć/ćć” (home, household, family) in that Zou scene. Great commentary on it here. He had Bepo and therefore his crewās Vivre card from before Dressrosa, and itās mentioned a number of times in the Dressrosa Arc, and is crucial to the plot. Also, commentary here of how Law always intended to return to them after Dressrosa, imo.
Anyway, thatās not really about strength, but we havenāt really seen the Hearts fight directly, other than mentioned above, which is more than weāve seen other supernova crews fight, bar Blackbeard. Oda probably sank both Kid and Lawās crews cos he couldnāt contend with keeping track of 40+ people, on top of the 10 Straw Hats and his cast of thousands. Unlike Kid or Luffyās crew, too, the Hearts only have one member of the Worst Generation, but that also seems the rule rather than the exception.
But, yeah, I stay outa the power scaling spaces, but the Hearts wouldnāt have survived (as far as they had) if they didnāt have some strengths. Also, not directly related, but this meta (mine) from some time ago about Lawās relationship with his crew. Written just at the start of the Onigashima raid. I too believe theyāre a stealth crew. Itās basically their modus operandi when Law isnāt being dramatic.
Other than Bege, Blackbeard, and Urouge (who hardly seems to be a player, but who knows), it seems that all of the Worst Gen leaders lost their crews. The Hearts are not the Straw Hats, and we live in hope, but Oda has definitely been restructuring and whittling away at the crews as the story develops.
