Yesterday I talked about the strongest man on the sea, God Usopp, so I'm going to dial back on the heavy hitters and talk about two characters who are just slightly less powerful than the Sniper King. Two Emperors of the sea who ruled over the Great Pirate Era in their own way and how clever it was that they were the first two Emperors we meet.
Jokes aside I wanted to talk about the first two Emperors we meet in the story, Edward Newgate, dubbed the Strongest Man Alive, a.k.a. Whitebeard and Charlotte LinLin, better known by her family and foes as "Big Mom". What I find most interesting about these two titans of the Great Pirate Era is how their characters parallel and contradict each other in how the two relate to the idea of "family" in One Piece. Whitebeard was introduced with his strength and his role as an Emperor, this is what the world knows Edward Newgate for. What we learn about Newgate throughout the Paramount War is Whitebeard's role as a father. It's common knowledge now but it's a kind of a shock when reading/watching One Piece for the first time. A man that towers over all, clashed with Shanks and split the sky, infiltrated Marineford without being noticed until it's too late, and the fact that the Paramount War was set in motion just so the World Government had the CHANCE to take him down. You wouldn't think this man got the power and influence he had just by extending a hand to the waywards of the world and making a family. But the Paramount War gives Newgate not just the chance to show his strength but his role as a father. From the Whitebeard Pirates affectionately calling him "Pops", pronouncing his love for Ace as his son, and the scene where he is stabbed by his own son- oh my god I LOVE THIS SCENE! That tense moment where after being stabbed the whole war goes silent and Whitebeard stares down his son, looking like he might retaliate in typical merciless pirate fashion, only to reach down and hug his son asking who was tricked into doing this. In just a single moment it all makes sense, who Newgate is, how Whitebeard got the influence he did, and why an Emperor would go to war for just one crew member. Though he never wore the title outright, Edward Newgate was the father for a generation of pirates and even after gaining all the power in the world and being a hair away from the One Piece he chose family. His dream of having a family of his own was not a shallow one, it was one Newgate held close and to be a part of the Whitebeard family meant you were Newgate's treasure and a pirate never lets anyone take their treasure. The first Emperor we met was not another threat for Luffy to take down but a pillar of the Great Pirate Era whose life and final words still send ripples throughout the world of One Piece to this day.
Speaking of threats for Luffy to take down, let's move onto Big Mom. The first thing that separates Whitebeard and Big Mom wear the idea of "family". Whitebeard's family was kind of an open secret, if you had met the Whitebeard pirates or simply read into them a bit, you would know that Whitebeard considers his crew a family but it's not something he is known for, when people think of Whitebeard they thought of strength. Big Mom, on the other hand branded her entire pirating career around family, from her nickname to her crew consisting entirely of biological children, Big Mom wielded family as both a sign of pride and power. Mess with Big Mom's children and you'd face her wraith, this is the story that went around before we met her and reinforced by Charlotte Lola who gives Nami her vivre card as a sign of good will if they were to run into Big Mom. However, when Nami shows Big Mom the vivre card she is met with disgust and the truth behind Big Mom. Unless they're high ranking in the crew, you mess with Big Mom's children and you may face the wraith of her other children, but Big Mom won't give a damn. You fail Big Mom you are no longer family to her, as where Whitebeard would love you despite any failures and/or transgressions. Hell, even if you don't fail Big Mom that doesn't mean you'll get better treatment. As seen with Pudding and Chiffon, the children are all too aware of how fragile their familial bond is. If you are not outright berated by her for your appearance or other family, the weight that comes with keeping up with expectations of a glutton weighs on the mind of her children. Charlotte Katakuri was Big Mom's favorite son but despite the title rarely any familial love is shown between the two. Every interaction between the two is purely business, that's what being Big Mom's favorite gets you, a relationship no deeper than one with a coworker but with all the pressure of being a prodigy child. The only familial bond in the Charlotte family is the one between siblings, they cannot rely on their mother so they turn to each other, but her presence still weighs heavily on them. This extends to the other inhabitants of Tottoland and the Homies. At any moment Big Mom could just swoop in and take everything from them: their home, their family and friends, and even their life if she sees fit. Big Mom is such a horrid protector that she even beats out Judge in that regard, choosing to annihilate the Vinsmokes at the wedding, something that took the scumbag who turned his children into unfeeling monsters, off-guard. Capone Bege and the Firetank Pirates are given the spotlight to show what a true family is. Even one-off characters like Charlotte Praline reinforce the positive impacts of true family, willingly defecting from the Big Mom Pirates for her husband Aladine and the Sun Pirates who she considers family. Praline even ridicules the crew for keeping the defect a secret to her because she thought it was obvious she would choose the Sun Pirates. Being a child of Big Mom is a curse, an infernal bond that binds you to a monster, the only way to find happiness is to break that bond and the tragedy of the Charlotte children is that not all of them have been given that opportunity. Think of a cake, on the top, an overly sweet frosting, decorated with the freshest fruits and most decadent chocolate candies. All to mask an abhorrent cake whose ingredients were long expired and burnt to an unrecognizable mess in the oven, this cake is Big Mom. An overly sweet and joyful, almost childlike, woman who just wants a family and to build a world where everyone can get along but in reality she's a glutton whose hunger for power and control undermines any attempt she makes to live up to the title of "Big Mom".
Edward Newgate, a man who rose to become "Whitebeard". An Emperor of the Sea and the Strongest Man Alive used his strength and influence to protect the ones he loved. "Big Mom," a woman who wielded family as a blade to cut down all who opposed her gluttonous conquest whose overly sweet and playful veneer serves to mask the cruel and greedy Charlotte LinLin who sought to spread her signature sweetness across the world so she could devour it all. Having these two back-to-back does a lot to reinforce the idea of "family" in One Piece, healthy vs unhealthy, fond vs biological, and what being in a family does to a person. It can be healing, as it was for Ace or it could be a burden like it is for the Charlotte children.
