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Uncover the worst captain in One Piece as we talk about these characters based on their failures and utter lack of accountability.
The world of One Piece is filled with diverse types of pirates, each with unique motivations and leadership styles. While some captains inspire loyalty and respect from their crew and earn their spot as great captains in One Piece, others are defined by their cruelty and incompetence, making them some of the worst captains in the series.
This list ranks the 10 worst captains based on their negative attributes and impact on the world.
1) Don Krieg
Don Krieg’s nickname is “Foul Play,” and it is in his nature to ensure that he wins any battle he enters by any means necessary. For him, pride and sympathy are useless emotions if they interfere with his victories. He constantly relies on weapons, and every time he wins, Krieg becomes overconfident.
As a captain, he rules his crew through fear. Don Krieg has his morals misplaced and lets his superiority complex make him delusional. This is evident when he orders his most loyal crewmate, Gin, to remove his gas mask and breathe in the deadly MH5 poison gas.
He never cared about who was part of his crew. For Don Krieg, all that mattered was numbers. If his crew had a lot of members, he felt powerful. Also, we need to mention his ungratefulness towards the Baratie chefs—after they helped his crew by giving them food, he made it his new mission to conquer them. Don Krieg, blinded by his arrogance, makes him one of the worst captains in One Piece.
2) Arlong
Arlong the Saw is a sawshark fish-man. He was the captain of the all-fish-man crew, the Arlong Pirates. Formerly, he was part of the Sun Pirates, which he left after being freed from the Marines. As Jimbei gained the status of Warlord, Arlong formed his crew. For him, humans were inferior to fish-men. Being physically stronger than them, he did not shy away from spreading his terror and became nearly invincible. He did take care of his crew and displayed a high level of brotherhood.
He is greedy and loves money. Other than that, he also exploits others for his convenience. He recognizes Nami’s talent as a skilled navigator and immediately finds a loophole to ensure she stays in his crew. Without a second thought, he went back on his word and made the Marines confiscate the money she had arranged to free her hometown from his terror.
Ever since his younger days, he was quick to anger, which caused him to become brutal after his former captain was killed by humans. That is why Arlong led his crew to commit murder, and his misplaced anger caused him to become one of the worst captains in One Piece.
3) Alvida
Alvida, also called “Iron Mace,” is the former captain of the Alvida Pirates. During her early appearances in the series, she kept her crew together through fear and intimidation, exploiting her physical strength to maintain her dominance. Even after eating the Slip-Slip Fruit and gaining a new appearance, she remained unimpressive as a captain.
We saw how she treated Koby when he was stuck working for her. She felt that everyone should worship her and call her beautiful. Failing to do so would result in her using her Iron Mace to smack the person down. She never really cared about her crew and lacked leadership as well as the ability to take accountability.
She did not take long to abandon her crew when she found an opportunity to team up with Buggy. This showed her lack of independence and leadership—qualities needed to be a great pirate captain. Her lack of accomplishments, along with her disregard for her crew, makes her one of the worst captains in One Piece.
4) Crocodile
Also known as the “Desert King,” Crocodile is a cunning and strong antagonist in the series. As the leader of Baroque Works, Crocodile ran an impressive crime syndicate organization, but as a pirate captain, he failed miserably.
Luffy sealed his defeat, showcasing his inability to adapt in a fight and revealing his over-reliance on his Devil Fruit rather than training to become stronger. His arrogance led to his downfall. Unlike truly great captains, Crocodile failed to inspire genuine loyalty. Instead, he sought to gain power by planting seeds of fear in the hearts of his crew.
He was cunning and only cared about his business, which led him to be fake in front of civilians—acting as if he were the savior of the people of Alabasta. Crocodile, being a two-faced villain, makes him one of the worst captains.
5) Captain Kuro
Kuro, also known as Klahadore, was the former captain of the Black Cat Pirates. He is one of the worst of his kind, as he abandoned his crew and faked his death simply because he did not want to live the life of a pirate anymore and desired luxury.
He was so arrogant that he believed his plans were too superior to be wasted on his crew. For him, his crew members were just puppets who mindlessly followed his orders. If necessary, Kuro could sacrifice each one of them to ensure his plans succeeded.
He displayed a lack of empathy and showed no hesitation in resorting to murder if needed. Kuro’s corrupt mind makes him one of the worst captains, as he constantly deceives everyone around him. Luffy eventually takes him down. His crew also lost respect for him after seeing the true personality of the captain they were loyal to.
6) Charlotte Linlin
Also known as Big Mom, she is the captain of the Big Mom Pirates. She was once a kind-hearted girl, but as she grew up, she became cruel and selfish. She is the only female captain who was one of the Four Emperors of the Sea.
Charlotte Linlin chose the path of tyranny, and to add to her terror, her emotional instability made her unpredictable. She did not hesitate to choose violence to rule over Totto Land. Big Mom treats her children as disposable tools and pawns in her grand designs. It should be noted that most of her crew members are her children. She never cared about them as a mother or as a captain and forced them to do her dirty work.
Her crew is definitely scared of her, as Linlin does not tolerate failure and severely punishes those who cannot fulfill her wishes. Linlin’s fragile psyche, in addition to her eating disorder, makes her an incompetent captain, even though she has a loyal crew—making her one of the worst captains in the series.
7) Buggy
We are unsure of how long Lady Luck will be on his side, but Buggy is the most incompetent character in the whole series. He is the captain of the Buggy Pirates and always seeks fame. Buggy is highly egotistical, valuing fame above all else. Instead of training to improve his strength, he focuses on forming alliances with powerful figures or recruiting strong individuals into his crew.
His actions are always flashy, as he wants the attention of others to stay on him. Buggy would not shy away from using his crewmates as human shields and later learns to be good to them. It turns out his crew is just like him—liars and cheats.
When he was imprisoned, they had given up hope of finding him, only to lie to his face when he escaped. They pretended to care for him. Buggy repeatedly shows his cowardice, which somehow ends up in his favor. However, as viewers, we recognize this, making him one of the worst captains in One Piece.
8) Hody Jones
Hody Jones was a fish-man and the captain of the New Fish-Man Pirates. If Arlong is bad, he one-ups him due to his discrimination toward humans. Unlike Arlong, who left humans alive if they paid him, Hody Jones saw them as weaklings and would inflict violence if he wanted to feel superior.
He preferred to work alone and would rather handle things himself than rely on his crew. Hody disregards his crewmates and uses them as shields whenever it suits his convenience. Regardless of that, Hody’s subordinates still follow, respect, and support him. And what Hody does is choose to sacrifice each one of them to win against the Straw Hat Pirates.
Jones became a bad captain when he lost sight of his goal and kept relying on Energy Steroids to fight. As a captain, he should have led his crew to be better, but what example could he set when he was the lowest of villains? Most of his crew later admitted to following him out of fear for their lives, knowing Hody does not take rejection well.
9) Marshall D. Teach
Commonly known as Blackbeard, he is the captain of the Blackbeard Pirates, who now rules as one of the Four Emperors of the New World. Notably, he is the only one who wields the power of two Devil Fruits in One Piece, something that was said to be impossible. He has a dual nature of courage and cowardice, which he bounces back and forth between. Sometimes, he can be incredibly intelligent, while at other times, he is foolish.
He built his crew by recruiting some of the most dangerous criminals from Impel Down, but he rules through fear. His crew consists of cutthroats who could easily turn on him if given the chance, as no one has pledged loyalty to him. Blackbeard also demonstrates his cowardly nature by fleeing from stronger opponents like Shanks.
While he may be a major villain, he is not a great captain. Sometimes, his crew openly disrespects him, further proving that they do not completely respect him. Blackbeard does not see his crew as friends but rather as mutual allies who would help him reach his goal.
10) Vander Decken IX
Vander Decken IX is the captain of the Flying Pirates. His purpose in life revolves around Shirahoshi, the Mermaid Princess, leading him to unleash a relentless and destructive pursuit even after being continuously rejected by her. Vander Decken’s obsession blinds him to reason, showing his selfishness and driving him to terrorize Fish-Man Island.
He barely has any crew and does not act like a leader to them. Even the crew is only casually loyal to him. His poor planning and unstable behavior make him one of the least effective captains in the series.
Conclusion
These captains represent the darkest aspects of piracy in the One Piece world. They have caused immense suffering and destruction, and they lead with cruelty, incompetence, or a combination of both. While some may find a twisted form of entertainment in their antics, their overall impact on the world is undeniably negative.
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