One Piece’s Franky is clearly a strong character but is still very much underrated. There are several moments where he has more than proven himself.
One Piece fans are often more focused on watching the Monster Trio or other powerful characters with superior haki skills. With immense power and unparalleled abilities, these characters end up taking the spotlight, leaving behind other exceptionally good characters without haki or devil fruit abilities. Franky, the shipwright of the Straw Hat pirates, is one such character and may be the most underrated Straw Hat. Despite not having a devil fruit ability or haki, Franky is far from being weak. He is a cyborg with some deadly explosives in his arsenal.
During the two years that the Straw Hats were separated, he learned everything he could about Vegapunk’s technology and used it for his crew. While Franky is clearly not remotely comparable to Luffy, Zoro and the others, he is most certainly a powerful fighter in his own right. Furthermore, he is the best shipwright in the current era and learned directly under the tutelage of Tom, a shipwright infamous for making the legendary ship of the Pirate King. Delve deeper to find out some of the most underrated moments of Franky that are often sidelined.
Franky Proclaimed Luffy Would Be King of the Pirates
The Straw Hat pirates have unshakable faith that their captain will become the King of the Pirates, and Franky is no different. Eiichiro Oda always makes these proclamation moments special for viewers. Although Luffy practically forced him to join the crew, Franky’s trust in him cannot be denied. Unlike Zoro, he doesn’t go out of his way to show his utmost loyalty to Luffy. However, in the “Wano” arc, he proudly proclaimed Luffy would be the future King of the Pirates.
This may be one of his most iconic scenes. As if going up against the King of the Beasts wasn’t enough for the Straw Hats and their allies, another terrifying Yonko joined with Kaido and proceeded to defeat them. Just as Nami and Franky encountered Big Mom, who they were clearly no match against, the navigator suggested running away. However, Franky refused to do so, saying she was just an Emperor and therefore no match against Luffy, who was the future Pirate King. He then launched a powerful radical beam against the oversized Yonko.
Franky Destroyed the S.M.I.L.E. Factory Alone
It’s not easy for an unconventional group such as the Straw Hats to follow through with a well-devised plan for the sake of a mission. However, surprisingly enough, although they lose track of Law’s plans every once in a while, the result always turns out for the best. Law had planned to destroy the S.M.I.L.E. factory and directly put Doflamingo against Kaido to take revenge against the Warlord. Due to the chaos created by the Straw Hats, the plan fell apart, but Franky came through.
He gave enough time to his crew members to free the enslaved toys of Dressrosa by creating a distraction at the toy factory. Because Franky has such a flashy power, his attack on the factory drew the attention of three powerful Doflamingo family executives. Despite the odds of being at a clear disadvantage in terms of strength and numbers, Franky triumphed through that and successfully helped free the Tontattans slaves that were trapped in the S.M.I.L.E. factory.
Franky Defended the Sunny Alone in Punk Hazard
Once Franky was able to free himself and his friends from Ceaser’s prison, he went to find the Thousand Sunny. However, just as the cyborg was looking for some defects in his masterpiece, he happened to see two of Doflamingo’s executives, Buffalo and Baby Five, who were sent by Doflamingo to retrieve Ceaser Clown as well as destroy the Thousand Sunny.
It turned out well that Franky had come to check the ship — otherwise, his beloved boat would’ve been cut into pieces. The intruders were no match against “General Franky,” who wasn’t even scratched despite fighting two against one. Not only was Franky able to save the ship from getting destroyed, but he also prevented them from taking Ceaser, the only leverage that the Straw Hats had against Doflamingo. Once Luffy and the group caught up to him, Law severed both their heads using his powers and sent them to Doflamingo as a warning.
Franky Protected Robin in Enies Lobby
The act of protecting someone by putting oneself at risk is not something anyone can easily do. In the “Enies Lobby” arc, Franky was still a fairly new character and was even considered a minor antagonist for stealing the Straw Hats’ money and beating Usopp up. However, once he decided to fight alongside Luffy and the others, viewers get to see a completely new side of him.
While Luffy was still fighting against Lucci, Franky went ahead to prevent Spandam from taking Robin through the “gates of justice”. Robin barely escaped Spandam’s grasp and was running away completely defenseless while being handcuffed by sea prism. Spandam ordered the Marines to fire at her, and just as fans thought that Robin would be struck by a deadly attack, Franky used his body as a shield to protect her. He helped her unlock her handcuffs and made sure to inform the others that she was saved.
Franky vs. Senor Pink
Franky’s fight against Senor Pink is his most iconic one-on-one battle so far. The battle was long and the cyborg was at a clear disadvantage against Senor’s devil fruit ability. When Franky was at the S.M.I.L.E factory, attempting to free the Tontattans from slavery, Senor was ready to defend the factory with all his might. What followed was a great battle between technology and devil fruit. Fans also learned more about Senor’s past during this fight.
Though they were enemies, they both come to respect their opponent’s strength. Ultimately, Franky defeated the executive while acknowledging his strength. His victory ensured the destruction of the factory, and he was able to save the people. With so much going on at the same time, fans didn’t get to dwell too much on his fight with Senor Pink. However, this was Franky’s first legit win in a one-on-one battle against a powerful opponent and is therefore deserving of plenty of recognition.
Src: cbr.com
