Who is Vegapunk and what do we know about ‘One Piece’s’ leading scientist?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for One Piece’s Egghead arc for anime-only watchers.

One Piece is by far one of the longest-running anime and manga series of all time. Since its first release in 1997, the series by Eiichiro Oda is currently standing tall with its unwavering position as one of the “Big Three,” alongside Bleach and Naturo, even in 2022. The shonen series is currently ongoing, with 1079 chapters out, an overall total of 105 volumes, an anime series, and fifteen movies. It is fairly easy to say that a lot has happened already, and a lot will continue happening in the vast world of One Piece — especially since the series isn’t expected to see its ending — just yet.

Considering the length and convoluted story, thousands upon thousands of characters have been introduced since 1997, friends and foes alike. Some characters only have occasional cameos or arcs where they’re seen, however, considering Oda’s detailed and thorough writing, no one is ever truly gone, or at least, forgotten. One of the characters whose first mention dates back to the primordial times of One Piece is Dr. Vegapunk. The first introduction of the leading scientist traces back to the Post-Enies Lobby Arc, and even more specifically, in chapter 433, which by One Piece standards, is basically at the start of the series.

Just recently, the One Piece manga concluded the ending of the Wano Country arc, which lasted about four years. With absolutely no clues regarding the Straw Hats’ future endeavors, fans were led into speculating about what there was to come, however, no one expected the leading crew to bump heads with none other than Dr.Vegapunk. So, here is all the information regarding the fear-inducing scientist in One Piece, and beware of spoilers as Dr. Vegapunk’s identity hasn’t yet been revealed in the anime.

Who is Dr. Vegapunk and what is MADS?

Dr. Vegapunk, whose full name is not yet disclosed, is the leading scientist of the Marines. Before being employed by the World Government, Vegapunk was actually part of an outlaw scientific research team, otherwise known as MADS. This team was made up of notable scientists across the seas, including some familiar names such as Ceasar Clown, Vinsmoke Judge, and Kaido’s left-hand, Queen. This illegal research team would eventually be persecuted and dismantled by the Marines, who would then proceed to imprison and employ Dr. Vegapunk to use their inventions and discoveries to make the World Government inherently unbeatable.

The scientist was actually born in the Future Country Baldimore on the highly advanced technological island, Karakuri. Regarding Vegapunk’s upbringing, not much is known other than the fact that as a child, they designed and built several devices in their labs. As a naturally curious future scientist, Vegapunk also came up with hundreds of ideas and theories, constructing several weapons and cellular structures in his mind alone, lacking the funds to put all of his plans into practice. Although the circumstances are also not disclosed, Vegapunk would eventually join MADS, where they would discover the blueprint to life known as the Lineage Factor; one of the main scientific points in Vegapunk’s research.

What do we know about Dr. Vegapunk?

Since their first mention, Vegapunk’s name has come up several times throughout the story, and more specifically, because of Kuma and Dr. Ceasar Clown. But, it wasn’t until recently in the manga that fans finally got to see Vegapunk’s appearance, surprising many given Dr.’s female features. Previously called an “old man” by G5 Marines, Dr. Vegapunk was always described as being a male figure, appearing even behind Kuma with a seemingly masculine build.

In chapter 1062 of the One Piece manga, more information regarding the scientist is finally unveiled. The Straw Hats are faced with an astronomical shark attack, completely unprepared for the severity and size of the animal. As the crew is separated by the treacherous waters, Luffy and Jinbe find Bonney, who immediately informs the Straw Hats that they are currently in Egghead, the island that is said to be 500 years into the future, and also the place where Vegapunk’s research lab is situated. This would prove to become an ominous announcement, as the rest of the Straw Hats would be later on saved by a colossal cyborg, belonging to none other than Dr. Vegapunk, marking this as the scientists’ first official appearance in the story.

The catch behind Vegapunk’s first — proper — introduction in the series lies in the fact that the Straw Hats are only met with Lilith, one of Vegapunk’s satellites. As the Egghead arc is unveiled, bits and pieces of information regarding the greatest mind in all of the West Blue are finally unveiled, with the shocking reveal that Vegapunk’s genius mind was split into six different versions of himself, in addition to its original vessel belonging to old man Vegapunk.

The six bodies of Vegapunk, explained

At the time of writing, all six of Vegapunk’s vessels have been met, with each containing its own individual traits, pronouns, and surprisingly, their own will and dreams. As it would be revealed since the scientist’s first appearance, Vegapunk’s mind was so large, figuratively and literally, that the genius would choose to split his brain into six different bodies, hoping that society would be studied much faster if there were more geniuses like him, with the top secret information he acquired over the years.

Through this ambitious experiment, Vegapunk was able to create all six of his satellites: Punk 0-1 Shaka (Good), Punk 0-2 Lilith (Bad), Punk 0-3 Edison (Thinking), Punk 0-4 Pythagoras (Wisdom), Punk 0-5 Atlas (Violence), and Punk 0-6 York (Greed). With each Vegapunk representing a personality trait, they all refer to themselves as Vegapunk, as they refer to the scientist’s original body as “Stella.” Moreover, all of the versions of Vegapunk have their own pronouns and different speech patterns, albeit it is not known how exactly Vegapunk split his being into six different entities.

What is Vegapunk like?

Over the course of events at Egghead, Vegapunk’s own personality has slowly been introduced to the audience, alongside its satellites’ individual traits. Stella, the original body, is an ambitious scientist with a great sense of morality, known for being generous towards those he cares about. Most of his personality traits, however, have been split in his satellites, as each Vegapunk holds its own characteristics derived from the scientist’s own persona.

Shaka represents a high sense of justice and pride as a scientist. Lilith, has a much more chaotic sense of duty, with a tendency to be so ambitious that he would steal from others to fund his research. York is a representation of Vegapunk’s greed and insatiable ambition, prone to wish for more than she can attain — and in case you’re not caught up with the manga, yes, this is foreshadowing. Moreover, his wisdom and thoughtfulness are represented through Edison and Pythagoras, whereas his violence and anger is expressed via Atlas, who is often lashing out towards those who will misuse or not understand his technological developments.

What has Vegapunk invented?

When it comes to his research for the Marines, Vegapunk’s scientific achievements are heavily connected to discovering the secrets surrounding seastone; the rare mineral that negates Devil Fruit abilities, and leading the research about Devil Fruit themselves. Vegapunk has also turned Batholomew Kuma into a cyborg and produced the Pacifistas, which now take the form of not only Kuma but also former Warlord Boa Hancock.

The latest One Piece arc, situated in Wano, also shows the devastating results of the creation of Artificial Devil Fruits created by Vegapunk, which were later on replicated by Ceasar Clown, who invented the SMILE fruits. These fruits would, later on, be revealed to be the cause of chronic smiles and laughter, in spite of people’s state of mind, thus becoming a completely heartless human experiment. Momonusuke was the only individual known to have eaten Vegapunk’s failed Artificial Devil Fruit, a replica of Kaido’s Fish Fish Fruit, whose effects are still unknown.

In Egghead, the Straw Hats and CP0 are facing, also, one of Vegapunk’s most extraordinary inventions to date: the Seraphims. Created and developed alongside the Marines’ Special Science Groups, Vegapunk created these creatures with the intention of replacing the seven warlords of the sea — which were in the process of being exterminated by the World Government. These overpowered inventions are meant to be living weapons, and clones of the former Warlord’s, with their skills augmented through the use of King’s lunarian blood.

Vegapunk will, without a doubt, continue to solidify his role in One Piece. The scientist is famed as the greatest scientific genius the world has ever known, with an unrivaled understanding in all fields of science, from cell biology to military technology. His scientific expertise is also oftentimes said to be 500 years ahead of his contemporaries, thus making him one of the biggest threats to pirates, as well as the World Government’s most important asset — which is currently in jeopardy as Vegapunk allies himself with the Straw Hats, threatening to unveil the secrets of the void century.