The Captain of the Kuja Pirates — Boa Hancock — is one of One Piece‘s most consistent and interesting characters. Before the Seven Warlords of the Sea disbanded, she was the only female member. Although she no longer holds the title of Warlord, Hancock is the current empress — known as the “Snake Princess” of Amazon Lily — an empire located in the Island of Women. She rules over the Kuja tribe, but was kidnapped by World Nobles as a child and force-fed the Mero Mero no Mi Devil Fruit. Let’s take a closer look at Boa Hancock’s biography.
During her debut, Boa Hancock was 28 years old. After the timeskip — which occurs canonically in the storyline between Chapters 597–598 and Episodes 516–517 — Boa is 31 years old. Her Devil Fruit, the Mero Mero no Mi, essentially produces a Medusa effect, transforming powerful emotions of love, lust or adoration into strong attacks that turn opponents into stone. Boa was force-fed the Mero Mero no Mi by the World Nobles who kidnapped her.
She and her sisters — Boa Sandersonia and Boa Marigold — escaped custody during a mass breakout instigated by Fisher Tiger. Although she was initially antagonistic toward Luffy, his selfless actions and pure heart made her fall in love with him. From that moment forth, Boa became one of Luffy’s most trusted allies, always siding with the Straw Hats and aiding him in times of need.
Dr. Vegepunk cloned Hancock to reinstate the Warlords, eventually producing S-Snake – a Seraphim who shares Boa Hancock’s Devil Fruit powers. Although she served as an antagonist in the Amazon Lily Arc, she becomes a major ally for the rest of the Summit War Saga.
Boa Hancock is incredibly tall, clocking in at 191 cm (6’3″). She made her debut in Chapter 516 (“Pirate Empress Boa Hancock”) of the manga and Episode 409 (“Hurry! Back to the Crew – Adventure on the Isle of Women”) of the anime.
A few weeks after her home was invaded by the Marines and the Blackbeard Pirates, she decided to leave Amazon Lily to protect her people and reunite with Luffy. We may very well see Hancock again in the future, but as of now we’re focused primarily on Luffy’s journey to the Isle of Giants, which is the current storyline unfolding in the manga.
