Having been at the center of numerous conflicts that occurred between the Golden Age of Piracy and the New Age, the Worst Generation is a collection of 12 notorious pirate crews who amassed bounties of over 100,000,000 berries before the Summit War of Marineford inOne Piece. The crews in question include those of the 11 supernovas and the former Warlord of the Sea Blackbeard, who has nowattained the status of an Emperorafter the death of Whitebeard. Since their arrival on the Sabaody Archipelago just prior to the time skip, the crews in question have gone on to make even greater in roads in the New World, following their exploits in the first half of the Grand Line.
While some managed to make incredible progress with their standing in the world ofOne Piece, as in the case of Blackbeard as well as Luffy, Zoro, and the Straw Hat Pirates as a whole, other such as Urouge have all but faded into the background. Most of the Worst Generation crews have featured heavily in the Straw Hats' exploits since returning to Sabaody after the Summit War, and the crew has gone on to form alliances with some of them in order to face off against other Supernovas. The return of Jewelry Bonney in the Egghead Island Arc might signal that the remaining crews will have a part to play in the Final Saga, where Oda has been unveilingimportant pieces of lore about the Void Centuryin every passing week. With this in mind, a recap of how these crews have fared after the time skip may help indicate what is next for them as the story moves forward at a breakneck pace.
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The Star Performers
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Straw Hats and the Blackbeard Pirates have made the biggest leaps forward since the Summit War, with both of these crews now counted among those of the Four Emperors of the Sea. In fact, Luffy’s exploits on Wano essentially doubled his bounty to 3,000,000,000 berries, making him one of themost infamous pirates currently exploring the seas. His role in taking down Kaido, a former Emperor, as well as his defeat of Charlotte Katakuri and clash against Big Mom on Whole Cake Island saw his profile skyrocket.
Finally, Luffy’sAwakening of the legendary Mythical Zoan fruit, the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, has put him firmly on the World Government’s radar, as he is now rumored to be the second coming of the legendary figure Joy Boy. Alongside him, Zoro’s reputation has also risen after Wano, especially with his defeat of the Lunarian King, which led to his bounty crossing the 1,000,000,000 mark. This firmly cemented their place among the new Yonko crews of the New World, who have replaced the old guard of Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido since the Summit War.
Next to them, Blackbeard has also made immense strides in carving out a niche for himself in the pirate world. With a higher bounty than Luffy, and Buggy, Marshall D. Teach and his crew aresecond only to Shanks and the Red Hair Piratesin the hierarchy of Yonko crews. Moreover, he has also established dominion over Hachinosu — also known as Pirate Island — after the Rocky Port Incident. He even managed to defeat the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates in the Payback War, and take down Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates after their departure from Wano, firmly asserting his position as an Emperor of the Sea. Hence, it may even be said that Blackbeard has been the most successful of the Worst Generation crews, although he did have a head start over the Supernovas who are traversing the Grand Line for the very first time.
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The Less Fortunate
Eustass Kid, Killer, and Trafalgar Law had mixed fortunes until the Wano Arc, where they were vital in Raid on Onigashima and the eventual defeat of Big Mom. Kid and Killer formed an alliance with Basil Hawkins and attempted to overthrow by both Shanks and Kaido, — with Kid losing one of his arms in the fight against the Red Hair Pirates — only to be sold out by their ally who joined the Beasts Pirates on Wano and let Kid be captured and imprisoned. Fortunately for Kid, the arrival of the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates gave him the support he needed to finally take on an Emperor and beat them. In the aftermath of their triumph against Big Mom, Kid and Killer set out to face Shanks once again. However, Kid managed to face the full wrath of the Emperor this time, asShanks put him in his placeby defeating him and his crew with just a single attack, while utterly decimating his flagship, the Victoria Punk.
Similarly, Law managed to attain the status of a Warlord of the Sea after the Rocky Port Incident, growing in stature above many of his peers among the Supernovas. He eventually gave up this title when allying against Luffy to overthrow Doflamingo in Dressrosa and finally gain revenge for Donquixote Rosinante, who looked out for him and fed him the Ope Ope no Mi. Defeating Big Mom alongside Kid was a high point for Law, who alongside Kid and Luffy, also gained a bounty of 3,000,000,000 berries on leaving Wano. Sadly, thisvictory was short-lived as he fell to Blackbeardand barely managed to escape with his life.
Among the remaining members of the Worst Generation, Basil Hawkins was near deathat the end of the Raid on Onigashima, having fallen to Killer of the Kid Pirates. His fate and that of X Drake — the captain of the secret Marine organization SWORD who had gone undercover in the Beasts Pirates — are still yet unknown. Scratchmen Apoo also betrayed Kid and allied with the Beasts Pirates, but was similarly defeated in the Raid on Onigashima. Similarly, the fate of Capone Bege of the Fire Tank Pirates has been shown in the “Gang” Bege’s Oh My Family series of illustrations, as he successfully reunited his wife, Charlotte Chiffon, with her sister Lola, after defecting from the Big Mom Pirates.
Forgotten Or Biding Their Time?
Jewelry Bonney was relegated to a background character for a long time after the time skip. Initially captured by the Blackbeard Pirates and later by the Marines, Bonney managed to escape and even made her way to Pangaea Castle during the Levely in Mary Geoise, by posing as the Queen Dowager of the Sorbet Kingdom. She did so in order togain more intel about her father, Bartholomew Kuma, who had been turned into a subservient cyborg during the creation of the Pacisfista by Dr. Vegapunk and the World Government.
After fleeing Mary Geoise following the disastrous events of the Levely which saw the death of Nefertari Cobra, the ruler of Arabasta, Bonney finally made her way to Egghead Island to confront Dr. Vegapunk about what he did to her father. She eventually managed to do so afterobserving part of her father’s memorieson the Future Island, but was unable to sift through all of them on being overwhelmed with emotion. It is almost certain that she will have a much larger role to play in the Final Saga going forward, as the Straw Hats flee Egghead Island to escape the clutches of Admiral Kizaru, St. Jaygarcia Saturn, and even one of the Blackbeard Pirates' ships.
Lastly, “Mad Monk” Urouge has all but disappeared from the narrative, but, like Bonney, he might yet be reintroduced during the Final Saga. His last knownconflict was against the Big Mom Pirates, where he managed to defeat Charlotte Snack, one of the former Four Sweet Commanders, but fell to Charlotte Cracker afterwards. It would not be much of surprise if he becomes an ally or adversary of the Straw Hats towards the end ofOne Piece, perhaps even in an alliance between most of the remaining pirates in the Worst Generation, who could finally find Roger’s treasure and change the world forever.
