Paulie

Paulie is one of the five Dock One Foremen of Water 7 specializing in rigging, knots & masts, recently promoted to Vice President of the Galley-La Company.

Appearance
Paulie is rarely seen without a cigar in his mouth or his flame detailed denim jacket, with many of his cigars strapped to it in a similar fashion to Smoker, and a big "1" printed on its back, most likely referring to Dock 1 (though in the Post-Enies Lobby Arc he wore a black jacket emblazoned with roses and chains). His hair is blond and slicked back on his head while wearing a pair of orange goggles on top. He is quite muscular, and his attire is completed by a yellow A-shirt, with white concentric circles in the middle of it, a belt around his waist with a little bag attached to it, and a pair of loose pants tucked inside his boots. He's usually seen frowning.

In his appearance in the Where are they now? cover story, he was seen wearing an elegant, unbuttoned jacket over a cloud-patterned shirt, with a loose tie around the unbuttoned collar, and matching suit pants. He still had his trademark googles, belt and cigars strapped to his jacket, and an hammer and a small purse were attached to his belt.

Personality
Paulie is shown as the closest to and most trusted by Iceburg. He also shows a prude outlook on the way many female characters dress. Unlike most other characters such as Sanji, Paulie often becomes outraged at how much of their bodies women such as Nami and Kalifa show off when they are in the company of men.

He apparently enjoys gambling, as he has many debts to pay off and is often pursued by debt-collectors. When he is first introduced, he tries to steal two suitcases full of money from Luffy to pay off his gambling debts. Though he is thwarted by Lucci and pulled back on land by his ear and gives back the suitcases, he asks for 10% of the cash if Luffy really wanted to thank him, shortly before being knocked out by Lucci with a hammer.

However, despite this, Paulie is still a kind-hearted person, and very caring about his friends and his mentor.

Abilities and Powers
Paulie has shown to be several times stronger than common humans: he effortlessly slammed many members of the Franky Family one onto another with just two ropes and the sheer strength of his arms, and he also pulled a giant to the ground with a similar method. He can throw ropes against his enemies in a straight line with enough blunt power to defeat them with one blow, and was able to open alone one of the two gigantic wings of Dock 1's door. Last but not least, he managed to slam Luffy around with his rope and actually hurt him, despite his rubber body. He is incredibly resistant and resilient, as he took a full beating from CP9 members and was able to stand back up in mere moments; the injuries he suffered apparently healed in a very short period of time. On Enies Lobby, he was pierced from side to side by a member of the Houbantai and yet managed to fight without consequences for the rest of the story arc. Paulie is also very acrobatic and agile, as he leapt off one of Water 7's high bridges and landed on a Yagara Bull without a scratch, and he remained unharmed during his confrontation with Marines at Enies Lobby.

Fighting Style
Paulie has a unique fighting style; he makes use of an intricate array of acrobatics combined with rigging techniques that employ a complicated use of ropes that appear from under his sleeves. It is also versatile since the ropes enable him to increase the reach of his attacks - be it long-ranged, mid-ranged, or even melee - and even attack multiple targets at once, giving Paulie an advantage in battle, be it group combat or one-on-one. The amount of rope he carries is absurd, (which led some to speculate it was the power of a Devil Fruit) measuring hundreds, if not thousands of meters as he was actually able to make a huge, complex rope-work in a split-second to keep not only himself, but also the entire Franky Family, their Kingbulls, Oimo, and Kasshii from falling into the huge pit in Enies Lobby. The amount of rope that he uses as a weapon and brings with himself all the time never seems to run out, since he has been known to pull out yards upon yards from time to time.

When he attacks, the ropes generally snake their way out his sleeve and wrap around the target. He typically weaves his ropes into patterns that help him to either ensnare foes or restrain their movements, making them more vulnerable to incoming attack. Paulie can also uses his ropes outside of battle, as seen when he successfully deceived the marines that he's already been captured when in reality, he deliberately tied himself up with his own ropes and was just waiting for the right time to release himself, the Franky Family, and the Giants.

Past


During the opening day of the Puffing Tom, a young Paulie was seen attending its coronation. He appeared enthusiastic about the new amazing means of transportation, even running after the train when it started its first journey. Inspired by this event, Paulie decided to become a shipwright. He then grew up and joined the Galley-La Company, eventually becoming one of the company's top foremen.

Water 7 Arc
Paulie first appeared running away from debt collectors. To escape, he hijacked a Yagara Bull the Franky Family was using to steal the Straw Hats' money, thus helping them in the process. However, he then tried to steal the money himself, but was stopped by Rob Lucci who then got into a brief, apparently "friendly" fight with him.

Later, he was shocked to hear about the attempted murder on Iceburg. He angrily expelled the journalists from the HQ's courtyard and then searched for the Straw Hats with the other foremen of Galley La to eliminate them, believing them to be responsible for the crime. They managed to find Luffy, and Paulie showed his great mastery with ropes by smashing him around, until Franky interrupted the battle with his Coup de Vent, and Luffy and Nami managed to escape.

When night fell, the whole Galley La company guarded the office thinking that the murderer might attack Iceburg again. Iceburg asked him to go to his office to retrieve a fake blueprint of the Pluton. As he was retrieving it, he was surprised by two masked strangers who had no problem in dealing with him. Right as he was about to be killed, Luffy crashed into the wall, proving to him that the attempted assassin were not the Straw Hat Crew, he was then trapped with Luffy and left to die.

However, with the help of Luffy, he got free and ran to Iceburg's aid. There, it was revealed to him that Lucci, Kaku, Kalifa, and Blueno were all working undercover for the government. Shocked at first, Paulie tried to avert this truth as some misunderstanding, until Lucci revealed that he could talk without Hattori's assistance, and that he would prove his antagonism by stepping on Iceburg's face, which angered Paulie, as he recognized the voice as one of the assailants who trapped them in the office. Paulie attempted to attack his former best friend, only to be brutalized by Lucci's mastery of Rokushiki. Lucci then shocked Paulie and the others further by utilizing his Devil Fruit, the Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Leopard, by transforming into a bipedal leopard to greatly enhance his strength. Paulie, shocked and horrified, tried to get Iceburg to safety, but was stopped by Lucci, who rebuffed Paulie's claim of thinking of them as friends. As the CP9 set the building on fire and left Paulie and Iceburg tied up to burn, they were then saved by Chopper, who took the two out of the place safely.



He later helped Nami and Chopper search for Luffy and Zoro to go save Nico Robin. He rescued them as they were about to get washed away by a wave. As the crew was determined to follow the train carrying Robin, he tried to stop them because of the phenomenon called Aqua Laguna, explaining its devastating effects on the city and the impossibility of navigating during it.

The Straw Hats, however, eager to save their crewmate, refused to listen to him. He eventually met up with Lulu and Tilestone, and they hid themselves on the Rocket Man in order to help the Straw Hats to achieve their goal.

He was later seen on the Rocket Man along with the other Galley La foremen, having joined forces with the Franky Family and Straw Hat Pirates; they passed through the Aqua Laguna and proceeded to Enies Lobby.

Enies Lobby Arc


As they were reaching Enies Lobby, Paulie drew a map (he had been there before to repair the rails) and planned how they will go inside. As they were waiting for the time to land, Luffy had already flown into Enies Lobby and started rampaging there. When they attack the island, together with the Franky Family and his comrades, they defeated Oimo and Kāshī. When they entered the gate, a Marine Dog Officer faced them, and was stabbed by the leader. The Rocket Man suddenly landed with the remaining Straw Hats.

As they were riding the Franky Family's King Bulls, he told Zoro "If you meet them (the four traitors), tell them that they're fired". But Sodom had been shot in the heart and collapsed. Together with Lulu and Tilestone, they fight the remaining Marines. Later as they were about to collapse, they see Oimo and Kāshī with Sogeking, not as enemies but as allies. When they reach the Courthouse with the Franky Family, they defeat Baskerville.

As the Buster Call was summoned, he tied himsef up with his own ropes as the others were tied up by the Marines, waiting for an opportunity to escape. Kāshī and Oimo carried them to the front gates where battleships fired at them. Paulie caught them with his rope, and they finally escape. They hijacked the Puffing Tom and returned to Water 7.

Post Enies Lobby Arc


After the events of Enies Lobby, Paulie and the others all returned to Water 7, where he led the reconstruction of the Galley-La Company's main headquarters. Along with Iceburg, Peeply Lulu and Tilestone, he joined Franky in building a new ship for the Straw Hat Pirates.

In the Where are they now? story arc, Paulie is shown being chased by fans and debt-collectors.

Trivia

 * His birthday was revealed to be July 8th. This is because, in Japanese, 7 can be pronounced as "na" and 8 can be pronounced as "wa", which creates "nawa", meaning rope.
 * Early on in the Water 7 arc and into the Enies Lobby arc, some fans speculated Paulie may join the Straw Hats in the future.
 * In One Piece: Unlimited Adventure Paulie is an "Optional Boss", he is also a playable character in Team Battle/Survival Mode.
 * Paulie bears a striking resemblance to Cid Highwind, one of the playable characters from Final Fantasy VII. They have both similar appearances, personalities and occupations.