Marshall D. Teach

Marshall D. Teach, most commonly referred to by his epithet Blackbeard, is the captain-turned-admiral of the Blackbeard Pirates, and one of the Four Emperors. He is also the only known person in history to wield the powers of two Devil Fruits.

Teach started out his pirate career as an apprentice of the Whitebeard Pirates, then later became a member of the crew's 2nd Division. However, he defected after murdering Thatch, the 4th division commander, in order to steal the Yami Yami no Mi. Prior to the two-year timeskip, he briefly held a position among the Seven Warlords of the Sea after defeating the infamous Portgas D. Ace and handing him over to the Marines, before resigning upon returning from Impel Down with multiple Level Six prisoners to strengthen his crew. His actions resulted in him being considered a part of the Worst Generation along with eleven Supernovas. His murder of Whitebeard at the Summit War of Marineford and subsequent stealing of his Gura Gura no Mi power, as well as his victory in the Payback War and conquest of the majority of Whitebeard's territories during the timeskip, resulted in his acknowledgement as one of the Four Emperors. He also turned the island of Hachinosu into his base of operations after the Rocky Port Incident.

He initially had no bounty; however, after resigning from the Seven Warlords, recruiting several dangerous criminals to his crew from Impel Down, and becoming one of the Four Emperors, he received a bounty of 2,247,600,000. Following the falls of Kaidou and Big Mom during the Wano Country Arc, his bounty was increased to 3,996,000,000.

Due to his role and actions regarding said role, he can be considered the unseen overarching antagonist in the Drum Island Arc, a minor antagonist during the Jaya and Post-Enies Lobby Arcs, the tertiary antagonist in the Impel Down Arc, one of the three main antagonists in the Marineford Arc alongside Sengoku and Sakazuki, the primary antagonist in the Summit War Saga overall, and one of the primary antagonists in the Final Saga. As his actions led to the death of Portgas D. Ace and the subsequent timeskip, he also currently serves as one of primary antagonists for the remainder of the series.

Appearance
Teach is an extremely tall man with dark skin, being exactly twice Luffy's (pre-timeskip) height. He has a massive build as his body is round with relatively thin limbs. He has a prominent lipped mouth with several broken or missing teeth (though sometimes he does have a full set, which is an inconsistency error made by Eiichiro Oda), a pronounced crooked nose and a very large and hairy chest and torso. Long, thick, woolly black hair falls down the back of his neck, underneath a black bandanna, and a small scruffy black beard (hence his epithet) grows around his jawline. As the series progresses, his beard becomes longer and scruffier.

At his first appearance in Mock Town, Teach wore an open buttoned white shirt with rolled up sleeves, green trousers with black line patterns, a yellow sash around his waist and classic black swashbuckler boots complete with large bronze buckles.

During his raid on Banaro Island, he had added a large black and gold captain's coat over his attire, along with white beads on each wrist as bracelets and rings with gemstones on all of the fingers of both his hands (similar to his predecessor, Crocodile).

At the Seven Warlords of the Sea meeting at the Marine Headquarters, he added a pair of necklaces of red as well as golden-yellow and blue beads to his dark orange sash (dark yellow in the anime) and a traditional black tricorne hat over his grey bandana, as well as switching to a red shirt, while wearing his captain's coat like a cape. He also has three flintlocks and a flask tied to his sash around his waist.

In SBS Volume 63, Oda drew the Seven Warlords of the Sea as children. Teach is shown wearing a baseball cap with a rolled up long sleeve shirt and green shorts. He is also wearing black curled tip shoes, and unlike his usual cheerful expression, is crying for an unknown reason.

After the timeskip, Teach has grown a long beard that he has split into multiple sections, very much like his real-life basis. He also wears golden hoop earrings and the same black tricorne with a yellow bandana with red polka dots. He switches to a light purple shirt with a black captain’s coat with red linings. He has a red and white feather with a purple flower on the side of his tricorne. He has an orange plume alongside with his coat. He now wears dark blue pants with light blue floral designs on them. He also now dons a pair of sunglasses.

Personality
Teach's personality seems to be a strange mixture of courage and cowardice, carefulness and recklessness, and intelligence and stupidity. While at times his character appears strong and fearsome, like he has full control of a situation, in others he will seem weak and ridiculous, struggling in ways that are unbecoming of a pirate of his stature. All those contrasting elements reinforce the idea that Teach is rather unpredictable and somewhat of an enigma, making him similar to series' protagonist Monkey D. Luffy to a great extent. It is worth noting that Teach was a rather gloomy and serious individual in his childhood, back when he was nothing more than an orphaned pirate apprentice, unlike his more outgoing and expressive adult self.

Have you got the wrong idea about pirates?! Nobody said we were all the best of friends here!!! The only thing pirates need is an alignment of interests!!

In general, Teach is perhaps the most realistic depiction of a pirate within the series, showing various degrees of greed, dishonesty, brutality, opportunism and cunning. This is a point Teach has in common with his crewmates for the most part, as they are known for being equally rowdy and violent. Having wild personalities under his command, however, does not bother Teach in anyway, as he believes that a pirate crew is primarily defined by its members being in sync about their goals and agendas, with relationships among personnel being a secondary concern. This means that Teach is willing to welcome in anyone who he thinks could assist him in achieving his objectives, whether they are infamous criminals from Impel Down, which is the case for half of his Titanic Captains, former warlords, like Gecko Moria, or even former Marines, such as Kuzan.

Like many other characters, Teach has a unique laugh: "Zehahahahahaha!". This laugh is not present in the English dub until the Duel on Banaro Island.

Deceptiveness
Teach is most well-known for his treacherous, long-term plans, having lied and deceived various organizations in order to reach the top of the pirate world. As stated by Shanks, Teach is very patient and careful, choosing to lurk in the shadows until the perfect opportunity presents itself, at which point he will quickly act to capitalize on whatever he has set his sights on. As an example, Teach as a child joined the Whitebeard Pirates to find the Yami Yami no Mi, killing a crewmate in cold blood despite having spent two decades aboard the ship. Later, he deceived the Marines by joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea in an elaborate and convoluted fashion for the sole reason of gaining access to Impel Down in order to find new, powerful crewmates.

Though he betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates, Teach does consider the crew he himself formed as comrades to an extent, which is made evident when he was willing to make a trade with the Marines for a battleship big enough to hold all of them comfortably for the sake of one crew member, Sanjuan Wolf. Despite his obvious malevolent nature, he can also put up a front of compassion, care, show sympathy and empathy towards his crew's well-being and is willing to take assaults intended for them. However, this apparent kindness does not eclipse his lust for power, as he would have no qualms in sacrificing anyone of his crew in order to save his own skin or obtain a powerful Devil Fruit. In addition, Teach does not care about any allies sailing under his flag, which is in contrast to most Emperors, who tend to retaliate when their subordinates get attacked.

Ambition and Fatalism
Teach is an ambitious, power-hungry man who will bide his time to get whatever he needs in order to become stronger. Having a major interest in Devil Fruits, Teach believes that their pros heavily outweigh their cons. As such, he is constantly on the lookout for powerful abilities to steal for himself and his crew, with this ability hunting routine being the backbone of his rule as one of the Four Emperors. Teach also seeks to become a king, even attempting to negotiate with the World Government to make his homebase of Hachinosu an official nation.

This "new era" they talk about is a load of shit. The age where pirates dream is over!? Eh!? Oi! Zehahahaha! PEOPLE'S DREAMS... DON'T EVER END! AM I RIGHT?

Teach, like others who carry the Will of D., has a strong belief in fate and the dreams of men, but unlike the others, is the only one who truly seems to take it to heart. He shares several attributes with Luffy, including having a voracious appetite, a carefree attitude and a love for partying, as well as a competitive and reckless nature to the point of persevering even if there may be grave consequences, and huge ambitions to follow his dream of finding One Piece and become the new Pirate King.

Despite that, there is a great contrast between him and Luffy: primarily, Teach fears death whereas other D. carriers embrace it if it comes. Furthermore, when backed into a corner, Teach has shown himself to be a coward: when being held at chokepoint by Whitebeard, he pathetically begged for mercy, calling him "Pops" and reminding Whitebeard that he was his "son" and that he could never kill one of his own "family". Just before his death, Whitebeard cryptically noted that Teach was not the one Roger had been waiting for and dismissed Teach as being incapable of continuing Roger's legacy.

Perhaps because of his strong belief in fate, Teach is highly amoral. He believes that there is no inherent "good" nor "evil" in the world, jeeringly mocking anyone who expresses such belief. His nihilistic tendencies are in line with the power of the Yami Yami no Mi he possesses, which is said to reduce everything to "nothingness". During his raid on Impel Down, he stated that his plans have not gone exactly as expected, but is willing to take these surprises in stride and adapt his plans to whatever new circumstance he stumbles into.

Carefreeness and Arrogance
Teach is often very calm, composed, relaxed, easygoing, cheerful, and free-spirited, being often politely sarcastic and mocking towards those around him. He does not seem to hold resentment towards those who wrong him or when a disaster befalls his crew, taking things in stride while laughing in amusement. He is also fond of relaxing and having some leisure every now and then, believing that the pirate life should be fun.

Teach is overconfident and tends to converse and/or taunt his opponents in the middle of battle, having done this in every confrontation he has been depicted in and something Whitebeard once pointed out as a weakness of his. This arrogance often translates into consequences, as he almost always suffers a heavy, painful attack while his guard is down. Since having acquired two Devil Fruit powers, Teach has developed a severe superiority complex, believing himself to be truly invincible and the strongest of them all. Despite his arrogance, Teach does show a sense of caution, and will avoid fighting opponents he views as highly troublesome.

Blackbeard Pirates
In contrast to his obvious malevolent nature, Teach has shown respect and leadership for his own crew. He was willing to take the brunt of an enemy attack for them, despite his Devil's Fruit's weakness of increasing incoming damage, but that act of selflessness is rare for Teach. In true to his way of letting fate decide things, Teach will often employ his Devil Fruit powers even with his crew still present and at risk of getting harmed by them. Of particular note, when he first gained the powers of the Gura Gura no Mi, there was a chance of the plan backfiring and leaving the Blackbeard Pirates with no option but splitting up. However, the crew were more than satisfied with things going this way since they all seem to believe in the power of ultimate fate to some degree. Despite their loyalty towards him, Teach receives a fair amount of casual disrespect from his crew from time to time, especially from the Impel Down recruits, but he seems to get over it all save for a few annoyed moments. In general, they all enjoy having fun and hanging out with their leader for parties and drinking sessions. In the end however, Teach only truly cares about himself as his lust for power outweighs the well-being of his crewmembers. Teach was willing to sacrifice his petrified crew members including two of his Titanic Captains in his failed attempt to kill Boa Hancock and steal the Mero Mero no Mi.

According to Belo Betty, Teach does not care for allied pirates who are under his flag, in spite of some of them, like the Peachbeard Pirates, using the Emperor's name as a way to intimidate their victims.

Laffitte
Laffitte, as the crew's chief of staff, often acts as a sort of adviser and messenger to Teach. Laffitte has shown to be very loyal to Teach, as he threatened to kill Pizarro for demanding to be captain of the crew, stating that the Blackbeard Pirates are called as such for a reason.

Van Augur
Van Augur is among the higher ups of the crew likely to call out on Teach's irresponsible and reckless behavior as seen during the crew's battle with the Heart Pirates. Despite this, he is loyal to Teach and obeys his orders, while in turn Teach appreciates his talents enough to put Augur in charge of his third ship.

Doc Q
Doc Q is one of the original four members to join the Blackbeard Pirates and has served Teach faithfully ever since the beginning. Teach acknowledges his power and even rewarded Doc Q's loyalty by giving him command over the ninth division of the crew. On the other hand, Teach cares little for Doc Q's well-being. He even showed abusive behavior when he rode on top of Doc Q to cause him and Stronger pain due to his overweight body.

Jesus Burgess
Teach has enough faith in Jesus Burgess' abilities that he gave him the very important mission of acquiring the Mera Mera no Mi. Even after Burgess failed at the task, Teach did not lose confidence in him.

Even though Teach rose up to the rank of Admiral, Burgess still calls him Captain out of habit.

Shiryu
Like Augur, Shiryu often scolds Teach for his brashness and being too cocky. The two first met during the chaos going throughout Impel Down instigated by Luffy and his allies. Seeing that he had no future in the prison and after saving the Blackbeard Pirates from Magellan's poison, he accepted Teach's offer to join the crew. Teach has enough trust in Shiryu's strength that he made him one of his Titanic Captains.

Avalo Pizarro
Avalo Pizarro once desired to usurp Teach's captain role, but now appears keen on pleasing Teach and avoiding doing anything that could upset Teach's operations. He often makes sure to rein in his crewmates and subordinates from causing unnecessary destruction on Hachinosu, sometimes using Teach himself as a threat.

Kuzan
As a former Marine Admiral turned Blackbeard Pirate, Kuzan has a peculiar relationship with his now leader.

After Kuzan had left the Marines, he and Teach had a chance meeting in the New World where, in spite of initial hostility towards each other, both men surprisingly hit it off after spending the night drinking together. Despite Laffitte's suggestion, Teach refused the idea of stealing Kuzan's Hie Hie no Mi when he had the chance, and instead invited the former Marine into his crew. While Kuzan was angry, thinking that the Emperor thought he could recruit him after a few drinks, Teach pointed out that the Blackbeard Pirates were not exactly "best friends" and that all of the crewmembers' profit from their own agendas. Therefore, deciding to live his life on his own terms, Kuzan accepted the offer.

Since then, Kuzan has assisted Teach in accomplishing many of his objectives and in defending Hachinosu from enemies, all while offering some of his own invaluable experience as a former Admiral to keep Teach in touch with how the Marines operate.

Catarina Devon
Devon was one of the crew members who accompanied her captain to Amazon Lily to find and kill Hancock in order to steal the Mero Mero no Mi from her. Devon stated that she wanted to take Hancock's head as a trophy, but Teach told her that she could do so after her abilities were taken from her.

Vasco Shot
Shot was one of the crew members who accompanied his captain to Amazon Lily to find and kill Hancock in order to steal the Mero Mero no Mi from her.

Sanjuan Wolf
Not much is known about their relationship, but Teach sees the Giant as a valuable asset and was willing to make a deal with the Marines for a ship that could carry him after the crew's previous ship nearly broke in half due to Sanjuan Wolf's massive weight.

Whitebeard Pirates
When Teach was orphaned at the age of twelve, he asked to join the Whitebeard Pirates during their visit of his homeland, a request that the crew granted without hesitation. However, Teach had already plotted to use the crew for his search for the Yami Yami no Mi since then, in his desire to become the next Pirate King. Throughout the next twenty-six years on board their ship, Teach was on very good terms with them, even turning down the chance to be a commander among the crew, although that was most likely a measure not to make himself infamous before he was ready to reveal his plans. Still, the fact that he was not able to discern Luffy's relationship with Ace on their encounter (whereas many other Whitebeard Pirates did, as Ace spent much time telling them about Luffy) until it was pointed out by Ace himself showed his own ignorance in regard of his former crew.

Despite all the seemingly great times they once had, and with all the outward respect Teach gave to them, his only reason for even joining the Whitebeard Pirates was just to acquire the Yami Yami no Mi; once he saw it in Thatch's hands, he saw no further reason to remain with the crew, and promptly betrayed and murdered Thatch to take the fruit for himself before fleeing. This very action made his former comrades see him as an enemy and a traitor to their crew. Along with Teach mocking them about Thatch and Ace's deaths, it only angered them further.

After Teach had murdered his former captain with a nine-on-one attack, he utilized the knowledge and experience he gained from the crew to arrogate Whitebeard's status of Emperor and annex nearly all of his territories, further showing how in the end Teach merely exploited the crew who had once accepted him as family.

One year after the Summit War of Marineford, Marco and the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates confronted the Blackbeard Pirates in the "Payback War" and were ultimately defeated. This event was what led Teach to be recognized as one of the Four Emperors.

Edward Newgate
In spite of being given a place to stay by Whitebeard while he was a young orphan, Teach seemingly never considered his former captain as anything more than a stepping stone to achieve his true objectives. This best evidenced by the fact Teach had zero qualms in desecrating Whitebeard's dead body in order to steal the Gura Gura no Mi for himself.

Teach admitted at Marineford that he respected and admired Whitebeard until age caught up to the latter, but considering Teach's subsequent actions, it is unknown if this was his true feelings about his former captain or a form of mockery. At the very least, Teach did think highly of Whitebeard's status, as the latter's strength and influence were cited as reasons to believe he had the highest chance of stumbling into the Yami Yami no Mi, leading to Teach's continued membership under the Whitebeard Pirates.

Whitebeard admitted he had a bad feeling about Teach and at first tried to prevent Ace into pursuing him, thinking his former son was more trouble than he had let on. During the Summit War of Marineford, Whitebeard himself refused to acknowledge Teach as family and attacked with no mercy, pointing out Teach's weaknesses and carelessness while doing so. Whitebeard also believes that Teach is not the person that Gol D. Roger seemingly predicted would succeed him as the next Pirate King, cryptically saying that his traitorous subordinate was "not the man Roger was waiting for".

Portgas D. Ace
Teach was Portgas D. Ace's subordinate in the second division of the Whitebeard Pirates. Because of this, Ace felt responsible for Thatch's murder and sought to take matters on his own hands by finding and then punishing Teach for his crimes against Whitebeard and his family.

Originally, Ace and Teach had a friendly relationship, with Ace respecting Teach's seniority as a Whitebeard crewmember and thinking the latter was more deserving for the job of second division commander (which had been left vacant since Oden left the crew). Instead, Teach thought Ace had the necessary "ambition" to take the position and encouraged the newcomer to fill the vacancy. Even after leaving the Whitebeard Pirates, Teach still referred to Ace as "commander", implying he still somewhat respected Ace as his superior despite being enemies.

After Teach deserted the crew, Ace went on a great search for his former subordinate, eventually finding him at Banaro Island following some stolen Marine intel. There, Teach attempted to convince Ace into joining his crew, but this promptly backfired (especially after Ace learned Teach was hunting Luffy as well). The two then went on to fight each other, with Teach winning and then handing the defeated Ace over to the World Government in exchange for becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. As such, Teach had a great contribution on Ace's eventual death, with many like Luffy and Marco acknowledging him as the primary responsible for it.

Straw Hat Pirates
Teach has been an enemy of the Straw Hat Pirates ever since he and his crew encountered them in Mock Town. His first act against them was when he tried to collect the bounties of two of the crewmembers, but he failed thanks to a timely Knock Up Stream. All of the Straw Hats greatly despise Teach for the huge role he played in Ace's death.

Monkey D. Luffy


Both being firm believers in fate and dreams, Teach originally gave Monkey D. Luffy sound advice on being a pirate, but Teach later attempted to capture Luffy for his second bounty but failed to do so. When he learned of the latter's third increase, Teach attempted to go after him again, but Ace caught up to him before he could accomplish his task. Teach was surprised to learn Luffy was Ace's brother and the latter fought him to protect Luffy.

In their second meeting, Luffy was shocked to see him, but later becomes angered when learning that Teach was the one who put Ace on his path towards death. Luffy himself almost forgot his original mission to save Ace and attacked Teach, only stopping because of Jinbe's intervention. While Luffy calmed his mind, Teach had realized he underestimated Luffy as he found his strength impressive. Teach did not stop Luffy from attempting to rescue Ace, going so far as to say to give it his best and reminding him of the words he said when they first met. The pair are considered enemies and with Ace's death taken into account, Luffy's hatred for Teach increased immensely. Despite this, Teach still seems to hold a strong respect for Luffy seeing that he is a fellow "dreamer" with an aspiration to find One Piece and become the Pirate King.

Two years later, when Teach was speaking to Jesus Burgess (through a Den-Den Mushi) at the Corrida Colosseum, the latter told him of Luffy's presence which intrigued him as he greeted the young pirate who was angered to hear him. Teach spoke to Luffy with a jovial tone telling him that Burgess would win the tournament and claim the Mera Mera no Mi before Luffy firmly told him that he would not allow them to claim his brother's power. Luffy's hatred for Teach increased after learning that the Blackbeard Pirates had attack Baltigo (the Revolutionary Army's base of operations), which placed his father Dragon and brother Sabo in danger.

When news of the Straw Hats' actions in Totto Land spread across the world, Teach was deeply amused by the fact that Luffy challenged Big Mom, though he stated it was too soon for him to be called an Emperor. After hearing about the war in Wano Country, Teach showed even more excitement for Luffy's upcoming clash with Kaidou.

Jinbe
Teach appears to know Jinbe, having commented on his friendship with Ace. Jinbe was enraged at Teach for causing Ace's arrest and death sentence by the Marines but was cautious about his disposition and abilities. After the Summit War of Marineford, Jinbe kept tabs on Teach as he informed Luffy of Teach's usurping of Whitebeard's Emperor status and his relentless hunt for Devil Fruit users to absorb their abilities. He warned Luffy that Teach would consider the Straw Hats to be invaluable targets.

Trafalgar D. Water Law
Following Big Mom and Kaidou's downfalls, Teach attacked Law at Winner Island, in an attempt to steal his Road Poneglyph copies. Teach mocked Law for not being more welcoming to a fellow member of the Worst Generation, and Law was not intimidated by the idea of fighting Teach. It is known that they were both involved in the Rocky Port Incident, but unknown at what capacity, except that Law was seemingly familiar with Teach beforehand.

Teach defeated Law in battle and told him that the one hundred pirates that had their hearts stolen by the Surgeon of Death during the incident would be elated if he were to do the same to him. Teach also held interest in Law's Devil Fruit, the Ope Ope no Mi, being aware of its more outlandish applications like the immortality surgery. Teach however let Law escape from his grasp due to Bepo's surprise Sulong transformation, something that frustrated him.

Jewelry Bonney
Bonney bears a grudge against Teach for his role at triggering the Whitebeard War by defeating and handing over Ace to the World Government for the vacant Warlord of the Sea position. Later, this intensified after Teach defeated the Bonney Pirates in the New World, leaving Bonney and her crew helpless.

Bonney does not seem to fear Teach, and even went as far as insulting him in front of his crew. Teach offered her to become his wife and join the Blackbeard Pirates, but she refused and struck him while at it, something Teach did not appreciate due to feeling that was improper behavior for a lady. When Akainu arrived to deal with Teach, the latter lost his interest on Bonney and went on the run.

World Government and Marines
Teach joined the Seven Warlords of the Sea after defeating Ace and handing him over to the World Government. However, Teach exploited the benefits the Warlord of the Sea title granted him in order to enter facilities that would otherwise have been unreachable to an ordinary pirate. Teach only wanted to be a Warlord of the Sea so as to be able to reach Impel Down in order to liberate several Level 6 prisoners and bolster the ranks of his crew. He stole a Marine ship with his crew, using it to break into Impel Down. After he had achieved this goal, he resigned from his Warlord of the Sea title upon reaching Marineford.

Teach made enemies of the Marines after revealing his treachery when he went to Marineford during the Whitebeard War. The Marines hold themselves accountable for not only the potential power he wields, but also for the number of dangerous criminals he freed from Impel Down. Sengoku personally was furious over the latter's betrayal and took it upon himself to fight Teach when he bragged about sinking Marineford. Despite all this, Teach later tried to trade Bonney for a Marine battleship, which the Marines did not go through with, sending Akainu to deal with him instead.

Two years later, Teach once again attempted to negotiate with the Government, by capturing the famous Koby and using him in exchange for Hachinosu to be recognized by the Government as a legal country for criminals. Even after being rebuffed by Koby being a SWORD member, Teach intended to press on with his attempt, being interested in seeing how the world will react if Koby is disavowed by the Marines.

Koby
While the full extent of their relationship is unknown, Teach has apparently become familiar with Koby at some point. When re-encountering Koby at Amazon Lily, Teach remarked that Koby's actions during the Rocky Port Incident helped him defeat Ochoku and become the ruler of Hachinosu.

Following his failed attempt to kill Hancock due to Rayleigh's intervention, Teach decided to capture Koby in order to use his status as a hero to pressure the World Government into accepting his demands to turn Hachinosu into an official country. Seeing value in having Koby around for negotiations, regardless of his official status as a Marine, Teach kept Koby alive, but imprisoned in a cell on Hachinosu. After Koby escaped, Avalo Pizarro forbade any of their subordinates from killing Koby for this very reason.

Magellan
Teach seemed aware of Magellan's infamy as he was expecting to confront Impel Down's warden at some point after invading the prison. Magellan, meanwhile, treated Teach like he would any intruder, quickly dispatching him so he could focus on the mass breakout that was happening at the time.

Later, after receiving the antidote to Magellan's poison from Shiryu and freeing his new recruits from Level 6, Teach and his crew stumbled into Magellan again and left him severely beaten, to the point of near death.

Shanks
Shanks and Teach first met around 26 years ago after a skirmish between their respective crews, but they kept their distance from each other back then. Teach at the very least did not seem to think very highly of Shanks at the time, remarking that he and Buggy looked unimpressive despite their shared roles as apprentices for their crews.

Nowadays, Shanks has a watchful eye out for Teach, making sure to gather intel, monitor his movements in the New World and trying to guess where he could appear at any moment. Although the exact events are unknown, Shanks previously admitted to Whitebeard that his facial scar came from a direct attack from Teach, being the only injury he ever took that truly bothered him.

Even at Marineford, Shanks addressed Teach in a tense manner, being the only one to regard Teach as a massive threat compared to the Marines or the Whitebeard Pirates, who otherwise prioritized clashing against each other. Having already proclaimed "his era" was beginning, unveiling the new members of his crew and demonstrating control over two Devil Fruits, Teach said he had achieved his goal for the time being, while also stating that it was not yet time for his battle with Shanks.

Gecko Moria
They had no interaction when Teach was a Warlord of the Sea, though he was amused to be informed that the latter filled the vacant position left by Crocodile. After the timeskip, Moria showed hostility towards Teach by attacking his personal island to rescue Absalom while shouting for Teach to show himself. Even after Moria had attacked his underlings, Teach still gave Moria the option to join him though he did so derisively.

Moria was eventually imprisoned at some point after this encounter, implying he rejected Teach's proposal.

Boa Hancock
Teach invaded Amazon Lily in order to kill Boa Hancock and steal her Mero Mero no Mi. He apprehended her while she was off guard when she was about to attack Koby. While grabbing Hancock by her throat, Teach was aware of Hancock's trickery that is if he let her go, she would eventually turn him into stone and easily kill him. Due to Hancock being dangerous, he attempted to kill her and steal her Devil Fruit by choking her. This was until he spared Hancock's life and left Amazon Lily due to Silvers Rayleigh's arrival, as well as Hancock warning Teach that if he killed her and stole her powers, his petrified crew members would remain petrified forever although he did tell her that he does not even care about his crewmates.

Hancock (much like Luffy) holds an immense hatred towards Teach and considered him as her mortal enemy when she told him to "get his filthy hands off of her", showing her disdain for the Emperor. Even when Teach was initially choking the life out of her, Hancock refused to submit herself to the likes of him.

Silvers Rayleigh
Teach and Silvers Rayleigh have been enemies for a long time, where Rayleigh made it clear that he never liked Teach. Rayleigh arrived at Amazon Lily to stop Teach in his attempt to kill Hancock and steal her Devil Fruit. Teach had no intention to fight Rayleigh and decided to leave Hancock alone and retreat from Amazon Lily due to Teach's fear of Rayleigh. On the other hand, Rayleigh admitted Teach would eventually beat him in an actual confrontation due to the former's advanced age, acknowledging that Teach had grown into a veritable threat.

Monkey D. Dragon and the Revolutionary Army
Teach became enemies with Monkey D. Dragon (the father of Luffy and the son of Garp) and the entire Revolutionary Army after the humiliating loss Sabo gave to Jesus Burgess at Dressrosa. Sabo in particular hates Teach and his crew for their responsibility in Ace's capture that led to his eventual death, something that helped fuel his thrashing of Burgess as the latter mocked Sabo's own inability to save him at the time.

Teach and his crew invaded Baltigo and destroyed the Revolutionary Army's main headquarters in an attempt to steal their weapons and retrieve a wounded Burgess (who had managed to stow away into a Revolutionary ship), until the Blackbeard Pirates were forced to retreat due to the Marines and CP0 arriving at the scene. After the conflict, Dragon and his army relocated to Momoiro Island.

In spite of being enemies, Teach was excited to hear that Sabo and the three commanders of the Revolutionary Army had faced off against Admirals Fujitora and Ryokugyu in Mary Geoise to rescue Kuma from the Celestial Dragons.

Abilities and Powers
As one of the Four Emperors, Teach is one of the four most powerful pirates in the world. Even before becoming an Emperor, Teach was an immensely powerful pirate, even for a former member of the Whitebeard Pirates and Seven Warlords of the Sea. At some point in his life, Teach once fought Shanks and gave him the scars on his left eye, with Shanks admitting that the injury did not occur because of carelessness. Their battle led Shanks to cautiously recognize Teach as an extremely dangerous menace. Ace once stated that Teach could have become a commander when he was recommended for the position. The most remarkable thing in these two feats is that Teach had not yet eaten a devil fruit.

After the Summit War of Marineford, the Five Elders believed that Teach had a one-step lead to usurp the position of Emperor that Whitebeard once held, which eventually came to fruition.

During the timeskip, he gained mass notoriety with his bounty being set at 2,247,600,000, showing how dangerous he had become. For unknown reasons, it was later raised to 3,996,000,000, making his bounty the second highest out of the current Emperors and the highest among the former Warlords of the Sea and members of the Worst Generation. He easily defeated his fellow ex-Warlord, Boa Hancock, and even Silvers Rayleigh, the former "Right Hand of the Pirate King", confessed that he would stand no chance against Teach due to his elderly age. He managed to defeat Trafalgar D. Water Law whose bounty is worth 3,000,000,000 and one of the two pirates responsible for defeating former Emperor Big Mom.

One of the most prominent feats that showcase Teach's incredible power were displayed by him defeating three division commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates: Thatch, Portgas D. Ace, and later during the Payback War, Marco, the new captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. After the timeskip, he and his crew fought against the Revolutionary Army and destroyed their headquarters on Baltigo, before briefly clashing against the Marines and the Cipher Pol and eventually fleeing the place.

Tactical Skills
Teach has shown himself to be an expert planner and a master at orchestrating manipulative schemes provided he has time to prepare; he waited two decades aboard the Moby Dick with the Whitebeard Pirates and even integrated with the crew dynamic solely to increase his opportunities of obtaining the Yami Yami no Mi (and also recruited some future members of his own crew during this time, indicating great charisma and leadership skills even as a regular crewmate). He also went to capture Monkey D. Luffy to guarantee an offer for the vacant position of the Seven Warlords of the Sea by the World Government, which in turn was simply sought for free access through the Gates of Justice into the notoriously impenetrable Impel Down to recruit mighty Level Six prisoners to strengthen his crew. This scheme completely deceived both Sengoku and Tsuru, the two greatest strategic masterminds of the Marines, with Sengoku realizing Teach's true intentions only after the Blackbeard Pirates had appeared in Marineford. Marco also suggested Teach had already made plans to steal the Gura Gura no Mi, from being on the crew for so long. Instead of taking Whitebeard head-on to steal his Devil Fruit, Teach effectively manipulated Whitebeard and the entire military force of the Marines, including the Admirals Akainu, Aokiji, and Borsalino, into fighting each other during the former's attempt to rescue Ace. Eventually, Whitebeard became fatally injured and weakened enough for Teach and his crew to brutally overpower and ultimately kill Whitebeard to steal the Gura Gura no Mi, becoming the first person to wield two Devil Fruit powers. When confronted by Shanks and his crew, Teach instead had his crew retreat as he deemed that it was not the right time to fight them, which showed a great sense of caution. This side of him was seen again when he chose to flee from Marine Admiral Akainu. Later, in an attempt to steal the Road Poneglyph rubbings now that both Kaidou and Big Mom are gone, Teach set a trap for one of the three pirate crews leaving Wano, ambushing them at Winner Island.

Following his victory over the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates, Teach used his previous knowledge of the latter's territory to conquer most of it, becoming one of the Four Emperors.

However, for all his combat prowess and intellect, Teach can be overconfident and careless, as noted by Whitebeard. He has a habit of concentrating too much on conversations with his opponents while fighting them, letting his guard down in the process, a weakness he has demonstrated in his battles against Whitebeard, Luffy, Ace, Magellan, and Law. This usually results in him suffering critical injuries. In fact, if not for Shiryu's help, Teach and his entire crew would have been killed by Magellan's poison.

Physical Abilities
Teach has an immense amount of superhuman endurance and durability. During his fight with Ace, he was engulfed in flames and pierced in the chest by two fire spears, but after putting out the flames, he was able to shake off the impact of the attacks. Another indication of his sheer endurance is shown when he took a Jet Pistol from an enraged Luffy, and was hit by one of Sengoku's shockwaves in his Daibutsu form only to come out with minor injuries both times. Teach also shows an incredible tolerance to pain as, despite his Devil Fruit greatly amplifying the pain he receives, this never stops him for long, demonstrated when he took a point-blank quake bubble attack from Whitebeard to his head and neck without losing consciousness. He shrugged off a kick to the head from Supernova Jewelry Bonney, took a direct slash from Whitebeard's bisento without suffering any lasting damage, and quickly recovered after having his insides fried by Law's Shock Wille.

According to Marco, Teach has a unique body structure that is different from other humans, which could even explain how he was able to possess two Devil Fruits, while any individual would have normally ended up dying. This is further shown when Buggy stated that Teach did not need to sleep like other people. It is rumored that Teach has never slept once in his whole life, which shows off his tremendous stamina.

Teach also possesses tremendous physical strength, even for his comparable size, as demonstrated when he seriously injured Luffy and Ace, both of whom are exceptionally durable, with just one hit, sending them crashing back with incredible force and across great distances. He was able to stop an enraged Whitebeard's quake attack with his own physical strength and with the help of his Kurouzu technique.

Devil Fruits


Through an unknown method, Teach became the first and so far, only known person to wield the powers of two Devil Fruits at the same time. Marco speculated that this was possible due to an unstated peculiarity unique to Teach himself, having to do with an "atypical body structure" of some sort. He also pointed out that the other Whitebeard Pirates should be aware of this fact.

With the power of darkness (the Yami Yami no Mi), which "reduces anything to nothingness", and the power of earthquakes (the Gura Gura no Mi), which "brings destruction to everything", Teach claimed himself to be truly invincible and the strongest of them all.

Teach has since attempted to acquire other additional Devil Fruits such as Boa Hancock's Mero Mero no Mi and later Trafalgar D. Water Law's Ope Ope no Mi, though it is not known if he has acquired any more abilities yet or how many he has in total.

Yami Yami no Mi


Teach ate the Yami Yami no Mi, a unique Logia-type Devil Fruit which allows him to create, control, and transform his body into darkness. The darkness appears reminiscent of a fiery black smoke while also bearing a resemblance to a liquid. Unlike a normal Logia user, Teach cannot turn intangible; in fact, any damage he takes will actually hurt worse than normal. Teach has an infinite amount of space inside of his body made of darkness.

The darkness has strong properties of gravity and absorption. The darkness has the power to pull things in, much like a black hole. Even light itself cannot escape. Furthermore, the gravity is so strong that it can completely crush anything in its path. Once something has been pulled in, it can be absorbed into the darkness, where it will be trapped until Teach himself decides to release it. It is described as a void which devours everything and returns all to nothingness.

The most frightening power of the fruit is that it allows Teach to absorb/nullify other people's Devil Fruit powers. So long as Teach maintains physical contact with the other Devil Fruit user, it is as if the victim never ate their Devil Fruit at all.

Gura Gura no Mi


Teach, through currently unknown means, stole the power of the Gura Gura no Mi from the dead body of its previous user, Whitebeard. The Gura Gura no Mi is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that gives him the ability to cause earthquakes and generate powerful shockwaves. It is considered to be the strongest power of the Paramecia class, in addition, it is said that it has the power to destroy the entire world.

He has the power to send incredibly powerful shockwaves through the air, creating cracks in the air itself in the process. By striking at the general area with his quake powers, he can cause large earthquakes. His quakes cause serious damage and alterations to the surrounding landscape and are capable of destroying buildings. He can also "grab" the surrounding area and literally tilt it, he can even do this with not just an entire island, but also the surrounding sea's. He unknowingly caused a tsunami at a nearby island when he first tried this.

In the anime, he has also displayed the ability to use his shockwaves defensively, as their vast raw power can easily stop incoming attacks, even from the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit power of the then Fleet Admiral, Sengoku.

Upon initially obtaining the power, he did not have great control over it. After the timeskip, he seems to have more control of the power, as he casually created an earthquake with no effort.

Busoshoku Haki


Teach is an extremely skilled user of Busoshoku Haki. By hardening his arm, he was able to defend himself against S-Hawk's sword slash, which could cut Amazon Lily's large mountain in half.

Kenbunshoku Haki
Teach is a highly skilled user of Kenbunshoku Haki. As he was able to sense that Luffy's bounty of 30,000,000 was too low compared to his strength, and during his raid on Impel Down he was able to sense that Luffy's Haki had improved since meeting him in Jaya.

Weapons


Teach has occasionally been shown using claw weapons, one of which he favored since his youth days. It is very likely that this was the weapon he used to give Shanks his facial scars. When the Whitebeard Pirates started protecting Fish-Man Island, he was seen with longer metal claws in one hand. He has yet to been seen wielding a claw weapon in the present day, however.

Teach used a flintlock pistol when dealing the deathblow to Whitebeard along with the other Blackbeard Pirates, and also has three pistols tied in his sash. His accuracy with them is not completely shown, as he was only seen emptying his ammunition into Whitebeard at point-blank range, yet Whitebeard was still briefly alive after he had finished shooting.

Major Battles

 * Whitebeard Pirates vs. Roger Pirates (unseen)
 * Marshall D. Teach vs. Shanks (details unknown, yet left Shanks with his scar)
 * Marshall D. Teach vs. Thatch (unseen)
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Drum Kingdom (unseen)
 * Marshall D. Teach vs. Portgas D. Ace
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Impel Down Guards (Level 1)
 * Marshall D. Teach vs. Hannyabal and Bazooka Unit
 * Marshall D. Teach vs. Monkey D. Luffy (interrupted by Jinbe)
 * Marshall D. Teach vs. Edward Newgate
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Edward Newgate
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Fleet Admiral Sengoku
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Bonney Pirates (unseen)
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Whitebeard Pirates (under Marco) (unseen, during timeskip)
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Revolutionary Army (unseen)
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Cipher Pol (unseen)
 * Marshall D. Teach vs. S-Hawk
 * Marshall D. Teach vs. Boa Hancock
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Heart Pirates
 * Marshall D. Teach vs. Trafalgar D. Water Law

Anime and Manga Differences

 * While the manga has never depicted how exactly Teach killed Thatch, the anime shows that Teach literally stabbed him in the back.
 * In the anime, the fight between Teach and Whitebeard is slightly extended, as Teach punched Whitebeard several times while having the latter in his grip. He also shot Whitebeard in the heart with his flintlock and fired several more times before ordering his crew to join in. In the manga, he simply ordered them to attack right after surviving one of Whitebeard's quake bubbles. Also, the wound he received from the Whitebeard's bisento was not as brutal as it was in the original manga. In the manga, the Yami Yami no Mi was in Teach's left hand and the Gura Gura no Mi was in his right. In the anime, they are reversed.
 * In the anime, the fight between Teach and Sengoku is also extended, with the former's quake punch and the latter's shockwaves tearing apart Marineford. Sengoku knocked Teach back with another shockwave, but he retaliated by tilting the island just as Whitebeard had done. Jesus Burgess jumped into the fight to assist but was knocked back by the intervention of Garp.
 * When Teach shifted the seas, the tsunami saved the Heart Pirates from a naval bombardment and a longer scene of people escaping Sabaody Archipelago is shown.

Name and Epithet
Initially, the "Teach" portion of his name was romanized Teech in all official English translations—the VIZ manga, Funimation-dubbed anime and Simulcast subtitles, and 4Kids' localization of the video game Pirates Carnival. This is an accurate transliteration of the katakana (ティーチ) used in the original Japanese, albeit weaker in the intended allusion to the historical Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.

Interestingly, all of Funimation's home-releases of the anime render the name as Teach, in both subtitles and translations of on-screen text. In contrast, the VIZ manga continues to favor Teech.

For a time, some minor debate also existed—similar to that surrounding Whitebeard—as to whether Blackbeard was the "proper" translation of the epithet Kurohige (黒ひげ), as Hige is a generic term for facial hair that applies to both mustaches and beards, and Teach had virtually no beard during his first few appearances. However, this became moot from the Impel Down Arc on, when Teach began wearing a prominent beard.

Laugh
During his earliest appearances in the Jaya Arc, the Funimation-dubbed anime made no attempt to adapt his distinct "Zehaha" laugh. However, from the Post-Enies Lobby Arc on, the laugh was generally retained.

Other
In the original manga and anime, Teach comments "I'd thought thirty million too low for his Haki" (あの覇気で３千万はねえと思ったが) on seeing Luffy's updated bounty. However, both the Funimation anime and the VIZ manga translate this line with "even thirty million", producing the opposite implication: that Teach (much like the Bellamy Pirates) had thought Luffy was not even worth his pre-Arabasta bounty.

(Notably, this line was also the first to explicitly name Haki. As the term's significance would not be revealed until the Amazon Lily Arc, neither Funimation nor VIZ acknowledge it in their respective translations.)

Inspirations and Influences
Teach is, in many aspects, designed as a fictionalized version of Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, possibly the most notorious pirate in (Western) history and Eiichiro Oda's personal favorite pirate. In addition to his name, epithet, and general viciousness, Teach's in-story history parallels his historical counterpart's in several areas: Post-timeskip, Teach has also begun wearing a long, multi-braided beard—an element common to nearly all contemporary descriptions and illustrations of the historical Teach.
 * Initially unknown, he rises to utter notoriety within three years (the historical Teach was active as "Blackbeard" for only three years, from 1716 to 1718).
 * His rise is facilitated by the betrayal of a fellow pirate (the historical Teach acquired many men and at least one ship by usurping the authority of fellow captain Stede Bonnet; by some accounts, Bonnet was, much like Portgas D. Ace, arrested and executed while trying to pursue revenge).
 * He has sought government authorization, if only temporarily (the historical Teach, in addition to probably originating as a privateer, briefly accepted a pardon from North Carolina governor Charles Eden in 1718).

Two related characters would derive looser inspiration from the historical Teach: Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate took on his given name, while Thatch took on an alternate spelling of his surname (also reported by some sources as a deliberate alias).

Early Concepts


In One Piece Green: Secret Pieces, an early concept of Teach was revealed, including that he was originally named Everything D. Teach (エブリシング・・ティーチ).

Merchandise


As a prominent character, Teach has multiple pieces of merchandise. He has been featured with the Seven Warlords of the Sea in the series of One Piece Seven Warlords Cellphone Strap and the One Piece Super Deformed Figures. He was also released along with Crocodile in the One Piece Super Effect - Devil Fruit User series. Teach was also released in the One Piece DX Figure models, in the One Piece World Collectable Figure series in July 2010 along with the rest of the Warlords of the Sea and in the high quality figure of HQS by Tsume. He is represented as a hippopotamus in the action figure series S.H.Figuarts ZERO 2013.

Songs

 * "NOW MY HANDS GET!!!!"

Playable Appearances

 * One Piece: Unlimited Cruise
 * One Piece: Gear Spirit
 * One Piece: Gigant Battle
 * One Piece: Gigant Battle! 2 New World
 * One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X
 * One Py Berry Match
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4
 * One Piece: Burning Blood
 * One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum
 * One Piece Treasure Cruise
 * One Piece Bounty Rush
 * One Piece Thousand Storm
 * Jump Force
 * One Piece Bon! Bon! Journey!!

Enemy Appearances

 * One Piece: Pirates Carnival
 * One Piece Romance Dawn: The Dawn of the Adventure
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors
 * One Piece: Unlimited World Red

Non-Playable Appearances

 * One Piece: Grand Battle! 3
 * One Piece: Grand Adventure

Trivia

 * In Chapter 581, when addressing the prisoners of Level 6 of Impel Down, Teach is shown with a full mouth of teeth. This was likely a mistake on Oda's part.
 * In the Impel Down Arc, Teach is confirmed to have used Kenbunshoku Haki on Luffy at some point during the Jaya Arc. This would make him the first-ever Kenbunshoku Haki user depicted in the series, before the concept of "Mantra" was introduced in the following arc.
 * Fittingly, Teach is also the first character in the series to mention Haki by name.
 * In Chapter 474 and Episode 369, Teach's bounty was stated to be "zero" by Bartholomew Kuma. While interpretation was initially open as to whether this just meant he was not a wanted man, Vivre Card databook later made it clear that Teach was indeed wanted by the World Government before becoming a Warlord, albeit with no monetary reward offered for his death or capture. This makes him the sole known holder of the lowest bounty in the series.
 * Curiously, in One Piece Blue: Grand Data File, that covers from the East Blue Saga to the middle of the Jaya Arc, Teach is not revealed as Marshall D. Teach or Blackbeard, but as "Cherry Pie Man" (チェリーパイ男), a regular customer of the Mock Town Pub.
 * Teach's Devil Fruit, Yami Yami no Mi, gives off black smoke when he is using it. This may be a reference to his real-life counterpart who was rumored to burn candles in his hair which smoked, giving him a demonic appearance.
 * Teach has been a member of each of the three most infamous pirate groups: The Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Four Emperors, and the Worst Generation.
 * Also, both Teach and Buggy are the only known individuals to serve as both a Warlord of the Sea and later one of the Four Emperors, therefore being the only ones who have been part of two of the Three Great Powers.
 * In the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th fan polls of most popular characters, Teach was ranked 94th, 51st, 67th, 49th and 46th, respectively.
 * Teach's original name, Everything D. Teach, may come from 17th-century English pirate Henry Every, famous for becoming the richest pirate in the world at the time and getting the highest bounty in history placed on his head.
 * In real life, Blackbeard's career in piracy lasted for only two years, yet he became a legendary criminal in his own right. In One Piece, after defecting from the Whitebeard Pirates and striking out on his own as a captain, Teach's gained much infamy in the same amount of time, having risen to the rank of one of the Four Emperors.
 * The eighth volume of One Piece Magazine revealed concept art of Teach's mother and two younger sisters.
 * At age 40 and 344 cm, Teach is:
 * The oldest and tallest member in the current line-up of the Four Emperors.
 * The fifth youngest and fourth tallest member of the Warlords of the Sea.
 * The third oldest and second tallest member of the Worst Generation.
 * Alongside Jinbe, Teach is one of the few characters in the series confirmed to have sailed with more than one crew of the Four Emperors.
 * Teach's favorite foods are cherry pie and kebab, and his least favorite food is gravy.

SBS-Based Trivia

 * Teach's birthday, August 3, comes from his Devil Fruit's name since 8-3 can be derived from ya-mi.
 * Teach's appearance, epithet, and name were taken from 18th century infamous English pirate "Blackbeard" Edward Teach. Not only is Edward Teach the namesake of Blackbeard, but he is also of the character's former captain Edward Newgate and his crewmate and victim Thatch, as Edward Teach was also referred to as Edward Thatch.
 * Teach's animal resemblance is a hippopotamus.
 * If One Piece were set in the real world, then Teach would be from Somalia.
 * When a fan asked which flower Teach resembles the most, Oda answered he most resembles a red spider lily.
 * If Teach was not a pirate, then he would be an archaeologist.
 * Teach's hobbies are gambling and conducting historical research.