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 and handing Ace 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 the 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.

Due to his actions, he can be considered the unseen overarching antagonist of the Drum Island Arc, a minor antagonist during the Jaya and Post-Enies Lobby Arcs, the tertiary antagonist of the Impel Down Arc, one of the three main antagonists of the Marineford Arc alongside Sengoku and Sakazuki, and the main antagonist of the Summit War Saga overall. As his actions led to the death of Portgas D. Ace and the subsequent timeskip, he currently serves as one of main antagonists for the remainder of the One Piece 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
Blackbeard's personality seems to be a strange mix of courage and cowardice, as well as high intellectual capacity and stupidity. While at times his character looks 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 Blackbeard is full of surprises and unpredictability, making him similar, yet distinct to series' protagonist Monkey D. Luffy in several ways. In general, Blackbeard is perhaps the most realistic depiction of a pirate within the series, showing various degrees of greed, dishonesty, brutality, opportunism and cunning.

Deceptiveness
Blackbeard 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, Blackbeard is very patient and careful, choosing to lunk in the shadows until the perfect opportunity presents itself. 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 crewmates.

Though he betrayed the Whitebeard Pirates, Teach does consider the crew he 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 his crew. 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, nor does he care about any allies sailing under his flag.

Ambition and Fatalism
Blackbeard 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, Blackbeard 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. Blackbeard 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?

Blackbeard, 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, carefree attitude, 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, Blackbeard fears death whereas other D. carriers embrace it if it comes. Furthermore, when backed into a corner, Blackbeard 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, Blackbeard 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
Blackbeard is often very calm, composed, relaxed, easygoing, cheerful, and free-spirited, being often politely sarcastic and mocking towards those around him. He also 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.

Blackbeard 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. 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, Blackbeard has developed a severe superiority complex, believing himself to be truly invincible and the strongest of them all. Despite his arrogance, Blackbeard does show a sense of caution, and will avoid fighting opponents he views as highly troublesome.

Many of One Piece's characters are given a distinct laugh. Blackbeard follows this tradition by starting his laughs with "Ze" (i.e., Zehahahahahaha!). This laugh is not present in the English dub until the Duel on Banaro Island.

Blackbeard Pirates
In contrast to his obvious malevolent nature, Blackbeard has shown respect and leadership for his own crew, such as when he told them to stay away from Ace. He even took an attack meant for them, despite his Devil's Fruit's weakness of increasing incoming damage. They were also concerned when he was burned by Ace. He showed no problem in gaining new recruits as he allowed Shiryu to join his crew after he had saved him and the others. It was for that reason that he invaded Impel Down, so he could strengthen his crew with some of the deadliest criminals in the world.

In true to his way of letting fate decide things, he will allow his crew to get in the way with his Devil Fruit powers. Of particular note, when he first gained the powers of the Gura Gura no Mi, his efforts put their own lives at risk. However, the crew were more than satisfied with things this way since all of them seem to believe in fate in some shape or form.

Blackbeard receives a fair amount of disrespect from his crew from time to time, especially from the new recruits, but he seems to get over it all, though he did get rather snappish at Sanjuan Wolf for whining so much. He was also willing to perform a trade with the Marines for the sake of one of his crewmates, despite making enemies from the Marine forces due to his actions.

However, according to Belo Betty, Blackbeard does not care for allied pirates who are under his flag. Due to his obsession with powerful Devil Fruits, Blackbeard also does not care about Vasco Shot, Catarina Devon or any of his crew members either as he was initially going to sacrifice them to kill Hancock for the Mero Mero no Mi until he spared the ex-Warlord and retreated with his crew due to Rayleigh's arrival. He has no qualms in manhandling his crew members, as shown when he rides on top Doc Q's head to confront Law and unconcerned about the fact that Doc Q and Stronger are in pain due to being crushed by his overweight body. For being reckless against Law, Van Augur asked Blackbeard to retreat to the ship, but Blackbeard refused as they were just getting started.

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. Whitebeard himself refused to acknowledge Blackbeard as his son before his end and the whole crew witnessed the death of their captain at Teach's hands. 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, all of which shows that he exploited them for his selfish agenda for over two decades and had no genuine fellowship with the crew whatsoever.

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 and have not been seen since. This event was what led Blackbeard to be recognized as one of the Four Emperors.

Monkey D. Luffy


Blackbeard is one of Monkey D. Luffy's archnemeses.

Originally having given Luffy sound advice on being a pirate, Blackbeard attempted to capture Luffy for his second bounty but failed. When he learned of the latter's third increase, he attempted to go after him, but Ace caught up to him. 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, Blackbeard had realized he underestimated Luffy as he found his strength impressive. Blackbeard 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 Blackbeard 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. Blackbeard 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. It is shown that Luffy's hatred for Blackbeard has increased after learning he had his crew 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 Big Mom's territory spread across the world, Blackbeard 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. Blackbeard showed even more excitement for Luffy's upcoming clash with Kaidou.

Jinbe
Blackbeard appears to know Jinbe, having commented on his friendship with Ace. Jinbe was enraged at Blackbeard 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 Blackbeard as he informed Luffy of Blackbeard's usurping of Whitebeard's Emperor status and his relentless hunt for Devil Fruit users to absorb their abilities. He warned Luffy that Blackbeard would consider the Straw Hats to be invaluable targets.

World Government and Marines
Blackbeard joined the Seven Warlords of the Sea after defeating Ace and handing him over to the World Government. However, Blackbeard 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. Blackbeard 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 create a stronger 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 has also 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 Blackbeard 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.

Jewelry Bonney
Bonney bears a grudge against Marshall D. Teach for his role at triggering the Whitebeard War by defeating and handing over Portgas D. Ace to the World Government for the vacant Warlord of the Sea position. This hatred seemingly intensified after he and his crew had dealt the final killing blows to Whitebeard, whom Bonney admired. She does not seem to fear him, and even went as far as insulting him in front of his crew. Blackbeard offered her to become "his woman" and join his crew, but she refused. When Akainu approached the Blackbeard Pirates, they fled, leaving Bonney behind.

Shanks
Shanks has a watchful eye out for Teach. Although the exact events are unknown, Shanks previously admitted to Whitebeard that his facial scar came from a direct attack from Teach and is the only scar he had that ever bothered him.

They first met around 26 years ago after a skirmish between their respective crews, but they kept their distance from each other back then.

Even at Marineford, Shanks addressed Teach in a tense manner, and only he seems to regard Teach as a significant threat compared to the Marines or the Whitebeard Pirates and their New World subordinate crews. Having already proclaimed "his era" is 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 Blackbeard 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 Blackbeard by attacking his personal island to rescue Absalom while shouting for Blackbeard 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
Blackbeard invaded Amazon Lily 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. He attempted to kill her and steal her devil fruit until he spared her and left Amazon Lily due to Silvers Rayleigh's arrival.

Hancock holds a strong hatred towards Blackbeard when she told him to "get his filthy hands off her".

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

Following his failed attempted to kill Hancock due to Rayleigh's intervention, Blackbeard 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, Blackbeard 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.

Trafalgar D. Water Law
Following Kaidou and Big Mom's downfall, 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. During their battle, he brushed off Law's warning that Devil Fruit's drawbacks should not be underestimated just to gain power, stating it was well worth having these powers anyways. During his fight with Law, the two were also previously involved in the Rocky Port Incident.

Charlotte Pudding
Blackbeard sent his crew to Totto Land to successfully capture Charlotte Pudding and bring her to him as a prisoner.

Silvers Rayleigh
Blackbeard 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 Blackbeard in his attempt to kill Hancock and steal her Devil Fruit.

Blackbeard had no intention to fight Rayleigh and decided to leave Hancock alone and retreat from Amazon Lily due to fear. On the other hand, Rayleigh admitted Blackbeard would eventually beat him in an actual confrontation due to the former's advanced age, acknowledging that Blackbeard had grow into a veritable threat.

Abilities and Powers
As one of the Four Emperors, Blackbeard 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 Blackbeard 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 Blackbeard 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.

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
Blackbeard 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, Blackbeard 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, Blackbeard 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, Blackbeard 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 Blackbeard 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", Blackbeard claimed himself to be truly invincible and the strongest of them all.

Blackbeard has since attempted to acquire other additional Devil Fruits such as Boa Hancock's Mero Mero 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


Blackbeard 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, Blackbeard cannot turn intangible; in fact, any damage he takes will actually hurt worse than normal. Blackbeard 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 Blackbeard 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 Blackbeard to absorb/nullify other people's Devil Fruit powers. So long as Blackbeard 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


Blackbeard, 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
Blackbeard 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
Blackbeard 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.

Traveling with Whitebeard
Teach grew up as an orphan. 28 years ago, at age 12, Teach encountered Whitebeard and his crew and asked to join them, a request that Whitebeard granted. In truth, Teach was seeking out a specific Devil Fruit known as the Yami Yami no Mi, and only joined Whitebeard's crew because he thought he would have the best chance of obtaining the fruit that way.

Around 26 years ago, the Whitebeard Pirates clashed with the Roger Pirates on an island for three days and three nights before the skirmish ultimately became a gift exchange. This was when Teach met Shanks for the first time. 22 years ago, after Shiki had escaped Impel Down, Teach at age 18 was present amongst Marco, Jozu, Vista, Blenheim, and Haruta while the Flying Pirate spoke to Whitebeard about his plan.

More than twelve years before the current storyline, Teach and Shanks fought in a battle. During the battle, Teach gave Shanks the three scars by his eyes. Teach eventually became a member of the second division and encouraged Portgas D. Ace to seek the commander position, refusing it himself on the basis that he did not "have that kind of ambition".

Blood and Betrayal
Shortly after Luffy had received his first bounty, the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' fourth division Thatch found a Devil Fruit, which Teach recognized as the Yami Yami no Mi and the very reason he had joined the crew. Desperate to get the fruit at any cost, Teach murdered Thatch, stole the fruit and subsequently fled the crew. Upon the Whitebeard Pirates learning of the murder, Ace set out to find Teach for betraying their "father", despite Whitebeard's reluctance to send the commander to his possible doom.

Teach then adopted the name Blackbeard and soon formed the Blackbeard Pirates, which composed of Laffitte, a former policeman from the West Blue and the crew's navigator, Van Augur the sniper, Jesus Burgess the helmsman, Doc Q the doctor and Stronger, Doc Q's horse. Shortly afterwards, the crew attacked the Drum Kingdom, causing its king, Wapol, to flee and ironically liberating Drum Kingdom from his tyranny.

Jaya Arc
The Blackbeard Pirates made a stop on Jaya. While his crew members were hanging around, with the exception of Laffitte who went to Mary Geoise to nominate his captain to become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to take Crocodile's place which was declined by The World Government as Blackbeard did not have any reputation, Blackbeard sat in a bar. Luffy, together with his crew members Zoro and Nami did enter and took a sit next to Blackbeard. Suddenly, both made a remark about the cherry pie being served to them. Noticing that both their remarks oppose one another, Luffy and Blackbeard decided not to mind each other and just drink some soda. After drinking the soda, they both once again made opposing remarks. Really noticing each other this time around, both of them were starting to get mad at the other's preference. The two then decided to have some food for takeout, with Luffy ordering pieces of meat and Teach ordering cherry pies. However, upon learning the number of food that the other was ordering, the two started competing about who can order more. At this moment, Luffy and Blackbeard were about to fight each other over the meaningless argument. Not wanting any trouble in his tavern, Terry gave Teach his pies and requested his departure. As Blackbeard was leaving the tavern, Bellamy entered much to the other customers' surprise.



After Luffy and Zoro had taken a beating by Bellamy, Blackbeard told Nami that Skypiea exists. He then asked why Nami was sad when there was nothing to be sad about since Luffy and Zoro won that fight. Blackbeard said that the "new age" they talk of was nonsense and laughed that the age in which pirates dream will never end. While he went on with his speech, everyone wondered what he was yelling so loudly for. Blackbeard said that some battles are pointless and laughs. He later left and wished the Straw Hats good luck on their trip to Sky Island. Blackbeard then laughed, saying that his rum tasted good.

After learning his identity, Blackbeard planned to capture Luffy, who had a 100,000,000 bounty on his head as well as Zoro, who had a 60,000,000 bounty. While the Straw Hats were preparing to ride the Knock-up Stream, he approached the crew on his raft-esque ship and showed the new bounties. Before he could capture Luffy and Zoro, his ship was destroyed when the Knock Up Stream shot the Straw Hats into the sky.

Post-Enies Lobby Arc


After Blackbeard and his crew had pillaged a town on Banaro Island, Blackbeard read a newspaper about the Enies Lobby incident and remarked that Luffy's bounty will surely rise. Before they could leave to pursue him, Ace appeared and challenged them. Blackbeard called him his commander, but Ace told him to save it. Blackbeard continued to act friendly, saying it had been a long time since they have seen each other, but Ace reminded him that he killed one of his comrades and doing so is unforgivable. Blackbeard then offered Ace to join his crew, saying they would be invincible if he joined. He then went on to say that the reign of Whitebeard will soon end, and their first step was Monkey D. Luffy. He suggested Ace to come with him to kill Luffy (as he was still in Water 7 at the time), but Ace said that Luffy is his brother and outright refused to join his crew.

Augur attempted to shoot Ace who retaliated with Higan and shot fire bullets rapidly at Van Augur. Burgess tossed an entire house at Ace, but it was easily burned by a Fire Pillar. Blackbeard yelled at Augur and Burgess, telling them that Ace was way out of their league and that they should fall back. Suddenly, Ace used Hiken to burn Blackbeard. Blackbeard managed to survive the attack and got back up. He admitted that he killed Thatch as he had the Devil Fruit that he had been searching for. He recognized the fruit Thatch was holding since he had researched the size and shape of the fruit. He revealed that he spent decades on Whitebeard's ship, because he knew he had a better chance of finding the fruit. He waited there for so long until it finally came to him in his commander's hands. He said that getting the Devil Fruit was his fate, and with it, he will be the greatest. His hand began to dissolve into darkness as he said that even for a Logia, this fruit is very special. His whole body began to radiate in a black glow as he said that he is "darkness".

Ace questioned Teach's Devil Fruit abilities, but Teach stated that his fruit, the Yami Yami no Mi, is said to be the strongest of the Devil Fruits and that Ace cannot kill him. Meanwhile, the townspeople saw black smoke in the town and noted that the pirates were still present so they should run. The rest of the Blackbeard Pirates were fleeing, saying that Teach was about to go wild. Blackbeard sent tendrils of darkness in every direction, enveloping the buildings and scaring the escaping townspeople. Some citizens said that the smoke reminded them of a hole in the ground, but they continued through the forest and out to the coast. Teach explained that his darkness is infinite gravitation that sucks everything in including light. Ace commented that the darkness was not approaching him, but Teach stated that he was not attacking yet, but he was merely demonstrating. Suddenly, Teach activated his "Black Hole" and sucked all of the town's contents, including its buildings, into his darkness, making them disappear. Teach stated that the darkness will draw in any object and crush it and proceeded to tell Ace that he would show him the town in its ruined form. Teach then used "Liberation" to send the ruined pieces of the town flying out into a ring around Ace and Teach. The civilians were stunned by the destruction of their town but Teach simply bragged about his ability.



However, he realized too late the small points of flame from Ace's Hotarubi which exploded, coating him in flames. While Teach rolled around in pain, Ace stated that he understood the power of the Yami Yami no Mi, but said that if Teach was a Logia, he should have been able to avoid his attack. The darkness quickly absorbed the flames, and Teach stood back up, saying that his fruit can suck in everything, including punches, thunder, flame, and especially pain, meaning that he cannot fend off attacks like other Logia. Disregarding this flaw, Teach stated that there was one more thing he could do and proceeded to drag Ace towards him with gravitation. Seizing Ace's shoulder, Teach stated that Ace must have noticed the ability and punched Ace hard in the stomach.

Ace was sent flying as Teach commented on how long it must have been since Ace was last punched. Teach explained that he can suck in the "devil's power" so that while he is touching a Devil Fruit user, they cannot use their powers. Teach stated that he has gained a power that cannot be defended against for Devil Fruit users who overrate their abilities. Ace replied that he could only neutralize Devil Fruit powers as long he touched the user. Teach stated that Ace could not escape and dragged him forward with his gravity again. Ace launched two flaming spears that pierced and burned Teach's chest but Teach landed a powerful punch that nearly broke Ace's neck. Crossing his fingers, Ace fired a flaming cross, but Blackbeard merely grinned. Van Augur commented that he had thought that a Devil Fruit user would be weak and powerless without his ability, but that Ace's basic fighting power was amazing and had earned him a spot as Whitebeard's division commander, which was another one of fate's crossroads. The civilians watched as their island was destroyed and Banana Rock fell, stating that no human could do this much damage and put their entire island at risk.



Ace fell as Blackbeard stated that nothing stands a chance in front of darkness and offered Ace another opportunity to join his crew as it would be a waste of his strength if he were to die. Ace refused, saying that if he gave in, there would be no point in living. Teach laughed, saying that survival is what matters in the world. Ace then gathered fire around him before forming it into a large flaming orb. Teach stated that only one of them could win while Ace declared his desire to make Whitebeard the king, and their attacks collided. In the end, Teach defeated Ace and handed him over to the Marines. Afterward, Teach was declared Crocodile's successor as a Warlord of the Sea, and Ace was imprisoned in Impel Down.

Amazon Lily Arc


When the World Government issued a call for the Seven Warlords of the Sea to join the coming battle with Whitebeard, Blackbeard answered it. He later dined with the other Warlords, except for Jinbe and Boa Hancock.

Impel Down Arc
Prior to the war with Whitebeard, Teach took his entire crew to Impel Down and commenced an attack on the jailers. He excused himself by stating that he was on "their" side. On his way through Level 1, the Crimson Hell, he encountered Shiryu, whom Blackbeard initially misidentified as Magellan. He later inexplicably arrived at Level 4, where he and his crew took down both the Bazooka Unit and Hannyabal. Jinbe showed anger towards Blackbeard while Luffy realized that the man at Jaya who had told him to never stop dreaming is the same one responsible for his brother's imprisonment. Blackbeard taunted Luffy about Ace's oncoming execution, provoking his wrath.



Though Blackbeard told Luffy to praise his good luck (as Blackbeard would surely have killed Luffy instead of just defeating Ace, had Ace let Blackbeard off the hook), Luffy angrily attacked the Warlord in Gear Second with Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol. The two had a small skirmish, but it was stopped by Jinbe, who told Luffy not to waste time fighting Blackbeard now as he had to save Ace. Blackbeard noted Luffy's Haki has improved and admitted he had underestimated Luffy's strength. When Magellan showed up, Blackbeard allowed Luffy and the rest proceed to Level 3.

Blackbeard even received a comment from Jinbe that his assault on the Great Prison proved instrumental for the breakout. Blackbeard then replied that he was also grateful for them, since a panic within Impel Down prior to him and his crew's arrival was exactly what they needed, right before stating that his crew and him would "shake the whole world to its core". The Blackbeard Pirates later came face-to-face with Magellan. During the confrontation, the warden quickly poisoned the entire crew with his Hydra. Blackbeard stated that the pain was unbearable and screamed, as Magellan walked past them to pursue Luffy.

Blackbeard and his crew survived from Magellan's poison by receiving an antidote from Shiryu. Blackbeard then commented that Shiryu would make a fine addition to his crew and invited him to join his crew again. Shiryu accepted, stating that he was waiting for a man of his stature.



After recruiting Shiryu, Teach made his way down to Level Six where he invited anyone with the will to be free again to join his crew. However, there was one catch: the prisoners in their cells would have to kill each other in order to prove their strength to him and only the sole survivors of each cage would gain their freedom. It is unknown just how many prisoners died as the result, but Blackbeard got four more recruits: Sanjuan Wolf, Avalo Pizarro, Vasco Shot and Catarina Devon. With that, the newly reinforced Blackbeard Pirates left the prison and headed for Marineford, either not knowing or not caring that some other Level 6 prisoners survived and slipped out of prison.

One Piece: Stampede
There was one more person who survived the battle royale. However, when Teach saw it was none other than Douglas Bullet, he immediately decided to leave him alone, taking the others to the surface with him, while marveling at the fact that the man known as the "Demon Heir" was still alive.

Marineford Arc


Blackbeard later appeared at Marineford, having snuck in to see his former captain's death. He was seen with the new recruits from Impel Down. Blackbeard then told Sengoku that the sole reason he obtained the title of Warlord of the Sea was to gain the means to break into Impel Down and gloated that he no longer needed that title anymore.

Acting as the vanguard of their attack, Blackbeard initiated his crew's assault by using his Devil Fruit powers to increase the gravity upon the ground from which Whitebeard stood, binding him in place, and then used Kurouzu to pull Whitebeard into his grasp to nullify the latter's Gura Gura no Mi powers. Unfortunately for Blackbeard, this did not completely deter the Emperor, who struck Teach down using his bisento, sending him to the ground. Whitebeard then proceeded to reprimand him that overconfidence and rashness were his weaknesses and continued by placing a strong grip around Teach's neck and sent a powerful shock wave bubble at point-blank range upon his head, once again sending a massive tremor throughout Marineford.



Having lost his composure, Blackbeard ordered his men to fire everything they got on his former captain. Despite this, Whitebeard held his ground with his final words being that Blackbeard is not the one whom Roger is awaiting. Shortly afterwards, Blackbeard was shocked to see Whitebeard died standing.

Blackbeard and his crew then quickly covered Whitebeard's body with a black cloth, which Blackbeard entered as well for a short time. He later emerged from the cloth and showed off not only the power of the Yami Yami no Mi, but also the Gura Gura no Mi as he inexplicably managed to extract that power from Whitebeard's body. With a mighty laugh, Blackbeard proclaimed to everyone present and everyone watching these events that from that moment on, this was his era.

Overconfident with his newfound powers, he began to wonder if sinking Marineford would be a good start. He and the rest of his crew were promptly sent flying by an enormous shock wave delivered by Sengoku in his Buddha form. The fleet admiral warned him about his cockiness and Teach replied that he was looking forward to seeing Sengoku protecting Marineford, prepared to continue the fight. After he destroys more of Marineford, Blackbeard was warned by his crewmates to not destroy the ground they were standing on. Blackbeard admitted he was having some difficulty controlling the newfound power. He then taunted Sengoku and Garp, stating that he will end their age just like he ended Whitebeard's. He seemed to have been somewhat shocked by Koby's speech, and—upon Shanks' arrival—ultimately decided to leave Marineford, stating that he will fight the Red Hair Pirates another day.

Post-War Arc


Blackbeard made his move in the New World, defeating Jewelry Bonney in the process. At a burning island, the crew was bickering amongst each other. The Blackbeard Pirates' raft was brought close to the point of destruction due to Sanjuan Wolf's size, and they seemingly got in contact with the Marines to trade Bonney for a battleship. Teach said Bonney was too weak to survive in the New World. He offered her the chance to be his woman and let her stay, but she turned him down, kicking him in the head (due to only her hands being tied up). Van Augur alerted Teach that the battleship arrived, but not for trade because Akainu was on board. Knowing that the deal would not happen, the Blackbeard Pirates fled, leaving Bonney and her crew behind to be arrested.

During the Timeskip


One year after the war at Marineford, the Blackbeard Pirates fought against the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates and ultimately won. It was after this event that Blackbeard was officially recognized as one of the Four Emperors.

Blackbeard used his knowledge of Whitebeard's former territory to conquer it. During this time, Teach also expanded the crew into a fleet, and with it the hierarchy of the crew was also changed - promoting all of his crewmates to captains of their own respective ships, while Teach himself ascended to the newly formed position of Admiral, giving him command over all the captains and their ships. The Blackbeard Pirates are currently in the process of hunting down powerful Devil Fruit users in order to absorb their abilities.

Teach also began recruiting other pirate crews under his reign, such as Peachbeard.

Teach took part in the Rocky Port Incident, in which he clashed with the former Rocks Pirates member Ochoku over control of the island Hachinosu. According to Teach, the Marines' interference, namely the interference of Marine Captain Koby, helped him win the battle and become the new ruler of Hachinosu, officially making the island his territory.

Dressrosa Arc


During the tournament for the Mera Mera no Mi at Dressrosa, Teach was heard discussing the possibility of recruiting Kuzan to join their crew with Jesus Burgess via Den Den Mushi, to which Burgess asserted that the former admiral could not be trusted. When Burgess announced that Luffy had arrived, Blackbeard greeted the young pirate and voiced surprise that he was a combatant as well. Knowing why Luffy entered the tournament, Teach assured him that Burgess would be the combatant to obtain the devil fruit and that it would be the same as having Ace join his crew since the latter rejected his previous offer. Luffy then angrily stated that he would never allow him to steal Ace's power.

Zou Arc
The Blackbeard Pirates later attacked Baltigo, the Revolutionary Army's headquarters. Baltigo was destroyed by the time the Marines and Cipher Pol arrived, but the Revolutionary Army was able to escape. However, Blackbeard and his crew fled after briefly clashing with Cipher Pol.

Levely Arc
As the news of Luffy's exploits at Totto Land spread across the world, Teach read the newspaper and laughed while commenting that it was too soon for Luffy to be called an Emperor.

Wano Country Arc
Gecko Moria was searching for Teach and Absalom at Hachinosu when he was confronted by Shiryu and Catarina Devon. Teach called out to Moria through a loudspeaker, extending an offer for Moria to join his crew and remarking on current events in Wano and at the Levely.



After the Levely, with the release of the news that the World Government was abolishing the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Teach ordered his crew to set sail, planning to acquire the Mero Mero no Mi before the Marines could take it. Upon reaching Amazon Lily, Teach knocked aside the Marine ships and invaded the island with some of his subordinates, so the Marines sent S-Hawk to fight Teach and his crew. Teach managed to hold off the small Pacifista and capture Hancock after she had petrified most of the Marines and pirates, including Devon and Shot. Koby tried to negotiate Hancock's release so she could restore those who had been petrified but Teach refused to trust Hancock. Before Teach could kill her though, Silvers Rayleigh arrived and intimidated Teach into sparing Hancock and leaving Amazon Lily, allowing everyone to be unpetrified.

Egghead Arc


The Blackbeard Pirates captured Koby since Teach was planning to use Koby's life to force the World Government to recognize Hachinosu as a member nation. Even though Koby and Kuzan explained that the Marines would not give in since Koby was a member of SWORD, Teach was confident that the World Government would not want to lose such a popular Marine as Koby, so he kept to his plan and had Koby imprisoned on the island.

Teach and his crewmembers Doc Q, Jesus Burgess, Van Augur and Stronger later laid an ambushed for whichever crew sailed to Winner Island from Wano in an attempt to steal their Road Poneglyph copies. It turned out to be the Heart Pirates, so Teach and Law braced for a winner-take-all battle over the copies. Starting the battle, Teach unleashed a Gurash on the Heart Pirates, but then fell off of Stronger when Law cut the horse from afar, with Teach admitting his surprise over Law's awakened abilities. After Law stabbed and shocked Teach, Augur warped to Teach in midair and scolded him for recklessly rushing into the battle without a plan. When Augur suggested a retreat, Teach refused and had him warped to where Law was. Teach confirmed Law's suspicion that all his officers had gained Devil Fruit powers and brushed off Law's comments about the one weakness every Devil Fruit has, saying it would be well worth the trade-off. They both engaged once again in battle, with Blackbeard's Black Vortex and Law's R:Room clashing in the middle.

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 Blackbeard and Whitebeard is slightly extended, as Blackbeard 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 Blackbeard'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 Blackbeard 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 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. 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


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

Merchandise


As a prominent character, Blackbeard 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. Blackbeard 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.
 * Teach's favorite foods are cherry pie and kebab, and his least favorite food is gravy.
 * 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 popularity polls, Teach was ranked at the 94th, 51st, 67th, 49th and 46th place, 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.
 * In the current line-up of the Four Emperors, Teach is now the oldest and tallest member, at age 40 and 344 cm. Also, he is 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.

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.

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