Blackbeard Pirates

The Blackbeard pirates (黒ひげ海賊団, Kurohige Kaizokudan) are fictional pirates from the anime and manga One Piece, led by Blackbeard.

Their captain, Blackbeard was originally a member of Whitebeard's band of pirates (and Ace's subordinate) until he quit and killed one of his crewmates, heading out on his own and forming his own crew. Blackbeard is Sir Crocodile's replacement among the Shichibukai (Seven Warlords of the Sea), having turned in Firefist Ace to do so.

Part in the Story
Blackbeard's flag is that of three skulls--one looking left, one looking forward, and one looking right. The first time the crew is mentioned, they are said to have ransacked the kingdom of Drum. Upon seeing their immense power, the cruel and cowardly king, Wapol, fled without even fighting back. In Alabasta, when the Straw Hats meet up with Portgas D. Ace, it is revealed that Ace is hunting him down for what he did to his crewmates.

Laffite marks the first visual appearance of the crew by appearing at Mariejoa to recommend Blackbeard to replace Sir Crocodile as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The other crewmembers are first seen in Mock Town of the island Jaya, playing several "games" to see how fate works out. When Luffy meets Blackbeard himself in a bar, they at first seem to have the exact opposite opinions. While Luffy hates the bar's pie, Blackbeard loves it, and while Luffy loves one of the bar's drinks, Blackbeard hates it, which leads to them challenging each other to a fight, but they decide not to go through with it when Nami points out that they are fighting for no reason. Later on, after the Bellamy Pirates taunt them for believing in Sky Island, Blackbeard assures the Straw Hats that it does exist and in response to the notion of the "New Age", states that people will never stop dreaming. Because of this, it is not yet known whether Blackbeard is truly evil or whether he is just misguided. When Blackbeard finds out about Luffy's high bounty, he and his crew try to capture him, but the Straw Hats are launched into the sky by Knock-Up Stream before they can make an attempt.

Recently the entire Blackbeard crew, including Laffite, have finally encountered Ace. According to Van Auger, they are also not too far from Enies Lobby. It is still unknown at this time if they will still continue to pursue Luffy, though it's quite possible considering Blackbeard's hidden agenda that Shanks and Whitebeard discussed. Blackbeard is attempting to become, or is, more powerful than even Whitebeard.

Crew Strength
Blackbeard pirates are much stronger than normal pirates depicted so far in the story. Van Auger shot a flock of seagulls from a distance so far the Straw Hats couldn't even see the island he was on. Jesus Burgess is a wrestling champion and won every fight he was in in Mock Town. Laffite was able to sneak into the World Government headquarters of Mariejoa during a meeting between several high-ranking Navy officials and three Shichibukai members completely undetected until he spoke up, a feat made even greater by his wearing tap shoes. The crew captain, Blackbeard himself inflicted a permanent scar on the face of Red-Haired Shanks - one of the Four Emperors and one the strongest pirates in the world and effortlessly, even casually defeated Sarquiss and finally he was able to defeat Firefist Ace, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirate Crew. Lastly, their attack on Drum Island was overwhelming to the point that it forced its king Wapol to flee the country entirely.

Other Information
They believe heavily in fate and luck, using often cruel measures to see how destiny plays out. One example is Van Auger, who shot a group of seagulls just to see the ones destined to die slow and painful deaths. Another example is demonstrated by Jesus Burgess, who challenges random people to a fight to see who wins. Doc Q also handed out apples in Mock Town to see who was unlucky enough to get ones that exploded after one bite and who did not. Even when they chase after Luffy to the Knock-Up Stream, his escape was put down to fate.

While it has never been stated by Oda where the influence of their flag comes from, the image of the or 3 heads appears as a classic depiction of Cerberus. The three heads of Cerberus are suppose to see the past, the present and the future and Cerberus was also the guardian of the gates of Hades. This happens to tie in with the crews views of fate and destiny as well as their often deadly methods for seeing how fate plays out and may be the reason behind the three skulls. It may also be a depiction of the Moirae, the three goddesses of Fate.

All members of the crew appear to be massive humans, not unlike Aokiji or Whitebeard. Teach, Burgess, and Doc Q are big characters, while Van Auger and Laffite are quite tall as well.

Trivia

 * At least four of the crew are apparently named after four real life pirates (Blackbeard, Van Auger, Jesus Burgess, Laffite).