Baroque Works

Baroque Works was a criminal syndicate created by the Warlord Crocodile to destabilize and conquer the Arabasta Kingdom (and, by extension, acquire the ancient superweapon Pluton). For this sole purpose, it conducted countless acts of espionage, sabotage, and murder over a span of years, ultimately manipulating Arabasta into civil war.

While the syndicate mostly employed common bounty hunters and mercenaries (motivated by the half-truth that they were building a new, "ideal" nation), its elite members contained significantly skilled combatants and spies. Despite multiple setbacks, its endgame Operation Utopia nearly succeeded in every objective, and was only narrowly stopped by the combined efforts of Princess Nefertari Vivi, the Straw Hat Pirates, and a contingent of Marines led by then-Captain Smoker.

After Operation Utopia's failure, the syndicate was exposed and dismantled, with Crocodile and most of his subordinates—many personally defeated by the Straw Hats—arrested by the Marines. In years to come, however, many of them would escape and continue to impact world events.

Due to their actions and role, they are collectively the main antagonists of the Arabasta Saga, with varying members being the focus of its each individual arc (excluding the Drum Island Arc). Several ex-members also serve as the protagonists of the Miss Goldenweek's "Operation: Meet Baroque Works" cover arc, and supporting characters in the Impel Down Arc and Marineford Arc.

Jolly Roger
Though not a pirate crew per se (indeed, many its members openly disdained pirates), the organization identified itself with a typical Jolly Roger, distinguished by rapiers in place of crossbones and a backdrop of light-purple wings. This symbol was often emblazoned on the organization's ships and paraphernalia; some lower-ranked members even carried it on clothing and/or tattoos.

Overview
At its height, the syndicate contained over 2,000 members, with operations ranging from the Grand Line's Paradise region to the East Blue. Crocodile heavily enforced secrecy throughout, with most (possibly all) members assigned codenames and often forbidden from interacting with higher-ranked personnel; his own identity was kept the highest secret, and any would-be threats were immediately marked for execution.

On a day-to-day basis, most members were assigned to fundraising, especially through bounty hunter work. Those in Arabasta proper sometimes performed more direct sabotage assignments, e.g. smuggling and using Dance Powder (a notorious source of drought), vandalizing drought-stricken towns, and spreading lies to agitate chaos and hostility among citizens. Whenever possible, King Nefertari Cobra and his loyalists were framed for these doings, steadily laying the groundwork for a full civil war.

Organization and Ranks


As head of Baroque Works, Crocodile adopted the alias of Mr. 0, and similarly titled his main partner (and effective chief-of-staff) Nico Robin Miss All-Sunday. This naming scheme was extended through the syndicate's agents (エージェント), roughly two dozen subordinates prominent and powerful enough to receive direct orders from Crocodile:
 * Male agents were given numbered codenames (Mr. 12, Mr. 11, Mr. 10, etc.), with lower numbers directly corresponding to higher rank.
 * Female agents were given holiday and weekday codenames (Miss Monday, Miss Valentine, etc.); unlike the male codenames, these followed no particular ranking pattern.

Agents were organized into twelve male-female teams (excepting Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, an okama effectively allowed to serve as his own partner), usually with emphasis on joining complementary skills. These teams were further divided along two subcategories:


 * Officer Agents (オフィサーエージェント), comprising Mr. 1 through Mr. 5's teams. These were the deadliest of the agents, and almost all held Devil Fruit powers; a majority were considered vital enough that Crocodile willingly revealed his identity to them in preparation for Operation Utopia.
 * Frontier Agents (フロンティアエージェント), comprising Mr. 6 through Mr. 12's teams. These were considered "lesser" elites, and mostly assigned to overseeing the syndicate's various fundraising operations (though the Mr. 7 team was given a semi-pivotal role in Operation Utopia).

The bulk of Baroque Works' membership, however, consisted of unremarkable foot-soldiers assigned as the agents' subordinates: 200 Billions (ビリオンズ) for the Officer Agents, and 1,800 Millions (ミリオンズ) for the Frontier Agents. These were give more eclectic codenames (Miss Catherina, Mr. Love, etc.) and treated more disposably, though their work could sometimes approach the agents' in complexity and importance.

Members could be promoted to higher categories and ranks in the wake of major accomplishments and/or a (preferably fatal) vacancy. This encouraged greater efforts from many—particularly the Billions, who were considered direct candidates for agenthood—but also many internal hostilities, sometimes escalating to outright murder.

Irregular Members
In addition to conventional personnel, Baroque Works also employed a number of animals in specialized roles:
 * Most prominent were the Unluckies, comprising the otter Mr. 13 and the vulture Miss Friday. They were responsible for ferrying written communications, recording new threats to the syndicate, and punishing members of Frontier Agent rank or below.
 * A squad of lizards known as Erimaki Runners were sometimes used as backup messengers, especially within Arabasta proper.
 * A large colony of Bananawani were kept in the lake surrounding Rain Dinners, for executing enemies (and/or incompetent members) who had earned Crocodile's personal ire.
 * Various other creatures, such as F-Wani (a smaller, faster Bananawani subspecies) and the "all-terrain tortoise" Banchi, were occasionally used for long-distance transportation.

Members' Fates

 * Mr. 0: Defeated by Monkey D. Luffy and arrested by Smoker, imprisoned in Impel Down, later escaped.
 * Miss All Sunday: Joined the Straw Hat Pirates.
 * Banchi: Unknown.
 * Mr. 1: Defeated by Roronoa Zoro, and imprisoned in Impel Down by Smoker, later escaped and remained with Crocodile.
 * Miss Doublefinger: Defeated by Nami and arrested by Hina, later escaped and returned to being the owner of New Spiders Cafe.
 * Mr. 2 Bon Kurei: Defeated by Sanji and imprisoned in Impel Down by Hina. Later stayed behind to cover Luffy's escape and ultimately became Queen of Newkama Land at Level 5.5, replacing Emporio Ivankov.
 * Mr. 3: Defeated by Monkey D. Luffy and imprisoned in Impel Down by Hina, later escaped and joined the Buggy Pirates. Afterward, became an officer of Buggy's Delivery.
 * Miss Goldenweek: Defeated by Karoo, and later rescued her fellow agents from imprisonment. Afterward, became an employee of New Spiders Cafe.
 * Mr. 4: Defeated by Usopp and Tony Tony Chopper and then arrested by Hina, later escaped and became an employee of New Spiders Cafe.
 * Miss Merry Christmas: Defeated by Usopp and Tony Tony Chopper and then arrested by Hina, later escaped and became an employee of New Spiders Cafe.
 * Lassoo: Defeated by Usopp and Tony Tony Chopper and arrested by Hina, later escaped and became the mascot of New Spiders Cafe.
 * Mr. 5: Defeated by Roronoa Zoro, and later rescued his fellow agents from imprisonment. Afterward, became an employee of New Spiders Cafe.
 * Miss Valentine: Defeated by Nami and Nefertari Vivi, and later rescued her fellow agents from imprisonment. Afterward, became an employee of New Spiders Cafe.
 * Mr. 6: Unknown.
 * Miss Mother's Day: Unknown.
 * Mr. 7 (first): Killed by Roronoa Zoro years ago.
 * Mr. 7 (second): Defeated by Nefertari Vivi, proceeding fate unknown.
 * Miss Father's Day: Defeated by Nefertari Vivi, proceeding fate unknown.
 * Mr. 8: Returned to being Captain of the Arabasta Royal Guard.
 * Miss Monday: Married Mr. 9, currently living at Whisky Peak.
 * Mr. 9: Married Miss Monday, currently living at Whisky Peak.
 * Miss Wednesday: Returned to being the Princess of Arabasta Kingdom.
 * Karoo: Returned to being the leader of the Super Spot-Billed Duck Troops.
 * Mr. 10: Unknown.
 * Miss Tuesday: Unknown.
 * Mr. 11: Arrested by Smoker, later killed by Billions Mr. Mellow.
 * Miss Thursday: Escaped capture by Smoker; proceeding fate unknown.
 * Mr. 12: Unknown.
 * Miss Saturday: Unknown.
 * Mr. 13: Defeated by Sanji and then captured by the Marines to make drawings of the Baroque Works agents that were not captured in Arabasta.
 * Miss Friday: Defeated by Sanji and then captured by the Marines to make drawings of the Baroque Works agents that were not captured in Arabasta.
 * Billions:
 * Akumai: Arrested by Hina, proceeding fate unknown.
 * Mr. Mellow: Defeated by Portgas D. Ace, proceeding fate unknown.
 * Mr. Love: Defeated and arrested by Tashigi.
 * Geronimo: Defeated by Monkey D. Luffy, proceeding fate unknown.
 * Millions:
 * Mr. Shimizu: Defeated by Roronoa Zoro, proceeding fate unknown.
 * Miss Catherina: Defeated by Roronoa Zoro, proceeding fate unknown.
 * Mr. Beans: Defeated by Roronoa Zoro, proceeding fate unknown.
 * Hercules: Defeated by Roronoa Zoro, proceeding fate unknown.

Crew Strength
Baroque Works was one of the most significant threats the Straw Hats faced as a whole in Paradise (and the second largest, surpassed only by the forces of Enies Lobby). Though ultimately defeated, it was well-organized and effective enough to manufacture a full-scale civil war in one of the Twenty Kingdoms, and nearly unearthed Pluton—a superweapon so elusive that even the World Government's most ambitious intelligence agency had resigned itself to searching only for diagrams.

In enabling this, even the syndicate's common foot-soldiers were cunning and well-trained—if not particularly combat-worthy against the Straw Hats—on the whole. The agents were many times stronger, with the Officer Agents in particular containing eight separate Devil Fruit users; of particular note were Mr. 1 and Mr. 2 Bon Kurei, who nearly killed Roronoa Zoro and Sanji in single combat several times over.

As the agents' field commander, Miss All-Sunday was deadlier still, possessing a Devil Fruit power that could spy on, incapacitate, and assassinate virtually anyone from any distance. In addition, she was—and remains—the last living individual able to read Poneglyphs, effectively giving the syndicate closer access to Pluton and other ancient superweapons than any other group in the world.

Finally, the syndicate's leader Crocodile ranked among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, with total mastery of one of the world's most powerful Devil Fruits and the experience of a New World veteran. Notably, he was the first individual to not only defeat Monkey D. Luffy in single combat but do so in multiple battles (a feat matched only by Kaidou of the Four Emperors).

Ships
The organization used many different ships to transport their personnel; the Officer Agents, especially, were known to use personalized ships.

Baroque Gustave
The Baroque Gustave (バロックギュスターブ号) was a ship belonging to Crocodile.

Its name is likely derived from Gustave, a notorious man-eating Nile crocodile from Burundi reported to have killed and eaten over 300 people.

Kill Sassoon
The Kill Sassoon (キルサスーン号) was a ship that was used by Mr. 1 and Miss Doublefinger.

Its name is possibly meant as a portmanteau of kill and assassin, referencing the duo's pride in being professional killers.

Swanda Express
The Swanda Express was Mr. 2's personalized ship, which was themed after a swan. Some of the ship's features included: pink sails, hand operated paddle wheels, and a swan figurehead.

Chiryaku Ten'nen Maru
The Chiryaku Ten'nen Maru was a ship used by Mr. 3 and Miss Goldenweek. It is largely personalized after Mr. 3, which he used to travel to Arabasta and escape from Mr. 2 (who was ordered to kill him). The ship had sails with blue and white stripes, a number 3 figurehead and was powered by the Doru Doru no Mi powers.

Holly Home Run
The Holly Home Run (ホーリーホームラン号) was a ship used by Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas.

Its name references both of their themes, combining baseball's home run with the the Christmas-associated holly plant.

Pop Rock Candy
The Pop Rock Candy (ポップロックキャンディ号) was a ship used by Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.

Its name references Pop Rocks, a brand of candy famous for simulating "explosions" with carbon dioxide gas-bubbles (and infamous for persisting rumors that it can create actual, fatal explosions if consumed with soft drinks).

Full
The Full was a large purple and yellow ship that used Dance Powder to make artificial rain. It had a crocodile figurehead and a tall smokestack in the forecastle deck (which had the Baroque Works jolly roger in its base).

Other
The Billions traveled in multiple ships with various designs, however, all of them had the Baroque Works name and/or jolly roger in their sails.

In the ending of Movie 2, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were seen using a relatively small boat with a white sail and no Baroque Works insignia. It's unknown if the same boat was also used by the pair to travel to Whisky Peak or Little Garden.

Inspirations and Influences
According to Eiichiro Oda, Baroque Works was in fact named for the "Baroque" movement that flourished across 18th-century European arts. This style, often emphasizing extravagant and intricate details above all, was seen as a natural parallel to the various agents' flamboyant fashion senses (with Mr. 8 and Mr. 7, in particular, sporting hairstyles strongly resembling the powdered wigs popular to the era).

Trivia

 * Oda once joked that Baroque Works sends their members on holiday to the winter festivals in Hokkaido. Since none of the members are allowed to meet, they would send them separately.
 * Many of the dreams revealed by Miss Goldenweek's Colors Trap were or would be difficult for the Baroque Members to resolve.
 * Crocodile's dream (like Luffy's) was to become the Pirate King.
 * Mr. 1's dream to be a superhero was a pun with his Devil Fruit, the Supa Supa no Mi, because in Japan super is supa. His nickname as a "Killer" makes it somewhat ironic with heroism.
 * Mr. 4's dream to be a pizza boy would have been hindered by the fact he was too slow (hence why his apron has "delivery in 30 hours" written on it).
 * Mr. 5's dream to be a fireman would also be problematic, as his Devil Fruit powers are something a fireman would have considered hazardous. (On the other hand, his immunity to explosions could be seen as beneficial as he would be unaffected by backdraft explosions).
 * Miss Doublefinger's dream to remain as Paula the cafe owner would not have been considered ideal due to the Spiders Cafe's run-down state. (However, her dream was one of the few to be realized: the Baroque Works members who escaped returned to create a new Spiders Cafe from the Cactus Saloon)
 * Miss Merry Christmas' dream to be a princess would be farfetched because of her rudeness and Devil Fruit power involving digging around in the dirt.
 * Miss Valentine's wished to be a girl who creates chocolate confections, linked to her name "Valentine." It can also be considered ironic, due to her lemon theme and as chocolates are often linked to obesity, though her Devil Fruit allows her to hide her weight.
 * Out of all the officer agents only Miss All-Sunday, Mr. 3 and Mr. 2 Bon Kurei did not have their dreams revealed by Miss Goldenweek's technique.
 * Robin's own dream was revealed through the Straw Hats' adventures: to discover the True History. Her dream was hindered by her plight against the World Government, something later revoked by the Straw Hats' dedication to their own crewmates.
 * Mr. 2 Bon Kurei later revealed he had always dreamed of meeting Emporio Ivankov, a dream he later is able to make happen in Impel Down thanks to Luffy. His dream had been hindered by Ivankov being imprisoned in Impel Down.
 * Coincidentally, all three have aided Luffy in some way.
 * Members of Baroque Works are placed in levels of Impel Down that are more severe than their assigned bounties (Mr. 2 Bon Kurei was in Level 3 despite having a bounty lower than 50,000,000; Crocodile was in Level 6 despite having a bounty lower than 100,000,000, although his bounty had been frozen for some time).
 * While a direct inspiration has never been cited, Baroque Works bears many strong parallels to the James Bond franchise's SPECTRE, which similarly codenamed important operatives under numbers (though these had no correspondence to rank in the original novels), used exotic animals to execute incompetent operatives, and orchestrated wars and pursued superweapons under the guise of a "legitimate" business.
 * During Movie 2, a Baroque Works ship (with a slightly different jolly roger), can be seen behind Going Merry when it was being captured.
 * All the male members except Crocodile have their numbers somewhere on their bodies.
 * The Baroque Works share many similarities with Donquixote Pirates.
 * Crocodile shares several similarities with Doflamingo. Members Mr. 5, Miss Valentine, Miss Goldenweek and Mr. 1 have similar abilities to Gladius, Machvise, Giolla and Baby 5, respectively (explosions, weight manipulation, art and turning one's body into weapons).
 * Both crews also have as a member a former princess from the kingdom they are trying to rule planning to overthrow the organization: Miss Wednesday (Nefertari Vivi) and Violet (Viola).
 * Both crews have a member that ended up becoming allies with Luffy: Mr. 2 Bon Kurei and Trafalgar Law.
 * Both crews aimed to conquer a kingdom (the Arabasta Kingdom and Dressrosa) by overthrowing the current king (Nefertari Cobra and Riku Doldo III).
 * Both crews were defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates and their allies.

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