Basil Hawkins

Basil Hawkins is an infamous pirate known as the "Magician" and the captain of the Hawkins Pirates. He comes from North Blue and is one of the elite pirates who have been referred to as "The Eleven Supernovas" on Sabaody Archipelago whose bounties are higher than 100,000,000 when the Straw Hat Pirates arrived. His bounty amounts to 249,000,000, which was the third highest known on the island at the time, after Eustass Kid and Monkey D. Luffy.

Appearance
Hawkins is a tall man, with black triangle symbols on his eyebrows, red eyes, and golden hair that reaches down to his hips. He also has a black cross tattooed at the base of his throat at the front of his neck.

His attire includes a pure white coat with a ruffled neckline and sleeves. He also wears purple trousers tucked inside black boots with white laces on them and a dark ornament made of fur circling the lower part of his torso, with a lighter shade in the middle of it. He also has a pink sash tied around his waist, with a piece of jewelry hanging from it. Hawkins also wears dark gloves similar to those worn by Blueno of CP9, and an armor-like armlet can be seen on his left arm around his left biceps, which also extends to cover his left shoulder. On his right hip he carries a sword with an elaborate pommel that resembles a voodoo doll.

As a child, he had much shorter hair and wore a similar coat to the one he wears now. He is also shown with his trademark stoic expression, possibly partaking in a tarot card reading.

Personality
Hawkins portrays himself in a noble and enigmatic manner. In particular, he has a notion about foretelling the fate of everything that he sees. He notes the potential of death and fate in things from a person's clothing to other pirates.

When approached by Kizaru, he calmly used his cards to calculate all the probabilities of the battle, and upon foretelling that he wouldn't die, remained calm even when subsequently attacked. He has been known to express outward shock, as seen when Urouge utilizes a strength and size enhancing technique against a Pacifista.

He remains completely calm regardless of the situation, showing no emotional response after Roronoa Zoro nearly attacked a Tenryuubito or after learning the news of Portgas D. Ace's upcoming execution, events which drove many other members of his crew and other Captains to panic.

He appears to be against the idea of needless violence, as seen when he stopped his crewmate from attacking a waiter after the latter accidentally spilled spaghetti all over his clothes, even then apologizing to the waiter himself. However, despite this, in battle, he is very cruel and ruthless, having slain almost all of Brownbeard's crew and left Brownbeard on the verge of death and left him without the use of his legs. His voodoo-power itself implies cruelty and apathy, as he lets other people suffer the damage that he would otherwise sustain and apparently has no problem with it.

He seems to be always serious, and before the battle with Brownbeard, coldly commented that he hates jokes.

Crew
Hawkins' crew appears to be quite loyal to him and will, without fail, follow his every imperative to the last word. In the anime, they were even willing to attempt to hold down Kizaru at bay to buy their captain some time to escape when the Admiral suddenly appeared, confronting Hawkins' entourage.

Rivals
As for his fellow Supernovas, the interactions that Hawkins had with those whom he encountered were neither confrontational, nor associative.

Urouge
He informed Urouge that he did not see the shadow of death upon him yet when Urouge asked whether having both a Shichibukai and an Admiral as opponents would be the end for him, which Urouge treated as a friendly joke from a rival.

Monkey D. Luffy
Hawkins was seen attempting to predict Luffy's chances of survival at the end of the Marineford War and notes to himself that no matter how many times he shuffled his cards, the probability of Luffy surviving never reached zero, which surprised him.

Brownbeard
After his encounter with Brownbeard on Foodvalten, Hawkins took the use of his legs, effectively ending Brownbeard's career as a pirate, causing Brownbeard to develop a grudge against him.

Abilities and Powers
Hawkins is a fearsome pirate who, along with his crew, managed to survive the first half of the Grand Line and to enter the New World. His reputation granted him an astonishing bounty of 249,000,000, the third highest amongst the Supernovas.

Fortune Telling & Cartomancy
Concerning the fate of your clothes... I'm sorry to inform you it is a very cruel and unlucky day. Hawkins often speaks like a fortune teller and has been noted to mention reading "signs".

He can use cards to (apparently) assist him in determining the outcome of any event, as well as the likelihood of his own success. This proves helpful in many situations, as it allows him to previously determine the outcomes of a battle and to act accordingly.

His cards allow him to work out to a percentage of the chances of something happening. His predictions seem to be accurate quite often, as he was able to predict that he and his crew as well as the other Supernovas, would not perish at the hands of Kizaru. He also predicted that Luffy would survive his injuries sustained in the war. It is yet to be explained how he is able to do this. He was wrong about his prediction concerning Brownbeard's fate though, as Hawkins said he saw the shadow of death in Brownbeard's face. Brownbeard however, survived. It is possible though that Hawkins was simply trying to scare Brownbeard or it could be foreshadowing Brownbeard will lose the battle against Hawkins and die in the story. It is also possible he said this to mean that Brownbeard would come close to death (which he did) or be surrounded by his dead crewmates.

When using his cards, he is seen attaching them to a support made up by many slim "branches", each capable of housing a card.

Devil Fruit
Basil Hawkins' as-of-yet unnamed Devil Fruit ability enables him to redirect any instances of physical damage inflicted upon him to another person using straw voodoo dolls, leaving him unharmed but forcing his victim to take damage amounting to what he would have. He was able to consecutively withstand a kick and a laser blast from Kizaru, the former having knocked him through a building. Whether Hawkins can directly choose who receives the damage is unknown. After bodily damage is taken, voodoo dolls that represent the people who took the damage are shed from his body, showing the effects of the attack. The Devil Fruit also enables him to transform into a giant scarecrow-like entity, resembling a giant voodoo doll, with metal nails functioning as claws/fingernails.

The weakness in this power is that the number of voodoo dolls that Basil keeps on his person is finite. This is noted when he told Kizaru that it was unwise for him to fight with a mere ten "men" (voodoo dolls). This implies that he can hold a larger number if need be. Each attack corresponds to a single doll, so if he is hit more times than he has dolls to redirect the damage, he becomes just as vulnerable as an ordinary human. Rapid fire attacks and attacks that come in quick succession are especially potent against Hawkins. This is seen when Kizaru simply fired lasers through his straw form at a rapid pace, burning through his remaining eight dolls in a matter of seconds. It also seems that the dolls' ability to transfer damage is limited only to bodily injury, as shown when Kizaru blinded Basil using intense light.

His scarecrow form also presents a significant weakness. Though the form grants him greater strength and attack capabilities, the basics of his Devil Fruit still apply. This means that using the form provides his enemies with a much larger target, making it that much easier to exhaust his supply of voodoo dolls through repeat damage. He also seems to revert to human form upon running out of dolls in battle, though this may be a conscious decision.

Weapons
Hawkins carries around a sword on his right hip, which has an elaborate pommel shaped like a voodoo doll. As he has not been seen using it yet, it is unknown to what degree he can wield it.

The sword appears to be a single-edged blade. He unsheathed it as he prepared to fight Brownbeard, and combined it with his Devil Fruit transformation powers, but his swordsmanship has yet to be demonstrated.

Attacks

 * Goma no So (降魔の相): Hawkins transforms into a giant scarecrow-like entity. He also resembles a voodoo doll seemingly made from straw, with metal nails functioning as claws/fingernails. According to Kizaru, it boosts Hawkins' defensive power. However, his Devil Fruit is not a Logia (as noted by Kizaru), so he is still as vulnerable to damage as he is in human form, just with greater offensive capabilities. This was first seen used in the battle against Admiral Kizaru. This is called Demon Face in the Viz Manga and Demon Conquering Phase in the FUNimation subs.

Sabaody Archipelago Arc
Hawkins was first seen in a restaurant along with fellow Supernovas Capone Bege and Jewelry Bonney with their crews. A waiter accidentally spilled food on one of his crew members. His crew mate complained only to be told by Hawkins it was a very unlucky day for him.

Upon hearing of Luffy's attack of a Tenryubito, he was the only one whose position as to leaving or staying was unclear - all he said was that "There is no need to rush. Our destiny has already been decided."

Kizaru came across Basil Hawkins sitting down, surrounded by his entourage of crewmen while he simply stated that he would not die today. After sitting down and working out his chances against the Admiral, Kizaru attempted to take out Hawkins, only to find that his attacks have didn't have an effect and Hawkins remained unhurt. He released two voodoo dolls from his right arm, then stated that ten men wouldn't suffice against Kizaru. The battle is joined by Urouge and X Drake, as well as one of the Pacifista on the archipelago.



After Kizaru sent Urouge flying, Hawkins transformed into a giant straw monster in liking of a large voodoo doll baring Hawkins' semblance in order to defeat him. He is blinded by Kizaru who then deduced that Hawkins' ability is not a Logia-type. Hawkins would have been killed, had it not been for the intervention of Scratchmen Apoo.

However, Kizaru reformed himself, dispatched Scratchmen Apoo easily, and then turned his attention to the two remaining Supernovas. After defeating X Drake, Kizaru defeated Hawkins by firing a light-based arrow into his abdomen. Hawkins was about to be finished off by Kizaru when he was suddenly interrupted by his Den Den Mushi; saving Hawkins from death.

Marineford Arc
He was seen watching Ace's execution televised at Sabaody, meaning that he managed to escape capture by the Marines. Hawkins was also predicting the chances of survival for Whitebeard's crew, but his outcome was never seen. Hawkins was later seen predicting the survival rate for Luffy, and found it strange that no matter how many times he tried, it never hit zero.

Post-War Arc
After the war at Marineford, he and his crew entered the New World and reached Foodvalten, which is under Brownbeard's control. Hawkins casually angered Brownbeard by asking his name, twice, and then simply ignored the other mumblings of his glory and commented that his name is ridiculous. Brownbeard asked if he was joking. Hawkins then proceeded to tell Brownbeard two things: first, he hates jokes; and second, he sees the shadow of death upon Brownbeard. He then unsheathes his sword and activates his Goma no So, preparing to attack Brownbeard and his crew. Hawkins then defeats Brownbeard and his crew; Brownbeard lost the use of his legs in the process.

Major Battles

 * Basil Hawkins, X Drake, Urouge and Scratchmen Apoo vs. Kizaru and a Pacifista
 * Basil Hawkins vs Brownbeard and his crew (unseen)

Anime and Manga Difference
In the manga, it is unknown what type of cards Hawkins uses for his cartomancy as only the back has been seen so far.

In the anime, they appear to be tarot cards since the "Death (XIII)" card was seen. "Death" is the single most misconstrued card in the tarot deck. When most people see this card, they immediately associate it directly with a physical death, which it almost never means: Upright, it represents change (more specifically change for the better). In reverse (upside-down), it represents an outright refusal to change or hanging on to old outdated ways of thinking and acting.

Merchandise
So far he has only appeared in the Anichara Heroes, One Piece Amazing Log Collection, One Piece Super Deformed Figures, One Piece Full Face Jr. and World Collectable series.

He is also set to be released in Super Modeling Soul One Piece.

Trivia

 * Hawkins' name is derived from a real life pirate and a navigator. His given name comes from John Hawkins, while his surname comes from Basil Ringrose.
 * In Japan, Hawkins' birthday, September 9th, is known as 'Fortune-telling Day' (占いの日), a reference to his fortune-telling abilities.

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