Benn Beckman

Ben Beckman (ベン・ベックマン, Ben Bekkuman) is the first mate in Red-Haired Shanks' pirate crew.

Appearence
When first seen in the manga and anime, he wears his black hair in a ponytail, and is never seen without his rifle nearby or a cigarette in his mouth. Later on in the series, his hair has turned grey and is cut short, and he has a large X-shaped scar on his left temple.

Personality
He appears to be a lot less fun-loving than the other members of the crew and a lot more relaxed, acting as the level headed member, similar to Zoro.

At times he seems amazed at the actions of his captain, such as panicking when Luffy was taken or getting even more drunk when he had already drunk a lot before hand when Mihawk brought news of Luffy's coming. He is first to speak out amongst the crew when they appear. He is also the first to ask questions on situations, such as whether the World Government would allow them to see Whitebeard.

Abilities and Powers
He possesses astonishing wisdom and strength, and acts as adviser to his captain. According to Eiichiro Oda, Ben Beckman has the highest IQ of all the characters introduced in the East Blue saga.

Weapons
Beckman carries a rifle gun around with him, though he has yet to use it for its true purposes, instead using it as a club on Higuma's men.

Past Story
How Ben Beckman came become a crew member of Shanks' crew is unknown.

When he was at Luffy's hometown, Beckman tried to explain his captains decision on refusing to take Luffy with him to sea. Unfortunately he found his captain left him somewhat in a awkward situation since he seemed to enjoy mocking the fact Luffy couldn't swim, leaving Beckman to explain Shanks really was that happy all the time. Later on after the Higuma incident and the bandit returned, Beckman took on Higuma's men. He shocked Higuma by taking out every last bandit, leaving only Higuma standing.

Present Story
Currently he is with Shanks on their ship visiting Whitebeard. He is surprised at his captain for attacking Whitebeard.

Major Battles
During Luffy's past, he wiped out a large group of Higuma the Bear's fellow bandits.

Merchandise
He has featured in One Piece Gashapon sets.

Translation and Dub Issues

 * In the 4Kids English dub, Ben's cigarette is edited out.

Trivia

 * When Oda gave his name, Oda joked he was called "Showfoctay Nezumi" because he looked a little like a mouse. However according to Oda, that was Usopp lying.
 * Ben Beckman is considered to have the highest IQ among the characters introduced during East Blue saga, second being Kuro and third being Nami.