Gol D. Roger

Gol D. Roger, known to most as Gold Roger, was the Pirate King, the Captain of the Jolly Roger Pirates, and owner of the legendary treasure known as One Piece. He is also the biological father of Portgas D. Ace, the adoptive-brother of Monkey D. Luffy.

Appearance
Roger was a short man with a son called Portgas D. Ace, who walked tall and proud before his execution.

Up until Chapter 506 have his eyes always been hidden, by a shade on the upper part of his face. During most of his appearances he is almost always seen smiling. He had a short neck, thick black hair, and a wide black curved mustache.

Like many other high ranked pirates he wore a long, red captain's coat. Beneath he wore a green shirt and had a blue scarf around his waist. He wore dark blue pants and unlike most other pirates seen in the One Piece World, he wore what appeared to be black sea boots.

When in public and around his men, he wore his large coat with his arms in the sleeves and a cravat around his neck, like a fine English nobleman. When being casual, he would place his coat over his shoulders.

Personality
He was said to be fearless. Those who witnessed his execution even claim that he grinned just before his death. Gol D. Roger's personality is often commented by people who knew him to have been similar to Luffy. When Ace revealed his lineage to Whitebeard, the Yonkou noted that Ace's personality wasn't much like his father's. Roger was also a man who loved 'big, flashy things' and reveled in his title of "Pirate King" despite his oncoming death.

Crew
He apparently had a strong bond with his crew. Rayleigh, his partner, described him as a "magnificent man". Shanks and Buggy also seemed saddened when speaking of the day of their captain's execution.

Friends
He befriended Gan Fall, the God of Skypiea and left him with wonderful memories. He also befriended Tom and Kokoro, gaining enough admirance for Tom to consider building him the ship, Oro Jackson. The Fishman would later proudly boast that he was proud he had built the Oro Jackson for the late Pirate King even though it had led to his death by making such a declaration.

Enemies
He saw a rival in Whitebeard and fought regularly with the Marine hero Monkey D. Garp. As a final favor, Roger asked Garp to take care of his son, Portgas D. Ace, saving him from a being branded a criminal just by being born as the son of the Pirate King.

However, despite his rivals and battles, he seemed to have much respect even from his foes; no one has yet to speak ill of him, except Portgas D. Ace.

Portgas D. Rouge
Rouge was Roger's lover. It is unknown if they were ever married, nor how their relationship worked out, but she died to protect Ace from being hunted by the World Government.

Portgas D. Ace
Ace is the son of Roger. As Roger did not want Ace to be born as a criminal due to family ties, he requested Garp to take care of Ace in secrecy. When Roger spoke to Garp, he said that his (then) unborn child held no sins. However, Ace did not see this as love and detested his father.

Abilities and Powers
Wealth, fame, power. The man who had acquired everything in this world, the pirate king, Gold Roger!

-Introduction to One Piece We Are! Prior to his death, he was the Pirate King, so it is safe to assume that his physical power was nearly unmatchable. He was also able to battle Vice Admiral Garp, who possessed super human strength, on many occasions. This is a big clue to Roger's abilities, as Garp claims to have gotten old since then, while still possessing incredible super human strength. He is also the one responsible for giving Whitebeard the huge scar he bears on his chest. It can be assumed that he was the strongest pirate in the world. While Whitebeard is stated to be the strongest man in the world now, he and Roger ended their battle in a draw. The fact that Roger was able to fight on equal ground with Whitebeard, 'a man that has the power to destroy the world', is also a major hint toward how great his abilities were.

Gol D. Roger was able to read Poneglyphs and write in their language. However, he didn't actually know how to decipher the text itself. According to his first mate, Rayleigh, Gol D. Roger was not like the Ohara scholars, who used their intellect to study the Poneglyphs. Gol D. Roger could read the Poneglyphs because he had the ability to "hear the voice of all things".

Since two of his subordinates (his first mate and apprentice) have been seen using Haki with apparent strength, it can be assumed that Roger had some use of the power.

The Beginning
Born in Loguetown, Roger was famed as the man who did what no one thought possible - he conquered the Grand Line. It would seem that he had been around for some time, considering that Brook refers to him as a rookie, 40-50 years before the original storyline.

Unavoidable Fate
Twenty-six years ago (four years before Roger's death), Roger came down with an incurable disease. He decided to pitch one last journey with his crew into the Grand Line. Upon reaching the lighthouse at Reverse Mountain, at the entrance of the grand Line, Roger took into his crew Crocus to keep him alive.

Their journey took them to Skypiea and later Water 7 where the shipwright Tom built them a ship called the Oro Jackson.

Two of the most powerful opponents Roger faced on his journey were the Marine Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp and the pirate Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate. The former is said to have cornered him many times on the journey, and the latter was the closest rival to his title. It is said that Whitebeard was the only man capable of matching Roger in combat.

Final Days of the King
By the end of his life; wealth, fame, power, Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, had it all. However, despite now being called the Pirate King, none of this mattered because he was still fated to die, even though Roger was still happy about it. One year before his death Roger disbanded his crew in secret and one by one they disappeared. Before his death, he told Rayleigh he would not die and handed himself over to the Marines. At some point before his execution, he asked of Garp to take care of his son when he was gone, saying that an infant child should not be labeled a criminal for his family ties and although Garp said he had no obligation to do so, Roger knew he would do it anyway.

Thinking they would make an example of him to prevent others from becoming pirates, they immediately set up his execution in Loguetown. But as he was about to die, Roger yelled out his famous last words. Upon his final words, possibly the greatest achievement Roger made was to start the "Great Age of Piracy", dubbed by a few characters as the "Age of Dreams".

In the last moment of his life, he turned his fading "flame of life" into a huge fire that enveloped the world. I've never laughed more than on that day...!! I've never cried more than on that day... I've never drank more either..!! He was our captain... and he was a magnificent man...!!!

-Rayleigh talking about Roger's death.

With the demise of Gol D. Roger, Whitebeard (the only person who ever tied in a fight with the Pirate King) was now considered the strongest man alive, although, in present storyline, while he remains strong, old age is beginning to catch up with him.

Gol D. Roger's treasure dubbed later as One Piece remains unclaimed and its location unknown. Many pirates have since set sail hoping to find that treasure, become the Pirate King and make all their wildest dreams come true.

Major Battles

 * Vs. Whitebeard (yet to be seen)
 * Vs. Monkey D. Garp (yet to be seen)

Anime Only
All of these were mentioned as battles in the Loguetown fillers:
 * Killer Giant
 * King of the Eric Pirates
 * The devilish Kung-Fu Brothers
 * The famous gunner Silver-Silver

Translation and Dub Issues
My fortune is yours for the taking... but you'll have to find it first I left everything I own in One Piece!

-Introduction to One Piece: 4Kids dub

Exactly how Gol D. Roger died is a subject of debate, however. In the anime, two men jabbed spears into his heart, impaling him (though utterly failing to make him stop smiling); in the 4Kids dub he was "hung" at the "Roguetown" gallows ; and the English-language manga says the Marines "lopped off his head" (decapitated him). The original Japanese manga never reveals precisely how he was executed (though it depicts the scene), but it remains to be seen whether this will become an important plot point in the future, or if it was simply a way of lessening the visceral impact of the character's death. The only other character to be seen under going the same method execution was Montblanc Norland.

In the 4Kids dub, Roger's last words before he died were: "My fortune is yours for the taking, but you'll have to find it first. I left everything I owned in One Piece." In volume one of the English manga, Roger's last words were: "My treasure? Why, it's right where I left it. It's yours if you can find it. But you'll have to search the whole world!" So with his legendary treasure One Piece now up for grabs, people took to the seas in search of it. The words "In One Piece" are an American interpretation.

In the original Japanese opening, Gol D. Roger states "My wealth and treasures? If you want it, I'll let you have it...search for it! I left all of it at that place." "That place" is a way of describing somewhere that is known to the listeners (although it is not revealed to readers until later) - others who have talked about the location of the treasure have been clear that it is at Raftel, the last island on the Grand Line.

In the FUNimation opening, Roger's last words were: "You want my treasure? You can have it! I left everything I gathered together in one place. Now you'll just have to find it!"

Anime/Manga Difference
In the anime, there is a filler episode concerning Roger, where it is revealed that a 12-year-old Smoker witnessed Roger's execution. Also in the anime Roger's appearance is shown a little bit more, revealing that he had hairy upper arms, and wore an anchor necklace. However none of this has ever been confirmed in the manga canon.

Trivia

 * Dr. Kureha reveals that his true name was Gol D. Roger.
 * Roger is the first character to be shown with the D in his name. However, he is the third to be named (Garp is the second. However, his full name was not revealed at the time of his introduction).
 * The series' emphasis on what 'wealth' and 'treasure' are, and how the definition changes for some people (such as Luffy's hat as his treasure), leads some fans to believe that his treasure may be nothing more than something Roger himself treasured. This also challenges the English translation of "in One Piece."
 * Oda has been asked at least once on Roger's bounty, but has not stated the amount yet.
 * During Shanks' flashback back to Roger's death and the day he last saw Buggy, rain can be seen falling down on the town at that moment. This is echoed by Luffy's departure from Loguetown, in which it also rained during his escape.
 * It was stated that Ace's mother held him for 20 months (5 Months before and 15 months, equaling to 1 year and 3 months) after Roger's execution. Since Ace's birthday is January 1st, Roger must have been executed sometime from late September to early October.
 * Roger was the first named character shown in the One Piece series.

Related Articles

 * Shanks
 * Buggy
 * Luffy
 * Will of D
 * Oro Jackson
 * Tom
 * Silvers Rayleigh
 * Crocus
 * Portgas D. Ace
 * Portgas D. Rouge