Bartholomew Kuma

Bartholomew Kuma (バーソロミュー・くま, Bāsoromyū Kuma) is a Shichibukai who was first introduced while attending a meeting in Mariejois with Donquixote Doflamingo and other Shichibukai. His former bounty was 296,000,000 and he was once feared as a pirate so vicious, he earned the title "Tyrant.”

Appearance
Kuma is an absolutely enormous man (well over 5 meters tall, roughly the same size as fellow Shichibukai Gecko Moria) who is usually seen carrying a Bible. His overall appearance resembles that of a bear, though there are a few key differences. His eyes are strangely covered by either a pair of glasses or clear-mirrored lenses, while his pupils occasionally glow a bright red in the anime. His hat features a pair of rounded ears, and, along with the fabric of his pants, is covered in brown spots. His jacket contains a large white design reminiscent of both a target crosshair and a "Chi Rho," an old Christian symbol. There are also several paw prints lining the bottom hem of his coat.

In the anime, Kuma's hair and jacket are black, and his hat is gray. The covering of his Bible is also shown to be intricately colored. In the manga, Oda originally intended for Kuma to have a completely different color scheme. Kuma's hair was shown to be brown, his jacket bright orange, his hat yellow with green spots, and his Bible a solid gold color. Later in the manga chapters, his coat was changed to more closely resemble the one in the anime, though the rest of his design remained untouched.

Personality
Despite his imposing figure and his past reputation, Kuma is a very calm and quiet person. In addition to his demeanor, he can also be seen as somewhat of a benevolent character, especially compared to the other Shichibukai. This assumption can be reached through some of his actions, specifically when he spared the lives of the Straw Hats on two separate occasions.

Although he obeys the commands of the World Government, Kuma disagrees with what his superiors deem "good" and "bad" in the One Piece world. Instead, Kuma strives to uphold his own ideals (described as "Moral Justice”) whenever possible. He even goes so far as to infer that Blackbeard's acceptance into the Shichibukai ranks had been a poor decision by the government, despite the fact that it filled the position left by Crocodile's defeat.

However, Kuma's loyalty does not extend to the Marines. This can be seen when he refuses to answer a direct question from Admiral Kizaru during the Sabaody Archipelago Arc. Due to his unwillingness to aid the Marines without a direct order, Kuma didn't hesitate to lie when it came to his victory over the Straw Hats at Thriller Bark.

When talking, Kuma customarily uses the word "target" in his sentences. He also tends to ask a person where they would like to go on a trip before he sends them away with his Devil Fruit's power.

There are still several mysteries behind Kuma's character. The story behind his transformation into a "Pacifista" and what exactly it entails is still unknown. He also whispers a message to Rayleigh during the battle at the Sabaody Archipelago, which the old pirate believes puts the other man at risk. The message given to Rayleigh has yet to be revealed.

World Government
Unlike the other Shichibukai, Kuma is the only one who is loyal to the World Government. For this, the World Government values him greatly. Moria admits that, because of this allegiance, Kuma worries him more than any other Shichibukai.

Marines
Kuma does not follow the Marines and will refuse to follow orders unless they are directly handed down by the World Government.

Straw Hats
He has good companions. As should be expected of your son ... Dragon.

— Kuma musing about Luffy before leaving Thriller Bark. Kuma was ordered to kill the Straw Hats after Moria’s defeat at their hands. However, he has spared their lives once at Thriller Bark, and again on Sabaody Archipelago, when he helped them escape Kizaru and Sentoumaru.

While Kuma helped the entire Straw Hat crew, he has shown a certain respect for Zoro, specifically after he finds the swordsman alive following the events at Thriller Bark. Zoro, too, recognizes and respects Kuma’s strength, admitting that he is only alive because of the other’s mercy.

Kuma also knows a lot about Luffy, as he at least knew that Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Dragon are his brother and father, respectively. Both relationships were not public matters, and as such, very few people actually know about them.

Abilities and Powers
Kuma is one of the few people to have completely defeated the entire Straw Hat Crew, having done so twice; he is also the only character introduced so far that has defeated the crew single-handedly. Although, the crew was extremely weak both times and they were in no shape to fight another battle, much less a Shichibukai (they recently battled other Shichibukai Gecko Moria, as well as a island full of zombies, and Oars, and in the second time, battled against a large amount of Marines, PX-4, Kizaru, and PX-1). However, he doesn't seem to want to permanently injure the Straw Hats either, having spared their lives twice, indicating he may have held back.

Devil Fruit
If you were to go on a vacation... Where would you like to go?

— Kuma before using his Devil Fruit powers.

Kuma ate the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi, making him a "Paw Paw Man". This Devil Fruit gives him paw pads which give him the power to push anything, including the air around him, at the speed of light. Kuma fights in a style reminiscent of sumo-wrestling. He crouches low in a wide stance, even using the signature stomp, and attacks with open-palm strikes, using his special paws to launch air bullets. Much in keeping with the sumo inspiration, Kuma spends almost all of his time with his feet planted, refusing to give his ground.

The fruit's powers also somehow allows him to move at the same speed as the objects he pushes, appearing instantaneously at a desired location regardless of distance, all the while he moves no more than a slow walk. Some mistaken this as a form of teleportation.

Pacifista Modifications


Kuma is a cyborg modified by Dr. Vegapunk. However, he is different from and is much stronger than Franky. His body is able to withstand most attacks, including Sanji's kicks and even the attack of Zoro, which was able to cut through steel. Zoro could only leave a scratch on Kuma with a surprise attack. With his modifications, he is an incomplete weapon of the World Government and the Marines, called a "Pacifista".

As a Pacifista, Kuma was installed with an electronic scope that can identify noted criminals, and a laser launcher in his mouth, which not only causes massive explosions upon detonation, but can also melt steel. The latter power was a copy of Kizaru's Pika Pika no Mi powers. Although the replica units of Kuma possesses such weapons on their palms as well, Kuma himself instead has his paws engraved, which makes him superior to them. Another difference is that Kuma himself still possesses his own free will, unlike the replicas.

Past History
According to Perona, Kuma was once a violent tyrannical pirate, who was said to be "brutal beyond measure". Because of this, he was known as Kuma "the Tyrant". At some point, he became a Shichibukai and allowed Dr. Vegapunk to modify him into the cyborg weapon "Pacifista".

Meeting at Mariejois
Like Mihawk and Donquixote Doflamingo, he was present at the government summit of Mariejois, following Crocodile's defeat in Arabasta. He has only spoken briefly.

Coming to Thriller Bark
With orders from the World Government to inform Gecko Moria of Crocodile's replacement, Kuma came to Thriller Bark. Arriving there, he asked some of Moria's Zombie minions, who were loading stuff onto the Thousand Sunny, where their master would be. He however was met with some resistance from them and was forced to deal with them. His actions however weren't unnoticed as the zombies reported his doings to the person they were to ordered to follow, Perona. Perona however recognized Kuma and shook in fear at his sight.

Despite Kuma's reputation however, Perona got annoyed with him and attempted to fight the Shichibukai for his shadow. However asking her where she would like to go and removing a glove, he somehow made her vanish. The zombies around seeing this tried to attack him but were frightened off by his mere presence. Kuma then spotted Nami and asked her if Luffy has an older brother. After receiving her answer, he then somehow teleported away and continued his search for Moria.

Kuma then found Moria in the dance hall in the Mast Mansion of Thriller Bark. After some formalities, he told Moria of Crocodile's replacement, Marshall D. Teach. Though the gap in the Shichibukai ranks had been filled up, he told Moria that he felt somewhat uneasy of the situation. Kuma then told Moria that since the Straw Hats were most likely to come in Moria's vicinity, he should do something about them. He explained to Moria this since the World Government had grown greatly alert of the pirates since the events at Enies Lobby. Though he wasn't given a specific order, he offered to help Moria in dealing with the Straw Hats. Moria however angrily declined Kuma's help and told him to instead sit back and watch as Moria himself defeats the Straw Hats.

Fighting The Behemoths
However, despite Moria's boasting, Kuma witnessed Moria get beaten by Luffy. After the battle, Kuma then reported this to the World Government. Fearful that the rumors of Moria's defeat will cause another global uproar like with Crocodile, they ordered Kuma to kill all witnesses on Thriller Bark including the Straw Hat Pirates. Accepting the order, he launched an attack on some of the members of the Thriller Bark Victim's Association before shifting his attention to Zoro. Kuma weakens Zoro, and uses his Devil Fruit ability to take down Franky and Sanji. He gives them an ultimatum: let him kill Luffy, and he lets them live. When they refuse him, Kuma calmly uses his powers to create the effects of a bomb, engulfing a portion of the island (in the anime, the entire island was affected).



Though this does not succeed in killing the Straw Hats, it knocks all of them out. Just when he is about to finish an unconscious Luffy off, Zoro, in a desperate move, strikes him with a Shishi Sonson (Lion's song) in an effort to kill him by cutting him in two but is only able to damage him. The wound on Kuma's shoulder reveals that he is a Cyborg. He then reveals that he is different from Franky. Kuma is an incomplete human weapon created by the World Government and Dr. Vegapunk, known as a Pacifista. Zoro offers to trade his life for Luffy's. Kuma agrees. At that moment, Sanji decides to give his life up. Zoro promptly knocks him out, feeling necessary to sacrifice his own life rather than Sanji's. Kuma states that he would not harm Luffy, as his "honor would be at stake", in exchange for Zoro experiencing the pain Luffy endured throughout his fight against Moria. Kuma proceeds to literally extract Luffy's pain, and directs it to Zoro, which almost kills him. Kuma then teleports to the entrance to the ship. He is last seen musing about Dragon, having a good son with a loyal crew.

Later, he is seen in the company of Garp and Sengoku, being scolded by the latter for his inability to capture the Straw Hats.

At Sabaody
Having exhausted themselves by defeating a Pacifista on the Sabaody Archipelago, the Straw Hats are immediately confronted by Kizaru and Sentoumaru, as well as another Pacifista, PX-1. However, the battle is interrupted by the real Bartholomew Kuma, who is recognised by Zoro as the genuine article. He is surprised to find Zoro still alive; Zoro replies that it is due to Kuma's mercy. Seemingly impressed, Kuma makes Zoro vanish to the same place that he sent Perona using the same move that he used on her at Thriller Bark.

We (Shichibukai) have no obligation to cooperate with the Marines save where the government is directly involved... Your question shall remain unanswered.

- Kuma's response to Kizaru's demands.

He almost immediately performs the same move on the rest of the Straw Hats, including Luffy, despite Kizaru's protests. While he is doing this, he whispers something to Rayleigh, causing the Dark King to question his motives.

His motives are again questionable as he has sent most of the Strawhats to relatively safe locations where they might also improve their skills.

Current Events
Apparently, he has answered to the call of Shichibukai to battle Whitebeard and is joining the war, later shown dining with the other Shichibukai, except for Jinbei and Boa Hancock. He was last seen at Marineford alongside Juracule Mihawk, Donquixote Doflamingo, Gecko Moria, and Boa Hancock, ready for the battle ahead. When Oars Jr. arrived and began causing destruction in his wake, Kuma hit him with an Ursus Shock, wounding Oars Jr. badly.

Major Battles

 * Kuma vs. Perona & Zombie
 * Kuma vs. Straw Hat Pirates & Rolling Pirates
 * Kuma vs. Zoro
 * Kuma vs. PX-1 vs. Straw Hat Pirates
 * Kuma, Donquixote Doflamingo, and Gecko Moria vs. Oars Jr.

Anime and Manga Differences
In the manga, during the meeting in Mariejois, Kuma had a few lines while in the anime, he had none.

In the manga also, Kuma was intended to have a different color scheme than the one he is presented with in the anime. This unfortunately was because no full colored version of Kuma was present when the first episode of him appearing was made. The anime had Kuma with a black jacket while Oda's intentions were an orange one. The manga however later changed this color scheme to resemble that of the anime's.  In the Manga and One Piece Unlimited Cruise, Kuma's paw pads are black, like a bears. However, in the Anime, the paw pads are pink, like a cats.

Translation and Dub Issues
In the TV version of the FUNimation dub, when Kuma is introduced, the word "BIBLE" is edited out, presumably due to religious controversy.

"Kuma” means "bear" in Japanese, which represents his character's animal theme.

Trivia

 * Due to his apparently reserved disposition and the fact that he is invariably seen with a large Bible, Kuma is likely modeled after Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts, a gentleman pirate known for his religious obstinacy, the same goes for for fellow Shichibukai Mihawk for his appearance being based off of Black Bart.
 * Of the two cyborgs introduced, Kuma was the first to appear. But it wasn't until after the other cyborg, Franky, appeared that he was revealed to be one.
 * Kuma is a confirmed character in One Piece Unlimited Cruise.
 * Kuma is the only Shichibukai whose animal theme is that of a mammal.
 * In the Anime, Kuma, Moria and Chopper all make sounds when walking, making them three of the few characters with unique walking sound effects.
 * Kuma is the second Shichibukai who critically damages Zoro in a fight, the first being Mihawk.

Related Articles

 * Shichibukai
 * Vegapunk
 * Pacifista