User blog comment:Blackendedsoul/Smoker and Garp./@comment-3079795-20110504053050

Yeah, I've definitely compared the two before as well. Garp and Roger were essentially friends, well as much friends as you can be when you're sworn enemies who have tried to kill each other countless times. Smoker I think minimally respects Luffy for his actions during the Alabastan Civil War and for having Zoro save his life; however they could never be placed in the friend category. Smoker's personality simply makes that an impossibility. But yeah, at any rate Smoker is intended to serve as the incredibly strong marine rival to the would be pirate king as Garp was to Roger. No question there.