This was the crew that traveled around the Grand Line together and the things they did were part of legends. They made it as far as Skypiea and the end of the Grand Line, Laugh Tale, on their ship the Oro Jackson. Roger was one of the most famous figures of his day, while the name of their first mate, Silvers Rayleigh, is widely known and famed as well.
However, only the captain and the first mate seem to have been remembered while the rest of the crew have yet to be mentioned, all save those still active like Shanks and Buggy. The first introduction to their crew comes from Buggy, who recalls his days with Shanks as apprentices in their crew.[1] Their captain, Roger, is the first character introduced in the series.[5]
The Roger Pirates's ship, the Oro Jackson, was constructed by the most skilled shipwright of the era, Tom. It was built from wood taken from the Treasure Tree Adam, which is valued at about 200,000,000. When fighting Shiki, the ship had a large cannon in the front surrounded by a pair of mermaids. This cannon was powerful enough to destroy an entire ship.
The construction of this ship led Tom to become a criminal, since the ship was affiliated with the Pirate King.
At the start of their journey, Roger and Rayleigh used a boat that Rayleigh stole as his house had burned down. Roger described the ship as small but able to endure storms if handled correctly.[7]
Crew Strength
The crew has been referred to as the strongest crew ever to sail the Grand Line and the New World. The few members that have been seen are amongst the most powerful and most influential pirates in the current storyline.
Gol D. Roger, the captain of the crew, was able to fight equally with many strong pirates and marines during his era. Despite his disease, he was able to fight Kozuki Oden, who was a strong samurai from Wano, and blow him away with one swing from his sword. Later, he displayed powerful Haki and clashed with Whitebeard.[8]
Silvers Rayleigh is famous for being the first mate of the crew. Many new pirates including Nico Robin, Usopp, Nami, and Sanji are able to recognize his name alone.[9] Furthermore, he is considered a legend alongside Whitebeard by Monkey D. Garp, who is a legendary marine himself.[10] Even years after the crew was disbanded, his wife Shakuyaku said Rayleigh himself is 100 times stronger than the eleven super rookies.[11] Her statement was proved right when Rayleigh was able to fight AdmiralKizaru to a stalemate, despite his elderly age.[12][13]
Scopper Gaban is said to be one of the best men alongside Rayleigh by Roger himself.
Shanks, over the decades, has established a reputation and obtained power, becoming one of the four powerful pirates known as the Yonko. Both he and Rayleigh display powerful Haki abilities.
Crocus was recruited as a doctor into the crew to keep Roger alive on their final journey. However, Crocus did display some physical strength as an old man, stopping bazooka blasts with his own body.
Buggy gained a notorious reputation in the East Blue as captain of Buggy Pirates. However, he is not as formidable as some of the pirates from the Grand Line, indicating that there was a strength divide even in the Roger Pirates. Buggy became one of the Shichibukai sometimes after Battle of Marineford. Despite lacking physical strength, he is shown to be able influence some strong pirates from Impel Down.
Kozuki Oden, a member of the Kozuki Family, one of Wano's most powerful samurais, one of Whitebeard’s former division commanders who later became a member of the crew, and like his captain, he was one of the few people known to possessed the ability to read Poneglyphs.[14]. As a result, the crew has not one but two people potentially capable of locating and reviving the Ancient Weapons.
The crew also had two powerful mink rulers, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi as their crew members, both have been shown to fight on par with Jack of the Beasts Pirates, who holds a 1,000,000,000 bounty.
Trivia
Even though the crew disbanded, the Marines would never allow the crew to be forgotten. If a crew member is encountered, the Marines cannot simply let them go.[15] Similarly, Portgas D. Ace, for simply being the son of Roger, is not spared from this prejudiced hunt.
The first time the Jolly Roger is introduced is in Chapter 19 which shows it different than the one that it is today. In that chapter it is just a simple skull with crossbones.
The Roger Pirates had at least four Haoshoku Haki users, the most of any pirate crew to date.
Douglas Bullet who is a non canon member of the crew also possesses this ability.
References
↑ 1.01.1One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 3Chapter 19 (p. 7-18) and Episode 8, Buggy speaks about his days with Shanks as apprentices. Note: the crew was not mentioned to be Roger's pirates at the time of chapter.
↑One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 45Chapter 431 (p. 16) and Episode 313, Garp was mentioned of cornering Roger numerous times.
↑One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25Chapter 233 (p. 12) and Episode 145, Buggy mentions Whitebeard of being the only one able to fight on par with Roger.
↑One Piece Manga — Vol. 1Chapter 1 (p. 3), We Are! theme, Roger's speech and death, the introduction to One Piece.
↑One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 3Chapter 19 (p. 7) and Episode 8, a ship used by the Roger Pirates is seen in Buggy's flashback.
↑One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 52Chapter 512 (p. 2) and Episode 404, Kizaru tells Rayleigh that the Marines cannot simply throw the bounties of their crew away.