If becoming King of the Pirates were easy, then every pirate in ONE PIECE would be following in the notorious Gold Roger’s footsteps right now. To truly rule over the East Blue and find Gold Roger’s treasure, the One Piece, you have to be willing to face obstacles, including your fellow pirates — not to mention Marines.

That’s why Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) has won the hearts of his Straw Hats crew — swordsman Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu), navigator Nami (Emily Rudd), marksman Usopp (Jacob Romero) and chef Sanji (Taz Skylar) — and fans of Eiichiro Oda’s pirate manga series the world over. Luffy’s resilience and determination to realize his and his friends’ dreams have inspired fans to follow him as well.

But along the way on the Straw Hats’ journey to the Grand Line, they encounter a number of adversaries — outlaws and otherwise — who try to come between them and the One Piece. Here’s every (wanted) antagonist the Straw Hats best in Season 1:

Alvida (Ilia Isorelýs Paulino)

The brutal captain of the Alvida Pirates who’s eager to prove that she’s the most powerful pirate on the seas, Alvida holds Koby (Morgan Davies) prisoner until Luffy punches her off of her own ship. (Stretchy arms can come in very handy.) We don’t meet Alvida again until she vows to kill Luffy in the Season 1 finale.
Profession: Pirate
Bounty: 5,000,000 berry
Special skills: Wields a spiked iron mace with ferocity
Spot their antagony in: Episodes 1 and 8

Joe Alblas/Netflix

Helmeppo (Aidan Scott)

Helmeppo is a minor antagonist, who learns it’s not worth it to stick to his reputation as the vain, spoiled son of Marine heavyweight Axe Hand Morgan. He starts to see the error of his ways in Episode 1, when he’s rude to a little girl, Rika, at a bar. Zoro doesn’t take kindly to Helmeppo’s lack of etiquette, and defeats him and his Marine pals without even drawing one of his three blades. (Don’t even ask Helmeppo about the haircut Zoro gives him.) Over the course of the season, we learn just how harsh of a dad Axe Hand was and see Helmeppo want to become a better Marine (and man) under Koby’s influence.
Profession: Spoiled son
Special Skills: Nepotism
Spot their antagony: All season long (but the haircut humbles him after Episode 1)

Axe Hand Morgan (Langley Kirkwood)

Axe Hand Morgan is a corrupt, high-ranking Marine leader who lords over the Marine base (and his son Helmeppo) with a literal iron grip. When Zoro refuses to join the Marines’ ranks, he ties him up for seven days. But Luffy sets Zoro free before he’s even finished day one. Axe Hand tries (and fails) to keep Luffy, Zoro, and Nami from escaping the Marine base with the map to the Grand Line. Unimpressed with Axe Hand’s defeat, Vice Admiral Garp punishes the Marine leader by leaving him to hang in the courtyard. We don’t see Axe Hand past Episode 2, so we can’t tell you if he’s still hanging there as you read through this list…
Profession: Marine
Special Skills: Incredible strength and brutal leadership
Weapons: A bespoke axe hand
Spot their antagony in: Episodes 1 and 2

Casey Crafford/Netflix

Buggy (Jeff Ward)

The bizarre captain of the Buggy Pirates looks like a diabolical version of a circus clown. Getting stuck in his tent is never a fun time as he’s maniacal, impulsive, and desperately craves the spotlight. In Episode 2, Buggy captures Luffy, Zoro, and Nami because he wants their map, but the Straw Hats defeat him by stuffing his body parts into separate boxes. (By the way, he and Shanks were on a pirate crew together when they were Luffy’s age.) 

Profession: Pirate
Bounty: 15,000,000 berry
Special Skills: Possesses the powers of the Chop-Chop Fruit, which allows him to separate and control his body parts while in close proximity to his head
Weapons: Canons, Buggy balls, and knives
Spot their antagony: All season long

Casey Crafford/Netflix

Vice Admiral Garp (Vincent Regan)

Vice Admiral Garp is more of an emotional antagonist than an actual threat to the Straw Hats. Sure, he uses his status in the Marines to seek out Luffy and the Straw Hats so he can crush the former’s grand pirate dreams, but that’s because he’s Luffy’s grandfather(!) and doesn’t want to see him face execution like Gold Roger did. After all, Garp is the one who captured Gold Roger 22 years ago.

He has always wanted Luffy to become a Marine. Garp becomes a mentor and surrogate father to Koby and Helmeppo throughout Season 1, teaching them to follow their own code of justice.
Profession: Marine
Special skills: Influence
Spot their antagony: All season long

Casey Crafford/Netflix

Kuro/Klahadore (Alexander Maniatis)

Kuro, the Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, has gone undercover as Klahadore, the butler to Usopp’s friend Kaya, for the last three years — ever since her parents died. He is clearly not fond of Usopp, and resents the storyteller’s visits to Kaya. He seems protective of his ward — maybe even overly protective.
Profession: Menacing butler, pirate
Bounty: 16,000,000 berry
Special skills: Intimidation and snobbery
Weapons: Five blades in lieu of fingers
Spot their antagony in: Episodes 3 and 4

Casey Crafford/Netflix

Arlong (McKinley Belcher III)

A saw shark fish man who has been marginalized and preyed upon by humans, Arlong fights back by forming his own powerful pirate faction with the aim to create a fishmen-dominated world which he would lord over. He and his crew lord over the Conomi Islands in their home of Arlong Park. 
Profession: Pirate
Bounty: 20,000,000 berry
Weapons: Shark Saw sword
Spot their antagony: Episodes 3, 6, 7, and 8

Raquel Fernandes/Netflix

Dracule Mihawk (Steven Ward)

Mihawk is a flamboyant and deadly accurate swordsman universally acknowledged as the best in the world. He’s also one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, which means the Marines give him free rein, so long as he does the jobs the World Government doesn’t want traced back to them — like in Episode 5 when Garp enlists him to track down his grandson Luffy. But his plans change when he meets the Straw Hats at Baratie, as Zoro challenges him to a duel.

While Zoro loses, Mihawk is impressed by his bravery and skill, so he decides not to kill him. Instead, he challenges Zoro to grow strong and come find him. He also admires Luffy’s determination to become King of the Pirates and find the One Piece, and so leaves him to follow that path wherever it leads.
Bounty: Cancelled by order of the World Government
Weapons: A black blade, “Yoru”
Spot their antagony in: Episodes 5, 6, and 8

ONE PIECE is a live-action pirate adventure created in partnership with Shueisha and produced by Tomorrow Studios and Netflix. Matt Owens and Steven Maeda are writers, executive producers, and showrunners. Eiichiro Oda, Marty Adelstein, and Becky Clements also executive produce.

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