Summary
A Yonko Commander is an unofficial term for the highest-ranked people serving under an Emperor inOne Piece. Befitting their positions, they tend to have some of the highest bounties and overall power of any pirates in the New World, and they’re always the biggest obstacle someone has to overcome before they can even think of fighting an Emperor.
Anyone who can be called a Yonko Commander is undoubtedly among the strongest characters in all ofOne Pieceafterthe Four Emperors, and with so many people who hold the title, there’s a clear hierarchy of power between them. When considering factors like Haki, Devil Fruits, and overall abilities and feats,some of the characters who can be called Yonko Commanders inOne Pieceare undoubtedly stronger than others, even if the story will rarely ever explicitly say as much.
Nevertheless, it’s easy to lay out who’s stronger than whom, and there’s plenty of merit in doing just that.
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10Charlotte Perospero Is Big Mom’s Unofficial Right Hand
The Eldest Child Of The Charlotte Family In The Big Mom Pirates
Charlotte Perospero is the eldest child of Big Mom and the Minister of Candy within her territory of Totto Land. While Perospero doesn’t have an official ranking within the Big Mom Pirates, his being the eldest child of the Charlotte family means that he’s typically treated with a level of authority comparable to Big Mom’s, as shown by his being the only one who managed to follow her to Wano.
Perospero’s Lick-Lick Fruit allows him to create and control candy at will, which he can use to trap people or create powerful constructs for offense and defense. Perospero has always given people an incredible fight in the few battles he’s been involved in, and considering howPerospero has a higher bounty than Charlotte Snack, one of Big Mom’s Sweet Generals, it’s easy enough to see him as one of the stronger members of the Big Mom Pirates.
9Queen Was Sanji’s Toughest Opponent In One Piece, Yet
Third-In-Command Of The Beast Pirates
Queen “The Plague” is one of the All-Stars of the Beast Pirates and third-in-command after Kaido and King. Queen was also a former member of MADS, an illegal science research institute led by Vegapunk, and thanks to his time there, Queen developed a rivalry with Sanji’s father, Vinsmoke Judge, which, in turn, formed the basis of his antagonism toward Sanji.
Queen’s Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Brachiosaurus, lets him turn into a brachiosaurus at will, and just like the real-life dinosaur, Queen is incredibly powerful in both his animal and hybrid forms. More than that, though, Queen’s cybernetics give him an incredibly versatile arsenal that includes rocket launchers, laser beams, and replications of the Vinsmoke family’s raid suits, and because of that,Queen quickly established himself as Sanji’s strongest opponent, to date, a feat that easily makes him one of the strongest Yonko Commanders.
8Sanji Has More Than Earned His Place As One Of The Straw Hat’s Strongest Fighters
The Chef Of The Straw Hat Pirates
“Black Leg” Sanji is the resident chef of the Straw Hat Pirates and one of the oldest members of the crew, overall. With Luffy and his crew indirectly being in charge of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, Sanji and anyone else in the main crew can be considered one of Luffy’s commanders, as further evidenced by the high bounties they all have aside from Chopper.
For decades, Sanji has been famous for his incredible speed and martial arts abilities centered around kicking, and he can even use Armament Haki to augment his power even further and cover his legs in blue flames. Add in the genetic modifications from his father that helped him defeat Queen, andSanji easily stands out as one of the strongest members of the Straw Hat Pirates, a fact that’s been consistent from the moment he made his debut.
7Marco Was Whitebeard’s Second-In-Command For A Reason
First Division Commander Of The Whitebeard Pirates
Marco “The Phoenix” is the former commander of the first division of the Whitebeard Pirates, which, of course, made Marco Whitebeard’s second-in-command. While the Whitebeard Pirates disbanded after Whitebeard’s death and their loss to the Blackbeard Pirates in the Payback War, Marco briefly came out of retirement during the Wano arc to help Luffy and the rest of the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance defeat Kaido during the raid on Onigashima.
Marco’s Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Phoenix gives him powerful fire, healing, and regenerative abilities, and when combined with his Haki and overall physical abilities, Marco is consistently a force to be reckoned with. The biggest showing of Marco’s power comes from howMarco held his own against King and Queen at the same time in the Wano arc, and while he couldn’t defeat them, that sort of feat on his own is a great showing of his power, regardless.
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6Charlotte Katakuri Gave Luffy One Of His Toughest Fights In Recent Years
One Of The Big Mom Pirates' Three Sweet Commanders
Charlotte Katakuri is one of the Three Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates, giving him the highest authority after Big Mom. Katakuri is respected more than any other child in the Charlotte Family, and unlike most of his family, he’s more than capable of showing respect to his opponents, as shown in his fight with Luffy.
Katakuri’s Mochi-Mochi Fruit is a rare “special Paramecia” that gives him the same unique abilities as a Logia, and when combined with an awakening that can turn the environment into mochi and advanced Observation Haki that lets him see into the future, Katakuri ends up having one of the strongest and most versatile power sets of any pirate.Katakuri’s fight with Luffywas one of the longest and toughest fights Luffy’s had in recent years, and that, more than anything, has solidified his place as one of the strongest Yonko Commanders.
5King Was Born As One Of The Strongest Beings In One Piece
First Mate & All-Star Of The Bease Pirates
King “The Conflagration”, real name Alber, is one of the All-Stars of the Beast Pirates and Kaido’s second-in-command. Kaido freed King from imprisonment when they were both being experimented on at Punk Hazard, and ever since then, King has been Kaido’s most loyal confidant and the one who most supported Kaido’s quest to become the Pirate King,
King’s mastery of the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Pteranodon gives him a lot of versatility with his attacks, but the biggest source of King’s strength comes from his being a Lunarian, a secret race of winged people with powerful fire abilities and immense speed and durability. Zoro only barely defeated King in their fight, and the fact thatKing’s Lunarian Lineage Factor was used as the basis for the powerful Seraphimonly further cements his status as an incredibly powerful fighter.
4Roronoa Zoro Has Always Been The Straw Hats’ Best Fighter After Luffy
First Mate Of The Straw Hat Pirates
“Pirate Hunter” Roronoa Zorois the first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates and Luffy’s first-ever crewmate. Much like Sanji, with the way the crew is set up in relation to the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, everyone in the main crew can be considered a Yonko Commander for the Straw Hat Pirates, and Zoro’s status as Luffy’s right-hand man makes that status even clearer for Zoro.
Zoro’s mastery of the Three Sword Style has always let him put up a fight against some of the toughest opponents, and withZoro being one of the few characters inOne Piecewith advanced Conqueror’s Haki, the most recent arcs have only further cemented that with every fight. Zoro’s role in the story has always necessitated that he be the strongest of the main characters after Luffy, and even in its final saga,One Piecenever fails to keep to that idea.
3Benn Beckman Is One Of One Piece’s Strongest Characters, Despite His Limited Screentime
First Mate Of The Red-Haired Pirates
Benn Beckman is the first mate of the Red-Haired Pirates and, as such, is someone who’s been around since the very beginning ofOne Piece. Like the rest of the Red-Haired Pirates, Beckman has had little direct involvement with the overarching narrative, but withOne Piecehaving recently entered its final saga, that’s poised to change within the next few years.
Beckman fights by embuing bullets with Armament Haki, and while he’s never been shown in a full-blown fight, not only did Beckman give Kizaru pause in the Paramount War, butBeckman was also the one who made Eustass Kid lose an arm the first time Kid fought the Red-Haired Pirates. All of that makes it clear that Beckman is a powerful fighter, and with how powerful Shanks is, Beckman, by being his first mate, can be considered one of the strongest Yonko Commanders in the story.
2Kuzan Is Just As Powerful As A Pirate As He Was As A Marine
Tenth Titanic Captain Of The Blackbeard Pirates
Kuzan, better known as Aokiji, was one of the original Marine Admirals in the pre-timeskip era ofOne Piece. Kuzan left the Marines after Akainu was chosen to become the new Fleet Admiral after Sengoku’s retirement, and after forming a surprising bond with Blackbeard, Kuzan decided to join the Blackbeard Pirates as one of their Ten Titanic Captains.
Kuzan’s former status as an Admiral gave him a reputation for being one of the strongest of the Marines, and the devastating power of his Ice-Ice Fruit only further cemented that idea. TheEgghead Island archad the best showing of Kuzan’s power thanks to howKuzan could hold his own against Garp, one of the strongest characters in all ofOne Piece; Kuzan didn’t win the fight, but naturally, him putting up a fight at all shows that Kuzan has always been one of the strongest characters in the story.
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1Dracule Mihawk Will Always Be One Of One Piece’s Strongest Characters
Co-founder Of Cross Guild
Dracule “Hawk-Eye” Mihawk is a former member of theSeven Warlords of the Seasand the man regarded as the world’s strongest swordsman. After the Warlords were disbanded, Mihawk started the military organization Cross Guild alongside Crocodile, but due to a series of circumstances, Buggy became seen as the leader and was subsequently declared an Emperor, thus making Mihawk a Yonko Commander as far as the public is concerned.
Mihawk has yet to be in a serious fight, but he’s still shown off incredible feats of swordsmanship befitting his reputation as the world’s strongest swordsman, and the fact thatMihawk is consistently stated to be someone who rivals Shanks in poweronly sells that even further. Mihawk might only be a Yonko Commander by accident, but regardless, it’s hard to see him as anything other than thestrongest Yonko Commander inOne Piece.
One Piece
Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga series and follows the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as led by Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy, an enthusiastic pirate with a thirst for adventure, is afflicted by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends. The manga eventually gave way to the anime series, with the two being some of history’s longest-running anime and manga series. Along with over fifty video games made over the years, the series entered the live-action world with Netflix’s 2023 adaptation.
