From the very first chapter of One Piece, Oda immediately established the unmatched importance of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. As the only person in history to own the title of King of the Pirates, Roger is arguably the most important figure in the history of the series, being credited as the one who began the entire Great Pirate Era in the first place atop his execution platform with his famous last words.

Throughout the series, the legend of Roger has remained constant, with the story always driving the point home that he is an essential figure in the world. However, with the start of the much-awaited old era flashback during One Piece's Elbaf arc, fans have slowly begun to turn on him, instead turning their gaze onto another legend of this time period who they believe should be the real inheritor of Roger's title. So, let's go over why this is the case.

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Fans Have Seen A Different Side To Roger In The Elbaf Flashback

A Different Pirate King

gol d roger one piece chapter 1159 raw scans

First Appearance	One Piece, Chapter 1, "Romance Dawn - The Dawn of Adventure"
Story Arc	Romance Dawn

For years now, fans have been clamoring to see the flashback centered around the old era of One Piece, where mythical figures such as Roger, Garp, and Whitebeard patrolled the seas. Though a few suspected it, this incredible flashback eventually began in the Elbaf arc, which showed all of these titans in the prime of their lives and even delved into the state of the world at that stage.

This is where the first point of contention stands between fans and Roger. The first appearance of the future Pirate King in this flashback came in Chapter 1156, which went over the importance of Shakky and the Kuja Pirates at this time. Here, Roger was shown to be a lovestruck and foolish young man who was desperately thirsting over Shakky while she simply paid no mind to his advances. Of course, this was done for comedic effect, and it truly delivered, but many felt that it greatly took away from the aura that Roger initially had in the series.

At the start of One Piece, Roger was portrayed as an almost mythical figure who was equal parts inspiring and terrifying, since he was the only man in history to become the Pirate King and his strength was said to be unparalleled. This speaks to a larger problem that people tend to have with him these days, which is of Oda writing him too much like Luffy; as a fun-loving, aloof, and carefree pirate. Because of this, many think of Roger differently from how they did before.

Moreover, later on in Chapter 1156, Roger and Garp finally met in combat and clashed. While both dealt damage to one another, many in the fandom felt that Garp's punch to Roger's face didn't only inflict more damage, but was far more humiliating as well, prompting them to look at the pirate with even more scrutiny. The subsequent chapters went into further detail, talking about how Roger still desired Shakky above all else but was met with a cold shoulder, eventually losing the love of his life to his best friend.

Roger, Garp, and Rocks. Men whose tales were spread as legends in the Great Age of Pirates first clashed here, in their hot-blooded youth!

This new sentiment regarding the character caused many to revisit his older appearances in the series, where they began to pick out many flaws with the Pirate King. Though greatly played up, fans mock Roger and his crew for knowing the world's greatest secrets and how to stop them, but leaving them as a problem to be solved by those who would come far later. There's also a lot of poking fun at the fact that some of the greatest characters in history lost their lives fighting the World Government, while Roger's death was relatively tame.

Of course, this is hyperbole, but the other criticisms still stand. For example, for someone whose strength is remembered as being among the greatest ever, Roger doesn't have too great of a track record in fights, since he had to team up with Garp to defeat Xebec, couldn't ever defeat Whitebeard, only defeated Shiki because of an unnatural storm, and had to sneak around Big Mom to get her Poneglyph rather than fighting her. These are among the few reasons why many now consider Roger a fraud.

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Fans Think There's Someone Else Who Deserves The Pirate King Title

The Greatest Pirate Of All Time

Rocks D. Xebec, as depicted in Sengoku's explanation - One Piece

Xebec is generally considered the greatest pirate in history.

When thinking of the traditional definition of the word 'pirate', no one fits it better than the legendary Davy D. Xebec. Though his name is largely lost to history, the acts he committed in just a handful of chapters have already cemented him as one of the most layered and powerful characters in the entire series, as well as being the quintessential definition of a pirate. Throughout his career, he killed an Admiral, assembled the strongest crew in history, and brought the fight to the World Government before anyone else did.

Though he started off with the goal of wanting to become the king of the world, he grew as a person once he had a family. In fact, this was his main goal of going to God Valley in the first place, showing just how captivating of a character he truly was. Due to his incredible displays of strength, his unapologetic attitude, and the legend he left behind, Davy D. Xebec is a far better candidate for the First Pirate King, according to most fans.

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