This article contains spoilers for the One Piece manga

It would be impossible to write a story based on the life of pirates without including the legendary Davy Jones in one form or another. This historical figure is known far and wide as one of the most influential and mysterious pirates who ever lived, but it's actually only very recently in the One Piece manga that Davy Jones has been confirmed to actually be a real person, since for a while now, it's been up for debate whether he was actually around and kicking at one point in time, or if he was simply little more than a myth that had spread around the globe.

Long-time One Piece fans will have noticed that Davy Jones has been mentioned on several occasions, and though it's clear that Oda has tried to keep his true identity under wraps for as long as possible, there are still some blatant references to his existence that can be found early on in the story. With that being said, these are the most crucial moments that provided the biggest hints as to who Davy Jones was, and when exactly he was actually alive.

4 Robin Mentions That Davy Was A 'Cursed' Pirate

It's Now Clear Why He Earned Such A Devilish Reputation

Robin speaks about Davy Jones at the beginning of the Davy Back Fight
Being 'cursed' could imply that he was painted as a demon by the government

Before the Davy Back Fight officially kicks off in the Long Ring Long Land story arc, Robin decides to share some information with the crew about what she knows regarding the legendary pirate Davy Jones. According to Robin, Davy Jones lived many years ago and is said to have been cursed, which is why he was forced to live on the sea floor for the remainder of his days. What's most fascinating about this bit of dialogue is that Robin was actually right on the money when she stated that Davey is a pirate of a bygone era, as we now know that he was alive roughly 800 years ago, the same time as Joy Boy.

What's even more interesting, however, is the whole idea of Davy Jones being cured. While it certainly isn't far-fetched to theorize that Davy Jones could have become corrupted or possessed by a demonic entity, considering Rocks revealed how desperately the Government was trying to demonize him, it could also be the case that this is simply their propaganda at work. After all, the Davy Clan has been one of the World Government's biggest enemies for seemingly many centuries, so what better way to scrub them from people's minds than to paint their most notable figure as a good-for-nothing pirate who eventually falls into evil?

"It's the name of a clan that I suspect the World Government has long tried to cover up. The descendants of the legendary pirate, Davy D. Jones" - Rocks

Because this bit of dialogue only takes up two panels and a single scene in the anime, it can be very easy to forget about it, especially considering the bizarre hijinks that take place not long after as part of the competition. With that in mind, though, the actual meaning behind the Davy Back Fight competition itself also provided a clear hint as to not only who the pirate was, but also what he was after.

3 Davy Keeps Everything That Sinks

He Must Have Been influential To Have A Game Named After Him

Sanji talking about Davy Back Fight origins

The Davy Back Fight itself may be a little more than a bunch of random games that two pirate crews must partake in before exchanging crew members, but the name itself is clearly an homage to the legendary pirates who lived during the Void Century. Sanji states that because everything that falls into the sea is said to belong to Davy Jones, taking a piece of treasure, or even a crew member, away from another pirate is known as a Davy Back, which explains why this popular game was named after him in the first place.

The fact that this became so popular and well-known across the world is honestly quite revealing, as it emphasizes that Davy Jones is someone who is seen as more of a hero and someone to be respected rather than a villain, though only by certain people. Despite the World Government doing everything they can to smear the Davy name, it's clear that a lot of people are still big fans of him, including Foxy, who seems more than happy to participate in the game after seeing the Straw Hats for the first time.

It was recently revealed that Rocks is a devout follower of Davy, considering he's also a member of his clan, and usually, when the World Government paints someone as an enemy, there will inevitably be people around the world who instead celebrate them as a sort of martyr. As a result, having his name be so recognizable across the world in this form provided a pretty clever hint that Savy Jones, despite being dangerous, was seen in a positive light by many people.

2 Oda Revealed An Image Of Davy Jones

Despite Being A Joke, It Reveals A Lot About Who he Truly Is

davy-d-xebec — Davy Jones and Rocks from One Piece

Oda drew a goofy illustration of Davy Jones in an SBS
Giving him a face and body implied he was more than just a myth
Even back then, he could still be seen carrying around his locker or chest

It's no secret that Oda likes to include some pretty bizarre and random facts within his SBS volumes, but one particular illustration that many fans have brought up time and time again over the years is an image of Davy Jones. With a jolly smile on his face and an odd-looking chest under his arm, it's pretty clear this is simply a goofy illustration of the legendary pirate that Oda probably decided to come up with on the fly, but the reason it acts as such an important hint as to who Davy Jones actually is, is due to his appearing as an actual living person.

For many years, fans speculated whether Davy Jones was nothing more than a myth that had been spread around the One Piece world, potentially even being a figure that the government made up in order to instill fear into people so they would hate pirates. By actually giving Davy Jones a face and body, though, that made it clear all the way back in 2005 that Davy Jones is, in fact, a real person, meaning that his actions definitely would have had a massive impact on the world when he lived many years ago.

"The man described himself as a worshiper of Davy Jones" - Narrator talking about Rocks

Still, it's hard to gather much from this single picture because of how basic and goofy it is at first glance, but it does at least confirm that Davy Jones was a real person at some point or another, something that was only officially confirmed in the most recent manga chapters of the story.

1 Brook's Theory

The Straw Hat Skeleton Might Be On To Something

This comment made by Brooke in chapter 606 is still a theory that is yet to be fully confirmed, but it does seem to be directly related to Davy Jones, and more specifically, how he ended up on the sea floor. Brooks states that, in an emotional rage, Davy Jones decided to throw all his crewmates into the sea, where they would ultimately sink to their deaths, before then deciding to jump in himself, where he would then be forced to roam the sea floor for the rest of his days.

This whole idea of wandering around the seafloor due to being cursed by the gods is exactly what Robin mentioned back in Long Ring Long Land, and since the ship that this all took place on was the Flying Dutchman, it wouldn't be outlandish to suggest that this was Davy's ship all along. It would make even more sense considering arguably the most popular iteration of Davy Jones, seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, also piloted this ship in those respective films.

As of right now, this particular theory that Brooke has thrown is yet to be confirmed, and it's also not known if the Vander Decken lineage, who are known to have been on that ship, are related to Davy in any way. Despite that, though, it's highly unlikely that Brook would have just thrown this mention of the Flying Dutchman out for no reason at all, so it seems clear that Oda will be bringing it up again very soon, especially now that he is beginning to place a much bigger focus on Davy Jones and his mysterious clan.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image

Display card tags widget

TV-14

Anime

Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget

Release Date: October 20, 1999
Network: Fuji TV
Directors: Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start

9 Images

Display card media widget end

Cast

See All

Mayumi Tanaka

Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
Kazuya Nakai

Roronoa Zoro (voice)

Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.