Hody Jones Is The Best Villain Ever

A lot of talk has been had about who the best villain is of all time, so I thought we'd sit down around the campfire and look at some of them. First up is the One Piece Villain, Hody Jones. Often overlooked as a stepping stone for the Strawhat Pirates into The New World, but that just isn't true. In fact, I'd like to argue that Hody not only managed to push Luffy to his limits, but was one of the most fleshed out characters.

First, Hody had one of the best backstories in the series. He grew up looking to past villain Arlong as inspiration. Because of this he grew cruel and vicious, willing to do anything to win. However, he also grew up hearing the legendary stories of Fisher Tiger from Jinbei so despite his cruelness he still wanted nothing more than to help his people the best way he thought he could.

What I'm getting at is he isn't necessarily evil. His goal is a good one, he wants to end racism against fishmen. He isn't just out to take control of the world like Doflamingo, control a small country and the smuggling market. He isn't like Gecko Moria trying to build the strongest army to seek revenge. He isn't greedy, there are no plans for him to rule as a God with a comfortable life like Enel. Yes, he definitely went about it the wrong way, but he didn't necessarily have a choice. 



Fishmen are treated like scum in the world of One Piece. The only notable and respected Fishmen are Jinbei, and the royal family of Fishmen Island. Even Fisher Tiger who freed slaves was treated less than human and died because of it. Think about it, if your people were constantly attacked, treated as second class citizens and even your revolutionaries, seeking peace were killed, wouldn't you be a little angry too?

Because despite hearing of Fisher Tiger's legendary heroics and fight for equality from Jinbei, he also heard of the cruelty and hate he faced from Arlong. Arlong told him how Fisher Tiger died trying to return a child to her village after he freed her from slavery. Arlong told Hody how Fisher was captured and branded as a slave. It's no wonder he grew to hate humans when the hero he looked up to was kicked down so swiftly by humanity with no remorse.

Here's the crazy thing, he was weak. I know he's the Strawhats had just come from vacation and training, but they washed them. Zoro who usually beats the second strongest enemy in an arc, beat Hody, easily, while holding his breath under water. Hody was weak, his whole crew was weak. He was gifted with the focus and patience to fight as skillfully as Jinbei. He also wasn't gifted with the aggression and brutality to fight like Arlong. So he took the steroids, hoping he could stand up to the opposition, but it became a crutch and made him weak. Yet, he had to use them because he knew without them he'd be easily defeated.

Here's the thing, losing didn't upset him. Losing a fight meant nothing to him, as he didn't care too much when he lost to Zoro, so losing to Luffy didn't bother him. The thing that bothered him is that he was then imprisoned and that brought an end to his plans. He would never be able to see Fishmen and humans as equals. He would die in jail because of the way the steroids aged him. That was the thing that hurt him so much.

Hody isn't a villain any more than Malcolm X would have been. Hody wanted equality by any means necessary. He had no beef with Luffy and crew, and was even willing to let them pass through at one point. Hody doesn't have any of the vices other villains in One Piece do. He isn't greedy, he doesn't want power, he just wants to be treated an equal. He's in a class of his own, and that's why he's the best villain ever.

You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
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