Summary
The identity of the Man Marked By Flames, or ‘Firescar’ as he’s called by some, is one ofOne Piece’sgreatest mysteries. After the Wano arc ended, the chief members of the Worst Generation, namely the crews of Luffy, Law, and Kid, began to discuss the whereabouts of the final Road Poneglyph, which was revealed to supposedly be in the possession of this mysterious character who has a scar which has something to do with fire.
However, a bizarre, and admittedly far-fetched, fan theorystates that the elusive Firescarhas not only been shown before inOne Piece, but he may also have directly interacted with Luffy at the very start of the series. In this article, let’s go over everything that’s currently known about this character and address the claim of whether he has actually been shown in the franchise, over a thousand chapters before he was first mentioned.
One Piece, Chapter 1056, “Cross Guild”
First Supposed Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 1, “Romance Dawn - The Dawn of Adventure”
To talk about the first mention of Firescar, we must confirm who this character even supposedly is, and the only way to do this is to go overeverything that’s known about him. Unfortunately, there is very little information about him at the time of writing, the most notable of which is that he is in possession of the final Road Poneglyph, which was once located on Fishman Island.
Most fans believe that he carries it on his ship so that no one can take it from him. Laffitte revealed that this ship is completely black and, wherever it goes, it is followed by many whirlpools that are strong enough to sink anyone pursuing him, which remains the main reason why no one has been able to find the final Road Poneglyph after Roger himself. Due to this, there is a common theory that states that the true identity of this mysterious character is a former member of the legendary Roger Pirates.
Now, the main reason why some fans are convinced that he has been seen in the series before is because of what happened in the very first chapter ofOne Piece. As Luffy is trailing by peacefully on his little rowboat, he comes across a massive whirlpool that almost ends his journey before it even begins. Because of this, some think that Firescar may have secretly been close to Luffy in the very first chapter, where he almostsunk the aspiring Pirate King.
This is quite a far-fetched statement, as it is the only reason this theory exists in the first place. However, when speculation about the whole thing comes in, fans have made some interesting connections. Essentially, they state that the role of the former Roger Pirates in the current setting is to build up the future Pirate King in order to bring a new dawn to the world, which can be seen with how every member of the crew that has been introduced so far has either trained or tested Luffy in one way or another.
I’ve decided long ago that I’m gonna be the King of the Pirates, if I have to die fighting for that, I’d die!
The theory states that, because the Roger Pirates knew the true history and everything about the coming savior of the world, they had to ensure that this person had what it took to beRoger and Joyboy’s successor. This ties into Firescar potentially being a former member of the Roger Pirates as well. Upon receiving the news about the young boy from the East Blue who became the first person in 800 years to eat the Nika fruit, he went there to test him.
Inherited Will and fate play a massive part in the overallOne Piecestory, so it could be that Firescar went to see if fate was truly on Luffy’s side and if he was truly the person Joyboy was waiting for. He knew that if Luffy didn’t survive the whirlpool and died so early on in the series, then the Nika fruit would choose the right person to inherit Joyboy’s will, who is destined to carry out his plans. In simple terms, his first appearance was in the very first chapter as Luffy’s first test who created the giant whirlpool.
How Likely Is This Theory About The Man Marked By Flames?
Does It Make Enough Sense?
In truth, this theory is more wishful thinking than anything else. Of course, one can’t put anything past Oda, since he has the incredible ability to make seemingly loose connections in a story make a ton of sense, so although thewhirlpool-creating powers of Firescarmay have been an afterthought, it’s entirely possible that he gave the mysterious character these powers specifically to connect him to the series' first chapter.
On the other hand, the connection here is most probably just a coincidence. The most likely thing that happened here was the fact that Oda introduced the whirlpool in Chapter 1 as a hilarious gag for Luffy to deal with, and the eventual powers of Firescar were likely kept as whirlpools to justify how hard it would have been to get the Road Poneglyph from him. However, Oda’s genius writing can connect both concepts.
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One Piece
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, 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.
