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Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for the One Piece anime and live-action
After being introduced to the energetic protagonist Luffy inNetflix’slive-action adaptation ofOne Piece, it becomes apparent that the character will stop at nothing in order to become the King of the Pirates and obtain Gol. D Roger’s titular treasure.
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From the get-go, and before encountering any treasure-thirsty pirates, Luffy sports a significant scar underneath his eye, and we soon become aware of how the accident occurred. Here’s how Luffy got the scar on his face in One Piece and in the source material.
How Did Luffy Get The Scar On His Face?
Luffy gets his face scarred by stabbing himself below the eye with a knifewhen he’s younger to prove to Shanks that he’s got what it takes to be a pirate. Let us explain.
During episode 1,Romance Dawn, Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) joins Koby (Morgan Davies) on Alvida’s (Ilia Isorelýs Paulino) ship and explains to him why he’s so hellbent on becoming a pirate, which triggers the first flashback of the series to when Luffy is a young boy. The flashback takes us to Windmill Village when young Luffy (Colton Osorio) rushes to welcomeCaptain Shanks(Peter Gadiot) and his crew home by sneaking onto the deck. After reuniting with Shanks,Luffy asks if he can join his crew, which isn’t the first time the boy has asked to come aboard. Knowing he is too young and reckless to become a pirate,Shanks rejects his plea as he’d rather see him deflated than put on the firing line.
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However, to prove that he is ready to become a pirate,Luffy climbs one of the ships and decides to stab himself below the eye with a knife in order to match Shanks’ facial scar and prove himself worthy of handling the treacherous pirate life. This noticeably leaves everyone shaken, but the boy is quickly patched up by Shanks afterward.Luffy admits that he was aiming for his eye but missed, and Shanks makes it clear that scars don’t make a man, only the lessons behind them, and he didn’t earn the one he made.
This prompts Luffyto vow to be the best pirate ever in order for him to earn the scar, and he even admits that he’s been practicing the face he’ll pull for hisfuture wanted poster. Finally, Shanks declares that Luffy is not ready to become a pirate, but he has no doubt that one day he’ll see the young boy’s face on a wanted poster.
Does Luffy Have A Scar In The Source Material?
Yes, Luffy gets the same scar beneath his left eye in the opening chapter of One Piece, through the same means as the live-action. Luffy wants to convince Shanks that he’s tough enough to join his crew, but all it provides him with is his iconic blemish.
However, that’s not the only scar that Luffy gets in the source material, asthe pirate suffers another scar on his chest that he gets under more harrowing circumstances. During the Marineford War arc,Luffy receives an X-shaped scar on his chest, but the details of how he got it weren’t revealed until after the source material’s two-year time jump. After Luffy’s brother Ace died during the Paramount War, Luffy went into shock and became complacent in front of Admiral Akainu, Ace’s killer, who was about to end his life too. Before Luffy could be killed, however, Jimbei saved him and carried his body with Akainu in pursuit. While falling towards the Marineford harbor,Akainu sent his flaming arm—powered by the magma devil fruit—through Jimbei’s chest while he held Luffy to protect him, and the magma managed to reach Luffy’s chest too.
There is also another origin of Luffy’s chest scar in the anime, however, it is not considered canon. Included in the filler arc, Ocean’s Dream, the crew wakes up with amnesia except for Nico Robin, and she has to find a way to get the crew’s memories back. Without any knowledge of their past relationship,Luffy andZoroend up fighting, and the swordsman cuts Luffy’s chest, which gives him the iconic scar. In later anime episodes, Luffy’s scar is always designed to resemble the magma attack rather than Zoro’s sword slice, confirming that Akainu’s attack is the true origin.
