Dr. Vegapunk may now be an ally to the Straw Hats, but he’s done plenty of morally questionable things in the past that shouldn’t go overlooked!
SUMMARY
One Piece ‘s Dr. Vegapunk is a morally gray character who regrets the awful things that he’s done in service to the World Government.
Dr. Vegapunk’s inventions, though initially intended for the betterment of humanity, have been used by the corrupt World Government for destructive purposes.
Despite his questionable past, Vegapunk’s creations extend beyond weaponry and have the potential to save lives and benefit humanity, if utilized properly.
The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1099, “Pacifist,” by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul, and Vanessa Stone, now available through Viz Media.
One Piece‘s Straw Hat Pirates are often successful when it comes to their judgment of character. They can typically tell who’s primed to be an enemy, who’s an ally, and how likely they are to defect from one side to the other. This intuition is largely informed by the objectively evil nature of most One Piece villains, the bulk of whom are corrupt, sadistic, and callous. Alternatively, the Straw Hat Pirates’ allies are frequently civilians or pirates who are rude, but not without morals. They rarely spend time around morally gray characters, nor do they struggle with the moral conflicts that surround such individuals. However, Dr. Vegapunk is an interesting exception to this rule.
One Piece‘s Dr. Vegapunk is one of the most morally gray characters to spend an extended period with the Straw Hat Pirates. On one hand, Dr. Vegapunk is a former World Government agent and the indirect cause of many problems throughout the crew’s voyage. However, he also wants to use his knowledge to benefit humanity and regrets the awful things that he’s done in service to the Marines and the World Government. Dr. Vegapunk is presented as an ally, which means that the crew and the audience are supposed to forgive him. That being said, Dr. Vegapunk’s forgiveness is dependent upon everything that he’s done and is expected to do in the future. Dr. Vegapunk is likely to be viewed positively, but this forgiveness and understanding must still be taken with a grain of salt.
Dr. Vegapunk’s Inventions For The Marines & The World Government
Dr. Vegapunk’s inventions present a modest idea of his morality. Dr. Vegapunk’s creations are designed for humanity’s improvement, whether they begin as war tools or something more altruistic in nature. It’s the corrupt World Government and their Marines who co-opt Vegapunk’s work into destructive resources. Dr. Vegapunk views his creations as the key to a bright future, but others fixate on their military applications. For instance, Vegapunk’s Mother Flame is meant to be a futuristic energy resource, but it’s turned into a fuel supply for the World Government’s doomsday device. There’s debate over whether Vegapunk knows what the World Government will do with his technology when he offers them the Mother Flame, but it’s still created as a proficient power source.
Chapter 1099, “Pacifist,” suggests that Vegapunk has similarly noble intentions with his Pacifistas designs. Vegapunk imagines an army of sturdy, laser-firing clones who will deal with the world’s evil pirates. Vegapunk’s final product turns out to be more indiscriminate than the doctor envisions. The name “Pacifista” is suddenly seen as ironic by the audience, which says everything about how these machines’ purpose gets warped. The same can be argued about the Seraphim model of Pacifistas. The only difference is that Vegapunk should now know about the World Government’s destructive plan for his creations. Unfortunately, Vegapunk’s good intentions for his Pacifista project are long gone.
There are still limits to what Dr. Vegapunk is willing to create for his benefactors. Dragon and Ivankov remain firmly convinced that Vegapunk will never go so far as to make a deliberate weapon of mass destruction like the one that wiped Lulusia off the map. Vegapunk is also against experiments conducted by his partner, Caesar Clown, like the gigantification of children or the H2S poison gas. He’s concerned over the inevitable civilian casualties from such experiments. This proves that Vegapunk isn’t so driven by scientific curiosity that he’ll disregard morals in exchange for answers.
Of course, Vegapunk also designs plenty of inventions that can’t be reworked into weapons because of their nature. The Seastone ship hulls are only designed to allow safe passage over Sea King-infested waters, like the Calm Belt. GP Flowers are designed to turn gunpowder into flowers, which means that it’s also unable to harm people. This creation even earned Vegapunk the Ibel Peace Prize. Inventions like these may not be good news for the world’s pirates, but they’re an ideal way for Vegapunk to help the world through his work and not worry about the potentially cruel consequences if it ends up in the wrong hands.
Dr. Vegapunk’s Inventions For The Rest Of The World
Vegapunk’s creations for the improvement of humanity extend far beyond what’s presented by the World Government. Egghead, for example, is loaded with Vegapunk’s creations and would be a boon to anyone. However, not all of Vegapunk’s breakthroughs are militaristic. Some of his most beneficial work comes from biology and medicine. Dr. Vegapunk’s research into Bloodline Elements, cloning, artificial life-form creation (including dragons), and cybernetics for the World Government has been groundbreaking, but he’s also adept when it comes to Organoids — artificial organs — and stem cell research. Vegapunk even uses the latter to cure Bonney of her Sapphire Scales. These breakthroughs are likely to save many lives once they reach the public market.
Vegapunk has also done some incredible work in the geology field. This is evident in Egghead upon the completion of his island-wide climate control and his artificial recreation of Island and Sea Clouds. The former is useful even by real-world standards, while the latter holds unfathomable potential. Vegapunk, in addition to these accomplishments, makes other miscellaneous useful creations. He invents an automatic cooking machine, holograms, light-pressure gloves, jet packs, Non-Solid Gates, DOM Shoes, warps, Beam Sabers, vacuum tube travel, and Bubble Shields. If all of this weren’t enough, Vegapunk is also deep into work on finding a way to turn Punk Records into a rudimentary form of the internet. Some of these inventions admittedly have military applications, but not all of them.
Vegapunk’s only problem is that he can’t acquire the funds, resources, or like-minded experts to spread his knowledge to the rest of the world. Accordingly, most of Vegapunk’s creations are isolated on Egghead and can only be accessed there. This also puts a greater emphasis on the weapons that he designs for the World Government. Ironically enough, weaponry is in the minority when it comes to Vegapunk’s many creations and discoveries. Most of his achievements can be used for more general purposes, if not for the necessary cost and resources to replicate them.
Other Factors For Judging Dr. Vegapunk’s Morality
There are a few more ways to judge Vegapunk’s morality, such as his continued relationship with the World Government. It’s nearly impossible for Dr. Vegapunk to find the money or resources for his research. The World Government provides him with the best chance of realizing his visions for the future. Vegapunk wouldn’t hesitate to find employment elsewhere if another entity were to somehow pay him what he requires. However, Vegapunk doesn’t think of the Marines or the World Government in such black-and-white terms. Vegapunk knows that the World Government does have good people who work for them that want the best for the world, despite the constant corruption that also surrounds them. He believes in the good that these entities do and supports this aspect of them. Dr. Vegapunk is a lot like Vice Admiral Garp in this regard.
It’s also worth considering how Dr. Vegapunk imparts aspects of his personality into the six “satellites.” This includes his evil (Lilith), wrath (Atlas), and greed (York). One of Vegapunk’s satellites proves to be malicious enough to kill the other Vegapunks in an elaborate scheme to become a Celestial Dragon. The original Stella’s aspects should still exist within Vegapunk, but he should only be judged for them if he openly expresses them. He’s about as likely to showcase evil or greed as he is to embody his goodness (Shaka) or wisdom (Pythagoras). Vegapunk’s Faustian bargain with Kuma also needs to be taken into consideration. The doctor claims that curing Bonney’s Sapphire Scales will be expensive, but he’s willing to cover the cost if Kuma agrees to become the template for the then-unnamed Pacifista clones. Many are quick to declare that Vegapunk is wrong for suggesting this deal, since the audience knows that this pact ends with Kuma becoming a mindless cyborg.
It’s important to remember that Vegapunk only asks for a sample of Kuma’s blood during this procedure. It’s still unconfirmed when the choice is made to turn Kuma into a Pacifista. It’s implied that St. Jaygarcia Saturn is ultimately the one who makes Vegapunk take Kuma’s humanity. Chapter 1094, “Five Elders, Godhead of Science & Defense, St. Jaygarcia Saturn,” also confirms that this choice wasn’t made by Vegapunk. Dr. Vegapunk, even if he wanted to make Kuma a cyborg, would still leave him with his free will intact. Vegapunk would likely transform the ex-Warlord into a shell of his former self, but he shouldn’t be beyond the point of forgiveness, especially if Bonney can find it in her heart to ley bygones be bygones with the rogue scientist.
Vegapunk’s motives can also be viewed through a more general understanding of the pursuit of science. It’s not inherently right or wrong to learn the natural laws and apply them for everyday use. Science’s potential is about who uses it and for what purpose. Science that’s made with noble intentions can be reworked into something wicked, which has been done with many of Vegapunk’s inventions. It’s inevitable that someone will eventually find a malicious use for Vegapunk’s purer creations, like GP Flowers. These scientific views aren’t explicitly stated in One Piece, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to discover that Vegapunk applies these ideals to his research.
Vegapunk is likely to redeem himself as One Piece‘s story progresses. Most of Vegapunk’s efforts will be a boon to the crew’s voyage rather than a hindrance now that he’s an enemy of the World Government as well as the Straw Hat Pirates’ escort and hostage. The heroes still have to deal with whatever inventions the Marines and World Government have their hands on, but there should no longer be any more new creations that get in their way. By One Piece‘s end, Vegapunk’s science will likely achieve its intended purpose and push humanity forward, like he’s always wanted.
