One Piece‘s creator has unexpectedly revealed the mystery identity of one Straw Hat crew member’s father, and it really clears up some big questions fans have had for a long time. One Piece has been running in the pages of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine for nearly 30 years, but there are still many questions fans have about some of its series’ biggest questions. While a few of the Straw Hats have shown sides of their past together with various family members, there are a few others who’s origins have been a completely mystery. Including who their parents might be.
When asked by fans whether or not Franky was Queen’s son (as spotted by @pewpiece on X), One Piece series creator Eiichiro Oda confirms that this was indeed the case. Because while Franky was originally introduced as an orphan taken in and taught by Tom, it turns out that he was also one of Queen’s children that the infamous Beasts Pirates crew member had abandoned. Connecting these dots together, it seemed to even take Oda himself by surprise.
One Piece Creator Reveals Queen Is Franky’s Father
Courtesy of Toei Animation
“Oh no..they’ve noticed!” Oda began when responding to fans along with the latest issue of Shueisha’s Shonen Jump magazine. “They must’ve seen it in the One Piece Encyclopedia – Vivre Card that the year Queen’s child was born matches the year Franky was born! And the year Queen abandoned his child also matches the year Franky was taken in by Tom!! Readers knowing something the characters themselves don’t would be weird…I’ll have to bluff my way out of this one…” From Oda’s words here, it seems like he left clues for fans to piece together for the puzzle but had no real plans of outright stating it beforehand.
This does seem like a missed opportunity for Franky as if he had known that Queen was the father than abandoned him, it could have resulted in a unique scene for the two of them together. At the same time, there were already so many spinning plates in the air for the Wano Country arc climax at that point. So many characters had fights that needed to be settled, and so many other smaller relationships had to have their own dynamics explored. So Franky might have been too much to also cram in.
What Does This Mean for Franky?
Toei Animation
Ultimately, Queen being Franky’s father really doesn’t matter. If it wasn’t important enough for Oda to integrate into the story, then it’s just a piece of Franky’s past that helps to fill out the full picture of how he ticks. But while that is true, it’s also true that it’s another example of how characters like Franky have taken a backseat to some of the other prominent members of the Straw Hat crew. This is just another piece of story that could have been a big deal for Franky that was just shoved under the rug.
It just does scream missed opportunity when also coupled with the fact that Franky spent an entire arc on his idol Vegapunk’s future island laboratory, but we got very few moments where he actually got to spend time with the scientist despite molding his body inspired by the scientist’s work. But as Oda continues to work towards the end, there’s not going to be enough time to get everything done without sacrifices.