Dr. Vegapunk is one of the most intriguing characters in One Piece so far. Her introduction is also one of the most hyped reveals in the series, as she finally appeared in chapter 1061 of the story after being mentioned long before even the timeskip of One Piece. For the longest time, Dr. Vegapunk was hyped as a genius thanks to the work of whom the Navy was constantly making progress.
Now, Vegapunk has finally appeared in the main story, as seen in the Egghead Island arc, which seems to be her personal island. Her role in the story is of utmost importance, given that she is the only one capable of explaining things such as the Devil Fruits, and things such as the Lineage Factor. With Oda all set to tackle all these questions through Vegapunk, it is time for the fans to go over why this character is so important and what role she will play in the story moving forward.
Vegapunk's First Mention
Vegapunk is quite possibly the most anticipated and longest reveal that Oda has made in One Piece so far. She was first mentioned in chapter 433, after the events of the Enies Lobby arc. It was Koby, the then Petty Officer, who introduced the fans to Dr. Vegapunk. According to Koby, it was all thanks to her that the Navy were able to make great advancement in the scientific field. Koby mentioned that Vegapunk was able to ensure that the Navy ships didn't have to go through the Reverse Mountain every single time they had to move in and out of the Grand Line.
At the same time, he also mentioned that Vegapunk had studied Devil Fruits to a great degree and finally managed to understand how they work. Even feeding these fruits to inanimate objects was made possible by Dr. Vegapunk. After this mention, Vegapunk was finally introduced in chapter 1061, which is 628 chapters later. In the Egghead Island arc, fans finally got to see the Straw Hat Pirates meet her on the island of the future.
Vegapunk's Past
While not all of her past has been revealed to the fans just yet, Oda has carefully placed bits of information about Vegapunk in the story already. Shortly before the Summit War, Bartholomew Kuma, one of the former Shichibukai, sent Franky, the shipwright of the crew, to Karakuri Island. On this island was the future city known as Baldimore, where Vegapunk was born. As seen in the manga, Vegapunk lived here during her youth and her many inventions could be seen on the island while Franky lived there.
She created many cyborg animals and helped them overcome their injuries. At the same time, she created a central heating system for the entire city, aiding the people living there greatly. Vegapunk's former laboratory is considered to be a national treasure on this island and is guarded by the Navy. The many secrets of life itself are held there. However, due to a lack of funding, Vegapunk could not complete the projects that she was working on, on the island.
Vegapunk's Accomplishments So Far
Eventually, Vegapunk moved from Karakuri Island and then joined forces with Vinsmoke Judge, a famous scientist from the North Blue, and the leader of the Germa Kingdom, Queen the Plague, who was an All Star of the Beasts Pirates until recently, and Caesar Clown. The group came to be known as MADS and, together, they found the very blueprint of life itself, called the Lineage Factor. The lineage factor is pretty much the DNA that allows these geniuses to alter and create life itself. With this secret of life being discovered, Judge ended up creating superhuman warmongers in his children.
Meanwhile, Vegapunk used this study to understand the essence of Devil Fruits and how they work. Eventually, the Navy found out about the MADS and hunted them down. Vegapunk was arrested, however, was soon employed by the organization and became their lead scientist. Finally, Vegapunk was given all the funds that she needed to further her scientific experiments, which is exactly what she did. As mentioned by Koby, all the secrets about Devil Fruits are known to Vegapunk. In fact, she even managed to recreate Devil Fruits themselves. After studying Kaido, she was able to recreate the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu perfectly. She could even feed Devil Fruits to inanimate objects, which was first seen in the Arabasta arc of One Piece. On Punk Hazard, she managed to recreate dragons themselves. Perhaps the biggest achievement of Dr. Vegapunk so far are the Pacifistas. The Pacifistas were first introduced to the fans before the Summit War of One Piece.
They are human weapons that were based on the body of Bartholomew Kuma, and held the power of Kizaru's Devil Fruit laser. They were one of the primary military forces that the Navy held until recently. The Pacifista were an incomplete experiment and they were successfully completed recently, with the creation of the SSG. Now, they seem to be more evolved with the creation of the Seraphim which debuted in One Piece 1059. The Seraphim are clones of the former Warlords of the Sea with powers of the Lunarian race which Vegapunk studied when Alber, now known as King the Wildfire, was a prisoner of the Navy.
Her genius is such that she was able to extract the Lineage Factor of this race and recreate it essentially from the scratch. On Egghead Island, Vegapunk has created a place that is 500 years ahead of the rest of the human world. This arc is going to be key in the One Piece storyline and is one where fans will find out some of the biggest mysteries surrounding Devil Fruits and possibly even more.