Similar to the other members of the Straw Hat crew who form the main cast of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece, Franky has a complex and troubled past, which led him to become the larger than life person he is today. A shipwright whose skills far exceed those of his peers, save for a few, Franky was trained by the Fishman Tom, one of the world's best shipwrights, who was responsible for designing and building the legendary vessel of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Having spent most of his youth as an apprentice with Tom's Workers, Franky was intensely devoted to his trade from an early age, honing his skills while putting his own distinctively flamboyant spin on the art of ship building. However, the tragedies he suffered through, such as the loss of his mentor, molded him into a headstrong and determined individual who never backs down from a fight.
Franky's obsession with creating warships saw him build many vessels of mass destruction in his time as an apprentice with Tom. His dream was to one day build the ship of his fantasies — armed to the teeth with the most advanced contraptions and weapons he could think of — and use it to traverse the most dangerous seas in One Piece. After encountering the Straw Hats in Water 7, and aiding them in their mission to save Nico Robin from the clutches of CP9 in Enies Lobby, Franky finally got to fulfill the first part of his dream when commissioned to build a ship for Luffy and his crew. The fruit of his labors is the Thousand Sunny, which replaced the Straw Hats' earlier ship, the Going Merry. All of Franky's experiences till this moment guided him to becoming one of the Straw Hats, where he is finally seeing out the dream he has held on to since he was only a child.
The Origins Of Cutty Flam
Born to parents who were pirates in the South Blue, Franky was cast out to sea shortly after, and saved only by the intervention of Tom. His real name at this time was Cutty Flam, and he soon became an apprentice with the legendary shipwright, who was impressed on seeing the boy craft a cannon from a collection of scrap metal that he salvaged. He was given his current name, Franky, by Tom's other apprentice Iceburg, who would later go on to head the Galley-La company and become the mayor of Water 7. The two apprentices learned their craft from Tom over the years, although Franky spent most of his time building weaponized battleships which he used to combat Sea Kings, naming them the "Battle Frankies." He even declared that he would one day build his own ship and use it to sail the seas, to which Tom remarked that Franky would finally surpass him if he managed to realize this dream.
At a certain point in his youth, Franky met the Roger Pirates when they paid a visit to Tom in Water 7 as they were about to embark on their final, legendary voyage to conquer the Grand Line. Franky also met Kozuki Oden during this time, and the samurai even invited him to join the crew alongside members such as Shanks and Buggy — who would both later go on to achieve great things after striking out on their own as pirates. Naturally, Franky declined Oden's invitation, as he detested pirates. This was due to Franky's own lineage, as his parents were both pirates and had abandoned him when he was only an infant, hence, he refused to become one himself. Despite all this, this interaction with the Roger Pirates and the Pirate King would have a profound impact on Franky's life, eventually leading him to his current journey with the Straw Hats.
The Tragedy Of Tom's Workers
Tragedy struck Franky's life when he was only 12, as his mentor and father figure Tom was put on trial by the World Government for his role in building the Oro Jackson, the ship of the Pirate King. Luckily, Tom managed to convince his persecutors to delay his sentencing, which would permit him to build Water 7's first sea train, the Puffing Tom. In the next decade, Franky, Tom, and Iceburg worked tirelessly to build the train, and spent four additional years building the three extra lines that it would travel along. These actions redeemed Tom in the eyes of the people of Water 7, as well as all the Marines who were stationed in the area. For his efforts, the Navy planned on issuing a pardon to Tom, which was a fitting reward for the master shipwright's work.
Unfortunately, this triumph was short-lived as Spandam, the chief of CP5 at the time, used the Battle Frankies to stage an attack on Water 7, framing Tom in the process. Although Tom's Workers managed to prevent the attack from causing too much damage, Tom's reputation once again plummeted in the eyes of the public, and he was sentenced death. In developing this underhanded scheme, Spandam was motivated by a desire to gain access to the blueprints for Pluton, a battleship that was one of the Ancient Weapons. The blueprints had been handed down to Tom by the shipwrights of Water 7 over the years and Spandam was acting on behalf of the World Government who sought to take control of it. Wracked with the guilt of being responsible for creating the Battle Frankies and refusing to accept his mentor's fate, Franky pistol whipped Spandam as he escorted Tom to Enies Lobby, where his sentence was to be handed out. Franky even tried to stop the Puffing Tom by standing right in front of it, only to be horribly injured after being hit by the train, and presumed dead for years to come.
Becoming Cyborg Franky
Luckily, Franky survived being struck by the train, but was injured very badly, and had to replace most of his limbs with augmented prosthetics that he created from spare parts that he collected from an abandoned ship. In doing so, he turned himself into a cyborg, and tattooed "BF-36" on his shoulders, which made him the latest in the line of Battle Frankies. Franky would later improve on this with the BF-37 after One PIece's time skip, and finally the BF-38 which is also known as the Iron Pirate "General Franky." He then went to see Iceburg in Water 7, four years after his disappearance, only to find that his old friend had allied with the World Government. An infuriated Franky confronted Iceburg about this, and the latter was overjoyed to see him alive. Despite his protests, Iceburg entrusted the blueprints for Pluton to Franky, and begged him to leave Water 7 alive. Franky stubbornly refused, which provoked Iceburg and sparked an argument between the two. He then went out to the streets of Water 7 and set up his own criminal organization, the Franky Family, after recruiting those he fought and defeated with his new augmented body.
Over time, Franky became the leader of the underworld mafia in Water 7, stealing from pirates and ships passing through the city. All this time, he held himself responsible for Tom's death and refused to forgive himself, committing immoral actions in order to assuage his guilt. This was done out of a sense of atonement, as he sought to organize all criminal activities occurring in the city and protect Water 7, taking on all the hatred the citizens directed towards him to preserve Tom's legacy. He also worked and saved up money to buy the Adam Wood for the ship of his dreams, and this ambition would finally be realized with the arrival of the Straw Hats.