The One Piece series is home to many strange individuals with wacky character designs, and the Straw Hat crew members aren’t an exception to this. Of course, you have your more standard characters like Nami and Zoro, but as Oda enjoys drawing more outlandish individuals, you also have stranger beings such as the human reindeer Chopper and the living skeleton Brook.

One Piece's shipwright and cyborg Franky is definitely one of the more goofy characters. Introduced pre-timeskip during the Water Seven Arc, he was already a heavily modified human-cyborg hybrid that runs on cola. Now, his post-timeskip design features such heavy modifications that fans were left wondering if he can even still classify as human.

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Who Is Franky?

Initially introduced during the Water Seven Arc as one of One Piece’s minor antagonists, Franky was quick to redeem himself during the events that took place on Enies Lobby, and more than deserved his spot on the Straw Hat crew. After being abandoned by his parents, he grew up as Shipwright Tom’s apprentice alongside Iceberg, and already as a child he displayed great talent for building battleships.

When searching for the Ancient Weapon Pluton’s blueprints rumored to be in Tom’s possession, Spandam used Franky’s creations to frame Tom, leading to his arrest and death sentence. This was traumatic for the guilt-ridden Franky who, as Tom was conducted to his execution in Enies Lobby via the Puffing Tom, attempted to stop the train by standing in its way. His body was heavily damaged, and he was believed to be dead, but his technical expertise allowed him to survive by modifying his body into a battleship, and he moved on to live his life in shadows and penance as head of Water Seven’s Franky Family of demolishers.

How Did Franky Change Post-Timeskip?

Franky was already one of One Piece’s more bizarre characters, but during the timeskip he underwent further modifications that led him even farther away from his biological body. When the Straw Hats were disbanded on Sabaody, Kuma sent Franky to Baltimore, the birthplace of Vegapunk. Here, he had access to Vegapunk’s old labs and blueprints, which he used to enhance his cyborg body and improve his integrated weapons.

Post-timeskip, Franky’s eyes have been replaced with robotic eyes that mimic natural ones and give him automated aim. His arms are much larger and host powerful weaponry, such as his capability of firing lasers from his hands, though in these large arms, he still has normal-sized robot hands necessary for more precise craftsmanship. He has also added the useless, yet hilarious, function of being able to change his hairstyle upon pressing his nose, something he usually does upon every costume change.

Is Franky Still Human?

In One Piece’s Dressrosa Arc, Franky engages in the fan-favorite battle against Señor Pink of the Donquixote Family. This fight is defined as a battle between true men, and is a fight of manliness and honor, dubbed “the Battle Of The Pervert”. During this encounter, Franky takes damage upon tanking a hit with his back, and Señor Pink confirms that his back is, indeed, still human.

Already revealed to be his weakness pre-timeskip, the canon reason for Franky’s back being human flesh is that, as he makes his own modifications, he is unable to operate on his own back. That said, after the timeskip fans were unsure whether it still held true, as it could have been possible for him to have found a way around this with upgrades to his mobility and his integration of his cyborg eyes. As this didn’t happen, it is safe to assume that Franky is still in part human, further confirmed by certain SBS responses such as Oda revealing that he can indeed still get drunk.

Will Franky Get A Power-Up?

As the current One Piece narrative is centered around Vegapunk and his scientific advancements, fans suspect Franky may soon receive a power-up. In fact, if Franky is to receive a power-up, Egghead Island is the most probable place for it to happen, and his fans in the community are hopeful this will bring his moment to shine. Any number of improvements to his abilities are a possibility, but of the technologies shown, the Green Blood used in the Seraphims would make for an interesting addition and greatly enhance his skill set. This upgrade would allow him to have access to Devil Fruit abilities whilst maintaining his ability to swim, something he has previously stated as being very important to him, and a popular theory states that if he dies, he may even inherit Kuma's ability this way.

In the latest One Piece chapter 1099, the Kuma Flashback is nearing its end, and fans eagerly await for the story to return to the events unfolding on Egghead. Here, Franky has just removed an exhausted Luffy from Saturn’s reach, and it will be interesting to see what his contributions to the fights that will likely take place will be.

One Piece is available to stream on Prime Video.

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