As the Straw Hats' beloved shipwright and the man responsible for the creation of their current vessel the Thousand Sunny, Franky has remained one of the series' breakout characters since his introduction during the Water 7 Saga of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece. Beyond his role in repairing and upgrading the ship of the future pirate king, Franky is also a powerful cyborg and among one of the crew's strongest combatants by virtue of the immense firepower contained within his heavily modified body. From power packed punches, gun barrel knuckles, and air cannons, to his now-iconic radical beam attacks, this cola powered half-man, half-machine is a no joke when it comes to a fight, and always manages to take down his opponents with degree of flair that matches his flamboyant persona.
By virtue of spending two years on Karakuri Island in Paradise during the timeskip, Franky became well acquainted with the work of Dr. Vegapunk, the World Government's foremost scientist, said to be the smartest man in the world. Now, in the latest arc of One Piece which covers the Straw Hats' visit to Egghead Island — Vegapunk's current base of operations — the likelihood of the genius scientist setting sail with them in order to escape the clutches of CP0 and the Marines sets the stage Franky's own skills to undergo a major upgrade under Vegapunk's tutelage. In this vein, a host of new possibilities have opened up for the Straw Hats' beloved shipwright as he continues to see out his dream of circumnavigating the world aboard the Thousand Sunny.
Face To Face With His Idol
On crash landing on Karakuri Island due to Bartholomew Kuma's intervention during the events of the Sabaody Archipelago arc, Franky found his way to Vegapunk's former home from his youth in the Future Country of Baldimore. Inadvertently triggering an explosion after breaking into the genius scientist's old lab — an event now termed the "Nightmare of Baldimore" — the cyborg chanced upon a second hidden lab containing blueprints for a vast array of weapons.
Resolving to spend his time there and learn from Vegapunk's immense wealth of knowledge — to support his captain's dream and return to the crew stronger than ever before — he grew to respect the scientist, in spite of the former's allegiance to the World Government. However, there is some doubt over this, by virtue of the scientist's connection to Dragon and the Revolutionary Army, which opens even more doors regarding his true beliefs and objectives.
Even though he was confused at first on seeing Lillith, one of Vegapunk's copies introduce herself as Vegapunk himself, Franky quickly began to proclaim his undying admiration for the world's smartest man, going so far as to call Vegapunk his idol.
As a significant number of Franky's own bodily modifications along with the upgrades made to the Sunny post-timeskip stem from the leaps of insight he gleaned from analyzing Vegapunk's work on Karakuri Island, meeting his hero in person is sure to awaken an even stronger desire in him to develop his skills to their limit, and perhaps even surpass his potential mentor one day.
A Whole New Level Of Technology
There are few individuals in world of One Piece who can claim to understand the extent of Vegapunk's genius or even attempt to comprehend and recreate his work. As of the time of the Egghead Island arc, only Caesar Clown, Vinsmoke Judge, and Queen — all formerly part of the research group MADS alongside Vegapunk — are said to possess an intellect and level of scientific knowledge that could even hold a candle to the world's smartest man, and even they might not be able to compete with the latter in his current form. Said to be centuries ahead of its time — but sadly still not on par with the advanced civilization of the Void Century — Vegapunk's creations represent the pinnacle of scientific achievement during the Golden Age of Piracy as well as the New Age that followed it.
However, after the timeskip, Franky now among the small number of scientists in the world of One Piece who can claim understand the inner workings of Vegapunk's inventions, on spending almost the entirety of his two years away from the crew engaged in breaking down and replicating the genius' work. This is evidenced by his new cannon attacks which resemble the Pacifista's laser beams, in turn based on the Light Light Fruit abilities of Admiral Kizaru, alongside his upgraded artillery, and most notably, the General Franky mech suit, which was itself based on blueprints he found in the lab during the timeskip.
Furthermore, there is also a possibility that Franky might follow in Vegapunk's footsteps and make use of satellite bodies to increase his fighting capabilities along with his capacity to experiment and build upon his already awe-inspiring list of inventions. At this juncture in the story, the firepower boasted by his cola-powered armaments is fearsome, permitting him to dispatch most opponents with ease, with only Sasaki one of the Beast Pirates' Tobiroppo giving the cyborg any trouble during a fight. The thought of possible further enhancements provided either by Vegapunk himself or implemented by Franky after learning more from his idol, could make him even more of an invaluable asset to his crew, and by extension, one of the strongest pirates currently on the sea.
Understanding The Ancient Weapons
During the Water 7 saga when his character was first introduced, the Ancient Weapons, more specifically Pluton, was a major plot point in the story, stretching as far back as the Alabasta arc. With many parties including the likes of Crocodile, CP9, the Yonko, and even the higher-ups of the World Government spreading out in search of this great battleship, the likes of which has not been seen since the time of the Void Century, it is likely to have a crucial role to play in the final act of the series.
The only surviving blueprints for the weapon were revealed to be in Franky's possession during the Enies Lobby arc — having been entrusted with them by his mentor Tom — although, he set fire to them in order to avoid surrendering them to Spandam and the Marines, taking his first steps towards becoming one of the Straw Hat Pirates.
With the reveal of Shirahoshi as the current incarnation of Poseidon, there is only one Ancient Weapon whose form and capabilities are relatively unknown — Uranus. In addition to his revelations regarding the actual nature of Devil Fruits and the ancient kingdom from the Void Century, it is extremely likely that Vegapunk will have some knowledge about Uranus, as he is presently the only one in the world who is privy to the vast collection of knowledge from the Library of Ohara — where the foremost scholars of the world were conducting an ill-fated inquiry into the Void Century.
As the tides of time turn and spiral towards the great battle for the One Piece at the conclusion of this epic saga, it is fairly certain that the Ancient Weapons will have a part to play in this conflict. Whether that involves Franky upgrading the Thousand Sunny in the style of Pluton itself, or even utilizing the power of the other two weapons with the aid of Vegapunk, the latter's introduction could bring up more answers to questions that have plagued the fandom for well over a decade.