Highlights

Whitebeard and Roger, two legendary pirates in the One Piece world, were considered the leaders before the Great Pirate Era began.
Whitebeard possessed incredible strength, thanks to his overpowered Devil Fruit, the Gura Gura no Mi, and advanced Haki abilities.
Roger, known as the Pirate King, conquered the world using only Haki and was acknowledged as being on a different level of strength, even by the current strongest pirate, Kaido.

When it comes to the legendary figures in the One Piece world, Whitebeard and Roger are two of the most incredible pirates of all time. These pirates have, for many, many years, dominated the seas. Before the Great Pirate Era began, Whitebeard and Roger were considered to be the leaders of the age.

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Furthermore, after Roger's death and the ushering of the Great Pirate Era, Whitebeard became the man known as the king of the seas and, at the same time, he was believed to be the man closest to the One Piece as well. It is quite clear for the fans to see that these two characters are incredibly close to each other in terms of power. However, when comparing these two, one might edge the other one slightly in terms of power, infamy, and, of course, as a pirate overall.

The Legends Of The One Piece World

Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard laughing together in the One Piece anime

When it comes to the legendary figures of the One Piece world, not many individuals are alive at the moment. However, before the Great Pirate Era began, the likes of Whitebeard, Roger, Garp, Sengoku, and Shiki stood out the most. Of course, there was the legendary pirate Rocks back then as well, however, his era appears to have been even before Whitebeard and Roger, given that Whitebeard became a full-fledged pirate only after leaving Rocks crew.

Whitebeard hit his peak following the dissolution of the Rocks Pirates on God Valley 38 years ago and, as confirmed in the Oden flashback, he reached the pinnacle of his strength following the years after the split of this legendary crew. Whitebeard and Roger certainly had a great rivalry and these two characters fought each other on many occasions. This is evident from their last fight, where they openly declared having met and fought each other before.

Clearly, these two pirates stood at the pinnacle of the era before the Great Pirate Era was ushered in by the Pirate King, and they did it with quite some style, being recognized as the strongest of their own times. Whitebeard and Roger fought many battles, one of which was shown to the fans during the Odin flashback and it was quite clear to see that these two individuals were absolutely monstrous in terms of power as well as skill.

The Strength Of Whitebeard

whitebeard using his tremor tremor fruit at Marineford

When it comes to Whitebeard's strength, fans already know that he was incredibly overpowered. In his prime, Whitebeard possessed tremendous might. His Devil Fruit, the Gura Gura no Mi, a Paramecia type of Devil Fruit, was strong enough to give him the power to create quakes out of thin air. Whitebeard set off tsunamis and destroyed islands at will and this was a magnificent power that he held at his disposal. This power made him known as the man who could destroy the entire world if he wished and that alone is a terrifying ability to have.

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However, Whitebeard didn't just have this ability. On top of having an incredibly overpowered Devil Fruit, Whitebeard also had incredible Haki. He had all three Haki types, all of which were likely trained to an advanced level. At the very least, fans have confirmation for his Conqueror's and Armament Haki being trained to an advanced level. When Whitebeard fought against Roger, he made use of his advanced Conqueror's Haki and he did so in quite some style. This, in itself, was proof enough that Whitebeard was an elite pirate the likes of which couldn't be matched by many others in the story and it was clear for the fans to see that even at his old age, Whitebeard was a monstrous fighter who couldn't be stopped.

The Strength Of Roger

One Piece Gol D Roger using Divine Departure

When it comes to the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, fans already know the level of strength that he possessed. Whitebeard might have been the strongest man in the world, however, Roger was simply on a completely different level altogether. This doesn't necessarily mean that Roger was stronger than Whitebeard. However, as a pirate, and even in general, Roger was believed to be on a level of his own. Roger did not have any Devil Fruit, however, despite that, he was able to conquer the entire world. This has been acknowledged by people all over the world.

Even the strongest pirate alive in the recent era, Kaido, openly acknowledged the fact that Roger brought the whole world to heel and he did not even have a Devil Fruit to complement his strength.

Roger did it all by using Haki alone and that in itself proves that his Haki was stronger than that of Whitebeard. In fact, Roger's Haki was on a completely different level. This is once again proved by the fact that when Roger and Whitebeard clashed and fought for 3 days, Roger did not have any Devil Fruit while Whitebeard utilized both Devil Fruit and Haki. Despite that, the fight ended in a draw and this draw proves that these two pirates were on the same level and that Roger's Haki was, at the very least, stronger than that of Whitebeard. Roger utilized Conqueror's Haki as his primary weapon in combat and, as he did that, those who stood in his path were absolutely crushed. Even a samurai as strong as Oden was mesmerized by Roger and chose to follow him to the Final Island.

Roger Vs Whitebeard In Strength And Portrayal

When comparing Roger and Whitebeard, fans have quite a lot to go off of. In terms of strength, it is clearly stated in the story that Roger and Whitebeard were equal. When these two pirates fought each other, the battles resulted in a tie. Both of them had minor injuries here and there and despite all that, none got the better of the other, and that alone is proof of the fact that these two were equal. However, things get more interesting when one takes into consideration the portrayal of these characters. For instance, Buggy mentioned that Whitebeard was the only pirate alive who could match Roger in combat and that means that Roger was at the pinnacle of piracy and Whitebeard was the only one who could get near him or on his level.

Furthermore, when the Paramount War ended and Whitebeard died, the narrator, which is Oda's very own word, clearly stated that Whitebeard was a pirate equal to Roger himself and this once again goes to show that in terms of strength, at the very least, these two were on a similar standing. However, the portrayal of these two characters as pirates is very different. For one, Roger is always held on a higher pedestal. Whitebeard is the one who's always believed to be on Roger's level while Roger is the one who is the flagbearer of that particular era. Roger was the one who became the Pirate King and, in terms of ambition, willpower, and of course, as a result, Haki, Roger is the superior pirate. This is once again shown in portrayal when the Yonko before the new era were believed to be pirates in contention with the great Whitebeard and, when it comes to the age before the Great Pirate Era, Whitebeard himself was believed to be a pirate in contention with Roger. The portrayal held Whitebeard on a different level when compared to the Yonko and, similarly, Roger on a different level when compared to Whitebeard.

Of course, there is also the fact that Roger himself was sick when he used to fight Whitebeard. In fact, in their last battle, which was a draw, Roger was already dealing with a terminal illness that weakened him greatly, as confirmed by Rayleigh himself. Despite struggling with that illness, he was able to match Whitebeard in combat effectively. If that wasn't enough, according to Sengoku, Roger's greatest enemy was none other than Rocks and not Whitebeard. As a result, in terms of portrayal, fans can assume Roger to be the superior one of the two overall, however, when it comes to combat strength, these two were equal at least at a time when Roger was sick. Had Roger not had the sickness, perhaps, he could have been stronger.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media and Manga Plus.