One Piece 1079 confirmed that Shanks is much stronger than Big Mom

Leakers claimed One Piece 1079 to be the best chapter of the year so far, and it really seems that they weren't lying. The latest installment of the series featured breathtaking moments that left fans amazed.

Eiichiro Oda temporarily shifted the focus to Elbaf, an island in the New World where the Kid Pirates, led by Eustass Kid, challenged the Red Hair Pirates. Unsurprisingly, Kid and his men stood no chance against Shanks.

The battle was very short, resulting in the onesided and instantaneous annihilation of Kid, despite the latter being strong enough to hold his own against Big Mom.

The comparison between the very different performances of the two Emperors against the same opponent emphasized how superior Shanks is compared to Big Mom.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1079 and reflects the writer's personal views.

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Few One Piece characters can compete with Shanks, and Big Mom isn't one of them

Not all Emperors are born the same

At the beginning of One Piece's post time skip narration, Blackbeard, Kaido, Big Mom and Shanks were the Four Emperors (Image via Toei Animation, One Piece)

The Yonko, i.e., "Four Emperors," are the most notorious pirate captains in the world of One Piece. Due to their immense fighting capabilities, they exert massive influence over several territories and islands.

Whitebeard, Charlotte Linlin, Kaido, and Shanks were the original Four Emperors. Blackbeard took Whitebeard's position while Linlin and Kaido lost their status and were replaced by Luffy and Buggy (although the latter is merely the figurehead leader of the Cross Guild).

Due to her strength and tough body, Charlotte Linlin, better known as "Big Mom," has been considered a freak of nature since she was a child. She also owns the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit, which allows her to control inanimate matter.

Big Mom is one of the strongest characters in the series. Yet, she is barely comparable to Shanks, who far surpasses her as a fighter. Big Mom is fearsome, but at times is very clumsy and fails to make proper use of her own abilities.

Conversely, Shanks not only owns immense power, but can also employ it effectively. After all, he is a man who can compete with Dracule Mihawk, the World's Strongest Swordsman.

Shanks is one of the mightiest and most refined Haki users in the One Piece world. Coating his sword Gryphon with Conqueror's Haki, Shanks unleashes quick and deadly strikes. In comparison, Big Mom's Devil Fruit powers appear far less threatening.

The latest installment of One Piece, chapter 1079, definitely proves that Shanks' combat effectiveness is light years above that of Big Mom, despite the latter being a former Yonko.

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One Piece 1079 proved that Shanks hits much harder than Big Mom

Despite being a normal human, Shanks is immensely powerful (Image via Toei Animation, One Piece)

The latest installment of the series puts an end to any debate, certifying Shanks' evident superiority over his fellow Yonko. The chapter featured Shanks single-handedly annihilating the Kid Pirates.

Unleashing his Conqueror's Haki through Gryphon, Shanks hit Kid with an attack called "Divine Departure." This devastating technique is the same move that Gol D. Roger, the late Pirate King, used against Oden Kozuki.

The attack cut through Kid's Railgun and caused the latter to immediately lose consciousness. Shanks' strike also hit Kid's right-hand man, Killer, who tried to help his captain. Killer ended up unable to get up, grievously injured.

Shanks showcased immense attacking power. With a technique that is most likely far from being the strongest move of his repertoire, he one-shotted Kid, who is a very tough individual in his own right.

Kid was able to withstand and, at times, overpower direct attacks from Big Mom, even after she used her Devil Fruit powers to empower herself further, exploiting her "Bigger Mom" mode.

Big Mom struck Kid several times with many of her named techniques, including God of Lightning Tenjin, Fulgora, Ikoku Sovereignty, and Mama Raid. Kid was always able to somewhat endure the damage and continue fighting.

Nevertheless, Kid was unable to survive even a single hit from Shanks. After being struck with the latter's Divine Departure attack, Kid immediately got knocked out cold. While he was able to somewhat hold his own against Big Mom, he never stood the slightest chance against Shanks.

Concerning Killer, he easily endured Indra and Fulgora, two of Big Mom's Devil Fruit techniques. Fulgora packed enough power to create a giant hole in Onigashima, and yet Killer got up relatively well even after such an attack.

However, a single hit from Shanks immediately took Killer down, despite the latter not even being directly struck by the attack. The comparison highlights that Shanks has far greater offensive power than Big Mom, whose attacks failed to inflict meaningful damage on her targets.

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Summarizing

Kid is a tough fighter, but a single attack from Shanks was enough to put him down for good (Image via Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, One Piece)

"Red Hair" Shanks was the undisputed protagonist of One Piece 1079. He single-handedly annihilated the Kid Pirates, proving his standing as one of the strongest active characters in the series.

No one was surprised by the one-sided outcome of the battle between Red Hair Pirates and Kid Pirates, but, impressively enough, Shanks one-shotted Kid. In comparison, Big Mom wasn't able to put the same character down despite directly hitting him with several named attacks.

Granted, Kid didn't fight Big Mom alone. He teamed up with Trafalgar Law, another prominent member of the Worst Generation. Their advantage in numbers was crucial, allowing them to take turns, hitting Big Mom from behind while she was focused on the other.

The damage that Big Mom suffered from Kid and Law's attacks was a feat shared between the two Supernovas, as the former's wounds accumulated over and over as a result of their numerical superiority.

However, the injuries that they received from Big Mom were an individual matter. They obviously couldn't share their own wounds. The fact that Kid was able to endure Big Mom's strikes was a notable feat for him.

What Big Mom couldn't achieve, even using many techniques, Shanks accomplished with a single strike, proving his superior might. Undoubtedly, the level of strength that Shanks showcased in chapter 1079 is something that very few One Piece characters can compare to.