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The vast array of characters that Eiichiro Oda, the author of the record-breaking manga One Piece, introduced and developed is one of the work's distinctive features. Among the characters that the series introduced in its post-time skip arcs is Charlotte Perospero, Big Mom's eldest son and one of the most prominent members of the Big Mom Pirates.
First introduced in the Whole Cake Island Arc, Perospero received a fair amount of spotlight in the Wano Arc. Considering his feats and portrayal, he should be part of the Sweet Commanders of Big Mom Pirates. However, Perospero doesn't occupy that rank, which has led One Piece fans to question whether he is at that level or not. Keep reading to learn more about the topic.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to Chapter 1060 and reflects the opinions of the writer.
Perospero is comparable in strength to most Yonko Commanders in One Piece
Who is Charlotte Perospero?
Perospero's first appearance in the series was in One Piece chapter 834. He is the eldest child of Charlotte Linlin, the pirate and former Yonko known as Big Mom. He serves as a member of the Big Mom Pirates, with an unclear rank within the crew. Perospero also has some power over Totto Land, governing Candy Island as the Minister of Candy.
When the Strawhats tried to escape Whole Cake Island, Perospero stood in their path. He easily defeated and captured Brook and Chopper and was about to take their lives. They were saved, however, after one of their friends, Pedro, sacrificed his life to allow them to flee.
Perospero has proven to be extremely crafty. When his mother's original plan to assassinate the Vinsmokes went wrong, he came up with an improvised and effective strategy on the spot, binding the Vinsmoke Family with his candy to make them easy targets for his siblings to shoot. His plan solely failed due to Big Mom's unexpected screams that incapacitated everyone.
He is extremely sadistic, being one of the most vicious characters in the One Piece series. He enjoys mocking his enemies with his typical verbal tics, to the point of cruelly torturing them just to entertain himself. Perospero is very arrogant, constantly toying with his enemies and taunting them whenever he has the upper hand, instead of just finishing them off.
His overconfident attitude has taken its toll on him on several occasions, the most obvious being his loss against Nekomamushi during the battle in Onigashima in the Wano Arc. Perospero had him beaten and could have easily put him out of his misery. However, he wasted precious time mocking him. This proved to be a fatal mistake, leading to Perospero's subsequent defeat.
Perospero is an ambitious man who declared that if Linlin disappeared, he would serve as leader of the Big Mom Pirates. Unfortunately for him, his brothers told him to knock it off because greater authority comes from greater strength, and it follows that the second in command and an eventual new leader would be Katakuri, who is stronger than Perospero.
Having eaten the Candy-Candy Fruit, Perospero was granted the ability to freely create and control candy. His Devil Fruit power is one of the most versatile in the series, allowing him to create anything out of candy, and control it in its almost liquid syrup form, to bind and suffocate his opponents, or even harden it into a solid state, creating constructs that can be used for attack, defense, and support.
What does Commander level mean in the One Piece series?
Commanders are the strongest subordinates within the crews of Yonkos, the four notorious pirates who rule the New World. Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, and Shanks were the original Four Emperors, but Blackbeard took Whitebeard's position. After their defeat, Big Mom and Kaido lost their status and were replaced by Luffy and Buggy. This officially makes the Strawhats a Yonko crew now.
In Beasts Pirates, the collective group of commanders is known as "All Stars", while in Big Mom Pirates they are called "Sweet Commanders". In Blackbeard's crew, they are referred to as the "Ten Titanic Captains". For the Whitebeard Pirates, there wasn't a specific term as all sixteen main subordinates were considered to be commanders in a more general manner.
The Red Hair Pirates and the Strawhat Pirates have very different organizational structures. These crews are relatively low in numbers, relying on a few powerful members rather than depending on large numbers. The captains and their right-hand men are close in strength, with a connection more akin to brotherhood than a mere leader-subordinate relationship. Further below them is a group of strong executives.
In the One Piece world, all the Yonko Commanders are considered to be strong pirates in their own right. However, even among them, there is a definite hierarchy. A remarkable difference in strength separates the average Commanders from the most powerful ones, those who are the second strongest individuals in the entire crew and hold the rank of right-hand man to the captain.
Even among right-hand men, there seems to be a distinction. Some, such as Marco with Whitebeard, King with Kaido, and Katakuri with Big Mom, are significantly weaker than their captain. Others are very close in strength to their captain. Such is the connection between Shanks and Benn Beckman and between Luffy and Zoro. To this day, the difference in strength between Shiryu and Blackbeard is unclear.
Perospero's status compared with that of some Yonko Commanders
The group of Sweet Commanders in Big Mom Pirates comprises Katakuri, Cracker, and Smoothie, who are thus implied to be the three top officers in the crew with the highest authority, reverence, and fighting prowess after Big Mom herself. Previously, there were four Sweet Commanders, but Snack was demoted following his defeat against Urouge, one of the Eleven Supernovas of the Worst Generation.
Perospero isn't part of the Sweet Commanders of Big Mom Pirates, and based on what is known thus far, he has never been. Given this, he shouldn't be a fighter who is strong enough to be at Commander level. However, many One Piece fans are very confused regarding this.
Perospero is Big Mom's eldest son and a prominent pirate in his own right. While he is much weaker than Katakuri, he doesn't seem to be any less powerful than Cracker and Smoothie, the other two members of the Sweet Commanders. Furthermore, it seems unlikely that he is weaker than Snack.
If authority mostly comes from strength, as was depicted many times in the One Piece series, what's very interesting is that Perospero, despite not being a Sweet Commander, holds extremely high authority within the Big Mom Pirates. He even ordered Smoothie, who obeyed him, regardless of the fact that technically she should outrank him.
Perospero was also seen in command of several of his other siblings during the tea party massacre of the Vinsmoke family, later directing them as they pursued Vinsmokes and Strawhats. As a matter of fact, Perospero seems to be the most prominent member of the Big Mom Pirates bar Charlotte Linlin and Katakuri.
Perospero was awarded a bounty of 700 million berries, a fair amount higher than Snack's. It's true that bounties don't measure strength, but the level of threat the World Government assumes they can pose. Sometimes they may not even necessarily reflect a person's true threat, possibly overstating or understating it. This has left One Piece fans perplexed.
With Snack being a Sweet Commander while Perospero isn't one, the former should logically have had a higher bounty than the latter. While bounties are often confusing and certainly are not to be taken as some kind of power level in the One Piece series, what seems to be most clear is the fact that as a fighter Perospero has shown Commander level feats.
Perospero's masterful usage of his Devil Fruit powers allowed him to be a dangerous fighter. He was able to defeat Brook and Chopper without any effort, despite the two having numerical superiority. He also completely overpowered Carrot and Wanda, two strong members of the Minks race, despite them having used their Sulong powered-up form and having attacked him with a cheap shot.
Despite holding back his Devil Fruit abilities and only relying on his physical abilities, Perospero straight up outclassed Pedro, who previously proved himself to be strong enough to beat Tamago, a member of the Big Mom Pirates with a bounty of 429 million berries on his head.
What truly seems to hint that Perospero is a Commander level fighter is the fact that he was depicted as stronger than Nekomamushi's base form, only losing when the latter could use his Sulong again. This is the same exact portrayal that the author used with Jack, an All Star of the Beasts Pirates and the fourth strongest member of the crew, in his fight against Inuarashi, who is Nekomamushi's perfect equal.
Both Jack and Perospero defeating a Duke of the Minks when the latter is in base form, and losing to him when he uses his Sulong form create a clear analogy between them. This hints at Jack and Perospero being equally strong, or at least being comparable in strength. Otherwise, the fact that their battles against equally powerful opponents have had the same outcome wouldn't make much sense.
Furthermore, this feat allows One Piece fans to give a precise estimate of Perospero's strength. He has proven himself to be stronger than Neko or Inu if they are fighting in their base form. The two Dukes are pound-for-pound peers, and one of them clashed on par with Ashura Doji, a member of the Red Scabbards, who in turn fought on par with Jack when the latter wasn't going all out.
As a result, the strength ranking of these characters appears to be implied. Ashura Doji, a holding back Jack, and Inu and Neko in their basic forms are at the bottom of the ladder. Above them are Perospero and an all-out-going Jack. The strongest among these characters are Inu and Neko, using their Sulong-powered forms.
Following this, it is clear that Perospero is a fighter on par with Jack. With the latter being a Commander level character (although most likely in the lower range of this tier), it seems logical to assume that Perospero is at Commander-level as well.
Final thoughts
Perospero's status in the One Piece world scene is a bit ambiguous. He is not part of the Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates, but he is as strong as Jack, who is a Commander in the Beasts Pirates, a very comparable crew. With the exception of Katakuri, it appears Perospero is not lacking in strength when compared to them.
Despite being the eldest son and a prominent member of the crew, Perospero wasn't made a Sweet Commander even after the group lost one of his members, with Snack being demoted. However, Perospero has been shown to have greater authority than Smoothie, regardless of her theoretically outranking him. This could hint at him having a special status in the crew, beyond that of Sweet Commander.
Furthermore, Perospero in One Piece is stronger than at least one former Sweet Commander. Snack lost to Urouge, while Perospero was able to overpower Neko in his base form, a character who, in turn, should be a fair bit stronger than Urouge. Therefore, it can be assumed that Perospero is more powerful than his crewmate.
Regardless of occupying the official rank, Perospero is a Commander-level individual as he is more powerful than the former Sweet Commander Snack and comparable in strength to Jack, an All Star of the Beasts Pirates. However, he appears to be on a lower tier compared to Commanders such as Queen, Ace, Jozu and Sanji. He is also clearly much weaker than the right-hand men of the Emperors.
