Donquixote Doflamingo does not like the idea of anyone tarnishing his flag's name and punished Bellamy for losing under it.Ĭertain individuals, groups, and even nations who understand the ideals of the Jolly Roger, or have turned against ideas of the World Government, also raise the skull and crossbones an example of this is the former Drum Kingdom, later renamed the Sakura Kingdom, who flew Dr. For example, Wapol did not see what was so important about the pirate flag in comparison to Luffy. Its 'Articles of Defeat' stipulate that losing a Jolly Roger will forever strip its (former) crew the right to display it-and implicitly allows the winning crew to confiscate any displaying flags, sails, or other equipment.)ĭifferent crews react differently to these ideals. (The Davy Back Fight goes so far as to equate the Jolly Roger with a living crewman, treating it as a fair wager for any game.

Luffy, for instance, painted a crude replica of the Straw Hat Pirates' Jolly Roger on Laboon after befriending him on a larger scale, Fisher Tiger's Sun Pirates adopted a sun-like Jolly Roger to obscure the brands on the slaves they routinely freed. More idealistic pirates-and sympathizers-have used the mark to espouse wider principles of freedom, personal conviction, and even friendship. Well-established pirates-most notoriously the Four Emperors-have been known to mark entire towns and even islands with their Jolly Roger, deeming such locations their 'territories' and promising protection and retribution against outside attack. Luffy protecting someone else’s flag out of respect.Īs pirates themselves can vary widely in beliefs, actions, and reputations, the Jolly Roger has been linked with many different-sometimes conflicting-ideas.įor many, the Jolly Roger is nothing more than a symbol of power, showing off a pirate crew's strength to intimidate enemies and victims. This flag rejects impossibilities! It's the symbol of faith! While Jolly Rogers are most often placed on the flags and sails of pirate ships (hence 'Pirate Flag' ( 海賊旗, Kaizoku-ki ?) being another common synonym), they are also commonly worn by individual pirates, as both clothing designs and bodily tattoos. In some cases, a Jolly Roger is designed to send a message, such as the Krieg Pirates Jolly Roger displaying a pair of hourglasses so as to let people know that their time has run out. Luffy's Straw Hat) some variations may even exclude both skull and crossbones, though these typically substitute other violent imagery. the Whitebeard Pirates' bearing Edward Newgate's distinctive mustache, or the Straw Hat Pirates' bearing Monkey D. This design may be expanded and/or modified in any number of ways, usually to reflect the appearance or interests of an individual pirate captain ( e.g. The basic Jolly Roger consists of a human skull on top of a pair of 'crossbones' intersecting at diagonal angles.

Straw hat jolly roger