Villains Who Embarrassed Luffy in One Piece

While Luffy may be the main protagonist of the One Piece story, that doesn’t mean that he is ever handed a victory on a silver platter. From the very beginning, Luffy has had to fight with everything he has to overcome the opponents the he has encountered across along his epic adventure, and while he can usually get the job done in the end, there have still been many instances where the plucky Straw Hat captain has been utterly humiliated and embarrassed by a powerful villain.

This happened a lot in the early arcs of the story before Luffy received a bunch of power-ups that would help give him an edge in combat, prompting him to often bite off more than he could chew. Considering he possesses god-like powers these days thanks to his Devil Fruit, there aren’t many Marines and pirates who can actually keep up with Luffy, but this certainly hasn’t always been the case, as was made evident by these One Piece villains who humiliated the protagonist in some pretty gruesome ways earlier on in the story.

7

Crocodile

The Vicious Tyrant Of Alabasta Stamps Out Luffy Time And Time Again

When Vivi explains to Luffy that her country is being plunged into a civil war by a dangerous Warlord known as Crocodile, the Straw Hat captain was eager to get his hands on the tyrant for himself. However, once the crew actually reach the gorgeous island of Alabasta, Luffy’s emotions end up getting the better of him, as he throws himself towards Crocodile on numerous occasions, only to be stamped out in no more than a few seconds each and every time.

The truth is, Crocodile’s mastery over his Sand Sand fruit was just too much for Luffy to handle, especially considering Luffy didn’t have Armament Haki at the time to deal any kind of significant damage to the dangerous Logia user. While Crocodile humiliated Luffy multiple times, the most notable is when he stabbed him through the chest with his hook and threw him into a sand whirlpool, where he actually could have lost his life if Robin hadn’t helped him out when she did.

6

Smoker

Smoker Used His Sea-Stone Blade To Pin Luffy Down

In the current story, Smoker would have a pretty difficult time dealing any kind of damage to Luffy, considering how immensely powerful the captain has become, but back in Loguetown, the shoe was on the other foot. Thanks to Smoker’s weapon of choice, which is made out of Sea Stone, he was able to pin Luffy down by weakening his Devil Fruit powers, ensuring that he couldn’t use his elongated limbs to make a quick escape.

This was one of the first moments where Luffy and the Straw Hats were forced to acknowledge the true strength of the Marines, highlighting to the Straw Hat captain that he can’t just be goofing around all the time if he actually wants to survive in such a dangerous world. It was an embarrassing moment for Luffy, but one which ultimately contributed to his growth as a character.

5

Aokiji

Maybe Asking For A Duel With An Admiral Wasn’t Luffy’s Smartest Idea

Despite only showing up at the very end of the arc, Aokiji makes his debut on Long Ring Long Land where he tries to capture Nico Robin by using his deadly ice powers. Not someone to lie around while his crewmates get kidnapped, Luffy decided to stand up to the Admiral and challenge him to a duel, but little did he know this would end up being a grave mistake, since at the end of the day, the man in question was one of the most powerful Marines in the force.

Despite Luffy throwing everything he had at Aokiji, the latter would ultimately humiliate the captain in front of his crew by freezing him solid without even breaking a sweat. This was a great scene to showcase just how much stronger Luffy and the crew would need to become if they wanted any chance of facing off against the Admirals, as it’s fair to say that this was a pretty brutal defeat for Luffy to handle.

4

Rob Lucci

The CP9 Operative Flung Luffy To The Other Side Of An Island

A neat method of following Luffy’s growth in power as a character is by taking a look at his confrontations with Rob Lucci. In the recent Egghead Island arc, he was actually able to overpower the CP9 operative by using his Gear 5 technique, but back in Water 7, when he had barely even activated Gear 2, he ultimately didn’t stand a chance against the fearsome Zoan leopard.

When Lucci and his gang of undercover spies reveal their true identity, Luffy lunges at the leader in the hopes of taking him down for good, only to be skewered through the chest and defeated with a single Finger Pistol. That’s not all though, as the captain would then be launched all the way to the other side of the island after being flung through a wall. Needless to say, it was a pretty bad showing from the Straw Hat captain, though thankfully, he would get his revenge on Lucci not long after in Enies Lobby.

3

Magellan

Luffy Underestimated The True Power Of Impel Down’s Head Guard

As the head guard of the Impel Down Prison, it makes sense that Magellan would need to be strong, but thanks to his Venom Venom fruit, he is able to take out any unruly prisoners in only a few seconds, as he almost did with Luffy. Luffy isn’t someone who cares all that much about the consequences of his actions, and as a result, he was willing to throw himself at Magellan the moment he laid eyes on him, which proved to be a fatal mistake.

After being covered in poison, Luffy’s body becomes completely immobile, and if it weren’t for Ivankof helping him out and healing him there’s a high chance he would have died as a result of the attack. The fact Magellan was able to wipe Luffy out with such little effort made this battle look like a true squash match, so it’s a good thing that Luffy had a few other prisoners to help them out after his defeat, as this was definitely a pretty scary moment for the protagonist.

2

Kaido

The Ferocious Yonko Annihilated Luffy With A Single Attack

By the time Luffy had arrived in Wano, it felt as though he was finally prepared to take down Kaido. After all, he had already defeated his fair number of Warlords, and was also mentored by the legendary Silvers Rayleigh, so surely scoring a victory over a Yonko wouldn’t be that difficult, or at least, that’s how it seemed at first. Luffy decided it was a good idea to take on Kaido all by himself not long after arriving in Wano, and initially, this plan actually seemed to work as he was able to score a few hits on the Yonko while he was drunk.

After sobering up though, all it takes is a single Thunder Bagua for Kaido to knock Luffy out, showcasing the giant gap in power levels that still existed between the two of them. This isn’t the only time that Luffy was sent packing by Kaido, as this actually happened several times before he is eventually able to awaken the underlying power of his Devil Fruit to beat him, but he sure took a few beatings before getting to that point.

1

Akainu

Akainu Exposed Luffy’s Naivety To Kill His Own Brother

Most of Luffy’s humiliations in the series come as a result of him trying to fight someone who he has no chance of defeating, but this situation is a little different. Luffy’s entire reasoning for entering the Marineford War was to rescue his brother Ace, and after beating up an entire swarm of Marines, he came extremely close to achieving his goal, that is, until Akainu swept in to ruin everything.

While Akainu primarily wanted to kill Ace, he could see in the background that Luffy was desperately trying to pick up the Vivre Card which was blowing in the wind, making him an easy target. Akainu chose to expose Luffy’s naivety by going for an attack, only for his brother Ace to jump in the way, scorching his organs from the inside and killing him. This is one of the most emotional moments in the story, but in hindsight, it was also a very humiliating moment for Luffy himself, who was determined to save Ace no matter what, only for the plan to miserably fail. On the bright side, this traumatic incident did at least inspire Luffy to mature and grow as a character, and that’s ultimately what is most important to take away from moments such as ease.