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Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk^[15] is a world-famous pirate currently recognized as the strongest swordsman in the world.^[8]

Known as the "Marine Hunter" in his early career,^[9] Mihawk stood as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea (the first to be revealed and formally introduced)^[3] until the group's dissolution,^[4] and was for a time the sole human resident of Kuraigana Island.^[5] Since then, he has become a founding executive of the Cross Guild, alongside fellow ex-Warlord Crocodile.^[2][16]

Mihawk once led a renowned rivalry with Shanks, currently one of the Four Emperors. In turn, he is viewed as the ultimate opponent by Roronoa Zoro, who pursues his own dream of becoming the world's strongest swordsman. Though Mihawk easily won their first encounter, he grew to respect Zoro, and agreed to mentor him in further swordsmanship during the timeskip.^[17][18] Like the other ex-Warlords, Mihawk has been cloned by Dr. Vegapunk to create one of the Seraphim, S-Hawk, as part of a project to replace the Warlord system.^[19]

Due to his actions and role, Mihawk can be considered a supporting antagonist in the Baratie Arc and one of the major antagonists in the Marineford Arc, where he took part in the Summit War of Marineford on the side of the Marines, along with most of the other Warlords of the Sea.^[20]

Quick Answers

What is the significance of Dracule Mihawk's nickname 'Hawk Eyes'?

The nickname 'Hawk Eyes' for Dracule Mihawk stems from his distinct eyes, similar to a hawk's.

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Who was Dracule Mihawk's famous rival in the past?

The World's Strongest Swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, was famously rivaled by Red-Haired Shanks. Their rivalry ceased when Shanks lost an arm, but Mihawk's respect for him as a swordsman remains.

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What is the name of Dracule Mihawk's sword?

Dracule Mihawk, recognized as the world's most formidable swordsman, carries two distinct weapons. His main weapon is Yoru, a Western-style sword with a curved, single-edged, black blade, ornately decorated and over two meters long. His other weapon is the Kogatana, a cross-shaped knife pendant he wears, which he uses against less challenging adversaries.

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What title does Dracule Mihawk hold in the world of pirates?

In the pirate world, Dracule Mihawk is recognized as the 'World's Strongest Swordsman'. He previously held the title of Warlord of the Sea. His reputation stems from his unparalleled strength and swordsmanship, having defeated numerous formidable opponents to remain unrivaled as the world's top swordmaster.

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Appearance

Mihawk is a tall, lean, and muscular man with a fair complexion and short-cropped, jet-black hair that is slicked back, as well as a short beard, mustache, and sideburns that point upwards in a "V" shape. His nickname comes from his strangely colored eyes: red in the manga and yellow in the anime, which resemble a hawk's eyes due to the concentric ring present around each pupil.

Mihawk wears black-and-red, ornate clothing with a golden (white in the manga) crucifix pendant that hides a little dagger, which gives him the appearance of a Spanish swordsman. His attire consists of a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume and a long, open black coat with a red velvet inside with no shirt underneath, with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. He wears white (light purple in the anime) pants held up by a decorated belt and tucked inside overly large boots in comparison to his leg size.^[8][21]

Mihawk wears a kogatana around his neck, appearing as a golden cross-shaped necklace, which is a dagger that looks identical to its larger counterpart, Yoru, and carries his sword, Yoru, on his back when he is not using it.^[8][21]

At his home in Kuraigana Island's castle, Mihawk sports different pants and an open white shirt with a ruffled neck. When he met up with Zoro outside, he had a plain dark cloak draped over his shoulders.

After the timeskip, Mihawk shows some more wrinkles near the eyes.^[22] While reading about the Straw Hats' actions on Dressrosa and resulting new bounties, he was seen in his casual outfit along with a dark scarf draped over his shoulders and a wide-brimmed straw hat.^[23] After the abolishment of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Mihawk wore a black jacket with a golden flower pattern (replacing his signature red one).

Twenty-four years ago, during Gol D. Roger's execution, Mihawk did not have his beard, nor did he wear his hat, and his hair was scruffier and shorter. He already had his crucifix pendant and sported what looked like a flower-patterned jacket.

In SBS Volume 63, Oda drew the Seven Warlords as children. Mihawk is shown with many scratches and bruises from training. He used a bokken as his weapon. He dressed in a dark-colored open jacket, short pants, shoes, and a light-colored belt.^[24]

Gallery

Main Series

A close-up of Mihawk's face.

Mihawk's current wanted poster.

Mihawk's color scheme in the manga.

Mihawk as a child.

Mihawk at age 19.

Mihawk's outfit during the Post-War Arc.

Mihawk's casual outfit for home during the Post-War Arc.

A close-up of Mihawk without his hat on.

Mihawk's outfit during the From the Decks of the World: The 500,000,000 Man Arc.

Mihawk's outfit after forming Cross Guild.

Video Games

Dracule Mihawk in One Piece (Game Boy Advance).

Dracule Mihawk in One Piece Film Dice Game Adventure Island.

Dracule Mihawk in One Piece: Unlimited Adventure.

Dracule Mihawk in One Piece: Pirate Warriors.

Dracule Mihawk in One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2.

Dracule Mihawk in One Py Berry Match.

Dracule Mihawk in One Piece: Unlimited World Red.

Dracule Mihawk in One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X.

Dracule Mihawk in One Piece: Burning Blood.

Mihawk in One Piece: Burning Will.

Dracule Mihawk in One Piece Thousand Storm.

Dracule Mihawk (Shikkearu) in One Piece Thousand Storm.

Dracule Mihawk (Formal) in One Piece Thousand Storm.

Dracule Mihawk (Lord of the Castle) in One Piece Thousand Storm.

Dracule Mihawk (East Blue) in One Piece Thousand Storm.

Dracule Mihawk (Black Hawk) in One Piece Thousand Storm.

Dracule Mihawk in Jumputi Heroes.

Mihawk in One Piece Bounty Rush.

Mihawk in One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4.

Mihawk in Monster Strike.

Mihawk in One Piece: Dream Pointer.

Mihawk in One Piece Ambition.

Mihawk in One Piece: Fighting Path.

Mihawk in One Piece Odyssey.

Live-action series

Mihawk in the live-action series.

Mihawk's wanted poster in the live-action series.

Mihawk during Roger's execution in the live-action series.

Other

Dracule Mihawk's non-canon wanted poster, as depicted in Episode 958.

Oda's depiction of Mihawk as a female.

Dracule Mihawk's concept art from the anime.

Dracule Mihawk's concept art with usual clothes from the anime.

Mihawk's concept art during the Egghead Arc from the anime.

Mihawk's portrait in One day.

Mihawk in the Red Hair of Class 3-Sea Time omake.

Dracule Mihawk on the cover of the disc One Piece Nippon Judan! 47 Cruise CD.

Mihawk in the Hungry Days advertisement campaign.

Mihawk with kendo outfit in the Hungry Days advertisement campaign.

Mihawk in One Piece Everyday.

Personality

Stoic, serious, and solitary, Mihawk is as deadly and fearsome as the blade on his back. Rare to display any emotion other than his grim and dead-eyed stare, Mihawk has only been seen laughing twice so far in the whole series. He rarely smiles or shows evident surprise, taking most developments in stride, and seems allergic to showing emotion on the battlefield, even when something unexpected happens. That said, he is not someone particularly ambitious or cruel, despite his infamous reputation and skill, with his only goal in life to find someone worthy of being equaled or outmatched with a blade. Otherwise, Mihawk prefers living in peace and quiet.

A lone wolf by nature, it is implied that Mihawk has trouble trusting others, something Crocodile has pointed out as a common trait between them both. Still, he appears to be fine with making company with people, such as Shanks and Perona, even if he can come off as cold, annoyed, and dismissive of them at times, indicating he prefers solitude to companionship. It is surprising to see him exhibit a sense of hospitality and grace to others given his gruff and serious demeanor, having (somewhat) tolerated Perona and Zoro's presence upon his return to Kuraigana Island right after the Summit War, going as far as relaying to Zoro the events that occurred concerning his captain, Luffy. In addition, he offered a boat to help the Straw Hat swordsman leave the island. He also told Perona to be safe when she decided to leave the castle to find her captain, Gecko Moria.^[25] It is later shown that he personally let her go out of concern for her well-being due to him anticipating the Seven Warlords system being abolished so she would not be in harm's way.

Mihawk is selective and whimsical when it comes to fulfilling his duties as a Warlord of the Sea, as evidenced by his history of poor attendance at summons,^[26] as well as his decision to hunt and harass some pirates over others. Zeff speculated that the reason Mihawk attacked Don Krieg and his men might have simply been because they disturbed his nap.^[27] Mihawk admitted that the only reason he followed them all the way back to the East Blue from the Grand Line was to kill time.^[8] Overall, Mihawk had no real interest in being a Warlord besides just being left alone by the World Government and was annoyed and exhausted by the Marines' repeated attempts to arrest him after the Warlord system was abolished.

In battle, Mihawk is dismissive of opponents that he can tell are inferior to him and will even handicap himself in order to give them a "fighting chance" as a form of mockery, depending on the opponent. He is unafraid to reference his title of "Strongest Swordsman in the World" in relation to himself, indicating a high level of confidence in his own abilities. He takes pride in his swordsmanship, believing that a nick on his sword is a blemish to his pride.^[28] Though he is confident in his strength, Mihawk remains grounded. While he has become jaded and bored regarding the skills and challenges of other swordsmen due to facing weaker opponents beyond count, his eye for talent and capability remains as sharp as his "Hawk-Eyes" name. Strangely, he has a desire to see Zoro surpass him after having witnessed Zoro's incredible will and determination after their battle, causing him to show a rare smirk in admiration.^[29] Mihawk similarly values honor and respect for the swordsman's code, reluctantly permitting Roronoa Zoro the luxury of training at his hand for his dedication and selflessness.

Mihawk shows curiosity for the people he acknowledges as strong and then decides to fight. He attempted to strike Whitebeard just to see what the power distance between himself and Whitebeard was.^[30] He also attacked Luffy just to see if fate was on his side or not, recognizing that the boy had done miraculous feats by that point.^[31] As a result, Mihawk is very analytical about others' abilities and can recognize strengths that others may not, such as when he understood that Luffy's natural charisma and quick amassing of comrades is his most dangerous attribute.^[32]

Despite having grown bored with being challenged by inferior foes, Mihawk showed excitement at being chased as a pirate once more due to the dissolution of the Seven Warlords system.^[4] However, he eventually became annoyed by the Marines' attacks, causing Mihawk to relocate and become Crocodile's business partner. Currently, Mihawk has an interest in strengthening the Cross Guild, although he still prefers to stay in the shadows, being willing to have Buggy as a figurehead in order to divert all unwanted attention away from himself. Still, Mihawk has little patience with Buggy's antics along with his crew's misguided admiration for the clown and will readily punish and threaten Buggy if he feels humiliated.

Mihawk has an interest in agriculture, having started farming and tilling the war-torn land of Kuraigana Island, influencing even the Humandrills, who were normally fearful of Mihawk, to join him.^[23]

Like many other characters, he has a unique laugh, unusually bearing two: "Wahhahhahha/Kukukuku". The only other character to have this trait is Garp.

Relationships

Friends

Although he spends most of his time alone, Mihawk appears to build a level of respect for those he finds interesting enough to battle with and those who survive. Such an example is when Zoro challenged him to fight at Baratie, and even though he lost, Mihawk was impressed enough to spare him and declare his respect (although indirectly). Despite that, however, he does not seem to have anyone whom he is particularly fond of.

Shanks

In the past, Mihawk was a rival to one of the most powerful pirates in the world, Shanks. However, Mihawk lost interest in him after Shanks lost his left arm, as it went against his code as a swordsman. He retains a neutral, though somewhat friendly, relationship with Shanks and is able to track him down if the need arises. He and Shanks do manage to get along, regardless of the fact that the two are opposites in personalities; Mihawk is serious and taciturn and prefers peace and quiet, while Shanks is cheerful and fun and loves loud parties. Shanks was also able to get Mihawk to join in when he threw a party to celebrate Luffy's upcoming pirate status, even when moments beforehand Mihawk had scorned how laid-back Shanks was.^[33]

Mihawk even mused out an apology to Shanks during the battle at Marineford, where he declared that he would not be holding anything back against Luffy right before going after him.^[31] When Shanks showed up during the Whitebeard War, Mihawk left the battle, stating that battling Shanks was beyond the scope of the World Government's agreement.^[34]

Two years later, Mihawk expressed that he does not want to fight Shanks along with the other Emperors, on the orders of Buggy.

Perona

Perona stayed on Kuraigana Island with Mihawk and Zoro during the latter's two-year-long training. After accompanying Zoro to the Sabaody Archipelago and going back to Thriller Bark to pick up Kumashi's body, she went back to Kuraigana and is now living with Mihawk, suggesting a good status between them.^[23] When she learned of her old master's survival, she was upset that Mihawk did not tell her while he paid her no mind and only told her to be safe as she tearfully thanked him for letting her stay with him.^[35] It also appears Mihawk was aware of the impending dissolution of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and had Perona leave for her own safety.

Humandrills

Mihawk has a neutral relationship with the Humandrills who are native to Kuraigana Island. Despite their violent nature from the influence of the brutal war that occurred in Kuraigana Island, Mihawk was powerful enough to intimidate them to the point they would avoid him when possible. After Mihawk started farming, the Humandrills became easily influenced and started helping Mihawk in agriculture.

Cross Guild

Alongside Crocodile, Mihawk founded the bounty hunting organization Cross Guild, using Buggy as a figurehead to attract all unwanted attention away from themselves. Both men are widely respected by Buggy's subordinates due to their impressive showings at Karai Bari Island, where they sank the entire Marine fleet that was sent after Buggy.

Crocodile

Mihawk and Crocodile briefly clashed during the Summit War of Marineford, after the swordsman struck down Daz Bones for protecting Luffy on Crocodile's orders. Despite this brief confrontation, Crocodile respects Mihawk enough to propose joining forces with him after the dissolution of the Seven Warlords of the Sea two years later. Crocodile noted that, in spite of their differences, they both had the common thread of being overall distrustful of others. Mihawk himself was apparently convinced and accepted his invitation to establish the Cross Guild, showing he did not object to becoming Crocodile's business partner despite said trust issues. Crocodile also agreed to Mihawk's suggestions that they can always dispose of Buggy at any time if he became a hassle.

Buggy

Like with Crocodile, Mihawk and Buggy briefly clashed during the Summit War of Marineford. While flying around, Buggy was pulled down by Luffy to intercept Mihawk's sword strikes with his body. Buggy got angry at Mihawk for slicing him up and threw a Muggy Ball at him, only for Mihawk to deflect it back at Buggy and cause it to detonate on him.^[36]

Much like Crocodile, Mihawk has no respect whatsoever for Buggy, considering him pathetic, weak, and cowardly. He even threatened Buggy with death when he accidentally usurped the role of president of Cross Guild due to his overzealous followers, all while his "superior" begged for mercy. However, Mihawk and Crocodile eventually decided to allow Buggy to live and remain as the figurehead of the company, out of convenience to divert unwanted attention from themselves and run things from the shadows since Mihawk only wants to have a peaceful life when holding no interest to become an Emperor, though they agreed that if Buggy became a hassle, they could always dispose of him at any time. Despite letting him live just to benefit him and Crocodile, Mihawk and Crocodile still brutalized Buggy out of their disgust for the new ship's tasteless design as well as Mihawk calling Buggy a "cockroach" for believing his and Crocodile's plans are wrong. Like Crocodile, Mihawk finds Buggy to be very delusional and lowly for thinking that he and Crocodile would take him to the top and go pick fights with Shanks, Blackbeard and Luffy, as Mihawk has no interest in engaging in battles with any of them for the One Piece treasure.

Enemies

Mihawk seems to have made lots of enemies in the past. Especially most of the swordsmen of the world want to have a chance to challenge him, like the 5th division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Flower Sword Vista, who was thrilled to see Mihawk in the battle. He challenged him to battle with pleasure. Also, two okamas from Impel Down attacked him saying that they dueled him in the past. However, Mihawk replied that he doesn’t remember the name of every insect that he crushes. Vista expressed a desire to fight Mihawk and was happy that he got to cross blades with him, calling him the strongest swordsman in the world. In return, Mihawk showed him respect by being aware of his reputation.

Roronoa Zoro

Having lost one rival in Shanks, he now shares a rivalry with Zoro and is prepared to wait as long as it takes for Zoro to become strong enough to beat him.^[29] To this end, Mihawk watches Zoro's progression and is delighted when Zoro gains his first bounty.^[37] After the war at Marineford, Zoro bowed before Mihawk, requesting training from the Warlord. Mihawk initially dismissed this request as Zoro reacting to an inability to defeat the Humandrills and escape the island. He chided Zoro and expressed regret for "overestimating" the swordsman. When Zoro explained that he had defeated the Humandrills and required training from Mihawk to defeat him, an overly-amused Mihawk silently commented that Zoro must have found something more valuable than his ambition in order to make the request and seemed rather proud of Zoro in the wake of this development. He agreed to the request and ordered Perona to patch up Zoro so that the training can begin. Mihawk was a strict teacher when he was Zoro's swordmaster during the two-year timeskip. When teaching Zoro how to use Haki, he forbade Zoro from drinking alcohol until he fully mastered infusing his swords with Armament Haki.

When hearing about Cross Guild, Zoro tells Luffy that Mihawk is not the type of person who would work for Buggy.

Monkey D. Luffy

Mihawk sees and recognizes Luffy's potential. During the battle at Marineford, he expresses to himself that Luffy has the most dangerous ability on the seas, which is turning anyone around him into his allies, including former enemies.^[32] He was one of the few people not to be surprised that Luffy is the son of the world's most dangerous criminal^[38] and even challenges Luffy to a duel.^[31] Even though he easily gains the upper hand, he compliments on how Luffy is clear headed in battle and not as reckless as he thought. The two continued their fight until Luffy escapes after having been saved by the Whitebeard Pirates Fifth Division Commander, Vista. However, Mihawk seems amused when he hears about his progress throughout the series and acknowledges him as a true warrior rather than a foolish boy. He even accepted Zoro's request for training when he surmised that he wanted to become stronger for Luffy's sake.

Unlike Buggy, Mihawk recognizes Luffy's status as one of the Four Emperors to be generally well earned after defeating Kaidou. But he has no interest to pick a fight with Luffy.

Krieg Pirates

Mihawk also made an enemy of Don Krieg, destroying Krieg's entire fleet when he attempted to conquer the Grand Line. Mihawk, for his part, did not even consider Krieg a threat. Upon sighting Mihawk, Krieg's anger led him to attack Mihawk, despite having witnessed Zoro's defeat and his own ship having been sliced apart. Mihawk did not even bother to retaliate, instead merely slashing Krieg's ship again and departing during the distraction.

World Government

As a Warlord of the Sea, Mihawk was ostensibly an ally of the World Government. However, he has never expressed interest in their goals, and was noted by Sengoku to almost never answer any summons to Mary Geoise. Nevertheless, the Marines display a strong amount of respect and fear towards him, most likely due to his notorious past as a dangerous pirate who gained widespread infamy for slaying multiple formidable marines. Despite Mihawk's antipathy towards the Marines and the World Government, he also answered the call of the Marines to arrive for the upcoming war at Marineford. The only occasion that Mihawk is shown to be obedient to the World Government is when he went to Marineford to fight against Whitebeard (although he left when Shanks arrived stating that he only agreed to battle Whitebeard's forces).^[34]

After the Warlords system was abolished, Mihawk was reverted to an enemy of the World Government, and the Marines wasted no time trying to arrest him. Mihawk was eager to fight against them and easily defeated the Marines' fleet. However, he became annoyed by the nuisance of their persistence, so he relocated himself and accepted Crocodile's offer to join Cross Guild, which began posting bounties for Marines in order to undermine the World Government's power.

Abilities and Powers

As the “Strongest Swordsman in the World” in both name and reality,^[1][12] Mihawk is one of the strongest pirates in the world. Even before the Great Age of Pirates, he gained fame by defeating stronger and stronger foes until he had no worthy challengers left, and now he reigns at the top as the strongest swordsman in the world.^[12]

Due to his strength in swordsmanship, Mihawk was a rival to Shanks, a future Emperor and great swordsman in his own right. They competed fiercely in legendary duels on a daily basis until Shanks lost his left arm to the Lord of the Coast.^[33][39] His immense skill in battle allowed him to easily destroy Don Krieg's entire fleet of 50 ships and 5,000 men by himself, with only the main ship surviving because a bad storm pushed them away. This monstrous display of strength caused Don Krieg to assume that Mihawk had Devil Fruit powers.

Additionally, he easily defeated Roronoa Zoro two years prior, using only his cross-shaped knife that he wears as a pendant around his neck. In fact, Mihawk was more than capable of easily killing Zoro just using his knife, and the only reason he did not was because he recognized his strength and determination. During the Summit War of Marineford, he did not receive as much as a scratch, despite having fought against Vista^[32] and Crocodile.^[40]

A true testament to Mihawk's extraordinary strength is that after the Seven Warlords of the Sea were abolished, his bounty was raised to 3,590,000,000, one of the highest bounties in the world that even surpasses two of the current Four Emperors: Monkey D. Luffy and Buggy. His fellow ex-warlord Crocodile stated that an organization headed by himself and Mihawk would not go unnoticed by the Marines, which was proven true when Buggy was named one of the Four Emperors solely due to the Marine Headquarters belief that Mihawk and Crocodile work under him, when in reality, they are the founders of the organization.^[9]

Aside from his combat prowess, Mihawk is also an excellent cook, having cooked meals for both himself and Perona for two years. In the anime, he is shown applying his swordsmanship to his cooking, using kitchen knives to cut vegetables with incredible speed and precision.^[41]

Physical Abilities

Mihawk possesses immense physical strength, which he supplements with his swordsmanship. He was able to stop Zoro, a formidable swordsman with monstrous physical strength, with only a single knife that he held with one hand.

Mihawk is extremely fast and agile, as shown by his ability to jump and leap enormous heights and distances. He also has extraordinary reflexes, able to counter Luffy's Gear Second enhanced speed with ease.

Swordsmanship

Mihawk is known as the "Strongest Swordsman in the World" because of his unparalleled skill with a sword. His vast mastery in swordsmanship even surpasses the skill level of his former rival Shanks, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea.^[42] He was also able to effortlessly defeat Zoro, a swordsman who is renowned all over the East Blue, two years prior with a single knife.

Mihawk's swordsmanship is extremely versatile; he can create immensely powerful compressed air slashes that are able to destroy gigantic ships^[27] and enormous icebergs from great distances^[43] by using the "Strong Blade" swordsmanship, and can deflect the course of bullets with masterful and graceful precision^[44] using the "Gentle Blade" swordsmanship.^[45] He is also able to cut through steel with extreme ease and precision, as demonstrated with the steel-bodied Mr. 1, whom even Zoro struggled to defeat.^[40]

Mihawk is also a talented teacher, as shown by Zoro's significant improvement in training under him for two years, which is more than the dojo had taught him in the many years he had trained there. Zoro himself admitted that even after training with Mihawk, he is still not anywhere near his level of skill as a swordsman, further attesting to Mihawk's combat and fighting prowess.

Haki

Main article: Haki

Mihawk is extremely proficient in Haki. He is also a capable teacher, as he taught Zoro.

Observation Haki

Mihawk possesses the ability to use Observation Haki. True to his epithet, "Hawk Eyes", he has extraordinary eyesight, able to easily track Luffy's high-speed Gear 2 movements and strike with extreme precision,^[32] which neither Boa Sandersonia nor Boa Marigold could do.

Armament Haki

Mihawk possesses the ability to use Armament Haki. He has incredible mastery in this form of Haki by being able to turn his sword, Yoru, into a permanent Black Blade.^[46] He also taught Zoro how to use this type of Haki to protect his swords from any damage.^[28]

Weapons

Further information: Yoru

Mihawk wields one of the 12 Supreme Grade Blades, the "Black Blade" Yoru, as his main weapon. Yoru is a curved, single-edged black blade in the shape of a Latin cross, with a golden crossguard decorated by red cabochons (which are blue and green in the anime) and a hilt wrapped in bandages, with a particularly big cabochon at its extremity. When he accepts challenges for his title, he only draws this blade for those with enough spirit to earn Mihawk's respect or enough power to present a threat; otherwise, his Kogatana is sufficient.

Mihawk also has a cross-shaped knife that he wears as a pendant around his neck named Kogatana. He is shown using it as a tool to eat with, but combined with his supreme sword skills, it is also a deadly weapon capable of defeating any minor or moderately skilled swordsmen, even Zoro, a swordsman who wielded three blades during their duel. According to Mihawk, it is the smallest blade in his possession.

History

Past

Mihawk became famous even before the start of the Great Age of Pirates. While the full details of his rise as a pirate and swordsman are still a mystery, it is known that Mihawk has "experienced great betrayal" and holds a grudge towards the Marines. Due to this grudge, he eventually gained the moniker of "Marine Hunter". This incident also seemingly fed into Mihawk's loneliness and general distrust of people, which remains a core part of him to this day.^[47]

As time passed, Mihawk challenged increasingly powerful opponents until no one could surpass his swordsmanship, thus earning the title of "World's Strongest Swordsman". 24 years ago, at age nineteen, he attended Gol D. Roger's execution.^[48][49] Some time after, he joined the ranks of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.^[12]

For a time, Mihawk maintained a rivalry with Shanks, seeking him out for duels until Shanks lost his arm saving a young boy in the East Blue. Though Mihawk claimed to lose interest after this, they remained familiar, and Mihawk was intrigued by Shanks' stories of the boy in question.

Some time after Kuraigana Island's Shikkearu Kingdom was destroyed by war, Mihawk chose its central castle as his main residence, his strength easily keeping the savage Humandrills at bay. Some time later, roughly three and a half years in the past, Mihawk had destroyed an unnamed ship and gotten news over the newspaper that a Bartholomew Kuma had been chosen as a new Warlord of the Sea.^[50]

When Don Krieg attempted to conquer the Grand Line, Mihawk met and singlehandedly decimated his entire fleet until interrupted by a sudden storm.^[51] As Krieg fled back to the East Blue with only his flagship—barely—intact, Mihawk pursued out of sheer boredom.^[27]

East Blue Saga

Baratie Arc

Eventually, Mihawk caught up to the Krieg Pirates at the sea restaurant Baratie, and sank their flagship as well.^[27] This provoked not only his intended quarry (whose gunshots he easily deflected), but the nearby Straw Hat Pirates, whose swordsman Roronoa Zoro had long aspired to his title. Mihawk was impressed by neither Zoro's challenge nor reputation, noting their strengths were obviously mismatched even without crossing blades.^[8]

Agreeing to battle with his Kogatana, Mihawk easily parried all three of Zoro's swords, and with his first counterattack impaled Zoro nearly through the heart. To his surprise, Zoro stood fast, vowing that he would die for his dream before retreat. Seeing such passion, Mihawk acknowledged Zoro's name, and drew Yoru to finish the duel, exchanging a single stroke against Zoro's final, strongest attack. This not only wounded Zoro further, but shattered two of his swords; accepting total defeat, Zoro offered himself to a finishing blow, asserting that wounds on the back were a swordsman's shame. Mihawk granted this with a diagonal slash across the torso, holding back just enough to keep Zoro alive.^[52]

Enlivened by the duel, Mihawk—after dodging an assault from Monkey D. Luffy—openly challenged Zoro to drive on and surpass himself, so he might one day truly become the world's greatest swordsman. As Zoro received the challenge, tearfully vowing to never lose again, Mihawk was further intrigued to learn Luffy dreamed of becoming Pirate King. Bidding the Straw Hats his respect, Mihawk departed, pausing only briefly to turn aside a desperate revenge attack from Krieg.^[29]

Loguetown Arc

After Luffy received his first bounty, Mihawk sought out Shanks on a remote island, greatly startling the lower members of the Red Hair Pirates. Presenting Shanks with the news, Mihawk confirmed that Luffy was indeed the village boy that Shanks had sacrificed his arm for. In turn, Shanks pulled Mihawk into a celebratory drinking party.^[33]

Sky Island Saga

Jaya Arc

In wake of Crocodile's defeat and arrest, Mihawk—purely out of curiosity about the Straw Hats' involvement—answered a summons to Mary Geoise to discuss replacement Warlord candidates. With the rest of the conference, he witnessed a strange outlaw named Laffitte intruding to nominate his own captain, the soon-to-be-infamous Marshall D. Teach.^[53]

Summit War Saga

Amazon Lily Arc

As war impended over Portgas D. Ace's upcoming execution on Marineford, Marine Headquarters summoned all the Seven Warlords of the Sea to fight against the Whitebeard Pirates. Complying, Mihawk returned to Mary Geoise—alongside every Warlord save Boa Hancock and Jinbe—and dined luxuriously as battle orders were prepared.^[54]

Marineford Arc

When the execution of Portgas D. Ace began, Mihawk stood alongside Bartholomew Kuma, Donquixote Doflamingo, Gecko Moria, and Boa Hancock, ready for the battle ahead.^[55]

When Aokiji froze the two tsunamis that Whitebeard caused, Mihawk was one of the first Warlords to attack, wishing to measure his strength against Whitebeard. He unleashed what was referred to as "the strongest slash in the world," but his attack was stopped by Jozu.^[30] When Luffy arrived at Marineford with Impel Down prisoners, Mihawk was amused and remarked that the Straw Hat never failed to make things interesting.^[56] When Sengoku revealed the fact that Dragon is Luffy's father, Mihawk only commented that such a revelation is not really surprising.^[38]

When Luffy managed to break through the horde of fighting men, Mihawk met him head-on, not intending to hold back despite Luffy's connection to Shanks.^[31] Luffy tried dodging Mihawk with extreme speed, but Mihawk spotted him and hit him from far off, since Luffy was still within his sword's range. After attacking Luffy again, Mihawk was confronted by two Impel Down escapees who had fought him before. Not caring to remember them, Mihawk took them out in a single blow before turning his attention back to Luffy. He unleashed a massive slash that cut through the frozen tsunami a great distance away, but Luffy managed to duck the attack. Mihawk then attacked Luffy with whirlwind slashes, driving him further from Ace. However, his blade suddenly sliced the body of the pirate Buggy after Luffy pulled him down to act as a shield. Buggy was thrown at Mihawk, who cut him into tiny pieces. Thanks to his Devil Fruit, Buggy was alive and attacked Mihawk with an explosive Muggy Ball, but Mihawk deflected it back at him. Luffy had managed to run far away from Mihawk, but the swordsman could continue the fight; however, he was suddenly met by Vista of the Whitebeard Pirates, and as he looked at Luffy, he reflected that the Straw Hat's ability to gain allies was his most dangerous strength.^[32]

After the army of Pacifista appeared, Mihawk commented to Vista that it was time to finish their battle, while the latter stated they both had a point in their favor.^[57] After Whitebeard got stabbed by Squard, Mihawk was the only one to ignore the event and did not even gaze at him.^[58] He later fought in the Oriz Plaza after the pirates managed to get through the siege wall.^[59]

When Luffy and Ivankov tried to reach Ace, Mihawk again arrived to stop them, but he was stopped by Daz Bonez. He easily defeated Daz Bonez, but Crocodile intervened and engaged in combat with Mihawk.^[40] After this clash, Mihawk witnessed Whitebeard die standing up alongside Gecko Moria.^[60] When Shanks arrived to end the war, Mihawk immediately departed, saying he had agreed to help fight Whitebeard but not Shanks.^[34]

Post-War Arc

Mihawk returned to his home on Kuraigana Island, only to find Zoro and Perona had been delivered there in his absence. Though annoyed, he treated his "guests" civilly, cautioning Perona to be skeptical of news reports about Gecko Moria's death at Marineford, and giving Zoro information on Luffy's situation as well as a spare boat. To his further exasperation, Zoro refused to consider any rest or recovery, despite his recent wounds and struggles against the island's Humandrills.^[5]

Several days later, Mihawk found Zoro suddenly entering his castle, begging for his tutelage in swordsmanship. Mihawk was initially disdainful, believing that Zoro had retreated after failing to beat the Humandrills and get off the island. However, Zoro revealed that he had beaten the Humandrills. Mihawk was amused that Zoro wanted to train under him in order to eventually take his head and laughed. He agreed to Zoro's request, though not before Perona helped heal the pirate's wounds.^[17]

During the Timeskip

While training Zoro, Mihawk taught him how to imbue his swords with Haki, forbidding him from drinking alcohol until he had mastered doing so, much to Zoro's chagrin.^[28] After two years, Zoro's training finished, and the young swordsman left for the Sabaody Archipelago.^[18]

Whole Cake Island Saga

From the Decks of the World: The 500,000,000 Man Arc

After the events at Dressrosa, Mihawk and Perona read the news of the Straw Hats' new bounties while tilling the land of Kuraigana Island with the Humandrills.^[23]

Wano Country Saga

The following events are non-canon, and therefore not considered part of the canon story.

One Piece: Stampede

He is one of the attendees at the Pirates Festival. During the Marines' initial assault on the festival, he slices Wapol's ship in mid-escape, and later helps Zoro destroy one of Fujitora's meteors.^[61]

Concludes non-canon section.

Wano Country Arc

Mihawk was sitting in his castle as Perona learned from a newspaper that Moria was alive. As Perona was leaving, Mihawk mentioned an interesting topic that was brought up at the Levely.^[62] After the World Government voted to dissolve the Seven Warlords, Mihawk found himself under siege by a Marine fleet, and he grew excited at becoming a wanted criminal again.^[4]

Sometime later, he was contacted by Crocodile. Mihawk wished to relocate due to the marines keep swarming Kuraigana Island, during which Crocodile offered to team up with him and stated that the marines would not take an organization formed by the two of them lightly, partly due to Mihawk's past reputation as a "Marine Hunter". He lastly concluded that they were both the same; they do not trust anyone. Mihawk agreed to his offer and together they formed the Cross Guild, an organization that places bounties on and hunts Marines.^[63]

Final Saga

Egghead Arc

He was later seen together with Crocodile on Karai Bari Island with a beat up Buggy, due to the latter not only being recognized in the world as an Emperor but also as the leader of their new organization. Although feeling greatly insulted, he suggested that Buggy taking all the heat as a figurehead may not be the worst idea. He further added that he was not interested in the title of Emperor, preferring to live peacefully and that they could always get rid of Buggy when the need arises, to which Crocodile agreed. He was then, together with Crocodile, introduced by Buggy to his followers.^[63]

When Buggy promised Crocodile and Mihawk a ship for the Cross Guild would be shown, both were displeased by the obvious resemblance of the ship with Buggy, deciding to beat him up again as a punishment and have his head hang up from a hook. Crocodile was then discussing the positive reception of the Cross Guild with Mihawk, referring to his Operation Utopia still ongoing, but that they were still lacking strength. Both he and Mihawk then got annoyed by Buggy when they were questioned by Buggy as pirates for just settling for small goals instead of the big treasures. Both got even more angrier when Buggy announced to them his intention to become the Pirate King and go claim the One Piece. Mihawk, however, just replied there was no chance Buggy could convince them and asked Buggy if he would expect them to fight against the other Emperors just to get the One Piece. When Buggy started to announce to his crew his plans of going for the One Piece, Crocodile tried to silence him by stepping on his head, but was unable to stop him and then got extremely angry when Buggy announced they would go for the One Piece.^[64]

With Vegapunk's worldwide broadcast nearing its end, Mihawk and Crocodile became visibly annoyed at Buggy's henchmen when they jumped to the conclusion that Buggy knew everything all along.^[65] As Buggy played his crew's hype into another chance to make himself look good, Mihawk was unimpressed, and sat quietly as Crocodile told the pirate clown to sit down.^[66]

Major Battles

• Dracule Mihawk vs. Shanks (numerous times, unseen)
• Dracule Mihawk vs. Krieg Pirates
• Dracule Mihawk vs. Roronoa Zoro
• Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Marines vs. Whitebeard Pirates and their allies
  • Dracule Mihawk vs. Monkey D. Luffy
  • Dracule Mihawk vs. Vista
  • Dracule Mihawk vs. Daz Bonez
  • Dracule Mihawk vs. Crocodile (unseen)

Filler Battles

• Dracule Mihawk vs. Jinbe

Adaptation Differences

Anime Differences

Loguetown Arc

After showing Shanks the poster for Luffy's first bounty, scenes of the Red Hair Pirates celebrating with Mihawk are shown, with Shanks urging Mihawk to drink.^[67]

Jaya Arc

After Mont Blanc Cricket's decision to help the Straw Hat Pirates reach sky island, Mihawk is seen carrying Luffy's second bounty poster as well as Zoro's first poster on his small ship traveling towards Mary Geoise. Mihawk is seen again after Luffy defeated Bellamy. He is surprised to discover their new bounty since he does not anticipate on Luffy and Zoro's accomplishment under such a short time.^[37]

Marineford Arc

During the war at Marineford, Admiral Akainu commented on Mihawk’s capricious nature when the swordsman prepared to measure his strength against Whitebeard.^[68] When Jinbe comes to Luffy's aid and challenges the swordsman, he uses his Fish-Man Karate to slow the oncoming cannon balls shot at him that Mihawk then cuts. The two then engage in a short clash, sending Jinbe flying back as he continues to pursue Luffy.

When Sengoku revealed Luffy's relationship with Dragon in the manga, Mihawk commented that he was not surprised. In the anime, Mihawk remained silent.

Post-War Arc

After Luffy's message is revealed, Mihawk and Zoro went outside the castle and Mihawk tells Zoro that the Humandrills are divided in ranks and that there is a leader among them, who has imitated his (Mihawk) swordsmanship style.

Live-Action Differences

In the live-action series, Mihawk slaughters all of the Krieg Pirates except Gin (including Krieg himself) while still in the Grand Line. Thus, his encounter with the Straw Hats at the Baratie is rewritten to be an assignment from Monkey D. Garp to capture Luffy. Upon arriving, he ran into Luffy's crew while they were drinking, and remained at the restaurant until the following morning to fulfill Zoro's request for a duel.^[69]

After his fight against Zoro, Mihawk informs Garp, in the latter's cabin on his Marine ship, that he did not comply with his order, and that Luffy seemed like someone interesting that he hopes to meet again on the Grand Line, telling Garp that it might be his grandson who ends up finding the One Piece and angering the vice admiral.^[70]

Early Concepts

In One Piece Green: Secret Pieces, an early concept of Mihawk was revealed.^[71]

According to additional concept art included in the Vivre Card databook, an early idea for Mihawk's epithet was "Clairvoyant" (千里眼, Senrigan^?, lit. "Thousand-League Eye") rather than "Hawk Eyes".^[12]

Mihawk also shares many design aesthetics with Cyrano of Monsters, complementing Zoro's own similarities to Shimotsuki Ryuma.

Translation and Dub Issues

Per standard content policies, the 4Kids-dubbed anime censors any blood Mihawk draws, particularly his finishing slash on Zoro; both of his blades are also censored to appear less cross-like, with Yoru's guard heavily shortened and Kogatana's erased entirely. The latter edit often appears inconsistently across contemporary tie-ins:

• 4Kids' theme song includes footage of him with an unedited Yoru, unchanged through the dub's entire run; however, later music videos (You Can't Turn the Tide, Be A Pirate) all use edited footage.
• The Grand Battle! localization (and by extension Grand Adventure) applies the edits to his in-game model, but leaves his portraits unedited.
  • Funimation's Unlimited Adventure localization also applies the edits to his model, despite discontinuing the practice in their anime dub.
• Notably, the 2002 card game's localization features him with an unedited Yoru and an edited Kogatana.

Possibly due to the musketeer-esque elements in his design, he is voiced with a heavy French-Caribbean accent.

Finally, his meeting with Shanks over Luffy's first bounty is truncated after Shanks announces "I can't let you leave" (possibly to avoid showing the heavy drinking that proceeds), leaving the implication that Shanks means to harm him.

Merchandise

Songs

• "Umi wo Mitsumeru Me"

Other Appearances

Video Games

Playable Appearances

Enemy Appearances

• One Piece: Become the Pirate King!
• Birth of Luffy's Dream Pirate Crew!
• One Piece: Round the Land
• One Piece: Dragon Dream!
• One Piece: Treasure Wars 2 Welcome to Buggyland
• One Piece Romance Dawn: The Dawn of the Adventure
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors
• One Piece: Unlimited World Red
• One Piece Odyssey

Support Appearances

• One Piece: Pirates Carnival
• One Piece: Dance Battle
• One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum

Non-Playable Appearances

• One Piece: Grand Battle! 3
• One Piece

Other Media

• In One Piece Premier Show 2014, Mihawk appears while the Straw Hat Pirates are fighting the DX Marines to cut Caesar Clown's Shinokuni in half. In One Piece Premier Show 2016, Pokke created a clone of Mihawk under Wilder's order to attack the Straw Hat Pirates.
• In the first version of One Piece Live Attraction: Phantom, Buggy forces Ann to create a mirage of Mihawk to capture the Straw Hat Pirates.
• An image of Mihawk appears in the first One Piece Water Spectacle show.
• Mihawk appears in the brass entertainment show One Piece Oto Utage during the retelling of the Baratie Arc. He is played by the same actor as Higuma.
• Mihawk is the main antagonist of the Zoro version of the Hungry Days commercial. He also appears in the Nami and Marineford versions.
• Ryodai Ishibashi, a member of 4,000 Hands and one of the guests on the fourth episode of One Piece Variety: I Will be the Pirate King TV, dresses up as Mihawk for the show.

Mihawk in Premier Show 2016.

Mihawk in Oto Utage.

Trivia

• Mihawk is the only Warlord of the Sea whose original frozen bounty remains unknown.^[12]
• Mihawk currently has the highest bounty of anyone who is not a member of the Four Emperors.
  • In fact, his bounty exceeds two of them: Luffy and Buggy.
  • Additionally, Mihawk is the first and currently only character whose bounty surpasses that of a superior within a pirate organization. In this case, President Buggy of the Cross Guild, whose current bounty value is 401,000,000 lower.
• Mihawk is the only Warlord to never be featured on the cover of a volume so far.
• While it was stated Mihawk clashed against Shanks several times, their only duel that was actually seen so far in any media is in the game One Piece: Unlimited Cruise 2. It was used as an intro for both of them as bosses.
• His name was romanized Mihark in some early merchandise, particularly those featuring mock-up wanted posters.^[72] This extended to the official website for the first Grand Battle! game,^[73] though the correct spelling was used in the game itself.
• In all the fan polls of most popular characters from the 1st to the 7th, Mihawk was ranked 14th, 13th, 8th, 12th, 23rd, 22nd, and 30th, respectively.
  • In the first four fan polls he is ranked as the most popular Warlord.
  • In the 6th fan poll results announcement, he was mistakenly omitted from his 22nd place, making every character that followed him (23rd onward) rank one place higher.
• In the Funimation dub, when he makes his speech to Zoro, he uses his epithet instead of his real surname.
• Mihawk, Caribou, and Imu are the only characters shown to have double-layered irides.
• Mihawk's original epithet as "Marine Hunter" mirrors that of Zoro's, the "Pirate Hunter". Ironically, Zoro would go on to become a pirate himself after earning his title, while Mihawk, as a Warlord, became an agent of the World Government, much like the Marines.
• Mihawk's place of birth is currently unknown, as the field is left blank in Vivre Card - One Piece Visual Dictionary.^[12]
• His design appears to be inspired by the archetypal Spanish swordsman of the Spanish Golden Age, much like characters from novels such as Alatriste. In the Spain Spanish dub, he intentionally speaks with an old Castilian accent.
• Mihawk's favorite food is red wine^[12].
• Mihawk's least favorite food is nabe (hot pot).^[74]
• Mihawk's hobbies are leisurely farming and wine collecting.^[74]
• Mihawk's animal resemblance is a hawk.^[74]

References

Links

• Hawk – Wikipedia article about the animal reference in Mihawk's name

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