One Piece: Every difference between Nika, Joy Boy, and Luffy, explained

One Piece chapter 1114 was released on May 13, 2024, and the chapter made it clear that Nika, Joy Boy, and Monkey D Luffy are separate beings. By teasing their origins, the chapter made things clear in the minds of fans and unsurprisingly, made them more excited for the final saga of the series.

The main premise of the chapter lies around Vegapunk revealing his sins, which he mentioned in chapter 1113, and the reveal of Mother Flame as an underground tank that the Gorosei used to destroy the Transponder snails in hopes of stopping Vegapunk's stream.

But the spotlight of the chapter was the reveal of one of the series' legends as the first pirate of the Grand Line and having the same powers as the Straw Hat Pirates' captain.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series and has the author's opinion.

Exploring the differences between Monkey D Luffy, Joy Boy, and Sun God Nika in One Piece

Existence

The protagonist as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Monkey D Luffy is the series' main protagonist who was introduced in the first chapter/episode. Joy Boy is a major historical figure in the series who was revealed in chapter 1114 as the first pirate of the Grand Line by Vegapunk.

To some fans' surprise, unlike these two, Nika is a legend who could just be a mythical creature (from the Elbafian and Buccaneer race) as its name is passed down from generation.

So, the Sun God doesn't exist in real life whereas the other two personalities have confirmed existence in the series.

Devil fruit powers

The Human Human devil fruit (Model Nika) (Image via Toei Animation)

The Straw Hat Pirates' captain ate the Gum-Gum devil fruit when he was little, but this devil fruit was revealed as a Human-Human devil fruit (Model: Nika) after the protagonist awakened it in the form of Gear 5.

This gave him the power to manipulate his surroundings by converting anything into rubber.

JoyBoy was teased by Vegapunk as the first pirate of the Grand Line who possessed the power to stretch his body. Having powers similar to the protagonist's devil fruit, it is safe to assume that this historical figure also ate the Human-Human devil fruit (Model: Nika) and could be the first person who ate it, with Luffy being the second wielder of this fruit.

The Sun God had no devil fruit powers, as its myth doesn't state such powers. But he was a diety that could stretch its body, thus leading to people thinking that his dreams led to the birth of the Nika devil fruit. So, while the first two ate the devil fruit, Nika was the one who gave birth to this devil fruit.

Pirate crews

The Straw Hat Pirate crew as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The Straw Hat Pirates is an Emperor crew and one of the strongest ones on the Grand Line. The captain of this crew is the series' protagonist, who claims to be the Future Pirate King. His crew is a proper one having a helmsman, a navigator, a sniper, and every other position a crew should have.

As speculated by fans, Joy Boy could have had a pirate crew that consisted of figures like Zunesha (the giant elephant) and the Iron Giant (the giant robot on Egghead Island) as they have something to apologize to the historical figure.

The Sun God didn't have a pirate crew, more so, it hasn't been revealed yet. But considering he is a historical figure, there could be no need for him to have one.

Real names

Monkey D Luffy is the real name of the Straw Hat captain but he is more commonly known as Straw Hat, Straw Hat Luffy, and many variations of his name in other dialects of the series.

Joy Boy, on the other hand, doesn't seem like a real name, as it is an alias derived from his behavior as someone who never despairs and spreads joy. Lastly, the Sun God is the real name of the Sun God.

Relation to the grand treasure, the One Piece

Roger laughing at Laugh tale (Image via Toei Animation)

The series' protagonist is aiming to become the next pirate king as claimed by all of his crewmates who believe in him. To become the pirate king, he has to travel to the Laugh Tale to find the grand treasure and declare his position as the king of the pirates to the Grand Line.

Joy Boy also has some sort of connection to the grand treasure. When Roger and his pirate crew arrived at Laugh Tale, they laughed after reading the truth of the world, and Roger stated that the One Piece was a treasure left behind by the historical figure.

And surprisingly, the Sun God has no relationship with the grand treasure, at least not revealed as of this article's publication.

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