Monkey D. Luffy is the protagonist of One Piece and one of the strongest pirates in the history of the Grand Line. He aims to conquer the Grand Line, find Gol D. Roger's legendary treasure, and become the King of the Pirates, but in order to do so, the Straw Hat Pirate will need to grow to become powerful enough to defeat any opponent that stands in his way.
Over the years, Luffy has gained access to several forms that transform his body, allowing him to combat a variety of different opponents — this includes all of Luffy's Gear forms, the majority of which he still uses on a fairly regular basis. However, some of these transformations are clearly more powerful than others, especially following the events of the Wano Country Arc.
Updated on April 24th, 2024 by Louis Kemner: This list of all Luffy forms and Gears has been updated once again with more information. After all, Luffy is busy fighting his strongest foes yet at Egghead Island, using Gear 5 once again to reinvent the rules of combat and baffle his enemies with his outrageous new form.
10 Water Luffy Was The Perfect Counter To Crocodile's Sandy Powers
During Luffy's showdown with Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Luffy realizes that the only way to counter his opponent's Sand-Sand Fruit is to coat himself in water. This revelation leads to the debut of Water Luffy — an amusing form in which the hero fills his rubber boy to the brim with water. While hilarious and ineffective in any other fight, the Water Luffy form is an example of Luffy’s impressive battle ingenuity.
Unfortunately, even Water Luffy couldn't defeat Crocodile, ultimately forcing the Straw Hat Pirate to develop another plan to defeat his opponent. However, Water Luffy is merely an improvised, specialized form that only means something when fighting Sir Crocodile, so it ranks low among Luffy's many forms. Still, some One Piece fans might miss the days when simple, funny Luffy forms like that were all the heroes needed to fight, rather than get swept up in nonstop power scaling with things like Haki, Gear 5, and Devil Fruit awakenings.
9 Nightmare Luffy Shows The True Power Of Undeath
During the Thriller Bark arc, Luffy is fed a considerable amount of shadows by the zombies wandering the floating island. Thanks to his powerful spirit, Luffy is able to withstand far more shadows than most people, ultimately resulting in the Straw Hat Pirate's unique Nightmare Luffy form.
With a distinct appearance inspired by classic horror tropes, Nightmare Luffy is strong enough to stand up to an overpowered version of Oars and Gecko Moria. While this transformation is likely weaker than Luffy's base form following the timeskip, it's a fun part of an often underrated arc and is an example of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit's true potential, even if Gecko ranked low among the Warlords.
8 Base Luffy Is All About Shonen-Style Courage And Determination In Battle
Even before unlocking any of his Gear transformations, Monkey D. Luffy's base form was a force to be reckoned with. His stretchy and malleable limbs are perfect for both straightforward offense and unorthodox attacks, also providing him natural immunity to things like bullets and lightning.
Following One Piece's timeskip, Luffy's base form is even stronger. His mastery of Haki makes him a threat regardless of the circumstances, and thanks to his significant battle experience, he's as battle-proven as any pirate in the Grand Line. It's an example of sheer tenacity and willpower rivaling even the strongest Devil Fruits or combat training in shonen anime. Admittedly, this strength may feel like plot armor at times, but it still plays a vital role in Luffy's development as a rubbery action hero.
7 Gear 2 Turned The Tables When Fighting Blueno
Gear 2 is the first of many Gear transformations that Luffy debuts. After being easily defeated by Aokiji at the end of the Long Ring Long Land Arc, Luffy realizes that he needs to grow stronger, so in preparation for future battles, he trains to develop a new form. Luffy's training was done mostly off-screen, an example of how One Piece makes rather limited use of training arcs. Luffy would rather let the results speak for themselves than undergo too many training montages.
By using his Devil Fruit powers to pump blood throughout his body, the Straw Hat Pirate is able to move much faster than normal, effectively creating an extreme version of doping. The form is so intense that all his sweat starts evaporating from his body as if it were steaming, but as time goes by, Luffy slowly learns how to achieve this state with little effort. Thus, Gear 2 was born, reforming how Luffy fights with his rubbery body. It was his first step in catching up to Grand Line and New World powerhouses because without the idea of Gears, Luffy would have soon hit a wall.
6 Gear 3 Gave Luffy The Massive Fists He Needed To Fight Rob Lucci
Despite being developed almost simultaneously with his Gear 2 form, Gear 3 doesn't have much to do with speed and instead focuses on power. By biting into his thumb and inflating his bones like a balloon, Monkey D. Luffy can turn his body into that of a giant, allowing him to deliver tremendously powerful blows.
The Gear 3 transformation is first used against Rob Lucci during the climax of the Enies Lobby Arc, severely weakening the member of CP9 after a single strike. Following One Piece's timeskip, Luffy can use this technique without any drawbacks, no longer sacrificing much of his speed or shrinking after the transformation wears off. That combo was impressive at the time but was later overshadowed by Gear 4 and Gear 5, making it Luffy's medium-strength option in battle overall.
5 Gear 2 & Gear 3 Together Gave Luffy A Fighting Chance Against Gecko Moria
At some point during the Straw Hat Pirates' journey through the first half of the Grand Line, Monkey D. Luffy learns how to use Gear 2 and Gear 3 simultaneously. Although this form isn't given a specific name, the transformation is first seen during Luffy's fight with Gecko Moria. Fans might even call it an unofficial Gear 4, or perhaps Gear 3.5. It was soon made obsolete when Luffy started using Haki and his actual Gear 4, but for the Thriller Bark arc, it was sufficient.
To defeat the leader of Thriller Bark, Luffy uses both of his first two Gear transformations to unleash a technique known as Gum-Gum Giant Jet Shell. Before the time skip, this attack is said to have had adverse effects on Luffy's lifespan; however, this no longer seems to be the case, as Luffy consistently does so in the New World, including his fight against Wano's Yamato.
4 Gear 4: Tankman Is Luffy's Huge Form That Can Eat Anything
All of Luffy's Gear 4 forms operate on a principle similar to Gears 2 and 3, with the only difference being that these transformations are significantly more extreme and use Haki to fuel their strength. One of the many forms of Gear 4 is Tankman, which inflates Luffy's body to cartoonish levels.
Gear 4: Tankman is first used against Charlotte Cracker in the Whole Cake Island Arc, and it immediately demonstrates impressive defensive capabilities. Using this transformation, Luffy is able to deflect Cracker's strongest attacks — unfortunately, because of Tankman's limited mobility, the form is only useful in specific situations, making it the weakest of Luffy's Gear 4 forms. Tankman alone isn't usually enough to defeat the strongest enemies, but if Luffy needs to buy time on defense, then Tankman is the right call.
3 Gear 4: Snakeman Is A Lean, Mean Hitting Machine
Snakeman is one of the most powerful forms that Monkey D. Luffy possesses, and it proves to be crucial in his fight against Charlotte Katakuri of the Big Mom Pirates. This Gear 4 form sees Luffy use his Armament Haki on his limbs to keep his body as lean as possible, boosting his speed to its utmost limits. Normally, Luffy favors flexibility, endurance, and resourceful thinking over sheer speed, but he's not against the idea of moving quickly to outmaneuver his foes.
To defeat the likes of Katakuri, Luffy needed to overcome the pirate's impressive Color of Observation Haki, so he used Snakeman to elevate his speed and generate attacks that even Big Mom's strongest subordinate couldn't predict. If this Gear 4 form had better defensive capabilities, it would potentially be the rival of the strength of even the Emperors of the Sea. Unlike Tankman, Snakeman is an offense-only form of Luffy's, designed to either win or die trying.
2 Gear 4: Bounceman Is Luffy's Toughest, Most Mobile Form
Bounceman is Luffy's go-to form in Gear 4, and it seems to be the best of them all in terms of raw strength. Bounceman makes use of the Muscle Balloon technique and adds extremely dense Armament Haki to the mix, resulting in an armored version of the Straw Hat Pirate that doesn't sacrifice his rubbery properties.
By using Gear 4: Bounceman, Luffy can utilize some of his strongest techniques, including the King Organ and King Kong Gun attacks. While it isn't as fast as Gear 4: Snakeman, Bounceman makes up for it by offering higher durability, ultimately ranking as the strongest of all Luffy's forms until the Awakening of his Devil Fruit. Luffy made good use of Bounceman when he fought the dreaded Warlord Donquixote Doflamingo, who had the overwhelming power of the awakened String-String Fruit on his side.
1 Gear 5 Is A Game-Changer That Toppled Kaido At Onigashima
The culmination of the Wano Country arc saw Monkey D. Luffy finally Awaken his Devil Fruit, the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika. By unleashing the full potential of his powers with this incredible shonen transformation, the Straw Hat Pirate is able to transform into the mythical Sun God, turning his hair, skin, and clothes white and adding a red glow to his eyes. Dubbed Gear 5, this transformation is easily the strongest of all Luffy's forms, and its power is only limited by Luffy's imagination.
Using the form, One Piece's protagonist can apply the properties of rubber to not only himself but also the world around him, providing him the strength to stand against the strongest pirates in the history of the Grand Line. There's no doubt that Gear 5 is Luffy's greatest and most amazing technique, and with the story of One Piece almost over, it will probably stay that way to the end, too. However, this form still strains Luffy's body a great deal, because he becomes an exhausted old man once Gear 5 is used up. It's worth it, though, to fight foes like Kaido and the World Government's top brass. Fortunately, Luffy can restore Gear 5 without too much trouble, especially if he gets a chance to eat meat, so Gear 5 is more sustainable than the other Gears, no matter its overwhelming power.
