Hody Jones was the main antagonist of the Fish-Man Island arc and the first threat Luffy faced after the One Piece time skip. Although he embodied insidious qualities like hatred and bigotry, he was also a formidable villain who was frequently underrated.
With the power of energy steroids at his disposal, Hody was able to overthrow Neptune and would have massacred his people if it weren’t for the Straw Hats’ interference. By matching him against a diverse roster of the series’ characters, we can better appreciate how strong the villain really is.
10 COULD BEAT: Hody Is Stronger Than Arlong In Every Observable Way
Although Arlong was Hody’s inspiration, he wouldn’t be able to fare against him in a fight. Even in his base form, Hody was powerful enough to sink massive pirate ships in seconds. Moreover, his “Water Shot” provided him with devastating projectiles that could demolish several huge columns of coral.
Additionally, Hody has much more durability than his predecessor. He could withstand numerous punches from a third gear Luffy using armament haki. Conversely, Arlong was knocked unconscious by Luffy’s Gum-Gum techniques without any special enhancements.
9 WOULD LOSE TO: Hody Couldn’t Utilize The Sea Against Zoro
Zoro managed to defeat Hody in their first encounter and was only captured under the most unfavorable circumstances. Not only did their initial battle occur entirely underwater, but Hody’s henchmen were also there to drag the swordsman back down when he came up for air.
Even with energy steroids, Hody wouldn’t be able to fully exploit the water since Zoro can swim. Moreover, given that he could cleave apart Pica (a giant the size of a mountain) with a single slice, it follows that he could rip through a fish-man’s body with even greater ease.
8 COULD BEAT: Boa Hancock’s Lust-Based Powers Are Worthless Against Hody
Under ordinary circumstances, Hancock’s lust-based devil fruit can sedate and petrify her targets. This would allow her to shatter their stony bodies, effectively killing them no matter how durable they once were.
In this instance, Hody’s boundless contempt for the human race would work to his advantage. It would allow him to ignore Hancock’s wiles and charge forward with a direct attack. Considering that the Pirate-Empress doesn’t have anything capable of putting Hody down in his steroid state, her defeat is gory and inevitable.
7 WOULD LOSE TO: Caesar Clown’s Logia Fruit Counters Hody Perfectly
Although Hody might have the advantage of experience, Caesar Clown is a perfect counter to him. His gaseous body would be immune to Hody’s physical attacks, and without armament haki, mounting a strong offense is impossible for the fish-man to attempt.
The second he gets in Caesar’s proximity, his lungs would be filled with poison gas, and he wouldn’t be able to breathe. Additionally, Caesar’s devil fruit ability to conjure swords allows him to fight aggressively and with the possibility of causing meaningful harm at melee range. Hody may have a palpable edge in speed, but his inability to punish his opponent’s mistakes would be fatal.
6 COULD BEAT: Crocodile’s Weakness To Water Would Be The Death Of Him
Crocodile’s logia fruit might suggest that Hody can’t hurt him. Any physical attacks would phase directly through the pirate’s body, and his ability to wither his targets with a single touch could provide a way around the fish-man’s high resilience.
However, Hody was able to unleash so many Water Shots from his hands that it took Luffy’s haki to dodge. Considering that Crocodile could barely keep up with Luffy in his base state, he wouldn’t be able to avoid all of Hody’s projectiles without being hit and killed instantly.
5 WOULD LOSE TO: Doflamingo Has Even More Raw Power Than Hody Does
Doflamingo surprisingly has more durability than Hody does even in his enhanced form. This was proven through his ability to survive Law’s surgical attacks and Luffy’s Fourth Gear, a technique even stronger than what was used to defeat the fish-man.
Additionally, Doflamingo’s threads have incredible range and are able to bind whatever targets they attach to. They are particularly deadly when created from the ground the two combatants stand on. Considering his versatility and raw feats, Doflamingo can choose to fight Hody at any distance and win comfortably.
4 COULD BEAT: Jabra Lacks The Physical Strength To Hurt Hody
As one of CP9’s most powerful agents, it might be expected that Jabra could stand a reasonable chance against Hody. However, his fights against the Straw Hats suggest that he isn’t as skilled as his power level suggests.
For example, Zoro was able to fend off both him and Kaku simultaneously with Usopp chained to his arm. After the sniper was finally released, Jabra failed to kill him despite landing dozens of punches successfully. Considering his failure to destroy Usopp, Jabra’s attacks wouldn’t even break Hody’s skin.
3 WOULD LOSE TO: Aokiji Could Petrify Hody’s Surroundings To Trap Him
When it can be helped, Hody prefers to fight devil fruit users near the ocean. When he submerges underwater, he can increase his innate strength and exploit the devil fruit users’ natural weaknesses to drowning.
However, Aokiji demonstrated an ability to freeze entire oceans through the battle at Marineford. The second Hody dives into cover, he would be stuck in ice that even the Moby Dick would struggle to break.
2 COULD BEAT: Jesus Burgess’ Simplistic Attacks Wouldn’t Be Enough Against Hody
Jesus Burgess’ elbow attacks proved formidable enough to devastate entire stands of audiences with a single blast. He plowed his way to the Dressrosa finals easily, with enough tenacity to shrug off formidable colosseum warriors.
However, his fight against Sabo illustrated relatively unimpressive durability and abysmal speed. Given that Luffy struggled to keep up with Hody’s final form even while using his haki, Jesus would quickly find himself caught off-guard before being ripped apart by the fish-man’s razor-sharp claws and teeth.
1 WOULD LOSE TO: Perona Would Capitalize On Hody’s Darkest Emotions To Subdue Him
Perona’s negative hollows were able to strike dread into whoever they passed through. The only exceptions to their abilities were targets with naturally self-defeating and negative personalities such as Usopp.
Considering Hody’s aggressive disposition, his first inclination would be to attack Perona’s ghosts rather than avoid them. After they phased through his body, he would immediately be overcome with his darkest fears and insecurities. For him, it would be the fact that his dream of Fish-Man supremacy is doomed to fail. This would allow Perona to escape or finish him off, depending on her mood.
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