The God Valley flashback isn’t just about the battle of Garp and Roger vs. Rocks. Oda has been making unexpected connections between his renowned characters. For instance, Oda revealed the connection between Captain John and Eustass Kid in the previous chapters, which fans never saw coming. During this flashback, a certain character who kicked Silver Axe bore a striking resemblance to the fan-favorite ‘Marco the Phoenix’, which piqued the fans’ curiosity. Fans began to theorize that this character could be Marco the Phoenix’s father, and they were not wrong, as their theories came to fruition in One Piece chapter 1165.
Meet Marco’s Father: Polo Gram of Polo Pirates
Marco the Phoenix has a distinct appearance in the One Piece series that is unforgettable, but our captain, Luffy, is an exception. When Luffy was trying hard to remember him, Nico Robin reminded Luffy that he looked like a pineapple, and Luffy immediately remembered the man who helped him in Marineford. Now, true to the idiom, “Like Father Like Son,” Oda introduced Marco the Phoenix’s father in God Valley, who has the same pineapple head as his son.
Whitebeard was sidelined by demonic Rocks D. Xebec, who was on his way to murder his family in the previous chapter. Now we finally get to see what happened to Whitebeard in One Piece chapter 1165. Oyaji was on the other side of the island, where a man sitting on top of a rocky mountain got Whitebeard’s attention.
That man was revealed to be none other than ‘Polo Gram,’ the captain of the Polo Pirates, who introduced himself as a big fan of Whitebeard. If you take a look at this character’s design, one wouldn’t dismiss the idea of Polo being Marco’s father. Since Polo noticed that the Rocks pirates had disbanded, he asked Whitebeard to board his ship and work for him. Of course, Whitebeard denied and asked him to get lost for now.
Now, the hilarious part of this unexpected revelation is the name of Marco’s father, Polo. With this reveal, Marco the Phoenix’s full name would be Marco Polo, which is a humorous wordplay by Oda. Marco Polo was actually the name of an Italian merchant. Nowadays, Marco Polo is a fun swimming game where a person who shouts Marco has to find the person responding Polo.
Since all the members of the Rocks Pirates are separating and going on their own path, Whitebeard eventually has to agree to Polo’s offer. We are excited to see how Polo’s son, Marco, ended up becoming the right-hand man of Whitebeard. Hopefully, Oda reveals that in small panels in the upcoming chapters.
There is also a wild theory that Polo is Marco. This is because fans theorize that the powers of the Tori Tori no Mi Model: Phoenix allow the user to be reborn with the memories of their previous life. But let’s see which one is true in the next chapter. That said, did you predict that this mysterious character would be Marco’s father? Let us know in the comments below.
