Boa Hancock
Personality
“ Whether I kick a kitten... Tear off your ears... Even slaughter innocent people... The world will never cease to forgive my actions! Why, you ask? That's right, it is because I am... Beautiful!!!
-Hancock's justifications for her actions.
”
Hancock is a very complex woman. At first glance, she appears to be selfish, pompous and spoiled, and is used to having her own way, although she does lie to the World Government about her agreement to wage war with Whitebeard simply to get them off her back temporarily. She also can be arrogant and cruel, usually justifying her less than admirable actions with her apparently unmatched beauty and thinks that she can get away with anything because the world will forgive her.[6] Her sister Sandersonia cheerfully calls her personality "twisted". She has also proven that she is a very skilled liar, and excellent at fabricating stories, and her confidence leads her to never consider the consequences of her actions.
While a member of the Shichibukai, Hancock doesn't think much of the World Government and would rather keep her title but not go to war or perform certain duties if she had to. Part of this is because of her past dealings with people who are part of what they stand for, such as the Tenryuubito. She doesn't think twice about killing her so called Marine allies. She also seemed not to think much of the Kuja tribe either as she comments to Elder Nyon that she doesn't care if the island is destroyed or not since everyone will forgive her anyway because she is beautiful.
Hancock "looking down" on the Marines.
However, it was revealed the reason for Hancock's lies and attitude towards life was that because of her horrible past, she didn't want to ever show weakness again to anyone, harboring a great fear of getting close to anyone other than her own sisters, and would even go as far to deceive all of the other Kuja.[7] This caused her surrogate mother Nyon to fear that Hancock had truly turned as cold as ice and it wasn't until Hancock confessed everything to Luffy did she finally show emotion, breaking down in tears from reliving her painful memories. As a matter of fact, Hancock deep down inside is a rather sensitive and vulnerable woman who is afraid and concerned about how other people (especially the other Kuja) might react to her and her sisters' shameful past, and that part of her was only first shown for several years in front of Monkey D. Luffy. She has since then befriended (and fallen in love with) Luffy, even agreeing to venture to the land of her suffering from her days of a slave, at his request for his brother.[8]
Hancock has also shown to be very sly and crafty when the situation demanded it. This was particularly evident when she aided Monkey D. Luffy into discreetly breaking through Impel Down's outer defenses, as well as manipulating the great prison warden, Magellan, to her whims before relaying a secret message to Luffy's brother Ace, whom Luffy is trying to rescue.
Because of her beauty and strength, she is used to seeing men and women whether young or old fall instantly in love with her. As a result, people forgive her when she acts cutely apologetic or reminds them of her beauty. However, as proven when Luffy comes along, she cannot bear the existence of someone completely immune to her powers.[9]
Her oddest trait seen so far is that when she looks down on people, she leans backwards so she faces the ceiling (or the sky) above her, apparently "looking down on people so much she's looking up."[10] She also appears to dislike small animals, which becomes something of a running gag, in which she angrily asks who left the animal in front of where she's walking, before kicking it away, no matter how cute it is. A Kuja amazon responsible apologizes while the offended animal snarls at her and Hancock advises her to be more careful in future.[11][12]
Despite her usual conceit, she does show genuine care for people close to her. She flew into a rage when Smoker tried to kill Luffy, and disregarding the consequences, she openly declared Luffy as her beloved. During her fury, she showed none of her usual arrogance.
Monkey D. Luffy
Originally antagonistic towards him, Hancock saw Luffy as a man who, being immune to her charms, she couldn't allow to exist. She refused to believe his story of being sent to the island by Bartholomew Kuma, and ordered his execution.She also thought he was just like all men in the world; selfish and arrogant, but was proven wrong and was even moved by his acts of selflessness. Luffy is actually possibly the only one, outside her family, that she truly considers a friend.
She quickly befriended him upon learning that he went as far to strike one of the World Nobles and that he did not scorn her because she had been a slave. As such, Hancock has fallen in love with Luffy causing her to have "love sickness" which appears to have been the cause of death of nearly all of her predecessors, Empresses all. However, Elder Nyon says that all of the previous Empresses died because they tried to suppress their feelings by distancing themselves from their object of desire, whereas Hancock will survive by going with Luffy.
Due to her feelings, Hancock has a hard time looking Luffy in the eye and tends to blush in his presence (much like a young girl with a crush), and requests he call her Hancock, as opposed to her title. She is also prone to daydreams involving Luffy. She nearly fainted when Luffy called her by her given name correctly, given the fact that he had said it wrong a few times before. Moments later, she actually did faint after believing that Luffy said "I love you" (あいしてる aishiteru) when he actually said "Thank you" (ありがとう arigatou).
During the battle with Whitebeard at Marineford, Hancock states that all men, both Marine and pirate alike, are her enemies. Luffy and Fisher Tiger stand as the lone exceptions. Even after finding out the truth about Luffy's heritage, she casts it aside and does not care even if he is the son of devils. She is also extremely protective of Luffy, going as far to attack Commodore Smoker for restraining Luffy much to the shock of the Marines. She even openly declares Luffy as her beloved.
[edit] Enemies
Despite being one of the Shichibukai, Hancock considers the World Government to be her enemy and, much like Nico Robin, she has stated that she detests the government and those in their complete obedience. Much of this comes from her past with the Tenryuubito, who tortured her and her sisters from a young age, until they were able to escape. Even as a Shichibukai, she refuses to take orders, despite claiming agreement with carrying them out. She does this simply to get them off her back, if only temporarily. In some cases, her friction with the World Government has reached dangerous levels, which even Elder Nyon criticizes.
Due to the first man she ever saw was the one who painfully burned the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon onto her back, Hancock has a bitter hatred towards all men, as she indiscriminately attacked Marine allies during the war. Luffy and Fisher Tiger are two exceptions, the former of which she loves, while the latter was the one who saved her life many years ago.
She considers Smoker a personal enemy, after he pinned down and attempted to kill Luffy. Hancock swore to rip him to shreds and feed him to beasts. It was this claim that revealed her treason against the Shichibukai and World Government, making her their enemy.
Marigold and Sandersonia
Hancock is close to her sisters because they went through a lot together as slaves. The three of them have a strong bond and support each others' actions. Such was the case that when she became Empress, she allowed her sisters to rule alongside her, and entrusts them with her authority when she leaves for Impel Down. Initially, when Luffy requested for Hancock to travel to Impel Down, Marigold and Sandersonia vehemently disagreed with the idea. However, when Hancock accepted his request, they respected her wishes, as well as her infatuation with Luffy, and wished the best of luck for them.Elder Nyon
Hancock takes the role of the ungrateful brat to Nyon, even though Nyon helped her and her sisters get back to Amazon Lily. Hancock likes to make sure that Nyon remembers she is considered a traitor to the Kuja, despite the fact had Nyon not been at sea at the time, she and her sisters would have nowhere to go, and Nyon treated them as though they were her own daughters. Even still, the relationship between the two, is akin to a teenage daughter and a mother, despite their differences. It appears Hancock does have a degree of respect for Nyon as she went to her to help her understand the confusion of her sudden feelings. In return, Nyon supports and is proud of Hancock's decision in helping the object of her love, instead of allowing it to consume and kill her.Others
Fisher Tiger freed Hancock and her sisters, along with many other slaves, during his rampage at Mariejois. Having met (or at least seen) him only once, she was shocked by his recklessness, and terrified of the brutality with which he fought. However, she has stated she owes him a debt which cannot be repaid.Hancock also has a complex relationship with her Kuja subjects, protecting them from the World Government, but refusing to continue protecting them by working with the latter. She also destroyed a doll of her, made by several little girls, simply because it was made from dirt, mud and clay, and petrified three Kuja warriors (Marguerite, Sweet Pea and Aphelandra) for allowing a man (Monkey D. Luffy) to enter the island and defending his crime. However, there has been no Kuja who doesn't love and admire Hancock, and agrees with every decision she makes (apart from Elder Nyon, to an extent). Even Marguerite showed no hard feelings towards Hancock after she was unpetrified. Hancock likewise actually cares what they would think of her if they knew she was once a slave, even though she is now an Empress, and fears she will bring shame onto the tribe if they were aware of her past. So she's continuously lied to them to protect herself and her sisters. She even referred to them as her brethren, as opposed to her subjects.
It is unknown exactly how she feels of her fellow Shichibukai, given that she has only been seen interacting with one, namely Jinbei
Abilities and Powers
Ruling beside her sisters, Hancock has power over Amazon Lily and the rest of the Kuja women. As the Empress and Captain of the tribe, she is most likely the strongest Kuja warrior. In fact, her strength is so great that it has even been acknowledged by Fleet Admiral Sengoku of the Marines.[13] It is often stated by her that "strength is beauty", where all of the members of the Kuja tribe state she is the most beautiful in the world, suggesting this could mean she is very strong.Hancock's fights hand-to-hand, turning her victims to stone in the process.
She has been shown to be very adept in hand-to-hand combat, often in tandem with her Devil Fruit abilities. She was able to fight through a group of New World pirates with no signs of damage to herself.
Her raw strength also seems to be rather high (hinted to be at a super-human level) as she was able to break stone (in the form of petrified pirates and marines) with a series of kicks. She was also able to kick Smoker in his smoke state.
[edit] Devil Fruit
Hancock using the power of Mero Mero no Mi.
Main article: Mero Mero no Mi
Hancock was fed the Mero Mero no Mi by the World Nobles who enslaved her, as a form of sick entertainment.
Those who fall in love with Hancock are susceptible to a range of techniques used by the Devil Fruit which turn people into stone. Anyone with "dirty thoughts" will be turned into stone as long as they do not have a means to block it out emotionally like with fear or pain.
Due to the theme of the Devil Fruit, it is implied to be the source of Hancock's unnatural charm on people.
As part of the secret to keep the shame on her back secret, Hancock convinced the Kuja tribe to believe that the power to turn people to stone was a curse given to her by killing a Gorgon monster.
[edit] Haki
Main article: Haki
She also can use the Haōshoku Haki, an ability that one in a million people can use. From the example shown by Luffy, it can be assumed that she can knock out a large number of individuals (with the exception of strong-willed people) with a massive burst of Haki. Her exact level of mastery of it, however, is currently unknown. She is skilled enough to strike a Logia fruit user, which only Silvers Rayleigh had previously been shown to be capable of doing.
