Warning: spoilers ahead for the One Piece manga series.

Crocodile is confirmed for live-action One Piece cast ahead of its second voyage - some heroic, some horrific - but Crocodile represents by far the most significant in of both power and wickedness.

Predictably, there is plenty of information regarding Crocodile in Eiichiro Oda's 1000+ chapter One Piece manga series, but even the first season of Netflix's live-action anime adaptation teased his presence to a small extent. A massively influential figure on the Grand Line, a powerful Devil Fruit , and an imposing figure on Luffy's journey toward becoming Pirate King, Crocodile will undoubtedly become a pivotal player in One Piece season 2 and beyond.

Crocodile Is The Leader Of Baroque Works In One Piece Season 2

Baroque Works Has Already Been Introduced In Netflix's One Piece

One Piece world, and Crocodile is its true leader.

Many of Baroque Works' less senior recruits have no idea who their boss actually is, with Crocodile shrouding his identity in layers upon layers of secrecy and going by the code name "Mr. 0." As Baroque Works' leader, Crocodile also commands a force of hundreds, far bigger than Arlong's gang or anything the Straw Hats faced in One Piece season 1. While many of Baroque Works' soldiers are common thugs and bounty hunters, Crocodile's inner circle is filled with menacing pirates and Devil Fruit s who are each feared across the Grand Line in their own right.

Most Baroque Works operatives assume the purpose behind their group's criminal activity is purely financial, but Crocodile keeps his true plan under wraps. Said true plan ultimately involves conquering the island of Arabasta and claiming the secret weapon supposedly hidden somewhere inside the desert kingdom by its royal Nefertari family. From there, world domination would beckon for Crocodile, and the entire Baroque Works organization was formed in the name of achieving this very goal.

Crocodile's Backstory & Shichibukai Status Before One Piece Explained

Crocodile Isn't A Newcomer To The Piracy Scene

Aside from moonlighting as Baroque Works' Mr. 0, Crocodile is famed in public as a member of the Shichibukai, or Seven Warlords. Introduced in season 1 via Dracule Mihawk, One Piece's Seven Warlords are government-sanctioned pirates who are free to operate without marine obstruction in exchange for serving the World Government when requested. After Mihawk, Crocodile stands as only the second of these Warlords to make their onscreen live-action Netflix bow.

Theories suggest a prominently-placed female figure wearing an earring similar to Crocodile's own was actually an earlier version of Crocodile himself.

Like other Warlords, Crocodile began as a pirate, and was inspired to explore the seas after witnessing Gol D. Roger's pre-execution declaration that his renowned One Piece treasure was waiting to be claimed. One Piece reveals precious little about Crocodile's life and times as a regular pirate after setting sail, except for one defining event. On his journey to find the One Piece, Crocodile challenged the mighty Whitebeard, a member of the Four Emperors, and emerged utterly defeated. Baroque Works essentially became Crocodile's attempt at a comeback, while his grudge against Whitebeard burned fiercely within.

Despite the embarrassing loss, Crocodile's piracy earned the attention of the World Government and the offer to become a Warlord soon came. The privileges that followed his acceptance afforded the protection and lack of oversight necessary to establish Baroque Works in the shadows, leading to where One Piece season 2 will pick up Crocodile's tale.

It is curious that Netflix's One Piece has already shown the execution of Gol D. Roger that Crocodile was present for. While the live-action version did not overtly include Baroque Works' future leader in the crowd during that scene, theories suggest a prominently-placed female figure wearing an earring similar to Crocodile's own was actually an earlier version of Crocodile himself. The theory that Crocodile may have once been a woman derives from preexisting speculation over a secret from the villain's past that is known only to Ivankov - a character who wields a Devil Fruit power that can alter a person's hormones.

Crocodile's Devil Fruit Powers Explained

Crocodile's Devil Fruit Makes Him One Piece's Most Powerful Foe Yet

Whereas One Piece season 1 had only the loose-limbed antics of Luffy and Buggy, Crocodile will bolster Netflix's roster of Devil Fruit-s in season 2. Crocodile ate the Sand Sand Fruit, affording him complete control over sand, and this crucial detail partly explains why the desert kingdom of Arabasta was chosen for Baroque Works' base of operations. Other useful benefits of the Sand Sand Fruit include the ability to generate sandstorms, and absorbing moisture to the point of dehydrating a target.

While Luffy's Devil Fruit is initially presented as a paramecia in One Piece, it is later revealed to be a special zoan-type fruit.

Crocodile's Devil Fruit is inherently a class above those seen during One Piece season 1. Luffy and Buggy both ate paramecia-type Devil Fruits, which are more basic fruits that grant limited effects upon the body, but Crocodile's Sand Sand Fruit is the far rarer logia-type. Logia Devil Fruits completely transform the into a specific element - sand, in Crocodile's case, making him very difficult to damage using conventional attacks. With his body a literal beach, any bullets, swords, or punches are immediately neutralized as they land upon Crocodile's grainy frame.

What Happens To Crocodile In The One Piece Manga

Season 2 Will Be Just The Start Of Crocodile's One Piece Story

It should go without saying that One Piece did not end with Crocodile defeating Straw Hat Luffy and controlling the seas using Arabasta's secret weapon, but neither did Crocodile bow out of the narrative entirely. Indeed, his story remains ongoing in One Piece, even as of chapter 1127, many years after his debut. After losing to Luffy, Crocodile's Warlord status was revoked by the World Government for gross abuse of his position and various other crimes, and the villain found himself imprisoned, remaining absent from the One Piece story for a long time.

While Warlords are granted immunity in One Piece's world, there is still a limit to the criminality they can get away with - especially if that criminality becomes public knowledge.

Crocodile eventually returned to One Piece when Luffy broke into the World Government's infamous pirate prison, Impel Down, and Crocodile assisted in the breakout. When his reluctant team-up with Luffy came to an end, Crocodile walked his own path and formed a new organization, the Cross Guild, alongside Dracule Mihawk and Buggy the Clown. While certainly not legal or ethical, the Cross Guild isn't quite an evil criminal enterprise in the same mold as Baroque Works, and instead offers pirates cash rewards for taking down high-value marine targets.

What To Expect From Joe Manganiello's Crocodile In One Piece

Crocodile's True Force May Not Be Felt Until One Piece Season 3

Crocodile's presence in One Piece season 2 is hugely exciting, and even more so after the announcement that Joe Manganiello will be bringing the sandy slimeball to life. Nevertheless, his evil masterplan will not necessarily be the primary focus of Netflix's forthcoming season. Eiichiro Oda previously confirmed that One Piece season 2 will only cover the manga story up until Drum Kingdom, which suggests the Arabasta arc will not be adapted until season 3. Arabasta is where all of Crocodile's big moments happen - his grand reveal, his Bond-villain-esque Baroque Works scheming, and his fights against Luffy.

Even the most fearsome of Manganiello's characters typically possess some degree of likability and heart.

As such, One Piece season 2 could potentially keep Crocodile as a foreboding shadow in the background, orchestrating events from afar without directly encountering the Straw Hat pirates, then later becoming a far bigger deal in season 3. While Crocodile's early appearance signals a break from One Piece canon, the switch is arguably necessary in order to give season 2 a proper main villain, as there is no obvious arch-antagonist to take over from Arlong otherwise.

Whenever Crocodile appears, Joe Manganiello's casting suggests the live-action character will stay faithful to Eiichiro Oda's source material. The actor shares a clear visual resemblance to Crocodile, but also has a history of playing tough, gruff, no-nonsense fighters like DC's Deathstroke and Grinder in Sabotage - an archetype not far whatsoever from the conniving ruthlessness of One Piece's Crocodile. Even the most fearsome of Manganiello's characters, however, typically possess some degree of likability and heart behind the stony exterior, as demonstrated by Alcide in True Blood. That quality will become necessary for Crocodile as his One Piece story progresses.