Thursday, July 8, 2010

One Piece Character Bartholomew Kuma

Bartholomew Kuma (バーソロミュー・くま, Bāsoromyū Kuma) is a Shichibukai. He is a former Revolutionary whose bounty was 296,000,000. He was once feared as a pirate so vicious, he earned the title "Tyrant.” He is a type of cyborg called a "Pacifista" (パシフィスタ, Pashifisuta) developed by Dr. Vegapunk. Once Vegapunk finished his modifications on Kuma, the Shichibukai was converted into the first complete Pacifista cyborg with the serial PX-0, figuratively dying in the process. 
File:Kuma2.png Appearance And Personality
Kuma is an enormous man (nearing 7 meters tall, he is the second tallest Shichibukai) who is usually seen carrying a Bible. His overall appearance resembles that of a bear, though there are a few key differences.
His eyes are strangely covered by either a pair of glasses or clear-mirrored lenses. While initially he will give the impression of wearing glasses, it seems that, based on the Pacifistas that were destroyed, those are actually his own eyes. His hat features a pair of rounded ears, and, along with the fabric of his pants, is covered in brown spots. His jacket contains a large white design reminiscent of a target crosshair. There are also several paw prints lining the bottom hem of his coat. He also has a long protruding chin.
In the anime, Kuma's hair and jacket are black, and his hat is gray. The covering of his Bible is also shown to be intricately colored. In the manga, Oda originally intended for Kuma to have a completely different color scheme. Kuma's hair was shown to be brown, his jacket bright orange, his hat yellow with green spots, and his Bible a solid gold color. Later in the manga chapters, his coat was changed to more closely resemble the one in the anime, though the rest of his design remained untouched.

Despite his imposing figure and his past reputation, Bartholomew Kuma is a very calm and quiet person. In addition to his demeanor, he can also be seen as somewhat of a benevolent character, especially compared to the other Shichibukai. This assumption can be reached through some of his actions, specifically when he spared the lives of the Straw Hats on two separate occasions.
Although he obeys the commands of the World Government, Kuma disagrees with what his superiors deem "good" and "bad" in the world. Instead, Kuma strives to uphold his own ideals (described as "Moral Justice”) whenever possible. He even goes so far as to imply that Blackbeard's acceptance into the Shichibukai ranks had been a poor decision by the government, despite the fact that it filled the position left by Crocodile's defeat.
However, Kuma's loyalty does not extend to the Marines. This can be seen when he refuses to answer a direct question from Admiral Kizaru during the Sabaody Archipelago Arc. Due to his unwillingness to aid the Marines without a direct order, Kuma didn't hesitate to lie when it came to his victory over the Straw Hats at Sabaody Archipelago.
When talking, Kuma customarily uses the word "target" in his sentences. He also tends to ask a person where they would like to go on a trip before he sends them away with his Devil Fruit's power.
There are still several mysteries behind Kuma's character. The story behind his transformation into a "Pacifista" and what exactly it entails is still unknown. He also whispers a message to Rayleigh during the battle at the Sabaody Archipelago, which the old pirate believes puts the other man at risk. The message given to Rayleigh has yet to be revealed. However, this message was finally revealed much later. The exact words are "I work for the Revolutionary Army. Since we have a connection, I want to help this group (the Straw Hat Pirates) escape". 

 History

10 years before the main storyline, he was on a crew with Monkey D. Dragon and Emporio Ivankov. He witnessed the desecration of Gray Terminal, assisting the survivors on board. While this crew was a precursor to the Revolutionaries, it is unknown if Kuma remained with Dragon after he began his assault against the World Government. In this time, though, he learned of Dragon's son, Monkey D. Luffy; considering that not even Ivankov knew of Luffy and Dragon's relationship, this means that Kuma was either incredibly close to Dragon, or that he had been informed of their relationship by Sengoku or Garp after he became a Shichibukai, since they were the only ones in the Marines to know that Dragon was Luffy's father.
He later became a Shichibukai and allowed Dr. Vegapunk to modify him into the cyborg weapon "Pacifista". He apparently struck some sort of deal with the World Government to become a guinea pig for this human weapon project, despite his hatred towards them.

Power And Ability
Devil Fruit
Kuma ate the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi, making him a "Paw Man". This Devil Fruit gives him paw pads which give him the power to push anything, including the air around him, at the speed of light. Kuma fights in a style reminiscent of sumo-wrestling. He crouches low in a wide stance, even using the signature stomp, and attacks with open-palm strikes, using his special paws to launch powerful air bullets. Much in keeping with the sumo inspiration, Kuma spends almost all of his time with his feet planted, refusing to give his ground.
The fruit's powers also allow him to move at the same speed as the objects he pushes, possibly by using it to push himself, appearing instantaneously at a desired location regardless of distance, all the while he moves with no more than a slow walk. Apart from the ability to make people and objects vanish instantly, Kuma's abilities show massive amounts of destructive power, enough to turn an entire island into dust, with an attack called "Ursus Shock". Kuma also has the ability to extract people's pain and exhaustion. This is shown when Kuma took all of the pain that Luffy had suffered on Thriller Bark and left him feeling completely healthy, meaning that his abilities can be used to heal people and cure them. 

Pacifista Modification
He is extremely fast, enough to seem as though he has disappeared in the eyes of the Straw Hats, as well everyone on Thriller Bark. This is, however, unclear if it has something to do with the modifications from Dr. Vegapunk. Kuma is a cyborg modified by Vegapunk, he is however very different from other cyborgs, and displays strength and agility that are on a different scale. His body is able to withstand most attacks, including Sanji's kicks and even the attack of Zoro, which was able to cut through steel. Zoro could only leave a scratch on Kuma with a surprise attack. While the modifications gave Kuma great strength, their full completion over a long time period apparently robbed Kuma of his free will.
As a Pacifista, Kuma has a laser launcher, which not only causes massive explosions upon detonation, but can also melt steel. This laser is apparently a replication of Kizaru's Pika Pika no Mi powers. For Kuma, this launcher is only installed in his mouth. In the other incomplete Pacifista, the launcher is installed on their palms as well. Kuma has his paw pads instead of the laser holes on his hands; it is this aspect that distinguishes him from the other Pacifista, and makes him superior to them. 

Trivia
  • Due to his apparently reserved disposition and the fact that he is invariably seen with a large Bible, Kuma is likely modeled after Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts, a gentleman pirate known for his religious obstinacy, Roberts was also known for being merciless and trying to exact revenge on anyone who wronged him. This might be the origin of Kuma's epithet. His fellow Shichibukai Mihawk's appearance was based off of Black Bart.
  • Kuma was revealed to have been dead during the Battle for Marineford, which concluded the Golden Age of Pirates and began the "New Age." Coincidently, it was Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts whose death ended this world's "Great Pirate Age."

No comments:

Post a Comment