@Wisshard:
**Because Sanji's polished legs and Zoro's further refined swordsmanship are simply methods to improve their attack power and utility with their chosen fighting style. Luffy, on the other hand, apparently can't keep up with his first mate and cook by simply developing his own combat techniques and natural physique, but needs a special ability that exclusively enhances his physical ability. A bleak and dismal prospect for me, though some people seemingly view it in a positive light (i.e. "Gear Second is Luffy's new base!") - which, quite frankly, is beyond me.
Ideally, Luffy's natural physical ability should be comparable to his peers and opponents, and with Gear Second he should hold a physical superiority. Otherwise it defeats the purpose of Gear Second and puts Luffy, whose herculean physical ability has been highlighted ever since the story began, in a very disparaging light.
I don't expect you to share my sentiment, but I (as Coruscation) am honestly perplexed that many people find it hard to even understand our view.**
My purpose was solely to voice my apprehension where Luffy's Gear Second seems to be heading, and the implication it carries, not to instigate a "who's stronger" debate. I provided context to make my stance easier to comprehend, and I apologize if that brought the angle in my post too close to that dreaded ground.
EDIT:
^The topic is "Powerup Predictions and Discussion" and that ought to include Gear Second and any debates around it.
Isn't that just being negative? You could look at Sanji and Zoro's new attacks as evolved versions of their old ones, in the same sense that Luffy's gear2 is an evolved version of his normal attack.
Or rather, look at Sanji's constant use of Diable Jambe and Luffy's use of gear 2 as the same thing. Sanji compensates for attack power, and Luffy compensate for speed (since before Enies Lobby, he was about on par with Franky which later proved to be pretty slow). Zoro, meanwhile confuses things by not getting any clear power up and just using weirder and more confusing moves. Really, why not complain that Luffy and Sanji can't keep up with Zoro's base attacks?
Then again, maybe the negative view is right, and Luffy is inferior to Sanji and Zoro, but not maybe physically. Gear 2 increases speed which Luffy uses to hit harder. Sadly, at Enies Lobby "base Luffy" matched with Franky, which would later prove to be too weak to win the current arc. So, Luffy upgraded to gear 2, forever dooming his base to be weaker in that one area. Physically, he's always been about the stronger guy in the crew. There are a few different ways to look at this really.
Hey, has anyone mentioned the idea that Luffy might to the "two devil fruit" thing to, like Blackbeard did? Until we know how Blackbeard did it, it's an interesting idea. It's something that shouldn't be repeated too much, but with just one other guy it might be okay.