The rankings we give the crew.

[Kingoffans]

Difference between Luffy and Enel is that Enel can be hurt by rubber and only rubber because of his devil fruit(that and the obvious devil fruit weaknesses) while Luffy's devil fruit power does not make him extra weak to cutting or cause him to be cut. It's just it doesn't protect him against it but it doesn't neutralise it or make it weaker. That's why I don't think Mr.1 is Luffy's natural enemy.

And I think people are getting a wrong impression of Mr.1's ability. He wasn't a blade man if I recorrect but a steel man. In other words punching him in the gut won't slice Luffy's hand as long as he didn't already form the blades. Luffy's not an idiot when it comes to fighting. He's a combat genius so I'm sure he could have adapted his strategy if ever paired up against Mr.1.

[Kingudora]

He was a blade man

However, he was hard as steel without creating any blades (or they were so small so noone could recognize them)

[Kibagami]

Mr 1 is basically someone who can rankyaku with his whole body, and as far as my opinion goes, Lucci could pretty much do that. End result? Luffy got cut up, but that's just usual business.

The cutting power of people in OP isn't really applicable to the characters themselves. Zoro's fight that zombie sword master Ryuuma is the perfect example. BOTH opponents can cut pretty much anything but when Zoro cuts Ryuuma, we don't see him all dismembered into pieces. It was the same with the Daz Bones fight. He cut through the pillar BEHIND Zoro, but Zoro's body wasn't cut.

From this I can only say that the respective characters must have TOUGH bodies, too tough even for those who can cut through rock (or even steel). So do you think Luffy's body is tough? OF COURSE you do. I'd argue that's he's the toughest of the whole crew (though Zoro is a VERY close second). In conclusion Daz Bones is just as dangerous as any other opponent for Luffy, and definitely less dangerous than Lucci

[Gorlom]

Kingoffans: you are kind of contradicting yourself there.

It isn't that Enel is weak against Rubber. Enel just takes normal damage from being hit by it (the same ammount of damage any human would take), while immune to everythinge else. Rubber isn't exactly immune to everything other then slicing, but it does have hightened resistance.

Kibagami: After TB I'd probably reason that Zoro has a tougher body then Luffy because of what Kuma did. In addition to that normal humans need to train themselves to withstand anything. Luffy has an inherent resistance (which should have made him almost immune to blunt attacks.. yet he still takes damage from Luccis punches) which makes me think he hasn't trained his body that much in comparisment. Imo he is still pretty weak against slicing damages.

[NagaKarat]

The same is true for Luffy vs Mr 1. Daz Bones would do the same amount of damage to luffy as he did to Zoro, but luffy wouldn't be able to use his rubber powers against a body of blades and is more vulnerable to Daz Bones slicing attacks than to Odz immense power.

Luffy has a weakness againts edge weapon which when fighting Mr. 1 will give Mr. 1 the edge over him. Regardless of using soru or gear 2 he'll only hurt himself. Gear 3 wight work because he also inflate his bones so it might gave him an advantage but gear three is slow. But just like Enel when he'd realise that he cannot use lightning directly at Luffy and come up with another way Luffy will also came with a way to defeat Mr. 1 like wearing an iron gloves or something.
Still it'll be interesting to see how Luffy will fight Blackbeard as the latter tends to prefer reducing his devil fruit opponents back to their base/human strength and then fight man to man. Which kinda of hints that Whitebeard might be a devil user (my theory) since Blackbeard give those scars to Shanks his physical prowess must be up there among the yonkou but he prefer to waits until he gets the yami yami fruit. Which in my opinions that he need an edge before going against the strongest out there. But then it'll be years before Oda proves me right or wrong.

[Lobster Pot-Sticker]

@Kingudora:

He was a blade man

If I recall correctly, Mr. 1 ate the "Slicing in Succession Fruit"

or the "Kirikaeshi Fruit"

Das Bones is a "Kirikaeshi Man"

and he's can do even better then a rankaku, as his are invisible, and unavoidable.

[*Meh*]

Bah! Luffy isn't even Enel's natural enemy- Arlong is!

Contains scenes that may be offensive to Fishman enthusiasts. Viewer discretion is advised.

EDIT: Wait a second, doesn't this mean Arlong should have had Mantra, too?!

[igetownd]

Electrosensory perception doesn't work in air, so fishmen generally can't have mantra in air.

[TokageMoria]

Its hard to judge them due to their vast variety of styles of fighting but I feel like there are now four levels of strength in the crew:

Highest
Luffy
I think that after Lucci and Moria, that Luffy going all-out stands above even Zoro and Sanji on the next level.
High
Zoro
Sanji
They're certainly the strongest fighters behind Luffy but they haven't shown that they are on par with "all-out" Luffy

Middle:
Robin
Franky or Brook
Robin has proven to be an incredibly strong fighter but I need to see another one-on-one battle with her. Sorry to any big Robin fans. Franky and Brooke are also really strong but their styles are practically mirror opposites. Power and weapons that makes up for lack of speed, and Speed that makes up for power and stamina(maybe). You might think that Brook would win with his speed and sword techniques, but Franky's got his power and metal skin. It would be a fun match to watch.

Low:
Chopper
Usopp
Nami
I hate using the term low because these three can kick ass but out of the rest of the crew, they are the weakest. For Chopper I would like to see another good fight one-on-one. I'm not saying he wasnt strong against Kumadori, but he did need the Monster Point to finish him off. I was seriously looking forward to the Robi-cho Suplex and a splattered Hogback. But i wanna see him beat a strong opponent like Kumadori without the third rumble ball. Usopp may not be as smart as Nami but his skill and accuaracy are phenominal, as well as his superhuman endurance. Nami really seems like the weakest because I think shes weaker than Usopp and except for him, shes the one who wants to fight the least.

Overall, even if i sound greedy, i wanna see a Brook Fight, a Chopper Fight, and a Robin fight in the next arc.

BONE!!!!

[Lobster Pot-Sticker]

Why do you guys always put Franky below Zoro and Sanji? As I recall, Franky was beating Luffy in Water 7. However, Luffy has gotten GEARS since then.

Therefor Franky should atleast be as strong as Zoro and Sanji, if not more.

[TokageMoria]

also, to Meh, since mantra seems like a hyper sensitive hearing which means its based on sound and is amplified by electricity so its like a type of sonar or radar, the power would probably be increased with water since sound travels faster in water. AND Eneru could fry Arlong's ass if hes underwater…....or anywhere really.

[Makeemum]

@Lobster:

Why do you guys always put Franky below Zoro and Sanji? As I recall, Franky was beating Luffy in Water 7. However, Luffy has gotten GEARS since then.

Therefor Franky should atleast be as strong as Zoro and Sanji, if not more.

Fighting on par with Luffy without Gears which is like only 30% of his overall Power, doesn't make him as Strong as Zoro or Sanji

Zoro with only 2 swords defeated Ryuuma who is bascally a "Super Brooke",
regular Brooke almost sliced Talleran in half and put salt in it's most without
even the zombie himself knowing until blood was shooting out his body

Sanji pwn Absalom while at the same time protecting Nami. Absalom easily defeated the low Trio without using Bazookas (he use some Flame weapon) and without being serious and should be at least stronger than Talleran since he's the leader of the General Zombies

Reread Thriller Bark and you're see that those 3 three are clearly the strongest

[Gorlom]

Fighting on par with Luffy without Gears which is like only 30% of his overall Power, doesn't make him as Strong as Zoro or Sanji

Funny, wasn't Luffy stronger then Zoro and Sanji before EL?

So all of a sudden he is retroactivly weaker then those 2 because he developed gears?

That is one of the shittiest arguments i'v seen.

It's right up there with Usopp being strong because he developed the climatact. That has nothing to do with his fighting ability.

[AWB]

I have my own rankings for the crew, but I won't bother since I'm sure a dozen others have posted the exact same ones. The only problem I have with mine is that I can't decide who's stronger: Chopper or Usopp.

[BetterBetterNoMi]

Rofl that Franky arguement is so bull

Firstly, as I see Gorlom beat me to it, I'll just add and support and say this:

If Franky could fight Luffy equally in W7 (that's a wrong assumption btw, I think luffy could kick his ass he was just surprised by Franky's fighting techniques and didn't have tim eto adapt before the GAlley-La carpetners showed up), then that makes him stronger than Sanji and Zoro. Luffy at W7 was STRONGER than Zoro and Sanji of W7. Don't give me the "They got stronger after fighting CP9" bull, coz Franky got stronger too and according ot that logic he should be at least around their level.

Back to the whole Franky arguement, leaving Gorlom's post aside, that's bull too :D
Franky hardly won a 800 doriki(sp?) user while Zoro and Sanji won 2180 and 2200 ones, with devil fruits. That's an obvious measure of the crew's realtive power. Again, about bulls, the "Franky also beat Chopper" is a bull as well (LPS!), coz all he did was use a machine he had and that was enough. He didn't "fight". I know you'll say "ahh but that machine is part of his power" etc but thats bull aswell coz he can do about 2 of those (he used 1.5 liter against chopper right?) untill he runs out of cola…

Basically, if he hadn't been so dependant on cola, I 'might've placed hi mup there with Sanji, weaker than Zoro. But meh, he is dependant.

Therefore Franky is there with Robin and Brooke (stronger than both IMO)

[AWB]

I think people keep forgetting that Franky needs resources to power up, when is what keeps him out of the main three. Power isn't everything, you know.

[Gorlom]

@vlad:

end of the monster trio discussion - i hope …

! http://img7.onemanga.com/mangas/00000002/00000455/15.jpg

Why would that end anything? Moria is just going after the Bounties which are not an accurate measure of strength.

Are you referring to Nami calling them the monster trio? maybe she is saying "trio" because there was three of them and if there had been a fourth (regardless if its Franky or Robin) she would have said "quartet"?

[vlad Dracul]

im referring to nami's statement, and it seems like nami
had the term "monster trio" already in her mind

you don't need to try to get around that statement
it is black on white pal, there simply was no franky or robin,
no need for further assumptions

[Kishido]

@Lobster:

Why do you guys always put Franky below Zoro and Sanji? As I recall, Franky was beating Luffy in Water 7. However, Luffy has gotten GEARS since then.

Therefor Franky should atleast be as strong as Zoro and Sanji, if not more.

Robin beat the whole crew… So Robin >>>>>> ALL

[Gorlom]

I'm not argueing Frankys placement vlad.

I just find that argument lacking as it doesn't cement anything. its just your interperation.

[Makeemum]

@Gorlom:

Funny, wasn't Luffy stronger then Zoro and Sanji before EL?

So all of a sudden he is retroactivly weaker then those 2 because he developed gears?

That is one of the shittiest arguments i'v seen.

It's right up there with Usopp being strong because he developed the climatact. That has nothing to do with his fighting ability.

Why not argue against the rest of my post instead of that one sentence

Franky isn't a "monster" like Luffy, Zoro and Sanji, Franky has a lot of power but lacks the Speed of those three and that's not even mentioning stuff like Gears, Asura and Daible Jambe, His Steel defense is formidable but even Fukurou was able to harm him and he's was one of the weaker CP9, not to mention he needs cola for his stronger moves

[Gorlom]

@Makeemum:

Why not argue against the rest of my post instead of that one sentence

Franky isn't a "monster" like Luffy, Zoro and Sanji, Franky has a lot of power
but lacks the Speed of those three and that's not even mentioning stuff like
Gears, Asura and Daible Jambe, His Steel defense is formidable but even Fukurou was able to harm him and he's was one of the weaker CP9, not
to mention he needs cola for his stronger moves

You want to know why? I dont care about the ranking! But that was a really stupid argument.

[Makeemum]

@Gorlom:

You want to know why? I dont care about the ranking! But that was a really stupid argument.

You don't care? This is a thread about Ranking the strawhats, you choose to argue against the weakest part of my post and not my real arguement that explains why Franky isn't Zoro's or Sanji's level, Since Franky never fought
Zoro or Sanji the next best thing is to use stuff from the manga to argue our point and I believe it points away from Franky's favor

[PortgasDAce]

My rankings
1. Luffy
2. Zoro (I wanna believe that he's just as powerful as Luffy)
3. Sanji
4. Robin
5. Brook
6. Franky
7. Nami
8. Chopper
9. Usopp

Justifications: Swordsmen are cool, Nami is hot.. And Robin's devil fruit is just too good..

[Vanessa]

Franky just isn't up there with the likes of Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. I've said before, Franky's reliance on cola for his strongest moves, and his less than stellar speed compared to those three put Franky below them.

Personally, I'd put Franky at mid-tier along with Robin and Brook, although I think he's the closest in strength to the big 3. I mean that's why in all his fights so far have had Franky needing to put his opponent in submission before giving a final blow, and there's nothing wrong with that, it's just how he fights.

Oh and whoever was using that little scuffle Franky had against Luffy at Water 7 that was interrupted to attempt to put Franky on-par with Luffy needs to find something alot better than that.

@Gorlom:

You want to know why? I dont care about the ranking! But that was a really stupid argument.

It actually makes decent sense since it could have just easily been put as "those guys" or "those three," but that wasn't the case. They were specifically referred to by Nami as "monster trio" so there's nothing wrong with Makeemum using that to support his point. He is right though, it's in black and white in the comic so unless you can say something other than "but what if Franky and Robin were there" he is technically correct.

[Gorlom]

@Kidany:

It actually makes decent sense since it could have just easily been put as "those guys" or "those three," but that wasn't the case. They were specifically referred to by Nami as "monster trio" so there's nothing wrong with Makeemum using that to support his point. He is right though, it's in black and white in the comic so unless you can say something other than "but what if Franky and Robin were there" he is technically correct.

kidany: that quote is about Franky vs Luffy and "base Luffy" being weaker then Sanji and Zoro.

I did not call vlads monster trio argument stupid (I never saw makeemum use that argument), I just found it lacking as a discussion stopper.

[Lobster Pot-Sticker]

@KiShiDo:

Robin beat the whole crew… So Robin >>>>>> ALL

When did Robin beat the whole crew?

And it was probably comedic if she did. Just like when Nami does.

[Gorlom]

@Lobster:

When did Robin beat the whole crew?

And it was probably comedic if she did. Just like when Nami does.

When she first showed up on the boat, after they left Arabasta and she joined the crew, she disarmed all of them.

[Lobster Pot-Sticker]

..not really

She just knocked the weapons out of Zoro, Sanji, and Ussops hands (not everyone)

Plus could have easily picked it back up if they were actually fighting.

[NuFiasco]

What is this? Just because he runs out of cola does not mean that Franky can't fight back. He manhandled Blueno at the junkyard, and then he was basically on par with Fukurou with no cola. Without cola means he can't do his more powerful moves. That doesn't mean he gets weaker to the point where he can't fight. I don't know why people underestimate a guy who was basically taking hits, and being active all of Enies Lobby.

After Fukurou's fight, he was hurt. He then got clobbered by Monster Chopper. Then he got punched by Lucci. Then he ran through a Mine. Then he threw Funkfried (even in his condition). Then he help fight the marines even after going through all that. If that doesn't earn a sport as one of the more powerful members, then I don't know what. I think that people think he runs out of cola quick is because of the one shot he did at Water 7. He did a ton of crap at Enies Lobby with his cola stored. Franky would be able to hold his own in a tough, and hard battle against Sanji and Zoro. I'm not saying he'll win, but he will give them a badass fight.

I'm tired of the Big 3 always getting the best fights. It gets kinda boring having the crew rely on them almost all the time. Thats probably why Oda made Franky the way he is.

[Makeemum]

@Gorlom:

kidany: that quote is about Franky vs Luffy and "base Luffy" being weaker then Sanji and Zoro.

I did not call vlads monster trio argument stupid (I never saw makeemum use that argument), I just found it lacking as a discussion stopper.

Zoro or Sanji >> Base Luffy
Don't get me wrong I believe Luffy is the strongest one but saying Zoro or Sanji wouldn't force luffy to go all out with his Gears is insulting

[NuFiasco]

Luffy is on par with them without his gear. With Gears, he beats all the straw hats individually

[Deicide]

We never saw a real Robin fight with anyone of the crew. Yes, in her first appearances, she would disarm everyone, but if the others had the will to fight, do you really think she would be able to defeat the entire crew?

In raw physical Strength, I think the order is:

• Luffy, Zoro, Franky, Sanji, Chopper, Brook, Robin, Usopp, Nami

In combat speed:

• Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, Brook, Robin, Chopper, Franky, Nami, Usopp

In resilience:

• Luffy, Zoro, Franky, Sanji, Usopp, Brook, Chopper, Robin, Nami

In combat technique:

• Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Franky, Brook, Robin, Chopper, Nami, Usopp

In weapon technique:

• Zoro, Usopp, Franky, Brook, Nami, Robin, Sanji, Chopper, Luffy

In wits (ability to have creative solutions to a problem, not battle instinct):

• Robin, Nami, Sanji, Franky, Usopp, Chopper, Brook, Zoro, Luffy

In raw intelligence:

• Robin, Franky, Nami, Chopper, Usopp, Sanji, Brook, Zoro, Luffy

(note: Any Brook ranking is just a guess, since we have not seen him in a true one-on-one battle against a strong opponent meant for him)

[NuFiasco]

Franky is possibly smarter than Sanji. Sanji wouldnt be able to reconstruct himself, or build a ship, and make weapons. Which both require more intelligence than cooking

[Deicide]

Franky is possibly smarter than Sanji. Sanji wouldnt be able to reconstruct himself, or build a ship, and make weapons. Which both require more intelligence than cooking

Well, I've not meant intelligence as "ability to do intellectual things" or "ability to build things", but as "ability to have immediate creative solutions for a problem". So far, I've seen Sanji doing more covert work or non-direct combat approaches then Franky. That's why I ranked him higher.

I'll edit my post to clarify.

Ok, my last post is edited now. Changed "Intelligence" to "Wits" and added a new ranking: "Raw Intelligence"

[Makeemum]

@NuFiasco:

Luffy is on par with them without his gear. With Gears, he beats all the straw hats individually

I have no problem agreeing that Luffy w/ Gears can beat any Strawhat one on one, but after reading EL and TB… Luffy against 100% Zoro or Sanji without Gears?! I don't think he can touch that.

[Gorlom]

I have no problem agreeing that Luffy w/ Gears can beat any Strawhat one on one, but after reading EL and TB… Luffy against 100% Zoro or Sanji without Gears?! I don't think he can touch that.

What about before EL?

[KOFSoldier]

@NuFiasco:

Franky is possibly smarter than Sanji. Sanji wouldnt be able to reconstruct himself, or build a ship, and make weapons. Which both require more intelligence than cooking

That is completely wrong.

He's just more very talented in his field (as are all the SH's), building things might take more physical strength than cooking, but that doesnt make it easier.

If you're building something and you make a mistake, you can always go back and redo it, sometimes you can leave it there and people wont even notice it.

When cooking, even the slightest mistake can ruin the whole meal. You have to be very precise.

[NuFiasco]

@KOFSoldier:

That is completely wrong.

He's just more very talented in his field (as are all the SH's), building things might take more physical strength than cooking, but that doesnt make it easier.

If you're building something and you make a mistake, you can always go back and redo it, sometimes you can leave it there and people wont even notice it.

When cooking, even the slightest mistake can ruin the whole meal. You have to be very precise.

Disagree with you. Building something like a ship or a weapon takes more intelligence than cooking simply because of all the complex things you have to know. There is mathematical things involved with building stuff. You can't say that a chef is smarter than an engineer who has taken classes that are probably a lot more difficult.

EDIT: Chefs do measure. I forgot about that. And Sanji can come up with recipes fromt he top of his head, just as Franky can build something. But memorizing a really complex blueprint from a complex weapon like Pluton proves that he has more intelligence

[Makeemum]

@Gorlom:

What about before EL?

Well maybe for a little while it actually could have been a Monster "Quarto"
but that's W7, back then Sanji couldn't even defeat Blueno and then Boom he's Fighting toe to toe with DF Jyabura during EL while Frankly was fighting Fukurou

[ero_seinen]

@Makeemum:

Well maybe for a little while it actually could have been a Monster "Quarto"
but that's W7, back then Sanji couldn't even defeat Blueno and then Boom he's Fighting toe to toe with DF Jyabura during EL while Frankly was fighting Fukurou

They had doubts about robin, that's why they were so "weak" in W7… in EL they were really mad about WG and were 10 times stronger...

[Makeemum]

@NuFiasco:

Disagree with you. Building something like a ship or a weapon takes more intelligence than cooking simply because of all the complex things you have to know. There is mathematical things involved with building stuff. You can't say that a chef is smarter than an engineer who has taken classes that are probably a lot more difficult.

EDIT: Chefs do measure. I forgot about that. And Sanji can come up with recipes fromt he top of his head, just as Franky can build something. But memorizing a really complex blueprint from a complex weapon like Pluton proves that he has more intelligence

Sanji displays of raw intelligence doesn't come from his cooking

[Gorlom]

@Makeemum:

Well maybe for a little while it actually could have been a Monster "Quarto"
but that's W7, back then Sanji couldn't even defeat Blueno and then Boom he's Fighting toe to toe with DF Jyabura during EL while Frankly was fighting Fukurou

Will you stop trying to argue with me on who is stronger? I'm not contradicting you since I dont give a rats about the rankings. I share Boigas view on the whole thing. To me that just makes you come off as a troll, trying to argue where there is no discussion.

I was just trying to point out it was a ridiculous argument from your side. At least the way you formulated it.

[Makeemum]

@ero_seinen:

They had doubts about robin, that's why they were so "weak" in W7… in EL they were really mad about WG and were 10 times stronger...

I don't think there's a valid argument to suggest they were weaker cause of emotions, But Even after they knew the Truth, Sanji still couldn't beat Blueno, robin and usopp was even at the same Train Car with him

[Ivotas]

1. Luffy
2. Zoro
3. Sanji

4. Robin
5. Franky
6. Brook

7. Chopper
8. Usopp
9. Nami

[Makeemum]

@Gorlom:

Will you stop trying to argue with me on who is stronger? I'm not contradicting you since I dont give a rats about the rankings. I share Boigas view on the whole thing. To me that just makes you come off as a troll, trying to argue where there is no discussion.

I was just trying to point out it was a ridiculous argument from your side. At least the way you formulated it.

Didn't you asks me "what about EL"? and What was Boigas argument anyways? You seem to forget that what I'm doing is the only real way to make my argument, Like i said Frankly never fought Zoro or Sanji so I'm using content from the manga as the next best thing to argue my point, and again why are you bashing me for Ranking when this is a Ranking thread? I'm on Topic.

[Gorlom]

I'm not bashing you for ranking. I'm bashing that particular argument.

I'm not saying that you are wrong or right concerning Sanji and Franky I'm saying you are an idiot for making that particular argument as it was incredibly stupid. (withdraw it and I will withdraw any spoken opinion regarding your intelligence that I have made)

I'm not trying to prove you wrong by providing evidence against you, but you seem to fail to see that.

[KOFSoldier]

@NuFiasco:

Disagree with you. Building something like a ship or a weapon takes more intelligence than cooking simply because of all the complex things you have to know. There is mathematical things involved with building stuff. You can't say that a chef is smarter than an engineer who has taken classes that are probably a lot more difficult.

EDIT: Chefs do measure. I forgot about that. And Sanji can come up with recipes fromt he top of his head, just as Franky can build something. But memorizing a really complex blueprint from a complex weapon like Pluton proves that he has more intelligence

I doubt Franky has ever taken an Engineering class (or any class period for that matter), in his life. I see your point though, but just because he memorized something from a blueprint he has had for years, doesnt make him smarter. I would've been able to memorize it if I had it for long enough.

Also, just because Franky can build things, doesnt make him very intelligent, it just makes him a great Engineer. His job just takes more physical labor.

[Mr. All Sunday]

Here's my ranking…

1. Nami (happiness punch duh ;P)
2. Luffy (main char.)
3. Robin (happiness punch x100 xDD)
4. Sanji (definitely stronger than Zoro)
5. Zoro
6. Brook
7. Usopp
8. Chopper (he's just a little kid!)
9. Franky (nothing he's done so far has impressed me much)

[Silence]

Franky's raw strength is higher than Sanji's? Are we being serious here? Or do we actually think that Franky could divert a head on stretched Bazooka from Oz? Preform Sanji's role during the Jenga Cannon attack? Hurl that huge chain and wind it around Oz during the combo which finally shattered his spine? Zoro wielded Franky's pillar chucks just as easily as he did, and there's nothing in the manga to suggest that in terms of raw physical strength, Sanji is weaker when it comes to lifting things. In fact, the only really impressive thing that I can remember Franky lifting was Funkfreed – which in this manga is hardly worth writing home about.

Franky's face-faults and expressions of surprise during various fights, including Zoro's fight with Ryuma kinda prove to me that he isn't on the level of the Monster Three. Luffy being "evenly" matched with him in Water 7 was partially because it was Franky's exhibition and introduction as a fighter - just like Robin and Buggy and countless other villains "defeated" the crew in their exhibitions. It's a Shounen staple of first showing a mysterious attack that seems unbeatable that confuses the heroes at first but then proves ineffective the second time around, when it's time for the heroes to fight them seriously.