One Piece: Crocodile's true identity is a woman, but he's not Luffy's mom and this theory proves it

One Piece theories have become more popular as people love to run their imaginations and share their thoughts over the internet. The fandom has also appreciated these thoughts accordingly, as not every theory surrounding the mysteries in One Piece can be considered a good one.

One of the most popular One Piece theories that became popular a few years ago and is still approved by most fans was the Crocomom theory. As the name implies, this theory predicts Crocodile, the former warlord and the leader of Baroque Works, to be the mother of Monkey D. Luffy, the protagonist of this anime series.

This theory was supported by the dialogue exchange between Crocodile and Ivankov during the Impel Down arc. However, according to a recent theory, this theory could be wrong.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series and might have the author's opinions.

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One Piece: Discovering the true identity of Crocodile

Crocodile as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The Croco-mom theory in One Piece depicted the real identity of Crocodile as a woman, more specifically as Luffy's mother. This theory took over the internet during the Marineford arc when Crocodile protected Luffy against the Marines, although he tried taking his life at the start of the series. But the theory in discussion today has explained otherwise, with an explanation of its own.

During the Arabasta arc of One Piece, after Sanji comes out as Mr. Prince, he receives a call from the leader of Baroque Works. The leader addressed himself as 'Mr. 0', and was a Crocodile in reality.

Sanji was revealed in the future chapters as the prince of the Germa Kingdom, so his allies made sense. So, judging by this, Crocodile's allies as 'Mr. 0' must also hide a meaning that is not being looked at.

Ivankov as seen in chapter 106 of the manga (Image via VIZ Media)

In One Piece chapter 1096, a flashback was shown to one of the Native Hunting Competitions. Ivankov was present as an enslaved person during this event, and she made a hair-close escape from the island where this competition was taking place. While she was on the island, one enslaved person argued for staying hidden on the island instead of leaving it.

Ivankov got enraged and shouted that until the Hunting Games were over, only 'zero' survivors would be left alive. This text was translated the same way in every translation, so the 'zero' here holds some meaning.

Young Crocodile as revealed during the SBS of volume 63 in the manga (Image via VIZ Media)

In the SBS section of One Piece volume 63, Eiichiro Oda revealed the character designs of the warlords when they were young. This also revealed Crocodile's design, which showed a girly, prim, and proper child, hinting that he could be a girl and a noble.

Fans think Crocodile could be the son of the King of God Valley, whose name still hasn't been revealed. God Valley is where the Hunting Games took place, where Ivankov was present as an enslaved person. Whenever an island was selected for the Native Hunting Competition, it included residents of that island alongside some additional enslaved people.

Crocodile, the child of God Valley's King, could have also been included in the Hunting Competition and suffered some consequences. But after meeting Ivankov, he could have made a narrow escape alongside her and now exists as a hidden escapee from the Hunting Games.

During the Impel Down arc, when Ivankov and Luffy cross paths with Crocodile, Ivankov mentions a 'weakness' of Crocodile. This could be that Ivankov was the only person who knew Crocodile survived after the Hunting Competition. He could also be the person who changed his appearance with her devil fruit, the Hormone-Hormone fruit, and gave him a manly body.

This could be why Crocodile was scared of Ivankov throughout the Impel Down arc and never tried to disobey her. Fans have also linked Crocodile's resentment towards the World Government to this, as Garling Fingerland killed his father during the Hunting Games.

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Final thoughts

The Crocomom theory still exists to this day because it doesn't dwell too much on the dialogues left behind by Eiichiro Oda and feels natural. How he suddenly started helping Luffy during the Marineford arc after Luffy's surname became more known, and the similarities between their crews suggest Crocodile to be Luffy's mom.

On the other hand, this theory feels far-fetched because it takes support from details that don't feel like a reference left behind by the author. His possible relationship with the King of God Valley does feel legitimate, but relating his gender to '0' doesn't feel right. Nothing can be said until official source material reveals Crocodile's reality, so take this theory with a grain of salt.

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