One Piece: Oda could be setting up a Doctor Who twist for Bonney with chapter 1118

Modified Jun 21, 2024 20:00 GMT

One Piece: Oda could be setting up a Doctor Who twist for Bonney with chapter 1118 (Image via Toei Animation, BBC Studios Production, & Bad Wolf)

One Piece chapter 1118 is set to be released on June 24, 2024, and the revelation of Bonney becoming Nika could be a reference to a British sci-fi TV series where a species exists that can shapeshift.

The chapter continued the chase of the Five Elders, but now that Vegapunk's message has been eradicated, their targets are the remaining alive Five Elders and the Giants that are escaping Egghead Island.

Where the female pirate's transformation took the fandom by surprise, her perfect Nika form could be a reference to the British TV series Doctor Who. Where one of the episodes directly hints at the drums of liberation, one character in the series shares the same name as the female pirate.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series and has the author's opinion.

One Piece: Exploring the relationship between Bonney and Doctor Who

The Iron Giant as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

According to the spoilers of One Piece chapter 1118, the chapter commenced with the Iron Giant sinking deep into the sea, and the Gorosei shifted their targets to the remaining Vegapunks (Lilith and Atlas). On the other hand, Luffy and Bonney boarded the ship of the giants and were being tailed by the Five Elders.

The female pirate accurately copied the Nika transformation this time. using Distorted Future, and joined Luffy, who had also transformed into Gear 5. The female pirate's devil fruit, the Age-Age Paramecia devil fruit, gives her the ability to manipulate her and others' age, but it also gives her the capability to transform into heroes she believes in.

Distorted Future: A Future Like Nika (Image via Shueisha)

In chapter 1101, when the female pirate got annoyed with Alpha, a Cipher Pol agent, she used Distorted Future, a future like Nika. During this transformation, her body partially transformed into Nika because, at that time, she didn't firmly believe in a future with Nika. But in chapter 1118, as she was standing next to Nika (Luffy), she firmly believed in the future with the Sun God.

So, Oda could be giving the female pirate devil fruit shapeshifting abilities, but there could be more to it than just stating such a random thing. Her shapeshifting ability could be a reference to Doctor Who.

The Time Lords as seen in the TV series (Image via BBC Studios Entertainment & Bad Wolf)

The TV series' premise revolves around a time-traveler who goes by the name 'the Doctor' as he escapes from his home planet, where all Time Lords live. The Time Lords are a species that can manipulate time, pretty similar to the female pirate's abilities.

The 12th episode of this TV series' third season was titled The Sound of Drums (similar to Nika's Drums of Liberation). This episode showcased the Time War between the Time Lords and a cyborg species, the Daleks. This could tie the female pirate to the Iron Giant that just awakened and responded to the drums of liberation when she transformed.

Bonnie as seen in the TV series (Image via BBC Studios Production and Bad Wolf)

But the biggest hint to the female pirate's shapeshifting abilities is the leader of the race Zygon, Bonnie. This character shares the same name as the female pirate. Zygon is a humanoid race that can shapeshift into any form they witness, something the female pirate did in the latest chapter of One Piece.

The female pirate shapeshifting into Nika in the latest chapter could be a reference to the main antagonist of Doctor Stone. Moreover, the species of Zygon can only copy the physical features of others, not their abilities.

So, the female pirate becoming Nika could only give her the ability to gain the physical properties of Nika (stretchy body), not his Zoan-awakened powers (turning everything into rubber). As hinted by her previous transformation, she could only hold the Nika form for a finite amount of time.

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Edited by Somava