One Piece: Vegapunk's story parallels the Icarus myth perfectly, and Luffy is the sun

Modified May 03, 2024 20:10 GMT

One Piece: Vegapunk's story parallels the Icarus myth perfectly, and Luffy is the sun (Image via Toei Animation)

Despite Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump manga publication being on break for the Golden Week holiday, alleged spoilers for the upcoming One Piece chapter were nevertheless leaked.

While these spoilers would normally be considered dubious, they come from some of the most trusted names in the series’ leaker community, making them reliable leaks likewise.

Nevertheless, those spoilers which were made available for the upcoming One Piece chapter were very scant, only briefly going over the chapter as a whole rather than providing a detailed summary.

While additional spoilers are likely to come out as the series’ actual release week draws nearer and begins, these have not been made available as of this article’s writing.

However, there is one intriguing alleged detail of chapter 1114 which has One Piece fans waiting with bated breath for more detailed spoilers and the issue’s release. This anticipation centers around the chapter’s title, which is seemingly a reference to Dr. Vegapunk’s story as it has unfolded thus far in the Egghead arc.

One Piece chapter 1114’s alleged title of “Icarus Wings” symbolizes Dr. Vegapunk’s situation

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In the One Piece chapter 1114 leaks made available earlier this week, fans notably learned that the upcoming issue’s alleged title is “Icarus Wings.”

Based on currently available spoiler information, the title appears to be a reference to the Greek myth revolving around the character Icarus and his father Daedelus. In turn, it seems series creator, author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda is likening the Icarus myth to Dr. Vegapunk’s story in the Egghead arc.

Daedalus and Icarus were a father and son who spent their lives imprisoned in the former’s creation known as the Labyrinth, constructed for King Minos. The two decided that their only reasonable means of escape would be flight, prompting Daedalus to build each their own pair of wings using wax to attach the real bird feathers. Daedalus told his son not to fly too close to the water to avoid getting the wings wet, and not fly too close to the sun so the wax wouldn’t melt.

The two successfully escaped the Labyrinth, but Icarus let the excitement of the experience get the best of him. After flying extremely low and then coming up extremely high, the wax on Icarus’ wings melted just as Daedalus went to remind him not to fly too close to the sun.

Icarus died, screaming for his father as he fell into the sea. The moral of the story is to not be too ambitious and to know when to calm down and back off of a situation as needed.

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As many One Piece fans may already know, the story of Dr. Vegapunk can be likened to the Icarus myth.

Icarus would represent Dr. Vegapunk and other scholars studying the Void Century, with the wings representing their desire for this knowledge and truth. The sun would represent Joy Boy/Luffy as some of the biggest aspects of the Void Century and its truth, while the sea would represent Imu, the Gorosei and the World Government trying to prevent this research.

By flying too close to the sun via their desire for this knowledge and the truth of the Void Century, Dr. Vegapunk and other scholars were fatally targeted by Imu and their allies.

While there's no direct analog for Daedalus here, one could say he represents the Oharan scholars in general, like Professor Clover, as their genocide inspried Dr. Vegapunk to study the Void Century.