Is Crocodile Actually a Female in One Piece? – Answered

One Piece has been running for decades, and while there’s possibly an end in sight for the globally popular manga and anime series, there are still tons of questions. Some of them are just about how the series will end, whether any new characters are introduced, the next big battles, or any future films. But some are more surprising, “out there” conceptually, yet given a surprising amount of detail by the fans. One theory surrounds one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and the current founding member of the Cross Guild, Crocodile, and whether he is, or perhaps was, a female in One Piece.

Femcroc and Crocomom Fan Theories — Is Crocodile Female in One Piece?

The short answer to whether Crocodile is female in One Piece is… maybe, at least according to the fans. There’s no compelling evidence to outright disprove this fan theory, but it had various periods when fans genuinely believed Crocodile is secretly female. It goes beyond simple clues like his possible overcompensating with gendered titles like Desert King Sir Crocodile.

Related: Yamato’s Gender Identity in One Piece, Explained

One such hint came from a conversation Emporio Ivankov had with him in the Impel Down Arc. During the original release, when translated it sounded like Ivankov knew a scandalous secret of Crocodile’s. This alone wasn’t enough, especially considering Crocodile’s secret weakness to water, but keep in mind, Ivankov’s special Devil Fruit ability that allows him to alter a person’s body, including their sex. Ivankov’s gender-swapping abilities, along with this conversation, led to fans never quite giving up on the possibility.

Plus, the series has also since then shown transgender characters, so it’s not out of the realm of reason, however, in Crocodile’s case, it could be less of a case where he willingly underwent any sort of transition. But perhaps most interesting is that series creator Eichiro Oda states about Crocodile’s past, and how Ivankov gave him “something” for which he is owed. In terms of confirmation, Femcroc is not a sure thing, but surprisingly compelling and credible. But the theories go deeper.

Young Crocodile’s Appearance

Another big piece of evidence that has fueled fans’ theories about Crocodile’s birth gender is a depiction of a young Crocodile made by Oda. When the author drew all the Warlords of the Sea as children, he depicted Crocodile in a manner that resembled more the girls of the group than the boys.

This only cemented the idea that Crocodile was born as a woman but either asked Ivankov to change his gender or it was changed forcefully. Nonetheless, this picture is still not solid proof of Crocodile having been born a woman, as the image could be simply depicting a boy with more feminine traits.

Netflix’s One Piece Adaptation

Netflix’s adaptation of the One Piece manga once again sparked controversy around Crocodile’s gender once it was released. During Roger’s execution, many prominent characters could be seen, including Shanks, Garp, Mihawk, and many others. This same scene also occurred in the manga and among these individuals, Crocodile could be seen, albeit fans could only see his back. Shockingly, the Baroque Works leader was not depicted the same way in Netflix’s version of the scene.

Related: Is the Netflix One Piece Adaptation Accurate to the Original Manga?

Instead, a young woman with piercings similar to Crocodile’s made an appearance among the crowd. Fans believe this to be Crocodile before meeting with Ivankov. While Netflix’s One Piece is not canon to the manga, Oda was still directly involved in the creation of the series, so he was informed about this scene. Nevertheless, the woman depicted in the series has not been confirmed to be Crocodile, so this is still simple speculation.

Crocomom — Is Crocodile Luffy’s Mom?

Theories are going around ever since this interaction from over a decade ago, saying that Crocodile is Luffy’s mom in One Piece. The theories largely push Crocodile together with Monkey D. Dragon, and in some cases even after Crocodile having hooked up with Ivankov first, then being turned into a woman before conceiving Luffy. Maybe we learn more about this, or at least about Luffy’s ancestry, in later chapters?

These are entirely speculation and would require a lot of confirmation in the series. It’d be an incredible reveal, and one supported by a surprisingly large amount of the community. But there have been numerous points of the series where Crocodile has surprisingly been willing to risk his life to protect Luffy, seemingly counter to his usual antics. Could it be parental instinct…possibly even maternal?