Introduction
Hello everybody. As recently I wrote way too many top 5 posts, such as my Top 5 potential leaders of SWORD or my top 5 fan made Devil Fruits i would like Shanks to have, i decided to write today a somewhat simple post.So today, as the title of this post imdicates, i will explain to you the gemius behind dr Vegapunk’s design.
For many many years Dr. Vegapunk was constantly being referenced by a vast number of One Piece characters. This made the One Piece fanbase wondering “How does Dr. Vegapunk look like?”. And at the recent chapters, we got to meet the character, finding out the source of inspiration behind him.
Albert Einstein
Apparently, Vegapunk, the Einstein of One Piece, looks like his real world counterpart. But his version of Einstein is not the casual one. His design is based on a certain famous picture of the scientist. Oda took inspiration from the photo in which Einsten is seen looking at the camera, showing his tongue. Vegapunk’s eyes, Vegapunk’s tongue, Vegapunk’s hair… Regarding Vegapunk’s face, everything is based on that picture. Thus, Vegapunk’s face is not that serious, as his design is based on a funny moment of his real world counterpart. It is extremely comedic and I like it very much.
Isaac Newton
However, Einstein is not the only source of inspiration behind Vegapunk. Vegapunk is revealed as the man with the world’s largest brain. At the time of his introduction though, his brain was missing. Instead, it was replaced by an antenna, which looked like an apple. Does that sound familiar to you? Well, it sounded to me.
First, it reminded me of Isaac Newton, the famous scientist who figured out the law of the gravity after an apple fell to his head. And that is not only cool as an idea, but it is very, very unique in terms of design.
Alan Turing
It also reminded me of Alan Turing, the founder of the computer science who died by eating a poisoned apple (Apple’s logo is based on Turing’s story). But guess what? My thought was most likely confirmed, as the apple is working as an antenna to have remote access on Vegapunk’s brain, which is working much like the internet of the One Piece world.
Leonardo Da Vinci
But not only that, but I got to see another reference in Vegapunk’s introduction. Not only Oda referenced Einsten, Newton and Turing with Vegapunk’s design, but he also payed an homage to Leonardo Da Vinci. How? Well, the famous painter was not only a painter. He was a scientist, a sculptor, an architect, an inventor… Much like Vegapunk in One Piece, he had a vast knowledge over a series of things such as biology, anatomy, astronomy, cartography, etc and managed to create many, many inventions. One of the many inventions he attempted to create was a machine that would allow flight. And at the time of his introduction, we see Vegapunk flying along with Luffy and Chopper, using one of his inventions. So I believe the flight scene is a reference to Da Vinci, who is credited as one of the first people that attempted to fly.
On top of that, the female satellites of Vegapunk could be a reference to Mona Lisa, one of the most famous paintings of Da Vinci; according to the rumors, Mona Lisa may be the feminine version of Da Vinci himself. His imagination of how he would look like, as a woman. And that is something Vegapunk has achieved with the creation of his clones, his satellites. But while that could be an indirect reference, to be fair I find it far-fetched. But it would be cool.
Edison and Pythagoras
Before I conclude, I must also add that two other figures are being referenced, via his satellites. Those are Thomas Edison and Pythagoras from ancient Greece. While the two are simply named, I cannot exclude them from this post, as both of them are a reference.
Conclusion
Before I conclude, I’d like to mention that I find it pretty weird that in so many references, no reference was made about Nicola Tesla. But we could get one in the future.
Also, I’d like to thank my good friend Andrew for the incredible artwork. It’s his second work for the blog. You can check out his Instagram page right here: https://instagram.com/ellinidis.drawing_and_design?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
And with that being said, my post is coming to an end. Thank you for your time!
The Birds of Hermes 
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