Portgas D. Ace

Portgas D. Ace (ポートガス・D・エース, Pōtogasu D. Ēsu), born as Gol D. Ace (ゴール・D・エース, Gōru D. Ēsu) and nicknamed "Fire Fist" Ace (火拳のエース, Hiken no Ēsu), is both a fictional character and tritagonist from the One Piece series created by Eiichiro Oda. He was the first adopted older brother of both Luffy and Sabo, and son of the late King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger and his lover, Portgas D. Rouge.

He was adopted by Monkey D. Garp as wished by Roger to him before his birth. Ace was the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and one-time captain of the Spade Pirates. Having eaten the Logia-type Flame-Flame Fruit (メラメラの実, Mera Mera no Mi), Ace was capable of manipulating, creating, and transforming into fire. Ace was also capable of using the Color of the Supreme King.

Hunted by the World Government for his lineage, Ace was captured and sentenced to death, which resulted in the Battle of Marineford in an all out clash of powers. Eventually, Ace was freed and saved from execution, but he sacrificed his life to protect his younger brother from Akainu by shielding Luffy from Akainu's magma attack. He is buried on an unnamed island in the New World alongside his captain, Whitebeard.

His death ultimately proved to be the catalyst leading to Luffy training for two years to become strong enough to protect his friends, paving the way for the second half of the series.

"We have to live a life of no regrets."
 * —Portgas D. Ace.

Appearance & Biography

 * Voice Actor: Travis Willingham (English), Toshio Furukawa (Japanese), Not Known (Albanian), Not Known (Arabic), Not Known (Basque), Not Known (Brazilian), Not Known (Cantonese), Not Known (Catalan), Not Known (Chinese), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (French), Not Known (Galician), Not Known (German), Not Known (Greek), Not Known (Hebrew), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Indonesian), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Mandarin), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Portuguese), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Tagalog), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Valencian), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish)

Biography
2nd Commander of Whitebeard Pirates. Sworn older brother of Luffy and Sabo and son of Gol D. Roger's. His nickname is "Flame Fist" Ace.

With the power of the Logia Devil Fruit, "Flame-Flame Fruit", he can create, control, manipulate, and change his body to fire. The Flare-Flare Fruit- is truly one of the highest power levels of all the Devil Fruits!

He hunted Blackbeard and caught up with him on Banaro Island, but was defeated and condemned to death on Marineford. He died after protecting Luffy from Admiral Akainu.

Appearance
Ace was a tall muscular young man with curly black hair. Although they were not blood related, Ace looked remarkably like his foster brother, Luffy. However, Ace was more serious looking than Luffy's lighthearted design, and was also taller and more muscular. He also sported rather childish freckles (inherited from his mother), and tended to make a skeptical facial expression by raising his left eyebrow. Interestingly, his facial features were almost akin to his biological father Gol D. Roger in his youth without his mustache.

Ace's tattoos were among his most remarkable, trademark features. He had a tattoo on his back of the Whitebeard symbol—purple bones formed in a cross behind a purple skull with a white mustache—that he described as his pride and joy. Ace also had another tattoo on his upper left arm's bicep that spells "A S CE" vertically. The "S" crossed out is a tribute to Sabo as that's his jolly roger.

He wore black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. He also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip, but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip. On Ace's left arm, he wore a Log Pose and a red and white striped bracelet around his wrist, an orange elbow guard, and his "ASCE" tattoo. He wore a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung down sides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels.

Unfortunately, Ace lost his trademark hat, which he already had when he began his journey as a pirate, on Banaro Island as a result of his duel with Blackbeard. His knife was also apparently confiscated, as he no longer had it in his next appearance as a prisoner at Impel Down. The tattoo upon his back that he took so much pride in was later destroyed by the same blow that eventually led to his death. However, at his grave, Ace's hat and knife were placed at his tombstone—either they were retrieved, or they were duplicates in Ace's possession.


 * Hair Color: Black
 * Skin Color: Not Known
 * Eye Color: Black
 * Age: 20 (Deceased)
 * Birthday: January 1
 * Height: 185 cm (6'1")
 * Weight: Not Known

Friends/Allies

 * Whitebeard Pirates
 * Whitebeard
 * Subordinate crews
 * New World Pirates
 * Squard
 * Oars Jr.
 * Straw Hat Pirates
 * Roronoa Zoro
 * Nami
 * Usopp
 * Vinsmoke Sanji
 * Tony Tony Chopper
 * Nico Robin
 * Franky
 * Brook
 * Jimbei
 * Vivi
 * Shanks
 * Buggy
 * Boa Hancock

Family

 * Gol D. Roger (father; deceased)
 * Portgas D. Rouge (mother; deceased)
 * Sabo (adoptive younger brother)
 * Monkey D. Luffy (adoptive younger brother)
 * Monkey D. Dragon (adoptive paternal father)
 * Monkey D. Garp (adoptive paternal grandfather)

Neutral

 * Seven Warlords of the Sea
 * Bartholomew Kuma
 * Crocodile
 * Marines
 * Sengoku
 * Smoker

Enemies

 * Marines
 * Sakazuki
 * Blackbeard Pirates
 * Blackbeard

Devil Fruit

 * Main article: Flame-Flame Fruit

The Flame-Flame Fruit (メラメラの実, Mera Mera no Mi; literally meaning "Fruit of the Flame-Flame") a Logia-type Devil Fruit, that was eaten by Ace, which allows him to become the element of fire and control the flames from his body, giving him his reputation as "Fire Fist Ace". Ace displayed his immense power by destroying a handful of Baroque Works ships with ease. His main style is to launch columns of fire by punching, with his signature "Fire Fist". He is also immune to normal physical strikes, all of which will simply phase through his fire-composed body.

Ace also had practical uses for his Devil Fruit abilities, as he would heat up any fish he would find in the seas for his crew when they had no food to eat. Later after his death, it was revealed that Ace's burning fists also had the power to annihilate entire cities.

Techniques
The named techniques that are used by Ace that involve the Devil Fruit are as follows:
 * Heat Haze (陽炎, Kagerō; literally meaning "Heat Haze"): Ace shoots a stream of fire from the palm of his hand. This was first seen being used to stop Smoker from catching Luffy.


 * Flame Fist (火拳, Hiken; literally meaning "Fire Fist"): Ace's apparent signature attack and the source of his nickname "Flame Fist" Ace. Ace turns his fist into flames and launches it as a column of fire at his target. This attack is so incredibly powerful that it is able to plow through several ships in one shot. However, it was completely neutralized by Akainu's Great Eruption, and is the final attack Ace ever used prior to his death shortly after.


 * Fire Gun (火銃, Higan; literally meaning "Fire Gun"): Pointing the index and middle fingers of both hands at an opponent like guns, Ace turns his fingertips into flames and shoots bullets made of fire from them. This technique was first seen when Ace retaliated against Van Augur's attack.


 * Flame Commandment (炎戒, Enkai; literally meaning "Flame Commandment"): Ace amasses a large amount of flames around his body (usually by first swinging his outstretched hand around him, summoning the flames) in preparation for an attack. This is apparently the prerequisite technique before Ace can use Fire Pillar.
 * Fire Pillar (火柱, Hibashira; literally meaning "Fire Pillar"): Used right after following Flame Commandment, Ace shoots the collected flames straight upward, destroying a target above him. It can also be fired downwards to clear any enemies that might be below him while he's in mid-air. This technique and its prerequisite technique were first seen when Jesus Burgess threw a hotel at Ace.


 * Firefly (蛍火, Hotarubi; literally meaning "Firefly Light"): Ace creates many small, glowing greenish yellow fireballs that float around an enemy. The idea behind this attack's name is that before he attacks with them, the small fireballs look like fireflies in the air. This move is apparently used as in the preparation for Fiery Doll and was first seen in Ace's battle against Blackbeard.
 * Fiery Doll (火達磨, Hidaruma; literally meaning "Fiery Doll"): Right after using Firefly to send the fireballs floating around in proximity with the enemy, Ace sends them all flying into the target(s) all at once, burning them. This was first seen being used in Ace's battle against Blackbeard after Blackbeard had performed and demonstrated his initial attacks. In the Pirate Warriors games, the fireballs from Firefly actually home in targets themselves, while Fiery Doll is instead a grab attack where Ace captures his target as he plows them into the ground for an explosion (which he leaps back from).


 * Saint Elmo's Fire (神火 不知火, Shinka: Shiranui; literally meaning "Sacred Flame/God Fire: Sea Fire"}}: Ace hurls long lances made out of fire. The lances have the combined effect of simultaneously burning an opponent while piercing them. This was first seen being used against Blackbeard when Ace was being pulled forward by the former's power. The term "Shiranui" or "Shiranuhi" also literally translates to "Unknown Fire", while the term "Saint Elmo's Fire" is a clear reference to the homonym weather phenomenon.


 * Cross Fire (十字火, Jūjika; literally meaning "Cross Fire"): Ace places his index fingers together in a cross shape before launching a cross-shaped column of fire directly at his opponent. In the anime, after crossing his fingers, a cross-shaped ray of light can be seen emanating from the fingers at the target followed by the column of fire. This was first seen being used against Blackbeard after Ace attacked him with Saint Elmo's Fire. This attack's name is a pun since "Juujika" refers to crossfire from weapons, yet Ace is making an actual cross out of fire. It also is a possible play on the term juujika (十字架, lit. cross stand/rack), a term used more for the crosses that are meant to crucify people with.


 * Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor (大炎戒 炎帝, Dai Enkai: Entei; literally meaning "Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor"}: Ace's ultimate technique. After creating great spiraling flames centered on his location before amassing it at a focused point (i.e. the palm of his hand), Ace then turns it into a gigantic fireball resembling the sun and hurls it at his opponent to try to obliterate them. This was only seen once being used during the final moments of Ace and Blackbeard's only-time battle. "Entei" sounds almost similar to "Enkei" meaning "circle," a reference to the attack's shape. In One Piece: Unlimited Cruise, Ace activates this move by first bending his knees slightly and then placing the outstretched palm of his hand towards the ground (with his other hand gripping the wrist for support), where the flames manifest themselves into a sphere.


 * Flame Fence (炎上網, Enjōmō; literally meaning "Flame-Up Net"): Ace creates a circle of fire around a selected area, preventing anyone from entering or leaving it. This was first seen being used against the Navy in Alabasta under the command of Smoker, and was named in a flashback against Whitebeard.


 * Flame Mirror (鏡火炎, Kyōkaen; literally meaning "Mirror Fire Flame"): Ace releases a wall of fire to block an attack. This was first seen to counter Aokiji's Ice Block: Pheasant Peck, the two attacks canceling each other out.


 * Twin Guns & Cross Fire: Ace fires a volley of bullets from his two guns before finishing the technique with Cross Fire. This technique only appears as one of Ace special moves for his Strong World DLC costume in One Piece: Burning Blood.

Haki

 * Main article: Haki

Ace's Haki had been described by Shanks and Benn Beckman to be fiery in nature, to the point that Ace’s very presence was able to stop blizzards on an island for as long as he was there. As such, when he turned up on Drum Island, no snow fell at all on the island for an entire day.

Armament Haki

 * Main article: Armament Haki

It was stated in One Piece novel A that Ace could use Armament Haki. Upon awakening it, he was capable of fighting on equal grounds with Vice Admiral Draw with Armament Haki. However, it is not known how proficient he was in using it.

Conqueror's Haki

 * Main article: Conqueror's Haki

Ace possessed Conqueror's Haki, which he initially had no conscious control over. He first demonstrated the ability at 10 years of age when he rendered the Bluejam Pirates except for Bluejam unconscious after an outburst of rage. He later gained knowledge of the power, as he recognized it when Luffy used it at the Battle of Marineford.

He was never seen using this Haki apart from during his childhood, save for in the video games (such as during the activation of his Kizuna Rush in Pirate Warriors 3).

Strength level

 * As a child, killed a massive tiger and an enormous bear and kicked down a huge tree.
 * Can break a tree in half with a single kick as a child.
 * Can lift people larger and heavier than him as a child.
 * Beated a thug to death with his bare fists alone as a child.
 * Easily lifts a large axe.
 * Blasts through large houses with his Fire Fist.
 * Fire Fist can destroy five Baroque Works' ships.
 * Entei is able to cover almost half of a medium-sized island.
 * Clashed with Blackbeard, which destroyed an entire island.
 * Said to be capable of annihilating entire cities with his fire attacks.
 * Matched an attack from Aokiji in the midst of a marine war, and bought him and Luffy enough time to run away.
 * With his presence alone, temporarily changed the weather of an island where it’s always snowing to make it sunny and near-cloudless.

Speed

 * Faster than Gear 2nd Luffy.
 * Able to keep up with Kuzan and Jimbei.
 * Managed to jump right over multiple ships in a single bound.
 * Fast enough to intercept Akainu's killing blow
 * Reacted to gunfire.
 * Avoided a sniper shot

Durability

 * Tanked Blackbeard's punches, and claimed that one of his punches almost broke his neck.
 * Survived punches from Whitebeard.
 * Able to take blows from Jimbei during there five day long battle, who can punch a marine through a ship mast.
 * Barely flinched when baptized in extremely boiling water.
 * Ace’s intangibility makes him immune to most forms of attacks.

Skill

 * Stated by Luffy he was never able to defeat him in a fight despite when he had his powers.
 * Easily kill large animals with nothing but an old pipe.
 * Was trained by Monkey D. Garp.
 * Was worthy enough to become a Warlord but refused.
 * Successfully formed and became pirate leader of Spade Pirates within 1 year despite no prior experience.
 * Was a 2nd Division pirate to Whitebeard afterwards.
 * Fought with an admiral even when starved and freshed out of prison.
 * Fought Jimbei on equal grounds for five days.
 * Fought Blackbeard on equal grounding.
 * Avoided multiple attacks while surrounded.
 * Should scale to other Division Commanders in Whitebeard’s crew like Marco the Phoenix, who reacted to Kizaru’s attack and Flower Sword Vista who briefly fought the strongest swordsman in the world.

Weaknesses

 * Typical Devil Fruit Weakness: When he was a child, Ace used to be a good swimming. But now, as a Devil fruit user, He lost the ability to swim and leaving drowning. He can't swim and will sink like an anchor, and if he was submerged into water waist deep he'll be paralyze and his abilities will be nullified same goes to Sea-Prism Stone.


 * Narcoleptic: Ace would sleep at random times, making him an easy target to hit.


 * Magma: As a Fire Devil Fruit, his greatest weakness is Magma which is more hotter and burns everything than even fire and the Mag-Mag Fruit is considered to be superior to the Flame-Flame Fruit, as a result of his death by Akainu.

Transportation

 * Main article: Striker

Ace's waterproof raft which can be powered by his powers. He uses it as a means of transportation, crossing water to be exact. For some reason, Ace did not seem to mind his inability to swim. He traversed the seas in a one-man boat that seems to have been specifically designed for him, propelling it with flames from his feet.

He skillfully sent his boat underwater as he leaped over the Billions fleet, timing it precisely so that it emerged underneath him just before he hit the water on the other side.

Notes & Trivia

 * Universal Studios of Japan has built a replica of Ace's and Whitebeard's tombs. Ace's epitaph says: "Ace, may your soul be eternal. Your brave soul will always be with us." This epitaph was also shown in Episode 663 of the anime.
 * Ace being captain of the Spade Pirates, is a pun on the "Ace of spades", or "spadille".
 * Having died through being penetrated is a possible reference to the known saying "Ace in the hole"
 * Ace shares the same birthday as the creator of the series, Eiichiro Oda (January 1).
 * In the 6th Japanese Popularity Fan Polls, Ace ranked as the fifth most popular character in One Piece making him the most popular of the Whitebeard Pirates and also the most popular deceased character in the One Piece series.
 * Had Ace been a girl, he would have been named "Anne".
 * Ace would have been 21 if he were born on time. Instead he is 20 because his mother held him in her womb for eleven months past his due date, meaning he spent a total of twenty months inside her womb, instead of the usual nine.
 * Ace is the first known Devil Fruit user user to die.
 * Ace is also the first major character in One Piece who died outside of flashbacks.
 * His bounty, being at 550,000,000 berries before his death, was the highest amount revealed in the series before the timeskip.