Is Doflamingo Really Dead in One Piece?

Updated December 21, 2022 by Ernie

Dead, alive, or worse? After suffering a humiliating defeat against our current Yonko, Doflamingo completely fell off the grip.

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With absolutely no news from the former Warlord, we can only assume that he might have died in some ditch, or he could be hiding somewhere to avoid the laughter of his peers. Well, there is also one more possibility we didn’t consider, but that’s for later.

Now I know that Doflamigo being the main villain of the Dressrosa Arc might be difficult to forget, but with all the characters that come and go in One Piece, I won’t make too much fun of you for having the memory of a goldfish.

So why don’t we start with a quick refresher on Doflamingo, then reminisce about when he got his butt royally kicked by Luffy, and finish by checking what he is up to now IF there is still a now for him.

Any News About Doflamingo?

The Golden Age of Doflamingo

Full name, Donquixote Doflamingo, dorky yet kakkoii just because it’s him, he was the all-mighty captain of the Donquixote Pirates. Also known as “Heavenly Yaksha” he was most famous for being one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea with a terrifying bounty of Beli.png340,000,000. (One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25 Chapter 233 (p. 18-19) and Episode 151)

One more nickname to add to the list, however, that’s kind of a secret so keep it to yourself, but he was also the infamous underworld broker known as “Joker” (One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 68 Chapter 673 (p. 19) and Episode 599).

Before degrading to the title of a pirate, the criminal was a World Noble. I know…shocking. But what’s more whacking is that a man in love with power intentionally decided to become a lesser being so to speak (One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 73 Chapters 722–723 (p. 18-19,10) and Episodes 653–654).

I think that at some point in his life he began to miss sitting on a throne, so he decided to take over a country.

He had his eyes on Dressrosa and without breaking a sweat dethrones King Riku Doldo III and took his place only to start a rule of tyranny (One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 72 Chapter 721 and Episode 651.)

And the award for the greatest number of identities goes to…. Drum roll, please…. Doflamingo!

The Royal Butt-Kicking

Law has been waiting all his life to take the life of the monster, Doflamingo, with his own hands. He hit him with his most powerful attack and just like that the fight was his if he didn’t feel the need to start an endless monologue at the wrong time.

After Law finished opening his heart to the dying man, he made the fatal mistake of giving him just enough time to stitch his most severe injuries using the ability of his Devil Fruit. Now back on his feet, Law is the one who looks like he has one foot in the grave.

With no more energy to defend himself, Law was about to get his head bashed in when Luffy pulled off a badass entrance and stopped his foot just when he was about to ram it in.

After an intense stare, a few hits were exchanged, and the all-out battle intensified in an instant. Luffy, at a disadvantage, is taking damage after damage. Doflamingo, although in bad shape, to begin with, is not giving him an inch to breathe. He is a force of nature, to say the least.

However, his first priority is Law. He had just realized that Luffy had thrown him away from harm’s way and that he was now under the protection of Nico Robin.

His attention drifted away, and he was about to shift the fight to another location when he was stopped once again by Straw Hat.

Now pissed, the dissing contest begins. If you want to have Law you will have to do it over my dead body, says Luffy. Well, the thing is, Doflamingo couldn’t have been happier to comply. How did that proverb go? The more blood the better? I don’t know why that sounds kind of wrong (One Piece Anime: Episode 732)

Luffy was starting to run out of time. The dome of strings was closing in on the citizens of Dressrosa. In about 30 min, the people going to begin dropping like apples one after another.

It was time for him to make use of his trump card, the transformation we had been waiting for, the one time Luffy used his head to grow stronger, GEAR FOURTH – BOUND MAN!

Bigger, stronger, faster, the fact that he looked silly bouncing like an idiot made Doflamingo drop his guard down which caused him to be hit by a “Gomu Gomu no Kong Gun”.

Disoriented by the powerful blow, another one, “Gomu Gomu no Rhino Schneider”, came hitting right in his jaw, sending him flying once again.

But he realized something, Luffy was using a weird fusion of full Armament Haki and rubber, and the idea of a flaw popped into his head. Just how much time can the Straw Hat hold this powerful transformation? I bet not long, and he was right (One Piece Anime: Episode 733).

It was time to end the battle. Doflamingo unleashed his finishing move and missed. Luffy counter-attacked, hitting his enemy point blank, ending him.

We would believe that people would learn from their mistakes of over. Finish the job, don’t give time to the enemy to recover, but no. Without even checking, Luffy decided to consider Doflamingo done for.

His reverted back to his original form, fighting was out of the question now and yet Doflamingo opened his eyes and was currently standing in front of him with a smirk on his face.

He was at his mercy, however, the citizens of Dressrosa, at the cost of their lives, decided to block the Warlord’s path giving Luffy just enough time to recover some Haki.

Back in Gear fourth, the two adversaries prepared their finishing moves. “Gomu Gomu no Kong Gun” VS “Kumo no Sugaki”. Luffy’s attack, powered by his emotions and anger, was OP.

It crushed not only Doflamingo’s attack but Doflamingo himself in the process. The cage around the city disappeared and that is the true sight of victory (One Piece Anime: Episode 734)

What happened to Doflamingo after the fight?

In Chapter 801 of the One Piece manga, an unconscious Doflamingo finally regain consciousness only to find himself on a Marine ship bound with Granit Marin.

Fujitora had brought him in and was taking him straight to the great prison known as Impel Down where he was imprisoned for life on the 6^th level.

Throughout the series, we would get a glimpse of the former warlord trying to get ahold of some info on the outside world in vain.

Conclusion

After suffering from so many OP attacks, the stubborn warlord didn’t die. He held on to life but for what?

Stripped of all his many titles and now powerless his fate is to slowly rot in hell with no hope of salvation.

Some might believe that death would’ve been a sweeter end, others will probably say that endless suffering is what he deserves. But what I say is that we haven’t seen the end of him.

As long as he is alive, as long as he hasn’t given in to despair, what we have at the bottom of that prison is not a helpless inmate but a ticking time bomb. Luffy should’ve killed him when he had the chance.

References:

One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 25 Chapter 233 (p. 18-19) and Episode 151

One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 68 Chapter 673 (p. 19) and Episode 599

One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 73 Chapters 722–723 (p. 18-19,10) and Episodes 653–654

One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 72 Chapter 721 and Episode 651

One Piece Anime: Episode 732

One Piece Anime: Episode 733

One Piece Anime: Episode 734

One Piece Anime: Episode 801