Warning: SPOILERS for chapter #1072 of One Piece.
One Piece finally begins to explain the connection between one of its mysterious characters, Weevil, and Whitebeard, one of the legendary strongest pirates along with Roger and Kaido. Since their first appearance, Weevil and his "mother" Bakkin have claimed to be respectively Whitebeard's son and his old lover. While no one believed them at the time, recent revelations suggest that Bakkin was actually saying the truth, at least in part.
Edward Weevil is one of the weirdest mysteries in One Piece. Bakkin's claims seemed very strange considering Weevil's monstrous looks, limited intelligence, and the fact that the woman was clearly trying to capitalize on Whitebeard's demise to claim his inheritance. The two characters only appeared twice in the manga, so there is very little information about them. Weevil has been shown to be incredibly powerful, and his strength was enough to earn him a place among the Seven Warlords of the Sea, before that group was abolished by the World Government. Bakkin, on the other hand, appears as a minute but cruel old woman, who manipulates the not-too-bright Weevil into doing her bidding.
"Bakkin" Is Actually Miss Buckingham Of The Rocks Pirates
Chapter #1072 of One Piece has revealed a shocking secret that will change readers' perception of Weevil and his mother forever. Stussy, an agent of the secret group of World Government assassins called CP0, unveils herself as a traitor by attacking her supposed companion Kaku. A caption in the manga describes Stussy as a clone of Miss Buckingham Stussy of the Rocks Pirates and the first successful clone created by the scientific group MADS. Fans immediately made a connection and realized that "Bakkin" can also be transcribed as "Buckin" from the Japanese, proving that the old woman is, in fact, Whitebeard's old companion.
In chapter #909, Marco talked about Buckin and confirmed that she had been on Whitebeard's same pirate crew 40 years ago. Fans know that 40 years before the current events, Whitebeard was a member of the Rocks Pirates, one of the most powerful and dangerous crews that ever roamed the seas, which also included future Emperors Kaido and Big Mom. With chapter #1072 confirming that Miss Buckingham was one of the Rocks, the only thing left to understand is if Weevil is actually Whitebeard's son. The most likely explanation is that Weevil is actually Whitebeard's partially successful clone.
Weevil Could Be A Failed Clone Of Whitebeard
The cover story of chapter #1070, along with other clues scattered in the story, hinted that Miss Buckingham Stussy was also a member of MADS, a group of scientists who, among other things, experimented on cloning technology. Stussy is a clone of Miss Buckingham, so she was clearly involved with that specific project. It's possible, then, that Buckin stole a sample of Whitebeard's DNA during their time in the Rocks Pirates, and then used it to create Weevil. However, this experiment did not go as hoped, as proved by Weevil's stitched-up appearance and his childlike behavior. After all, Dr. Vegapunk said that accelerating a clone's growth presents obstacles and drawbacks, and this is likely what happened with Weevil.
According to everything that Eiichiro Oda let transpire until now, Weevil should be a first attempt at producing a Seraphim, the strongest creatures in the One Piece world, advanced clones created using the DNA of the most powerful pirates. Vegapunk has just perfected this procedure in the series, but Miss Buckingham must have pioneered it when she joined MADS after the Rocks Pirates disbanded. This confirms not only that Weevil is indeed related to Whitebeard (as his clone, rather than his son), but also that he could be one of the strongest individuals in the world of One Piece.
The latest chapter of One Piece is available from Viz Media.