Roger’s Qualities:
- Roger would never run, especially when protecting Nakama.
- Roger didn’t care about the world, only about his Nakama, they viewed him as evil.
- Grew up in similar circumstances like Ace, and that’s what made him Pirate King as Garp says.
Ace’s Qualities:
- He’s overprotective of his comrades; never runs from a challenge especially when to protect Nakama.
- He didn’t care if the world accepted him, so they viewed him as evil due to his selfish nature.
- Like Roger, his circumstances drove him to become Pirate King.
What’s being highlighted? It’s the fact that Ace and Roger were literally identical, carbon copies of each other. What Ace aimed to do, was exactly what Roger did, and that’s why he became Pirate King. The irony of it all is that while Ace hated his father, he was similar to him which is why Dadan say. . .”I guess you really can’t go against your blood” from hearing about Roger through Garp.
Why Ace Relinquished his Goal
On a final note, while Ace is considered the greatest potential to be Pirate King and someone who once had the ambition to achieve this, why did he relinquish his goal? Did he give up? Did he feel there was chasm in strength? The answer seems to lie in the fact that Ace found someone he considered greater than himself and something he sought out secretly.
Ace was rather morbid (suicidal even) and one of his goals in life was to determine whether he deserved to live. He was the son of a man whom the world hated, and all throughout his life, he was rejected and this was likely his purpose to become Pirate King, as a way to vent out his frustration on the world.
On meeting Whitebeard who out of the blue offered the chance to be a son and part of a family, he couldn’t resist; what he gained from Whitebeard was something Roger couldn’t give him and he hated him for this. His need for a father figure and for acceptance even if for a moment had him even hold on to the fact he was Roger’s son (whom was Whitebeard’s enemy). It’s only later he worked up the courage to reveal this to him, and even then, Whitebeard didn’t care. Ace couldn’t help but give his life for him.
What Ace sought out more than being Pirate King was for a family, happiness, and the Whitebeard Pirates did just that, it gave him comrades he could look at as brothers and a father to complete what he’d settle for as family.
*Theory by HPsyche
