Marco and Thatch

Marco the Phoenix[6][11] is the former 1st division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.[2] Once starting as an apprentice on the crew,[4] he eventually came to be Whitebeard's closest confidant and right-hand man.[12] After his captain's death during the Summit War of Marineford, Marco assumed leadership of the Whitebeard Pirates until the crew's disbandment following the Payback War.[13]

In the year since the disbandment, Marco worked as a doctor in Whitebeard's home village on Sphinx;[3] following the Raid on Onigashima during which Marco acted as a major ally to the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance, Marco permanently retired from piracy, returning to his duties as a doctor on Sphinx.[14]

Marco is a major ally during the Marineford and Wano Country Arcs. Marco is a tall, lean, muscular, blond-haired man with a rather sleepy look on his face and some stubble around his chin. He wears an open purple jacket and a light blue sash adorned with an elaborate golden-yellow belt around his waist. He has dark gray knee-long pants and black sandals, and on his left leg, he wears what appears to be some sort of straw decoration, in a similar fashion to Arlong. While his chest was bare in his initial appearance, in his subsequent appearances he has the cross and crescent moon mustache symbol that resembles a black silhouette of Whitebeard's Jolly Roger tattooed on it.[15] Robin and Luffy believe that Marco's head looks like a pineapple.[13]

Initially in the anime, Marco was given a generic crew member look of a black-haired man with pale skin and different clothes.[1] When he later became more formally recognized in the story, his appearance was changed to what is depicted in the manga, along with his light purple jacket, his black pants, and his dark red tattoo.[16] Later, starting with Opening 13 "One Day", he was given another color scheme. Once again, his jacket was recolored in a much brighter purple, his pants were made dark blue, his tattoo blue, and his skin a little brighter.

Marco was a member of the Whitebeard Pirates twenty-two years ago as well. Even at the age of 23, his appearance, for the most part, resembles his present self.[17]

As a kid, Marco's signature tuft of hair was curlier. He sported a vertically striped shirt, with black pants, and no shoes. As a teenager, his appearance was not much different.[4]

After the time skips, while working as a doctor on Whitebeard's home island, Marco wears a light button-up shirt as well as a pair of eyeglasses. He also has more facial hair.[3] During the raid on Onigashima, Marco wears his initial attire and retains his eyeglasses.[18Marco is generally calm and level-headed in the face of adversity or challenge; the only strong emotional moments he has shown so far were directly related to Whitebeard's health (after he was stabbed in the torso by his own subordinate Squard and after his death).[19] When Ace and Whitebeard were killed, Marco and the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates were in tears.[20]

Seeing his captain, Whitebeard, get stabbed through the chest by a deceived Squard was enough for Marco to lose his usually unshakable cool-headedness that he immediately flew over to where they were to smash Squard's head against the Moby Dick's figurehead.[19]

He also demonstrates himself to be acute at detecting power, able to quickly notice the presence of Red-Haired Shanks' Haōshoku Haki before anyone else aboard the Moby Dick[2] as well as the underlying potential of Monkey D. Luffy.[21] He cares for his crew as he warns them to stay back from Shanks' Haki.[2]

Having been a member of the Whitebeard Pirates for at least thirty years, Marco has an extremely high degree of experience with exposure and combat inside the treacherous New World. After Whitebeard's and Portgas D. Ace's deaths at Marineford, Marco took the position of commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, highlighting his level of intelligence and suitability in taking up a commanding position.

He appears to be somewhat playful, pretending to be hurt by Admiral Kizaru's attack with obvious sarcasm, though he can also quickly become serious.

Marco seems to appreciate raw talent, even if it comes from someone whom he has never met before (i.e., Luffy). Because of this and based on the fact that Luffy intercepted Crocodile's attack on Whitebeard, Marco immediately took a liking to him.[21]

When he was an apprentice, he appeared to be a cheerful person. He was also encouraging as he cheered on Oden when he came close to passing Whitebeard's test to join the crew. He showed a playful side when he noticed Oden being close to Toki.

In general, Marco always conducts himself in a level-headed, polite, and dignified manner. He is very kind and selfless, serving as the doctor on Sphinx to help and protect the villagers, and aiding the Straw Hats heavily several times for no other reason than supporting their goals.

Like some other characters, Marco has a very particular speech habit, which is a simple tic without meaning, ending his sentences with "-you" Thatch was a tall man with a light brown pompadour hairstyle, which went to a point at the back of his head, and a goatee around his chin. He also had a stitched scar running down his face, around his left eye, reminiscent of that of Garp. Thatch is often dressed in a posh uniform, with calf-long pants a black belt around his waist, and brown shoes.

Initially in the anime, he was given blonde hair spiking out rather than being arranged in a pompadour and his goatee was black. He wore a white foulard, a blue shirt, and gray pants with a sword on his right hip. Later in the anime, he was given a different color scheme. His hair was changed to orange-brown, his foulard became yellow, and his entire uniform changed to a much lighter blue, with his shirt and pants the same color.[1]Jovial and affable, Thatch appeared to be one of the friendlier and more sociable commanders of Whitebeard's crew, being the first to interact with Ace after they captured him and the rest of the Spade Pirates. He also may have had a confident side, having chosen not to devour the Yami Yami no Mi after retrieving it from a raid, as according to the Whitebeard Pirates, the finder of the Devil Fruit has the right to consume it.