Black Maria is one of the "Tobiroppo," the six strongest Headliners of the Beasts Pirates. She also oversees the Pleasure District on Onigashima Island.
Given her rank, she is one of the major antagonists in the Wano Country Arc.
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Appearance
Maria is unusually tall for a human, standing at 8.2 meters. She is described as being exceptionally beautiful, having reached the status of Oiran, much like Komurasaki. She has long blonde hair styled like that of a geisha, with two swords or red and black flowers incorporated into the arrangement. Her eyes are sky blue, and a lock of hair tends to fall in front of her left eye. She has a pair of long, slightly curved red horns on her head, bright red lipstick, and nail polish on her nails. She is often seen smoking a long pipe.
She wears a black, low-cut kimono that exposes her right shoulder, with a turquoise obi around her waist, both adorned with blue and yellow floral patterns. Her shoes are black zōri sandals with red hanao (straps) and white tabi (socks).
In her Zoan form, her spider-like forelimbs each carry a personalized Jolly Roger, suggesting that she may have had them tattooed on her original body.
As a child, her hair was shorter, tied into a ponytail with two strands of hair framing her face. Additionally, her horns were shorter and curved outward. She wore two flowers on her head, a dark polka-dotted kimono with a light band to close the robe, sandals, and stockings. She carried a biwa tied to her back and owned a spider.
Personality
At first glance, Black Maria appears to be a flirtatious and seductive woman who approaches her duties as a member of the Tobiroppo in a laid-back manner. She is not shy about being sensual when addressing Kaido or graceful and noble when hosting her captain's guests.
When tasked with fighting or hunting down a target, Black Maria prefers to stay away from the action, enjoying her captain’s company or playing music with her subordinates, retreating to safe places away from conflict and leaving her peers to deal with the issues. She also has a soft spot for children, feeling pity for Momonosuke, who had been abused by Kanjuro, and healing his wounds before Orochi took him away.
That being said, Black Maria can be just as violent and sadistic as the rest of the Beasts Pirates, if not more. Contrary to her usual playful demeanor at the banquet, Black Maria reveals a calculating and manipulative mind when devising her strategies. She is also a ruthless torturer in her pirate role, sparing no effort to achieve the crew’s goals. Even if a victim chooses to cooperate with her, Black Maria may not honor her word and keep them captive under her control. When asked what her methods would be to put Robin on the right path if the Beasts Pirates captured her, Black Maria simply stated she would mutilate her until she was powerless, then kill her and discard her corpse once her goal of reading Kaido's Poneglyphs was fulfilled.
Black Maria enjoys keeping men captive as "pets" to play with, particularly those with rebellious personalities. Through torture, she forces obedience and devotion into the minds of her victims until they can say nothing but declarations of love and adoration for her, turning them into her subjects of worship. Black Maria is extremely possessive of her men, and she does not tolerate any attempts at "infidelity," resorting to more violent discipline if necessary.
Relations
Allies
Kaidou
Kaidou is her captain. She chose to stay with him at the banquet rather than go after his son, Yamato. Despite this being the mission he had given her, he didn’t hold it against her. She has a rather sensual attitude towards Kaidou, preferring to please him in a more laid-back manner.
Queen
She works directly for Queen, like all the Tobiroppo.
Other Tobiroppo
The Tobiroppo seem to have poor relations with one another. They are seen arguing over various matters. In the anime, during the banquet, she didn’t hesitate to categorize the other Tobiroppo in a rather derogatory manner, although she didn’t downplay their strength.
Ulti
She loves that Ulti doesn’t let anyone push her around. However, when Ulti called Kaidou an idiot, Black Maria shouted at her not to venture into that territory.
Who'Who
She seems amused by the fact that he wants to become a Calamity.
Enemies
Sanji
Black Maria became fond of Sanji due to his "rebellious attitude," a trait she admits to find charming in the men she manages to capture. However, despite her playful attitude towards him, her main interest was to use him as bait for Nico Robin, not hesitating to hit the Straw Hat Pirates’ cook multiple times until he complied with her demands. She also had a secondary personal interest in keeping him as one of her "pets," men who endured constant physical torture from Black Maria herself to become completely submissive to her will. Like with any other beautiful woman, Sanji was attracted to her, refusing to fight against her or even her female subordinates because of his code of chivalry. For this reason, Sanji was painfully aware that he could not physically defeat Black Maria as an enemy, placing his trust in Robin’s strength to face the Tobiroppo in his place.
Robin
As part of her mission to make Kaidou the King of Pirates, Black Maria made capturing Nico Robin one of her priorities so that her crew could exploit her ability to read the Poneglyphs and locate Laugh Tale. Otherwise, she sees no other potential value in Robin, considering the archaeologist merely as a tool, even contemplating mutilation as a potential measure to keep her in line with Kaidou’s goals. Once she has exhausted Robin’s usefulness as a Poneglyph translator, Black Maria plans to kill her and discard her, according to her own words. Although aware that she was the target of the Emperors and that an obvious trap had been set for her, Robin showed no fear in confronting Black Maria, considering her teammate's life more important than her own safety. She was furious at the punishment Black Maria had inflicted on Sanji, declaring that her "demon child" side was about to emerge and make the Tobiroppo regret how she treated her friend.
Abilities and Skills
Her status as a Tobiroppo gives her authority over lower-ranking members of the Beasts Pirates. As the leader of the Pleasure District in Onigashima, she oversees the events that occur there. She is one of the six Tobiroppo and, therefore, capable of challenging a Calamity for her hierarchical position within the crew. With a bounty of 480,000,000 (the second-highest among the Tobiroppo), Black Maria is a very powerful woman and one of the strongest members of Kaido’s crew. She is confident enough in her own strength to believe that she could easily kill the Nine Red Scabbards after their defeat at the hands of the Emperor. When Jack questioned her ability to do so, she, feeling underestimated, became offended.
Tactical Mind
Black Maria has proven to be a cunning strategist, collaborating with her subordinates to devise an ingenious trap to capture Sanji, one of the strongest members of the Straw Hat Pirates. She exploited his obsessive chivalry, asking Sarahebi to fake sexual harassment while using her spider webs to trap Sanji.
As part of her plan to lure and capture Robin in the banquet hall, she set up multiple spider webs in the two corridors leading to the hall, along with several subordinates armed with tranquilizer guns, positioned strategically to ensure the capture of the archaeologist. However, this strategy was thwarted by Robin's ability to bypass obstacles, sending her limbs through them, and by Brook's ice, which froze Black Maria's webs.
Devil Fruit
In her hybrid form, only the lower half of her body takes the appearance of an arachnid abdomen, with a large mouth seemingly emerging from it.
Weapons
Black Maria used a brass knuckles to hit Sanji and torture him while he was held captive. Her attacks with this weapon seem to inflict significant damage, as she is able to make him suffer greatly when wielding it effectively.
Much later, after Sanji's release by Robin and Brook, she also takes out a long staff with a Wanyūdo (a flaming cartwheel with a demon head on one side) at the end. It is later revealed that the face on the Wanyudo is actually a Smile user from the Carlin tribe, running inside the wheel to generate flames. As a result, Black Maria can create flames at will with her weapon.
Techniques
- Furisode Wanyudo: Black Maria lifts her weapon and swings it downward in a semi-circular motion, destroying the ground in front of her. This technique was used when she was chasing Brook and Robin.
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Oiran Knuckle: Black Maria uses brass knuckles to strike multiple times, forming a sort of barrage of punches. This attack was first seen while she was torturing Sanji, later named during her fight with Robin.
Haki
She masters both the Observation Haki and the Armament Haki.
Illusion Mist
Black Maria also possesses the ability to create illusions using an illusion mist (幻霧, genmu). When this technique was used on Nico Robin, it made her see her subordinates as Nico Olvia, Professor Clover, and Haguar D. Sauro. Robin and Brook recognized it as a trick, but the illusion was realistic enough to make Robin cry. It is currently unclear exactly how Black Maria generates or controls this mist, or if it is related to her Devil Fruit power.
Story
Wano Country Arc
As the festivities on Onigashima Island are about to begin, the Tobiroppo have just arrived. Black Maria, along with the other pirates of her rank, enters a private room. Once settled, she waits for further instructions from Kaidou. She engages in conversation with the other Tobiroppo about the possible murder of Queen, according to Who's Who. However, Ulti points out that they have been summoned to address a family matter, with Sasaki adding that it is an urgent issue.
Indeed, the group is received by Kaidou. When the Tobiroppo face the Emperor, he confesses that it wasn't really him who called them together. It turns out that another calamity, King, had instructed them to come. He explains that the Tobiroppo, including Black Maria, wish to become calamities in the Beasts Pirates crew. Seeing that they could be highly useful, King tells Kaidou that they are the ones he needs to handle his family matter. Bao Huang then provides a summary of the schedule for the festivities, during which Kaidou will announce an important news. Kaidou reveals the mission he entrusts to them: to find his son, Yamato, who had disappeared earlier that morning. Black Maria finds this mission fitting and suspects that the news Kaidou plans to announce is related to the young master Yamato, to which Kaidou agrees. In exchange for capturing him and bringing him back safely, Kaidou tells them they will be allowed to challenge a calamity of their choice for a chance to take their place, with King and Jack as candidates, while Queen remains in the concert hall.
Black Maria takes the initiative to stay with Kaidou and Orochi at the banquet, claiming that the other Tobiroppo are numerous enough to handle the mission, and that she wants to keep her captain company.
Kaidou has no objections, as it is the one day of the year they can relax. She retrieves Momonosuke, who Kanjuro brought in injured, to tend to his wounds. She places him on her lap before Orochi snatches him away, declaring that he intends to execute him, much to Black Maria's dismay.
As the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance fights against Onigashima, Black Maria receives a call from King, informing her that the opportunity to challenge the Calamities has been canceled, and that they must prevent the enemy alliance from reaching the roof of the dome, where Kaidou is fighting the Nine Red Scabbards.
Instead of confronting the invaders, Black Maria and her subordinates retreat to the tatami room in the castle, where they intend to wait out the battle. To pass the time, Black Maria plays her shamisen and sings a song about two lovers meeting under the moonlight.
She then encounters Sanji, whom two of her subordinates have lured into a trap and captured. Brought before the Tobiroppo member, Sanji exchanges words with Black Maria, who admits that she has a soft spot for "rough boys" like him. Initially insulted by her calling him a "boy," he quickly develops a fondness for her. When he tries to escape, she activates her hybrid spider form and chases him, declaring that she wants him to stay her "pet." Although Sanji manages to repel her male subordinates, his refusal to hit her or her female subordinates allows her to trap him once again. She then demands that he call Nico Robin through a special mask worn by her subordinate, Caimanlady, claiming it will broadcast his voice throughout the castle and bring Robin to them. Before she can use the mask, Black Maria receives a call from King, who tells her that the injured Nine Red Scabbards have been spotted in the treasure vault on the second floor of the castle. Since this room is not far from her, she volunteers to go there and kill them after taking care of Sanji.
Once Caimanlady confirms she is ready to broadcast Sanji's voice across the island, Black Maria continues trying to force Sanji to call Robin, revealing that she has placed multiple layers of her sticky webs at the entrance to trap them. Since he still refuses, she dons a pair of brass knuckles and uses them to strike him until he calls his friend. After doing so, he demands that she free him, but she reveals that she plans to keep him as her "pet" forever, just like the other men she has captured. When Sanji mocks her, Black Maria prepares to attack him again, but Robin, having bypassed the traps, arrives and knocks her out with her powers, while Brook frees Sanji from the webs. The Tobiroppo is then called by Jack, who is on his way to kill the Red Scabbards himself, ordering her to stay where she is and not intervene. Though frustrated, Black Maria accepts his decision and prepares to fight Robin and Brook instead, declaring to Robin that she will become Kaidou's "thing."
In the ensuing battle between the Tobiroppo and the two Straw Hats, Black Maria uses an attack that plunges her opponents into an illusion mist. In this mist, her subordinates take on the appearance of people dear to her enemies. Robin sees the faces of her loved ones from Ohara, but she manages to fight off the effects of the mist by neutralizing the Numbers. Robin decides to adopt a more direct approach and attacks the duo with the Wanyudo, scolding them for thinking they stood a chance against Kaidou. She then uses her webs to attach herself to the ceiling and sets the ground on fire with Wanyudo. However, Robin manages to use her powers to move to higher ground with Brook. Though she warns that she could potentially burn down the entire castle, Black Maria simply mocks her in response. Brook finally manages to destroy the Tobiroppo's weapon by freezing it. She continues to taunt Robin, explaining that she is the heavy hitter of the Straw Hat crew. Worse still, she mocks Sanji when he calls out for help, and his distress is heard across the island. But Black Maria doesn't care; to her, Sanji represents the wings of the Pirate King, and she sees no reason why his life should depend on a woman. Black Maria then witnesses a new attack Robin is preparing.
Robin uses a new attack, the Sea Serpent, grabbing Black Maria's spider legs. However, Black Maria notices that damaging her effigies also harms her. Using her poison, she manages to free herself, before restraining all of Robin's arms with the Marionette attack and using Oshizumaria to place Robin's clone in a disadvantageous position. She then places a brass knuckle on her hand to strike Robin's effigy, causing damage to herself with the Oiran Knuckles attack. She tries to use her arms again to grab Black Maria, who protected herself with the Ikidomaria attack before quickly immobilizing Robin again with webs. The Tobiroppo sets the room on fire once more with the Atatamaria attack, where her spider spits fire from its mouth, igniting the webs around her. Black Maria continues to strike Robin, declaring that her mind is the only precious part of her, and that she is merely a tool. Robin recalls her training with the Revolutionary Army, where Koala taught her the Poison Hands Karate technique using a new technique, the Gigantium Fish-Man Karate Thousand Flowers. After this, she creates giant hands that strike the ceiling, with the debris putting out the flames in the room. Black Maria is momentarily distracted by this, and Robin uses another new technique, Demonio Fleur, transforming into a giant demon-like creature. She quickly grabs her opponent, who tries to distance herself, shouting "Demon." Robin then breaks Black Maria's back, knocking her out and horrifying her subordinates.
Main Battles
Black Maria vs. Robin and Brook: The fight is interrupted by Black Maria's subordinates.
Black Maria vs. Robin: Black Maria is defeated.
Trivialities
- Name Theme: Black Maria's name follows the card game theme in the Beasts Pirates, referencing "Black Maria," an English variant of the Queen of Spades.
- Reference to Spider Solitaire: While her Devil Fruit powers are spider-based, her name could also be a nod to the patience card game "Spider Solitaire."
- Reference to the Black Widow: Her name may also allude to the Black Widow, a venomous spider where females are known for eating their mates.
- Yokai Inspiration: Black Maria could be inspired by the Jorogumo, a woman-spider demon (Yokai).
- Favorite Food: Her favorite food is Mitarashi-dango, rice dumplings covered in sweet soy sauce.
- Tattoo: The tattoo on Black Maria's back refers to a Japanese saying that women use their sexuality to manipulate men for their advantage.
- Origin: Black Maria was born on Wano.
- Original Hybrid Form: The true hybrid form of Black Maria was supposed to look different, but was significantly modified by Oda. Her Devil Fruit, the Kumo Kumo no Mi, Model: Rosamygale grauvogeli, has an original hybrid form.
- Artificial Modification: She uses drugs to obtain her hybrid form.
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Similarities with Tsukuyo (Gintama):
- Both are linked to prostitution in feudal Japan.
- Both are beautiful women with blonde hair, smoke a pipe, and wear light-colored ornaments in their hair.
- Both are associated with spiders.
- Abandoned Concepts: In Road to Laugh Tale (Part 2), concepts for Black Maria revealed that she was originally supposed to have either the Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Stegosaurus or the Obi Obi no Mi (a Paramecia fruit with unknown details). The fruit was meant to tie into the haunted house theme of the part of the castle she occupies.
- Hobbies: Black Maria enjoys boxing and love.
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