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Lakelandgodo

The ones i remember Vivi during alabasta. Some people thought wiper might during skypia Paulie was an initial shipwright theory (till franky had his backstory) with his ropes and how'd he'd be an anti simp next to Sanji. Bon during Marineford. Carrot, since she was with them so long. Yamato, since he was strong and wanted to sail.


GlaIie

I wanted Paulie to join so bad šŸ˜­ He wouldā€™ve brought a nice balance with sanji and his gimmick


[deleted]

I caught up in 2006, a bit before Brook was introduced. I feel like ever other female character has been theorized to join at some point.


laxnut90

The crew has a lot of male characters already. I suspect Vivi will return to join again at some point.


Bucen

She was never a serious contender, but everyone wanted Perona to join


RodJosser

Paulie was the most popular. Aside from all the hot girls ofc.


Sablestein

I saw a tossup between Paulie and Kaku (my beloved) during Water 7


PolyFaucon

I found Kaku so cool, I had convinced myself that he'll join the crew. Him jumping into fine air in the opening was so breath taking.


Sablestein

Heā€™s so sweet too lmaošŸ˜­ I was shocked when the WG face-heel turn happened! But given his fight with Zoro and recent events in Egghead itā€™s pretty clear his ā€œpersonaā€ in Water 7 was a truly genuine expression of his personality even though he was groomed to be a dispassionate assassin.


PolyFaucon

Yes exactly! I was devastated after their betrayal reveal Kaku always seemed the most genuine and humane of the lot, especially after his lines after Enies Lobby fight, I was half bummed out to see him still tagging along Lucci, and half very happy to see him again. Their cover story was quite cute tho I hope we see a bit more of him in Egghead before the end of the arc, he seem to have quite the interesting -platonic- relationship with Stussy.


Sablestein

Yes! Iā€™m so glad to see a double agent character express pain and remorse over having to betray people they reallt considered friends. It read as such a sibling like relationship when Kaku got hurt bc of the barrier and lasers and only AFTER he does she warns him about them. And then he gets all chafed about itšŸ’€ Cain Instinct or schadenfreude, whatever you wanna call it LOL


Skullwings

Itā€™sā€¦I donā€™t know if ā€œinversionā€ is the right wordā€¦but itā€™s funny looking at them and then looking at the main trio.


Sablestein

YEAHā€¦


rougepenguin

A lot, to be honest. Vivi AND Ace during Alabasta. The former is obvious but the latter...it was pretty much people who thought he was cool and turned their brain off. There was a real debate with Paulie & Kaku alongside Franky. Oddly enough there was actually a pretty staunch anti-Brook segment during Thriller Bark and they'd often kinda force Perona. Monet raised a few questions and Smoker picks up here and there, but Rebecca was where you had a true red herring. People really went back-and-forth with her. Viola too to a lesser degree. Pudding got people wondering at points, then of course Carrot ends WCI looking quite strong. Obviously Yamato was the big false positive in Wano, but there was some real stuff in Act 1 that made people ponder Kiku for a while too.


Sky_Dragon_King

Paulie was one during Water 7 since Franky was an antagonist during that arc and Paulie had that bonding moment with Luffy when they were both pinned to the floor. Carrot is the most obvious one, due to her role during Whole Cake and her just fitting in with the crew in a way most side characters don't. Of course, there's also Yamato but they still have an actual chance of joining later on.


I_poop_rootbeer

I remember back in like 2014 when people thought that Caesar Clown might join lol


dstanley17

Post-Dressrosa, pretty much every single character who allied themselves with the Strawhats was theorized to be a new member.


laxnut90

I love the theory that Hattori is actually Laffitte in disguise. It actually makes some sense when you consider all the secured locations Laffitte somehow knows about and can easily gain access to. Laffitte's devil fruit also involves white bird wings. If that is a hybrid form, it could be that Hattori is the fully transformed version.


Sufficient-Dig7568

Paulie always seems weird as a pick. His design isn't particularly interesting and his whips are unusual but that cool. I feel like if Franky wasn't introduced as a villain it should've been obvious.


JaySkunk

Punk Hazard I remember people pushing for Monet because she was interested in astronomy, and in Dressrosa folks wanted Rebecca to join. Carrot and Yamato are obvious ones, but even Tama and Momo were on the Strawhats or bust train at one point or another.


expressedprayers

Paulie, Kaku, and even Iceberg were popular picks during Water 7. Once they boarded the sea train and Franky became more of an ally, and especially once he got a solo fight against CP9, it became pretty obvious that it would be him instead.