You Won't Recognize One Piece' Buggy Without Makeup, But It's a Marvel Star

Though it often goes unnoticed, the Japanese manga One Piece undoubtedly ranks among the world's most popular comics, with over 1000 chapters published since its debut in 1997. Following numerous animated films and hundreds of episodes of a successful anime, One Piece is set to transition to live-action, courtesy of Netflix. The producers are spending a staggering sum of money to ensure the show gets the best visuals.

Even though many die-hard fans of the original manga dreaded what Netflix might do to the source material, a look at the first trailer for the new series has calmed them down: it would appear the producers really made an effort to honour the original manga by casting great actors that fit the roles perfectly. And the one character that stood out the most in the trailer was Buggy D. Clown.

Buggy is arguably one of the most terrifying villains in One Piece, having tormented Luffy and his crew for over two decades. This dishevelled clown is quite intimidating in the manga, but Netflix has somehow made him look even worse, making fans fail to notice the actor portraying this iconic character.

Even the most dedicated MCU fans wouldn't recognise who plays the role because of how great One Piece's makeup artists have been at changing Jeff Ward's appearance beyond all recognition.

Indeed, the most likely primary antagonist of One Piece's inaugural season is portrayed by the actor who played Deke Shaw, one of the most popular secondary protagonists on ABC's hit show The Agents of SHIELD in Seasons 5 through 7.

And even though Ward failed to leverage his MCU credentials after the conclusion of the Agents of SHIELD, it would appear the actor is about to stage a second coming by appearing as an iconic villain in what might very well end up being the biggest action show of 2023.

Fans of One Piece can only hope for one thing - that Netflix doesn't jump the shark and ruin the beloved franchise in season one.