One Piece's rogues' gallery is one of the most diverse and colorful within the anime world. Having to portray pirates in a high fantasy setting, the proportions, character, and abilities of the series' villains are varied and unique going from arc to arc.
And while fans are eagerly waiting for the next foe to come, there's an often underappreciated list of villains gone by that may have not gotten a fair share of time to really flourish. Possibly having much more to prove, these are villains that could easily return to the series with new potential. Looking back at One Piece's long histories of bad guys and meanies, this list will be going through some One Piece villains that could really use a comeback.
10 Senor Pink
Senor Pink is one of the freshest faces on this list that instantly grabbed fans with his style, sense of honor, and deep backstory. When fans saw Franky go head-to-head with a baby man in a speedo, they probably weren't expecting Oda to drop things halfway through and focus on the complex and possibly inconsequential backstory of this random, henchmen.
However, he did; and while Pink's defeat was inevitable, he left fans wanting more of his hard-boiled character.
9 Jesus Burgess
Jesus Burgess is one of the original members of the Blackbeard pirates who had a surprise appearance during Dressrosa. He was a mystery contestant during the battle royale for Ace's Devil Fruit, and he dominated for a good portion of the arc. While he posed a clear threat to Luffy given his history with Blackbeard, Burgess would soon be stopped by the return of Luffy's older brother, Sabo.
It's here that Burgess's exciting return went down under when his clash with Sabo would have him defeated by a burning one shot. Given his champion moniker, it was pretty disappointing to see him lose so easily. Burgess really needs a big win in the future. Otherwise, he's doing more damage to the reputation of his crew than just himself.
8 Gin
Gin is a mysterious figure who absolutely stole the show during the Baratie Arc. He was the first mate and scout to Don Krieg who first went to the Baratie after his crew's total defeat at the hands of Hawkeye Mihawk. He would be overcome by joy when Sanji charitably gave him food and would soon find himself at an impasse when his captain orders him to attack the generous cook.
By the end of the arc, Gin would sacrifice himself to save Sanji when Don Krieg unleashed a gas bomb on the Baratie. Being poisoned yet still loyal to his beloved captain, Gin coolly leaves suggesting that he'll be on his final gesture. He was an entire showcase of a stoic pirate life that is still hard to find in One Piece and hopefully, his story didn't end just there.
7 Hody Jones
Hody Jones is the twisted Fishman responsible for conspiring decades of turmoil for Fishman Island who had the unenviable role of being Luffy's first, major opponent after the time-skip. He'd steal the contents of the Tamabako Box and use its coveted pills to instill himself with great power. And while this posed considerable challenges to Luffy during their fight, Hody would soon fall victim to the drug's horrible side effects and age in terrible proportion to the number of pills he took.
While Hody wasn't exactly the most complex character (his entire identity is premised in being raised to blindly hate humans), he has an entire after story that would be interesting to see, especially if Fishman Island does connect with the human world or if Luffy does fulfill the prophecy and destroys the island.
6 Foxy The Silver Fox
Foxy often gets a bad rap with fans who find his entire arc to be a non-sequitur in the canon story. As one of the few, recurring comedic villains of One Piece, it would be interesting to see how Foxy has bettered his crew since his encounter with Luffy and if his massive group will pose a threat to anyone in the future.
Foxy's legacy may even prove more important given that the Davy Back Fight may have some hidden importance in the underlying lore of the series. While he definitely shouldn't overstay his welcome again, there's some promise in the Silver Fox's return.
5 Sir Crocodile
Sir Crocodile has already been teased a couple of times as an upcoming player in the future of One Piece, with the latest film, Stampede, even having him help and fight alongside "Straw Hat" Luffy. Crocodile's entire backstory and legacy is something that fans have definitely been wanting to see expanded upon.
Ivankov teased some deep secret behind the sand human, and he seems to have a long history with a few key pirates such as Whitebeard. It's also curious seeing how he's never been portrayed with a traditional pirate crew and somehow came to accrue an entire bounty hunter organization. With his secret journey to find Pluton on top, there's a lot that the story needs to cover when Crocodile does make his return.
4 Eneru
Eneru is currently living out an entire journey that aesthetically differs from the One Piece world and could probably use its own manga to fully explain and explore. After he successfully rides his Ark Maxim to the moon, he helps liberate a group of adorable robots from some space pirates.
By resurrecting some of their ancient brethren, Eneru easily takes the mantle as the moon's new ruler. With a tonally different role than his god schtick on Skypeia and an entire, galactic world to paw through, Eneru's current story is just so inherently curious that it's surprising that Oda never returned to it by his own accord.
3 Alvida
When Alvida first returned in the series, she was poised for an interesting alliance with Buggy the Clown. With a brand new look, some new powers, and the same tenacity, Alvida looked to be a valued ally in Buggy's hunt for the Straw Hat pirates. Such value has yet to be seen since then.
One Piece overall has a hard time justifying the capability of its female characters (Big Mom and Boa Hancock notwithstanding). Alvida could've been an interesting rival to the Straw Hats, yet she really hasn't been given much time to shine. Hopefully, the time-skip has granted her some greater powers or importance, but she would still need the screen time to prove it.
2 Monet
Monet was another promising female character that fans got really excited about when she first appeared. As the mysterious secretary of the Donquixote Family and arc rival to Zoro, Monet had a lot of promise as a villain, and some fans even believed that she had some promise as a future Straw Hat in the same way Nico Robin came about joining the crew.
Disappointingly, however, she would turn out to be the least developed member of the Doflamingo's crew and would see a sudden and surprising death later on. However, given Oda's tendency to never really kill characters unless it's important, Monet still has a chance to come back. With that in mind, it would be interesting to see if Oda can flesh out the character even more and give her a proper run.
1 Arlong
Arlong is one of the most pivotal villains in all of One Piece. He was the Straw Hats' final test before they entered the Grand Line and had strong ties to the Sun pirates. His arc is often considered as the greatest selling point for new fans. That is to say that the tears across the story and his own villainy have often been definitive experiences to get people addicted to One Piece.
Given that level of importance and the fact that the story would bring these events up again during Fishman Island, there's a huge opportunity in bringing his voice back into the equation. After the events of Hody Jones' conspiracy and possible new developments for the Ryugu Kingdom, it would be fun to see Arlong come back as either a changed man or a new conspirator ready to exact revenge.