Chapter 1066 of One Piece, "The Will of Ohara," finally revealed Dr. Vegapunk's original human form. In classic Eiichiro Oda fashion, the character is more ridiculous-looking than anyone could have guessed. However, that never stopped anybody from trying.
People have been speculating about what Dr. Vegapunk would look like for years. As such, all sorts of fan art have been put forth of what artists thought the World Government's top scientist would look like. Nobody got the design quite right, but many of them had some pretty good guesses.
What Does Dr. Vegapunk Look Like?
For the longest time, the only in-story image fans had of Dr. Vegapunk was one of him operating on Bartholomew Kuma. He seemed to have a lanky build, a striped shirt, a lab coat, and gloves, most of which are typical for a scientist. However, not only was this just an imagined visual for the doctor but his face was obscured. The only real clue anyone had to his appearance was hearsay that he was an old man.
Another sort of fake-out design was presented through Dr. Vegapunk's Satellites, six androids he built to help him with all his work. The first to appear was Vegapunk Lillith in Chapter 1061, "Future Island Egghead." At the time, her status as a Vegapunk stand-in was unconfirmed, but many guessed it from the "Punk-02" on her jumpsuit. Needless to say, neither she nor the other five Satellites represented what the original Vegapunk, the "Stella," actually looked like.
Dr. Vegapunk's true appearance was revealed in Chapter 1066. At the age of 43, he was a short, portly man with a bulbous nose, a neatly combed mustache, bushy hair, rosy cheeks, and high eyebrows. His most notable features, however, were his unbelievably tall, wrinkled forehead with a widow's peak and a tongue that constantly hung down to his waist. Nobody could have possibly anticipated the ridiculous proportions of his head and tongue.
In the present story, Vegapunk has since removed the top half of his head and replaced it with what looks like the top half of an apple. His hair has also turned white and may have receded, but it's hard to tell without the rest of his head. This is likely an exaggerated version of the famous picture of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out. The apple might be a reference to Isaac Newton.
What Did Fans Think Dr. Vegapunk Would Look Like?
Some fans guessed that Vegapunk would look something like Einstein. At the very least, some believed he'd have either white or graying hair if any, a mustache or some other kind of facial hair, and a wrinkled forehead. It makes sense that the smartest man in One Piece would look like one of the smartest men in real-life history.
Some even jokingly put forth that Vegapunk would look like Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty, which technically isn't too far from the truth. In that show, Albert Einstein is shown and he does have a vague resemblance to Rick; at the very least, they looked enough alike that the former was mistaken for the latter. In this regard, one could argue that Vegapunk looks like Rick because Rick looks like Einstein.
Some predicted other attributes of Vegapunk's design that don't have to do with looking like Einstein. Some guessed that he'd have cybernetic enhancements, which may or may not be what the apple is for. Some guessed he'd be a short man with a big head for his big brain. There were plenty who guessed he'd have a mustache simply because he was an old scientist, though nobody could have guessed just how Oda would style it. Plenty of people guessed he'd have goggles or glasses, but only the past Vegapunk was shown wearing shades, and it's unknown whether he wore them regularly. For all these different ideas, some of them had to be right.
All things considered, the fans did a good job getting the general idea of Vegapunk's design. For a while, the only thing they knew for sure about Dr. Vegapunk was that he'd be an old man. Nobody could have gotten his look down perfectly, especially with Oda's design philosophy, but there were certainly some admirable attempts.