One Piece is a series bursting with unique and interesting characters. Whether they be pirates or members of the Marine faction, there is no shortage of people in the series that never fail to impress. Among those that deserve more recognition happens to be a member of the antagonistic Marine faction: Smoker, the White Hunter.
Who is Smoker?
Smoker is an officer in the group known as the Marines. As a Marine, he is at odds with protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his crew The Straw Hats, as well as anyone who identifies as a pirate. Tagging alongside him is his assistant officer Tashigi, who seeks to reclaim the legendary swords possessed by Straw Hat crew member Roronoa Zoro. He is also a Devil Fruit user. His power is that of the 'Plume-Plume' fruit, meaning that he can turn his body into, and manipulate smoke.
Why Smoker is Underrated
Smoker is often overlooked within the world of One Piece. Those who have eaten the Devil Fruits are struck with certain conditions: while being blessed with the immense power that the consumed Devil Fruit possessed, those who ate the fruit will be unable to enter the sea. As a result, there has been a substance commissioned for use by the Marines called Sea Prism Stone. This substance, while rare to acquire, is a form of weaponized seawater: meaning that objects like handcuffs and clubs made of Sea Prism Stone have the power to nullify a Devil Fruit users abilities and hurt them. Despite being a Devil Fruit user himself, Smoker wields one such weapon: the Nanashaku Jitte, which he uses to incapacitate and arrest the enemies of the Marines.
Smoker knows that most of his targets are Devil Fruit users, so his weapon is a practical choice. The fact that he had the insight to use a figuratively double-edged weapon makes his character even more intriguing. Since Sea Prism Stone not only nullifies a Devil Fruit user's power, but it also saps them of energy and strength, this is an excellent tool for subduing criminals. It's because of this foresight that he was able to put a temporary stop to Luffy's advance during the Marineford War.
A Good Soldier
While Smoker's fighting abilities are unique, that's not the only reason that makes him stand out from the rest of his faction. From his initial introduction, Smoker proves that he is more than just another Marine enemy. When he unintentionally spills a girl's ice cream, he immediately gives her money to buy another one. While Smoker's allegiance to the Marines makes him an antagonistic force, he's something of an anti-hero — while he still seeks to capture the Straw Hats and pirates in general, he doesn't allow a blind doctrine of "justice" to get in the way of his own personal perception, unlike many of his fellow Marines.
A classic example of this is when he fought in the Battle for Marineford. When Ace and Whitebeard, the main forces opposing the Marines during the war, are killed off, Smoker notices that his fellow Marines aren't satisfied with the deaths of their main rivals. With their objective complete, he grimly observes that the rest of his colleagues are hungry for blood. He notes that Ace's and Whitebeard's deaths have not dampened their goal at all. Just like how Luffy is not inherently bad because he's a pirate, Smoker does not blindly follow every order he is given. When the notorious Donquixote Doflamingo is defeated and imprisoned, Smoker is satisfied that the incident isn't covered up by the World Government.
An Agent of Justice
Smoker is one of the few Marines willing to ally himself with pirates, so long as it means furthering his and his faction's goals. A notable example of this is when he teamed up with Luffy and Trafalgar Law to put a stop to Caeser Clown's SMILE Factory operations. While he still considers them enemies, he never lets personal pride get in the way of doing the most good. Like his fellow officers Koby and Fujitora, Smoker is not blinded by the Marines' pursuit of justice, to the point where he is willing to sacrifice civilian lives to exterminate a single Pirate fugitive among them.