Big Mam Pirates

The Big Mam Pirates (ビッグ・マム海賊団, Biggu Mamu Kaizokudan) is a group that appears in the One Piece series. It is one of the infamous and significantly powerful pirate crews led by Emperor "Big Mam" (ビッグ・マム, Biggu Mamu), and they are in control of the powerful nation of Totto Land, with their captain ruling it as its queen and their base of operations being Whole Cake Island, the country's main island.

Due to their actions, they are the main antagonist group of the Whole Cake Island Arc, and one of the central antagonist groups of the Four Emperors Saga.

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 * —About the Big Mam Pirates.

Jolly Roger
The Big Mam Pirates' Jolly Roger is a skull with thick lips and wearing a pirate tricorne based on their captain's appearance, on a fluffy background (which could represent Lingling's hair in some fashion) with several candy canes crossed behind it (one on the right, three stacked together on the left), in place of normal crossbones. A tree is seen coming out of the cane on the bottom right.

Like the Whitebeard Pirates, the Big Mam Pirates have a simpler Jolly Roger, consisting of the normal skull-and-crossbones, but retaining the large lips of the original.

Captains

 * Charlotte Lingling (Big Mam) - Captain, Soul-Soul Fruit user

Sweet Commanders

 * Charlotte Cracker
 * Charlotte Smoothie
 * Charlotte Katakuri
 * Snack (former)

Charlotte Family

 * Charlotte Perospero
 * Charlotte Daifuku
 * Charlotte Oven
 * Charlotte Opera (deceased)
 * Charlotte Counter
 * Charlotte Cadenza
 * Charlotte Cabaletta
 * Charlotte Mont-d'Or
 * Charlotte Mascarpone
 * Charlotte Compote
 * Charlotte Brûlée
 * Charlotte Galette
 * Charlotte Pudding
 * Charlotte Joscarpone

Combatants

 * Rook Capone Bege (former)
 * Pekoms
 * Knight Tamago
 * Bishop Bobbin (unknown status)

Other Members

 * Streusen
 * Amande
 * Diesel

Homies

 * Queen Mama Chanter
 * Zeus
 * Prometheus
 * Napoleon
 * Randolph
 * Nitro
 * Rabiyan
 * King Baum
 * Noble Croc

Subordinates

 * Sun Pirates (Former)
 * Firetank Pirates (Former)

Allies and Affiliates

 * Caesar Clown (Former)
 * Germa Kingdom (Betrayed)

Crew Strength
"This place you're standing at now...is the place where all dreams come to die in the New World!!! "Standing toe to toe with one of the Four Emperors"?! Hah, talk about wishful thinking! You won't even get the chance to lay a finger on Mama!!!"
 * —Charlotte Brûlée.

Captained by an Emperor, the Big Mom Pirates are one of the four most powerful pirate crews in the world. Several members shown have been proven to be formidable fighters able to battle and take down notable and infamous rookie pirates such as Caribou and some members of the Worst Generation. Due to Big Mom being able to place souls into animals and inanimate objects, she has innumerable legions of warriors knowns as homies that can overwhelm even strong opponents, especially within Totto Land. The Sun Pirates, a powerful crew of mermen, were frightened at the possibility falling out of favor with Big Mom and prepared to flee should that be the case.

Even without Big Mam in the equation, the rest of the crew carries enough power and influence to do a wide range of activities. Big Mam fully entrusted some of her subordinates to massacre entire islands to steal cake ingredients, and the members of her crew are very confident in their ability to dispose of enemies without Big Mam having to get involved at all. Four powerful pirate crews belonging to the Worst Generation invaded Big Mam's territory, with three of them being forced to flee and one becoming subservient; of those crews, only two actually managed to make an impact in their invasion, and all of them were quickly dispatched before they could meet Big Mam herself. Charlotte Brûlée compared the vast difference in power to hitting a wall, saying that challenging them would only cause the challenger to fall into despair. The fact that many of Big Mam's subordinates are frightened of her despite having great power of their own indicates that the full strength of the crew is well beyond what most other pirates can reach or even fathom. The sheer militarized might of the crew is so immense that they were even able to overwhelm Luffy (albeit when he was weakened after fighting one of their commanders for 11 hours). It was said that if an island does not pay its tribute she will destroy it using her army of "monsters". Indeed her crew so far has been quite varied, consisting of a long-legged person capable of turning into a chicken, a talking lion capable of turning into a tortoise, a wide-faced mask-wearing man, and an anthropomorphic rabbit who rides a crane, making her crew one of the most diverse since the Straw Hat Pirates themselves.

"Even the demons of Hell will come when called to Mama's tea parties!"
 * —Vito speak of Big Mom's invitations and orders.

Furthermore, Lingling has several islands under her control, and the citizens of Merman Island, fearing her wrath, agreed to produce the ten tons of candy she orders every month. It is common knowledge to everyone in the New World that Big Mam's "invitation" to her tea parties is in name only, and that it is an absolute summon order that, if declined, would result the invitee to be choked with regret. It is said that even demons from hell will attend the party when invited by Big Mam. Refusal would result in the invitee being sent a box containing the head of someone they personally know, even if that person is someone of notable strength or in another part of the sea beyond the Calm Belts and Red Line; this demonstrates how far reaching the crew's power is.

They also have multiple ships and allies, some of which were sunk by Eustass Kid. After Whitebeard died, the Sun Pirates apparently joined with them so merman Island would be under her protection, which increased the Big Mam Pirates' power. Jimbei, however, is not really loyal to her and is thinking of leaving her. Also Capone Bege, a rookie pirate captain from the Worst Generation has aligned with the crew. A single Road Ponecliff and two regular Ponecliffs are currently within the possession of Big Mam and her crew.

Like many elite New World pirate crews, the Big Mam Pirates (along with several of Linlin's children and her affiliates) have far more Devil Fruit users in their crew than is typically seen in less perilous seas. Most of them (such as Charlotte Cracker and Big Mam herself) are shown to have very powerful or useful abilities and are highly skilled and creative in their usage; as a result, attempting to engage her crew (especially several members at once or deep in their territory) can be extremely unpredictable and dangerous for the unprepared. The higher-ranking members of the crew are also extremely proficient with Haki, as Big Mam possesses Conqueror's Haki, and of the Sweet Commanders, Cracker has extremely tough Armament Haki while Charlotte Katakuri has Observation Haki so advanced it allows him to see a little bit into the future.

The crew is also connected with the activities of the Underworld, especially through its involvement in brokering, as Big Mam would appear affluent enough to commission the likes of Caesar Clown into conducting clandestine research on her behalf with proper funding. Pekoms and Tamago were also seen paying attention to Caesar Clown's broadcast of an illegal chemical weapon of mass destruction. Big Mam has also recently boosted her crew's strength in the Underworld by aligning herself and her family with the notorious Vinsmoke Family; through them, she has access to Germa 66, who are renowned throughout the world as an evil mythical army.

According to Vito, there are members of the crew that he considers "monsters" besides Sweet Commanders Katakuri and Smoothie such as Charlotte Perospero, Charlotte Compote, Charlotte Daifuku and Charlotte Oven.

When Luffy, Sanji, and the Vinsmoke Family fought against the Big Mam Pirates, the captain and her crew easily suppressed the two Straw Hats while also taking down genetically enhanced super humans without much difficulty. They would have been successful in executing them had there not been explosives in the Tamatebako that caused the palace to collapse.

Recruitment
For a crew to sail under Big Mam, new enlistees must have their bloodlines tied to her family (consisting of Lingling herself, 43 husbands, 39 daughters and 46 sons); this requires a political wedding. The foundation and infrastructure of the Big Mam Pirates is therefore built around her bloodline. The crew's recruitment process is that Linling would marry off her children, mostly without taking their own interest into consideration, with the goal of bolstering her pirate group. Her children have thus long since given up hope of finding a spouse of their choice, knowing that they cannot defy their mother's exploitation of their marriages.

In the event that a bride or groom from an outside family has multiple existing affiliations, they must sever those that are external to the political agreement with Big Mam. This was the case with Sanji, whose membership of the Straw Hat Pirates was a loyalty outside the arrangement agreed between the Vinsmoke Family patriarch and the Charlotte Family matriarch, and which was therefore required to be forfeited.

Organization
Like most Emperor crews, the Big Mam Pirates are organized around a central group of pirates that sail directly under Big Mam, and various subordinate crews that work directly on her orders. As mentioned, the Big Mam Pirates are built around the bloodline of their captain, with her children comprising a portion of her crew; however, it is unknown which, and how many, of her children are direct members of her crew. Crew members, like their captain's children, call Big Mam "Mama", although most fear her as she frequently throws violent rages when she is displeased (especially when she does not receive the candy she expects).

Three Sweet Commanders
The Three Sweet Commanders (スイート3将星, Suīto San Shōsei) are Big Mam's executive officers and have the highest authority, respect, and fighting prowess amongst the crew after Big Mam herself. There were originally four Sweet Commanders, until Snack was defeated by Urouge and his/her position subsequently vacated and removed. The strength of a Sweet Commander is considered so great that the defeat of one is considered a moment of crisis to the crew, and results in a swift and furious retaliation from Big Mam, as she would send her army of troops, of which includes several infamous and powerful pirates (some of them her own children), to deal with the responsible party. Big Mam would also subject the responsible party to a fierce weather storm as a manifestation of her rage.

Combatants
Some of the regular crew members or subordinates captains can also be combatants appointed as a rank within the crew, with the ranking following the pieces of a chess game:
 * The Rooks, such as Capone Bege, who are in charge of the security during events such as the Tea Parties;
 * The Knights, such as Tamago;
 * The Bishops, such as Bobbin.

Subordinates
The Big Mam Pirates have various subordinate crews, some of which were already famed pirate groups in their own right. These include the Sun Pirates, captained by a former Warlord, Jimbei, and the Firetank Pirates, captained by one of the Worst Generation, Capone Bege. Per Big Mam's requirements, the vice captain of the Sun Pirates married her 29th daughter, while the captain of the Fire Tank Pirates himself married her 22nd daughter.

Germa 66, an Underworld army commanded by the Vinsmoke Family, was once in the process of becoming subordinate to Big Mam. As part of an agreed exchange with Vinsmoke Judge, Big Mam seeks access to the army's advanced technology; Judge, in return, seeks the use of her forces to retake his family's former control over the North Blue. This deal is to be sealed with a (pending) marriage between Judge's third son, and Big Mam's 35th daughter. However, Big Mam wants solely their cloning technology, and nothing else from the royal family, thus this wedding was nothing more than a sham, with the Big Mam Pirates preparing to massacre the unsuspecting Vinsmoke Family during the ceremony.

Queen Mama Chanter
Queen Mama Chanter (クイーン・ママ・シャンテ号, Kuīn Mama Shante-gō) is an enormous ship, easily over twenty times the size of the Thousand Sunny; putting it in perspective with the Thousand Sunny, Big Mam's ship could tower over 500 meters. It has a prevalent confectionery theme, having frosting over its railings, ice cream cones at the top of its masts, candy canes and wafers on the sides of the main deck, and a large candle-lit, double-layered cake directly behind its figurehead. The clown-shaped figurehead, wearing a tricorne hat and a crown, seems to be alive, continuously singing about itself being a ship. Other parts of the ship likewise appear to be alive, such as the door to Sanji's quarters. The ship has numerous cannons mounted on its side. Several returned cannonballs damaged the starboard side.

Perospero's Ship
Charlotte Perospero, the eldest son of the Charlotte Family, has his own ship. It is a standard ship, with diagonal striped pattern on its outer body and mast. Its figurehead is in the shape of a wrapped hard candy, with a smiling face on it, wearing Perospero's signature hat. It is decorated with lollipops on its rails, and the crew's nest is also in the shape of Perospero's hat. It has the word "Candy" on its main sail and it has an anchor on either side of the bow.

Cracker's Troops
According to Pound, after Snack was defeated, Cracker commanded a large fleet into battle, which Pound dubbed Cracker's Troops (クラッカー軍, Kurakkā gun).

Tarteship
"Tarteship" (偵察船, Teisatsu-sen; literally meaning "Scout Ship") are small branch of the Big Mom Pirates, that are sent out to investigate unauthorized or unknown ships that enter the Big Mam Pirates territory. They have the power to shoot down any ship they believe to be dangerous or otherwise unwelcome. They are run by Pawn Soldiers.

Other Ships
At least two ships were sank by Eustass Kid a few days before the Straw Hat Pirates arrived to Merman Island.

List of Protected Territories
The Big Mam Pirates are known to have the following territories under their protection:


 * Totto Land (an archipelago composed of 35 islands under the rule of Big Mom and her crew)
 * Whole Cake Island (the base of operations) in the center
 * Cacao Island
 * Jam Island
 * Nuts Island
 * Cheese Island
 * Biscuits Island
 * Candy Island
 * Milk Island
 * Flavor Island
 * Liqueur Island
 * 25 other unnamed islands
 * Merman Island (protectorate)
 * Unknown country (former protectorate, burned down)

In Totto Land's sea, territorial sea slugs send out automatic Transponder Snail warning signals for nearby ships to warn them about the danger of having entered Big Mam's immediate territory. Unauthorized entry is not tolerated, and intruders would be shot down.

Past
Big Mom began her pirating career at the age of six after unknowingly causing the disappearance of her foster family. Streusen witnessed the incident and decided to befriend her and managed to influence her. They eventually went out to sea to create Lingling's dream utopia, and Lingling created her main weapons Zeus and Prometheus to attack villages. Lingling received her first bounty of 50,000,000 Berries and as she grew more powerful and fearsome, her bounty raised to 500,000,000 berries.

At some point, Big Mam commissioned the rogue scientist Caesar Clown to research artificial gigantification, that she may satisfy her long-held dream to have a Tea Party with her children at eye-level. Caesar's efforts ere able to accelerate and extend the growth of children, but with long-term health issues. Knowing that permanent artificial growth was impossible, Caesar took the money anyway to finance a lifestyle of excess.

Three years before the start of the series, the Big Mam Pirates overwhelmingly defeated the trespassing Nox Pirates, and Pekoms defected from the latter to the former. While Big Mom killed Zepo of the Nox Pirates, she had mercy on the captain, Pedro, and gave him a few more years to live by not taking all of his remaining lifespan.

During the Timeskip
Sometime after the Battle of Navyford, Big Mam's crew agreed to protect Merman Island in exchange for ten tons of sweets a month. Around this time, the remnants of the Sun Pirates, including Jimbei, would come to work under Big Mam, although she primarily let them do as they pleased. Also during the time-skip, Eustass Kid, Scratchmen Apoo, Capone Bege, and Urouge attempted to invade Big Mam's territory. Other than the Fire Tank Pirates, who allied themselves with Big Mam, the crews of Kid, Apoo, and Urouge were forced out of Big Mam's territory. Urouge managed to defeat one of the former Four Sweet Commanders but was later defeated by Charlotte Cracker.

Some time before the Straw Hat Pirates arrived to Fishman Island, Kid sank two of Big Mam's allies' ships.

Merman Island Arc
After Merman Island was nearly destroyed by the New Fishman Pirates' coup d'état, Tamago and Pekoms arrived to collect the candy payment while disregarding the civil war. Meanwhile, Bobbin had finished attacking another of their territories due to the failure of delivering Big Mam her candy payment. Back at Merman Island, when Tamago and Pekoms found out about the situation, they reported it to Bobbin, who told Big Mam, who in turn phoned Merman Island. Monkey D. Luffy answered and took responsibility for the lost candy right before declaring war against Big Mam, stating that it was dangerous to leave the island under the control of someone who would destroy it just for candy. Pekoms later defeated Caribou with a single punch after he tried to retrieve the treasure Luffy had given them as compensation for the candy.

Punk Hazard Arc
Pekoms and Tamago later watched Caesar's Transponder Snail broadcast on his chemical weapon of mass destruction. After seeing Caesar's defeat by Luffy, Tamago suggested they call Big Mam, in part so that they could collect Caesar and inquire into his research.

Dressrosa Arc
The crew approached Dressrosa on their ship, with the intent of capturing Caesar and sinking the Straw Hats. However, the Sunny Protection Team launched a successful counterattack, creating a large explosion and escaping through fog.

Later, some time between their encounter with the Straw Hats and their arrival in Zou, Big Mam and Vinsmoke Judge arranged a political alliance between the Charlotte and Vinsmoke families. Per Big Mam's policy, the alliance was to be sealed with a wedding between the third Vinsmoke son, Sanji, and the 35th Charlotte daughter, Pudding, during an upcoming Tea Party. However, Big Mam's true plan was to massacre the Vinsmokes during the wedding in order to gain full control over their kingdom's advanced technology. Sometime during their pursuit of Caesar, the Big Mam Pirates received additional orders to retrieve Sanji unharmed, in order to bring him to the tea party.

Zou Arc
After the Curly Hat Pirates had arrived on Zou, the Big Mam Pirates managed to follow their trail due to overhearing their destination. They were able to locate and reach Zou due to having a native on board, and they arrived seven days later, with Pekoms and Bege going ashore.

Bege and Pekoms reached Zou, and Pekoms became enraged when he saw his homeland destroyed. He reunited with his tribesmen, and Sanji made contact with Bege in order to settle their dispute over Caesar's captivity. Pekoms thanked Sanji for saving the minks and offered to fail a second, undisclosed mission (later revealed to be the retrieval of Sanji) if Sanji handed over Caesar. Angered that Pekoms was disregarding their complete orders, Bege shot him in the back. The Firetank Pirates then came out of his body and surrounded Sanji and Brook, with Nami and Tony Tony Chopper being captured by Vito. Bege took the Straw Hats inside his castle body, where he revealed to Sanji that he had been arranged to marry Pudding at Big Mam's Tea Party.

Sanji refused, but Bege did not give him a choice as Vito revealed a secret about him that they knew. Sanji agreed to come along if he could write a note to his crew. As Sanji talked with his captured crewmates, he suddenly threw them out of Bege's body and held Caesar at gunpoint in order to keep the Firetank Pirates from harming his friends. Bege was then confronted by Cat Viper, who wanted to know what happened to Pekoms. In a bad situation, Bege escaped from Zou with Sanji and Caesar inside him, leaving Pekoms behind.

Two days later, a recovering Pekoms met the Straw Hats that had just arrived and told them more about the Vinsmoke Family and the arranged marriage. He intended to return once his injuries had healed, and Luffy ordered him to take him to Big Mom's tea party.

En route to Whole Cake Island, Tamago attempted to persuade Sanji to join Big Mam's crew, by informing him that Big Mam was impressed by his skill set and would likely offer him a good position in the crew. Sanji refused, countering that he will not cook for people with no respect for their own crew members.

Trivia

 * The Big Mam Pirates have the highest total bounty of any currently known pirate group.
 * While Big Mam is known for sending gruesome presents to those who refuse to go to her tea parties, she has ironically received one of her own, courtesy of Luffy: the Tamate Box, which the Minister of the Right has rigged to explode if anyone tries opening it, though Luffy was not made aware of this even after he had given away the box to Pekoms and Tamago, thinking it would appease Big Mam.
 * The theme of this crew is that of the works of fairy tales and fantasy fiction.
 * Additionally, associated groups and locations share the crew theme:
 * Some of the crew captain's family.
 * Parts of the crew's main territory in the New World.
 * The fact that Merman Island is an undersea country and home to a beautiful mermaid princess can also be part of this theme.
 * The references are mostly from Lewis Carroll's most famous series of novels, Alice and its adaptations.
 * There is also a chess theme to the rank system. The significance of each rank has yet to be revealed.