The fact that the One Piece anime is certainly full of strong and powerful characters allows us to compare these characters quite often, which we will also do in this article, as they are one of our most popular articles. This article will actually focus on two exceptionally powerful characters, two of the Emperors, Shanks and Blackbeard. In this article, we will analyze both, as we will pit Shanks against Blackbeard to finally determine the two strongest.

Shanks is stronger than Blackbeard and would win a fight against him. The only aspect in which Shanks clearly surpasses Blackbeard is his Devil Fruit powers, but Shanks has proven himself more than capable of fending off powerful Devil Fruit users with his astonishing skills, meaning that Blackbeard doesn't really have as great an advantage as one might think. In all other aspects of battle, Shanks definitely outperforms Blackbeard, and the latter is aware of this, which is why he has avoided fighting Shanks in the past. This is why Shanks is, at this moment, probably the stronger of the two.

What follows is, of course, a detailed analysis of the answer we gave you above. We will describe Shanks and Blackbeard in more detail, giving you an in-depth analysis of the issue at hand and the balance of power between the two characters using our usual formula. Through several categories, you will see who is the stronger of the two and why our answer is the way it is—that is, why we are certain that Shanks is stronger than Blackbeard at this point in the story.

Physical powers

Shanks has not participated in any significant combat; therefore, his skills are still unclear in the general sense. He is considered one of the four strongest characters in the universe, and as one of the Four Emperors, his raw physical power is considered vast; in fact, Shanks may currently be the strongest among the Four Emperors.

While several pirate commanders would stumble at the mere mention of Whitebeard, Shanks had enough strength to stand up to the toughest pirate in the world and did not fear him.

Teach has incredible endurance, as evidenced by the fact that he could withstand a direct earthquake strike to the face and neck from Whitebeard without losing consciousness, especially since his Devil Fruit allows him to withstand even more damage. He also avoided permanent injury from a direct hit from the Murakumogiri and was able to withstand a kick to the head from the supernova Jewelry Bonney. He was hit in the chest by two fire spears while fighting Ace, but was able to heal after extinguishing the flames (albeit with the help of his Logia skills).

Another example of his incredible endurance is his ability to withstand two powerful attacks—one from Sengoku in his Daibutsu form and the other from Luffy using Gear Second—while only suffering minor injuries each time.

Teach's extraordinary physical strength is further demonstrated when he severely injures both Ace and Luffy with a single blow, sending them both flying backward with great force and distance, and even drawing blood (despite having twice forbidden them from using their abilities). Even though Ace is fire and Luffy is rubber, Teach can still harm them.

Now, Blackbeard's durability is well known in the One Piece world, and that cannot be denied, but the fact that we have Shanks on the other side remains, without a doubt, an important fact for this analysis. Shanks is a powerhouse who could even stand up to Whitebeard, and since Blackbeard obviously avoided him for a reason, this point goes to Shanks.

Points: Shanks 1, Blackbeard 0

Devil Fruit

Devil Fruits are often a character's greatest power and represent a character's signature power. However, many powerful characters in the series have never eaten a Devil Fruit, and Shanks is the most notable example, especially since he was able to become a Sea Emperor without a Devil Fruit, being the only one among the Emperors without a Devil Fruit.

Blackbeard consumed the Yami Yami no Mi, a Logia-type Devil Fruit. This fruit allows the user to become or control darkness and absorb anything they desire. It is an extremely powerful fruit, similar to the Seastone, which can be used to negate the effects of other Devil Fruits. He can use a vortex to pull in any Devil Fruit owner, allowing him to attack even if the enemy fruit is a Logia-type fruit.

Following the events of Impel Down, Blackbeard traveled to Marineford and killed Whitebeard, who had already been seriously injured during the fighting. He killed Whitebeard and placed himself and his body under a blanket. It was thought impossible for anyone to possess two Devil Fruit abilities, but after his emergence, Blackbeard could now also use Whitebeard's powers. It is still unknown how he managed to achieve this or how Teach will manage these two powers. Marco claims this is due to the peculiar and aberrant nature of his body.

This is a fairly simple question, as we have to award the points to Blackbeard, since he has two Devil Fruits, while Shanks has none. It's still questionable whether Blackbeard has an advantage because of this, but he still understands this point.

Points: Shanks 1, Blackbeard 1

RIGHT

Shanks is capable of using all three types of Haki, which is rare. Whitebeard himself praised him for his Haki when he used it during his "visit." The enormous power of the Armament Haki that both emperors had instilled in their weapons was demonstrated during the battle between Shanks and Whitebeard when the "heavens" above them were torn apart. During the Battle of Marineford, he imbued his blade with Armament Haki to repel an attack from Akainu in the form of a Logia.

Shanks' Observation Haki is quite high, as he detects a strange presence among the population of Wano County. Shanks also has access to the one-in-a-million power of Conqueror's Haki, which he uses to scare the Sea King, who attacks Luffy and knocks out the entire Whitebeard Pirates.

The teacher can use two of the three types of Haki. He can use Observation Haki, as seen when he was able to measure Luffy's strength and latent Haki twice. Teach can also use Armament Haki, but his prowess is unknown. As far as is known, he cannot use Conqueror's Haki.

As in the previous category, we have a clear winner, as Shanks is able to use all three types of Haki, while Blackbeard can only use one. With this, the situation is clear.

Points: Shanks 2, Blackbeard 1

Weapons

Shanks is generally described as a master swordsman. Given that Mihawk is the world's greatest swordsman and also his former adversary, one might assume that Shanks possesses a very high level of swordsmanship.

It is assumed that the redhead preferred his left arm before losing it as he is always shown holding his sword in his left hand during flashbacks, though it is rumored that the redhead once used dual swords, which would explain Mihawk's lack of interest in fighting after losing his arm and would match the dual swords of the Red Hair's Jolly Roger. Even without an arm, he was still able to parry Whitebeard in a weapon fight.

When the Whitebeard Pirates began guarding Fish-Man Island, Teach began using claws on his left hand as well as his right hand, which he previously only used for larger claws. Along with the rest of his gang, he was seen carrying a flintlock when he struck Whitebeard, and he also had three pistols strapped to his belt. He was only seen firing at the critically injured Whitebeard from point-blank range, an attack the emperor barely survived. As such, his accuracy against them is not fully demonstrated.

There's no doubt that Shanks is a more skilled weapon user than Blackbeard. Shanks was able to fight both Whitebeard and Mihawk, while Blackbard's weapon proficiency is questionable, to say the least. Therefore, Shanks wins the latter.

Points: Shanks 3, Blackbeard 1

As things stand, Shanks is still superior to Blackbeard.

If you're wondering who will win this matchup, we can confirm that we agree on both points. According to our own analysis, Shanks is currently still the strongest among the emperors, and while Blackbeard wouldn't go down without a fight, he'd likely lose, based on what we know now. Blackbeard has avoided Shanks on more than one occasion, and Blackbeard only does so when he knows he can't defeat an opponent, so we think this action speaks for itself.