ONE PIECE GOLD
Crocodile has a number of references to Captain Hook as a part of his character; Besides his name and hook hand, there is also his bomb he set in Alabasta (which was set on a clock timer), and his weakness to blood (Blood clumps together his sand, while Captain Hook was afraid of his own blood).
One thing about Hook that was also fairly consistent was his skill as a swordsman. Now, what does the symbol of Baroque Works have as its “crossbones”? A pair of sabers.
This same symbol is also seen in a drawing of Crocodile’s former dream to be King of the Pirates, on the hat beside him. This means it was more than likely his own Jolly Roger as a pirate.
Jolly Rogers typically include some feature of the crew’s captain that reflects their appearence or abilities; Luffy’s straw hat, Whitebeard’s moustache, the snakes around the Kuja’s skull mark, etc.
So why would Crocodile’s Jolly Roger have a pair of swords?
My theory is that once upon a time, Crocodile was a swordsman who took great pride in his skills; enough so that he branded his crew with his signature weapon.
If that is the case, then why doesn’t he still use one? I have two propositions:
1: Crocodile was left-handed, and unlike Shanks, was unable to adapt his skills to his weaker arm after losing his dominant hand.
2: Crocodile wielded two swords, and couldn’t get used to only wielding one.
Now, despite Crocodile’s defeat at the hands of Luffy, which condemned him to Impel Down as punishment, he showed no ill will towards Luffy when they met again in Level Six. Considering that Luffy ruined a plan that Crocodile had dedicated several years to, this suggests that he isn’t the type to hold grudges.
This is also shown to a lesser extent when he releases Daz Bones; Crocodile saw his skills and loyalty as valuable, even though he had lost to Zoro. This, despite having tried to kill Mr. 3 for his own failures. And also, perhaps he could see the value of someone who could easily deal with the average swordsman.
Considering these things, and Crocodile’s own self-admittance to not trusting anyone, one may wonder why he has such a venomous grudge against Whitebeard?
The idea that Whitebeard is responsible for Crocodile’s missing hand is a very common theory. I believe that Crocodile’s grudge stems from the fact that Whitebeard robbed him of his ability to wield a sword.
Another potential hint is his brief clash with Mihawk in Marineford. Mihawk is so powerful that he was able to clash with Vista of the Whitebeard pirates without even looking at him (though neither of them were likely taking the fight seriously).
Despite Mihawk’s reputation as the world’s greatest swordsman, Crocodile went so far as to talk down to him, warning him that he was “having a bad day”.
Considering the gap in power between the Warlords of the Sea and Whitebeard, I believe that when he was still a swordsman, if this indeed true, he was one of the greatest in the world. Someone capable of holding his own against Mihawk, and maybe even give him some trouble, but still far from Whitebeard’s level.
And even if he was not that skilled, he would likely at least have enough knowledge about swordplay to pose a decent obstacle, considering Jimbei was struck down by Mihawk in a single strike (anime only).
So in summary, my theory is that Crocodile was once a swordsman very proud of his skills, and lost his ability to use them in his conflict with Whitebeard in the past.
*Theory by Beast of Rendall
