Netflix's One Piece: Does The Series Really Kill Off A Major Villain?
While Netflix's "One Piece" isn't a one-to-one adaptation of its source material, the overarching plot beats that provide its narrative backbone are more-or-less the same as its predecessor. One of the most notable divergences from the "One Piece" manga in the live-action TV series, meanwhile, is its incorporation of Don Krieg (Milton Schorr).
Viewers unfamiliar with either the manga series or its anime adaptation could be forgiven for not remember Krieg even after watching the sole episode in which he appears. While the character's importance to the original version of the Baratie Arc is considerable, he's relegated to a single, short scene in the Netflix show.
Krieg appears in the first half of Episode 5 during the introduction of Dracule Mihawk (Steven Ward). As he talks on the phone with Monkey D. Garp (Vincent Regan), Mihawk is casually slaughtering a pirate crew before its captain, sporting purple hair and gold armor, confronts him. A wanted poster identifies this man as Don Krieg. Mihawk then defeats him in seconds, before a wide shot of his body at Mihawk's feet confirms the pirate captain's death. Not only does this mark a major divergence from the plot of its source material, but Krieg survives the Baratie Arc after his defeat in the original version of "One Piece," making his death in Netflix's adaptation an entirely new addition.
Don Krieg is Luffy's greatest adversary yet at the time of his introduction
In Netflix's "One Piece," fish-man pirate captain Arlong (McKinley Belcher III) is the main villain of the Baratie Arc. This establishes his importance to the subsequent Arlong Park Arc earlier than in the original manga series in a manner perhaps better suited to the live-action show's seasonal TV format. In the "One Piece" anime and manga, however, Arlong is absent entirely from the Baratie, and Don Krieg is its sole big bad.
When Krieg first boards the Baratie, he's in bad shape and desperate for food. Sanji serves him despite his reputation as a notoriously vicious pirate, believing everyone deserves to eat. Rather than thanking his savior, Krieg then attempts to take over the Baratie from its captain Zeff. This leads to a major battle between Luffy's crew, allied with the staff of the Baratie, and Krieg's pirates.
During his fight with Krieg, Luffy suffers some serious injuries in what is his most difficult battle yet by that point on the "One Piece" timeline. Of course, Luffy ultimately ends up victorious. Whereas many of Luffy's major adversaries end up resurfacing later on in the expansive "One Piece" story, the Baratie Arc remains Krieg's most recent appearance, so the fact that he dies in the Netflix series may well have zero impact on its story moving forward despite diverging significantly from its source material.