In the universe of One Piece, Silvers Rayleigh has a rather remarkable nickname, known as the “Dark King.” Additionally, this legendary character is also recognized as the “Right-Hand Man of the Pirate King” since Rayleigh was the first crew member of the Roger Pirates and he is incredibly powerful.
In the Sabaody Archipelago arc, Shakuyaku once remarked that Silvers Rayleigh is stronger than 100 combined powers of the 11 Supernovas. Even Admiral Kizaru had to concede that if he intended to capture this legendary figure, he would need a well-thought-out plan ahead of time, as he would likely face defeat. Furthermore, when Garp informed Rayleigh that he could be targeted in Sabaody, he advised his troops to retreat immediately if they encountered Rayleigh, to avoid catastrophic losses.
After the disbandment of the Roger Pirates and the fall of the Pirate King, Rayleigh became a simple man living on the Sabaody Archipelago. Later, he played a crucial role in mentoring Luffy on how to utilize Haki. However, Rayleigh himself admitted that he no longer possessed the same strength he once had, making him much weaker than before and unable to handle a serious battle.
Did you know that the character Silvers Rayleigh was inspired by a real historical figure? It turns out that the original model for the Dark King is Sir Walter Raleigh (1552 – 1618), an English explorer, soldier, writer, and favorite of Queen Elizabeth I.
After the death of Elizabeth I, the new King James I had no sympathy for Raleigh, leading to his downfall and subsequent imprisonment in 1603. His sentence was later reduced to a mere common imprisonment, and Raleigh spent the next 12 years in the Tower of London.
In 1616, Raleigh was pardoned to undertake an expedition to search for El Dorado for the second time, but he failed once more. Upon returning to England, his previous sentence was reinstated, and Raleigh was executed at the end of October 1618.
