[Rurik]

Originally Posted by Phenomenal

Pain is a main character? Cell? Go look at the battles again, so you can understand what I'm talking about. Those heavy hitters got busy IN THEIR ARCS from the gates, While Oda has his sitting there playing RPG.

Huh? Those are main villains that were doing attacks on their respective arcs.and neither Pain or Cell, nor freiza, nor______ (put villain name there) showed all their powers the first time around. Whitebeard and Company are been introduced with a glimpse of what they can do as the story is not focused on any one particular of them. Just like We saw Neeji the first time he fought, or Rock Lee the first time he fought., Or in Bleach, Shinsui when he fought Chad in Soul Society

Actually, from a Shonen perspective this is what it is usually done. You keep these people powers in hush for long, heck, Is possible you wont see someone as Whitebeard actually having an all out Vs. fight in this entire series.

I think Phenom what you are asking here is more for Fanservice than what you claimed that putting Luffy here was Fanservise.