- "Feast your eyes, Captain. All of them, faithful hands before the mast. Every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot."
- ―Joshamee Gibbs on the Motley crew, including Duncan.
Duncan was a pirate operating in the 1720s around Tortuga. He was recruited in Tortuga by Captain Jack Sparrow prior to the pursuit of the Black Pearl as part of his Motley crew, assembled to go after Sparrow's enemy Hector Barbossa. Duncan sailed the HMS Interceptor to Isla de Muerta during Will Turner's attempt to rescue Elizabeth Swann from Hector Barbossa's cursed crew, but was soon imprisoned with the other crewmen in the brig of the Black Pearl. After taking the Black Pearl, Duncan served under Jack Sparrow's command, embarking on several misadventures until the crew eventually began to doubt Sparrow's leadership. Duncan was among around half of the crew who wished to overthrow Jack and elect a new captain, Leech. They finally got their chance when the crew were captured by the Pelegostos Tribe and held captive on their island, with several of the would-be mutineers kept in one large bone cage and several pirates loyal to Jack held in the other. Leech and his cohorts attempted to abandon Jack's loyal followers on the island, but ended up falling down a ravine to their dooms.
Biography
Quest to Isla de Muerta
In 1728, Duncan joined the crew of the commandeered British Royal Navy vessel known as the HMS Interceptor under Jack Sparrow. He had been hired by Sparrow's first mate, Joshamee Gibbs, in Tortuga. They first sailed through a treacherous storm, during which Duncan and the other crewmen were soaked in the rain. He looked over the rail of the Interceptor into the sea as the ship passed through a dangerous passageway the next day, watching several sharks and other fish below them as the ship moved slowly onwards. The pirates soon snapped back to work on orders from their captain. They later arrived at their destination, Isla de Muerta, where Jack Sparrow and William Turner went into the island alone, leaving the crew behind, ordering them to keep to the Pirate's Code.[1]
Will later came out without Jack, but the crew kept to the code and went on without him. When the Black Pearl attacked the Interceptor, Duncan and Kursar were stationed atop the mast, climbing up the rigging as the Pearl chased their ship. The Interceptor later turned around to fight the Pearl and its crew, but Duncan stayed on the crow's nest with Kursar. They fell off when the rigging was knocked down by a cannonball, their hats flying off of their heads as they tumbled towards the main deck. Both survived and were taken prisoner, along with the other crewmen. They were imprisoned, left in the command of two cursed pirates, Mallot and Grapple. However, they were later freed from their cell by Elizabeth Swann and, despite the latter's futile attempts to convince them to go back for Will and Jack, took over the Black Pearl. Though they refused to help her rescue Will and Jack from Isla De Muerta, they later rescued Jack from the gallows and he became captain once more.[1]
Further adventures
Duncan continued to serve in Sparrow's crew for the next year, however he, Leech and many other crewmen planned to lead a mutiny on Jack. They were unhappy with Jack's leadership, and felt they needed to do more 'Pirate' things. When Jack suddenly woke them up in the middle of night, they rushed to their stations, shocked at their Captain's strange behaviour, especially when he ordered them not to retrieve his hat when it fell overboard. Later, when they were captured by the Pelegostos Tribe, Duncan was put into a bone cage dangling from a bridge between two cliffs with Leech, Moises, Crimp and two others. They attempted swing their cage towards the cliff side in order to climb up to reach the peak. As the Black Pearl needed only six men to crew it, Duncan and the others in his cage attempted to abandon the other crewmen and take over the Pearl. Duncan let out a horrid laugh as they abandoned their crewmates. However, they ended up suffering a brutal death when they were startled by a snake, and as a result let go of the cliff side, snapping the rope and letting their cage fall down a ravine. All six of them perished.[2]
Behind the scenes
- Duncan was portrayed by M. Scott Shields in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
- Despite having been killed early in Dead Man's Chest, Duncan can be seen in the background of several battle scenes later in the movie loading cannons and fighting. This is due to some footage originally shot for The Curse of the Black Pearl being used in the second movie.
Appearances
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (First appearance)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest