Koehler

Koehler
Biographical information
Gender	Male
Eye color	Brown
Hair color	Black
Born	1690s
Died	Late 1720s, aboard the HMS Dauntless after being stabbed by James Norrington
Title(s)	Trusted Crewman
Statistics
Weapon(s) owned	Cutlass Flintlock pistol Boarding axe
Ship(s) captained or crewed	Black Pearl
Battles	Attack on Port Royal Destruction of the Interceptor Battle of the Isla de Muerta
Affiliation	Cursed crew
Behind the scenes
First appearance	The Curse of the Black Pearl
Last appearance	The Legend of Jack Sparrow
Cause	Killed by James Norrington
Portrayer	Treva Etienne

"You know nothing of Hell."

―Koehler to Jack Sparrow

Koehler was a cursed pirate serving under Hector Barbossa. He was a skinny, dark-skinned man with dreadlocks and a Jamaican accent. Koehler served on Barbossa's crew, and had no qualms about killing when ordered. He was often paired with his compatriot, Twigg.

Biography

Early life

Koehler joined the crew of Captain Jack Sparrow prior to the search for Isla de Muerta, and served under Sparrow until the night of Barbossa's mutiny. Koehler and the rest of the crew stood by Barbossa against Jack, who was then marooned while the crew, now serving Barbossa, continued on to Isla de Muerta. There, they took the treasure of Hernán Cortés and spent it all on life's pleasures. It was only later that the crew realized the treasure was cursed. Koehler found himself unable to die, and unable to feel neither pleasure nor pain. Under moonlight, he and the crew became walking skeletons, and the undead men began their quest to return all eight hundred and eighty two gold coins to Isla de Muerta.

Koehler at Isla de Muerta.

Attack on Port Royal

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, Twigg. Captain Jack Sparrow."

―Koehler

Koehler and Twigg took part in the siege on Port Royal to obtain the final coin, and fought their way inside the Fort Charles prisons. There, they encountered Jack Sparrow, locked up by James Norrington, and made jokes at their former captain's expense. Jack reciprocated the taunts by angrily insisting that the deepest circle of Hell was reserved for betrayers and mutineers, angering Koehler. Koehler's response was to grab at Jack's throat through the bars, and in doing so revealing his skeletal appearance through a shaft of moonlight. The pirates left, leaving Jack to mull over this interesting development.

Isla de Muerta

"Every decision you've made has led us from bad to worse."

―Koehler to Barbossa

Koehler and Twigg accompanied the crew back to Isla de Muerta after the capture of Elizabeth Swann. During the voyage he and the other crew members worked on the ship in the moonlight, which caused their skeletal forms to be revealed. When Elizabeth emerged from the captain's cabin, she was frightened by the cursed pirates. Koehler and the rest of the crew laughed when Barbossa frightened Elizabeth and made her run back into the cabin.

When the Pearl reached Isla de Muerta, Koehler and Twigg escorted Elizabeth and brought her to the treasure cave. There, however, the crew learned that Elizabeth's blood was not the type needed for the sacrifice, and Koehler briefly entertained the idea of overthrowing Barbossa, accusing him of all the misfortunes that happened. However, Koehler was not prepared to fight Barbossa for his position, and instead, the hunt began for Will Turner.

Attack on the HMS Interceptor

The Black Pearl ultimately caught up with Will Turner's ship, the commandeered HMS Interceptor, which Koehler and Twigg rigged to explode after its crew had been captured and held aboard the Pearl. In the end, Will made a deal with the pirates: he would take part in a blood sacrifice if they released Elizabeth and the captured team. When Jack and Elizabeth were about to be sent to walk on the board, Jack mocked Koehler by saying that he always liked him, but Koehler simply grunted at him in response. Then, he and the team laughed when they were thrown into the sea and marooned.

Lifting the curse and death

When the second blood ritual began, this time with Will Turner as a victim, Koehler was shocked when Jack appeared and was revealed to have escaped off the island once again. Koehler then watched while Jack made a deal with Barbossa: he will become the captain of the Black Pearl while Barbossa will become the Commodore of the fleet that they will build together.

Koehler, like most of the other pirates from Barbossa's crew, fought against the British Royal Navy onboard the HMS Dauntless when Commodore Norrington's men launched an assault on the island. Koehler battled Norrington himself, shrugging off a pistol shot to the face before engaging the Commodore in single combat. The sword fight that was cut short when Will Turner lifted the curse back on the island. Norrington stabbed Koehler at the moment the curse was lifted, and the pirate slumped to the deck, dead.

Behind the scenes

Koehler skeleton concept art.

Koehler in The Legend of Jack Sparrow.

• Koehler was portrayed by Treva Etienne in The Curse of the Black Pearl, and was voiced by Fred Tatasciore in The Legend of Jack Sparrow.
• In the first screenplay draft of The Curse of the Black Pearl, before Governor Weatherby Swann goes to barricade himself in Commodore Norrington's office, he found himself face-to-face with Koehler, who was described as a handsome blond man with gold earrings. Also, Koehler's first line of dialogue was delivered in a Dutch accent, implying the possibility that the character was originally intended to be Dutch.
• A pirate similar in appearance to Koehler is seen in the background of several Disney Adventures comics, set after the character's death. It is unknown if this is an attempt to retcon his death (into merely a wounding), a different character altogether, or a mistake on the artists' part.
• Koehler's skeleton in concept art is very similar - if not exact - to the Undead Raiders in Pirates of the Caribbean Online.
• With the exception of Barbossa, Koehler is the only member of the cursed crew who was shown being killed after the curse was lifted.
• Koehler's name appears in the Black Pearl crew roster book at Walt Disney World's Tortuga Tavern restaurant.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Isles of War
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (First appearance)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Gods and Ghosts M (Non-canonical appearance)