| This article is about one of Blackbeard's zombie officers. You may be looking for the title. |
| For other uses, see Gunner (disambiguation) |
- "Eight bells! Which of you unfortunate souls stood watch?"
"I did. I stood watch."
"...Gunner?" - ―Blackbeard and Jack Sparrow
The Gunner was a zombie pirate who operated during the mid-18th century. Cruel in death as he was in life, Gunner was relied upon to bully any human crew members, by lashing his cat o' nine tails, into following orders. During the quest for the Fountain of Youth, Gunner served aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, as one of Blackbeard's zombie officers.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Blackbeard's crew[]
- "That fellow seems odd. French, is my guess."
"He's been zombie-fied; Blackbeard's doing. All the officers are that way, keeps them compliant."
"And perpetually ill-tempered." - ―Jack Sparrow and Scrum about Gunner
It is unknown how this man became part of Blackbeard's crew, or how he obtained the title Gunner. But it is known that Gunner was zombiefied prior to the quest for the Fountain of Youth. Although he was zombiefied, Gunner was able to have retained more of his original personality as being cruel in death as he was in life.[3] Gunner would serve as one of Blackbeard's zombie officers aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, sailing on several voyages. One of which was a raid on an island where a missionary named Philip Swift was captured.
Quest for the Fountain of Youth[]
Aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge[]
- "Back to work!"
- ―Gunner
Gunner aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge.
Like the other zombies, Gunner still served as Blackbeard's officers by the time Angelica was able to shanghai Jack Sparrow, who was rumored to have been to the Fountain of Youth, aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. Five days afterwards, as the Queen Anne's Revenge sailed through the ocean, the recently-recruited human crewmen would work with the zombies. Upon seeing Gunner, Jack would have thought that the Revenge's officers were French[4], until he was told of Blackbeard's involvement in zombiefying his officers to "make them more compliant" by fellow shipmate Scrum. Gunner would stare at Jack upon the latter saying that the zombies were "perpetually ill-tempered". The zombies, most notably Gunner, would use ruthless discipline to force the deckhands into following orders while working aboard the Revenge.[5]
- "Boggit."
- ―Jack Sparrow upon seeing Gunner during the mutiny
Gunner fighting Jack Sparrow during the mutiny.
That night, Gunner would fight, alongside Angelica and the other zombies, against Jack Sparrow's mutiny on the Queen Anne's Revenge. During the fight between humans and zombies, Gunner would spot Jack and fought him on deck until Salaman tossed a net down from above and got Gunner caught in it. Gunner would struggle against it, as Jack and Salman climbed to the Revenge's mast to free Philip, but was soon restrained by Jack's comrades. However, Jack's mutiny failed after Blackbeard himself appeared and used his sword to tangle the mutineers with the rigging of the Queen Anne's Revenge. After Blackbeard asked which of the crewmen stood watch, Gunner glanced at the Cook, entangled in the ropes, after which Blackbeard ordered the crew to lower the longboat. The crew of the Queen Anne's Revenge were forced to watch as Greek fire was unleashed on the Cook.[5]
Mermaid Hunt[]
Gunner pointing his pistol at Scrum.
After the Queen Anne's Revenge arrived to Whitecap Bay, Gunner participated in Blackbeard's mermaid hunt. He was put into one of the longboats, along with Scrum, Philip Swift, Ezekiel, the Cabin Boy, and Derrick. As soon as the bay's lighthouse was lit, shining its man-made light on the crewmen, the crew realized that they were the bait for the mermaids. It was Gunner who pointed his pistol at Scrum, physically forcing him to sing his fateful song to attract the mermaids. As Scrum started singing, Gunner gestured to make the other crewmen sing along with Scrum. After Tamara appeared to the crew, she entranced Scrum with her beauty and continuing his song. Shortly after more mermaids came to the crew, the mermaids attacked, tearing their longboat apart. After the battle, Blackbeard's crew managed to capture a live mermaid.[5]
Journey to the Fountain[]
Gunner would join the zombies in carrying the captured mermaid, who Philip Swift would name "Syrena", in a glass coffin, half-filled with water, as Blackbeard's crew trekked on an island. While Blackbeard was forcing Jack Sparrow to make the jump over a chasm, Gunner was among those who watched as Jack had to pick pistols for Blackbeard to use against Angelica. During this attempt on Angelica's life, Blackbeard handed an empty pistol over to Gunner. Later, while the coffin would break, causing Syrena to transform into a human form. Arriving to the Jungle Pools where mermaids were previously harvested of their mermaid tears, Gunner held on to Syrena as Blackbeard tried to force her to cry. After Blackbeard was successfully able to trick Syrena to cry, by faking Philip's death by Quartermaster, Gunner restrained Philip while the other crewmen grabbed Syrena to capture her tear.[5]
Gunner and Quartermaster at the Fountain of Youth.
The next day, Gunner would have arrived to the Fountain of Youth, where Blackbeard's crew engaged in battle with Hector Barbossa's British crew. In the end, Blackbeard was fatally wounded by Barbossa and the Fountain of Youth would be destroyed by the Spanish. While Blackbeard's human crew joined Barbossa, Gunner and Quartermaster tried to fend off the Spanish soldiers until a column was tipped over, crushing the two zombies and the Fountain itself.[5] After Blackbeard's death, if Gunner survived the pillar's blow, he died with the other zombie officers.[1]
Personality and traits[]
Gunner was one of Blackbeard's most notable zombie officers. He can be noted with the mean look he usually had on his face as well as growls or sneers he made.[5] Most of Gunner's physical appearance came after he was zombiefied, such as his closed eye that enhanced his supernatural vision and scars that formed mystic symbols. Cruel in death as he was in life, Gunner could be relied upon to bully any human crew members into following orders aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. Gunner would be the one who would force the deckhands to work. It was Gunner who physically forced Scrum to sing to attract the mermaids.[3]
Equipment and skills[]
As a zombie, Gunner had few possessions. He occasionally used a cat-o'-nine-tails with leather thongs.[3] On his person, he wore a sword and pistol, along with having a bone dagger.[5]
Behind the scenes[]
- Gunner was portrayed by Deobia Oparei in the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
- Two action figures of the Gunner exist, one is a six-inch scale build-a-figure (created by collecting all five figures from Series 1 of the On Stranger Tides toyline from Jakks Pacific), while the other is a 4-inch scale figure which was individually sold.
- A LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean minifigure of the Gunner was included in the Lego set, "The Captain's Cabin."[citation needed]
- It is possible that this man is either based on or is Black Caesar, an infamous West African pirate who served under Blackbeard and was one of the surviving members of his crew after Blackbeard's death at the hands of Robert Maynard.
Appearances[]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (junior novelization) (First appearance)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Movie Storybook
- LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
Sources[]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (junior novelization)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 In the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides screenplay, the zombies decomposed as Blackbeard died at the Fountain of Youth. But as that scene was altered, it is unknown of the fate of the zombies, though it is assumed that the zombies died as there were no zombies under Barbossa's command.
- ↑ Action Figures at Go Figure - Gunner (On Stranger Tides, 3.75")
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide, p36-37: "Zombie Crew"
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (junior novelization), p.49
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
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