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Scratch was a crew member aboard the Black Pearl, serving under Captain Jack Sparrow, and, following his mutiny, Hector Barbossa. Scratch became cursed along with the rest of Barbossa's crew when they stole from the treasure of Cortés at Isla de Muerta, and spent the following decade attempting to lift their curse. The curse was ultimately reversed by the combined efforts of Will Turner and Jack Sparrow, though Scratch and the crew were forced to surrender to Commodore James Norrington aboard the HMS Dauntless.
Biography[]
Scratch 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. Scratch 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. Scratch 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.[1]
After ten years of searching, all hope of finding the last piece of Aztec gold seemed lost—until it sent out a call that lured the pirates to Port Royal. Scratch participated in the attack on the town, and was among the first of the crew to disembark, rushing ashore with his cutlass and dagger in hand. After sacking the town, he and his crewmates returned to the Black Pearl with the captive Elizabeth Swann, who wore the final piece of gold as a medallion around her neck. Scratch drew out his dagger threateningly as Elizabeth was brought on deck, and laughed cruelly when Bo'sun slapped her for speaking out of turn. Under the false belief that Elizabeth's blood would be the key to ending their curse following her negotiations with Captain Barbossa, the crew made preparations to leave Port Royal and sail for Isla de Muerta.[1]
Scratch in Isla de Muerta.
Upon arriving at Isla de Muerta with their captive in tow, Scratch and his crewmates brought loot from the attack into the treasure cave, where he measured its weight using a pair of scales. When Captain Barbossa began the blood ritual shortly thereafter, Scratch threatened Elizabeth by making a throat-cutting gesture with his dagger, though Barbossa merely cut her hand to stain the medallion with her blood, before dropping it into the chest. Scratch then waited for the curse to be lifted, but the only feeling that came was disappointment when it was found that the ritual failed. Tensions rose until the pirates nearly mutinied against Barbossa, but for the discovery that Elizabeth had escaped with the medallion. The pirates returned to their boats to give chase, only to find the oars were gone, and that their former captain Jack Sparrow was there, having escaped the island they had marooned him on.[1]
The crew managed to return to the Black Pearl, and Scratch took part in the battle against the Interceptor. When the two ships came up alongside and exchanged fire, Scratch was positioned at the Pearl's starboard anchor, taking shots at the Interceptor's motley crew with a blunderbuss. Though the Interceptor's crew fought valiantly against their attackers, they were no match for the immortal pirates and were soon captured along with the medallion. Elizabeth was forced to walk the plank, and Scratch again took delight in threatening her with the point of his sword. After marooning Jack Sparrow on the same island as before, the crew then returned to Isla de Muerta with Will Turner as their new captive—whose blood was certain to lift the curse this time.[1]
The blood ritual was interrupted by the arrival of Jack Sparrow, who had again survived his marooning, and revealed to his former crew that the HMS Dauntless was lying in ambush for them, moored in the shallows just off the coast. Scratch and most of the other pirates were sent to attack the British Navy—using the curse to their advantage, the pirates walked along the ocean floor and boarded the unsuspecting Dauntless from underwater. In the battle that ensued, Scratch fought the British until the curse was lifted, and upon seeing Koehler dead, dropped his cutlass and surrendered. He and the rest of the pirates were taken back to Port Royal to be hanged.[1]
Personality and traits[]
Scratch, much like the other members of the cursed crew, was a bloodthirsty and vicious pirate, who was doomed by his own greed to suffer under the curse of the Aztec gold. He was easily recognizable by his blonde dreadlocks, and favored a dagger as his weapon, which he especially took delight in terrorizing Elizabeth Swann with. He frequently wielded a cutlass alongside his dagger, and during the battle against the Interceptor, he also armed himself with a blunderbuss.[1]
Behind the Scenes[]
- Scratch was played by Finneus Egan in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.[1]
- Scratch's name appears in the Black Pearl crew roster book at Walt Disney World's Tortuga Tavern restaurant.[2]
Appearances[]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
Notes and references[]
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