- "Gentlemen, m'lady; you will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!"
- ―Jack Sparrow to a group of Royal Navy soldiers and Elizabeth Swann.
Jack Sparrow was an infamous pirate captain in the Caribbean, most notably in command of the Black Pearl. The son of Captain Teague, Jack was born onboard a ship caught in the middle of a typhoon, off the coast of India. At some point in his career Jack obtained the title of Pirate Lord, his domain being the Caribbean Sea. Over the course of time Jack became the stuff of legend and many tales were told of his exploits, most of these tales however were fabrications concocted by Sparrow to bolster his reputation. Despite his many deceptions though, Jack did embark on a great number of adventures many of these involved the supernatural, and indeed Jack's ultimate ambition was to achieve immortality, and the freedom to sail the Seven Seas as a pirate for eternity.
Biography
Early life
- "You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of!"
"But you have heard of me." - ―Commodore James Norrington and Captain Jack Sparrow
Jack Sparrow as a teenager.
Wanting to leave the hectic life of being part of a pirate family, and the torturing of his grandmother, Jack ran away from home and began his adventures after stowing away aboard a ship to reach Tortuga. Jack had few worldly possessions, and even these were stolen on the island. In attempting to reclaim his property, Jack accidentally stole a sack containing the scabbard of the Sword of Cortés from Captain Torrents, a vicious pirate captain with the ability to control storms. Learning of its magical nature from a barmaid named Arabella Smith, Jack set off to track down the Sword of Cortés itself. After Arabella lead Jack to an abandoned ship, The Barnacle, he was given command, and, following a sword fight that Jack lost, found his second crew member in a man named Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III. Having braved a storm conjured by Torrents, Jack, Arabella and Fitzwilliam soon encountered two more sailors, Tumen and Jean Magliore—the latter providing one further crew member in the form of her cat, Constance Magliore, who was once Jean's sister before being transformed by Tia Dalma.
With a ship and a crew, not to mention part of the treasure of Stone-Eyed Sam, a now-dead former pirate king with a fabled stone eye who was said to be holding the Sword, Captain Jack Sparrow set off to find the elusive Sword of Cortés. The crew was confronted by Captain Torrents, though Jack was able to counter his control of lightning by splashing him with rainwater collected in his appropriated hat. He claimed that he had taught a young Benjamin Franklin this trick, and hoped "Benny" would remember it.
Fight for freedom
- "I regret nothing, ever."
- ―Jack Sparrow to Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III
Jack with the spirit of Hernán Cortés and his Sword.
Jack's crew later happened upon a group of Sirens whose song made most of the crew act upon their deepest desires. However, Jack proved immune to their song, since his only true desire was freedom. Unfortunately for Jack, poorly-thought-out negotiations with the Sirens' minions, the merfolk, forced him into a deal that would cost him the thing Jack valued most — his freedom — should he ever find the Sword of Cortés. For the time being, he continued his search for the Sword, ultimately finding it in the possession of Left-Foot Louis on Isla Fortuna. Jack helped defeat Louis, and stopped Arabella from killing the pirate out of revenge for the supposed murder of her mother.
With the Sword and its scabbard in his possession, Jack was able to recite an incantation that unlocked its power—but also caused the spirit of Hernán Cortés to materialize. Jack, wishing to use the Sword's full power, was unaware that Cortés, in teaching Jack how to correctly wield the Sword, was ensuring he, Cortés, would ultimately regain control of the weapon for his own dastardly use. Jack was sent to collect the eye of Stone-Eyed Sam, recently given to the merfolk, meaning Jack was forced to return to Isla Sirena. There, he fought two iguana monsters for his freedom, and obtained the eye from Tia Dalma. Dalma also reminded Jack that a dangerous foe was still pursuing him, a thought that Jack did not savor.
Sparrow returned to Cortés, and unlocked the eye, freeing the spirit of Montecuhzoma, who fought and defeated Cortés. Jack decided to give the Sword to Dalma, realizing it contained too much power to wield. After a further meeting with Tia, who warned him of dangers he would yet face, Jack and his crew set out for Yucatán Peninsula, home of Tumen, and further adventure.
The Sun-and-Stars Medallion
- "Proceed carefully, Jack Sparrow. You've already drunk a sip of what the sea has in store for you."
- ―Tia Dalma
Jack with the crew of the Barnacle.
Unfortunately for Sparrow and his crew, Tumen's village held its own set of challenges. The crew became the main suspects when the Sun-and-stars amulet was stolen from the village, and were banished from the island. Jack resolved to track down the real culprits, whom they happened upon in a hotel in New Orleans. The thief, Madame Minuit, fought for possession of the amulet—a blow from which turning some of Jack's teeth bronze—though her slave, Tim Hawk, turned on her and helped Jack's crew escape. Jack welcomed him aboard the Barnacle.
Moments later, the ship was confronted by La Fleur de la Mort, captained by Laura Smith, Arabella's long-lost mother. The crew was brought aboard, where Jack was confronted by Silverback and Left-Foot Louis, both of whom launched an attack on Jack's crew. The fight was broken up by Laura, though Jack remained suspicious of both pirates, and eavesdropped on a conversation between them, uncovering their plans to mutiny against their captain. This led to a fight, during which Jack stole Silverback's gem, connecting it to his medallion and making both Silverback and Louis disappear. Jack was happy to return to the Barnacle, though Laura kept her daughter aboard La Fleur de la Mort.
Following this, Jack was confronted for a final time by Madame Minuit, Silverback and Louis, who merged to form a giant, three-headed serpent that Jack barely managed to defeat. Jack's teeth were turned into gold when the Sun-and-stars amulet was destroyed. With the battle won, Jack's crew decided to return to their respective homes, leaving only Jack and Fitzwilliam aboard the Barnacle. Suddenly, the vessel was confronted by the Flying Dutchman, and Jack met Davy Jones for the first time.
The Dance of the Hours
Davy Jones was after Fitzwilliam's watch, which was able to stop time. Using the watch's power, Jack and Dalton escaped to a nearby island. After wandering for a few days, they were captured by angry natives and sacrificed to Chantico. They escaped again using the Timekeeper and ran to an Aztec temple. There, they discover that they are on Isla Esquelética while Stone-Eyed Sam still reigned as king. They were captured and taken to Stone-Eyed Sam. Once again they escaped using the Timekeeper and escaped the temple.
By now the island was completely disrupted; there were prehistoric creatures roaming around and Stone-Eyed Sam was very much alive and in control of the Sword of Cortés and, to make matters worse, Captain Torrents was around and wanted his revenge on Jack. After escaping being killed by the lava of the island's volcano, Jack and Fitzwilliam were told by Chantico that they have twelve hours to set everything back to normal or she will kill them. After getting down the volcano by way of hitching a ride on the pterodactyl, the two of them needed magic of Tia Dalma's kind and headed back to the Barnacle by traveling underwater with a tipped over boat over their heads for air. Once they were on the Barnacle, they were quickly captured by Davy Jones and thrown into the brig of the Flying Dutchman where they ran into Tia Dalma who helped them get out and gave them a clue as to how to return time back to normal, that the watch has to be in the possession of someone who doesn't exist in the present time and also that the person has to drop the watch when it chimes twelve. After getting back to the island, and realizing that there is only one hour left, a sword fight starts between Stone-Eyed Sam and Torrents for control of the Sword of Cortés. During their fight, Jack realized that he has to get Sam to hold the watch to set everything back so he gets the attention of both him and Torrents when Jack remembers that the both of them want revenge on him. Things escalated into a three-way sword fight with the Sword of Cortés changing hands several times with time running out. Jack carefully throws the watch so that it wraps around Sam's wrist as the watch starts chiming. Just as Jack was knocked down and Sam about to kill him, the watch chimed for the twelfth time and Tia Dalma pulled it off Sam's wrist and time was quickly set back to normal, with Stone-Eyed Sam turning into a skeleton, the buildings crumbling into rubble, and the plant life of the jungle taking over. After Tia Dalma met with Davy Jones and Chantico met with Tia Dalma, surprising Jack and Fitzwilliam by bowing to her, Jack noticed a pirate ship in the distance and panics. Both he and Fitzwilliam got back to the Barnacle where they see that the pirate ship was being chased by Royal Navy ships. Fitzwilliam then held his sword to Jack's back and reveals that he had been working with the Navy in an attempt to track down Jack's father, Captain Teague, to arrest and hang him.
Sins of the Father
Young Jack Sparrow
Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III is really working for the Royal Navy as a spy and has led Admiral Lawrence Norrington and the whole Royal Navy, to Jack and his father, Captain Teague (Keeper of the Code), himself. Jack and his father are taken off of Teague's ship, the Misty Lady, and sent to the brig of Norrington's ship. Aboard the ship is a rum-lover and ally of Teague's, Joshamee Gibbs. He frees Jack, Teague, and his crew. Jack boards the Barnacle to take off a Royal Navy flag and to sail away when Fitzwilliam shows up and they then battle rapidly back and forth. When Jack finally wins, he's about to kill Fitzy when his father stops him. Then the Royal Navy wakes up and begins to attack The Misty Lady. Meanwhile, Fitzwilliam somehow follows Teague's commands and the three of them end up on the Admiral's ship once more. The aristocrat then turns in Teague and Jack, who are hiding behind barrels. A fight breaks out between the two crews and Jack and Fitzy take at it one more time. Teague and the Admiral fight and when Teague successfully knocks down the Admiral, his son, James Norrington, is frightened and backs up only to fall overboard. Teague rescues James and his father chastises him about being saved by a pirate. Teague tells Jack the Fitzy only did as he was told because of the ring that makes anyone do anything you'd like. He gives Jack the ring and then takes him to Isle Hermosa. In the story's epilogue, Jack gets a new boat, only large enough for one or two people, and sets sail for a new treasure.
Poseidon`s Peak
After acquiring a new boat, Jack sets off to find the fabled Poseidon's Peak and the treasure it holds. He arrives on a deserted island and runs into a sailor who is badly hurt and has amnesia. Following a night of fitful dreams the sailor remembers that his name is Bill and the two of them trek inland to find any clues to where Poseidon's Peak might be. Before long the two are captured by the natives, with Bill inexplicably able to translate what they're saying and are challenge to fight for their lives. Jack cheats and the both of them run into someone very familiar, Constance Magliore, who the natives worship since she swam out of the sea. After getting away from the natives, Jack has the idea of lashing logs together to make a raft to escape the island and while they search, they unearth a chariot covered in sea life. They get on the chariot and it prompt takes them out to sea where the jump off it before it submerges and end up on a small rock in the middle of the ocean. Jack, in a fit of anger, tosses Constance off the rock which causes her to lead them to an underwater cavern. Constance proceeds to lead them through tunnels that seem to go in circles until Jack meets a group of people that are very familiar to him, the former crew of the Barnacle (sans Fitzwillim), along with Arabella's mother and her crew. Jack is especially glad to see Arabella but is dismayed when she runs up and kisses Bill who has regained the rest of his memories and says that he was rescued by Captain Smith's ship sometime after they had split from Jack. Not too long after this, a group of mermaids, of a higher level than the ones Jack has met before, ask them to keep the items belonging to Poseidon (his trident and chariot) away from Davy Jones who would use them to manipulate their kind, and in exchange they would show them how to escape the cavern. Shortly after the request, an unwanted face shows up riding the chariot and wielding Poseidon's trident, Captain Torrents.
Bold New Horizons
In order to retrieve the chariot and trident, Jack challenges Torrents to a duel to the death, in which Jack is ultimately victorius. and becuase Jack saved Le Fleur on himself the pirate code said the ship to be he's so he told Captain Smith she dident refuse it is the code so now Jack is reunited with he's crew from Barlance inculding Smitt and Mr. Recce and now Jack was Captain of the invisibile ship La Fleur.
As that werent enough Jack defeated Torrents and then became the king of the mermaids but jack had escaped on to this adventure to be free so he lett a friendly helpfull mermaid to be boss but Jack was still the ultimate boss but whuldent do the bossing much because he sailed free,
The East India Trading Company
- "We've had dealings in the past. And we've each left our mark on the other."
- ―Cutler Beckett to William Turner
Following his teenage adventures, Jack was at some point employed by the East India Trading Company, and was made Captain of the merchant vessel Wicked Wench. Although Jack carried out many jobs on behalf of Cutler Beckett, when told to transport slaves, he refused and set them free. In response, Beckett ordered the Wicked Wench to be torched, and branded Jack a pirate.[1] Although despising piracy during his early years, Jack soon took to his outlaw status, and left the East India Trading Company behind.
However, Jack was not content to let his ship lie at the bottom of the ocean, and struck a bargain with Davy Jones, the lord of the sea, to resurrect it. In exchange, Jack promised to give up his position as captain of the Wicked Wench in thirteen years time to serve for a century aboard Jones' ship, the Flying Dutchman. Jack, however, had no intention of keeping his end of the bargain, having become too attached to his ship. He rechristened it the Black Pearl, and set out for a life of adventure as a pirate.
Jack Sparrow.
His early pirate life was the subject of many legends and rumors about his exploits, some of which were most likely mis-truths possibly made up by Sparrow himself to bolster his reputation. One of these legends told of how he sacked Port Nassau without firing a single shot, while his other notable exploits included impersonating an officer of the Spanish Royal Navy and a cleric of the Church of England. He also encountered undead pirate Jolly Roger, who swore vengeance against Sparrow after erroneously believing his partner in crime, Ammo Dorsi, to be in league with the pirate. It was believed that Jack became chief of the Pelegostos in the years prior to meeting Elizabeth Swann, a tale he relayed to Mullroy and Murtogg at Port Royal.[2] He picked up the cannibals' language which he again used during his second visit to their village to escape the Kraken.
It was known, however, that Jack at some point became one of the nine Pirate Lords, his domain being the Caribbean Sea. He tied his piece of eight into his hair, letting it dangle over his trademark bandanna. Because of his position, it was possible that he kept in sporadic contact with his father. It is also known that during this time he had a sparrow tatooed on his arm to better identify himself to others as Captain Jack Sparrow.
The Black Pearl
- "Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. That was before I'd met him, back when he was captain of the Black Pearl."
- ―Joshamee Gibbs to William Turner
With the Black Pearl under his command, Jack recruited a crew, including Hector Barbossa, whom Jack named his First Mate. The crew had many adventures in the time after this but nothing could amount to what happened next.
The Shadow Lord's threat
When the evil alchemist, the Shadow Lord created a Shadow Gold, a special metal that grants him unfathomable power, and threatend to destroy the Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court, Jack was sent by Tia Dalma on a mission to recover nine pieces of Shadow Gold in order to stop the Shadow Lord's Army of Shadows. During his journey around the world, Jack has been in Asia and Europe, fighting with powerful organizations like the East India Trading Company and band of thiefs like the Fourth Estate. With the help of Pirate Lords, Jack was able to collect all pieces of Shadow Gold and defeat the Shadow Lord once and for all.
Mutiny
After the Shadow Gold adventures, the treasure of Cortés would again play a part in Jack's pirate life, as he and the crew of the Pearl embarked upon a quest to find a cache of Aztec gold stashed by Cortés. However, before the treasure was found, the crew mutinied. Led by Barbossa, the crew marooned Jack on a desert island with nothing more than a flintlock pistol with a single shot. Barbossa believed it would be the last they would see of Jack Sparrow.
However, Jack was in luck, as a group of rumrunners had currently been using the island as a secret cache, and for the next three days Jack cavorted with them, and likely suffered little more than a severe hangover before bartering passage off the island. This misadventure helped to build upon Jack's reputation in the Caribbean, helped along by Jack's outlandish exaggerations as to the circumstances of his escape; one version of events saw Sparrow using a couple of sea turtles as a raft to flee the island. Jack kept his single-shot pistol, making no modifications to it, but rather keeping it with the intent to use it upon his mutinous First Mate, Barbossa.
It was believed that Jack's altruistic nature may have been part of the reason why his crew mutinied; indeed, Barbossa would later note that Jack's attempts at non-violent solutions to problems was exactly the attitude that lost him the Black Pearl. Whatever the reason, the mutiny was not a unanimous agreement among the crew of the Black Pearl. William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner, for one, disagreed with Barbossa's decision to maroon Jack, but he too would suffer Barbossa's wrath. "Bootstrap" was tied to a cannon and plunged into the ocean depths, apparently to his death. However, Jack would later be reunited with Bill after "Bootstrap" struck a deal with Davy Jones to escape his fate in the crushing depths of the sea.
The Curse of Cortés
Jack behind the wheel of the HMS Interceptor.
Death would not come quickly for any of the crew of the Pearl. After leaving Jack marooned, Barbossa's men found the Aztec gold, but their treasure, soon frittered away on manifold pleasures, came at a price. They became cursed men, walking dead, unable to live as normal men until all 882 pieces of Cortés's treasure were returned and repaid in blood.
Jack was the only member of the crew not to be affected by the curse, since he had already been abandoned by Barbossa. However, he heard tales of the curse placed upon his former crewmen, which possibly fueled his desire to achieve immortality, and eternal freedom to sail the seas. Over the next eight years, Jack continued his life of piracy, though on the eighth year, he was reduced to commandeering the Jolly Mon from Anamaria, a boat that barely made it to Port Royal before sinking.
Now "in the market" for a new vessel, Jack attempted to commandeer the HMS Interceptor, but his plot was interrupted by a young lady falling from Fort Charles. Despite his piratical nature, Jack was not about to let the girl, Elizabeth Swann, drown, and dived into the ocean to rescue her. Bringing her up to the harbor, Jack tore off her corset, allowing her to breathe; he then spied a strange coin fastened around her neck, one of the pieces of Aztec gold Barbossa's men were seeking. However, before he could explore the situation further, Commodore James Norrington arrived to arrest Sparrow.
Despite having saved Governor Weatherby Swann's daughter, Jack was sentenced to be hanged. However, Jack held Elizabeth hostage, ensuring the return of his effects before making his daring escape. With Norrington's men in pursuit, Jack sought refuge in a blacksmith's shop, where he cut his manacles. However, he was soon confronted by the blacksmith's apprentice, William Turner, whose face Sparrow vaguely recognised, who engaged the pirate in a sword fight. Sparrow won, through a mixture of skill and pirate trickery, but Turner refused to stand down. Jack was resolute he would not shoot Turner, thus wasting his single shot, and was preoccupied enough with this quandary for John Brown to knock him unconscious.
When Sparrow came to, he found himself incarcerated in Fort Charles, which soon came under attack by a fog-shrouded pirate ship, the Black Pearl, as Jack immediately identified it. During the fight, as Jack was luring the Prison Dog to him, the pirate Koehler happened upon Jack's cell, and inadvertently revealed to Jack the existence of the curse of Cortés upon Barbossa's men. Jack remained in the cell throughout the attack, but, the next morning, was visited again; this time by Will Turner, who made a deal with Jack to help him reach the Black Pearl's port and rescue the captive Elizabeth. Jack agreed, and immediately set about acquiring a ship.
Escape to Tortuga
- "That's got to be the best pirate I've ever seen."
- ―Lieutenant Groves to Commodore Norrington regarding Jack Sparrow
Sparrow and William Turner aboard the Dauntless.
Sparrow and Turner used cunning and guile to board and commandeer the flagship HMS Dauntless, which was summarily boarded by Norrington's men. However, the pirates slipped away unnoticed, and boarded Norrington's faster ship, the Interceptor, using it to flee Port Royal and leaving the Dauntless with its rudder chain disabled.
Jack Sparrow finding a crew.
The pirates arrived at Tortuga, and after some less-than pleasant reunions with two jealous prostitutes, Jack tracked down his old friend Joshamee Gibbs, and explained his plan to follow the Black Pearl to Isla de Muerta, using Will as leverage to reacquire his ship from Barbossa. Sparrow and Gibbs assembled a crew, and set off in the Interceptor, following Jack's navigation by his strange compass.
Isla de Muerta
- "When you marooned me on that godforsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing, mate…I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."
- ―Jack Sparrow to Hector Barbossa
Thanks to the Interceptor's speed, the crew arrived at Isla de Muerta just after the Black Pearl, and Jack and Will went ashore. There, Jack witnessed the start of the ritual that Barbossa hoped would lift the curse, but complications arose in the shape of Will, who was far too impatient for Jack's liking. Jack implored Will to remain where he was so that Jack could implement his plan, but Will rashly knocked Jack unconscious and rescued Elizabeth himself. Turner took the girl back to the Interceptor, where he admitted Jack had fallen behind. Having sworn to keep to the Pirate Code, Gibbs ordered the crew to set sail.
Meanwhile, Jack had woken up, and found himself surrounded by Barbossa's pirates. Invoking the right of parley, Jack was brought before Barbossa, and made a deal with him to procure the person whose blood would lift their curse, for Elizabeth's blood had had no effect. Jack was brought along as the pirates set sail to pursue the Interceptor, and found himself aboard his former ship for the first time in eight years. However, when he suggested to Barbossa that he attempt a negotiation with the Interceptor's' crew, Jack was locked in the brig, as Barbossa said, that was the kind of attitude that had lost Sparrow the Pearl in the first place.
Battle with the Black Pearl
- "Stop blowing holes in my ship!"
- ―Jack Sparrow to the crew of the HMS Interceptor
Jack witnessed the ensuing battle from within his cell, but when a stray shot smashed the lock, he was able to return to the deck, and slyly helped his crew in the fight. Noticing Barbossa's monkey making off with the medallion, Jack gave chase, and once more found himself face-to-face with Barbossa aboard the Pearl. This time, Barbossa was not so lenient, and made Jack walk the plank, and, accompanied by Elizabeth, Sparrow had no choice but to make for the island he had been marooned on ten years earlier. Fortunately, Barbossa allowed Jack to keep his pistol, still with its single shot.
Marooned
- "Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails; that's what a ship needs, but what a ship is…what the Black Pearl really is…is freedom."
- ―Jack Sparrow to Elizabeth Swann
Jack aboard HMS Dauntless.
With the rumrunners no longer operational, Jack had no plan of escape. However, Elizabeth proved more cunning than Jack had expected, and, after getting him drunk, proceeded to burn the rum caché, hoping the ensuing fire would attract attention. Jack rubbished the plan, tempted to even shoot Elizabeth had he possessed more than one shot, but a short time later, help did indeed arrive in the form of the Dauntless, and both Jack and Elizabeth were rescued.
On board, Jack and Elizabeth persuaded Commodore Norrington to set after the Black Pearl and rescue Will, though yet again Jack had his own agenda. He coerced Norrington into allowing him to go ashore alone, and Jack once again confronted Barbossa in the treasure cave, just as the ritual began for a second time, this time with Will as the sacrifice. Jack stalled the proceedings, and managed to steal one of the coins from the chest, while convincing cursed crew to defeat Norrington before lifting their curse. Barbossa sent all but a few of his men to attack the Royal Navy forces outside, while he, Jack and Will remained in the cave. It was at this point that Jack showed his true colors.
The immortal Jack Sparrow
- "So what now, Jack Sparrow? Are we to be two immortals locked in an epic battle until Judgment Day and trumpets sound?"
"Or you could surrender." - ―Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow
Stealing a sword from one of Barbossa's men, Jack engaged his former first mate in a deadly duel, in which Barbossa seemed to gain the upper hand. The fight led them around the cave, until Barbossa cut it short by declaring that, as an immortal, Jack could not kill him. Sparrow tried anyway, but Barbossa merely sighed at the sword plunged into his body, and responded in kind, stabbing Jack in the gut. Victory was denied, however, when Jack stumbled backwards into a shaft of moonlight, transforming into a skeleton before Barbossa's shocked eyes. Holding aloft the medallion he had taken, Jack grinned triumphantly at his nemesis, and began the duel anew.
Jack Sparrow in his skeleton form.
By this time, Elizabeth had joined Will in the cave, and, working together, they had dispatched the remaining Black Pearl pirates. Noticing Will standing over the chest, Jack quickly cut his hand with his sword, staining his medallion with his blood and hurling it to Will as he did the same. Will dropped both coins into the chest, and Jack finally used his single shot, firing it into Barbossa's heart. Barbossa realized he had been deceived moments before he toppled backwards, dead.
Avenged and the curse now lifted from him, Jack set about searching through the treasure cave for items of particular value. However, upon his return to the open water, he discovered his crew had already departed in the Black Pearl, after Elizabeth had failed to convince them to stay and help in the fight. Jack had no choice but to accompany the Royal Navy back to Port Royal.
Jack at the helm of the Black Pearl.
Freedom
- "On deck, you scabrous dogs! Man the braces! Let down and haul to run free. Now…bring me that horizon. [hums to himself] And really bad eggs… Drink up me hearties, yo ho!"
- ―Jack Sparrow
For his crimes, Jack was sentenced to be executed by hanging, and grimly awaited his fate in the courtyard of the fortress. However, Will Turner was also present, and staged a daring rescue of his comrade. Together, the two pirates fought the Commodore's soldiers, but were ultimately surrounded. It was only when Elizabeth decided to stand with them that Governor Swann ordered the soldiers to lower their weapons. Seizing his chance, and noticing a familiar parrot nearby, Jack made his escape. Bragging to the soldiers, he accidentally toppled over the fort wall diving into the ocean just as the Black Pearl rounded the cove. In the face of this alarming chain of events, culminating in Elizabeth's profession of love for Will, Commodore Norrington decided not to immediately pursue Sparrow, giving him time to escape.
Jack was brought aboard the Pearl, and was once more given command of his ship. He ordered his crew to set sail, regained his hat and compass, and headed off on another adventure on the high seas.
Black Spot
- "Any idea when Jones might release said terrible beastie?"
"I already told you Jack. Your time is up. It comes now, drawn with ravenous hunger towards any man what bears... the Black Spot." - ―Jack Sparrow and Bootstrap Bill Turner
Jack Sparrow during to his meeting with Bootstrap Bill Turner.
As Captain of the Black Pearl once again, Jack continued operating as a pirate, but soon realized his freedom came at a cost. The debt he had sworn to Davy Jones thirteen years prior had still not been paid. Whether Jack had the foresight to attempt to call off the debt, or whether it was simply a coincidence is unknown, but Jack embarked on a quest to locate the Dead Man's Chest, rumored to contain the still-beating heart of Davy Jones. First, Jack had to find the key to the chest, and soon happened upon a valuable drawing of the key in a Turkish prison, giving him an advantage in his quest. He was able to obtain this drawing, but soon encountered trouble, and fled the island within the confines of a coffin launched out to sea. He used the coffin as a makeshift boat to return to the Black Pearl, where he informed his crew of his new venture.
That night, Jack was visited in the Pearl's cellar by Bootstrap Bill Turner, currently serving as part of Davy Jones' crew aboard the Flying Dutchman. Turner informed Jack that his time was up, and Jones was calling in his debt. To reinforce this, Turner branded Jack with the Black Spot, setting fear into Jack's heart and causing him to begin his quest for the key with all haste, though he was so fearful of what his debt might entail, Jack could not bring himself even to tell his crew what forces pursued them.
Running to Pelegosto
Jack as chief of Pelegosto.
- "See, the Pelegostos believe that Jack is a god in human form, and they intend to do him the honor of releasing him from his fleshy prison. They'll roast him and eat him."
- ―Joshamee Gibbs to William Turner
Jack knew that as long as he remained on the open seas, he was in danger, so the Pearl weighed anchor at Pelegosto, the closest body of land, and one which Jack was likely familiar with. Even here, the crew of the Pearl was not safe, as they were summarily captured by a group of cannibalistic natives. Jack was made the chief of the tribe (allowed to retain his position so long as he acted like a chief), although he found his fortunes had little improved when he learned that the natives believed him to be a god, and he would be eaten to release his spirit from its "fleshy prison".
Despite this, Jack played along, all the while looking for means of escape. Meanwhile, some of his crew had already been eaten, and the rest held in cages made from the bones of their former companions.
Jack Sparrow escapes Pelegosto.
Jack's situation improved with the arrival of William Turner, seeking Jack in order to obtain his compass for Lord Cutler Beckett. Will inadvertently caused a distraction, through his capture by and subsequent escape from the cannibals, which gave Jack the time he needed to flee. Jack, Will and the surviving crew returned to the Black Pearl and set sail, though Jack still refused to head into open water. Instead, he had unfinished business on another part of Pelegosto.
Tia Dalma
- "Jack Sparrow does not know what he wants! Or do you know... but are loath to claim it as your own?"
- ―Tia Dalma to Jack Sparrow
Jack in Tia Dalma's shack.
The crew traveled up-river in boats to the shack of Tia Dalma, where Jack hoped to find information on the key to the chest which contained Davy Jones's heart. He and Dalma had a history, and as Jack himself said, they had, at one time, been inseparable. It was also implied that the two had once been lovers.
Upon arrival at her shack, however, Jack was somewhat perturbed to find Dalma took more interest in Will than himself. However, Jack was able to trade Barbossa's undead monkey in exchange for information on the the location of the key, and details about Jones's heart. He was also given a jar of dirt, as Tia said that Davy Jones could not make port but one day for every decade, and so Jack would bring land, in some form, with him.
Bargain with Jones
- "As been the case before, I am oddly compelled to listen to you."
- ―Davy Jones to Jack Sparrow in the unedited screenplay
Armed with this knowledge, the crew set out to find Jones' ship. Will was summarily captured by Jones' crew after Jack told him to say "Jack Sparrow sent me to settle his debt", and Davy Jones himself confronted Jack aboard the Pearl. He demanded Jack's debt be paid, but agreed that, should Jack bring him one hundred souls in three days he would be free. As slim a chance as this was, Jack took it, and immediately set sail for Tortuga, noting that Jones did not specify what state the souls should be in.
Jack and Gibbs began recruiting for service aboard the Black Pearl, and managed to enlist a total of four mariners before a bar brawl broke out, started by the disgraced former Commodore James Norrington. Jack and Gibbs managed to slip out, and began preparing the Pearl for launch. At this point, Jack encountered Elizabeth Swann, having escaped from the custody of Lord Beckett to find Will. Jack realized Elizabeth's true desire was being reunited with Will, and knew he could use this to his advantage. He persuaded Elizabeth that finding the Dead Man's Chest would lead her directly to Will, thus ensuring that when she used Jack's compass, it would point to her true desire, now the chest. Jack finally found a heading.
Journey to Isla Cruces
- "Mr. Gibbs!"
"Cap'n."
"We have our heading."
"Finally!" - ―Jack Sparrow to Joshamee Gibbs
Jack attempts to hide from James Norrington.
The Black Pearl immediately set course for Isla Cruces, the burial site of the Dead Man's Chest. On board his ship, Jack learned of Will's association with Lord Beckett, after finding his Letters of Marque. Jack took the documents, much to Elizabeth's annoyance, and refused to return them unless she could sufficiently "persuade" him to do so.
Later on during the journey, Jack once more approached Elizabeth, offering her a drink and stating that she would come over to his side in time. He stated that Elizabeth was curious about Jack's way of life, and longed to feel the freedom Jack enjoyed. In turn, Elizabeth told him she was sure one day Jack would prove himself to be a good man, and he would long for the reward of fame that would follow. Jack was indeed enticed by this, but whatever attraction may have developed between the two was soon quashed when Jack noticed the Black Spot had reappeared on his palm. At that moment, Gibbs sighted land: Isla Cruces, and the end of Jack's quest.
The Dead Man's Chest
- "You'll have the chance to do something…something courageous. And when you do, you'll discover something: that you're a good man."
- ―Elizabeth Swann to Jack Sparrow
Jack Sparrow opening the Dead Man's Chest.
Upon arrival at Isla Cruces, Jack set about tracking down the Dead Man's Chest, using Elizabeth as his guide. Jack had Norrington dig at the supposed burial site, as deigned by Elizabeth, using the compass. Her reading was correct, and Norrington soon unearthed the chest. However, before Jack could open it, Will Turner arrived, having escaped from servitude aboard the Flying Dutchman. He refused to let Jack open the chest, wanting to stab the heart within and thus free his father from his debt to Jones. Jack, naturally, wanted the heart for himself, in order to call off Jones' Kraken, and drew his sword. It was a standoff, exacerbated by Norrington's intervention, who wanted control of the heart for his own personal reasons.
A fight inevitably ensued, in which Jack attempted desperately to get his hands on the key. The three-way duel progressed atop a stone church, where Norrington stated his intention to kill Jack for ruining his life. Jack deflected blame onto Will's shoulders, and fled through the graveyard with the key. However, he was soon thrust back into the battle when the two duelists dislodged an old water wheel, and continued the fight inside and around it as it rolled through the jungle.
Ultimately, however, Jack managed to hold on to the key, and opened the Dead Man's Chest after taking it from the pirate Hadras. Within was Davy Jones' heart, just as Tia Dalma had said, which Jack hid inside his jar of dirt back at the longboat on the beach. Davy Jones' crew soon caught up, and Jack became too preoccupied with fighting them off to notice Norrington studying the jar with great interest.
Jack's companions were able to hold the pirates back, and fled in the longboat leaving Norrington, who instead fled into the jungle carrying the empty chest, thus distracting the pirates. Jack made it back to the Black Pearl, which launched for the open water, safe in the knowledge that he was now in possession of the heart of Davy Jones.
Confrontations
- "Oi, Fishface! Lose something? Eh, Scungili! *falls down stairs* Got it! Come to negotiate, eh, have you, you slimy git? Look what I got. *sings* I've got a jar of dirt! I've got a jar of dirt! And guess what's inside it?"
- ―Jack Sparrow to Davy Jones
As Jack had expected, the Flying Dutchman soon caught up with the Pearl, and he began taunting its Captain, holding his jar of dirt aloft. Jones chased the pearl at first firing at it but the Pearl soon outran the Flying Dutchman. That's when Davy Jones called upon the Kraken once more, which began its assault on the Black Pearl. Shaking the vessel, the Kraken dislodged Jack's Jar of Dirt, which smashed on the deck, revealing nothing inside but a pile of dirt. Desperately searching for the missing heart, which was already making its way to Cutler Beckett in the possession of Norrington, Jack realized his advantage over Jones was lost. True to his usual form, Jack turned tail and fled in the ship's lone remaining boat, seeking to escape back to the relative safety of Isla Cruces.
However, despite all evidence to the contrary, Jack was indeed a good man at heart who knew he could not leave his crew to die in the attack, and began rowing back to his beloved Black Pearl.
He arrived back on deck in time to ignite a gunpowder trap set up by Will that wounded the Kraken and forestalled its attack for a moment. Jack ordered his crew into the longboat, at the cost of his ship. Gibbs was shocked at Jack's decision, but the Captain had seen sense; after all, she was only a ship.
As the crew raced onto the longboat, Elizabeth thanked Jack for coming back to save them, and leaned in for a kiss. Their kiss carried them to the mast, to which Elizabeth suddenly chained Jack. She had realized the Kraken was after Jack alone, not the rest of the crew, and this sacrifice would be the only way to ensure their survival. Jack conceded her trickery with a smile, calling her a "pirate". Apparently resigned to his fate, Jack watched her leave the ship.
Down with his ship
- "And already the world seems a bit less bright. He fooled us all right to the end. But I guess that honest streak finally won out"
- ―Joshamee Gibbs
Jack Sparrow bravely facing the Kraken.
As soon as he was left alone on deck, Jack frantically tried to escape his chains. He managed to slip out of his manacles with the aid of oil from a broken lantern, though he was not out of danger. No sooner had he freed himself than the Kraken returned, its fanged mouth rising up to deck-level. The Kraken belched out a roar, spraying Jack with slime and spitting out his tricorner hat, eaten prior to Jack's arrival at Pelegosto.
Placing his hat once more atop his head, Captain Jack Sparrow drew his sword and faced off against the Kraken as it dragged the Black Pearl under water, lunging into its mouth with a battle cry of "Hello beastie!"
With that, the captain went down with his ship, and Davy Jones considered his debt settled. Jack's Captain-less crew returned, dejected and defeated, back to Tia Dalma's shack. There, they raised a toast to the late Captain Jack Sparrow, but Tia had not yet given up hope. She stated that there was a chance to bring Jack back from the depths of World's End, though it would entail a journey to Davy Jones' Locker. The crew agreed, and set out under the command of their new Captain, the resurrected Hector Barbossa, a man who knew the waters of World's End well.
Madness of the Locker
- "Gentlemen...I wash my hands of this weirdness."
- ―Jack Sparrow to hallucinations of himself.
Jack being followed by rocks in Davy Jones' Locker.
Jack was taken by the Kraken to Davy Jones' Locker, where he was forced to endure the worst punishment he could ever take; his beloved Pearl was stuck on a seemingly-endless desert, while Jack himself was tormented by a series of hallucinations that personified the various aspects of his personality as members of his crew, torturing both his love of the sea and his idea of being the only "Jack Sparrow". Divided in this manner, Jack had no hope of moving his ship, as though his crew did follow orders, the flaws of his "crew" made the Pearl unable to make any sort of progression with no wind to move the ship. When Tia Dalma neared the island where Jack was stranded, she enchanted the rocks on the island to teleport to the Black Pearl, and the rocks cracked open, revealing an army of rock-crabs. The rock-crabs used their combined strength to move the Black Pearl. Jack was off the ship at the moment, but was able to catch up to the Pearl and boarded it in time to sail it out to sea.
The Return of Jack Sparrow
Jack Sparrow and his crew in Davy Jones' Locker.
By this point, his former crew, led by Barbossa and aided by Tai Huang and the crew of the Hai Peng, arrived in the Locker, ostensibly to free Jack. Sparrow initially believed them to be mere hallucinations, but was swayed when he saw Elizabeth, perhaps recalling the foul memory of his death, or maybe just recalling her kiss. Jack remained unfazed by their appearance, and even greeted his former nemesis, Barbossa, with cheer, knowing full well that their only means of escape, the Pearl, was in Jack's possession. However, he was forced to concede that Barbossa, holding the navigational charts bestowed upon the crew by Sao Feng, would be useful in the escape, as in the locker, his compass didn't seem to work. Almost immediately, a rivalry formed between Jack and Barbossa with both claiming to be the rightful captain of the Black Pearl.
Up is Down
Jack and Barbossa compare telescopes.
- "Up is down…well that's just maddeningly unhelpful. Why are these things never clear?"
- ―Jack Sparrow on Sao Feng's navigational charts
The crew boarded the Pearl and set sail on the endless seas of Davy Jones' Locker, knowing that if they were unable to escape by sunset, they would remain trapped in that dimension forever. Jack, however, was able to decipher one additional phrase, "Up is Down". Puzzled at first, after listening to his shoulder angel and devil debate his future (ironically they look just like Jack) he figured out the meaning, and coerced his crew into rocking the ship back and forth. Barbossa, realizing Jack had figured out the chart loosed the objects below deck, until at last the Pearl tipped upside down under the waves. As the sun sank below the horizon, the ship returned to the world of the living at sunrise; the ship had literally been turned upside down to pass between dimensions, going from the bottom of the sea, and floating all the way to the top.
As soon as the crew emerged from the Locker, Barbossa pulled a pistol on Jack, leading to a tense stand-off. Barbossa wanted to lead Jack to Shipwreck Cove as he was a pirate, but Jack adamantly wished to leave the pirates to their fate. This turned even Elizabeth and Will against Jack, but determined not to return to the locker, Jack pulled his pistol on Barbossa. Then it was revealed that none of the crews' pistols would work due to the wet powder of just passing through the sea. Jack and Barbossa were forced to grudgingly cooperate, and made for the nearest island to find fresh water.
Mutiny on the Pearl
- "Did no one come to save me just because they missed me?"
- ―Jack Sparrow
The island the crew happened upon was the one on which the corpse of the Kraken had been left, after Davy Jones had been forced to kill it by Lord Beckett. Jack had a moment of sympathy for the poor creature, perhaps seeing the reflection of his own mortality in its dead eye. Jack voiced his fear of death to Barbossa, who reminded him that death, not immortality, was the only certainty. It was at this point that Jack decided to redouble his efforts to discover a way of achieving eternal life. In another turning point, Jack, who originally planned on simply running and becoming the last pirate as the E.I.T.C. killed them all, finally realized that Beckett had to be stopped, and agreed to meet with the other members of the Brethren Court.
However, his quest was postponed by the arrival of the Empress, and the betrayal of Sao Feng. Jack and his crew were confronted by Sao Feng, who punched Jack on the nose in retaliation for a "great insult" paid by Jack at some point in the past. Jack was forced to give up the Black Pearl when it transpired that Will Turner had struck a deal with Feng to take the ship for himself, in order to catch the Flying Dutchman and free his father from servitude. Jack then asked the crew if anyone had actually missed him. Four members did: Marty, Pintel, Ragetti and Jack the Monkey.
Jack was then taken aboard the Endeavour, flagship of Lord Cutler Beckett, where his diminished position did nothing to dampen his creativity at negotiation. He struck his own deal, promising to lead Beckett to Shipwreck Cove, and thus deliver the Brethren Court into his clutches, in exchange for Jack's freedom from both the company and from Davy Jones. Beckett, however, threatened to kill Jack to "Cut out the middle man", but Jack promised he would send the Brethren out to him, to ensure their battle. Their final negotiations were cut short though Barbossa and Feng agreed upon a common enemy, resulting in the Pearl's attack on the Endeavour. Jack hastily shook on a deal, then escaped the flagship and returned to his own vessel via a cannon and rope, to find Elizabeth had been given over to Feng in order for Barbossa to retain the Pearl.
The Brethren Court
- "Cuttlefish. Eh? Let us not, dear friends, forget our dear friends, the cuttlefish. Flipper glorious little sausages. Pen'em up together and they will devour each other without a second thought. Human nature, isn't it? Or...or fish nature. So yes, we could hole up here, well provisioned and well armed, and half of us would be dead within the month, which quite seems grim to me any way you slice it. Or...uhhh...as my...learned colleague so naively suggests, we can release Calypso, and we can pray that she will be merciful—I rather doubt it. Can we, in fact, pretend that she is anything other than a woman scorned, like which fury Hell hath no?"
- ―Jack Sparrow to the Brethren Court
By this point, Jack found himself unable to trust Will, although Turner did attempt to help Jack honor his bargain with Beckett. Jack, in realizing how far apart Will and Elizabeth were growing, conceived a plan where both he and Will could get what they wanted: Jack would stab the heart of Davy Jones, making him immortal, while Will could still be with Elizabeth and ensure his father's freedom. Jack then gave Will his compass and sent him overboard, and then continued on to the meeting at the cove, sending his regards to Davy Jones.
Jack and Teague during the Brethren Court.
Arriving at Shipwreck Cove, Jack commented on the lack of originality for pirate names, and witnessed Tia Dalma being sent below deck, perhaps overhearing what Barbossa mentioned.
During the meeting of the Bretheren, Jack found himself at odds with Barbossa, and attempted to convince the Pirate Lords to unite against the East India Trading Company. Whether this was playing them into the hands of Beckett or just pure logic, one can never guess. Jack skillfully used his extensive knowledge of surviving saying they could hold up within, but it would be devastating for morale, and half of them could die. They could have also released Calypso as Barbossa petitioned, but Jack thought that to be too risky. Thus, he agreed with Elizabeth, who had finally joined them (now Pirate Lord of the South China Sea). They had to fight.
When it came to deciding the next Pirate King so that war could be declared, Jack voted for Elizabeth, allowing her election, knowing she would support the decision to go to war. Here, he was reunited with his father, Teague, when the Brethren had to consult the Pirata Codex. In meeting his father again, Jack was told, "It's not just about living forever, Jackie. The trick is living with yourself forever." Jack then inquired about his mother, to which Teague responded by holding aloft her shrunken, severed head. Jack responded uncomfortably, "....She looks great!"
Reaching the Dutchman
- "Do you fear death?"
"You've no idea." - ―Davy Jones and Jack Sparrow
With the meeting adjourned and the Pirate Lords decided upon their course of action, the fleet sailed out to meet the armada of the East India Company, the Black Pearl at its head. When the pirates saw Cutler Beckett's Armada and how many ships they were going against, they all turned angrily towards Jack, and sheepishly Jack called for the forces to parlay. During the parlay, he was traded for Will, who had been recovered by Beckett in order that his debt to Davy Jones would once again, be settled. (Due to his escape, the debt had technically been reset so 100 years were once again required) Because his plan was working, Jack was unconcerned with being sent to the Dutchman, though slightly put off by Jones.
Choosing a Destiny
- "Well lookee here, boys! A lost bird! A lost bird that never learned to fly!"
"To my great regret. But, never too late to learn, eh?" - ―Davy Jones and Jack Sparrow
One of Jack's hallucinations in the brig of the Flying Dutchman.
Jack was sent to the brig on board the Flying Dutchman, where he again experienced hallucinations. Jack weakly told them to go away, but they insisted that they couldn't go back to the locker without him. Then he saw a hallucination of what he might be like after he stabbed the heart, and one of his other hallucinations commented that defeating Jones would put an alternative far out of reach. Jack though was adament, and decided to escape and steal the Dead Man's Chest. He fled the prison in the same manner Will had released Jack from Fort Charles over a year before (he thought like Will until he remembered how Will freed him and tried it), and snuck the chest out from under the noses of its guards, Mullroy and Murtogg in addition to recovering his effects. However, he was accosted by Davy Jones during his escape, forcing Sparrow to "fly" up into the Flying Dutchman's rigging, where a duel ensued between the two captains.
Jack fighting Davy Jones for possession of the Dead Man's Chest.
At first, Jack seemed to have the upper hand, slicing off Jones's tentacle holding the Key to the Dead Man's Chest, and disarming him. However, Jones then broke his opponent's sword, and then took the chest from Jack, sending him flying onto a rope. Swinging on the rope, Jack shot the chest from Jones' grip, sending it falling to the deck. The two engaged in a race to reach the chest while the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl engaged in battle around a maelstrom conjured by Calypso. Jack ultimately managed to open the chest and held his broken sword over the heart, taunting Jones with his own routine question: "Do you fear death?" However, Jack was plunged into a quandary when Jones stabbed Will Turner, leaving him to die. Jack knew that the only way to save his old friend and opponent would be to allow him to stab the heart, thus ensuring Will immortality, though at the cost of Jack's own chance at the same. As Bootstrap snapped out of his delirium and engaged Jones, Jack fought with himself, struggling between his own dream of immortality and his one chance to save Will.
In the end, Jack's altruistic nature won over, and Jack forfeited his immortality. He placed his own broken sword in the dying Will's hand, guiding it to stab the heart, and killing Jones in the process. Jack was forced to drag the frantic Elizabeth away from Will's body, knowing that they only had moments until the Dutchman was swallowed up in the maelstrom. He rigged a makeshift parachute and fled with the distraught Elizabeth back to the Black Pearl, moments before "Bootstrap Bill" Turner carved out his own dead son's heart to put in the Chest. Arriving on board the Black Pearl, the rest of his crew wanted to flee the field as the ship was damaged and the the HMS Endeavour was now coming upon them. Jack though, perhaps now determined to finish Beckett off, and salvage the cause of Piracy due to losing his shot at immortality, declined. And when the Flying Dutchman burst from the sea, now captained by Turner, Jack knew they now had a fighting chance, and quickly readied the ship to turn on Beckett. Together, the flagship of piracy and the ship of supernatural power turned on the Endeavor, dealing a devastating duel broadside on the symbol of British Power. Lord Beckett was killed in the devastation, calmly walking down the stairs of his flagship to his demise, after which the East India Company armada fled the battle.
A new horizon
- "Ladies, will you please shut it? Listen to me! Yes, I lied to you. No, I don't love you. Of course it makes you look fat. I have never been to Brussels. It is pronounced E-GRE-GIOUS. By the way, no, I've never actually met Pizarro, but I love his pies. And all of this pales to utter insignificance in light of the fact that my ship is once again gone. Savvy?"
- ―Jack Sparrow to Scarlett and Giselle.
Jack with Scarlet and Giselle.
With the battle won, Jack bade farewell to Elizabeth, and sailed the Black Pearl to Tortuga, where he was found in the company of Scarlett and Giselle, persuading them with an offer to ride aboard his ship. However, upon returning to the harbor, Jack found the Pearl gone: Barbossa had mutinied once again, and taken Jack's ship, leaving him and Gibbs ashore. This didn't seem to faze Jack, however, who resorted to using a dingy left to him. He had anticipated Barbossa's treachery, and had cut out the middle of Sao Feng's navigational charts for himself. He was singing "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)", while running up his pirate flag. After locating a bottle of rum, Jack used his compass to find the supposed location of the Fountain of Youth. Jack sailed off in his dingy, while sipping the rum, as he headed for Florida, where the charts say the Fountain of Youth is.
- "Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!"
- ―Jack Sparrow's last line in At World's End.
Personality and traits
Jack Sparrow.
Jack Sparrow was noted for his unusual demeanor, characterized by a slightly drunken stagger and wild, flailing arm and hand gestures that made him appear unfocused and possibly ataxic. This was possibly due in part to the hot climate of the Caribbean, and the large amount of time spent on deck of various ships—though it should be noted he seemed fairly sure-footed onboard a ship. However, it is more likely that his demeanour is due to a common affliction of most sailors of that era - a combination of lots of rum, very few fruits and vegetables, and a tendency to accidentally hit one's head quite often on low-hanging bulkheads below the decks of a ship. It was rumored that Jack suffered heat stroke while marooned on a desert island after Hector Barbossa's mutiny aboard the Black Pearl.
Jack could be extremely serious on occasion, such as after shooting Barbossa on Isla de Muerta. Jack's seemingly-perpetual drunkenness may have been the cause of his slurred speech.
Jack wearing his tricorne hat.
Average in height and build, Sparrow relied more on intelligence, agility, and quick wit to protect himself, rather than physical strength. He frequently outmaneuvred enemies with his words but when forced to fight he was still a formidable opponent.
Sparrow was a decent, if self-serving, man who adhered to the Pirates' Code. He believed pirates could still be "good men," which was his evaluation of Bootstrap Bill Turner. Unusually altruistic for a pirate, Sparrow would risk himself to save others, most notably Will and Elizabeth. It was partly this benevolence that led the crew to the mutiny aboard the Black Pearl, according to Barbossa.
As often as Sparrow saves Elizabeth and Will, however, he also tricked them to serve his own purposes and even offered up Will to Davy Jones in exchange for himself; when asked if he could condemn an innocent and friend to serve Jones forever while Jack himself roamed free, Jack merrily replied, "Yep! I'm good with it!" after a brief hesitation. In a moment of cowardice, he deserted his ship and crew to save himself from the Kraken. However, after checking his compass, he chose to return and save his shipmates.[3] Further evidence of his morality is when he refused to transport slaves for the East India Trading Company, and when his criminal record is read during his attempted execution at Port Royal; though it is quite extensive and includes arson and kidnapping, there is no mention of murder or rape.
Jack is known for having created, or at least contributed to, his own reputation. For example, when Gibbs tells Will that he escaped a desert island by strapping two sea turtles together, Jack embellishes the story by claiming that the rope was made from his own back hair.
Sparrow considered himself sensitive to the opposite sex, explaining that he had a "tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature." However, he is not one to commit to intimate relationships, as he considered marriage to be "like a wager to see who will fall out of love first." As a youth, he unsuccessfully flirted with deadly mermaids and with Arabella, a crewmate on the Barnacle. A mature Sparrow was more adept at sweeping ladies off their feet, although his conquests seemed to have a sour memory of him; former flames Giselle and Scarlett slapped him or anyone looking for him. However, Tia Dalma, with whom Sparrow apparently had a personal history, was rather pleased to see him when he visited her, although his anxiety over their impending reunion indicated they may have parted on less than good terms.
Sparrow was usually in a lot of debt, commonly for more than simply money. He owed Anamaria a boat after stealing the Jolly Mon, and most notably had a debt with Davy Jones, with his soul as payment. Jack also revealed he was in debt with all Pirate Lords at the meeting at Shipwreck Cove; Sao Feng was particularly hateful towards him.
Whenever he made an escape, Sparrow often gave the farewell of, "This is the day that you will always remember as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!", which was sometimes humorously cut off.
Jack wore the clothing and effects common to pirates of his time, though marked himself apart from his fellow crewmen by adopting a dress style that projected an air of flamboyance and a touch of the dandy.
Jack wore long sea boots and long, hard-wearing linen trousers. A knotted striped-red sash was tied around his waist, where he would stow his pistol when not in use. On Jack's back was a long brown coat that he would remove when the need arose to either swim or if the air got too hot. A faded blue waistcoat with a shorter lightly-coloured back area and a torn white undershirt made up the rest of the ensemble. The left cuff of the undershirt was ripped, and it was through this hole that Jack slipped his left hand. A red bandanna was always wrapped around his head, complemented by his piece of eight (a small, ancient Siamese coin) draped over his forehead. After his Piece of Eight was destroyed in the ritual to release Calypso, Jack replaced it with a small Kraken tooth.
Jack's first belt was too long for his waist and so was tied to fit his frame, until about a year later when Jack would come by a second belt with a much more decorative buckle. On this new belt he attached some odd new additions; a chicken foot, two small different pieces of animal pelt-one longer than the other-and two small trinkets.
Jack's distinctive look was accentuated by dreadlocked dark brown hair and a goatee beard. He seems to have a perpetual sore or abrasion on the right side of his chin, next to his goatee that never seems to heal. The first of these two beads, one red and one white, were given to him by Tia Dalma as a means of unlocking the eye of Stone-Eyed Sam. Jack braided these into his hair during a confrontation with the spirit of Hernán Cortés.[4]. His hair was adorned with all manner of beads and trinkets gathered from all over the world, each one reminding him of a different adventure, including metallic Kuchi beads on the left. He would later add some pieces of red ribbon to his hair.
Jack's hat was his most valued part of his appearance; a faded-black tricorne that still served its purpose, despite its aged appearance. The hat brim was used to drink water from when arriving at a well and in the crown area were trapped scorpions of a deadly variety.
Jack wore four rings on his hands, though he originally only wore one. The first of these was a silver skull ring set with a single green emerald which Jack wore on the index finger of his right hand. The second was a silver and jade oriental dragon ring which he obtained during an adventure in the Far East. Jack wore this ring on his left index finger until he stole his third ring, a gold and amethyst Greco-Roman ring from Tia Dalma. Jack then wore this new acquisition on his left index finger and moved the dragon ring to his left thumb. Jack's final ring was a gold onyx Spanish flower ring which he stole from a wealthy Spanish widow. Along with the rings, Jack saw fit to tie pieces of worn fabric onto his hand. As well as four rings, Jack also wore a shredded wristband on his right wrist.
He had two tattoos on his right forearm marking him as a pirate; one, the distinctive "P" brand marked on pirates by members of the East India Trading Company—this one in particular administered by Cutler Beckett—and a tattoo of a sparrow flying across a setting sun. This was a well-known identifying mark, signifying that the bearer has sailed all of the Seven Seas. Jack's back is also extensively tattooed with a 15th century poem called the 'Desiderata', although this is rarely seen in the movies - its only appearance on film is during the Davy Jones' Locker sequence. It is visible on the bare back of one of the Jack Sparrow copies shortly before he is stabbed by the 'real' Jack.
Among the beads and trinkets in his hair, there was a reindeer shin bone hanging off of a single strand. On his arms and chest, there were many scars and gashes, the result of some of his previous adventures. On Jack's left wrist was a shred of old lace, which was a trophy piece from a young lady after he had reacquired the Black Pearl.
Equipment and skills
- "Commodore Norrington, My effects, please! And my hat."
- ―Jack Sparrow regarding his effects
Jack was known to carry a number of items about his person at all times, including a flintlock pistol, a saber, and a compass; commonly referred to as his "effects". Jack was highly possessive of these items, and became visibly agitated whenever they were taken from him or tampered with. Even while escaping a Port Royal Prison, Jack would not leave without first gathering his effects, much to the consternation of Will Turner. Jack's saber, a hangre, was also worth noting; the blade was somewhat longer than the blades of other pirates, to keep distance from his enemies when entering a fight and the leather scabbard of this sword was slightly bent at the bottom end.
Jack's tricorne hat was one of the pirate's most beloved possessions, possibly because it symbolized his status as a Captain. When asking for his effects to be handed over to him during his escape attempt in Port Royal, Jack specifically requested his hat. After Jack was marked with the Black Spot, his hat was thrown into the sea by Jack the monkey. The crew realized what a loss this must be for Jack, though he himself was too preoccupied with the Black Spot to pay much attention. The hat is later recovered and summarily eaten by the Kraken along with the ship it was aboard at the time. Jack attempted to replace the hat several times by taking hats from other pirates during a bar brawl in Tortuga, though ultimately regained it when the Kraken spat it out during their confrontation prior to the fall of the Black Pearl. Jack put his hat on prior to being eaten by the Kraken.
Jack's pistol remained with him for many years, after it was loaded with a single shot and carried with him to the desert island he was marooned on by Barbossa. Jack escaped, and for the next ten years carried the pistol with him, intent on killing Barbossa with the single bullet he had been left. Thus, Jack could not bring himself to fire his pistol on anyone else; although he drew his pistol on Will Turner in order to end a duel between them, he did not shoot the boy, and was thus captured by the Royal Navy. Jack ultimately got his revenge on Barbossa, shooting him in the heart moments before Will reversed the curse that protected Barbossa. Jack was then free to load his pistol to capacity, and continued to use it years after. The flintlock pistol had its own notability; the handle was filigreed with silver for a decorative effect and the butt end could just as easily be used as a club. It was known that Jack trained himself to shoot by aiming at empty rum bottles tossed from his ship's deck rail.
Perhaps the most fantastic object Jack carries amongst his 'effects' is his Compass. Obtained in a barter from Tia Dalma, Jack's compass does not point north, but rather towards the thing that the person holding the compass wants most. Since "the thing you want most in this world" is a fairly loose definition, it has been demonstrated to mean people (i.e.: Elizabeth wanting Jack or Will), objects (such as the Black Pearl or the Dead Man's Chest), or a place (Isle de Muerta or Shipwreck Cove, for example). At a certain level, it seems that all you need know is the name of what you want and the compass will help you find it. For instance, despite never having seen it and only having it described to her, Elizabeth was able to make the compass point towards the Dead Man's Chest. However, if you don't want to claim the object you're searching for, the compass seems to not help you, as it didn't help Jack find the Dead Man's Chest; He didn't really want it for himself, he wanted to trade it for something else. The reason it works for Elizabeth seems to be her motive; she wanted the chest because it was the only way she knew of to save what she really wanted, Will. In this respect, Jack's compass can also be seen as a effectively moral compass, and even Jack uses it as such when abandoning his crew to the fate of the Kraken. Though it changes hands frequently, Jack always seems to re-obtain the compass somehow, much like his beloved hat.
Jack Sparrow was a skilled swordsman but usually preferred to escape or negotiate rather than fight. However when forced into combat Jack held his own in duels by using a combination of acrobatic swordplay, trickery, and using any available object as a weapon. His trickery included pulling his flintlock on Turner to abruptly end their duel and exiting the three-way battle with James Norrington and Turner by somersaulting himself off a roof. He was also able to match Hector Barbossa and Davy Jones in single combat. Sparrow was frequently disarmed, though the circumstances were seldom explained, and he prefered escape or negotiation to combat. However, being the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean and having the highest bounty on his head out of all other Pirate Lords might indicate that he was much more skilled in battle than he let on; alternatively he could have just annoyed and escaped more people than the others. It was known that he learned swordplay from an Italian fencing master in exchange for captured Chinese silk.
Behind the scenes
- Jack Sparrow was portrayed by Johnny Depp in all three Pirates of the Caribbean films, and voiced by James Arnold Taylor in Kingdom Hearts II. Hiroaki Hirata voiced the character in both Kingdom Hearts II and the Japanese dub of the first film. Depp voiced the character in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, and Jared Butler provided his voice in the At World's End video game as well as Pirates of the Caribbean Online.
Concept art of Jack Sparrow
- Michael Keaton, Jim Carrey, and Christopher Walken were all considered for the role. The concept of the first film was initially helmed by Steven Spielberg, whose choices for the role of Jack Sparrow were Bill Murray, Steve Martin or Robin Williams.[citation needed]
- Depp claimed Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and Pepé Le Pew (from Looney Tunes) were inspirations for his performance (though Errol Flynn was also an influence).
- Depp was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, a rarity for a comic performance. Its also the first (and as of 2008 only) time any man has been nominated for that award for their performance in a Disney movie.
Jack Sparrow's Jolly Roger.
- Depp's tattoos were covered by clothing and smears of charcoal for the film, though his character's tattoos (the East India Trading Company brand and Sparrow's insignia) were fake. Depp had a replica of the "Jack Sparrow" tattoo after filming was complete, in honor of his son, Jack. Additionally, Depp asked his dentist to implant real gold teeth for the film, though Disney executive Michael Eisner felt he had too many and asked Depp to remove all but a few.
- According to the screenwriters' commentary on the DVD release of The Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack is actually the worst swordsman of the main characters, with Will being the best and Barbossa and Norrington evenly matched, but also the most experienced, having beaten the three of them by violating the rules of engagement.
- One of the rings on Jack Sparrow's fingers (the golden ring with the amethyst center) was, in fact, an original dating back to 2,400 years of age, but said to be either stolen or lost during filming.
- In Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Jack first appears in the jail cell on the island of Bilgewater but later he can be found in Faithful Bride in Tortuga.
Appearances
Non-canon appearances
Sources
Links
Notes and references
- ↑ Pirate 101: "Figure Head"
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest DVD commentary
- ↑ In the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest DVD commentary, the writers implied that the compass would be pointing away from the ship, though Jack knew returning to it was the right course of action.
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow: The Sword of Cortés p86, 107
| Crew of the Barnacle | |
|---|---|
| |
| [edit] |
| v • d • eCursed Crew | |
|---|---|
|
Template:Rescue crew
| Members of the Brethren Court | |
|---|---|
| |
| [edit] |