Captain Jack Sparrow

"*Now...bring me that horizon...*"
—Captain Jack Sparrow

**Captain Jack Sparrow** is an anti-hero from the film *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl* (2003). Jack's character and franchise had noticeable impact on the Jungle Cruise film, with Jack also being a prominent Adventureland character connected to the lore of the *Jungle Cruise* franchise.

## History

### Background

*The extent of intersection between the continuity of the Pirates of the Caribbean films and Pirates of the Caribbean attractions are unknown. The movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) is not to be considered (fully) cannon due to continuity errors with established lore and characterization of prior Pirates of the Caribbean stories.*

#### Origins

##### Early life

Jack Sparrow was born in the latter-end of the 17th century as illegitimate son to an unidentified woman and Captain Edward Teague, Pirate Lord of Madagascar and Keeper of the Code for the pirate's Brethren Court. Jack grew up in the secretive South American pirate's lair of Shipwreck Cove as an indentured servant for his father while yearning for freedom. At some point, Jack and his mother would become regular patrons of a pub run by ancient South American man, "Trader Sam" whom Jack became long-time friends with.

Jack wound up running away from his father as a teenager and went on various adventures with one Arabella "Bell" Smith. By adulthood, Jack enlisted with the colonial East India Trading Company under one Cutler Beckett. Beckett put Jack in charge of a ship called *The Wicked Wench* which Jack was very affectionate for. When Beckett tasked Jack with trafficking one-hundred slaves, Jack rebelled and assisted them all in escaping. In anger, Beckett had Jack branded as a pirate and forced him to watch as he burned the Wicked Wench so it collapsed into the sea.

##### Captain of the Black Pearl

These events forced Jack into the life of piracy which he once tried to run-away from. Jack was then approached by Davy Jones who offered to return the Wicked Wench from the ocean's depths so that Jack could be its captain for thirteen years and then serve as an enslaved undead soul aboard Jones' ship The Flying Dutchman for 100 years. Jack agreed and upon seeing the now supernatural Wench had a hull and sails scorched black, Jack renamed the vessel to, "The Black Pearl".

At some point, Jack bartered a magical-compass from the Haitian voodoo priestess Tia Dalma (actually bound sea goddess Calypso) which pointed towards whatever its user wants most in the world. Jack would also become a member of the Brethren Court where he was known as **Pirate Lord of the Caribbean**. In his second-year as captain of the Black Pearl, Jack picked up a crew in Tortuga to find Isla de Muerta, an island which could only be found by those who already knew where it was.

##### Mutiny

Jack located the island thanks to his compass, but was manipulated out of the coordinates by his first-mate Hector Barbossa. Barbossa then lead a mutiny against Jack and in accordance to the Pirate Code, marooned Jack on a small island with nothing but his compass, cutlass, and a flintlock with a single-shot to commit suicide with. As luck had it, the island was used as a stash for rum-runners who Jack found the goods of, and spent three-days drunk on their rum while being driven to madness by heatstroke and the trauma of what he lost.

Jack was then picked up and saved by the smugglers, though would aggrandize the story of his escape to having been about meditating in the waters for days on end then strapping-together sea-turtles to use as a raft with rope made of hair, from his back. Jack would continue to carry around the flintlock and single-shot so that he could use it to kill Barbossa and reclaim the Pearl.

By the early 1720s, Jack was subject to various stories including having disappeared under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Trading Company, and sacking the port of Nassau without firing a single shot. He would also travel to the island of Isla de Pelegestos with Trader Sam where the local cannibal tribe made Jack their chief before he escaped. At some point, Jack had a romance with a Spanish woman named Angelica who was as cunning as he was.

#### Curse of the Black Pearl

Ten years after the mutiny, Jack stole a small ship from female smuggler Anamaria in Tortuga and took it to Port Royal, Jamaica. In Port Royal, Jack saved the life of the governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann before being found out as a pirate by the British leading to him taking Elizabeth as a hostage to make an escape. Jack was however fought by sword fighting blacksmith William Turner who harboured a love for Elizabeth, and this fight ended in Jack's defeat and incarceration.

As it turned out, Elizabeth was in possession of a cursed golden medallion from Isla de Muerta which cursed Barbossa and the mutinous crew of the Black Pearl. Barbossa then took the Pearl to Port Royal where he ransacked the city and kidnapped Elizabeth, believing her to be the daughter of lost crew-mate Bootstrap Bill Turner who they needed the blood of to end their curse though in actuality, the child was William Turner. William went to Jack for assistance in saving Elizabeth, at which point Jack put together that William was Bootstrap's son and planned on using him as leverage to get the Black Pearl back.

William and Jack stole the British ship the *HMS Interceptor* and picked up a ship in Tortuga to take to Isla de Muerta. William clued in that Jack would betray him so betrayed Jack by concussing him and leaving him on the island for Barbossa while making-off with Elizabeth. Jack then negotiated information about William to Barbossa for his life, only to be locked in the Black Pearl's brig while Barbossa targeted the Interceptor and kidnapped its crew. William then revealed that he was Bootstrap's son to try and save Elizabeth and the crew, resulting in Barbossa kidnapping *him* while marooning Jack and Elizabeth on the same island he left Jack ten years prior.

On the island, Jack revealed the truth of his journey to Elizabeth and how they could not escape the same way as the British navy eliminated the business of the rum-runners. Elizabeth then schemed to get Jack drunk and burn all of the island's rum to create a smoke-signal which attracted the attention of the British Navy. The British had Jack assist them in driving Barbossa's crew off the island and into a trap; however Jack feigned betraying Elizabeth for Barbossa while actually still working for her to save William. A fight between Jack's side and Barbossa then engaged where William used his blood to undo Barbossa's curse at which point Jack shot him in the heart, killing him.

After this, Jack was arrested by the British while his crew made off with the Black Pearl. Jack was sentenced to hang until dead in Port Royal but he was saved by William with the Black Pearl's crew who took him as their captain. The governor of Port Royal decided to order they have a day's head start given the circumstances, following which the Black Pearl was pursued by British Commodore, James Norrington. Norrington tried following the Pearl through a hurricane which lost him his ship, occupation and title as a result.

#### Dead Man's Chest

After taking back the Black Pearl, Jack prepared for his inevitable confrontation with Davy Jones as their thirteen-year bargain had ended. However, Jack's compass did not work to help him track down the Dead Man's Chest which he needed to control Jones, as stabbing Jones' heart within would cause Jack to become enslaved as new captain of the Flying Dutchman. Jack was confronted by the undead Bootstrap Bill who was left working for Davy Jones and branded Jack with the Black Spot, a supernatural mark which caused him to be hunted down by Jones' pet sea-monster the Kraken.

Jack was then sought after by William Turner, as he and Elizabeth were both arrested by the British Empire and now *Lord* Cutler Beckett for assisting Jack's escape and they would be hanged unless William delivered Beckett Jack's compass. Jack agreed to exchange the compass with William if William assisted him in finding Davy Jones and negotiating/stealing the key to the Dead Man's Chest. They found Jones on a shipwreck caused by the Kraken where Jack manipulated Will into unknowingly offering his own soul to Jones for Jack's freedom, which Jack did assuming Jones would refuse the offer and that he would be able to get William back. Jones agreed to give Jack his freedom in-return for 100 souls within the following three days, however out of cruelty towards Jack he chose to keep William as a down-payment.

Jack went to Tortuga in order to pick-up a crew to sacrifice to Jones, where he was found by an escaped Elizabeth disguised as a man. Jack lied to Elizabeth about his involvement in William's capture, but realized he could use her to hold the compass and lead them to the Dead Man's Chest, without telling her the full lore which burdened his bias in finding it. He also hired disgraced British officer James Norrington as a deckhand, all while having more of a moral crisis due to knowing what he did to William was wrong and Elizabeth making him want to be a better man. Elizabeth used the compass to lead them to the island of Isla Cruces where they found an escaped William with the chest's key, and the chest buried on a beach. William then planned on stabbing the heart to free his father, while Jack refused as if Jones was dead the Kraken would still hunt him, followed by Norrington crossing them both in hopes to exchange the heart with Norrington for his old life back.

Jack snuck the heart into a chest of dirt given to him by Tia Dalma, only for Norrington to covet it while he wasn't looking. When Jones tried to use the jar as leverage with Jones, he found it was empty, causing Jones to release the Kraken on his ship. Jack almost abandoned ship, only to return and assist the crew in fighting off the Kraken for a round. Before the Kraken returned, Jack had the crew abandon ship. Elizabeth then thanked Jack alone and kissed him, only to shackle him to the mast as she knew the Kraken was after him and not the ship so this would let them all escape. Jack was left on the boat with Elizabeth lying to say Jack chose to stay behind and go down with his ship while they made their getaway. Meanwhile on the Pearl, Jack escaped his shackles but when confronted with the Kraken, embraced his death and jumped into the beast's mouth with his sword-drawn.

#### At World's End

As payment for his debt to Jones, Jack was imprisoned within the underworld of Davy Jones' Locker, completely alone on the Black Pearl in the middle of a desert where he came to hallucinate a crew of himself. Traumatized by his betrayal, Jack chose to revert to his antisocial and backstabbing ways. Jack was saved from the Locker by a crew lead by Captain Barbossa who was resurrected by Calypso due to his status as Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea in the Brethren Court which could set her free, and assisted by William Turner (who wanted the Black Pearl to save his father) and Elizabeth (who initially wanted to assist William but then learned Cutler Beckett murdered her father and wanted revenge). All the while, Lord Cutler Beckett used the heart of Davy Jones from Norrington to control Davy Jones as a supernatural pirate-hunter while leading mass-executions across the seas.

A resurrected Jack Sparrow conspired with Lord Cutler Beckett to betray the Brethren Court by leading Beckett to Shipwreck Cove and encouraging the court to go to war with the East India Trading Company who outnumbered them). Jack also gave his compass to William Turner so that Turner could give the compass to Beckett and Davy Jones in-return for his father's freedom, this way Beckett could follow the compass as it lead to Jack's position due to what he wanted most being to murder Jack. While in Shipwreck Cove, Jack called for an election of Pirate King where he voted for Elizabeth to be named Pirate King as he knew she wished for war with Beckett rather than freeing Calypso.

Shortly after this, Elizabeth learned of Jack and William's treachery then made a deal with Beckett and Jones to trade Jack's life for William's. Jack was then incarcerated upon the Flying Dutchman with Beckett choosing not to uphold his deal to relieve Jack's debt with Jones. Before the war between the British and pirates could occur, Barbossa used a piece of eight stolen from Jack's person to free Calypso, though she betrayed the Brethren Court due to their crimes against her and created a maelstrom which terrorized both sides. Amidst the battle, Jack escaped the Flying Dutchman's brig and then stole the Dead Man's Chest around the same time that Calypso and Davy Jones murdered the British officers on the Dutchman so that Jones could seize his heart for himself.

Jones and Sparrow engaged in a sword-fight for the chest, during which Jones was stabbed by William Turner. Jones then recognized that William was in-love with the nearby Elizabeth and planned to murder William in-front of her out of cruelty and to demonstrate the frailty of love. Jack proceeded to threaten Jones by holding his heart taken from the chest to a shattered sword. Before Jack could stab the heart, Jones murdered William in-front of them both, showing how Jack's machinations and threats couldn't bring his friend back. Jones was then attacked by Bootstrap Bill to avenge his son's murder, giving Jack time to use Will's dead hand to prop up the sword and stab Jones' heart, making him be resurrected as new captain of the Flying Dutchman while Davy Jones died.

Elizabeth and Jack escaped the Flying Dutchman to the Black Pearl where the joined forces of Sparrow and William surrounded Beckett's flagship and destroyed it with cannon-fire, killing him and winning the war in favour of piracy. Jack and Elizabeth then parted ways, with Jack taking the Black Pearl to Tortuga where Barbossa once again lead a mutiny and stole the ship. Unknown to Barbossa, Jack had carved out the vital portions of Barbossa's *Mao Kun Map* that Jack used to set out to find the *Fountain of Youth*.

#### Treasures of the Seven Seas

Following Calypso's release, Jack sought after her Treasures of the Seven Seas, located across the Wilds of Adventureland. To do this, he hired a new crew and fought enemies including Blackbeard, Barbossa, and Commander John Evenrude of the British Empire.

#### On Stranger Tides

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#### Sacking of Puerto Dorado

At some point in the Golden Age of Piracy, Captain Jack Sparrow visited the Spanish town of Puerto Dorado on the island of Isla Tesoro in search for the cursed gold. Sparrow was followed by his rival Captain Hector Barbossa aboard *The Wicked Wench* which ransacked the island to steal the treasure. While Jack found the treasure first, the Wench succeeded over Jack and burned Puerto Dorado to the ground before making it into a pirate-haven. The pirates of the Caribbean also made a secret lair within the island's subterranean *Dead Man's Cove* where they were killed by the cursed treasure.

## Jungle Cruise appearances

### Attractions

#### A Pirate's Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas

Captain Jack Sparrow is central character of this Adventureland attraction where he seeks out the treasures of Calypso. The attraction notably connects to the Jungle Cruise's lore in the, "Heads, you lose!" mission where Jack's crew seeks out the *Treasure of the Pacific*, a totem in modern day visible near the Jungle Navigation Company's boathouse. This treasure is in the possession of the Jungle Cruise's Headhunter Tribe which Jack steals it from.

#### Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar

Jack Sparrow is mentioned as one of Trader Sam's old friends and bar-patrons. A framed image inside of the Enchanted Tiki Bar depicts Jack and Trader Sam on Isla de Pelegestos. Also on a shelf in a box is the shrunken head of Jack Sparrow's mother with a letter to Sam from Jack Sparrow. The letter reads, "*Sam, Rum is on you, heads are on me. Take care of Mum for me. She always loved hanging around your pub. Captain Jack Sparrow*". Trader Sam also has a note mentioning how he once lusted after Jack's ex-lover Angelica after doing business with her father, Blackbeard.

### Film

#### Jungle Cruise (film)

The 2021 Jungle Cruise film takes many story-beats and tropes from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Following its release, various reviews and criticisms of the film tended to refer to the *Jungle Cruise* as a lacklustre attempt at recreating the *Pirates of the Caribbean* films. Jack Sparrow's Jungle Cruise counterpart is Frank Wolff, a rogue archetype deuteragonist central to marketing who lies to and deceives the main characters for personal profit, is in debt to a villain due to his boat, leads them into a trap, and has a backstory connecting to the villains cursed by the film's South American MacGuffin.

### Other connections

#### Jungle River Cruise: Pirate Takeover!

While not appearing in the re-themed Jungle River Cruise, Jack was a prominent character in the overlay of Adventureland made to tie-in with *Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End*.

#### Skipper Canteen

In the Skipper Canteen's library is a book titled *Profiles of Legendary Pirates of the Caribbean* by Gibson. This is an allusion to the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction and would likely include Jack's profile within.

## Other appearances

### Walt Disney World Railroad

While passing Adventureland, the conductor mentions Jack amongst Adventureland's residents.

## Gallery

Jack Sparrow and Trader SamA letter which Jack left for Trader Sam, along with his mother's headSparrow's map of Adventureland