Sailor John

> Where's my treasure?! - Sailor John to Thomas
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**Sailor John** is a pirate who was in the navy, Skiff's former owner and the main antagonist of the *Thomas & Friends* special, *Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure*.

## History

### Thomas & Friends

Before he was a treasure hunter, Sailor John was in the Royal Navy, but was dishonorably discharged for unknown reasons. He then learned of the lost treasure of Captain Calles and travelled to the Island of Sodor, travelling up and down the coast of Arlesburgh, trying to find the treasure, but would leave by dawn so as not to be caught by the police.

After Thomas rediscovered the pirate ship in Calles Cavern, Sailor John converted Skiff to run on rails, meeting Thomas for the first time when Thomas was eavesdropping on him. John initially befriended Thomas and began working with him to find the treasure, but turned against him when they failed to find the treasure, believing Thomas had possibly taken it. When he found out that Sir Topham Hatt planned to donate the treasure to the museum and would be keeping it in a safe in his office at Knapford overnight, Sailor John blew up the office and took the treasure. Skiff did not want any part in the heist, but had no choice in the matter.

Thomas chased Sailor John and Skiff to the top of a hill, where he found that the pirate ship had been taken to the top via unknown means and that Skiff had been tied to it. When Sailor John released Skiff's anchor, the weight of the ship pulled him and Skiff down the hill. Thomas chased Sailor John, Skiff, and the pirate ship through Arlesburgh West, where Rex, Mike and Bert managed to stop the pirate ship by shunting a train of ballast hoppers onto the line and Ryan caught onto a rope tied to the ship, pulling it over. Thomas continued to chase Sailor John and Skiff through Arlesburgh, where John attempted to destroy Thomas by throwing dynamite at him, but Skiff stopped him. Sailor John managed to get out to sea with the treasure chest, but was defeated when Skiff capsized, causing him to lose the treasure. The following morning, the police arrived and Sailor John was subsequently arrested for his crimes. Skiff was then given to Captain Joe.

## Personality

Kicked out of the navy, Sailor John retired to the Island of Sodor and became obsessed with the idea of finding the lost treasure. He can be quite a charmer, appearing both funny and likeable, but underneath his apparently friendly exterior lurks a ruthless schemer with no true friends apart from Skiff (his sailboat) and loyalty to none but himself. He is smart, energetic, sadistic and practical, capable of elaborate planning and feats of engineering, such as adapting Skiff for the rails or commandeering the pirate ship and rigging it up as an escape vehicle.

## Trivia

* Sailor John is the first human antagonist in *Thomas & Friends*, excluding P.T. Boomer as he did not make it to the final cut of *Thomas and the Magic Railroad*. However, John's particularly dark personality and penchant for dynamite are somewhat similar to Boomer's. Sailor John would be followed by the Tiger Hunters, the Crown Thieves and Baz and Bernie.
* Sailor John refers to himself as "Pirate John" in the *Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure* book after he steals the treasure, but not in the actual special. However, he does say "You've got the wrong pirate!", indicating that he still thinks of himself as a pirate.
* In *Big World! Big Adventures!*, his character model was reused as a patron at a cafe in San Francisco. If they are the same character, this means Sailor John must have been released or escaped from prison and moved to the United States.
* It is very possible that Sailor John was inspired by the iconic anti-hero pirate Long John Silver from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "*Treasure Island*", as his name is very similar to Long John Silver's name, however while Long John Silver had redeeming qualities Sailor John does not seem to have any.

## Quotes

> Treachery! Mutiny! I won't stand for it! I'll have you in the dry-dock, Skiff, and take away your sail! - Sailor John
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