Captain Plunder
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Captain Plunder is a fictional character (a sometime-villain, sometime-antihero), created by Nigel Kitching and Richard Elson in Sonic the Comic. He is a red walrus and leads a band of "Sky Pirates", who resemble stereotypical buccaneers in every way, save that rather than sailing on water they travel using a flying ship. Although he first appeared as an antagonist in stories featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and his allies, the character soon became popular enough to receive his own stories.
His second-in-command is a reptilian poltergeist called Filch, with a large hole in his head; Plunder shot him dead for taking the last biscuit without asking.
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[edit] Characteristics
Plunder wears a green long-coat, a black tri-corner hat, and a traditional pirate eyepatch. He has a wooden leg (with a wheel attached to the end) and a hook in place of his left hand (although it has been customised with several other tools, including a retractible blade and a chain cutter). A small white bird of unknown species constantly sits on his shoulder. He speaks in pseudo-nautical language, and frequently refers to people as "poltroons".
Plunder is very aware of what people think of him, especially his own crew, and he is not above exaggerating events to make himself seem braver or stronger (for example, he claimed to have fought 200 vengeful spirits, when in fact he had fled from three ghosts). He is also conniving and selfish, choosing not to rescue his crew when he realised it meant sharing his treasure with them.
Although Captain Plunder is highly feared by the people of Mobius (most of whom have never met him), he is less respected by his peers. Several encounters with Sonic and his friends have shown him to be little more than a nuisance, and he has a bad reputation among other pirates. Most sensible pirates steer well clear of the dunderhead who has earned himself a place in Queen Zorabel's bad books.
[edit] Biography
[edit] Pirates of the Mystic Cave
Sonic first met him when Plunder kidnapped Amy Rose and held her for ransom at his base in the Mystic Cave Zone, but as the two groups started fighting Amy suggested they formed an alliance: the Freedom Fighters could do with help and they could tip off Plunder if they heard about Doctor Robotnik's expensive cargo.[1] The successful arrangement worked for a while until Porker Lewis accidentally told Plunder where Sonic had hidden the Chaos Emeralds.[2] Plunder and the Sky Pirates disappeared to collect the emeralds, with Sonic in hot pursuit. In the ensuring battle, Plunder successfully managed to walk away with all the Emeralds. However, the Chaos Emeralds temporarily absorbed all of Plunder's negative energy, as well as that of the entire crew; this made them "mellow out" and turn into hippies, allowing Sonic to easily retrieve the Emeralds.[3]
[edit] Arrested
Sonic gave Plunder information on Robotnik just once more. Plunder and his crew successfully robbed Doctor Robotnik's luxury airship, the Robotnicus, only for Plunder to be accidentally left behind when the crew escaped with Robotnik's treasure.[4] Plunder was given a show trial and sent to Highview Corrective Centre's dungeons until he could be hanged.[5] Plunder was chained next to a black cat called Simpson, who was capable of altering reality for comical effect (a parody of cartoon cats such as Felix the Cat and Stimpy).[6] Together they managed to escape into the sewers - simultaneously, Filch led Plunder's crew in a rescue attempt, and both groups unwittingly passed each other. Plunder returned to his ship to find his entire crew (bar Filch who could escape easily) was now being held prisoner in Highview. Rather than go to rescue them and thus have to share the Robotnicus booty, Plunder promptly decided to get a new crew.[7]
[edit] The Floating Island
For years, Plunder had had a chest full of ancient scrolls on the Floating Island; once it was discovered the Island really existed, he headed to the Sandopolis Zone with his new crew (including a purple walrus named the Professor) to loot the Lost Pyramid of Sandopolis. Plunder and his crew ran afoul of Sonic and Knuckles the Echidna,[8] but managed to avoid them while they were preoccupied fighting the pyramid's giant stone guardian. Free to loot the Pyramid, Plunder and his men were ill-prepared when the lights went out, causing the Sandopolis ghosts to arise and attack. The pirates barely escaped the pyramid but had left the treasure behind; irritated, Plunder left the island and lied about the number of ghosts there'd been to his crew.[9]
Some months later, Plunder sought to attack the Ghost Ship of Tantaragor and steal the Tantaragor Idol, a powerful teleportation device. However, his flying ship was struck by lightning and he was forced to land on the Floating Island,[10] where he convinced Knuckles to help him plunder the ship with the promise of his ancient box of scrolls.[11] However, he failed to mention the true nature of the treasure, or the fact that the Ghost Ship was crewed by powerful alien slavers called the Tantaror.[12] The pirates boarded the ghost ship and Plunder managed to obtain the Idol, only for the Tantaror to return unexpectedly and catch them before they could escape.[11] Several members of the crew were captured, but Plunder was able to activate the Idol's teleportation powers and transport himself (along with Filch, Simpson and Knuckles) to Scourge Bay, home of all the Sky Pirates.[12]
While Plunder was happy to let Knuckles take the chest of scrolls and conclude their business, Knuckles wanted to return to the ship and free the slaves. A fight ensued between Knuckles and the pirates, which was only halted by the arrival of Zorabel the Pirate Queen. Zorabel demanded that Plunder leave Scourge Bay before the Tantaror arrived looking for the Idol, but before the matter was concluded the building they were in was suddenly teleported to another world by an enormous Tantaror named Ekkletos.[13] Ekkletos explained that the slavers were heretic Tantaror and that he had planned to use the Idol to bring them back to Tantaragor for punishment. Although Plunder still intended to keep the Idol for himself, Knuckles forced him to give it back.[14] After the rogue Tantaror were captured by Ekkletos (with the help of Knuckles as a distraction), Plunder and his pirates were returned home. Plunder was left without the Idol, and thus refused to hand over the chest of ancient scrolls to Knuckles, but Zorabel gave Knuckles the reward anyway. Zorabel intended to "explain" a few things to Plunder by means of her knuckle-dusters, and the Captain made a speedy escape.[15]
[edit] Later solo appearances
Using a Star Post attached to the wheel, Plunder and his crew arrived in the Special Zone to press-gang a few more members. The crew captured Proctor Speckle, only to make him walk the plank when he stole from Plunder's private chocolate stash. It was then the pirates discovered he was the alter-ego of the murderous Mr Fry, who emerged from the ocean with a dead shark in his jaws. Luckily it turned out Mr Fry wanted to join Plunder's crew; unluckily, the serum that created Fry had spilt into the ocean and created several "super sharks". Plunder took matters into his own hands and pummelled the sharks unconscious with a giant hammer, but Mr. Fry had vanished - and so had Plunder's vintage rum truffles, floating back to shore with Speckle.
Plunder returned to Scourge Bay, failing to press-gang anyone until Zorabel hired him to join her on a quest for the treasure of King Akotek along with her daughters, the Spice Maidens. The crew set sail and after a long adventure they eventually found the treasure. Unfortunately, it turned out Zorabel hired Plunder because the treasure was cursed and she wanted him to contract the curse instead of her. Now doomed to spend the rest of his life cursed by misfortune, Plunder barely made it back to the ship in one piece. He then lost his share of the treasure overboard, where it disrupted the shield around the ship - at the exact moment when Captain Tiberius, an old rival of Plunder's, finally caught up with him. Now with a destroyed ship, Plunder and his crew were left stranded on a desert island. Plunder was last seen sitting underneath a coconut tree cursing his bad luck, with coconuts about to thwack him on the head.
[edit] Sonic the Comic Online
In the unofficially official fan-comic continuation, Plunder made a cameo appearance in #239 - interviewed by a documentary crew, he claimed he and Sonic were close-knit allies. He was still cursed. Filch made an appearance of his own in #242 as part of a team Tails had assembled, and his dialogue suggested the Sky Pirates themselves are still active.
[edit] Bibliography
- #23: "Pirates of the Mystic Cave"
- #24-25: "The Sonic Terminator, Parts 1 & 2"
- #47-50: "Mystery of the Sandopolis Zone" and "Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates"
- #74-79: "Knuckles: The Ghost Ship"
- #91-93: "Captain Plunder: Shanghaied"
- #103-108: "Captain Plunder: The Spice Maidens"
[edit] References
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #23, "Pirates of the Mystic Cave"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #24, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #25, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 2"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #47, "Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #48, "Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates, Part 2"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #49, "Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates, Part 3"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #50, "Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates, Part 4"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #47, "Mystery of the Sandopolis Zone, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #48, "Mystery of the Sandopolis Zone, Part 2"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #74, "The Ghost Ship, Part 1"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sonic the Comic #75, "The Ghost Ship, Part 2"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Sonic the Comic #76, "The Ghost Ship, Part 3"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #77, "The Ghost Ship, Part 4"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #78, "The Ghost Ship, Part 5"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #79, "The Ghost Ship, Part 6"
| Archie/SatAM | Sonic | Doctor Robotnik | Doctor Eggman | Snively | Scourge | Princess Sally | Bunnie | Rotor | Antoine | Freedom Fighters | Wolf Pack | King Acorn | Ixis Naugus | Knuckles | Julie-Su | Dimitri | Lien-Da | Dr. Finitevus | Dark Legion | The Brotherhood | Mammoth Mogul | Elias Acorn | House of Acorn | Secret Service | Mina | Fiona | Anti-Freedom Fighters | Destructix | A.D.A.M. | Other characters |
|---|---|
| Sonic the Comic | Freedom Fighters | Shortfuse the Cybernik | Captain Plunder | Commander Brutus | Drakon Empire | STC characters |
| Sonic X | Chris Thorndyke | Cosmo | Metarex | Chuck Thorndyke | Decoe and Bocoe | Bokkun | "Nazo" | Sonic X characters |
| Underground | Sonia | Manic | Queen Aleena | Other characters |
| AoStH | Scratch and Grounder | Coconuts | AoStH characters |
