Armando Salazar

"Pirates had infected the seas for generations, taking the life of my father and his father before him. So I vowed to end this plague once and for all. And that's what I did. I destroyed dozens of ships."

- Armando Salazar

Armando Salazar was the legendary, yet terrifying pirate hunter who haunted the Caribbean. Hailing from Spain, Salazar was a Spaniard, a man whose family was destroyed by pirates when he was a child. Obsessed with vengeance, he became a high-ranking officer of the Spanish Royal Navy and the decorated Capitán of the powerful pirate-hunting galleon, the Silent Mary. For many years, Salazar terrorized the seas and killed thousands of pirates until his spectacular fall from grace when a young pirate named Jack Sparrow outsmarted the ruthless pirate killer and led him to his death in the mysterious Devil's Triangle.

However, through the dark powers of the Triangle, Salazar was resurrected more powerful than ever, but cursed to wander the world as a ghost for eternity. In addition, Salazar and his crew could not escape from the Triangle, while being forced to live in it and slaughter anyone who entered it, causing them to originate legends about why no ship that sailed into the Triangle ever sailed out.

Decades after their imprisonment, Salazar and his crew of deadly ghost sailors were released from the Triangle's relentless hold when Jack Sparrow sold his compass to acquire a bottle of rum, although he later recovered it. Hungry for revenge, Salazar led his crew on a mission of vengeance to obtain the legendary Trident of Poseidon to finally eliminate pirates and kill Jack Sparrow in order to avenge the life that was taken from him. During the search for the Trident, Salazar made an unholy alliance with the Queen Anne's Revenge's captain Hector Barbossa and was able to corner Sparrow and his party at Hangman's Bay. Later, during the race to the Black rock island where Poseidon's Tomb was located, Salazar managed to destroy Lieutenant John Scarfield's ship Essex in order to wipe out the English from the search and captured Henry Turner following a brief duel with Sparrow. During the ensuing battle for the Trident, Turner destroyed the Trident and Salazar regained his human form along his crew, but was wounded by Barbossa during his attempt to board the Black Pearl via its anchor, hitting the anchor face first and was washed away with his remaining crew when the ocean closed.

Early life
"You know my father was an admiral—and a traitor. He patrolled these very waters, took bribes from pirates—gold and silver—allowed them to sail with impunity! He was arrested when I was a boy, and soon after, they came to our house and took my mother away, dragged her to a workhouse. The wife of a traitor must pay for his sins."

- Armando Salazar

Born in a family of a wealthy Spanish Royal Navy admiral, the young Armando Salazar seemed to have everything he needed to live a happy life. However, destiny had other plans for him. It is unknown how much time he spent with his father because the admiral led the ships of the Spanish Navy in patrolling the waters of the Caribbean Sea. However, one day the authorities discovered that the admiral's wealth came from gold and silver given to him by pirates, who bribed him in order to let them sail with impunity. This attitude horrified the young Armando, as his grandfather was killed by pirates some time earlier.

The corrupt admiral was arrested for treason and his wife, the young Armando's mother, was also taken away and dragged to a workhouse. In the eyes of the Spanish law, the wife of a traitor also had to pay for her husband's sins. She died some time later, and the admiral was released from prison a year later. When his father entered their house, the young Armando greeted him with a knife, mercilessly killing him. Knowing that pirates were the source of all the misfortunes that had destroyed his family, the young Spaniard made a vow to eliminate them all.

Hunting pirates
"I've heard stories of a mighty Spanish captain, El Matador Del Mar. A man who scourged the sea, hunted and killed thousands of men."

- Hector Barbossa

When he grew up, Armando Salazar joined the Spanish Royal Navy, eventually becoming an officer loyal to his King and country. A proud and fearsome soldier, he quickly rose through the ranks, earning several high military decorations over the years until he became a capitán in command of the Silent Mary, a powerful galleon. Once he was given command of the Mary, he was in a perfect position to hunt pirates on the Seven Seas, so he made that his life's mission. Some of the stories of his pirate hunting expeditions claimed that he had hunted down and killed thousands of pirates mercilessly. He became successful and famous, earning the nickname El Matador Del Mar, the Butcher of the Sea.

Battle off the Devil's Triangle
"One ship was trying to escape from the smoke. And there, in the crow's nest, there was this... young pirate... Boy! He stood there looking like... like a little bird. And from that day he earned himself a name that would haunt me for the rest of my days. Jack the Sparrow!"

- Armando Salazar

One day, the Silent Mary encountered a pirate fleet of ten ships, the last pirates in the Caribbean who joined forces in an attempt to defeat Salazar. Despite being outnumbered, the Spanish attacked the pirates, quickly demonstrating to their opponents that the firepower of the Silent Mary and the skills of her crew were far superior to those of all the ships and crews in the entire pirate fleet. The battle ended disastrously for the pirates with the majority of their fleet destroyed. As the Silent Mary sailed through the burning wrecks Salazar was satisfied with his latest victory over the outlaws that he intended to eliminate. He was standing on the gangway when his second-in-command Lieutenant Lesaro informed him about a few surviving pirates among the wrecks; men who were desperately flying the improvised white flag as a sign of surrender while begging for mercy. Salazar calmly told Lesaro to show them no mercy and the Lieutenant reluctantly ordered a small squad of soldiers to shoot the survivors. When his men finished their grisly task, Salazar stood on the quarterdeck, looking at the burning pirate ships and thinking that his mission was over as the sea was finally pure again. However, as he and his crew celebrated their victory, Salazar heard someone calling him from behind. Turning around, he took out his spyglass and through the smoke he noticed one more pirate ship; the Wicked Wench, sailing in the opposite direction in an attempt to escape. The young pirate in the crow's nest was shouting to Salazar that he will be spared if he surrendered immediately. The pirate then jumped on deck, provocatively raising the tattered black pirate flag. Not wanting to let a single pirate escape him, Salazar ordered his men to change the Silent Mary's course and follow the pirates. The Spanish gave chase and followed the Wench toward the Devil's Triangle, a mysterious area surrounded by gigantic reefs and shrouded in eternal darkness. Believing that the pirates planned to escape through the giant tunnel that led into the interior of the Triangle, Salazar chose to follow the pirates into the unknown waters. However, as the Wicked Wench approached the entrance, the pirates threw ropes around the nearby reefs off the port side of the ship. The loop caught the reef, tightening, and causing the ship to swiftly turn to the left, as the helmsman, the same young man who had mocked Salazar just moments earlier, steered the ship in the same direction, changing the Wench's course at the last moment. Knowing his men didn't have enough time to make the same maneuver and wanting to avoid collision with the pirate vessel, Salazar took the helm from Lieutenant Lesaro and kept the Silent Mary on her course, sailing straight ahead. As the Spanish sailed past the Wench, Salazar glanced at the young pirate one last time before the Silent Mary entered the Triangle. Sailing through the unknown waters, the Silent Mary quickly hit the nearby rocks, severely damaging the bow while knocking many of the crew off their feet. The impact resulted in a massive explosion from the amount of gunpowder in the ship which engulfed the ship in flames, and burnt its entire crew alive. As the fire and the explosions quickly spread from bow to stern, Salazar tried to escape, but the falling yardarm from the mainmast hit him in the head, killing him and knocking him overboard into the sea below. However, even death was not the end of Salazar. As his body began to sink into the depths of the Triangle, the body was suddenly struck by streaks of eerie red light, resurrecting Salazar as the undead by the mysterious supernatural powers of the Triangle, where he was now trapped with his men who were brought back from the dead in a similar fashion. Salazar and his crew of the undead quickly discovered they could not escape from the Triangle, and were forced to spend many years in eternal darkness.

Attack on the Monarch
"Find Sparrow for me, and relay a message from Capitán Salazar. Salazar! Tell him... I will behold the daylight again, and on that day... Death... Death will come straight for him. Will you say that to him? Please?" "Yes." "I wish I could do it myself, but dead men tell no tales."

- Armando Salazar and Henry Turner

Over the years, Salazar somehow learned that the young pirate who caused his demise was known as Jack the Sparrow, due to having earned the name "Sparrow" as a result of his act of defiance to Salazar's power. He also learned that Sparrow was in possession of an unusual compass, a magical item that could free the Silent Mary and her crew from the Triangle if Sparrow betrayed it by giving it away, as it would release its betrayer's greatest fear, and Salazar was every pirate's greatest fear.

Several decades after their imprisonment in the Devil's Triangle, Salazar and his men spotted a Dutch barque flying the pirate flag entering their cave. In a quick battle Salazar and his men slaughtered the pirates and sent their ship to the bottom, leaving only a few debris floating on the surface. A few minutes later, the pirate ship was followed by the Monarch, a British Royal Navy warship. As the Monarch came to a halt, Salazar's men ran across the water, boarded the ship and launched a surprise attack. Due to their ghostly powers, the Spanish easily slaughtered the British and even Salazar joined the fight, killing a few British sailors with his rapier. Finally, he personally confronted the British commanding officer, Captain Toms, who was being held by Salazar's men. When Toms asked him what he was, Salazar grabbed him by the neck, replied "Death", broke his neck and threw his corpse into a fire ignited during the attack. The battle was effectively over, but a noise coming from below deck caught Salazar's attention. Salazar and a dozen of his men walked below, finding a young sailor Henry and an old pirate locked in the brig. Noticing several wanted posters on the floor, Salazar stabbed one of them with his sword to bring it closer to him, while one of Salazar's men stabbed the pirate through the bars, killing him. Seeing on the poster the face of Jack Sparrow, the man who cost him his life, Salazar asked Henry if he knew the pirate. When Henry replied that he knew Sparrow only by name, Salazar and his men walked through the bars, shocking him. Deciding to leave one man alive to tell the tale of his revenge, Salazar asked Henry to find Sparrow and give him a message about death coming straight for him. With a cruel laugh, Salazar hit Henry in the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking him unconscious. Salazar and his crew then returned to their ship, leaving Henry and the Monarch behind.

Escape from the Devil's Triangle
"It's time to hunt a pirate!"

- Armando Salazar

Some time after the battle on the Monarch, Salazar and his men were spending another boring day in the Triangle, when Salazar suddenly saw the top of the highest peak collapsing, allowing a single ray of sunlight to break through the dark clouds above the Triangle. Soon, the entire crew noticed that the giant reefs around the Silent Mary were starting to collapse, and Lieutenant Lesaro asked Salazar what was going on. Watching the Triangle slowly sinking into the sea, Salazar realized that Jack Sparrow had given away the compass, which was using its powers to free them in retaliation. The dark clouds above the Triangle slowly vanished, allowing Salazar to see the daylight for the first time in decades. Soon, as the last traces of the Triangle sunk beneath the waves, the Silent Mary was surrounded with nothing but the open sea. Even though the ship was now nothing but a wreck, she was magically kept afloat. The Spanish celebrated their liberation, as Salazar stood on the quarterdeck, with his eyes closed and arms spread, enjoying the warmth of the sun. But all that ended in a few moments when he decided to continue his mission and kill all the pirates in the world, starting with Jack Sparrow.

Hunting pirates once again
"Every time I tap my sword, one of your men will die so I suggest you speak quickly."

- Armando Salazar to Hector Barbossa

Free from the Triangle, Salazar and his men continued their anti-piracy campaign. Soon they encountered a ship that was flying the red flag of Hector Barbossa, the infamous pirate captain who ruled the seas with the fleet of ten ships. Using their supernatural powers, Salazar and his men used the Silent Mary to simply cut through the pirate vessel, sending her to the bottom of the sea. Over the next hours, Salazar and his men destroyed several more ships, slaughtering their crews, but leaving one man from each vessel alive to tell the tale of the dead taking command of the sea. During the night they destroyed more ships, leaving nothing except burning wrecks behind. The next morning the Silent Mary encountered the Queen Anne's Revenge, Barbossa's flagship. Lesaro informed Salazar about the pirate ship and Salazar took the helm from him, steering the Silent Mary straight for the pirate ship's bow. As the Silent Mary approached the Revenge, Salazar used his magical powers to bend the bow of his ship backwards, opening the ship's hull like the jaws of a giant beast right in front of the pirate vessel, leaving the pirate crew stunned and unable to react. Just as Salazar intended to crush the pirate vessel, a man on the forecastle shouted his name, telling him that he knew about his search for Jack Sparrow. Salazar stopped the attack and then leaped on board the Revenge, landing behind Barbossa. As the horrified Captain slowly turned around he stared into the eyes of the sinister pirate hunter. Barbossa regained his courage and told Salazar his name and that he comes before him with cordial intent, where Salazar then laughed and said that every time he tapped his sword, one of Barbossa's men would die. Salazar tapped his sword once and one of Barbossa's crew members was mercilessly killed. With a grin on his face, Salazar ordered Barbossa to speak quicker, before tapping his sword twice on the deck of the ship, leading to the deaths of two more of Barbossa's crew. Salazar then demanded to know where Sparrow was. As Barbossa explained to him that Jack was headed for the Trident, Salazar told him that the sea belonged to the dead and no treasure could save Sparrow from his and his crew's wrath. Barbossa told him that he would find Sparrow for him by sunrise, and if he didn't, he may take his life from him. Salazar agreed to these terms and Barbossa thanked him on behalf of his crew, but Salazar then tapped his sword several more times, before shouting "You can take what's left of them. The living come aboard!"

Chasing the Sparrow
"You will soon pay for what you did to me."

- Armando Salazar to Jack Sparrow

With Barbossa at the helm, the Silent Mary sailed the rest of the day and night searching for pirates. At dawn, still without the trace of Sparrow, an impatient Salazar threatened Barbossa with killing him already, but the latter explained to him that the sun had not yet fully risen and the deal was not finished. Annoyed, Salazar told Barbossa his story, his first encounter with Sparrow and his resurrection, giving him an understanding of his reason for wanting to kill Sparrow. Finally, Salazar lost his patience and prepared to kill the captain on the spot, but stopped just as Barbossa managed to locate the Dying Gull. Salazar then pursued, forcing Jack along with Turner and astronomer Carina Smyth to be kicked off the ship.

After Smyth started to swim to the island of Hangman's Bay, Turner tried to follow her, but Salazar sent three ghost sharks to kill Turner and Sparrow. After waiting a while, Salazar and his crew jumped into the sea and ran on the water, with Salazar nearly killing Jack in his charge but Sparrow used one of the sharks to propel his rowboat, grab Henry (who had already started to swim) and reach the island's beach safe and sound. Salazar confronted his enemy who was terrified at the sight of his undead form but he could not kill Jack because the Spanish captain and his men, to their horror, saw one of their own dissipating into dust when the retreating waves left him on dry sand. Staying in the shallow water, Salazar promised to wait for Jack to reach the sea again so he could kill him there as the scared Jack ran off.

Salazar returned to the Silent Mary in pure rage and hung Barbossa and his remaining crew upside down and began butchering them all. Barbossa then began to reason with him, saying he would go ashore to fetch him his "Sparrow". Salazar then cut the ropes holding Barbossa up and ordered him to go ashore, but this one chose to betray Salazar and escaped along with the others in the Black Pearl.

Realizing that he was betrayed, Salazar chased the pirates once again. The next night Salazar and his crew discovered another ship in pursuit of the Black Pearl, the British warship Essex. Taking the helm of the Mary, Salazar steered his ship right into the starboard side of the Essex while crushing the British vessel and killing its commanding officer, Lieutenant John Scarfield, and his entire crew in the process. With the Silent Mary sailing alongside the pirate vessel, Salazar and his men boarded the Black Pearl, attacking the pirate crew. At one point, Salazar and Sparrow became involved in a fight at the cannons of both ships, with Sparrow even being pursued by the figurehead of the Silent Mary which had magically come to life. As Salazar finally found Sparrow below deck of the Silent Mary and prepared to deliver the killing blow, he was interrupted by the appearance of an island right in front of both ships. Jack used this opportunity to escape back on the Black Pearl and many Spanish ghosts retreated to the Mary but Salazar jumped on the Pearl's quarterdeck in a desperate attempt to steer the ship back into the open sea. However, it was too late as the Pearl hit the shore, with the bow ending up grounded deeply on land, killing several of Salazar's men in the process. Before he could suffer the same fate, Salazar grabbed Henry Turner and jumped on the Silent Mary's port side quarter galleries. As the sun slowly appeared on the horizon, the pirates could only helplessly watch the ghost ship sailing away.

Battle for the Trident of Poseidon
"As I told you before, surrender to me now and I'll let you... live." "You want me to surrender?" "Maybe." "This is where the tale ends!"

- Jack Sparrow and Armando Salazar

After Sparrow, Smyth and Barbossa arrived at the Black rock island and they found the Trident of Poseidon at Poseidon's Tomb under the waters of the ocean, Salazar decided to possess the body of Henry Turner so he could follow his enemies on dry land. Despite Lieutenant Lesaro's warnings that he would stay trapped in the boy's body forever, Salazar replied that the Trident would set him free. With all said and done, Salazar took control of Turner's body and went down to Sparrow and Smyth, where he began to fight against them while the crew of the Silent Mary watched them from within the other two parts of the sea.

After disarming Sparrow and grabbing hold of the trident, Salazar used it to free himself from Henry's body. He then began using its powers to torture Sparrow, throwing him through the water, where Lieutenant Lesaro and the rest of the crew attempted to grab him and drown him. After finishing toying with Sparrow, Salazar was annoyed by Jack's taunt which he used before he defeated Salazar years ago and stabbed Jack in the chest with the trident, shushing him as he attempted to push the trident deeper into his body. Jack, realizing that the Trident had only stabbed a book held in his jacket, urged Henry to help. Henry grabbed his sword and sent it crashing down on the Trident, shattering it and breaking all the curses of the sea.

Salazar rested himself on a rock as he gasped for air. His crew soon realized that they could no longer stay under water and came tumbling through the waves. Salazar realized Lieutenant Lesaro had become human again and then felt the side of his face, which had finally been filled in after all those years. Salazar looked at his hands and then to the sky laughing, for he and his crew had finally become human again.

Death
"Jack!"

- Armando Salazar's last words

But the pleasures of Salazar and his crew were short lived, for without the power of the Trident, the walls of water were slowly closing in on them. As Barbossa came flying in the Black Pearl's anchor, Salazar, who was still intent on revenge, began to run for it, as did the entire Silent Mary's crew. Jack, Henry, and Carina managed to climb on board, and were then quickly followed by Salazar and two of his crew members. Lieutenant Lesaro cried out for his Capitán, but was left behind. As Salazar began to climb up the anchor's chain, he drew his sword, not satisfied with just being human again and still eager to kill, as seen by his attempt to reach Carina and end her life.

As Barbossa realized Salazar was making his way toward his daughter, he ordered her to hold on to the chain. Jack then shouted "Hector!" as he threw him Henry's sword. Barbossa let go of the chain and grasped the sword while allowing himself to fall. Salazar soon saw the pirate coming toward him as Barbossa pierced him through the back, plunging the blade deep into Salazar's revived heart. This action caused Salazar to let go of the chain and knock down both of his crew members who held onto it. Salazar then came tumbling down to the ocean floor, letting out a scream of horror, which was soon silenced by him landing face first on the bottom of the anchor below, killing him. His corpse was then consumed and washed away by the surrounding waves, ending the Butcher of the Sea's tyrannical reign over the Seven Seas once and for all.

Personality and traits
"No, no, no. No need to fear me, boy. I always leave one man alive to tell the tale."

- Armando Salazar to Henry Turner

Before his death and resurrection, Armando Salazar sailed the high seas for many years and, during that time, earned himself a fearsome reputation. He became a legend in his own right, albeit a terrifying one. Ruthless but noble, he had devoted his military career in the Spanish Navy to eliminating all pirates from the Caribbean. His hatred for pirates was so great that he didn't even consider them men and instead described them as an "infection". Salazar was also not a man to show mercy to his enemies even if they did surrender to him, since on one occasion, while casually eating an apple, he ordered the shooting of some surviving pirates with muskets.

Salazar's obsession with killing pirates eventually led him to fall for Jack Sparrow's trickery and led him to his untimely demise. Following his first death, Salazar was consumed with an uncontrollable rage, due to having been resurrected by the supernatural powers of the Devil's Triangle, as well as a burning desire to get revenge on the man he held responsible for his fate: Jack Sparrow. His desire was so strong where even after turning back to a human, he was still bent on revenge to the point of even abandoning his crew despite them staying by his side for decades as both human and undead.

As a ghost, Salazar's cruelty only intensified to the point of showing little mercy toward his victims. He only left one man alive, just to simply to tell the tale of his brutal tactics. He did not care who he attacked, whether it be pirates or even members of the British Navy. Salazar would stop at nothing to take his anger and pain out on any who cross his path.

Equipment and skills
"Salazar is death itself. He will not rest until he has destroyed Jack and all pirates along with him."

- Henry Turner to Carina Smyth

Originally an officer of the Spanish Royal Navy, Armando Salazar was always dressed in a resplendent white and black uniform adored with three medals on the left side of his coat, proof of his many achievements during his service to his country. As a Spanish gentleman he owned an elegant walking cane. His favored weapon was a rapier, a slender, sharply pointed sword which was designed as a thrusting weapon, but he also used it for cutting or slashing attacks when in combat. He was even able to defeat several Marines of the British Royal Navy without them even putting up a fight. He later obtained the Trident of Poseidon which he used as a way to free himself from possession of a human body and control the sea to thrust Jack Sparrow around. Following his death and resurrection, Salazar's appearance resembled the undead with his uniform darkened and torn and his sword rusty, but his skills remained the same. As a vengeful spirit, he was more dangerous than he ever was as a living man because he gained supernatural abilities such as the ability to walk on water and through solid objects. He also had complete control over his ship, the Silent Mary, which he used to simply slice through other ships. Though the Silent Mary was nothing but a wreck, Salazar's powers made it seemingly indestructible. He could resurrect shark corpses and use them to hunt his enemies. He could also bring to life the figurehead of his ship to ally with him during combat. Combining those powers with his skills, Salazar was literally an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. However, his new powers came with a price. As a ghost, Salazar was unable to walk on dry land, being doomed to spend the rest of eternity on ships or walking on water, without possessing a living human or wielding the legendary Trident of Poseidon.

Behind the scenes

 * Captain Salazar was portrayed by Javier Bardem in Dead Men Tell No Tales. Bardem was previously considered to play Blackbeard in On Stranger Tides, but lost out to Ian McShane.
 * Before officially casting Javier Bardem for Dead Men Tell No Tales, Christoph Waltz was rumored to be the original choice for the role. At that time, the character was referred to as "Captain John Brand", a feared pirate hunter who returned from the dead as a ghost to kill Jack Sparrow whom he held responsible for the death of his brother Eric. Rumors claim that the name "Brand" was changed to "Salazar" to sound more Mediterranean in order to accompany Javier Bardem's Spanish descent. Whether this is true or not remains unknown, although it's likely.
 * The character of Armando Salazar may have been named after former Portuguese Republican President and dictator Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. However, other than sharing the same last name, there is little similarity between them.
 * According to Javier Bardem, he imagined the character of Armando Salazar as a cross between a bull in the ring with a sword nailed to the back (which, oddly enough, ends up happening to Salazar at the film's end when Hector Barbossa kills him) and a singer of cante jondo, who is deep, and full of pain and suffering. Additionally, Bardem studied a lot of the history of the Spanish Royal Navy in preparation for the role.
 * The makeup process which Javier Bardem needed to perform in order to create the costume of Captain Salazar deserved three hours by Damian Martin, Lesley Vanderwalt and Elka Wardega, the makeup crew who won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for their work in the film Mad Max: Fury Road. Each morning before filming, the Pirates film crew gave him a coffee and then began to put glue on his face, putting on the top something like chicken breasts. They then gave him a doughy thing to chew named "Monkey Poo", which they said to him tasted like chocolate, although in reality this was a lie.
 * Armando Salazar is the first main antagonist in the series to be Spanish. However, he is the second antagonist (in general) in the series to be Spanish, with The Spaniard being the first.
 * According to Geoffrey Rush, Salazar and his crew were trapped in the Devil's Triangle for twenty-five years, setting the Battle off the Devil's Triangle around 1726. However, that statement contradicts the established timeline, which sets the battle off the Devil's Triangle during the 1700s, specifically around 1708.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War
 * The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel

Notes and references
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