Enter... the Scarecrow!

Enter&hellip; the Scarecrow! is a comic short story published in the Disney Adventures comics in Winter 2005, set in the Pirates of the Caribbean world and published under the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl title.

Synopsis
Captain Jack Sparrow has been captured by Captain Oliver Randolph Pynce-Jones III, and is held aboard the Royal Navy vessel HMS Achilles in the inlet known as Smuggler's Notch. Pynce-Jones, assigned by King George II to eliminate all pirates in those waters, sets sail for Port Royal with his prisoner chained to the mast. Minutes later, Jack encounters Dimity Mipps, an old acquaintance now serving aboard the Achilles.

The Captain noticed Mipps talking to the prisoner, and threatened to make an example of him. However, before he could punish the man, hideous laughter rang out across the ship, and a figure riding a horse leapt from the cliff-top above. Landing on the Achilles, the figure referred to himself as "a scarecrow" and drew his pistol on the Captain. The scarecrow, calling himself the "spirit of the marsh", appeared familiar to Jack, whom the mystery figure ordered released. Mipps freed the pirate, though Jack mis-stepped and tumbled into the lower gun deck while the scarecrow fought off Pynce-Jones's men.

Jack was saved from pursuit by the scarecrow, who gave Jack the honor of lighting a cannon pointed directly at the main deck. Jack fired the cannon, sinking the Achilles with one shot, while he, the scarecrow and those of the crew whom the figure had rescued, escaped to land. Pynce-Jones was determined to go down with his ship, though the inlet was shallow enough to forestall a watery grave for the Captain. The scarecrow bade Jack farewell, stating his duty was to the people of Romney Marsh when Jack asked him to join his crew.

Trivia

 * Though no date is given as to the placement of the story, it is implied that it takes place at some point between The Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man's Chest; Jack states that "scary, ghosty, undeady pirates are becoming quite common in the Caribbean these days", likely referring to Hector Barbossa and his crew, whose curse Jack only became aware of during the events of the first film.
 * The "scarecrow" appears to be based on Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn, a character created by Russell Thorndike also known as "The Scarecrow" and who sets out to rescue citizens of Romney Marsh.