Black Spot

"You're a marked man, Jack Sparrow."

- Davy Jones



The Black Spot was a mark given to an individual who owed their servitude to Davy Jones. Those marked with the Black Spot would be hunted across the Seven Seas by the Kraken.

History
"Your time is up. It comes now, drawn with ravenous hunger to the man what bears... the Black Spot."

- Bootstrap Bill Turner to Jack Sparrow, on giving him the Black Spot

Thirteen years after Jack Sparrow made a deal with Davy Jones, to captain the Black Pearl for 13 years, Jones sent Bootstrap Bill Turner to warn Sparrow that his debt had to be paid. During the visit, Turner marked the pirate with the Black Spot, thereby making Jack marked for death. Upon first sight of Sparrow's Black Spot, Joshamee Gibbs, Pintel and Ragetti performed a ritual; patting their shirt pockets, turning on the spot and spitting on the ground, likely borne from their superstitious natures. Davy Jones himself removed the Black Spot while allowing Sparrow three days to gather one hundred souls in exchange for his own. The mark instantly returned, without any physical contact from Jones or his crew, after William Turner stole the key to the Dead Man's Chest from aboard the Flying Dutchman. Jones finally settled Sparrow's debt when the pirate captain was dragged down to Davy Jones' Locker by the Kraken.

Appearance
The Black Spot took the appearance of a bubonic plague-like lesion growing on the palm of a victim's hand. It was presumed that any member of Davy Jones' crew could mark a target with the Black Spot, as Bootstrap Bill Turner was sent to mark Jack Sparrow.

Behind the scenes

 * The Black Spot was a literary device created by Robert Louis Stevenson for Treasure Island. There, it took the appearance of a circular piece of black paper (presumably cut from the pages of The Bible) or card placed in a victim's hand to officially pronounce a verdict of guilt or judgment.
 * Ever since Bootstrap Bill gave Jack Sparrow the Black Spot, it always appeared on Sparrow's left hand in Dead Man's Chest.
 * Athough Davy Jones claimed that Jack Sparrow's debt wasn't paid in "At World's End", the Black Spot doesn't appear on Jack's hand. However, this may simply be because the Kraken was no longer alive to pursue him, rendering the Spot's purpose (to attract said beast to its bearer) useless.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest