John Scarfield

"Only the British Empire will hold the power of the sea."

- Scarfield as he spots the Black Pearl

Lieutenant John Scarfield was a British Royal Navy officer around the 1750s, being the second-in-command of the island of Saint Martin behind Mayor Dix. Mean spirited, condescending, quick to scapegoat others for his faults and loyal allie of King George II of Great Britain, he was driven mad by his lust for vengeance against the notorious pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, the supposed "witch" Carina Smyth and the perceived traitor Henry Turner.

Following the escape of trio, Scarfield led his crew commanding the Essex on the quest for the legendary Trident of Poseidon, intending to secure the control of the Seven Seas for the British Empire and recover his good reputation. During the quest, Scarfield managed to capture Sparrow's crew, although they later escaped from his clutches. When he deduced with his spyglass where Sparrow and his party were planning to go in order to find the Trident, Scarfield decided to chase them and steal the Trident, but his plans were thwarted by the unexpected appearance of the Silent Mary, captained by the ghostly Capitán Armando Salazar, who crushed Scarfield and his crew to death via crushing the Essex in a matter of seconds.

Early life
Not much is known about John Scarfield's early life, but it's known that at some point, he became a Lieutenant of the British Royal Navy due his work. He desired to have his own fleet and fight in the wars of West Africa, but he was denied and instead he was assigned to secure the island of Saint Martin. Although he was also assigned as the captain of the warship Essex, the denial of his superiors was probably the reason why he acquired a fierce temper.

Quest for the Trident of Poseidon
The "witch" Carina Smyth and the Captain Jack Sparrow were both captured at St. Martin, and Scarfield demanded that they both be executed simultaneously in order to don't ruin his reputation. After Henry Turner washed up on his shores, he coldly brushed him off as a deserter sentencing the boy to be hanged as well. But Turner manages to escape trouble twice, first by Smyth giving him the key to his release and again by enlisting Jack's old crew while acting as the distraction during their sentencing. Enabling said rogue's escape once again, who knocked out Scarfield with a block of wood before he could do any harm to Carina and Turner.

Scarfield was now in pursuit, assembling a crew and doing everything in his power to find the three miscreants that ruined his reputation. He, along with his crew, seek the help of Shansa the witch, who willingly shows Scarfield the route to the Trident of Poseidon, where Henry, Carina, and Jack were headed, in exchange of him sparing her life.

After hours of searching, Scarfield's ship, the Essex, encountered the newly resurrected Black Pearl. After Henry Turner spots his ship on the starboard side, Hector Barbossa orders the entire crew to stand their ground and fight until the end. Scarfield stood aboard the Essex looking at the Pearl through his spyglass and ordered his men to prepare to fire. When all had seemed well, Scarfield heard a menacing sound creeping up behind him. As he slowly turned around he noticed a peculiar large object moving upward in a chilling way: the Silent Mary. The Silent Mary opened its sides like a cage and came crashing down on top of Scarfield and his crew, igniting the powder magazine and causing the Essex to go up into flames and sink to the depths of the ocean, ending the tyrannical lieutenant's reign of terror.

Personality and traits
Lieutenant John Scarfield was known to be ruthless and cruel, not only to his enemies, but to his own men as well, threatening to hang one of his own officers in Carina Smyth's place if she wasn't found. His personal lust for reputation and vengeance ultimately ended in his quick demise at the hands of Capitán Armando Salazar. In fact, Scarfield's only interest in his life was his reputation, reason for which he doesn't wanted to ruin it with the escapes of Jack Sparrow and Smyth.

Scarfield was also largely hypocritical in his beliefs as evident while in taking glee in tormenting an innocent woman on the account of witchcraft, he was willing to deal with an actual witch in pursuit of his selfish goals. Scarfield also shows signs of incompetence given his tendency to re-assign blame, write off others at a glance and need to gloat over pleasant situations distracting him from what's in front of his face.

Behind the scenes

 * John Scarfield was played by David Wenham in Dead Men Tell No Tales. The character was credited only as Scarfield in the film but the full name was revealed in the prequel novel The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth.

Appearances

 * 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