Grapple

Grapple
Biographical information
Gender	Male
Eye color	Brown
Hair color	Black
Born	c. 1680s
Statistics
Weapon(s) owned	Grappling hook Hatchet
Ship(s) captained or crewed	Black Pearl
Battles	Attack on Port Royal Destruction of the Interceptor Battle of Isla de Muerta
Affiliation	Cursed crew
Behind the scenes
First appearance	The Curse of the Black Pearl
Last appearance	The Curse of the Black Pearl
Portrayer	Trevor Goddard

"Say goodbye!"
"…Goodbye!"

―Grapple and Will Turner

Grapple was a crew member serving on the Black Pearl under Hector Barbossa, and was one of the pirates cursed by the chest of Hernán Cortés on Isla de Muerta.

Biography

Grapple was dispatched with his other fellow crewmates and fought in the streets at Port Royal during the siege to reclaim the final gold piece from the chest, engaging Will Turner in single combat. Grapple was sent crashing through a window by a shop sign dislodged by a cannonball. He survived, and returned aboard the Black Pearl.

Grapple and Mallot, shortly before Elizabeth sent a lifeboat swinging across the deck, toppling them into the ocean in pieces.

During the battle against the HMS Dauntless, Grapple remained on board the Pearl with Mallot. They both began arguing over what foodstuff to eat first once the curse was lifted. It was at this point that Elizabeth Swann knocked Jack the monkey from the main deck. Grapple and Mallot spotted the falling monkey, and raced on deck to find the attacker. Elizabeth sent a lifeboat swinging across the deck, toppling Grapple and Mallot into the ocean in pieces. His further fate is unknown.

Personality and traits

Like many of the pirates serving under Captain Barbossa, Grapple was recognizable by his distinctive appearance. He sported a mohawk hairstyle along with a goatee, and had a muscular physique. Grapple presumably earned his nickname from the grappling hook he carried with him as a weapon. He was often partnered alongside his crewmate, Mallot.

Grapple was a formidable fighter, strong enough to gain the upper hand over Will Turner. When Elizabeth Swann first discovered the curse that turned the pirates into undead skeletons beneath the moonlight, the Grapple took fiendish pleasure in terrorizing the young woman on the deck of the Black Pearl.

Behind the scenes

• Grapple was played by the late Trevor Goddard in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Grapple had the distinction of being one of Goddard's final film roles before his death along the direct-to-video comedy-drama Flexing with Monty, which was filmed in the 1990s. As such, both Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski paid tribute to him in the DVD commentary of The Curse of the Black Pearl.
• In the original screenplay draft Grapple and Mallot were named Big-bones and Skinny.
• The design of the Undead Gravediggers in Pirates of the Caribbean Online was based on Grapple's concept art.
• Grapple's name appears in the Black Pearl crew roster book at Walt Disney World's Tortuga Tavern restaurant.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)