John Brown

John Brown
Biographical information
Gender	Male
Eye color	Blue
Hair color	Brown
Height	5' 2" (1,57 m)
Title(s)	Blacksmith
Also known as	J. Brown Mr. Brown
Statistics
Affiliation	John Brown's smithy
Behind the scenes
First appearance	The Curse of the Black Pearl
Latest appearance	At World's End (video game)
Portrayer	Ralph P. Martin

"Good work, Mr. Brown. You've assisted in the capture of a dangerous fugitive."
"Just doing my civic duty, sir."

―James Norrington and John Brown about Jack Sparrow

John Brown was a blacksmith and owner of a smithy in the town of Port Royal. At some point in the 1720s, Mister Brown would take in Will Turner as his blacksmith apprentice, who would make swords. Although Brown was a drunk who seldom did any work, it was his forge and so his name decorated the swords Will made. Even after Will's duel with Jack Sparrow led to the pirate's capture by Commodore James Norrington, Brown took credit for catching Sparrow, after a lucky blow with an empty bottle.

Biography

"Do pass my compliments on to your master."
"I shall. A craftsman is always pleased to hear his work is appreciated."

―Weatherby Swann and Will Turner

Not much is known about John Brown's life, except that Mister Brown became a blacksmith. He was most notably Will Turner's master while the young apprentice made swords. Although Brown was a drunk who seldom does any work, it was his forge and so his name decorated the swords Will made. Brown was often drunk, and Will became an expert blacksmith possibly largely due to self-taught lessons. Brown was also apparently oblivious to the fact that Will spent much of his time practicing with the swords he forged, so as to best a pirate in combat should he ever meet one.

Will got his chance when Captain Jack Sparrow escaped from the custody of the British Royal Navy, and sought refuge in Brown's shop. Will engaged him in a duel, though the pirate ultimately pulled his pistol on the boy. By this point, Brown had been roused from his drunken stupor, so he knocked Sparrow unconscious with a blow to the back of the head with a bottle in order to save Will's life. He was commended for his action by Commodore Norrington, who had not witnessed Will's fight with Sparrow.

John Brown and Will Turner.

After the incident at Isla de Muerta, Will returned to the smithy, continuing to work for Brown over the following year. During Jack Sparrow's one-man assault on Fort Charles, Brown was found asleep in the smithy when Elizabeth Swann entered to inform Will of Jack's incarceration. Some time later, during the scheduled wedding of Will and Elizabeth, soldiers under Lord Cutler Beckett's command forced entry to the blacksmith's shop during their search for Will. By that time, Brown still owned it, but whether he was present when Will was arrested there or not is unknown.

After the pirate thug Vasquez sailed into Port Royal, he collected payments from Brown and other people for his so-called "protection" in the town. But because Brown was unable to pay Vasquez for some reason or another, Vasquez broke into Brown's smithy to beat the blacksmith up. Vasquez was disturbed by the infamous pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, who returned to Port Royal to search for Tia Dalma, who then defeated Vasquez in a sword fighting duel and left Brown in the smithy.

Behind the scenes

Mr. Brown first appears in the 2003 junior novelization for the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, where he was portrayed by Ralph P. Martin. Although only referred to as "Mister Brown" or "Mr. Brown" in most media relating to The Curse of the Black Pearl, based on Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's early screenplay, the character was first identified with the name "John Brown" in the 2006-2007 reference books Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide and The Complete Visual Guide.

Outside of The Curse of the Black Pearl-related media, Mr. John Brown first appeared with Will Turner in The Capture of Jack Sparrow!, a comic short story published in the Disney Adventures magazine December/January 2004. For video games, Brown appeared in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the 2007 game Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, where Brown was beaten by the pirate thug Vasquez until Jack Sparrow arrived and defeated Vasquez in a duel. In the 2011 game LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, Mr. Brown helps Will Turner defeat Jack Sparrow. This was done to make the game more co-op friendly.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003 junior novelization) (First appearance) (First identified as Brown)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2006 junior novelization)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (comic)
• The Capture of Jack Sparrow!
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)

Sources

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide (First identified as John Brown)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide