"We are an unimaginative lot when it comes to naming things." The title of this article is conjectural. |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[Source] |
- "Time to race the dead."
- ―Hector Barbossa
The Race to the Black rock island was an attempt of three different parties to reach the Black rock island and find the Trident of Poseidon. The British forces led by Lieutenant John Scarfield wanted to secure the power of the sea for the British Empire, the pirate crew of Hector Barbossa wanted to reclaim their control of the sea that was taken from them by the ghostly crew of Spanish pirate hunters led by Capitán Armando Salazar who wanted to have revenge on the pirate who caused his downfall decades earlier - Captain Jack Sparrow.
Prelude[]
- "On the power of that blaggard's sovereign blade, I hereby release the Black Pearl to her former and rightful glory."
- ―Hector Barbossa
Following their escape from Saint Martin, Jack Sparrow and his crew forced their captive, the astronomer Carina Smyth, to lead them to the legendary Trident of Poseidon. However, at the same, Jack was chased by the ghostly crew of the Silent Mary, the Spanish pirate hunters whose demise he caused a few decades earlier. Led by Capitán Armando Salazar, the undead Spaniards destroyed the majority of the pirate fleet of Hector Barbossa, forcing the pirate captain to make a deal with the dead - his life and the lives of his crew in exchange for the life of Jack Sparrow.[2]
Steered by Barbossa, the Silent Mary found Jack's ship, the Dying Gull, close to the island of Hangman's Bay. Aboard the Gull, the pirate crew saw the Spanish ghost ship and realised their captain was being chased by the undead, causing them to raise a mutiny and abandon Jack, Carina, and the young British deserter Henry Turner in a longboat. As the Gull sailed away, Capitán Salazar sent three undead sharks to kill Jack, but the pirate managed to reach the island. Salazar and a dozen of his men walked on water and reached the island but found themselves unable to step on dry land, which Jack, Henry, and Carina used to escape inland. Once he returned aboard the Mary Salazar started killing Barbossa's men one by one, but the pirate captain made another deal with the undead Spaniard, promising to lead his pirate crew to Hangman's Bay to capture Jack and bring him.[2]
In the meantime, Jack, Carina, and Henry were captured by the gang of Pierre "Pig" Kelly, Jack's old crime partner. Since Jack owed him a plunder of silver, Kelly decided to force him to pay his debt by marrying his sister Beatrice. Just as Jack was tricked into saying "I do." Hector Barbossa and his men interrupted the wedding ceremony by firing a gun shot. He dispatched Pig Kelly and his men to free the group from the forced arrangement. Barbossa then revealed that he never had any intention to keep his end of the bargain with the dead, because his true goal was to find the Trident of Poseidon and use its powers to reclaim his rule of the sea. Before heading out to search for the Trident, Barbossa used the Sword of Triton to restore the Black Pearl to her real form, because he would need the fastest ship available to outrun the Silent Mary. After restoring the Pearl, Barbossa once again stole ownership of the Pearl away from Jack and tied him up to the foremast, along with both Henry and Carina tied to the wooden stand for the ship's bell.[2]
Battle[]
- "She comes starboard. We shall fight to the last. The Pearl will not be taken from me again."
- ―Hector Barbossa
After bickering back and forth with Murtogg and Mullroy, Barbossa allowed Carina take over the helm so she could follow her "star". Henry, who was keeping watch soon shouted "Red Coats! Red Coats!" that were sighted coming off the port bow aboard the Essex, captained by Lieutenant John Scarfield. Barbossa walked up to the helm and claimed that the Pearl would not be taken from him again.[2]
Scarfield used his spyglass to sight the Pearl and began to be confident in himself by claiming that only the British Empire would hold the power of the sea, but his luck soon wore out, for he noticed the Silent Mary's hull lifting upward right above him. The Mary came crashing down on top of the Essex and set the ship ablaze. Lieutenant Lesaro, Moss, Magda, and Armando Salazar stood near each other as the fire consumed them, but were unaffected by it. Jack tried screaming through the cloth covering his mouth, and Barbossa drew his sword, as the cursed men boarded Pearl, which conducted a fight between the pirates and the ghosts.[2]
Although the ghosts were not able to be killed by any man, most pirates held their own against them, with only a few being overwhelmed. Henry then quickly made his way to Jack and untied him before Salazar could reach him. Jack and Salazar engaged in a brutal fight as they hopped from vessel to vessel. Barbossa fought Lieutenant Lesaro aboard the Pearl, who managed to cut Barbossa's arm. But despite having one leg and being wounded, Barbossa was able to hold off the Lieutenant. Long after battling with Salazar, Jack managed to make his way back to the Pearl.[2]
Aftermath[]
- "They took Henry!"
"The Trident be all that can save him now." - ―Carina Smyth and Hector Barbossa
Officer Magda shouted "Land!", which startled the entire crew, and they all began to retreat back to the Silent Mary. Salazar himself jumped back to the Mary, but took Henry with him as their prisoner. Some of Salazar's crewmen were turned into dust for touching land. After Salazar's crew had either retreated or died, the Black Pearl crashed to the Black rock island, ending the battle as the Silent Mary sailed outward toward open sea.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
- "The race for the Trident is one the British will not lose. Tell me where to sail."
"We must find Jack Sparrow." - ―Scarfield and Melia
- In Jeff Nathanson's 2013 early draft of the Dead Men Tell No Tales script Barbossa and his crew would have captured Carina Smyth and Jack Sparrow on the island of Coronation Bay and sail the Queen Anne's Revenge for the Devil's Triangle, where Barbossa made a deal with the ghostly Captain John Brand to trade Jack's life for the Eye of Poseidon. During the voyage, the stowaway Henry Maddox would free Jack who would use that opportunity to attack Barbossa just as the Revenge approached the borders of othe Triangle. At the same time the Essex would approach unnoticed, opening fire on the Revenge. The battle would distract both the pirates and the Navy crew, allowing the sea currents to drag both ships into the Triangle where they would be attacked and destroyed by the crew of the Silent Mary. Most of the pirates would manage to escape to the nearby Coffin Islands, but the surviving British mariners would be captured by the ghosts who would possess their bodies and use them to leave the Triangle in search for the Trident of Poseidon.[3]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ As evidenced by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel, the events of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales are set in 1751.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
- ↑ Dead Men Tell No Tales script by Jeff Nathanson, second draft, 5/6/2013