Stone-Eyed Sam

Stone-Eyed Sam
Biographical information
Gender	Male
Hair color	Black
Died	Before the early 1700s, Isla Esquelética
Title(s)	Captain Pirate King of Isla Esquelética
Also known as	Scourge of Panama Stoney Mr. Undead
Statistics
Weapon(s) owned	Sword of Cortés Daggers
Battles	Dance of the Hours
Behind the scenes
First appearance	The Coming Storm
Latest appearance	Dance of the Hours

"So, you were able to defeat the goddess Chantico. Or, perhaps, she freed you herself. After all, the heathen gods have no love lost for me. If you ask me, I think they're just jealous. But, just because you were able to free yourselves from a goddess, does not mean you'll be able to escape me—I, who am more powerful than a god. Boys, prepare to meet your maker—at the hands of Stone-Eyed Sam and his all powerful weapon, the Sword of Cortés!"

―Stone-Eyed Sam to Jack Sparrow and Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III

Stone-Eyed Sam was a pirate captain in the Caribbean during the Age of Piracy. As the owner of the Sword of Cortés, a legendary and all powerful weapon, Sam became the scourge of Panama and ruled as a pirate king over a majestic city on Isla Esquelética. He hid a cache of treasure in his pirate kingdom on Isla Esquelética, later uncovered by young Captain Jack Sparrow and the crew of the Barnacle.

Biography

Pirate career

"He was a pirate long before he was a king."

―Jack Sparrow to Arabella Smith

Not much is known about Sam's early life except that he engaged in piracy in the Caribbean, and eventually rose up to the position of a leader among the pirates as captain and king. Through uncertain means, Sam lived his pirate life without a left eye, and so when he put a finely polished onyx orb in the empty eye socket, he became known as Stone-Eyed Sam. During his pirate career, Stone-Eyed Sam performed at least one successful attack against the Spanish colony of Panama, an act that earned him the nickname the scourge of Panama.

Pirate King of Isla Esquelética

Stone-Eyed Sam's city on Isla Esquelética.

"He took the sword and sheath and used them to make himself king of an isolated island. No one knows what happened to him or to his loyal subjects."

―Arabella Smith to Jack Sparrow

Through unknown circumstances, Stone-Eyed Sam got his hands on the Sword of Hernán Cortés, a magical weapon which the Spanish conquistador used to subdue the Aztec Empire for Spain. Once he mastered the powers of the Sword and its scabbard he used them to make himself king of an isolated island, Isla Esquelética. With the power of the Sword Sam built himself a city of stone and marble, just like the ones from the time of the Roman Empire. He ruled the island from a majestic palace in the middle of the city, keeping it safe with many booby traps. He also amassed a haul of treasure, a pile of gold and jewels which he kept in a hidden chamber beneath his bedroom.

Sam also used the power of the Sword to hypnotize his pirates into believing they were Aztec warriors and he a god. He also did the same with all the sailors who had the misfortune of being shipwrecked on the shores of Isla Esquelética. They would be imprisoned and soon become Sam's servants. In the style of ancient kings which he immitated Sam ordered his subjects to make his own money—gold coins with the letter S and the crude hieroglyph of an eye—to be used as a currency in the city. As Sam's power grew over the years he learned the heathen gods of old were real, and that the goddess Chantico resided in a volcano on the island. However, he didn't pay any attention to her, because he thought of himself as more powerful than a god. Sam's arrogance proved to be his undoing. One day he lost the Sword's scabbard, which immediately cost him half of his power, cursing the island and causing instant collapse of his kingdom. The inhabitants of the whole city, including Sam, died exactly where they were.

The Dead King

"There's one thing about kings and pirates, my lads... and lassie... and cat... beast... thing. They both love treasure. And sword or not, I'll bet Stone-Eyed Sam had quite the haul hidden somewhere in this place."

―Jack Sparrow to the Crew of the Barnacle

Sam's magnificent city quickly became a ruin, with the streets and buildings full of human and animal skeletons. Sam's skeleton remained sitting on his throne, with a gold medallion around his neck, a magnificent tricorne hat on his head, and the Sword of Cortés in his left hand. However, since Sam and his subjects disappeared from the face of the world so suddenly, some people believed the whole story of Sam, the Sword, and the city was nothing but a legend.

Many years later, a pirate known as Handsome Todd came upon Isla Esquelética and Sam's city, eventually finding Sam's fabulous treasure, but since he had no means of taking it with him he left the island empty handed. Some time later, the infamous pirate Captain Left-Foot Louis came to the island searching for the Sword. He entered Sam's palace, avoiding the traps by entering the throne room through a hole in the roof. He ripped the skeleton's left arm from the shoulder and departed with the Sword.

Not long after Louis' departure, a young group of adventurers, the crew of the mighty Barnacle, came into the palace, led by Jack Sparrow, searching for the dead pirate king's weapon. They discovered the skeleton on the throne, but without the sword. Frustrated, Jack took the dead pirate's flamboyantly plumed hat and put it on his head, despite the protests of Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III. Jack also took Stone-Eyed sam's stone eye, but while he was doing so, he noticed a leather cord with a key hanging around the skeleton's bony neck. Realizing there was a treasure stash somewhere in the palace the crew searched until they found the hidden chamber in Sam's bedroom. They eventually left the island with a single treasure chest which allowed them the freedom to continue with their adventures.

The Living Past

"My warriors have told tell of you. You'll make a fine addition to my army, what with your ability to control the tempers of the Earth. In fact, I was just in the middle of... indoctrinating some new troops."
"I'm not here to join you and your motley bag. I'm here to collect something that doesn't rightly belong to you. The Sword of Cortés. None other than Davy Jones appointed me to retrieve it. So it'd be best if you just handed it over, politely, and I'll be on my way."
"Not on your trice-accursed hide!"

―Stone-Eyed Sam and Torrents

A few months later, the supernatural captain of the legendary ghost ship the Flying Dutchman, Davy Jones, intercepted the Barnacle and demanded Fitzwilliam's golden watch. While he fought Jones Jack accidentally discovered that the watch had the magical ability to stop time itself. He used that to escape to Isla Esquelética, but his tampering with the watch had an unpredicted consequence—full restoration of several different parts of the island's past, including the period when the island was ruled by Stone-Eyed Sam. The magic of the watch restored the pirate king's city to its prime, along with all of its inhabitants.

Equipment and skills

Stone-Eyed Sam was a pirate captain through and through, and as such he dressed himself in clothes made of richest fabrics—velvet, silk, and the finest linen. A medallion of solid gold hung on a heavy chain around his neck. An orb of finely polished onyx filled his left eye socket—the stone that gave him his name. On his head he wore an elaborate leather tricorne hat with feathers that gave him cocky appearance. Sam also wore a bandana, and his fingers, neck, and ears were adorned with jewels. His eyes were lined with kohl, and his teeth had been frightfully shaved into points, so it looked as though he had a mouth full of fangs.

Stone-Eyed Sam's greatest weapon was the Sword of Cortés, a legendary blade originally owned by the corrosive conquistador Hernán Cortés. With the sword and its scabbard, Sam had nearly unlimited power. He was able to shoot bolts of energy from the blade, and the magic of the Sword could turn stalactites into snakes. Sam was also an accomplished fencer, capable of holding his own in a duel against a similarly empowered enemy, Captain Torrents. Even without his powerful sword, Stone-Eyed Sam was a dangerous opponent. On his belt he carried two glittering jeweled daggers, as delicate as dragonflies, which he would use to spun and slash like a berserker.

Behind the scenes

• Stone-Eyed Sam first appeared as a dead skeletal corpse in the 2006 book Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm, prior to making his first appearance as a living person in Jack Sparrow: The Timekeeper.

Appearances

• Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm (First appearance) (Appears as a corpse)
• Jack Sparrow: The Siren Song (Mentioned only)
• Jack Sparrow: The Sword of Cortés (Mentioned only)
• Jack Sparrow: The Timekeeper
• Jack Sparrow: Dance of the Hours