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"Are you the pirate I've read about or not?" This article is ambiguously canon. |
The Compass of Destiny! is a three-part comic short story. Published under the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest title in the Disney Adventures magazine, the story is set in the Pirates of the Caribbean world. Part One was published in October 2006, Part Two was published in November 2006, and Part Three was published in December 2006/January 2007.
Synopsis[]
Part One[]
The mysterious Admiral Royce has hired Captain Jack Sparrow to lead him to the mouth of the Pantano River. Royce is even willing to pay with a 15-pound sack of gold for Jack's guidance through thick swampland to the bayou shack of the mystic and soothsayer Tia Dalma. But the expedition is suddenly attacked by a group of natives, and the attackers manage to steal Royce's map of the forest.
Part Two[]
After the battle with the natives, only Jack, Royce, and two of Royce's officers are still alive. However, even without the map they manage to find Tia Dalma, interrupting her Voodoo ritual. Royce intends to force Tia Dalma to come with him, because her magical powers could be very useful to him. Jack objects to that, and then Royce promises him much more money, because he and his men are working for the East India Trading Company, receiving orders from Lord Cutler Beckett himself. However, upon learning that Royce was in service of the vile Lord Beckett, Jack turns against them, and Royce and his men pull out their swords, ready to attack Jack if he didn't give them the soothsayer. Suddenly, at Tia Dalma's order, a group of zombies comes out of the jungle.
Part Three[]
Zombies attacking Royce's men.
The zombies attack Royce's men while Royce engages in a fierce duel with Jack. As they fight, Jack tricks Royce into coming too close to the forest from which the two zombies come out and attack Royce, killing him. Grateful for saving her, Tia Dalma gives Jack a compass that doesn't point north, but rather to what its owner wants most. However, she warns him that the compass can be dangerous, like every magical object, but Jack doesn't care, as he intends to use the compass.
Later, in a tavern, Jack finishes the story to his bewildered crew, who can hardly believe such a story. Even Joshamee Gibbs has some suspicions, but then Jack pulls out the compass and smiles.
Continuity[]
The canonicity of the story featured in The Compass of Destiny! is questionable.
- Lord Cutler Beckett is mentioned, though he didn't receive the title of "Lord" until the events of the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which takes place years after the supposed time placement of Jack's tale in The Compass of Destiny!.[1]
- According to the ending of The Compass of Destiny!, it was hinted that the comic's story was one of the infamous pirate Captain Jack Sparrow's many legends and exaggerated tales, leaving it a possibility that Sparrow simply lied, partly if not fully, about how he acquired his compass from voodoo priestess Tia Dalma. In the 2011 novel The Price of Freedom, Tia Dalma had given the compass to Jack Sparrow in his boyhood pirating days.[2] Later, the 2017 film Dead Men Tell No Tales/Salazar's Revenge created another backstory where the pirate Captain Morgan had been killed in the battle and left young "Jack the Sparrow" with the compass aboard the pirate ship,[3] the Wicked Wench.[4] Nevertheless, the more certain point was that Jack had the compass at least ten years before the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.[5]
- Jack Sparrow asks Tia Dalma "When have I ever not used something wisely, madam?" The mystic responded by saying "That time with the leaky boat" and "cursed sword", which may be a reference to Rob Kidd's Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow series, specifically the The Quest for the Sword of Cortés.[6]
The English (left) and Russian (right) versions.
The Spanish and Russian editions of the comic contain several differences from the original.
- When Admiral Royce despairs over the loss of the map Jack shows he can simply follow the tracks to Tia Dalma. In the original he just says he never needed the map.
- When Jack and Royce find Tia Dalma she is praying to the Voodoo deities Legba and Ogoun Ferraille. In the original she acknowledges Jack's arrival.
- When Tia Dalma's zombies attack, one of Royce's men had a pistol and fired it. In the original, there were no pistols or gunfire.
- When Tia Dalma gives the compass to Jack, he says "Now the treasure of Cortés is in my hands!", which would imply the story is set prior to the mutiny on the Black Pearl set ten years before The Curse of the Black Pearl.[5] In the original he just says "When have I ever not used something wisely, madam?"
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
Individuals[]
- Cutler Beckett (Mentioned only)
- Tia Dalma
- Joshamee Gibbs
- Royce (First appearance)
- Jack Sparrow
Creatures[]
Locations[]
- Cuba
- Pantano River
- Tia Dalma's shack (Mentioned only)
Objects and weapons[]
- Jack Sparrow's hanger
- Map of the Cypress Forrest
- Jack Sparrow's hat
- Jack Sparrow's compass
- Ring
- Knife
- Doubloon (Mentioned only)
- Admiral's jade statue (First mentioned)
- Cursed sword (Mentioned only)
Organizations and titles[]
- Admiral
- Captain
- Lord (Mentioned only)
- Sir
- East India Trading Company (Mentioned only)
- Royce's crew (First appearance)
- Mystic
- Soothsayer
Vehicles and vessels[]
- Royce's ship (First appearance)
- Sinking boat (Mentioned only)
Miscellanea[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- ↑ The Price of Freedom, Chapter One: Fair Winds and Black Ships
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Novelization
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Audio Commentary with Screenwriters Stuart Beattie, Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Jay Wolpert
- ↑ Jack Sparrow: The Quest for the Sword of Cortés