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Captain Plunder is a character that appears in the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions. He leads a band of "Sky Pirates", who resemble stereotypical buccaneers in every way, save that rather than sailing on water they travel using flying ships. Although he first appeared as an antagonist in stories featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and his allies, the character soon became popular enough to receive his own stories.
His second-in-command is a reptilian poltergeist called Filch, with a large hole in his head; Plunder shot him dead for taking the last biscuit without asking.
Appearance[]
Plunder wears a green long-coat, a black tri-corner hat, and a pirate eye-patch. He has a wooden leg (with a wheel attached to the end) and a hook in place of his left hand (although it has been customised with several other tools, including a retractable blade and a chain cutter). A small robotic parrot constantly sits on his shoulder.
History[]
Pirates of the Mystic Cave[]
Sonic first met him when Plunder kidnapped Amy Rose and held her for ransom at his base in the Mystic Cave Zone, but as the two groups started fighting Amy suggested they formed an alliance: the Freedom Fighters could do with help and they could tip off Plunder if they heard about Doctor Robotnik's expensive cargo.[1] The successful arrangement worked for a while until Porker Lewis accidentally told Plunder where Sonic had hidden the Chaos Emeralds.[2] Plunder and the Sky Pirates disappeared to collect the emeralds, with Sonic in hot pursuit. In the ensuring battle, Plunder managed to walk away with all the Emeralds. However, the Chaos Emeralds temporarily absorbed all of Plunder's negative energy, as well as that of the entire crew; this made them "mellow out" and turn into hippies, allowing Sonic to easily retrieve the Emeralds.[3]
Arrested[]
Sonic gave Plunder information on Robotnik just once more. Plunder and his crew successfully robbed Doctor Robotnik's luxury airship, the Robotnicus, only for Plunder to be accidentally left behind when the crew escaped with Robotnik's treasure.[4] Plunder was given a show trial and sent to Highview Corrective Centre's dungeons until he could be hanged.[5] Plunder was chained next to a black cat called Simpson, who was capable of altering reality for comical effect (a parody of cartoon cats such as Felix the Cat and Stimpy).[6] Together they escaped into the sewers - simultaneously, Filch led Plunder's crew in a rescue attempt, and both groups unwittingly passed each other. Plunder returned to his ship to find his entire crew (bar Filch who could escape easily) was now being held prisoner in Highview. Rather than go to rescue them and thus have to share the Robotnicus booty, Plunder promptly decided to get a new crew.[7]
The Floating Island[]
For years, Plunder had had a chest full of ancient scrolls on the Floating Island; once it was discovered the Island really existed, he headed to the Sandopolis Zone with his new crew (including a purple walrus named the Professor) to loot the Lost Pyramid of Sandopolis. Plunder and his crew ran afoul of Sonic and Knuckles the Echidna,[8] but managed to avoid them while they were preoccupied fighting the pyramid's giant Stone Guardian. Free to loot the Pyramid, Plunder and his men were ill-prepared when the lights went out, causing the Hyudoros to arise and attack. The pirates barely escaped the pyramid but had left the treasure behind; irritated, Plunder left the island and lied about the number of ghosts there'd been to his crew.[9]
Some months later, Plunder sought to attack the Ghost Ship of Tantaragor and steal the Tantaragor Idol, a powerful teleportation device. However, his flying ship was struck by lightning and he was forced to land on the Floating Island,[10] where he convinced Knuckles to help him plunder the ship with the promise of his ancient box of scrolls.[11] However, he failed to mention the true nature of the treasure, or the fact that the Ghost Ship was crewed by powerful alien slavers called the Tantaror.[12] The pirates boarded the ghost ship and Plunder managed to obtain the Idol, only for the Tantaror to return unexpectedly and catch them before they could escape.[11] Several members of the crew were captured, but Plunder was able to activate the Idol's teleportation powers and transport himself (along with Filch, Simpson and Knuckles) to Scourge Bay, home of all the Sky Pirates.[12]
While Plunder was happy to let Knuckles take the chest of scrolls and conclude their business, Knuckles wanted to return to the ship and free the slaves. A fight ensued between Knuckles and the pirates, which was only halted by the arrival of Zorabel the Pirate Queen. Zorabel demanded that Plunder leave Scourge Bay before the Tantaror arrived looking for the Idol, but before the matter was concluded the building they were in was suddenly teleported to another world by an enormous Tantaror named Ekkletos.[13] Ekkletos explained that the slavers were heretic Tantaror and that he had planned to use the Idol to bring them back to Tantaragor for punishment. Although Plunder still intended to keep the Idol for himself, Knuckles forced him to give it back.[14] After the rogue Tantaror were captured by Ekkletos (with the help of Knuckles as a distraction), Plunder and his pirates were returned home. Plunder was left without the Idol, and thus refused to hand over the chest of ancient scrolls to Knuckles, but Zorabel gave Knuckles the reward anyway. Zorabel intended to "explain" a few things to Plunder by means of her knuckle-dusters, and the Captain made a speedy escape.[15]
Later solo appearances[]
Using a Star Post attached to the wheel, Plunder and his crew arrived in the Special Zone to press-gang a few more members. The crew captured Proctor Speckle, only to make him walk the plank when he stole from Plunder's private chocolate stash. It was then the pirates discovered he was the alter-ego of the murderous Mr Fry, who emerged from the ocean with a dead shark in his jaws.[16] Luckily, Fry bore Plunder no ill will for wanting Proctor Speckle dead, and instead wanted to join Plunder's crew as a cook. However, the serum that created Fry had spilt into the ocean and mutated several sharks into giant monsters.[17] Fry started fighting the sharks, but his transforming serum soon wore off and he reverted to the meek Proctor Speckle. Plunder took matters into his own hands and pummelled the sharks unconscious with a giant hammer. Plunder wanted to celebrate the victory with his crew by sharing his vintage rum truffles, only to find that Proctor Speckle had stolen them and escaped the ship.[18]
Plunder returned to Scourge Bay, but remained unable to press-gang anyone. He was eventually approached by Zorabel, who ordered him to accept her five daughters, the Spice Maidens, onto his crew[19] to search for the treasure of King Akotek. When Plunder protested, Zorabel decided to join them so she could keep an eye on him.[20] After receiving the location of the treasure from the sea serpent Krakiota,[21] they found the treasure on an island and Plunder was tricked into breaking open King Akotek's tomb. Unfortunately for him, it turned out Zorabel hired Plunder because the treasure was cursed[22] and she wanted him to contract the curse instead of her. Now doomed to spend the rest of his life cursed by misfortune, Plunder barely made it back to the ship in one piece.[23] Although he managed to win his share of the treasure from Zorabel in a game of chance (making him briefly think the curse was lifted), he then dropped it overboard, where it disrupted the shield around the ship - at the exact moment when Captain Tiberius, an old rival of Plunder's, finally caught up with him. Now with a destroyed ship, Plunder and his crew were left stranded on a desert island. Plunder was last seen sitting underneath a coconut tree cursing his bad luck, with a coconut about to land on his head.[24]
Personality[]
Plunder is very aware of what people think of him, especially his own crew, and he is not above exaggerating events to make himself seem braver or stronger (for example, he claimed to have fought 200 vengeful spirits, when in fact he had fled from three ghosts). He is also conniving and selfish, choosing not to rescue his crew when he realized it meant sharing his treasure with them. He speaks in pseudo-nautical language, and frequently refers to people as "poltroons".
Relationships[]
Although Captain Plunder is highly feared by the people of Mobius (most of whom have never met him), he is less respected by his peers. Several encounters with Sonic and his friends have shown him to be little more than a nuisance, and he has a bad reputation among other pirates. Most sensible pirates steer well clear of the dunderhead who has earned himself a place in Queen Zorabel's bad books.
Future plans[]
Writer Nigel Kitching had decided that Plunder would remain under his bad luck curse from his final appearance. Life would have become unbearable for him, for instance every meal he ate would give him indigestion.[25] The story would have been about paranoia.[26] He later thought up an idea about Plunder seeking out Ebony to get the curse lifted, and it would be revealed that the curse was something far more significant. However, by this time the comic had been cancelled and the idea was not developed.[27]
Gallery[]
Concept artwork[]
References[]
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #23, "Pirates of the Mystic Cave"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #24, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #25, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 2"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #47, "Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #48, "Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates, Part 2"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #49, "Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates, Part 3"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #50, "Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates, Part 4"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #47, "Mystery of the Sandopolis Zone, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #48, "Mystery of the Sandopolis Zone, Part 2"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #74, "The Ghost Ship, Part 1"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sonic the Comic #75, "The Ghost Ship, Part 2"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Sonic the Comic #76, "The Ghost Ship, Part 3"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #77, "The Ghost Ship, Part 4"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #78, "The Ghost Ship, Part 5"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #79, "The Ghost Ship, Part 6"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #91, "Shanghaied, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #92, "Shanghaied, Part 2"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #93, "Shanghaied, Part 3"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #103, "Captain Plunder and the Spice Maidens, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #104, "Captain Plunder and the Spice Maidens, Part 2"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #105, "Captain Plunder and the Spice Maidens, Part 3"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #106, "Captain Plunder and the Spice Maidens, Part 4"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #107, "Captain Plunder and the Spice Maidens, Part 5"
- ↑ Sonic the Comic #108, "Captain Plunder and the Spice Maidens, Part 6"
- ↑ Message #12161 "Re: Questions?" post by Nigel Kitching at sonicthecomic Yahoo! Group
- ↑ Message #12181 "Re: Questions?" post by Nigel Kitching at sonicthecomic Yahoo! Group
- ↑ Message #12190 "Re: Questions?" post by Nigel Kitching at sonicthecomic Yahoo! Group
External links[]
- Captain Plunder at the Sonic the Comic Wiki.