Space pirates are a type of stock character from space opera and soft science fiction.[1] The archetype evolved from the air pirate trope popular from the turn of the century until the 1920s. By the 1930s, space pirates were recurring villains in the Buck Rogers comic strip. Like historical sea pirates, space pirates may be involved in slaving or smuggling in addition to raiding spacecraft and settlements.
The names are organized alphabetically by surname, or by single name if the character does not have a surname. If more than two characters are in one entry, the last name of the first character is used.
The self-declared "Queen of the Space Pirates," who heads a crew of three other pirates (Ostea, Cyborg Dwayne, and Boop), and the doppelgänger of series protagonist, Cleopatra.[2] She previously had the telepathic space shark ninja as her ex-boyfriend, and the series villain, Octavian, might be her ex-boyfriend as well.
Although she named herself after Ryoko Hakubi,[4] Balta is hardly as bloodthirsty as that infamous space pirate was rumored to be, although she is notorious.[5] Even though she was a member of the dreaded Daluma pirate guild, Ryoko Balta is an educated and cultured pirate.[6][7] She is well-versed in many customs from other planets, including the Japanese Tea Ceremony.
A human who died on the Gem Homeworld and was resurrected by Steven, later becoming the captain of a group of fugitive gems on a stolen spaceship. He has been described as "complicated fellow" by his voice actor, Matthew Moy,[8] and was designed by series creator Rebecca Sugar when she was in college.[9] Some have said that the outfit Lars wears is reminiscent of Captain Harlock.[10]
She is a doppelgänger of Mihos, Cleo's animal companion.[2] She is on the pirate ship along with Cyborg Dwayne, Amsaja, and Ostea. His attack cry is just saying her name over and over.
A supervillain who is portrayed as a catlike alien space pirate trying to conquer the galaxy. Cartoon Network described him as having "meager wits and the love of a peppy tune."[11]
The leader of the Berserkers who has a cybernetic arm that can punch and pound with great force.[12] After he and his original Berserkers were killed, Hammerhand was later mystically resurrected by Mumm-Ra who summoned up his spirit to animate a clone of Panthro which he had created. When the plan failed, Hammerhand's spirit broke Mumm-Ra's control and the clone body shifted into Hammerhand's original form before departing. Other Berserkers are Topspinner, Ram Bam, and Cruncher, all of whom are "gold-loving" pirates and all cyborgs.[15][16]
Captain of the Arcadia. The character was created by Leiji Matsumoto in 1977 and popularized in the 1978 television series Space Pirate Captain Harlock.[17] Since then, the character has appeared in numerous animated television series and films, like Arcadia of My Youth, the latest of which is 2013's Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Harlock has achieved notable popularity. Several anime and manga characters have been, in some way, inspired by Matsumoto's creation. Naoko Takeuchi drew inspiration from Harlock's stoic qualities ("strong, silent, unshakeable") when designing the character of Tuxedo Mask,[18] while Last Exile'sAlex Row was modeled after the Captain.[19] His basic character design is even thought to be a source of inspiration for Osamu Tezuka's manga character Black Jack.
In the far future where space travel is the norm, Marika Kato, born and raised in the Tau Ceti planet Morningstar, is the newly recruited teenage captain of the space pirate ship Bentenmaru, inheriting the title from her deceased father.[20] Apart from the anime series, she appeared in the manga series of the same name, and the 2014 film, Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace.[21]
She is the mother of Marika, the captain of the Bentenmaru, and wife of Gonzaemon Kato (otherwise known as Captain Ironbeard), the captain of the Parabellum pirate ship, and was once a space pirate known as "Blaster Ririka".[20] Sometime after Marika becomes the captain of the Bentenmaru, she joins the crew of the Parabellum.
Duelo quickly takes over medical emergencies often at the objection of the female pirates, but ignores them, assuring the crew members that he is not a threat. Since he is the only licensed medical practitioner on board the Nirvana, as well as being that the medical facilities on board the female pirate ship were no longer operational, the female pirates were left with no choice but to have him as their official doctor.[22]
Leader of the Weequay space pirates,[b] known as the Ohnaka Gang, which kidnaps, and attempts to ransom, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Count Dooku—and later Ahsoka Tano—to the highest bidder during the Clone Wars.[24] He follows a code of honor and respects the Jedi, but is not above using sneaky tactics and treachery if it is for "good business". Years after the Clone Wars, despite losing his crew to the Galactic Empire, Hondo continues his criminal activities while having dealings with the Rebellion crew of the Ghost.[25] He also rebuilt the Slave I ship, which Boba Fett took control of following his father's death, and Boba Fett kept it for years onward.[26]
The first appearance of a male Orion was shown in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Pirates of Orion".[27] In the episode, these Orions are shown to be ruthless pirates,[28] As such, some recommended this episode for featuring the trio of characters Kirk, Spock, and Bones of The Original Series.[29] Later, the Orion Syndicate was mentioned in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but no actual Orions were seen, only members of other species.[30]
A doppelgänger of series protagonist Akila Theoris, she is a pirate in the same crew as Cyborg Dwayne and Amsaja.[2] She is a pirate who apparently edits, or a major contributor, to a newsletter for space pirates.
In the first season of this series, a group of humans defend their homeworlds from attack when under attack from these rogue pirates and humanoids,[33] a theme which continues in season 2.[34]
The commander of the pirates and everyone addresses her as Boss (Okashira in the Japanese version, which was translated as "captain").[37] She sees her crew as her children and she hold them in high esteem, also she hold a picture of any of the crew who have left/died displayed when Gascogne apparently dies and she places her picture inside the cabinet.
Ex-convict, pirate and mercenary hired by the Time Lords to destroy Daleks in this comic, also appearing in the Deceit novel in 1993, traveling across the galaxy on his starship which is named the "Kill-Wagon."[38][39]
Appearing in this manga, then later in a film, anime, original video animation, Cobra is a notorious rogue pirate who refuses to align with a federation of star systems or a guild of pirates, meaning that he has to keep his identity hidden.[42] In the process, he teams up with Jane, a bounty hunter who is trying to find her sisters, with their goal to liberate a treasure from the planet of Mars.
Spinoff character from Galaxy Express 999[c] and Capt. Harlock in Leiji Matsumoto universe. Sister of Maetel from GE999. In the manga, ahe comforts the series protagonist, Hiroshi Umino, who escapes Earth on a freighter,[43] and is fascinated by him, as she fled Earth in the past to a ship which she designed herself.[44]
Antihero resisting the tyrannical Empress Hernandez. He first appeared in the last three issues of Weird Worlds, a comics anthology series published by American company DC Comics from 1972 to 1974.[45] and was created by Howard Chaykin, who plotted and drew the stories.[46]
Flamboyant 25th century crime boss, later dictator of earth and Saturn, with a fleet of spacecraft and raygun-toting henchmen who appeared in the Buck Rogers comic strip and its subsequent 1939 Buck Rogersserial film produced by Universal Studios,[48][49] the 1979 film and subsequent TV series. Some reviewers believe that when measured against other serial villains such as Ming the Merciless, Killer Kane pales somewhat in comparison.[50]
A space pirate captain. John Silver, whose name was inspired by Long John Silver, a man with a mechanical leg, is his second-in-command, who appeared in these comics.[51] Before they turned to piracy, they were generals of the Federal Army of Earth. Also in the comic series is a former space pirate named Madoc, a friend of Rebecca "Legs" Weaver, a colleague of the protagonist.[52]
Kaguyo Ryuutsugi
Space Pirate (manga series)
2019–present
The blue-haired, arrogant and often impatient main character of the Space Pirate manga series. A known criminal among the Blue Sun Empire and son of the late Omega Pirate.
A team of space pirates, led by Corsair, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.[53] The Starjammers first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #107 (October 1977) and were created by Dave Cockrum.[54] The name "Starjammers" was created on the basis of the type of sailing ship known as "Windjammer".
In this 1970s comic,[55] Starbuck is a "rollicking space pirate" and swashbuckler who was sometimes a hero, and other times a villain who has some redeeming qualities.[56][57][58] Some have also said that Lieutenant Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica was based on Starbuck in this comic series.[59]
Called the "Robin Hood of the space lanes," looked very much like the DC Comics hero Starman, and appeared between issues #12 and #64. Among several artists, George Appel produced a dozen early issues, while the bulk of issues #33-51 were drawn by Murphy Anderson, whose additions transformed the Pirate into "an almost completely new strip."[60] Three late issues (#59-61) are credited to newspaper comic strip artist Leonard Starr.[61][60]
Blue skinned space pirate and mercenary, mentor to Star-Lord in this comic book and later film. The Earth-616 version of Yondu has been identified by writer Sam Humphries as "the great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather of the Yondu in the original Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians 3000."[62] On this Earth, Yondu is the leader of The Ravagers, a group of Space Pirates. Yondu finds Peter Quill when his ship malfunctions and strands him on Earth.[63] The Ravagers rescue him as Peter tries to steal his ship, managing to outsmart every member of the crew and capturing Yondu. After Yondu frees himself from his restraints and attacks Peter, he gives him a choice between letting himself be released into space without more trouble or execution. Peter instead asks to join his crew. Yondu is initially skeptical of this idea, but after he learns Peter, like him, is a homeless orphan, Yondu allows him to stay on the ship with the Ravagers as their cleaning boy. Peter uses the opportunity to learn everything he can from space.[64] Later, Yondu makes him an official Ravager.[65]
In this film by director Martin Owen, Brock Donnelly is a space pirate with confusing motives, arriving suddenly in the story and often changing is allegiances.[72]
A scientist who is later revealed to be a pirate captain of the Regalia named Macanudo, who rebuilt his grievously injured body and went into piracy as revenge against Saggs for betraying him.[76][77]
Escaped convict and last of the alien Furian race.[78] Riddick was once a mercenary, then part of a security force,[79] and later a soldier and ruler of the Necromongers.
Watney, a botanist,[83] notes with some glee that his plan to commandeer a NASA lander without explicit permission, as part of his rescue from being stranded on Mars, under his interpretation of applicable laws means that he is history's first "space pirate": citing that due to the Outer Space Treaty Mars is considered international territory, and citing that under the Law of the Sea, he is essentially hijacking a vessel without permission in international waters, "which, by definition, makes me a pirate." Other analysts have argued that he technically wasn't committing an act of piracy, however, due to the facts that 1 - it has not yet been explicitly established if the same laws for international waters apply to international territory such as Mars or Antarctica, 2 - "Piracy" explicitly refers to robbery by force from a crew, not "theft" of an uncrewed vessel as Watney did, and 3 - under space law, the vessel Watney was stealing would be considered U.S. territory and NASA property, and Watney was already a U.S. NASA astronaut.[84]
Pirate who in 2353 led a breakout from the Solar Alliance prison asteroid and proceeded to prey upon various spacecraft until Tom Corbett and his unit mates Roger Manning and Astro defeated him.[88][89]
A bold space adventurer in this story, which is part of The Psychotechnic League series.[90] Whether Murdoch is to be actually defined as a pirate, or rather as a very daring but legitimate entrepreneur, is a major issue on which the whole story turns. In another one of his stories, the pirates are desperate to destroy the protagonist "before he can bring the information to the authorities."[91]
A pirate captain who is the villain in several books,[92][93][94] comes from the planet Austral, and other books mention the planet Australis in another part of the galaxy.[95] His story "The Mountain Movers" (part of Grimes' early career) includes the song of future Australian space adventurers, sung to the tune of "Waltzing Matilda." The Duchy of Waldegren is also a popular haunt of several notorious space-pirates (no individual names given) in the series.
Karrde is a smuggler chief who becomes the leader of the criminal underworld after the death of Jabba Desilijic Tiure.[96] The author of the trilogy, Timothy Zahn, said that when he created the character he "always envisioned the face and voice of Avon" from Blake's Seven.[97]
Captain of the pirate ship Clear Air Turbulence, an avid gambler who leads his crew on two disastrous raids before being killed by the main character Horza.[98][99][100]
A dashing space-traveler, got to Venus by mistake, discovered there a tyrannical regime which sorely needed opposing - and the best way to do that was to assume leadership of the Pirates of Venus (also the title of the first book in the Venus series).[103][104]
Peri is the novel's protagonist and space pirate who has a base on the Moon.[105] Additionally, some said that "the background is imaginative, but the romance is on the level of the shopgirl pulps, and the writing leaves much to be desired,"[106] with David Bowman's helmetless spacewalk in 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired by Frank Keene's escape from the pirate base the novel.[107]
Space pirate, con artist, and mercenary who captured Han Solo as a child, turning him into a thief, while serving as his mentor.[108][109] A similar character, named Tobias Beckett appeared in the Solo: A Star Wars Story film.[110]
Transformer Pirates with a vendetta against Cybertron led by Thundertron, even appearing in the 2014 storyline for BotCon.[111] Thundertron also appeared as a figure in the Transformers: Prime toyline. Reportedly, Transformers Prime would have introduced pirates if it has continued.[112] Also, there was the Dread Pirate Crew which appeared in Transformers: Wings Universe, a universe based on the original cartoon, depicted in comics, and prose stories.[113]
Terrik was a criminal who was imprisoned by protagonistCorran Horn'sfather, as well as an old friend of another protagonist Wedge Antilles.[114] Later in the series, Horn marries Terrik's daughter Mirax, despite Terrik's initial objections.
Formerly a little-known gang boss based out of Woosten, though thanks to time and planning he becomes leader of the biggest pirate organization in the history of the universe, as shown in the last three novels of the series, Engaging the Enemy (2006)[115] and Command Decision (2007).[116]
Unnamed
Barbary Station
2017
A pair of engineers join a group of space pirates but the engineers work to "take down a sinister AI" so they can gain the trust of the crew.[117]
They are a race of pirates born in a clutches of 10,000. They made their reputation by stealing weapons from their defeated opponents. Prior to the series, Ultraman Zero encountered a Barossa that fought using trickery. The Barossas are designed by Kengo Kusunoki as an alien that will represent the Reiwa era of Japan[118] and are villains in the series.[119][120][121]
Blake is a political dissident and captain of the spaceship Liberator who leads his crew of thieves, freedom fighters and smugglers against the evil Terran Federation.[122]
In this series, Divatox is an intergalactic space pirate and villain.[123] In the 1997 film, she is seeking his golden key to traverse an inter-dimensional gateway and enter into matrimony with Maligore, an imprisoned demon who promises her great riches and power.[124]
Characters from a Super Sentai series who travel to Earth in search of the "Greatest Treasure in the Universe", only to be dragged into a battle with an invading alien force called the Space Empire Zangyack.[126]
Former rebel Browncoat soldier and captain of Serenity, who has been described as someone that is "everything that a hero is not."[127] He is a survivor who tries to stay alive and get by,[128] raised by his mother and "about 40 hands" on a ranch on the planet Shadow.[129] He occasionally surprises his friends by displaying familiarity with disparate literature varying from the works of Xiang Yu[130] to poems[131] by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, though he has no idea "who" Mona Lisa is.
In this sci-fi retelling of Romeo and Juliet, Okona is a Han Solo-like thief and smuggler who ends a long-running feud between two powerful families by transporting a valuable ancestral jewel to princess Yanar of Altia on behalf of his best friend Benzan of Thesia.[132]
In the fifth and sixth seasons of the show, Camina Drummer (formerly head of security at Tycho Space Station) joins a commune of space pirates using the ships Dewalt, Mowtang, and Tynan.
Before the events of the series, Klaus Ashford was the captain of the Tynan, a pirate ship. Eventually he leaves this lifestyle, and the Tynan is used to stop space pirates for the OPA. Eventually the ship becomes a pirate ship again, this time under captain Camina Drummer.
She is a very crafty and amoral con artist who assumes convenient identities to commit grand thefts, is known to seduce—and frequently marry, and an occasional ship thief.[133]
Inspired by Long John Silver, especially as portrayed by Robert Newton in this series, which was "aimed primarily at children."[134] He is introduced in the episode "The Sky Pirate" as a human rogue of sorts,[135][136][137] and is clearly defined as a space pirate by TV Guide.[138]
Although Alestorm usually sing about sea pirates from the golden age of piracy, the subject of this song is time-travelling space pirates with a cosmic battleship of steel.
Alien space pirates unleash a reign of terror on Earth.[139]
Video games
Name
Work
Release Date
Description
Star Captain Dread
Hashtronauts: Joint Game Cruiser
2022
Toking Space Pirate and leader of the STAR Party International. Join Star Captain Dread on a campaign to commandeer the direction of the world's future by joining the Hashtronauts at Starport420.online. Star Captain Dread is an entertainer, creator of board games, video games, music, and actively blogs about Space politics and futurism - who is featured as the main character in the Hashtronauts: Joint Game Cruiser (arcade) video game for the web.
Leader of the Ork Freebootaz who wants to pillage the Aurelia sector with his fleet of stolen Imperial cruisers. Is famous for stealing the hats of defeated enemies.[140]
This game contains a non-playable faction called the Black Sun Pirates, who are a large gang of mercenaries.[141] In addition, during the Clone Wars, the criminal elements which comprised the Black Sun syndicate flourished, and it was led by a "cabal of Falleen nobles" on Mustafar,[142][143] appearing in the series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.[144] and in a comic book series.[145]
This game includes a WWW member named Captain Blackbeard, an operator of Diveman.EXE who dressed as a sailor.[146] He is also known as Captain Kurohige in Japan.
This video game consists of Teisel,[147] Tron, Bon, and 40 Servbots.[148][149] and the youngest brother, Bon Bonne, who can only say one word—"Babu!" The Bonnes are accompanied by forty Servbots, robots under the care of Tron.[150] They are air pirates in their own series, only being space pirates in the crossovers Namco × Capcom[151] and Project X Zone.[152]
A child victim of alien abduction who helps the Vault Dweller take over Mothership Zeta, destroy an enemy flying saucer, and plunder the aliens' advanced technology.[155] The rest of her crew include the samurai Toshiro Kago, the mercenary Somah, doctor Elliot Tecorian, and the cowboy Paulson.
Futuristic, seemingly mechanical beings, and antagonists.[156] They act as enemies of Pit and the Underworld Army where they roam the Galactic Sea and steal the constellations. Besides the generic Space Pirates,[157] among the members of the Space Pirates are the Space Pirate Captain, Space Pirate Commando, and Space Pirate Sniper. They are reportedly called "Star Thieves" in Japan.
^"Dinosaur King - Cable One". Sparklight. 2020. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020. Various episode descriptions on this site list "space pirates," referring to the above named characters.
^Holzer, Stefanie (July–August 1999). "Interview mit Naoko Takeuchi". AnimaniA (in German) (30).
^"An interview with Range Murata". The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society Miscellanea and Ephemeron. 2005-06-03. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
^Dong, Bamboo (April 13, 2015). "Shelf Life - Ultimate Space Pirate". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 25, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2020.Gabriella Ekens and Paul Jensen are listed as authors at the top, but neither wrote the section on the show.
^Sacks, Jason; Dallas, Keith (2014). American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 116. ISBN978-1605490564.
^McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 157. ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9. After the debut tale by acclaimed artist Howard Chaykin and co-scripter Denny O'Neil, Ironwolf became the lead protagonist in the Weird Worlds [title].{{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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^M. Keith Brooker, Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels.Santa Barbara, Calif. : Greenwood Press, 2010. ISBN9780313357473 (pp. 551-2)
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^Boaz, Joachim (November 12, 2014). "Space Raiders [Review]". Science Fiction Rumination. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
^Burger, Phillip R (1971). "In Defense of Carson Napier". Vol. 1410, no. 14. Bill Hillman. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
^Rik Alvarez panel, slide show on season 3, "Beast Hunters" - See fan photos here.
^"Transformers: Wings Universe Dread Pirate Crew (Cutback, Drydock, Lockpick, Neurotoxin, Rolling Thunder, Thunderclap, and Wheellock)," Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 58, Aug. 2014, p. 14
^Stewardson, Christopher (December 16, 2020). "Farewell, Ultraman Z". Our Culture Magazine. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020. The show's monster roster has been a lot of fun, too. From returning creatures like Red King, to new foes like space pirate Barossa, the series has revelled [sic] in its monster spectacle.
^"第10話 宇宙海賊登場!" [Episode 10: Space Pirates Appear!] (in Japanese). m-78.jp. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
^Capcom (1997). Mega Man Legends (Sony PlayStation). Capcom. Teisel: Testing! 1 2 3! Testing! Ahem! All right, listen up! Drop everything and give me your undivided attention! In about an hour, we will be arriving at our destination, Kattelox Island! Double check your equipment readings and make sure everything's in working order! I want another flawless operation, same as the last one! I swear, that treasure will be ours or my name's not Bonne! Let's do it!!
^Capcom (1997). Mega Man Legends (Sony PlayStation). Capcom. Tron:, Who was that? Wait! Wasn't that the same boy as before? He disabled the Blumebears by himself? I don't understand--whenever I think about him, I get this...funny feeling... Oh, forget it! Who cares what this feeling is!? It's all his fault! His fault! How dare he!?