Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean character)

For other uses, see Davy Jones' Locker.

Davy Jones is one of the primary antagonists in the Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy. Davy Jones was introduced as the primary antagonist in the second film of the series Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and was also featured as one of the antagonists in the third film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Jones is the captain of the feared ghost ship featured in nautical lore, the Flying Dutchman, and roams the seas searching for souls to serve upon his vessel for a century, after which most crewmen have already fused themselves to the ship, becoming part of it. He has since become a very popular Disney villain.

Although he is often portrayed as a merciless and brutal antagonist, it is possible to empathise with Jones over his plight and subsequent spiral into depravity. As the full story of his life is revealed, he is clearly a tortured individual wracked by powerful emotions that he was unable to control and allowed himself to be twisted by love, hate, fear and rage. The only outlet for this miasma of conflicting emotions was violence after he cut out his heart to rid himself of the emotion of love.

Davy Jones is portrayed by British actor Bill Nighy in both films. The computer generated imagery used to complete the imagery of the character was highly praised, and named by Entertainment Weekly as the second most convincing computer generated film character.

Character development

The legend of Davy Jones' Locker is hundreds of years old, and originally not connected to the Flying Dutchman. References to Davy Jones may be found in many old works, such as Robert Louis Stevenson´s 1883 classic Treasure Island. Other sources are:

• The sea lore of the Flying Dutchman and its captain. As a reference to this legend, Jones can go on land only once every decade.
• Davy Jones' act of removing and concealing his heart draws on a well-established theme in which the villain is rendered immortal by sacrificing its humanity. Examples of this range from ancient mythology (particularly the Legend of Koschei) to modern concepts of the Undead and Demons.
• The Secret of Monkey Island. Similarly to the ghost pirate LeChuck in the classic computer game The Secret of Monkey Island, Davy Jones is a villainous, undead pirate captain whose immortality is a curse resulting from his broken heart. However Lechuck's transformation came about because he sought out the secret of Monkey Island to win the heart of the woman he loved. LeChuck's wriggling beard is similar to the tentacles on Jones' face.
• Jones's relationship to the sea goddess Calypso, as well as his (abandoned) charge of ferrying the souls of those who die at sea link him to Greek and Roman mythology, specifically Charon, the boatman of Hades. It seems that his abandonment of this role doomed him and his crew to be subsumed by and transformed into various forms of sea life. His death lifts the curse from the crew, as the new captain of the Dutchman resolves to return to this original role.
• The pipe organ may be a reference to the fictional Captain Nemo, the main character of Jules Verne´s famous novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, who had a pipe organ aboard his submarine Nautilus.
• Davy Jones playing his pipe organ is reminiscient of 'haunted villain' characters, who often play the organ as an outlet of their anguish.
• Davy Jones possesses a musical locket, one of the pair that belongs to Calypso. This is similar to the villain of Sergio Leone's For A Few Dollars More El Indio who also possessed one of a pair of lockets and both characters seem to be tormented by them and their connection with a previous lover. One scene that in At World's End that is extremely similar to For A Few Dollars More is when Calypso is playing her locket and when her tune ends it is picked up again by Davy Jones' who then appears in the scene, referencing the climactic fight at the end of the Spaghetti Western. Gore Verbinski has stated his own influence from Leone's work.

Design and appearance

Davy Jones's physique was designed to be a mixture of various aquatic flora and fauna features. Jones' most striking feature is his cephalopod-like head, primarily a "beard" composed of octopus-like tentacles similar to the head of Cthulhu. A prominent sac bulges from under his barnacle-encrusted tricorne. In addition to his "bearded" face, he breathes through a siphon located on the left side of his face. Jones has a crustacean-style claw for his left arm, a long tentacle in place of the index finger on his right hand, and the right leg of a crab (resembling a pegleg). He also speaks with a clearly distinguishable Scottish accent. The director, Gore Verbinski, originally wanted Jones to be Dutch, but according to Nighy, "...I don't do Dutch. So I decided on Scottish."

Jones uses the octopus-like arms of his "beard" to manipulate objects, such as a key (he shows this during a game of Liar's Dice), his hat, (when his ship submerges) and the keys of his vast pipe organ. Because his claw consists of only two parts (neither of which can move laterally), he can only strike one key with that hand. However, his "beard" plays more than twenty keys at once. It is also used as a weapon in one situation, where he intrudes into a victim's body by inserting his tentacles into several facial openings, including the eyes.

In At World's End, Jones briefly appears as his original, human self during his final personal encounter with Tia Dalma. His human appearance reflects that of his disfigured, mutated appearance, with a thick beard consisting of several braided rows that mimic the various tentacles. It was revealed in this same scene that Jones' mutation was a curse he brought on himself by breaking his oath to ferry lost souls to World's End.

Personality

Davy Jones is known to be ruthless and sadistic, even to his own crew, believing that every human should suffer in the after-life with much pain. Despite Jones' ruthless nature, he has appeared to be deeply influenced by situations involving love and passion, because of a ruined relationship he had with Calypso, the sea goddess, in the past. As revealed in At World's End, he fell madly in love with the goddess Calypso. She apparently convinced him to become captain of the Flying Dutchman, with the curse of only being able to visit Calypso once every decade. After his first ten years of servitude aboard the Flying Dutchman, he reached land only to discover that she had apparently abandoned him. In his anguish, Jones cut his own heart out and locked it in a chest.

His passionate nature is rarely shown to others, such as when he plays his theme on the pipe organ whilst shedding a single tear over Calypso and ultimately meeting her aboard the Black Pearl in a poignant moment between the two lovers, both events seen in At World's End. Another instance where his soft side is shown is when Captain Jack Sparrow tells him that Will Turner is about to be married. Jones' expression changes considerably after being told this. Other clues reflecting his privately romantic side include the matching locket-music box which Jones and Calypso both own, the numerous love letters and poems stashed along with his heart when it was found in Dead Man's Chest along with a dried up bouquet of yellow roses, and the moment he stares at Elizabeth's wedding dress floating amongst the debris of the just-sunken Edinburgh Trader. During the climax of At World's End, he taunts Will and Elizabeth when he realized their apparent relationship, stating that love is a dreadful bond which can be easily severed.

Jones possesses a locket that plays a distinguishable melody, and he is known to play the same melody on the pipe organ that is located in his quarters. This melody is also his character’s theme, and can be heard throughout the film's score. Because Jones and Calypso own matching locket musicboxes, Tia Dalma's theme is similar to that of Davy Jones, albeit in a different arrangement. Viewers first see the locket when Jack secretly steals a ring from Tia Dalma while she was looking for a jar of dirt. The 2nd time would be when Jones is playing on his organ with his "Beard". And also a third time when Will is trying to retrieve the key from Jones's beard while he's asleep. (When Will accidentally lets one of the tentacles of his beard slip and play a note on the organ, Jones almost wakes up, but the music from the locket puts him back to sleep.) People who see it would then know that Tia Dalma was Davy Jones' lover before the third movie, At Worlds End, when it becomes more obvious.

It is said that if someone owes Davy Jones their soul, he has the ability to take it by any means. In the second and third films, it is noted that Captain Sparrow owes a debt to Jones: he had raised the legendary Black Pearl from the ocean depths and made Sparrow captain for thirteen years, in exchange for Sparrow's servitude on the Flying Dutchman. Now Sparrow must find another way to pay the debt or else forfeit his soul for a century. William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner is also indentured to Davy Jones, Jones having saved Bootstrap from the bottom of the ocean, where he was sent after speaking out against Barbossa's mutiny onboard the "Black Pearl".

Powers and abilities

Jones possesses a large arsenal of magical abilities at his disposal. Though normally relying on the strength of his crew, ship, and the Kraken, Jones has proven quite powerful on his own. During the battle between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman in the third film, he was able to best Elizabeth Swann, Will Turner, William "Bootstrap Bill" Turner and even Jack Sparrow. He is impossible to kill in combat (before meeting his demise), largely due to his physical lack of a heart. While fighting Jack and Elizabeth, he showed impressive prowess as a swordsman (his encounter with Bootstrap Bill was unarmed), and was able to destroy Jack's sword with his large crab claw (after Jack disarmed him). Jones is capable of teleportation on board the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl and can pass through solid objects, such as parts of his ship and metal prison bars. His crew can also do this, such as Bootstrap Bill, who uses this ability when giving Jack the Black Spot. By removing his heart, Jones became immortal, capable of surviving fatal wounds. However, he is not indestructible, as demonstrated when Jack was able to cut off some of his facial tentacles during their battle. Jones can also track any soul that is owed to him using the black spot, which any member of his crew can give but only he can take back.

Jones's ship, the Flying Dutchman, is extremely powerful, possessing armament seeming to be in the 40-50 gun range. Armament also includes two gatling-style cannons at the bow, the triple cannons. The ship is capable of traveling underwater in a manner akin to that of a submarine, allowing him to hide underwater and take a ship by surprise. The ship is also rumored to be able to travel fastest against the wind. If it is capable of such a feat then it would be able to chase down any ship by herding said ship towards the wind and striking it down with the bow cannons. His crew are, due to their curse, strong fighters, and until they have served their debt are nearly impossible to kill. They also possess attributes of the creatures their mutations echo, such as one with an eel's head that he can extend to attack.

Jones's greatest asset is the Kraken, a massive cephalopod who can destroy ships upon command by Jones when it is summoned by turning the capstan head aboard the Flying Dutchman. It can be wounded, but since its main body is always below the water, it has never been mortally wounded by a defending ship.

Davy Jones has only two real weaknesses: his inability to come on land, and his heart. He originally kept the removed heart locked in a reinforced iron box buried on Isla Cruces with the key kept inside his tentacle beard. Anyone who possesses his heart can "control" him by extortion. Because he can only go on land once every decade, Davy Jones sends his crew to accomplish whatever task he needs done on land. However, in At World's End, Jones is seen on "land" (actually a sandbar in the middle of the ocean,) standing in a bucket of water, which means that there may be several loopholes to this rule. It is never clearly explained what will happen if Jones sets foot on land.

As Davy Jones was appointed by Calypso to be the one to use Flying Dutchman to ferry the souls of those who died at sea, he cannot die without a successor. This is expressed with a phrase "The Flying Dutchman must have a captain." repeating throughout the film, which means that whoever kills Davy Jones has to take his place as the new captain of Flying Dutchman and ferry the lost souls to the other world.

Biography

Early life

File:Human Davy Jones.jpg

The human shape of Davy Jones.

Davy Jones (birth name: David Jones) was born in Scotland, Nothing is known about his youth. Known as the mythological "Devil of the Seas", buried the Dead Man's Chest on Isla Cruces. Within the chest was his heart, which he had carved from his chest when he was unable to bear the pain of losing his one true love, Calypso, prior to teaching the Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court on how to lock her into human form out of scorned love. The Chest is ornately carved solid reinforced iron, and has a powerful lock that can only be opened by a unique double-stemmed key that Jones keeps with him at all times. He buried the Chest along with his numerous love letters to Calypso inside a larger wooden chest. Jones had since inflicted cruelty and pain onto others, even his crew.

His original role as Captain of the Flying Dutchman was to ferry those that died at sea to the after-life. But once he betrayed his original duty Davy Jones assumed his present form: A perversion to match his corrupted methods. Jones himself gained immortality. The only way to kill him is to gain possession of his heart and at least stab it, becoming the next Captain of the Flying Dutchman as a result, for the Flying Dutchman must always have a captain. Anyone who came to possess his heart controlled Jones, and, because of his great powers, the seas.

In short, after he fell in love with her, Calypso made Jones the captain of the Dutchman, simultaneously charging him with ferrying souls to the land of the dead for ten years, with a single day off to see Calypso. However, when the day came, Calypso was afraid of acting predictably, as it was her capricious nature which had drawn Jones in the first place, and so she did not meet him. Enraged at her betrayal, the heart-broken Jones cut his heart out, starting the tradition of the Dead Man's Chest, and taught the Pirate Lords how to imprison the goddess. He then began his career of lordship over the world's seas, at some point obtaining the means to command the Kraken, and assembling his crew.

Before Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of The Black Pearl

In the book series about the earlier adventures of Jack, Davy Jones shows interest in the Sword of Cortés, which Jack is seeking. He is a minor character, but finally appears in the cliff-hanger ending to book 7 when Jack and his crew encounter the Flying Dutchman. He also apparently rules over many siren and mermaid kingdoms in the ocean. Jones doesn't appear in the first film, but is mentioned when Will Turner threatens Hector Barbossa that he'll kill himself and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker, unless he frees Elizabeth. It is also mentioned that Bootstrap Bill was last seen being thrown into Davy Jones' Locker.

Jones actually begins the entire sequence of events in the Pirates of the Caribbean series by raising the Black Pearl from the bottom of the ocean, as a favor to Jack Sparrow, in exchange for his promise that after thirteen years as her captain, Sparrow will serve on the Dutchman. Sparrow then goes on to discover the Isla de Muerta after two years, is mutinied upon, and the events of the first movie ensue after a decade of Sparrow's quest for revenge on Barbossa, who in turn is seeking to end his curse. The second movie begins with Jack searching for the key to the Dead Man's Chest, presumably aware of his time slipping away and intending to use Jones's heart as a bargaining chip to secure more time, while Jones sends Bootstrap Bill to give Sparrow the Black Spot.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Main article: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Jones is introduced in this film. Jack's time had run out to command the Black Pearl, so Jones sends Bootstrap Bill Turner to settle his debt of serving Jones.

Davy Jones collects dying sailors and offers them an opportunity to serve aboard his ship for one hundred years in order to delay their final judgment. If someone willingly sells their soul to Jones in exchange for something, they also owe him one hundred years of servitude unless, as in the case of Jack Sparrow, they can attempt to buy off the debt by some other means. Jack bartered his soul to Jones to raise the Black Pearl from the depths of the ocean and be made captain for thirteen years.

Jack tricks Will into facing Jones in his stead. While on the Flying Dutchman, Will challenges Jones at a game of liar's dice, the purpose of which was to find out where Jones hides the key to the chest containing his heart.

Jones and some of the Flying Dutchman crew after Will challenges him to Liar's Dice.

The stakes for which they gambled were Will's soul for an eternity of service, against the key to the Dead Man's Chest. Will's father joins in the game, matching his son's wager, and purposely loses to save Will.

Will is free to go, while Bootstrap is trapped on the ship forever. While Jones is asleep at his organ, Will sneaks in and steals the key. He then escapes the ship with help from his father. Jones sends the Kraken after the ship that had picked up Will and forces Bootstrap to watch. The crew is killed, but Will escapes and makes it to Isla Cruces, where the chest is buried. Jones arrives there as well, but cannot set foot on land until after almost another decade at this time, and must send his crew after the chest. They retrieve it, and now Jones only has to collect Jack's debt. He summons the Kraken to attack the Black Pearl and claim Jack. Jones grimly watches as the Kraken destroys the ship and apparently devours its captain. Turning his attention to the chest now back in his possession, he demands the crew open it. When the crew opens it, Jones looks inside for merely half a second, and looks up in anguish, before yelling up to the skies as he says his last words in the movie: "Damn you, Jack Sparrow!!" Davy Jones believes that Jack Sparrow has taken the heart with him in death to "the Locker," but it is actually Lord Cutler Beckett who now possesses it, given to him by the former Commodore James Norrington in an effort to bargain back his career, though indirectly thanks to Sparrow having opened the chest and transferred the heart out earlier.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Main article: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Lord Beckett uses his advantage of possessing Jones's heart, and forces Jones to use the Flying Dutchman to assist him in his quest to conquer the seas, accompanying him to the South China Sea. To ensure Jones would obey, Beckett not only had him kill the Kraken in case he attempted to use it against him, but placed Jones's heart on-board the Flying Dutchman, surrounded by cannons. If the heart is destroyed, Jones will die.

Jones is first seen in At World's End playing slow music on the organ. He is sad for multiple reasons: for having to kill the Kraken, that he has been weakened, that he's being controlled, and most of all, that he misses Calypso.

Having Jones and the Flying Dutchman at his disposal, Lord Beckett orders Jones to seek and attack the Pirate Lord, Sao Feng; Jones subsequently kills Sao and captures Elizabeth Swann, who had been named captain by Sao Feng upon his death. When Admiral Norrington dies while freeing Elizabeth, he claims Norrington's sword after the fallen admiral tries to stab him with it in an attempt to kill him. Upon Norrington's death, Jones attempts mutiny and has his men engage with the East India Trading Company marines on the Flying Dutchman. However, Mercer is able to organize a defense on the chest which includes several Marines aiming guns at it, and Mulroy and Murtogg on either side of the chest with cannons aimed at it.

Beckett later summoned Jones to his ship where Jones confronted Will Turner again and revealed his history of lost love for the goddess, Calypso. Jones revealed that he could never forgive her for betraying him, revealing his part in her sealing. He also learned of Jack's survival in spite of his encounter with the Kraken. He would later confront Calypso in her human shape of Tia Dalma, locked in the brig of the Black Pearl, in which the two former sweet-hearts engaged in a poignant conversation wherein several crucial subplots between the two were revealed, such as the reason why Calypso did not meet him after Jones' first decade of service on the Flying Dutchman, and the subsequent mutation of Davy Jones. Tia Dalma touches his chest, and Jones is briefly seen in his original human form (also portrayed by Bill Nighy), which bears striking similarities to his grotesque appearance - a long and full beard with multiple braids parallel to his facial tentacles. Jones, despite his attempts to hate her, seemed unable to truly do so and instead told her that his heart will always be with her. Tia Dalma said that after her release, she will fully give her love to him and will help him fight the Brethren Court.

Calypso, however, chose to become neutral after Will Turner tells her that it was Davy Jones that told the Court how to imprison her in the first place. She evened the odds for both sides by causing a gigantic hurricane and maelstrom right before the climactic battle between the Brethren Court and their respective fleet of ships versus the East India Trading Company and its massive armada, intending to swallow both sides into the ocean's depths. Jones led the Flying Dutchman against the Black Pearl, as both ships entered the maelstrom. The two ships exchanged heavy cannon fire. One blast struck the helm of the Flying Dutchman, taking out most of the East India Trading Company troops on board. Jones took advantage of the opportunity and killed Mercer by breaking his neck, then took back the key to the chest. As Jones triumphantly marched down onto the deck, he ran into Jack, who was attempting to make off with the chest after fooling Mulroy and Murtogg into yet another debate between themselves.

The two engaged in a furious duel on the Flying Dutchman's mast. Jack was able to sever the tentacle gripping the key that unlocked the chest, which fell below onto the deck. Another cannon blast struck the Flying Dutchman, causing Jack to fall off of the mast. Jones was able to grab the chest before it fell, but to his displeasure found Sparrow still clutching onto it. With a surge of strength Jones hurled Jack over the mast; however, Jack collided with a crew member of the Flying Dutchman swinging on a rope, stole his pistol, and shot the chest out of Jones' tentacle-hand. The two raced down to the deck, each determined to get to the chest first. Both reached the chest at the same time and yet another duel ensued. Jones quickly incapacitated Jack and made his way to the chest, but was stopped by Elizabeth. After a brief duel Jones knocked out Elizabeth. Just as he was about to deliver the killing blow, Will thrust his sword through Jones' chest; where his heart once remained.

Jones, unharmed, laughed and said, "Did you forget, boy? I'm a heartless wretch," and used his claw hand to bend the tip. By doing so, Will could not pull the sword back out. Jones spun around and kicked Will onto the deck. Will and Elizabeth looked at each other with nervous glances, whereupon Jones recognized that the two were in love and taunted them, threatening to "sever the bond" between them. He pointed his sword at Will's neck and asked him if he feared death, to which Jack responded "Do you?" Jones turned around to see Jack clutching the heart in one hand and his broken blade in the other, ready to stab it. Jones, knowing that Jack would hesitate due to his indecisive nature, plunged his sword into Will's chest, twisting it cruelly. Enraged over his son's apparent death, Bootstrap snapped out of his earlier mental incapacitation and attacked Jones. Jones quickly subdued Bootstrap Bill and was about to commit "judgment" upon him, when he was suddenly stopped by a burst of agony. Behind him, he saw that Jack had used Will's hand to stab the heart. Mortally wounded, Jones gasped for breath, and looked to the stormy skies, and muttered in a weak voice his last words: "Calypso..." Then Davy Jones died and plummeted overboard, into the abyss of the massive maelstrom, which subsided very shortly afterwards.

Production

From reel to reality: Davy Jones is brought to life.

Before officially casting Nighy producers also met with Jim Broadbent, Iain Glenn and Richard E. Grant.

The entire crew of the Flying Dutchman, except "Bootstrap Bill," is completely CGI, including Davy Jones. Their performances were recorded using motion capture during actual filming on the set, rather than in a motion-capture studio during postproduction. Briefly during the third film, Jones appears as a human for a single scene, played by Nighy in costume.

Because of the computer-generated character's photorealism, many reviewers mistakenly identified Nighy as wearing prosthetic makeup. I.L.M.'s Webby-nominated The Show website features an interactive look into the making of the Oscar winning Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest visual effects.

The result won them an Academy Award for Visual Effects in 2006.

In other media

• He has a mention in the Square Enix-Disney video game, Kingdom Hearts II: Will Turner threatens to commit suicide and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker.

Merchandise

• Davy Jones was part of Series One of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest action figure set produced by NECA. Although the initial run of figures had a sticker on the box that proclaimed that the figure came with the Dead Man's Chest and Jones' heart, both props (as well as the key) were released with the Bootstrap Bill figure in Series Two.[1]

• Jones also made an appearance as a smaller figure with some of his crew members: Angler, Wheelback and Penrod.

• Davy Jones was issued as a plush toy as part of Sega's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" plush assortment.

• Jones was part of a 3 figure pack as a 3.75 inch figure with Barbossa and a limited edition gold Jack Sparrow for the At World's End film.

• Davy Jones and his ship, The Flying Dutchman, were produced as a Mega Blocks set for the movies Dead Man's Chest and At Worlds End. Although his minifigure counterpart in the Dead Man's chest set has more reddish tentacles then his counterpart in the At Worlds End set, which has more greenish tentacles.

• According to NECA, there are plans to make a human Davy Jones figure, and a Battle Pose Davy Jones, like the AWE series 1 Battle Pose Jack Sparrow, though nothing official is known as of yet.

External links

• Davy Jones at the Pirates of the Caribbean wiki