In Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, the colorful characters made an era of nautical adventure spring to life with their sword fights, sweeping romances, and bitter rivalries. Over the course of five films about maritime outlaws, the worst sort of behavior was brought out in everyone from posh aristocrats to humble blacksmiths and stuffy redcoats.
The infamous Captain Jack Sparrow managed to double cross just about every person he encountered, friend or foe, while the proper Elizabeth Swann went from detesting pirates to pulling off some pretty big schemes of her own. Every character wanted a piece of that pirate life, but not all of them reaped the spoils. Here is the worst thing about each main character, ranked.
WILL TURNER: TOO NAIVE
Will Turner was by all s a sheltered lad - since making the crossing from England to Port Royal as a small boy, he'd spent his days perfecting his work in the town smithy. He had technical talent with a blade, but as Jack Sparrow demonstrated to him in their first encounter, he lacked spontaneity.
His sheltered life made him gullible; in The Curse of the Black Pearl, he believed Jack would honestly help him find Elizabeth with no ulterior motive. In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, he thought he'd help him save his father, and in At World's End, he believed that Lord Cutler Beckett would actually honor their agreement to do the same.
BOOTSTRAP BILL TURNER: ABANDONING HIS PRINCIPLES FOR PIRACY
Bootstrap Bill Turner was never cut out to live an ordinary life. As soon as he could he became a pirate aboard the Black Pearl, abandoning his young son Will in the process and becoming cursed by Aztec Gold for his troubles.
When he later served aboard the Flying Dutchman, his commitment to piracy was still as strong as ever, pledging 100 years before the mast under Davy Jones. This commitment to a scalawag's life eventually drove him to insanity, and in a fugue state he killed James Norrington.
TIA DALMA: CONTRARY NATURE
In Dead Man's Chest, fans learned the Obeah enchantress was the goddess Calypso, imprisoned in human form by the Pirate Lords. She fell in love with Davy Jones and charged him with ferrying the souls of those lost at sea to the netherworld, but she was as capricious as the sea, and not keen to settling down.
When the fateful day came for the lovers to reunite on land she never appeared, causing him to abandon his post and curse shipwrecked men to serve aboard the Flying Dutchman. In At World's End, she went back on her word to aid the Pirate Brethren in fighting him, and decided to punish them both instead.
ELIZABETH SWANN: TWO-FACED
Elizabeth Swann came of age with a life of privilege in Port Royal, but her aristocratic manners didn't preclude her from being two-faced, as fans learned in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
Not only did she openly pursue flirtations with Jack Sparrow in front of her fiance Will Turner, she used Jack as bait for the Kraken. In At World's End, she didn't even respect Will enough to tell him her motivations, allowing him to fester with jealousy and resentment.
JAMES NORRINGTON: SLAVE TO DUTY
James Norrington was a Commodore in the Royal Navy with a promising career, but he lost his commission and reputation when he failed to bring Jack Sparrow to justice. Looking to regain some of his former glory, he allied himself with Lord Beckett in Dead Man's Chest.
His continuous enslavement to duty and putting status above all else cost him his alliance and friendship with Jack Sparrow and Will Turner when he robbed them of Davy Jones' chest, while his dedication to the East India Trading Company made him culpable in the death of Governor Swann, terminating any chance he had with Elizabeth.
LORD CUTLER BECKETT: GOOD BUSINESS
The Crown's emissary and head of the East India Trading Company, Lord Cutler Beckett had a dream of monopolizing all trade in the Caribbean and ending piracy forever. This was thwarted by Jack Sparrow and the other Pirate Lords who engaged him in an all out war.
His dogged pursuit of Jack not only jeopardized the infamous pirate, but nearly cost the lives of Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and thousands of their pirate allies. He started the War Against Piracy and had Elizabeth's father killed all in the name of "good business".
DAVY JONES: OBSESSION WITH REVENGE
Once a human man in love with a sea goddess, her betrayal of his love caused Davy Jones to abandon his duties ferrying souls to the other side and instead plunder shipwrecks for new crewmen.
His obsession with revenge against Calypso cause him to not only carve out his own heart, but condemn dozens of sailors either to the watery depths, or to serve aboard his ship. When he was feeling particularly angst-ridden, he'd unleash the Kraken to devour ships whole.
BLACKBEARD: TOO GREEDY
One of the most famous real pirates who ever sailed the High Seas, Blackbeard commanded the Queen Anne's Revenge and plundered port towns all along the Caribbean in On Stranger Tides. His greed could not be satiated, even when it came to his daughter.
After learning of his impending death by a one-legged man, Blackbeard sought the Fountain of Youth to stall the prophecy. Even though his daughter lay dying beside him, he tried to drink from the cup and steal the young years of the life she had left.
BARBOSSA: BACK-STABBER
Hector Barbossa was the mutinous first mate of Jack Sparrow aboard the Black Pearl, who left Jack marooned on an island and sailed away with his precious ship. Even after Jack recovered it, at the conclusion of At World's End, he managed to make off with it again.
In On Stranger Tides, he stabbed Jack in the back for a third time, trying to outmaneuver him for the Fountain of Youth, and in Dead Men Tell No Tales, he did the same thing again for the Trident of Poseidon.
JACK SPARROW: SELF-CENTERED
Though he was arguably one of the best pirates to sail the Seven Seas due to his enigmatic combination of dumb luck and quick-thinking, Jack Sparrow was also one of the most selfish. In The Curse of the Black Pearl he used Will Turner's love for Elizabeth to try to get the Black Pearl from his mutinous mate Hector Barbossa.
In Dead Man's Chest, he used Will again to try to settle his debt with Davy Jones aboard the Flying Dutchman. In At World's End he again tried to use Will, Elizabeth, the Pirate Brethren, and just about anyone who would believe him to lead Lord Cutler Beckett to Shipwreck Cove and escape the noose.
