In honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I made a list of my favorite comic book pirates.
Counting down from five to one….
5. Pirate Batman.
I repeat: Pirate. Batman.
4. Bêlit.
This female pirate was created by Robert E. Howard for his Conan of Barbarian stories but I remember her best from the comics by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.
Conan served as her first mate until greed got the best of the lady and her crew. But any pirate that can make Conan the Barbarian serve under her earns a place on my list.
3. Lady Sin from El Cazador.
This comic, created at the very end of CrossGen’s short life, lasted only a few issues. Written by Chuck Dixon with gorgeous pencils by Steve Epting, it made an impression in that brief period of time with the story of a noblewoman whose ship it taken over by pirates, and who then turns the tables on her captors.
Unfortunately, I’ll probably never get the end of Lady Sin’s story. But the issues are worth finding, if only for the spectacular art.
2. The Starjammers.
I’ve always had a soft spot for space pirates.
Marvel’s space pirates were led by by none other than Christopher Summers, father of the X-Men’s Scott (Cyclops) Summers and Alec (Havok) Summers. Sure, the headband plus the overly long mustache make Corsair look like the refugee from the late 1970s that he is but he’s accompanied by Hepzibah,who is from a race similar to felines, a a reptilian alien and a cyborg, among others.
Currently, the Starjammers are without Corsair, who is dead — comic book dead anyway — and they’re being led by Havok.
And my favorite comic book pirate…
Nightcrawler as a Pirate, from Uncanny X-Men, image copyright Marvel Comics
1. Nightcrawler.
Yes, he’s usually a member of the X-Men but no comic book hero is more suited to pirating and swashbuckling than Kurt Wagner.
He first appeared as a swashbuckler in a fairy tale story told by Kitty Pryde in X-Men #153 and with his agility, ability to teleport, and his prehensile tale, he’s perfectly suited to the pirating life.
(This article was originally published on GeekDad on September 19, 2009.)
