- This article is about the ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. For the films' ship, see the Black Pearl.
The Wicked Wench is the attacking pirate ship in the Disney parks attraction Pirates of the Caribbean.
History[]
Background[]
The Wicked Wench was a pirate-ship during the golden-age of piracy during the 18th century. It had 18 guns, 3 masts, and a crimson hull with ornate gold plating. Many of the details of the ship seem to imply that it was Spanish in origin before being converted for piracy.
During one particular raid, the Wicked Wench attacked the Spanish island colony of Isla Tesoro in the Caribbean, a raid in which the seemed to come out successfully. The crew went on to build a lair within the subterranean grottos of the island where they all met their deaths, seemingly at the hands of a curse affiliated with their blood money.
Development History[]
The Wicked Wench is the name of the pirate ship from the original Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. In 2003, the Wicked Wench was the original name used in production for the vessel that would eventually become known as the Black Pearl In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Since then, different pieces of media regarding the film franchise has since incorporated the Wench into the film mythos. Additionally, as of 2006 elements from the film have progressively been incorporated into the ride's depiction of the Wench.
Appearances[]
Pirates of The Caribbean (film series)[]
Black Pearl[]
In the tie-in books made for the original film series, it would be explained that the Black Pearl's original name was in-fact the Wicked Wench from when it was used as a slaving-ship by the East India Trading Company. Captain Jack Sparrow held a great love for the ship but refused to use it to transport slaves and released 1000 men and woman who were being transported on it. This lead to Cutler Beckett having the Wench burned down and having Sparrow branded as a pirate.
Following this, Jack made a faustian bargain with Davy Jones where Jones would return the Wench from the depths for Jack to captain for 13 years before going on to be a slave aboard the Flying Dutchman. When Jones returned the ship, its hull was scorched black leading to Jack renaming it to the Black Pearl.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales[]
In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the name of the ship where Jack Sparrow originally defeats Captain Salazar, acquires his compass, and is named Captain is called the Wicked Wench. This does seem to retcon the prior tie-in work however the canonicity of this film can be disputed however due to it containing information which contradicts prior PotC films (E.G., Jack getting his compass from a pirate in Dead Men Tell No Tales but explicitly having gotten it from Tia Dalma in the 2nd film or Jack having been a pirate youth in the 5th film but having explicitly worked for the East India Trading Company in the 2nd and 3rd).
Disney Parks[]
Pirates of the Caribbean (attraction)[]
1967-2006[]
The crew of the Wicked Wench was shown attacking the Spanish isle in the attraction in-search of its treasure while being lead by a pirate-captain resembling the infamous Blackbeard. Guests passed by the ship in combat and narrowly dodged by stray cannon-fire in the water from the vessel and the fortress it was engaged in battle with.
2006-present[]
The Wicked Wench is currently portrayed as attacking the port of Puerto Dorado on the island of Isla Tesoro. They are seen being captained by one Hector Barbossa who is not only in-search of the treasure, but Jack Sparrow as-well who the island seemed to be harbouring.
Disneyland Paris[]
In Disneyland Paris, the ship typically representing the Wicked Wench is captained by Blackbeard and has a different colour-scheme. This version of the Wench has a black hull with red stripes, red sails and gold ornamentation, the same colour-scheme as the Queen Anne's Revenge from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).
Trader Sam's[]
A miniature of the Wicked Wench can be found in Trader Sam's where it is shown as a ship in a bottle. When a drink known as the shipwreck is ordered, the bottle comes to life and starts sinking into the ocean as the cast-members of the bar start acting out roles of pirates abandoning ship.
It is possible that this is intended to show the Wicked Wench's fate was being lost at sea. It is also possible that Sam's bottled ship is the actual Wicked Wench itself, having been captured in the bottle similarly to how Blackbeard captured ships in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).
Other Appearances[]
Video-games[]
Kinect: Disneyland Adventures[]
In Kinect: Disneyland Adventures, the ship is being used by enemy pirates commanded by Blackbeard (who visually is clearly made to be Barbossa). The Wench attacks the ship of Black Barty with the player fighting hordes of pirates before boarding the Wench.
Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life[]
The Wicked Wench appears as a ghost-ship in the Captain of the Damned mission in this game. Crewed by the undead pirates from the ride, it ransacks Isla Tesoro while players search the island for Jack Sparrow's treasure.
Trivia[]
- The Jolly Roger flown by the Wicked Wench is the same flag which was historically used by the pirates Blackbeard and Richard Worley.
- The shield of a crest with four divisions used to appear on the back of the Wench, before the 2006 refurbishment in Disneyland and can still be seen in Walt Disney World. The symbols on this crest were a single fleur-de-lise on the top left, a chequy on the bottom left, a lozenge in the top-right, one identified section and a gold rim.
- Due to the blurred canonicity between the ride, the movies, spin-off material, and the different refurbishments, much of the history of how the Wicked Wench pirate ship pertains to its own mythos is a mystery.
- It is unknown whether or not the original pirate captain (possibly Blackbeard) existed as captain of the ship and was later usurped by Barbossa. Given that in his lifetime, Blackbeard had a small fleet of ships at his disposal it is possible that the Wench was one of them.
- It is unknown if the Black Pearl and the Wicked Wench are intended to be separate ships or the same ship as they were in the film series. Given Barbossa's position as captain it is possible that they are the same ship and merely analogous o one another, however direct references to the Black Pearl exist throughout the Disney Parks. It is possible that the two vessels merely shared the same name, possibly being sister-vessels or possibly being named after one-another.
- Sometimes the Wicked Wench is theorized to be the beached ship seen in the grotto scenes of the attraction with the skeletal helmsman aboard. This is very much possible but it should be noted, an old (now defunct) narration stated the beached ship as being, "The Royal Fortune".
- Barbossa becoming the captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has sometimes been taken as an allusion to how in the ride, Barbossa took over as the Wicked Wench's captain from the Blackbeard inspired captain.
- The Wicked Wench's appearance in Trader Sam's is a recycled effect from the defunct Adventurers Club which itself took the effect from storage after it was made by imagineer Yale Gracey for an unused bar which would have been based on the film Splash.
Gallery[]
