Pontius Pirate is a swashbuckling pirate character created by comic writer and artist Wil Myerson.
History
Pontius Pirate debuted in Astonishing Suspense #15. In the story, he was Davey Darron, a widely ridiculed and bashful boatswain, that decided to become a swashbuckling pirate with the nom de guerre Pontius Pirate.
The character was a success leading to him gaining his own popular comic book series titled Pontius Pirate that overshadowed Myerson to the point that avid readers such as a young Gavin Turley didn't know the name of the comic's creator. The character became a highly successful brand with movies, merchandise, and more. Myerson himself saw the character's popularity as "swell" but felt that it wasn't mature enough and thought he could make something better; these thoughts leading to the creation of the philosophical comic series The Citizen and the Unthinker.
At some point before 2020, a movie based on the character was released. It was seen by a man who would come to be known as Muscles.
In 2020, the movie Pontius Pirate: War of the West Indies premiered in California a few months ahead of its original 2021 release date. A midnight screening of the film was attended by a private investigator, who had missed the first 35 minutes of the film, after he had assassinated presidential candidate Gavin Turley and his assistant Alan.
Trivia
- Rorschach #7 reveals that Pontius Pirate, first appearing in Astonishing Suspense #15, is the Watchmen universe's counterpart for Spider-Man, mirroring Spider-Man's own debut in Amazing Fantasy #15. This makes sense considering that Wil Myerson is supposed to be the fictional equivalent to Spider-Man creator Steve Ditko.
- Pontius Pirate is a play on the name "Pontius Pilate", the Roman governor and official who presided over the trial of Jesus Christ and ultimately reluctantly ordered his execution, to which (according to the Gospel of Mathew in the Bible) he famously denounced his responsibility for the death of Jesus by washing his hands with water before a crowd and proclaiming, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person".