Davy Jones (Category: Myth)

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[Includes Davy Jones' Locker]

Davy Jones was born in Scotland; nothing is known about his youth. He fell madly in love with Calypso, the 'heathen god[dess]' of the sea who gave him the charge of ferrying souls who died at sea to the 'other side,' Fiddler's Green. Calypso gave Davy Jones the Flying Dutchman to accomplish this task. Her reason for this is unknown. She swore that after ten years she would meet him and they would spend one day together before he returned to his duties. He kept to his charge for ten years, knowing he would see his love again. Calypso however, after those ten years, failed to show up because of her capricious nature, which had drawn Jones to her in the first place. Enraged and heartbroken, Jones turned the Pirate Brethren against her, saying that if she were removed from the world, they would be able to claim the seas for themselves. They assembled in the First Brethren Court and Jones taught them how to imprison her into her human bonds (Tia Dalma); the Court agreed with him to imprison her forever.

Jones then proceeded to cut out his heart and place it in the 'Dead Man's Chest'. Containing a powerful lock, the Chest was sealed and placed within a larger wooden chest along with Jones' numerous love letters to Calypso and all other items having to do with her, except his matching musical locket. This was then buried on Isla Cruces, a plague island. Jones then departed, keeping his unique double-stemmed key to the Chest with him at all times. Since then, Jones has abandoned his post and sailed the seas, making deals and doing as he pleased. Though immortal, his disregard for his duty brought punishment, mutating him into a parody of humanity, and with him, his ship, and whomsoever served on it. His crew is lured into service by the notion that they can forestall their 'final judgment' for 100 years by serving aboard the Dutchman, however, they don't know that they will slowly mutate into creatures like Jones until they are essentially barnacles on the ship's hull, ultimately useless. The lore of the 'feared Flying Dutchman' begins as Jones' eerie ship sailed about destroying ships to recruit for crew. With his supernatural power, he becomes ruler of the oceans' realm and comes to command the Kraken, a feared mythological sea monster.

Davy Jones' character was given a large arsenal of supernatural 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. He is seen in At World's End as a brilliantly skilled swordsman and was able to break Jack Sparrow's sword with his crab-claw hand as well as defeat everybody that opposed him.

Jones is capable of teleportation on board the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl and can pass through solid objects, although he is never seen going through people. This ability to teleport was thought to be a plothole, as he is not seen to teleport to different ships during battle. (When asked, the producers of Dead Man's Chest simply said that they noticed the plot hole as well, but chose to say that his teleportation skills only work at night-time).

Jones is immortal, capable of surviving injuries that would be fatal to mortals. However, he is not impervious to pain, as demonstrated when Jack was able to cut off some of his facial tentacles during their battle, causing a scream of anguish, as well as shouting in pain after Will impales him through the back. The severed tentacle, displaying both animation and loyalty to its master, later inched across the ship deck with the key to Jones' chest. Nonetheless, Jones does seem to have a large pain tolerance, as evidenced when he quickly recovered from the pain of Will's sword, even continuing to fight with the weapon stuck in his body, and was completely indifferent to being stabbed in the shoulder by a dying Norrington. Jones can also track any soul that is owed to him using the black spot, which any member of his crew can mark a victim with, but only he can remove.

Davy Jones' has only two real weaknesses: his inability to come on land, and his heart. 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.

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Davy Jones' Locker, also Davy Jones's Locker, is an nickname for the bottom of the sea: the state of death among drowned sailors and shipwrecks. It is used as a euphemism for drowning or shipwrecks in which the sailor/s's and/or ship/s's remains are consigned to the bottom of the sea (to be sent to Davy Jones' Locker).

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