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| “ | Treachery! Mutiny! I won't stand for it! I'll have you in the dry-dock, Skiff, and take away your sail! | „ |
| ~ Sailor John threatening to put Skiff in a drydock and take away his sail and his villainous breakdown. |
| “ | You've got the wrong pirate! | „ |
| ~ Sailor John's last words. |
Sailor John is the main antagonist of the 2015 Thomas and Friends special Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure. He is a former navy officer-turned-pirate and the former owner of Skiff.
He was voiced by the late John Hurt, who also played Richard Rich in A Man For All Seasons, Raskolnikov in the 1970 film adaptation of Crime and Punishment, Caligula in I, Claudius, the Horned King in The Black Cauldron, Percival Graves in King Ralph, Mr. Mole in Thumbelina, Claudandus in Felidae, General Woundwort in the Watership Down television series, Harry in Pride, Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta and King Cotys in Hercules.
Personality[]
When he first appeared, Sailor John was shown to be friendly, cheerful and adventurous and had a very funny sense of humor. He seems to enjoy sailing out in the seas and enjoyed his traveling around. But during his time, he was also shown to be obsessed about finding the treasure and shown to be mysterious when along came out at night.
Also, he always seems to reprimand Skiff for his simple mistakes. However, this would soon turn out to be a facade to hide his true nature: a sinister, selfish, greedy, manipulative, and savage pirate who is willing to get away with the treasure at all costs.
He also demonstrates an abusive side towards Skiff, initially demonstrated through his apathy of making Skiff constantly swallow sea water. Once Skiff becomes aware of his true intentions, Sailor John forces Skiff to act as his getaway vehicle. In the climax, he also repeatedly threatens to dismantle Skiff, should he continue to protest and counter him.
Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure[]
Sailor John was discharged from the navy for unknown reasons (most likely for abusing his power, judging by his personality), so he retired to the Island of Sodor. During his time on the island, he learned about Captain Calles' treasure and became obsessed with finding it. At some point, he also found Skiff, whom he used to help find the treasure. Since he figured the police or anyone else in charge of the island would suspect what he was up to, Sailor John would only come to the island at night.
Sailor John first appears in the narrative while watching over the uncovering of the lost ship through his spyglass, atop Skiff. Fitting Skiff with wheels, Sailor John travels out to the site of the new branch line's construction. He receives help from Thomas, taking advantage of the tank engine's desire to be helpful. With Thomas' help, Sailor John uncovers the map leading to the treasure. Unfortunately for him, the treasure had been dug up by Marion the Steam Shovel and transported to Sir Topham Hatt's office, under his care. When Thomas reveals that the treasure will be taken to a museum, Sailor John becomes enraged, declaring that the treasure is "rightfully his" after years of searching.
That night, Sailor John uses dynamite to break into Sir Topham Hatt's office and steals the treasure. He also reveals that he has stolen the old ship and reworked it into a large escape vehicle. Thomas gives chase and, getting help from both the new engine Ryan and the Arlesdale engines, has the large ship derailed. Escaping with the treasure aboard Skiff, Sailor John throws everything else aboard Skiff at Thomas to ward him off, and eventually attempting to kill Thomas with another bundle of dynamite. Skiff shifts enough to keep the dynamite from hitting Thomas, but they eventually reach the water. When they arrived at the seaside village, Thomas crashes into the water, unable to chase him. The treasure threatens to sink Skiff, and Sailor John refuses to throw it overboard to save themselves. Fed up with Sailor John's mistreatment and threats, Skiff uses a wave to knock the treasure into the ocean. Sailor John tries to hold onto the treasure chest, but loses his grip and it sinks to the bottom, leaving him with no choice but swim back up to the surface. By the time morning came, the police had arrived to arrest Sailor John for his crimes. It is uncertain what became of him, but it is likely that he spent the rest of his life in jail. With Sailor John behind bars, not only was the treasure, which was resurfaced by Captain the boat and scuba divers, safe from the treacherous pirate, but Skiff was no longer his slave and was no longer being abused, and was now given a new captain named Joe and gave children rides.
Relationships[]
Enemies[]
- Thomas - Former ally turned enemy and attempted victim
- Skiff - Former minion turned enemy
Trivia[]
- Sailor John is the first Thomas villain to be a human (not counting the deleted character P.T. Boomer).
- Sailor John is also the third Thomas villain in a special since Diesel 10 in Thomas and the Magic Railroad to not reform, the second being Diesel from Blue Mountain Mystery and their predecessor being Vinnie from The Great Race.
- Sailor John was John Hurt's last villainous role and animated voice acting role before his death on January 25, 2017. Sailor John was also named after him.
- In the Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure book, after Sailor John steals the treasure, he called himself "Pirate John" after he steals the treasure, but he did not call himself Pirate John in the actual special. However, he says "You've got the wrong pirate!", meaning he still thinks he is a pirate.
- It's implied that John is related to the pirate, Captain Calles, which is why he thinks the treasure belongs to him.
- Sailor John is possibly the darkest Thomas villain in the series, as he would go as far as commit terrorism and attempted murder to get what he wants, which Diesel 10 also did in Thomas and The Magic Railroad but he at least had comedic moments while John was taken completely seriously.
- It is very possible that Sailor John was inspired by the iconic anti-hero pirate Long John Silver from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island, as his name is very similar to Long John Silver's name, however while Long John Silver had redeeming qualities, Sailor John doesn't have any.
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 Villains
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