Space pirates are a type of
stock character
A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...
from
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
.
A take on the traditional seafaring
pirates of history or the fictional
air pirates of the 19th century, space pirates travel through
outer space.
Where traditional pirates target
sailing ships, space pirates serve a similar role in sci-fi media: they capture and plunder spacecraft for cargo, loot and occasionally steal spacecraft, and kill or enslave the crewmembers and passengers.
In science fiction
The archetype evolved from the air pirate trope popular from the turn of the century until the 1920s. By the 1930s, space pirates were recurring villains in the
Buck Rogers
Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily American newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, b ...
comic strip. However, their dress and speech may vary; it may correspond to the particular author's vision of the future, rather than their seafaring precursors. On the other hand, space pirates may be modeled after stereotypical sea pirates. They may be humans who originate from Earth or a specific race of aliens. Space pirates are common in
space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...
and
soft science fiction
Soft science fiction, or soft SF, is a category of science fiction with two different definitions, in contrast to hard science fiction. It explores the Hard and soft science, "soft" sciences (e.g. psychology, political science, sociology), as op ...
, including within Japanese
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
narratives and
erotica
Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...
.
1920s to the 1960s
In 1925, Hugo Gernsback's science fiction novel, ''
Ralph 124C 41+'' featured a space pirate as a character. The book centers around a love story between the protagonist, Ralph and a civil scientist, with a space pirate from Mars also "vying for her affections," part of the scientific speculation of the novel itself. Around the same time, author Henry Edward Warner, who composed his poems which were assembled in a 1929 book, ''Songs of the Craft'', began writing various poems, including some about the "so-called space pirate."
Six years later, in November 1935, Stanley G. Weinbaum's novella, ''
The Red Peri'' appeared in the science fiction magazine ''
Astounding Stories''. In the novel, the primary character, Peri, is a space pirate who has a base on Pluto.
The novel was praised for imaginative backgrounds, although its romance was considered to be at the level of "shopgirl pulps," and writing which leaves "much to be desired,"
[ Everett F. Bleiler, '' Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years'', Kent State University Press, 1998, p.483] David Bowman's helmetless spacewalk in ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' was inspired by Frank Keene's escape from the pirate base in the novel.
[Arthur C. Clarke, ''Astounding Days: A Science Fictional Autobiography'', Bantam, 1990, .] Following this, in 1940,
Jack Williamson
John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006) was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction writer, one of several called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the t ...
's story ''Hindsight'', a space opera, included a character named Astrarch. He was a space pirate and
dictator of the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
, with the story focusing on an attempt by those on Earth to break free of his shackles.
The 1950s brought with it a blossoming of
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
, including a focus on computers, space travel, and outer space in general. This included Murray Leinster's novel, ''
The Pirates of Zan'', which included a "space pirate much like his typical maritime counterpart in appearance." Alfred Bester said that it wasn't until ''
Astounding Stories'' was rescued from an "abyss of space pirates, mad scientists" that he was able to go back to the publication.
By 1969 there was a turn to outer space on
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
, with heroes changing from
cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
s to "Space-Pirate-Cowboys." One year after Turner patented his game,
Stanislaw Lem published ''
The Cyberiad
''The Cyberiad'' (), sometimes subtitled ''Fables for the Cybernetic Age'', is a series of humorous science fiction short story, short stories by Polish writer Stanisław Lem published during 1964–1979. The first collected set of stories was or ...
'', a book in which two constructors named Trurl and Klapaucius are "captured by a space pirate who pillages and hoards information." In order to be freed from him, they build something which interprets "the movement of air molecules as information" and the pirate underestimates how much information is within the movement, and he is buried in a "mountain of paper filled with useless information." Later in the 1960s, six episodes of the sixth season of the live-action television show ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' featured a gang of space pirates, with the galaxy being described as spanned by a game between those who enforce the law and pirates like Dervish and Caven who will "apparently stop at nothing to continue their lucrative racket."
1970s to the 1990s
In the 1977 film ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'', the character
Han Solo
Han Solo () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the 1977 film ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'', and later appeared in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''Star Wars: The F ...
, who helps
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original film trilogy as the main protagonist and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a poor moisture farmer on the desert planet Tat ...
on his journey, is often described as a space pirate, being a smuggler and a rogue who will flee conflict despite his bravado. The same year,
Leiji Matsumoto
was a Japanese manga artist, and creator of several anime and manga series. His widow Miyako Maki is also a manga artist.
Matsumoto was famous for his works such as ''Space Battleship Yamato'' and ''Galaxy Express 999''. His style was chara ...
created the iconic manga series
Space Pirate Captain Harlock. The character of
Captain Harlock Captain Harlock may refer to:
* ''Captain Harlock'' (manga)
** Captain Harlock (character)
{{disambiguation ...
is a "mysterious space pirate captain" fighting to protect the world, which some saw as an homage to
samurais, and the stories would inspire many other characters in the years to come. Some said that Captain Harlock "set the template for anime’s "space pirate" archetype." In 1978,
Daniel C. Dennett proposed a philosophical question where a viewer would have to answer three questions correctly in order to "save the world from a space pirate." The following year, the first book in
Douglas Adams' ''
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' series featured space pirates.
[Alt URL]
/ref> In the story, Ford Prefect, a main character, explains that the trade routes between the center of the galaxy and outer areas were disrupted in the past by space pirates, but that they were "wiped out in the Dordellis wars," with freighter ships equipped with huge space ships thereafter. Adams also wrote a tale of space piracy in his 1978 Doctor Who serial '' The Pirate Planet'', where pirates move a hollow planet through space.
The 1980s also brought Captain Zargon, a space pirate, and a representation of "space-age warfare," part of the Action Man
Action Man is an action figure launched in Britain in 1966 by Palitoy as a licensed copy of Hasbro's American "movable fighting man", G.I. Joe.
Action Man was originally produced and sold in the United Kingdom and Australia by Palitoy Ltd of ...
toy series released by Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...
. 1984 brought various stories including space pirates. John Steakley's novel ''Armor
Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...
'', an homage to '' Starship Troopers'', a novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1959, introduces a protagonist named Felix. In the 1990 sequel, '' Vampires$'', Jack Crow, an antihero is introduced, who is a " legendary space pirate" which may have been the "source for Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow." The same year that ''Armor'' was published, the film, '' The Ice Pirates'' was first shown in U.S. theaters. Apart from the film being noteworthy for its cheeky, obviously cut-rate production values, mid-eighties " color-blind casting", sexual frankness, and near-deliberately slack "sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
" direction, the film included space pirates. TCM described the film as about two space pirates being dragooned "into helping a princess find her father." The first video game in the long-running ''Metroid
is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic M ...
'' series was released in 1986. Its alien space pirate antagonists, the lizard-like Kraid and the draconic Ridley, as well as their leader, the biocomputer Mother Brain, would go on to feature in numerous future games as the nemeses of protagonist Samus Aran. The same year, Lois McMaster Bujold's novel '' The Warrior's Apprentice'' was published. The book's main character, Miles Vorkosigan, is an antihero, aristocrat, soldier, and space pirate, beginning in this novel and continuing in the Vorkosigan Saga series.
The 1990s brought various space pirates. The 1994 game '' Super Metroid'' continued the space pirate theme, having Samus chase after Ridley and his pirates. In addition, the Stephen R. Donaldson novels, ''This Day All Gods Die'' (1997) and ''Forbidden Knowledge'' (1992) include a space pirate by the name of Nick Succorso. This portrayal was criticized by the fact that Succorso may have raped the protagonist, Morn, in the latter novel, depending on how one defines the term, rape.
2000s to the 2010s
The early 2000s had many space pirates as well. The anime series, '' FLCL'', the first series which aired between 2000 and 2001, focused on the story of a carefree female rockstar who wants to "save a space pirate" from an industrial corporation with the help of main character, Nandaba Naoto. In 2002, the video game '' Zathura'' would feature space pirates as some challenges that the protagonists need to overcome. It would later be made into a film titled '' Zathura: A Space Adventure''. More directly, in the game Metroid Prime, which came out the same year, there is a space pirate research facility, space pirates doing "biological experiments" on creatures, natural resources, and themselves, and the pirates having an interest in mystical liquid energy. The game also includes a research area led by space pirates, monsters bred by the same pirates that try to attack the player, and the pirates threatening to destroy precious artifacts. In 2005, the film, '' Serenity'' featured a space pirate named Captain Malcolm Reynolds, who said that he "aim to misbehave." He would be described by some as "good at heart" and a romantic figure. Following this, in 2009, Chris Wooding would publish a novel, ''Retribution Falls'' which some described as a "space/pirate fantasy" and a space racing game named ''Hooping'' which features pirate ships which can fire on the player with lasers, cannons, fireballs, or other projectiles.
In the 2011 novel, '' The Martian'', adapted as a 2015 motion picture, botanist Mark Watney declares he is the first "space pirate." This garnered some discussion, with various scholars debating whether he is a space pirate, asking if his actions constitute piracy. One scholar, Christian J. Robson, stated that like in Andy Weir's ''Artemis'', maritime law
Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between pri ...
applies in space, allowing for Watney to make this claim, and argued that space law would also apply in this novel. The line about space piracy was retained in the 2015 film.
''The Martian'' was not alone in this. In 2014, a game named ''Quing's Quest VII'' premiered. The game itself pitted the player and their lover/advisor, a genderfluid
Gender fluidity (commonly referred to as genderfluid) is a non-fixed gender identity that shifts over time or depending on the situation. These fluctuations can occur at the level of gender identity or gender expression. A genderfluid person m ...
"Social Justice Pirate" named Nero against forces named Misogynerds that destroyed their planet. In The Expanse novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
and TV series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...
, space piracy is seen as a big issue with multiple organizations forming to fight off the pirates.
The later 2010s had their share of space pirates. In 2016, a reviewer in ''The Catholic Library World'' reviewed Leslie Staub's children's novel, ''Time for Earth School, Dewey Dew'', which included a space pirate. The story's main character, Niko, asked his cousin to come for a ride in his spaceship, but before this can happen, a female space pirate whisks her away, as he tries to get find her, complete with various illustrations to "capture the mood of the story." Also that year, Michael J. Martinez, who authored the ''Daedalus'' series, which involves pirates in space and Mars, was interviewed. He said he was excited by the "notion of putting a sailing ship in space" after seeing the 2002 animated film, ''Treasure Planet
''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction film, science fiction adventure film directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and written by Musker, Clements and Rob Edwards (screenwriter), Rob Edwards. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'', which features space pirates, but was disappointed. The idea was invigorated when he saw the 2003 film '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'', wondering what the notion of sailing ships in space, with a Napoleonic era
The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and history of Europe, Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly (French Revoluti ...
setting in the Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
, would be like. Also that year, two other stories featuring space pirates premiered. Specifically, Nicolette Barischoff's story, "Pirate Songs" included a disabled space pirate with a glass eye named Margo who uses a high-tech chair for mobility, and ''The Waves Project'', a webcomic, features a space pirate named Beck, who finds himself in the seedy underground of Aezerea, an "Earth-like moon." The following year, the 2017 film, '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'', featured Han Solo, who is described as a "grizzled" and "underdog" space pirate with his fellow pirate, Chewbacca, and the ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy (2008 team), Guardians of the Galaxy, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios M ...
'' film featured scenes with a blue-skinned space pirate named Yondu. A science fiction novel titled ''Barbary Station'' came out the same year, focusing on space pirates. The next year brought the film, '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' to theaters. One of the film's characters, Val, was compared to a space pirate as she engages in heists and criminal activity. In March of the following year, a comic series titled ''Astro Hustle'', described as a "sexy space pirate romp," began its four-issue mini-series. Accompanying this was the publication of Alastair Reynolds's novel '' Shadow Captain'' with the main character, Fura, taking in some of the personality of a ruthless space pirate, Bosa Sennen, from the previous novel, returning from his ship. This was the sequel to his 2016 novel, '' Revenger'', the latter which features an "attack by horrifyingly sadistic pirate": Sennen. It was also described as a "swashbuckling thriller" and an "emotionally raw trilogy about a space pirate crew looking for collapsed planets." Roy McBride, main character of the film '' Ad Astra'', fights with space pirates on the Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
before traveling to Mars. The film's screenplay
A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
mentions "mining pirates" and "pirate activity."
2020 to present
In 2020, various stories and narratives featured space pirates. In the young adult
In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...
novel, ''Aphotic'' by D. R. Mattox, a main character, Ko, is shipped off onto a "self-driving, unmanned pirate ship" en route to a training camp.
The Korean science fiction film '' Space Sweepers'' has a main cast of space pirates who discover a humanoid robot created as a weapon of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natural structures ( ...
. This includes Captain Jang, a "mysterious ex-space pirate." L. Neil Smith's 2020 novel ''Henry Martyn'' focuses on pirates in space, specifically protagonist Henry Martyn, who tutors another to become a pirate and take up his name.
In February 2021, CBR called Hondo Ohnaka, who had appeared in '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' leading a group of pirates, a "lovable space pirate and smuggler," who mentors one of the protagonists of '' Star Wars Rebels'', Ezra, with the crew of his ship reluctantly accepting him as an ally. While '' Hyenas'', a first-person shooter
A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
revolving around space pirates who steal pop-culture relics from wealthy Martian colonists, was planned for release in 2023, it was cancelled by Sega
is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
due to a lack of confidence in its profitability.
In the real world
Some have considered the idea of space pirates operating in the Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
, with the possibility of a space-based economy, asteroid mining
Asteroid mining is the hypothetical extractivism, extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects.
Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight, unreliable identification ...
, debates over Extraterrestrial real estate and other space law
Space law is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue efforts ...
questions. In 2018, Michael Viets proposed adding "space piracy" into the lexicon of international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
and in 2019, legal scholars Alex Ramsey and Jessica Ramsey asked what would be "responsible actors" in space, saying they would not include those who are "some form of a space pirate," adding that the United States would determine the "responsible" parties in space. In May 2019, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
spoke in a congressional hearing, stating that "pirates threaten the open seas, and the same is possible in space", and defending the creation of the Space Force
A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...
.
In 2019, American entrepreneur Nova Spivack declared he was the "first space pirate" for smuggling tardigrades to the Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
on board an Arch Mission Foundation lander without informing the Israeli launch company SpaceIL. Items have been taken into space without permission since the mid-1960s.
List of space pirate media
{, class="wikitable sortable"
, -
! Work , , Years , , Medium , , Description
, -
, '' The Red Peri'', , 1935 , , Novella , , Peri is the novel's protagonist and space pirate who has a base on the Moon. Additionally, some said that "the background is imaginative, but the romance is on the level of the shopgirl pulps, and the writing leaves much to be desired," with David Bowman's helmetless spacewalk in ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' inspired by Frank Keene's escape from the pirate base the novel.
, -
, '' Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids'', , 1953 , , Novel , , Juvenile science fiction penned by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...
.
, -
, '' The Space Pirates'', , 1969 , , Television serial , , A ''Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' serial starring the Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. Out of his 1 ...
. The TARDIS
The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...
materializes in the midst of a pitched battle between space pirates and the Army Space Corps. The pirates dismantle space beacons for their scrap value of a rare material.
, -
, '' The Pirates of Orion'', , 1974 , , Television episode , , An episode of '' Star Trek: The Animated Series'', the crew of the USS ''Enterprise'' are threatened by a band of space pirates. In the episode, these Orions are shown to be ruthless pirates, As such, some recommended this episode for featuring the trio of characters Kirk, Spock, and Bones of ''The Original Series''. Later, the Orion Syndicate was mentioned in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', but no actual Orions were seen, only members of other species.[ Erdmann & Block (2000): pp. 538-539]
, -
, '' The Pirate Planet'', , 1978 , , Television serial , , A ''Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' serial starring the Fourth Doctor, written by ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...
'' creator Douglas Adams. A band of space pirates use their own planet to drain the life force of other planets by materializing around them, the Captain has a giant robot parrot.
, -
, '' The Ice Pirates'' , , 1984 , , Film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
, , Space pirates raid cargo vessels carrying ice, in a system where water is scarce.
, -
, ''Metroid
is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic M ...
'' series, , 1986–present , , Video game , , Space pirates are the series' primary enemies.
, -
, '' Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon'', , 1989, , Video game , , Roger visits a variety of locations, including a fast food restaurant called Monolith Burger and a desert planet called Phleebhut. At the latter, he encounters trouble, as ''Arnoid the Annihilator'' (an Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
-like android terminator) persecutes him for not paying for a whistle acquired in '' Space Quest II''. From the information he picks up there and at Monolith Burger, Roger eventually uncovers the sinister activities of a video game company known as ScumSoft, run by the "Pirates of Pestulon".
, -
, '' Planet Pirates'' series, , 1990–1991 , , Novel , , Trilogy of novels by Anne McCaffrey
Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 1968) an ...
.
, -
, '' Sol Bianca'', , 1990-1991 , , Original video animation , , The name of the 1990 OVA is also the name of the ship that serves as both the home and the interstellar headquarters for an all-female band of notorious pirates. Thanks to a stowaway who hides aboard their ship following one of their raids, they learn of the ultimate treasure: the Gnosis
Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where ...
(pronounced "G'Nohsis" in dialogue), an artifact reputedly from old Earth itself. The second OVA, in 1991, centers around the crew encountering pirates "with a grudge," and their ship is "hit by a missile containing a virus. A single video game was released based on the series for the PC Engine CD-ROM² on June 29, 1990 by NCS exclusively in Japan. It's a role-playing video game
Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
. It featured the ship's crew from Sol Bianca and offered seven episodes.
, -
, '' Path of the Fury'', , 1992 , , Novel , , Written by David Weber
David Mark Weber (born October 24, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He has written several science-fiction and fantasy books series, the best-known of which is the Honor Harrington science-fiction series. His first nov ...
, after a woman's family is slain by space pirates she is possessed by a Fury and seeks revenge.
, -
, '' Wing Commander: Privateer'', , 1993 , , Video game , , A space pirate computer game based in the ''Wing Commander'' universe. A television series based on ''Privateer'' was planned to debut sometime in 1997. An unofficial fan remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
entitled ''Wing Commander: Privateer - Gemini Gold'' was made using the '' Vega Strike'' engine and released in 2005.
, -
, '' Space Pirates'', , 1992 , , Video game , , The player assumes the role of a star ranger (as in all American Laser Games releases except '' Who Shot Johnny Rock?'', the player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...
's name is not given, and he is referred to throughout the game as "Star Ranger") who picks up and responds to a transmission by Ursula Skye, the commander of a starship
A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 1 ...
called ''Colonial Star One''. The SOS
SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, originally established for maritime use. In formal notation SOS is written with an overscore line (), to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" a ...
call lets the star ranger know that the ship has been invaded by an evil group called the Black Brigade, led by Captain Talon. As the entire colony on board the ship is in danger, the player answers the distress call. Following a short target practice tutorial, consisting of shooting at fast-moving asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
s, the player heads out to the Black Dragon to defeat the space pirates. Some praised the game for "mindless fun", liking the game's futuristic setting, saying that the imaginative characters and scenery make the game much more visually appealing and atmospheric than most full motion video
Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than Sprite (computer graphics), sprites, vector graphics, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games featur ...
games. Others complained that American Laser Games' usage of the same basic format for all their games was becoming tiresome, but acknowledged that the game had good quality video and enjoyable acting and gameplay. They scored it two out of five stars, deeming it "entertaining enough, in a brain-dead sort of way".
, -
, '' Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie , , 1995 , , Film , , The antagonists of the film are space pirates who are involved in mass kidnappings of children on behalf of Queen Badiane, who intends to use the power of their dreams to absorb the Earth into her Black Dream Hole.
, -
, ''Outlaw Star
is a media franchise#Japan, Japanese media mix primarily consisting of an anime Television show, television series produced by Sunrise (now a division of Bandai Namco Filmworks) and a corresponding Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga series w ...
'', , 1997–present , , Manga, Television series , , Gene Starwind and Jim Hawkins are machine repairmen who meet Hilda, a space outlaw, and through clashes with others like her, they end up "on the run with her and the cargo" that the outlaws want.
, -
, '' Independence War'' , , 1998 , , Video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
, , Pirates and terrorists are the target of the player in this space combat game. Followed by '' Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos'' in 2001.
, -
, ''Space Pirate''{{efn, Not to be confused wit
the 1992 arcade game
by American Lase
of the same name
the 1994 DOS game also with the same name, or , , 2011–Present , , Online/in-browser Video game , , In this video game, the player has to kill all the space pirates attacking you by "placing towers" in different locations.
, -
, '' Rayman 2: The Great Escape'', , 1999 , , Video game , , Platform game
A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
where robo-pirates from deep space have invaded Rayman's world and broken its heart into a thousand pieces of energy.
, -
, '' Sol Bianca: The Legacy'', , 1999–2000 , , Television miniseries , , In this six-episode mini-series, a group of five pirates travel across the galaxy, chased by the "army of the entire solar system."
, -
, ''Treasure Planet
''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction film, science fiction adventure film directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and written by Musker, Clements and Rob Edwards (screenwriter), Rob Edwards. Produced by Walt Disney ...
'', , 2002 , , Film , , Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
animated space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...
version of the novel '' Treasure Island'', the cast try to locate the treasure hoard of space pirate Captain Flint.
, -
, '' Rogue Galaxy'', , 2005 , , Video game , , When the game begins, the storyline follows a linear path, but at a certain point, the game world opens up, and the player is free to move from planet to planet using the pirate ship, ''Dorgenark''. When Jaster learns they are space pirates working for the legendary Dorgengoa, he decides to join, maintaining the ruse that he is Desert Claw.
, -
, '' Galactic North'', , 2006 , , Short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
, , This story starts in the year 2303, when Captain Irravel Veda of the lighthugger ''Hirondelle'', her second-in-command
Second-in-command (2i/c or 2IC) is a title denoting that the holder of the title is the second-highest authority within a certain organisation.
Usage
In the British Army or Royal Marines, the second-in-command is the deputy commander of a unit, f ...
Markarian, and some fraction of their Ultranaut crew are ambushed by pirates while engaged in an unexpected repair stopover in a cloud of rocks and cometary matter in the charted but uninhabited star system Luyten 726-8.[{{cite web , url=https://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2008/08/review_galactic_north_by_alastair_reynolds/ , title=REVIEW: Galactic North by Alastair Reynolds , last=DeNardo , first=John , date=August 18, 2008 , website=SF Signal , access-date=November 25, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125194124/https://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2008/08/review_galactic_north_by_alastair_reynolds/ , archive-date=November 25, 2020 , url-status=live] She briefly considers activating the "Greenfly" terraforming
Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to mak ...
Von Neumann machines being transported on board, which she believes would easily be able to swarm and dismantle the pirate vessel and probably aid in repair as well. She rejects this option, however, and their ship is captured by the infamous terroristic pirate Run Seven. She is torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
d to reveal the codes to the security protecting her ship's cargo – twenty thousand colonists' cryopreserved bodies – but refuses due to intense psychological conditioning that makes her view the cargo as her children and do anything to protect them. Pirates also appear in the short story, "Weather," as the shipmaster, Inigo, finds a girl on a pirate ship.
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, '' Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction'', , 2007 , , Video game , , The main character, Ratchet, fights through hordes of robotic Space Pirates led by Captain Romulus Slag.[{{cite web, url = http://ps3.ign.com/articles/829/829409p1.html, title = Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction Review, last = Dunham , first = Jeremy, date = 2007-10-23, work = ]IGN
''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
, publisher = News Corporation This game is followed by '' Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty'', where Ratchet again fights the Space Pirates.[{{cite web, first=Jeremy, last=Dunham, date=2008-08-15, access-date=2008-08-16, title=IGN: Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty Review, url=http://ps3.ign.com/articles/899/899120p1.html ]
, -
, '' Space Pirates'' , , 2007-2008 , , Children's television series , , A TV series that was aired on The BBC's CBeebies
CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...
Channel between 2007 and 2008. The show is primarily aimed at children aged from four to six years old, although the show is designed to reach all ages and "bring the whole family together to explore a diverse range of musical performances."[''Space Pirates - Information for grown-ups''](_blank)
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511135441/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/about/programmes/spacepirates_03.shtml , date=11 May 2008
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, ''Miniskirt Space Pirates/ Bodacious Space Pirates'', , 2008–present, , Light novel/ Television series , , In the far future where space travel is the norm, Marika Kato, born and raised in the Tau Ceti planet Morningstar, is the newly recruited teenage captain of the space pirate ship ''Bentenmaru'', inheriting the title from her deceased father.[{{Cite web, url=https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1474, title=Bodacious Space Pirates eviewlast1=Høgset, first1=Stig, date=2012, website= THEM Anime Reviews, language=en, access-date=November 25, 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015060543/https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1474, archive-date=October 15, 2020, url-status=live] Apart from the anime series, she appears in the manga series of the same name, and the 2014 film, '' Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace''. Other pirates in the show included Marika's mother, once known as "Blaster Ririka" and wife of Gonzaemon Kato (otherwise known as Captain Ironbeard), Captain Kenjo Kurihara of the ''Barbaroosa'', helmsman Shane McDougal of the ''Barbaroosa'', Quartz Christie of the ''Grand Cross'', The Legendary Chef who runs the Pirate's Nest, heir to the ''Barbaroosa'' (Chiaki Kurihara), and those on the crew of the ''Bentenmaru''. These include Misa Grandwood, Kane McDougal, Hyakume, Coorie, Schnitzer, San-Daime, and Luca.
, -
, '' Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta'', , 2009 , , Video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
, , In this side-quest for Fallout 3, the Vault Dweller is abducted by aliens and must form a space pirate crew with fellow survivors, like Sally, in order to seize control of the flying saucer
A flying saucer, or flying disc, is a purported type of disc-shaped unidentified flying object (UFO). The term was coined in 1947 by the United States (US) news media for the objects pilot Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, Kenneth Arnold claimed fl ...
, steal advanced alien equipment, and teleport back to the Wastes.
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, '' Space Pirates and Zombies (S.P.A.Z.)'' , , 2011-2012 , , Video game. , , ''S.P.A.Z.'' is an open-world game which allows players to choose which tasks to undertake during play.[{{cite web, url = https://www.dualshockers.com/interview-s-p-a-z-creators-minmax-games/, title = Interview: S.P.A.Z. Creators – MinMax Games , first = Scott, last = Lipowitz, publisher = Dual Shockers, date = 2011-12-24, access-date = 2017-11-15] Players can take the role of space pirates "looking to explore the universe, expand their fleet, and make a buck or two in the process,"[{{cite web, url = http://www.shacknews.com/article/68564/space-pirates-and-zombies-impressions, title = Space Pirates and Zombies preview, author = Mattas, Jeff, publisher =]Shacknews
''Shacknews'' is an American video game journalism website founded in 1996. It that publishes news articles, reviews, and cheat codes.
History
''Shacknews'' was founded in 1996 by Steve Gibson. The website, originally named 'Quakeholio', was ...
, date = 2011-05-24, access-date = 2011-08-22 as the player builds up their pirate fleet, allowing them to "negotiate feuding factions and eventually take on the zombie horde."[{{cite web, url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/222134/review-space-pirates-and-zombies-pc/, title=Review of Space Pirates and Zombies, author=Capri, Tony, publisher=GamePro , date=2011-08-18, access-date=2011-08-20, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202233613/http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/222134/review-space-pirates-and-zombies-pc/, url-status=dead, archive-date=2011-12-02]
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, ''Chronicle: Unit Eight'' , , 2020 , , Video game , , This game on Steam
Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
was released which challenges players to take down a fleet of space pirates.[{{cite web , date=December 1, 2020 , title='Chronicle: Unit Eight' On STEAM™ Challenges You To Take Down A Space Pirate Fleet , url=https://gaminglyfe.com/chronicle-unit-eight-on-steam-challenges-you-to-take-down-a-space-pirate-fleet/ , url-status=live , work=Gaminglyfe , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213183014/https://gaminglyfe.com/chronicle-unit-eight-on-steam-challenges-you-to-take-down-a-space-pirate-fleet/ , archive-date=December 13, 2020 , access-date=December 13, 2020 ]
See also
* Outlaw (stock character)
* Space Cowboy (disambiguation)
* Space marine
* Space Western
* List of fictional pirates
* '' The Five Gold Bands''
* Pirates in popular culture
* List of pirate films
Notes
{{Notelist, group=nb
References
{{Reflist
External links
How to become a space pirate
in Business Insider
''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...
* Christian Powell,
Cancer Spaceship
" 2013
{{Pirates
{{Stock characters
Fictional pirates
Science fiction characters
Stock characters