Shanghaied is a 3-part Captain Plunder story beginning in Issue 91 of Sonic the Comic.
Staff
- Richard Elson - script and art
- Nigel Kitching - script
- Elitta Fell - lettering
Story
Captain Plunder has started using a Star Post as part of his ship's helm, following a suggestion from Filch, and has taken advantage of its dimension hopping power to visit New Tek City in the Special Zone. His first priority before getting down to some serious pirating is to pressgang some more crew, which some of his crew are attempting to do in the city's docklands. Unfortunately, they only come back with one person: the weedy alchemist, Proctor Speckle, who is soundly dumped in the hold under an irate Plunder's orders. The following morning, Plunder is craving chocolate after breakfast and sends Simpson to retrieve some from the hold. Unfortunately, Speckle has scoffed the lot, and he walks the plank shortly afterwards. Filch is concerned at the sound of Speckle's name, but goes unnoticed. Under the water, Speckle manages to get at some of the transformation serum in his pocket after the stopper comes out. Just as Plunder is wondering why the sharks seem to be taking so long with Speckle, the alchemist bursts out of the water, now transformed into Mr Fry, with a shark clamped tightly in his jaws.
Once Fry is on deck, Plunder orders the crew to attack, but they can't get near him and are swiftly knocked aside by the green brute, who is now taking out his aggression on the shark. Having 'tenderised' it, he asks Plunder where the galley is so he can cook it "before it starts smellin' as bad as Proctor Speckle," furiously refusing to acknowledge his previous identity when questioned by Filch. He is swiftly calmed down and led to the galley by a cheerful Simpson. A short time later, Fry and Simpson have prepared crispy shark steaks and the crew proceed to tuck in, Plunder naturally having the biggest piece. Plunder apologises to Fry for making him walk the plank, but Fry cheerfully shrugs it off, saying it was Speckle (who Fry despises) who walked the plank, and explaining how his Fry personality has come to be on the ship. As Plunder wonders what happened to the serum he didn't drink, his question is answered by the appearance of 4 heavily mutated sharks.
The sharks make their way onto the ship, and the crew are too unnerved to do anything about it. Fry is not however, and he swings into battle on the rigging for the main sail. Underneath the fallen sail (which is taking heavy damage) a violent brawl breaks out, with an unlucky Simpson caught in the middle of it. A few seconds later, Fry re-emerges as Proctor Speckle, the transforming serum having worn off. Without Fry providing sheer brute force, Simpson is fighting alone, but an impatient and annoyed Plunder steps in with his emergency shark repellent, in the form of an enormous mallet. Upon whacking the sharks a few times, knocking them out, Simpson is revealed to have been eaten alive, but is swiftly pulled out of one shark's belly by Plunder, completely unharmed. As the sharks return to normal, Plunder figures he and his crew deserve a treat after such a rough day, and orders Simpson to go retrieve the last crate of Vintage Rum Truffles. Unfortunately, the crate seems to have disappeared along with Speckle, who is floating back to land in said crate, munching away on the truffles.
Trivia
- The title refers to the act of "shanghaiing", or forced conscription. However, this only refers to the first few pages of the story. Mr Fry is only too happy to help.
- This is the Sky Pirates' only story in the Special Zone, returning to Scourge Bay shortly after. Despite this, they would continue to keep the Star Post on the wheel.
- Star Posts are said to need tremendous kinetic energy to work, so it is unknown how Plunder can get his ship to use it.
- Several pirates are given names, such as Sidney and Mr Scratchings.
- This is the first Sonic the Comic story set in the Sonic continuity that does not feature any official SEGA characters.
Timeline
The previous Captain Plunder story was Captain Plunder & His Sky Pirates!, although he last appeared in The Ghost Ship. The next story is Captain Plunder and the Spice Maidens.