Black Pirate

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This article is about the DC Comics character. For the Skies of Arcadia faction, see Black Pirates.

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The Black Pirate (Jon Valor) is a fictional character from DC Comics, created by Sheldon Moldoff. He first appeared in Action Comics #23 (June 1940). His ghost played an important role in James Robinson's 1990s Starman series.

[edit] Fictional character history

In the 16th Century, Jon Valor was a privateer working on a commission from the King, and always working to a strong moral code of justice.

Jon would have multiple adventures. His Black Mask identity would bring him involved with his adversary, Don Carlos, who wanted Jon to hunt down Black Mask. Jon's costume would change from its singular dark colors to a wild, more colorful one. He would even gain a sidekick in his adventures, his son Justin.

Many years would pass. The two separate and Jon eventually finds out his son had been murdered. Accused of the crime himself, he was hung in the port that would eventually become Opal City. Before his death, he crafted a curse on the city that no person who died there (nor his old crew) would rest until Jon's name had been cleared. He remains in the city as a ghost.

[edit] Starman

He appears as a mysterious shadowy form, helping the rookie hero Jack Knight fight a crime wave caused by the villain the Mist. Jon helps Jack from the sidelines, slaying many of the Mist's soldiers. Eventually he contacts Jack directly and asks for his help, at the time also relating the circumstances of his death. Knight, of course, promises to prove the Black Pirate's innocence. Before he can fulfill this, the murderous dwarf Culp uses Jon's curse for his own evil purposes. Culp's plans fall apart when the legendary detective Hamilton Drew, working with Ralph and Sue Dibny prove Jon was innocent. Not only was Jon's soul freed, every soul that had ever died in Opal was freed also.