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Description
Captain James Hook, commander of the dread pirate ship Jolly Roger is the central antagonist of Scottish author J.M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter and Wendy, as well as the 1911 novel of the same name. Hook actually didn't appear in the earliest drafts of Barrie's play, being first introduced as a character for a front-cloth scene (when characters are put in front of a drawn curtain so that the stage can transition scenes behind it. Sounds kinda lame compared to what modern plays can accomplish but then again I guess it's unfair to compare anything to say the masterpiece that is the Spongebob Musical). Barrie really liked the character, though, and started way over-worldbuilding Hook like we all do with our favorite new OC. Barrie originally wanted to cast actress Dorothea Baird (who also played Mary Darling) in the role, but George Darling's actor, Gerald du Maurier, convinced him to let him play the pirate instead, hence the tradition that Hook would almost always be played by the same actor as George Darling. It's a pretty obvious metaphor, with Captain Hook, the delirious, obsessive, and totally square grown-up, serving as a foil to the childish, careless Peter Pan.

Internally, Hook's origins are made purposefully mysterious. Apparently if anyone found out his true name (I know, shockingly he wasn't born with a hook for a hand), it would set the world literally on fire. Barrie has it that Hook was Blackbeard's boatswain, and the only pirate whom Long John Silver of Treasure Island fame feared. Hook also, weirdly, attended Eton College, one of Britain's most prestigious schools, often associated with the crustiest of upper crust white trash aristocrats. This certainly explains Hook's gentlemanly characterization. In his final battle with Peter Pan, the little shit kicks the dread pirate over the edge of his ship into the gaping maw of a crocodile. Hook actually dies quite pleased with himself, as he considered this most unsportsmanlike of Peter, thus giving himself the moral high ground in the end. Kinda seems to contrast with Hook's whole endeavor to trick Peter into drinking poisoned medicine, but hey, we all know the pirate code is more of a guideline.

So okay, what led to this grown ass pirate man having such beef with a kid who hasn't even lost his baby teeth yet? You know that crocodile I just mentioned? Apparently during one of their scuffles, Peter Pan cut off Hook's hand and fed it to that very same behemoth. The crocodile, now having the taste for Captain Hook, decides it wants to eat the rest of him too, which I'm not gonna lie, is actually really funny, props to Barrie. The crocodile also swallowed a clock for… some reason (I guess to be fair, you put anything in a crocodile's mouth and it will consume, as evolution has perfected the eating machine). As such, throughout the story, Captain Hook is followed at a menacing pace by this aquatic monstrosity, knowing the creature draws near by the sound of the ticking in its stomach. It's all very Captain Ahab, and indeed Barrie himself admitted that Captain Hook is meant to be a British take on Herman Melville's iconic obsessive seafarer. Sailing sure does seem to cost you an arm and a leg.

Design notes, this was pretty straight forward, as again we have documentation of the original play's costume concept art and photographs of the actors wearing them. I think the blue might've been a bit too much. That's how his leggings are colored in the concept sheets, but I probably should've made the executive decision to change them to white or something to better match the color palette. I also have absolutely no clue what this "X" thing he always has on his cheeks is supposed to be. I went ahead and included it anyways since it's in the photographs, but if anyone has the answer, please tell me, it's been bugging the hell out of me. Ah well. I also gave him a two-pronged hook since that actually seems to be the original conception, as opposed to the single hook you often see today. I'm pretty sure the double hook is actually more in line with historical prosthetics, and it does sort of make more sense from a physics perspective. I think, I don't know, that wasn't my best class.

Description
Captain James Hook, commander of the dread pirate ship Jolly Roger is the central antagonist of Scottish author J.M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter and Wendy, as well as the 1911 novel of the same name. Hook actually didn't appear in the earliest drafts of Barrie's play, being first introduced as a character for a front-cloth scene (when characters are put in front of a drawn curtain so that the stage can transition scenes behind it. Sounds kinda lame compared to what modern plays can accomplish but then again I guess it's unfair to compare anything to say the masterpiece that is the Spongebob Musical). Barrie really liked the character, though, and started way over-worldbuilding Hook like we all do with our favorite new OC. Barrie originally wanted to cast actress Dorothea Baird (who also played Mary Darling) in the role, but George Darling's actor, Gerald du Maurier, convinced him to let him play the pirate instead, hence the tradition that Hook would almost always be played by the same actor as George Darling. It's a pretty obvious metaphor, with Captain Hook, the delirious, obsessive, and totally square grown-up, serving as a foil to the childish, careless Peter Pan.

Internally, Hook's origins are made purposefully mysterious. Apparently if anyone found out his true name (I know, shockingly he wasn't born with a hook for a hand), it would set the world literally on fire. Barrie has it that Hook was Blackbeard's boatswain, and the only pirate whom Long John Silver of Treasure Island fame feared. Hook also, weirdly, attended Eton College, one of Britain's most prestigious schools, often associated with the crustiest of upper crust white trash aristocrats. This certainly explains Hook's gentlemanly characterization. In his final battle with Peter Pan, the little shit kicks the dread pirate over the edge of his ship into the gaping maw of a crocodile. Hook actually dies quite pleased with himself, as he considered this most unsportsmanlike of Peter, thus giving himself the moral high ground in the end. Kinda seems to contrast with Hook's whole endeavor to trick Peter into drinking poisoned medicine, but hey, we all know the pirate code is more of a guideline.

So okay, what led to this grown ass pirate man having such beef with a kid who hasn't even lost his baby teeth yet? You know that crocodile I just mentioned? Apparently during one of their scuffles, Peter Pan cut off Hook's hand and fed it to that very same behemoth. The crocodile, now having the taste for Captain Hook, decides it wants to eat the rest of him too, which I'm not gonna lie, is actually really funny, props to Barrie. The crocodile also swallowed a clock for… some reason (I guess to be fair, you put anything in a crocodile's mouth and it will consume, as evolution has perfected the eating machine). As such, throughout the story, Captain Hook is followed at a menacing pace by this aquatic monstrosity, knowing the creature draws near by the sound of the ticking in its stomach. It's all very Captain Ahab, and indeed Barrie himself admitted that Captain Hook is meant to be a British take on Herman Melville's iconic obsessive seafarer. Sailing sure does seem to cost you an arm and a leg.

Design notes, this was pretty straight forward, as again we have documentation of the original play's costume concept art and photographs of the actors wearing them. I think the blue might've been a bit too much. That's how his leggings are colored in the concept sheets, but I probably should've made the executive decision to change them to white or something to better match the color palette. I also have absolutely no clue what this "X" thing he always has on his cheeks is supposed to be. I went ahead and included it anyways since it's in the photographs, but if anyone has the answer, please tell me, it's been bugging the hell out of me. Ah well. I also gave him a two-pronged hook since that actually seems to be the original conception, as opposed to the single hook you often see today. I'm pretty sure the double hook is actually more in line with historical prosthetics, and it does sort of make more sense from a physics perspective. I think, I don't know, that wasn't my best class.