Captain Salazar (Armando Salazar) in Pirates of the Caribbean

Captain Salazar is the credited Armando Salazar, the ghostly commander of the Silent Mary and the main antagonist of dead men tell no tales, the fifth main film, directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning and released in the US on May 26, 2017. Javier Bardem plays him, billed second in the cast behind Johnny Depp. The credits give no other name, so "Captain Salazar" and "Armando Salazar" are the same man.

What is his ship called? The Silent Mary, a ghost ship that Henry Turner's British Navy vessel meets after sailing into the Devil's Triangle. Salazar kills that crew but lets Henry live, so that Henry can carry a warning to jack sparrow: Salazar is coming for him.

Was he a good guy? No, he is the villain of the story. His motive is revenge, because Jack trapped him and his crew in the Devil's Triangle long ago. The crew is undead, and the film gives them one clear limit: they cannot step onto land. That rule shapes much of the chase, and it suits a saga that began as a Disneyland ride (the attraction debuted in 1967) and has always leaned on cursed crews, from the Black Pearl's skeletons in the curse of the black pearl to the Dutchman's sailors. For the wider cast, see pirates of the caribbean characters.

Salazar's central relationship is with Jack Sparrow, and it is pure grievance: Jack trapped him and his crew in the Devil's Triangle, and every move Salazar makes is aimed at getting that debt repaid. He treats Henry Turner differently, sparing him as a messenger and later taking control of him to seize the Trident.

Barbossa is the most complicated link. Salazar destroys Barbossa's fleet, Barbossa bargains with him to deliver Jack, and then Barbossa turns on that deal and helps the group reach the Trident. Jack and Barbossa work out that Carina is Barbossa's daughter, and Barbossa later gives his life to kill Salazar.

Carina carries her unknown father's diary, which holds clues to the Trident's location, so the group's route to the island runs through her diary as much as through Jack's compass. Henry is the son of will turner, whose curse on the Flying Dutchman is the reason Henry wants the Trident at all.

In my opinion, Salazar's best scene is his first, when Henry's navy ship meets the Silent Mary and Salazar kills the crew yet spares one man to carry a warning. It shows what the character wants right away, and it gives the film a villain with a message rather than a monster with a hunger. The second is the moment Jack's compass changes hands for a drink, because a throwaway bar trade is what releases the ghosts. That is a neat cause and effect, and it keeps the blame on Jack, which suits the revenge plot.

Who is stronger, Davy Jones or Captain Salazar? It could be argued that Jones is the more powerful villain, since he commands the Kraken and the Flying Dutchman and is only beaten when Jack and Will stab his heart in at worlds end. Salazar, by contrast, has a crew bound by the land rule and takes control of Henry to reach the Trident. That being said, Salazar destroys Barbossa's fleet and nearly wins, which is no small thing. My pick is Jones, but Salazar is the cleaner, more focused revenge villain, and Bardem plays him with real menace.

If you want more of this kind of threat, pirates of the caribbean ships and pirates of the caribbean curses cover the other cursed vessels in the saga.