Pete

Pete is a major recurring antagonist in the Kingdom Hearts series. A former steamboat captain in his earlier days, he is the arch-enemy of Mickey,  Donald and Goofy, and used to live in Disney Town, but was cast into another dimension by Queen Minnie for the mischief he caused. He was later released from this imprisonment by Maleficent.

As seen throughout Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts II, Pete kept his word by going to various different worlds to further their agenda, creating powerful new Heartless for their army. He even acted as her emissary and tries recruiting other villains as allies following her disastrous defeat in Kingdom Hearts.

However, despite a few successes, Pete is a chronic bumbler, and as Sora puts it, "not smart enough to tie his own shoes."

Pete also serves as a Dimension Link and Command Board opponent in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

Kingdom Hearts II
Steamboat Willie (1928)

''A tough and mean former steamboat captain. Donald and Goofy know Pete real well - he's so bad that Queen Minnie was forced to banish him to another dimension.''

''Maleficent found Pete there and helped him escape from exile. Since then, he's been traveling the worlds, assembling an army of Heartless for Maleficent. It's pretty certain that the two of them are planning to take over and rule all the worlds.''

Steamboat Willie (1928)
 * Olympus Coliseum

''King Mickey's nemesis. Pete is collecting an army of Heartless and helping Maleficent in her scheme to take over all the worlds. He's also lending Hades a hand with his collection of Heartless.''

Steamboat Willie (1928)
 * Pride Lands

Pete's using the Heartless to get control over all the worlds.

''He's helping Scar's phantom, too. Seems like Pete's trying to cover all his bases.''

Steamboat Willie (1928)
 * Timeless River

''King Mickey's old nemesis. He traveled back in time on Maleficent's orders.''

''As part of Maleficent's scheme to take over Disney Castle, Pete plans to destroy the Cornerstone of Light. Without the Cornerstone, Disney Castle will be defenseless.''

Steamboat Willie (1928)
 * Port Royal

Pete's been a thorn in King Mickey's side ever since the days the King served on Pete's steamboat.

''Now Pete's teamed up with Captain Barbossa and his men. He's planning something bad - that much is certain.''

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
''Pete—Disney Town's biggest trouble maker—in disguise. The truth-and-justice shtick is just a ploy to garner votes and win him the Million Dreams Award prize.''
 * Captain Justice

Sadly, this particular "hero" is better known for his deeds of derring-don't.

''A "secret" identity assumed by Pete, Disney Town's biggest troublemaker. He is pretending to be a shadowy hero to garner votes and win the Million Dreams Award prize.''
 * Captain Dark

Unfortunately, he's more shady than shadowy, and there's nothing heroic about him.

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
''A troublemaker who once lived in the same world as King Mickey, Donald, and friends. But after mouthing off and getting temporarily banished, Pete was approached by Maleficent and became her loyal servant.''

The datascape isn't the first place he has meddled with, but now that he's wandered in, he is hoping this will be his ticket to ruling a world or two.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Pete

"Steamboat Willie" (1928)

''An incorrigible troublemaker who was plucked out of his "time out" in Disney Town by none other than Maleficent. He has been her somewhat-sidekick ever since.''

Peg Leg Pete

"Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers" (2004)

''Captain of the Musketeers. He was after the crown and kidnapped Princess Minnie to get it, but Mickey and the Musketeers put a stop to his schemes.''

Before Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Many, many years before Kingdom Hearts, Pete worked as the captain of a steamboat. His deck hand was none other than the future king of Disney Castle, Mickey Mouse. This past association causes Pete to refer to Mickey as "the Boat-Boy King". Unlike his current self, around this time, Pete was a much better fellow to get along with despite his temper. However, he was much denser, not being able to figure out the person who stole his steamboat was his future self.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Pete appears in Disney Town as a resident and plays under disguise as Captain Justice and Captain Dark. Captain Dark and Captain Justice are supposed to be two different people played as Pete who are entering into the Million Dreams Celebration in Disney Town. The goal is to get as many popularity votes as possible to win the Million Dreams Award.

He becomes Captain Justice to help people in order to gain popularity votes so that he could win the Million Dreams Award, but whenever someone needs help, he uses an excuse and runs away. Pete also uses the pose of Captain Dark, a Rumble Racer. It is unknown why Pete would use an alter-ego that is supposedly evil in order to gain votes for the Million Dreams Award.

After Queen Minnie announces that Terra, Aqua, and Ven win the award, Pete jumps on stage and creates an uproar. When Queen Minnie says that some people do care for him and that he got their votes, Pete says that he doesn't care for their "lousy" votes; he just wants the prize, then is taken away by a squad of "security" Brooms. He is sent into the dark realm by Queen Minnie where he hears Maleficent's voice telling him that she can free him if he helps her conquer the worlds. She then opens the dark corridor and Pete walks into it and vanishes from his prison. Because of this incident, Pete can be considered a prime example of those who turn to the darkness.

Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
In return for his freedom, Pete becomes a commander in Maleficent's Heartless army, and travels around many worlds building up more and more legions of Heartless to help her plot of universal domination (considering there is more than one world). During the course of the original Kingdom Hearts, Pete was in the outer World, continuing to look for more allies and create powerful Heartless to add to their army. He did not know of Maleficent's demise or the disbanding of their team, single-mindedly continuing his assigned duties. He was unaware of the Organization's existence until he visited the worlds of some of their allies Jafar and Captain Hook.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
While searching for Jafar's Lamp in Agrabah, Pete is followed by Axel and Roxas when they come across the villain in the Marketplace. He was looking for a secret entrance out of town to the Cave of Wonders. Pete eventually escapes Organization XIII's sights, not appearing until Roxas finds him during another mission in Agrabah, this time with Xion. While investigating the Cave of Wonders, Roxas and Xion end up battling him. Yet, he is not done for.

Later, Pete appears in Neverland, making fake treasure maps for Captain Hook to follow, relying on the pirate's greed to conjure up tons of Heartless in his mad quest for riches. Roxas winds up destroying these Heartless anyway, and Pete's manipulation of Hook eventually leads to the creation of the Ruler of the Sky, Pete's "Prize Heartless", yet that too is defeated by Roxas.

Kingdom Hearts II
Pete first appears in the series is in Kingdom Hearts II, as the main antagonist of the first half of the game. Pete is first encountered outside Yen Sid's Tower, having sent in a squad of Heartless to turn the powerful sorcerer Yen Sid into a Heartless to act as Pete's bodyguard. But Sora, Donald, and Goofy show up, informing him of Maleficent's demise, and, in anger, Pete calls an army of Heartless to attack. After Pete tells them who lives in the tower, Sora, Donald, and Goofy run inside in excitement, leaving Pete to lose his temper.

He returns to Hollow Bastion to see if what he'd heard was true and finds Maleficent's fortress devoid of activity, until Maleficent's pet raven, Diablo, appears, a precursor to her own return. When she finally revives, he informs her of the breakdown of her alliance of villains, and the pair set their sights on raising more Heartless and finding a new castle.

Pete appears in Olympus Coliseum to help Hades defeat Hercules, even giving him the idea to use an already deceased warrior to fight him. They then plotted to trick Sora into unlocking the Underdrome, successfully kidnaping Meg as bait to do so. The fight between himself, Hercules and Sora lasted long enough for the Hydra to attack the Coliseum.

He later leaves and returns to Hollow Bastion, where he informs Maleficent of Organization XIII and Sora interfering with their plans. Upon informing her of all the times he's failed, Pete is fired by Maleficent, making him yearn for the "good 'ol days" of when he was of steamboat captain. This causes a door to the past to appear. Upon showing Maleficent the door, Pete was ordered to go into the past to destroy the Cornerstone of Light to allow them to take over Disney Castle. However, he was thwarted by Sora, Donald, Goofy and his past self, forcing him to flee to the present with the door locked behind him.

He next appears in Port Royal to lend advice and assistance to Captain Barbossa, warning them of the Keyblade's magic and giving them the help of the Heartless. He later calls on the Illuminator to help Barbossa fight Sora and Jack Sparrow. However, the pirate is defeated, forcing Pete to flee.

In Agrabah, he resumes looking for Jafar's lamp to turn him into a Heartless, infiltrating the Cave of Wonders once again to find it. Upon overhearing Sora's group mention the Peddler had it, he left them busy while chasing him down. However, thanks to interference from Iago and Genie, he loses it. After the Blizzard Lord and Volcanic Lord that he summons are defeated, he runs off in a fury.

He later appears in lion form to aid Scar in taking over the Pride Lands, giving him the Heartless to keep his reign strong. However, once Scar is throw off Pride Rock, Pete uses the anger and jealousy in his heart to turn him into a Heartless in an attempt to make the Pride Lands the first world shrouded in darkness. However, thanks to Sora and Simba, his plan is foiled.

He later helps Maleficent attack the city in Hollow Bastion, but quickly realised that their Heartless stood no chance against the Organzation's Nobodies. He fled soon after, leaving Maleficent to command the Heartless on her own.

He and Maleficent turn up one last time in the Castle That Never Was, seeking to take it for their own. When Ansem the Wise's Kingdom Hearts Encoder explodes, it causes the creation of thousands of Heartless. Knowing that Sora and his friends are the only ones who can stop Xemnas, Maleficent volunteers to hold off the Heartless, on the condition that when they've destroyed them all, the castle would be hers. Pete suggests fleeing, causing Maleficent to dismiss him. However, Pete meets Mickey face to face for the first time in a decade, and a brief conversation encourages Pete to stand and fight.

Though the Heartless were defeated, they lost the castle when Xemnas rammed into it. It can be presumed that they used a Dark Corridor to escape.

Kingdom Hearts coded
Some time later, Pete appears in Disney Castle while King Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy were trying to uncover the secrets of the Journal. The moment they were taken to the data world, Pete was taken with them, but to a different location. He calls Maleficent to him, and the two decide that the data world could be used for their plans to plunge the world in darkness.

Pete makes his first reappearance in the data version of Olympus Coliseum, where he taunts Data-Sora. He then travels to Data Agrabah, where he gives the data version of Jafar a bugged lamp, which gives him power over his world. Maleficent and Pete then appear together, and Maleficent destroys Data-Sora's Keyblade and infects Data-Riku with bugs. It is also revealed here that Pete is the reason why Mickey & the others cannot leave, as he cut the link to the real world.

The two take Riku to the digital Hollow Bastion, where Pete fights Data-Sora, and then forces him to fight Riku. After Sora defeats them and debugs Riku's data, the Journal begins erasing itself. Maleficent and Pete attempt to fight Sora-Heartless, but are quickly defeated. However, before they can be erased, Data-Riku retrieves them, and they return to the real world shortly before Mickey.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
While Sora and Riku are taking their Mark of Mastery Exam in the Dreaming Realm to restore lost worlds, a past version of Pete is seen as the captain of Princess Minnie's musketeers. He tries to usurp her and take control of the kingdom himself with the help of his minions the Beagle Boys. However, he is thwarted by Sora and Riku in both versions of this world. Strangely, this past version of Pete is considerably smarter & less cowardly than his future self.

In the present, he helps Maleficent kidnap Minnie and infiltrate Disney Castle to bargain with Mickey for access to the journal's Data Worlds. After Maleficent informs Mickey of her meeting with Master Xehanort 12 years ago, Pete is forced to let Minnie go when Lea arrives and hits him with one of his chakrams. Pete then leaves with Maleficent via a Dark Corridor.

Personality
Pete is very mean, selfish and, shown at various points, cowardly. He tends to get scared in the presence of characters with overwhelming power, or in situations of being outnumbered. He is quite loyal to Maleficent, although his cowardice interferes from time to time. He has the tendency to run at the mouth, bragging and insulting, even with people such as Hades. Whenever he is defeated, he runs off in a huff. Though Pete appears incompetent, his heart has strangely been strong enough to resist the darkness.

But despite his cowardly appearance, Pete is one of the sneakier villains in the game. This is shown first in the Underworld where he tricks Sora into opening the Underdrome by losing a fight to Sora. Next at Agrabah, he uses Sora and his friends to find Jafar's lamp so he can steal it and turn him into a Heartless. Then during his fight with Sora and his allies, he continuously changes the scene to give himself an edge. This suggests that Pete is smarter than he lets on. (This fact is even supported by Axel in 358/2 Days, where he stated Pete's "shaper than he looks")

Appearance
Pete is a portly, black furred, anthropomorphized cat (often confused for a dog). Like Mickey, he wears a heavily modified version of his usual outfit in the modern cartoons; in Pete's case, suspenders and a shirt. He wears what seems to be armor colored in shades of blue and purple overtop a red, short-sleeved shirt with a vertical pink stripe descending from the neck. He wears navy blue and white sneakers with light blue fronts and two periwinkle straps keeping each one secure. His pants are also navy blue, with light blue lining, purple lower legs, and two enormous pouches on either front side.

These pouches are attached to his pants by four pins, both sporting a silver, horizontal zipper. The most distinguishing feature of these pants is the comically large zipper going down the front and reaching around to the backside of the pants.

He wears two navy blue pauldrons, each sporting two cyan bumps and a periwinkle area near on the lower section on each shoulder. Two gold buttons at the top of Pete's pants connect to two blue suspenders that intersect over his chest before connecting to two similar, albeit smaller buttons on his shoulder pauldrons. Pete also wears a pair of fingerless gauntlets. The wrists of these gauntlets are light blue with a pale yellow semi-circle on top, while the gloves are periwinkle with a bump on each knuckle. There is a dark blue-green design on the back of each glove, descending from each knuckle to the end of the glove.

Oddly, unlike all other characters to visit the Timeless River, his outfit remains largely unchanged, apart from becoming monochrome, probably because there already was a Cap'n Pete in that world.

As Captain Justice, Pete dons a white jumpsuit with gold highlights and two large, orange lightning bolt patterns on its front. He has a black undershirt, orange straps on his upper arms, and an orange cape pinned to the shoulders of his jumpsuit. His gloves are white, gold, and black with a silver band around each of his wrists. His boots are black with silver soles, gold straps on the legs, and orange lightning bolts decorating them. The upper half of Pete's face is covered by a white mask with a red arrowhead bent into a shape resembling the letter "P". He also wears a teal belt with silver pins lining it and a red and yellow buckle. The buckle is a stylized version of the letters "C" and "J".

As Captain Dark, Pete wears a nearly identical outfit, albeit with a different belt buckle and color scheme. His jumpsuit is now black with red highlights and purple lightning bolts decorating it. The straps on his arms are lavender-colored, his cape is violet, and his gloves are red and black. His mask is black, but retains the red and yellow "P" symbol. Pete’s boots are also black with red straps and purple lightning bolts on them. His belt is red-violet with a violet and silver buckle. This buckle resembles a stylized version of the letters "C" and "D".

Abilities
Pete is capable of throwing explosive bowling balls at his opponents. He can also use fireworks to immobilize his opponents. In Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Pete is also shown to be capable of using bombs which he uses as long range weapons. He later forsakes them in favor of the mentioned bowling balls that also have a degree of tracking properties.

Another attack involves throwing a close-range "temper tantrum".

Also, in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, he is shown having decent acrobatic skill.

He is also shown to be a very skilled swordsman due to his time as captain of the musketeers.

Pete also has some magical talent, as he can generate a shield with regenerating and protective properties. He has been shown to be able to conjure items and telekinetically throw them, as he did while trying to make off with the Cornerstone of Light.

Other magical talent is shown when he somehow conjured a portal to the Past while reminiscing, a surprising feat for Pete, and he evidently has a strong Heart as he is likely able to use the Corridors of Darkness to travel the Worlds to gather Heartless without being strained by the Darkness. He also seems to have some power of teleportation as when he appeared alongside Maleficent to stop the Heartless and allow Sora and his friends to continue on to battle Xemnas. And he obviously has above-average strength, and unlike Maleficent, was strong enough to resist the darkness.

D-Link
In the European and North American version of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Pete is a D-Link ally to the player. He's the only D-Link that needs to be unlocked. To unlock, play the Command Board (except as an Event in the Mirage Arena), if you or another player lands on a Special Panel, and Pete as either Captain Justice or Captain Dark appears this unlocks Pete as a D-Link at the conclusion of the Command Board session.

Origin
Pete was originally known as Peg Leg Pete, and he holds the distinction of being the oldest continuous Disney character, appearing as early as Walt Disney's Alice Comedies. He is often times related to being the enemy of Mickey Mouse but in the modern days, he is an enemy to Goofy. While most portrayals of Pete give him an antagonistic role, in some cartoons, he was shown to have a somewhat caring side especially to his children in the show Goof Troop and to his son in the Goofy Movies and most recently in the children's show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Forms and costumes

 * Retro Pete
 * Lion Pete

Notes and references
Pat Hibulaire Pepito Karlo