{{short description|Science fiction character trope of space, rather than seafaring pirate}} {{About|the stock character||Space pirate (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Orlando Fringe The Space Pirate Puppy Musical (48642745611) (cropped).jpg|thumb|A space pirate character in ''The Space Pirate Puppy Musical'' at the Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival in 2016]] '''Space pirates''' are a type of stock character from science fiction.<ref name="greenwood">{{Cite book |last=Westfahl |first=Gary |author-link=Gary Westfahl |date=September 30, 2005 |title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works and Wonders |volume=2 |publisher=Greenwood Press |via=Google Books |isbn=0-313-32950-8 |pages=600–601 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3JXnz9x9sO4C&q=space+pirates+fiction&pg=PA600}}</ref> A take on the traditional seafaring pirates of history or the fictional air pirates of the 19th century, space pirates travel through outer space.<ref name="greenwood"/> Where traditional pirates target sailing ships, space pirates serve a similar role in sci-fi media: they capture and plunder spacecraft for cargo, loot and occasionally steal spacecraft, and kill or enslave the crewmembers and passengers.<ref name="greenwood"/>
==In science fiction== {{see also|List of space pirates}} {{excessive examples|date=February 2024}} The archetype evolved from the air pirate trope popular from the turn of the century until the 1920s. By the 1930s, space pirates were recurring villains in the Buck Rogers comic strip. However, their dress and speech may vary; it may correspond to the particular author's vision of the future, rather than their seafaring precursors. On the other hand, space pirates may be modeled after stereotypical sea pirates. They may be humans who originate from Earth or a specific race of aliens. Space pirates are common in space opera and soft science fiction,<ref>{{cite book |year=2006 |editor1-last=Cramer |editor1-first=Kathryn |editor2-last=Hartwell |editor2-first=David G. |chapter=R. Garcia Robertson |title=The Space Opera Renaissance |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPPOBQC2u_UC&pg=PA46 |language=en |location=New York City |publisher=Macmillan Publishers |page=525 |isbn=0765306174 }}</ref> including within Japanese anime narratives<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cho |first1=Hyerim |last2=Schmalz |first2=Marc L. |last3=Keating |first3=Stephen A. |last4=Lee |first4=Jin Ha |date=May 3, 2018 |title=Analyzing anime users' online forum queries for recommendation using content analysis |url=https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.uw.edu/dist/2/3760/files/2019/09/Analyzing-anime-users%E2%80%99-online-forum-queries-for-recommendation-using-content-analysis.pdf |journal=Journal of Documentation |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=923–924 |doi=10.1108/JD-08-2017-0122 |s2cid=52158684 |access-date=November 22, 2020}}</ref> and erotica.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=theatrefac|title=The Personal is Political: Performing Saint Joan in the Twenty-First Century|website=Theatre Arts Faculty Publications|publisher=Gettysburg College|language=en|last1=Russell|first1=Susan Frances|date=May 3, 2018|access-date=November 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430174711/https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=theatrefac|archive-date=April 30, 2019|url-status=live|quote=if you Google Joan of Arc today, you’ll find an unbelievable spectrum of artifacts attesting to her contemporary appeal...[like] The Erotic Adventures of Joan of Arc and Space Pirate Captain Cynn Yoshiba, sci-fi erotica.}} Also [https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/shaw.38.1.0088?seq=1 published in volume 38, no. 1] of ''The Journal of Bernard Shaw Studies'', pages 88-112.</ref>
===1920s to the 1960s=== In 1925, Hugo Gernsback's science fiction novel, ''Ralph 124C 41+'' featured a space pirate as a character. The book centers around a love story between the protagonist, Ralph and a civil scientist, with a space pirate from Mars also "vying for her affections," part of the scientific speculation of the novel itself.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Fonzo |first=Don A. |date=1965 |title=An Inquiry into the Literature of Science Fiction: Its Development, Maturation, and Significance |type=Master of Arts |chapter=Development |publisher=Texas Tech University |chapter-url=https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handle/2346/11754/31295001506582.pdf?sequence=1 |access-date=November 22, 2020 |pages=15–16 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122000000/https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ATGnBPYxT1IJ:https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/bitstream/handle/2346/11754/31295001506582.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us |archive-date=November 22, 2020 }}</ref> Around the same time, author Henry Edward Warner, who composed his poems which were assembled in a 1929 book, ''Songs of the Craft'', began writing various poems, including some about the "so-called space pirate."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mari |first1=William |date=2020 |title= "Songs of the Craft": Newsroom Work Poetry in Twentieth-Century American Journalism |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00947679.2020.1787781 |journal=Journalism History |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=6–7 |doi=10.1080/00947679.2020.1787781 |s2cid=225416750 |access-date=November 22, 2020|url-access=subscription }} [https://www.academia.edu/43858451/_Songs_of_the_Craft_Newsroom_Work_Poetry_in_Twentieth_Century_American_Journalism Alt URL] to download full PDF and available through [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Nskn55IAAAAJ&hl=en#d=gs_md_cita-d&u=%2Fcitations%3Fview_op%3Dview_citation%26hl%3Den%26user%3DNskn55IAAAAJ%26citation_for_view%3DNskn55IAAAAJ%3A8k81kl-MbHgC%26tzom%3D300 download here].</ref> Six years later, in November 1935, Stanley G. Weinbaum's novella, ''The Red Peri'' appeared in the science fiction magazine ''Astounding Stories''. In the novel, the primary character, Peri, is a space pirate who has a base on Pluto.<ref name="pasadenastarnews.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2015/07/18/ultimately-the-pluto-fly-by-is-a-journey-of-self-discovery/|title= Ultimately, the Pluto fly-by is a journey of self-discovery |last1=Rector|first1=Robert|date=July 18, 2015|website=Pasadena Star News|language=en|access-date=November 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122044251/https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2015/07/18/ultimately-the-pluto-fly-by-is-a-journey-of-self-discovery/|archive-date=November 22, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The novel was praised for imaginative backgrounds, although its romance was considered to be at the level of "shopgirl pulps," and writing which leaves "much to be desired,"<ref name="Everett F 1998, p.483">Everett F. Bleiler, ''Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years'', Kent State University Press, 1998, p.483</ref> David Bowman's helmetless spacewalk in ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' was inspired by Frank Keene's escape from the pirate base in the novel.<ref name="Arthur C. Clarke 1990">Arthur C. Clarke, ''Astounding Days: A Science Fictional Autobiography'', Bantam, 1990, {{ISBN|0-553-34822-1}}.</ref> Following this, in 1940, Jack Williamson's story ''Hindsight'', a space opera, included a character named Astrarch. He was a space pirate and dictator of the Solar System, with the story focusing on an attempt by those on Earth to break free of his shackles.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clifton |first1=Chas |date=1997 |title=Margaret St. Clair, Forgotten Foremother of Pagan Science Fiction |url=https://www.academia.edu/38221391 |journal=Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies |volume=2 |pages=39 |doi=10.1558/pome.v1i2.36 |access-date=November 22, 2020}} [https://www.chasclifton.com/columns/column17.html ALT URL]</ref>
The 1950s brought with it a blossoming of science fiction, including a focus on computers, space travel, and outer space in general. This included Murray Leinster's novel, ''The Pirates of Zan'', which included a "space pirate much like his typical maritime counterpart in appearance."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=lib_fac|title=Fantastic Covers|last1=Corrigan|first1=Ellen Kathryn|date=January 2008|website=Eastern Illinois University|language=en|access-date=November 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907234516/https://thekeep.eiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=lib_fac|archive-date=September 7, 2015|page=15|url-status=live}}</ref> Alfred Bester said that it wasn't until ''Astounding Stories'' was rescued from an "abyss of space pirates, mad scientists" that he was able to go back to the publication.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Fonzo |first=Don A. |date=1965 |title=An Inquiry into the Literature of Science Fiction: Its Development, Maturation, and Significance |type=Master of Arts |chapter=Development |publisher=Texas Tech University |chapter-url=https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handle/2346/11754/31295001506582.pdf?sequence=1 |access-date=November 22, 2020 |pages=30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122000000/https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ATGnBPYxT1IJ:https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/bitstream/handle/2346/11754/31295001506582.pdf%3Fsequence%3D1+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us |archive-date=November 22, 2020 }}</ref>
By 1969 there was a turn to outer space on television, with heroes changing from cowboys to "Space-Pirate-Cowboys."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Poulos |first1=Christopher N. |date=November 16, 2020 |title=From True Grit to "Big Damn Heroes": Cowboys, Pirates, and Relational Ethics |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1532708620968298 |journal=Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=163–170 |doi=10.1177/1532708620968298 |s2cid=228837130 |access-date=November 22, 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> One year after Turner patented his game, Stanislaw Lem published ''The Cyberiad'', a book in which two constructors named Trurl and Klapaucius are "captured by a space pirate who pillages and hoards information." In order to be freed from him, they build something which interprets "the movement of air molecules as information" and the pirate underestimates how much information is within the movement, and he is buried in a "mountain of paper filled with useless information."<ref>{{cite arXiv |last=Alicki |first=Robert |eprint=1402.2414 |title=Information is not physical |class= quant-ph|date=February 11, 2014 }}</ref> Later in the 1960s, the sixth serial of the sixth season of the live-action television show ''Doctor Who'' featured a gang of space pirates, with the galaxy being described as spanned by a game between those who enforce the law and pirates like Dervish and Caven who will "apparently stop at nothing to continue their lucrative racket."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.doctorwho.tv/stories/the-space-pirates/#_ |title=The Space Pirates |website=Doctor Who official website |publisher=BBC |access-date=November 22, 2020 |date=2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023211220/https://www.doctorwho.tv/stories/the-space-pirates/ |archive-date=October 23, 2020 }}</ref>
===1970s to the 1990s=== In the 1977 film ''Star Wars'', the character Han Solo, who helps Luke Skywalker on his journey, is often described as a space pirate, being a smuggler and a rogue who will flee conflict despite his bravado.<ref>{{cite book |date=2019 |chapter=Star Wars franchise |editor1-last=Murguía |editor1-first=Salvador Jimenez |editor2-last=Dymond |editor2-first=Erica Joan |editor3-last=Fennelly |editor3-first=Kristina |title=The Encyclopedia of Sexism in American Films |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZK3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA374 |location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |page=374 |isbn=978-1538115527 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Phillips |first1=Tom |year=2019 |chapter=Simultaneously Laughing, Screaming & Crying |editor1-last=Proctor |editor1-first=William |editor2-last=McCulloch |editor2-first=Richard |title=Disney's Star Wars: Forces of Production, Promotion, and Reception |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0WCnDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA260 |language=en |location=Iowa City, Iowa |publisher=University of Iowa Press |page=260 |isbn=978-1609386443 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hogan |first1=Jon |year=2012 |chapter=A Long Time Ago on a Newsstand Far, Far Away |editor1-last=Brode |editor1-first=Douglas |editor2-last=Deyneka |editor2-first=Leah |title=Myth, Media, and Culture in Star Wars: An Anthology |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ioHoYkPrD0C&pg=PA123 |language=en |location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=Scarecrow Press |page=123 |isbn=978-0810885127 }}</ref> The same year, Leiji Matsumoto created the iconic manga series Space Pirate Captain Harlock. The character of Captain Harlock is a "mysterious space pirate captain" fighting to protect the world, which some saw as an homage to the samurai, and the stories would inspire many other characters in the years to come.<ref>{{cite report |first=Bridget |last=Hanchek |date=2019 |title=An Illustrated History: Manga in Postwar Japan |url=http://hanchekb.msu.domains/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Hanchek_Manga_An-Illustrated-History.pdf |publisher=Bridget Hanchek's official website |page=12 |access-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123203303/http://hanchekb.msu.domains/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Hanchek_Manga_An-Illustrated-History.pdf |archive-date=November 23, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some said that Captain Harlock "set the template for anime’s "space pirate" archetype."<ref>{{Cite web|title= FEATURE: Let's Explore Some Titans of Anime History!|url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2021/02/08/feature-lets-explore-some-titans-of-anime-history|last=Creamer|first=Nick|date=February 8, 2021|work=Crunchyroll|access-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209233758/https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2021/02/08/feature-lets-explore-some-titans-of-anime-history|archive-date=February 9, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1978, Daniel C. Dennett proposed a philosophical question where a viewer would have to answer three questions correctly in order to "save the world from a space pirate."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dennett |first1=Daniel C. |date=2017 |title=Reflections on Sam Harris' "Free Will" |url=https://www.rifp.it/ojs/index.php/rifp/article/view/rifp.2017.0018/777 |journal=Rivista Internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=218, 229 |doi=10.4453/rifp.2017.0018 |access-date=November 22, 2020}}</ref> The following year, the first book in Douglas Adams' ''Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' series featured space pirates.<ref name="Folsom">{{cite report |first=Thomas C. |last=Folsom |date=May 8, 2008 |title=Space Pirates, Hitchhikers, Guides and the Public Interest: Transformational Trademark Law in Cyberspace |url=https://www.regent.edu/acad/schlaw/faculty_staff/docs/SpacePiratesv.9.5_Div.01v.3.408.05.08.pdf |publisher=Rutgers University |page=1 |access-date=November 23, 2020 }} [https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/rutlr60&div=34&id=&page= Alt URL]</ref> In the story, Ford Prefect, a main character, explains that the trade routes between the center of the galaxy and outer areas were disrupted in the past by space pirates, but that they were "wiped out in the Dordellis wars," with freighter ships equipped with huge space ships thereafter.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Douglas |year=1997 |orig-year=1979 |chapter=The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy |title=The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide |type=none |language=en |location=New York |publisher=Gramercy Books |page=125 |isbn=0517226952 }}</ref> Adams also wrote a tale of space piracy in his 1978 Doctor Who serial ''The Pirate Planet'', where pirates move a hollow planet through space.<ref name="disctoninuity">{{cite book |title=The Discontinuity Guide |last1=Cornell |first1=Paul |author-link1=Paul Cornell |last2=Day |first2=Martin |author-link2=Martin Day (writer) |last3=Topping |first3=Keith |author-link3=Keith Topping |year=1995 |publisher=Virgin Books |location=London |isbn=0-426-20442-5 |chapter=The Pirate Planet|chapter-url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006q2x0 }}</ref>
The 1980s also brought Captain Zargon, a space pirate, and a representation of "space-age warfare," part of the Action Man toy series released by Hasbro.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Brady |editor1-first=Sara |editor2-last=Mantoan |editor2-first=Lindsey |date=2017 |title=Performance in a Militarized Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGE1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT311 |location=Abingdon-on-Thames, London, UK |publisher=Routledge |page=311 |isbn=978-1351857840}}</ref> 1984 brought various stories including space pirates. John Steakley's novel ''Armor'', an homage to ''Starship Troopers'', a novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1959, introduces a protagonist named Felix. In the 1990 sequel, ''Vampires$'', Jack Crow, an antihero is introduced, who is a " legendary space pirate" which may have been the "source for Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cribbs |first1=Henry |date=August 2010 |title=Clothes Make the Man (or Woman): Tech |url=http://redstonesciencefiction.com/mobile/RedstoneSF-03.pdf |journal=Redstone Science Fiction |issue=3 |pages=19 |access-date=November 22, 2020}}</ref> The same year that ''Armor'' was published, the film, ''The Ice Pirates'' was first shown in U.S. theaters. Apart from the film being noteworthy for its cheeky, obviously cut-rate production values, mid-eighties "color-blind casting", sexual frankness, and near-deliberately slack "sitcom" direction, the film included space pirates.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/16/movies/screen-ice-pirates-in-space.html |title=Screen: 'Ice Pirates' in Space |last1=Canby |first1=Vincent |website=The New York Times |date=March 16, 1984 |access-date=November 22, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007173211/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/16/movies/screen-ice-pirates-in-space.html |archive-date=October 7, 2020 }}</ref> TCM described the film as about two space pirates being dragooned "into helping a princess find her father."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/movies/78919/Ice-Pirates-The/ |title=The Ice Pirates |website=TCM |access-date=November 22, 2020 |date=2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201123022901/https://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/movies/78919/Ice-Pirates-The/ |archive-date=November 23, 2020 }}</ref> The first video game in the long-running ''Metroid'' series was released in 1986. Its alien space pirate antagonists, the lizard-like Kraid and the draconic Ridley, as well as their leader, the biocomputer Mother Brain, would go on to feature in numerous future games as the nemeses of protagonist Samus Aran.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kalata |first=Kurt |date=2017-12-24 |title=Metroid |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/metroid/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Hardcore Gaming 101 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schedeen |first=Jesse |date=2009-11-20 |title=Big Boss of the Day: Metroid's Ridley |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2009/11/20/big-boss-of-the-day-metroids-ridley |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref> The same year, Lois McMaster Bujold's novel ''The Warrior's Apprentice'' was published. The book's main character, Miles Vorkosigan, is an antihero, aristocrat, soldier, and space pirate, beginning in this novel and continuing in the Vorkosigan Saga series.<ref>{{cite book |year=2006 |editor1-last=Cramer |editor1-first=Kathryn |editor2-last=Hartwell |editor2-first=David G. |chapter=Lois McMaster Bujold |title=The Space Opera Renaissance |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPPOBQC2u_UC&pg=PA46 |language=en |location=New York City |publisher=Macmillan Publishers |page=251 |isbn=0765306174 }}</ref>
The 1990s brought various space pirates. The 1994 game ''Super Metroid'' continued the space pirate theme, having Samus chase after Ridley and his pirates.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Lean |first=J J |date=2019 |title=Total Play!: Exploring Participation in Higher Education |type=PhD |chapter=Introduction |publisher=Manchester Metropolitan University |chapter-url=https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/623905/1/JOHN%20LEAN%20PHD%20THESIS%20FINAL%20%28002%29.pdf |access-date=November 23, 2020 |page=13}} [https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/623905/ Alt URL]</ref> In addition, the Stephen R. Donaldson novels, ''This Day All Gods Die'' (1997) and ''Forbidden Knowledge'' (1992) include a space pirate by the name of Nick Succorso. This portrayal was criticized by the fact that Succorso may have raped the protagonist, Morn, in the latter novel, depending on how one defines the term, rape.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wise |first1=Dennis Wilson |date=2019 |title="Violations as Profound as any Rape": Feminism and Sexed Violence in Stephen R. Donaldson |url=https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:32622/datastreams/CONTENT/content |journal=Extrapolation |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=147 |doi= 10.3828/extr.2019.10|hdl=10150/634124 |s2cid=201397421 |access-date=November 23, 2020|hdl-access=free }} https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:32621/ ALT URL].</ref>
===2000s to the 2010s=== {{Multiple image | direction = vertical | width = 250 | image1 = Flinthook early gameplay.webm | footer = Gameplay trailer of ''Flinthook'', a 2017 platform video game featuring a space pirate protagonist.<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Digital Trends Staff |title=Digital Trends Top Games of E3 2016 |work=Digital Trends |date=2016-06-16 |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/top-games-of-e3-2016/ |access-date=2022-01-23 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> }} The early 2000s had many space pirates as well. The anime series, ''FLCL'', the first series which aired between 2000 and 2001, focused on the story of a carefree female rockstar who wants to "save a space pirate" from an industrial corporation with the help of main character, Nandaba Naoto.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Boyd |first1=David John |date=2016 |title='Nonsensical is our thing!': Queering fanservice as 'Deluzional' desire-production in Studio Trigger's ''Kira ra Kira''/''Kill la Kill'' |url=https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/intellect/qsmpc/2016/00000001/00000001/art00005 |journal=Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=65 |doi=10.1386/qsmpc.1.1.61_1 |access-date=November 23, 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 2002, the video game ''Zathura'' would feature space pirates as some challenges that the protagonists need to overcome.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1= Nancy J |last2=Giorgis |first2=Cyndi |date=February 2003 |title=Using imagination to take readers places |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/203278710 |journal=The Reading Teacher |volume=56 |issue=5 |pages=508–509 |access-date=November 23, 2020|id= {{ProQuest|203278710}} }}</ref> It would later be made into a film titled ''Zathura: A Space Adventure''. More directly, in the video game ''Metroid Prime'', which came out the same year, there is a space pirate research facility, space pirates doing "biological experiments" on creatures, natural resources, and themselves, and the pirates having an interest in mystical liquid energy.<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/11312.13136.pdf |title=The Power-up Experience: A Study of Power-ups in Games and Their Effect on Player Experience |last1=Lange-Nielsen |first1=Filip |date=2011 |publisher=Digital Games Research Association |pages=6–7 |conference=DiGRA 2011 Conference: Think Design Play }}</ref> The game also includes a research area led by space pirates, monsters bred by the same pirates that try to attack the player, and the pirates threatening to destroy precious artifacts.<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/11312.13136.pdf |title=The Power-up Experience: A Study of Power-ups in Games and Their Effect on Player Experience |last1=Lange-Nielsen |first1=Filip |date=2011 |publisher=Digital Games Research Association |pages=8–9 |conference=DiGRA 2011 Conference: Think Design Play }}</ref> In 2005, the film, ''Serenity'' featured a space pirate named Captain Malcolm Reynolds, who said that he "aim[s] to misbehave."<ref name="Folsom" /> He would be described by some as "good at heart" and a romantic figure.<ref>{{cite report |first=Thomas C. |last=Folsom |date=May 8, 2008 |title=Space Pirates, Hitchhikers, Guides and the Public Interest: Transformational Trademark Law in Cyberspace |url=https://www.regent.edu/acad/schlaw/faculty_staff/docs/SpacePiratesv.9.5_Div.01v.3.408.05.08.pdf |publisher=Rutgers University |page=47 |access-date=November 23, 2020 }} [https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/rutlr60&div=34&id=&page= Alt URL]</ref> Following this, in 2009, Chris Wooding would publish a novel, ''Retribution Falls'' which some described as a "space/pirate fantasy"<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mathias |first1=Beverly |date=Spring 2012 |title=The Haunted Mobile/Kidnap |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1011327298 |journal=The Reading Teacher |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=51 |access-date=November 23, 2020|id={{ProQuest|1011327298}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chriswooding.com/the-books/retribution-falls/ |title=Retribution Falls |last=Wooding |first=Chris |date=2020 |website=Chris Wooding's official website |access-date=November 23, 2020 |quote=...the result is Retribution Falls – a swashbuckling, action-packed caper starring a group of sarcastic, cynical, wisecracking liars. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111232304/http://www.chriswooding.com/the-books/retribution-falls/ |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> and a space racing game named ''Hooping'' which features pirate ships which can fire on the player with lasers, cannons, fireballs, or other projectiles.<ref>{{cite tech report |last1=Gilkey |first1=Sarah |last2=Pendleton |first2=Marquis |last3=Valovcin |first3=Dennis |last4=Volpe |first4=Tim |title=Hooping: a 3-D Space Racing Game |number=RL1-P108 |institution=Worcester Polytechnic Institute |date=March 17, 2009 |url=https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1884&context=mqp-all |pages=13, 18, 27, 32}}</ref>
In the 2011 novel, ''The Martian'', adapted as a 2015 motion picture, botanist Mark Watney<ref>{{cite web |last=Clute |first=John |title=Martian, The [film] |url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/martian_the_film |magazine=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |access-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814074910/http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/martian_the_film |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |date=January 30, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Signed "JC" in the entry. http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/masthead-contributors --> declares he is the first "space pirate." This garnered some discussion, with various scholars debating whether he is a space pirate, asking if his actions constitute piracy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.overthinkingit.com/2015/10/27/martian-law-mark-watney-really-space-pirate/|title=Martian Law: Is Mark Watney Really a Space Pirate?|first=Ben|last=Adams|date=October 27, 2015|website=Overthinking It|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200829024606/https://www.overthinkingit.com/2015/10/27/martian-law-mark-watney-really-space-pirate/|archive-date=August 29, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> One scholar, Christian J. Robson, stated that like in Andy Weir's ''Artemis'', maritime law applies in space, allowing for Watney to make this claim, and argued that space law would also apply in this novel.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robson |first1=Christian J. |date=2019 |title=Andy Weir, Artemis |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/jrlsl43&id=195&men_tab=srchresults |journal=Journal of Space Law |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=191–193 |access-date=November 22, 2020}}</ref>{{efn|This subject was also discussed by Klaas Willaert in an article entitled "[https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8508512 The Martian: Can The Protagonist Be Qualified As A Space Pirate?]"}} The line about space piracy was retained in the 2015 film.<ref>{{cite news |last=Matthews |first=Joe |date=October 7, 2015 |title=The Martian' hits the mark |url=https://dc.ewu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1896&context=student_newspapers |work=Easterner of Eastern Washington University |volume=67 |issue=3 |location=Cheney, Washington |access-date=November 22, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=The Martian Best Adapted Screenplay |year=2014 |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a1c2452268b96d901cd3471/t/5c2fce7870a6ad536d30bccf/1546636921609/the_martian_screenplay.pdf-9551349672.pdf |access-date=November 22, 2020 |first=Goddard |last=Drew |page=85 |type=Shooting Script |publisher=Twentieth Century Fox |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122190919/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a1c2452268b96d901cd3471/t/5c2fce7870a6ad536d30bccf/1546636921609/the_martian_screenplay.pdf-9551349672.pdf |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |url-status=live |quote=I leave this morning for the Schiaparelli crater, where I will commandeer the Ares 4 lander. Nobody explicitly gave me permission to do this, and they can’t until I’m aboard the Ares 4. So I will take control of a craft in international waters without permission. Which, by definition, makes me a pirate. (then) Mark Watney, Space Pirate."}}</ref> ''The Martian'' was not alone in this. In 2014, a game named ''Quing's Quest VII'' premiered. The game itself pitted the player and their lover/advisor, a genderfluid "Social Justice Pirate" named Nero against forces named Misogynerds that destroyed their planet.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Salter |first=Anastasia |date=Spring 2017 |title=Code before Content? Brogrammer Culture in Games and Electronic Literature |url=http://hyperrhiz.io/hyperrhiz17/essays/2-salter-code-before-content.html |magazine=Hyperrhiz |publisher=Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218021640/http://hyperrhiz.io/hyperrhiz17/essays/2-salter-code-before-content.html |archive-date=February 18, 2020 |url-status=live}} Hyperrhiz is the "[http://hyperrhiz.io/submissions.html peer-reviewed new media satellite site] of Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge."</ref> In The Expanse novel and TV series, space piracy is seen as a big issue with multiple organizations forming to fight off the pirates.
The later 2010s had their share of space pirates. In 2016, a reviewer in ''The Catholic Library World'' reviewed Leslie Staub's children's novel, ''Time for Earth School, Dewey Dew'', which included a space pirate.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Loewenstein |first1=Rudolf |title=Time for Earth School, Dewey Dew [Review] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1829782415 |journal=The Catholic Library World |volume=87 |issue=1 |pages=63 |access-date=November 22, 2020|id={{ProQuest|1829782415}} }}</ref> The story's main character, Niko, asked his cousin to come for a ride in his spaceship, but before this can happen, a female space pirate whisks her away, as he tries to get find her, complete with various illustrations to "capture the mood of the story." Also that year, Michael J. Martinez, who authored the ''Daedalus'' series, which involves pirates in space and Mars, was interviewed. He said he was excited by the "notion of putting a sailing ship in space" after seeing the 2002 animated film, ''Treasure Planet'', which features space pirates, but was disappointed.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Martinez |first=Michael J. |interviewer=Lauren Sarner |title=Writing Sci-Fi Better Than 'Treasure Planet' |url=https://www.inverse.com/article/21566-ask-a-prophet-michael-j-martinez |work=Inverse |date=September 26, 2016 |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908204342/https://www.inverse.com/article/21566-ask-a-prophet-michael-j-martinez |archive-date=September 8, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> The idea was invigorated when he saw the 2003 film ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'', wondering what the notion of sailing ships in space, with a Napoleonic era setting in the Solar System, would be like. Also that year, two other stories featuring space pirates premiered. Specifically, Nicolette Barischoff's story, "Pirate Songs"{{efn|It was [https://web.archive.org/web/20200808143655/https://nbarischoff.com/2016/02/11/pirate-songs/ published originally] in "the anthology Accessing the Future, from The Future Fire, June 2015."}} included a disabled space pirate with a glass eye named Margo who uses a high-tech chair for mobility,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tweed |first1=Hannah |date=December 2016 |title=Accessing the Future:a Disability-Themed Anthology of Speculative Fiction [Review] |url=https://mh.bmj.com/content/42/4/e36 |journal=Med Humanit |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=e36–e37 |doi=10.1136/medhum-2016-011059 |pmid=27756773 |s2cid=207013432 |access-date=November 23, 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and ''The Waves Project'', a webcomic, features a space pirate named Beck, who finds himself in the seedy underground of Aezerea, an "Earth-like moon."<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Dailey |first=Bradley A. |date=May 2016 |title=Waves: A Digital Comic Project |type=Creative Project |publisher=Ball State University |url=https://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/200204/DaileyB_2016-2_BODY.pdf |access-date=November 23, 2020 |pages=2, 23, 33, 38, 41}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thewavesproject.com/synopsis#sthash.A2VKRjW7.dpbs |title=Prologue and Synoposis |last=Dailey |first=Bradley A. |date=2015 |website=Official website of The Waves Project |language=en |access-date=November 23, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123214535/http://www.thewavesproject.com/synopsis |archive-date=November 23, 2020 }}</ref> The following year, the 2017 film, ''Star Wars: The Last Jedi'', featured Han Solo, who is described as a "grizzled" and "underdog" space pirate with his fellow pirate, Chewbacca,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Orpana |first1=Simon |date=December 2017 |title=Interpellation by the Force: Biopolitical Cultural Apparatuses in The Force Awakens |url=https://nanocrit.com/issues/issue12/Interpellation-by-the-Force-Biopolitical-Cultural-Apparatuses-in-The-Force-Awakens |journal=New American Notes Online |issue=12 |access-date=November 23, 2020}}</ref> and the ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'' film featured scenes with a blue-skinned space pirate named Yondu.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Power |first1=Jennifer |date=Summer 2020 |title=My Queer Love Bot |url=https://bentstreet.net/my-queer-love-bot-by-jennifer-power/ |journal=Bent Street |volume=4 |issue=1 |access-date=November 23, 2020 }}</ref> A science fiction novel titled ''Barbary Station'' came out the same year, focusing on space pirates.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/2/16700066/barbary-station-r-e-stearns-science-fiction-book-review-space-pirates |title=Barbary Station is a thrilling sci-fi adventure about space pirates and a homicidal AI |last=Liptak |first=Andrew |date=December 2, 2017 |website=The Verge |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118074428/https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/2/16700066/barbary-station-r-e-stearns-science-fiction-book-review-space-pirates |archive-date=November 18, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The next year brought the film, ''Solo: A Star Wars Story'' to theaters. One of the film's characters, Val, was compared to a space pirate as she engages in heists and criminal activity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Langsdale |first1=Sam |date=Fall 2019 |title=We're Not Marauders, We're Allies |url=https://journals.library.unt.edu/index.php/unbound/article/download/98/61 |journal=Unbound: A Journal of Digital Scholarship |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=4–5 |doi= 10.12794/journals.ujds.v1i1.98|access-date=November 23, 2020|doi-access=free }}</ref> In March of the following year, a comic series titled ''Astro Hustle'', described as a "sexy space pirate romp," began its four-issue mini-series.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.comicon.com/2018/12/18/astro-hustle-delivers-sexy-space-pirates-by-way-of-sci-fi-disco/ |title=Astro Hustle Delivers Sexy Space Pirates By Way Of Sci-Fi Disco |last=Ferguson |first=James |date=December 18, 2018 |website=Comicon.com |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200520220948/https://www.comicon.com/2018/12/18/astro-hustle-delivers-sexy-space-pirates-by-way-of-sci-fi-disco/ |archive-date=May 20, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Accompanying this was the publication of Alastair Reynolds's novel ''Shadow Captain'' with the main character, Fura, taking in some of the personality of a ruthless space pirate, Bosa Sennen, from the previous novel, returning from his ship.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-55570-8 |title=Shadow Captain [Review] |date=January 28, 2019 |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602134606/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-55570-8 |archive-date=June 2, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hoffert |first1=Barbara |date=July 25, 2018 |title=From Dalglish to Salvatore: SF/Fantasy Previews, Jan. 2019--Prepub Alert |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=dalglish-salvatore-sf-fantasy-reviews-jan-2019-prepub-alert |magazine=Library Journal |access-date=November 23, 2020}}</ref> This was the sequel to his 2016 novel, ''Revenger'', the latter which features an "attack by horrifyingly sadistic pirate": Sennen.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-55556-2 |title=Revenger [Review] |date=January 23, 2017 |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602160045/https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-316-55556-2 |archive-date=June 2, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was also described as a "swashbuckling thriller"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/08/the-best-recent-science-fiction-and-fantasy-novels-reviews-roundup |title=The best recent science fiction and fantasy novels – reviews roundup |last=Brown |first=Eric |date=September 8, 2016 |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625072633/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/08/the-best-recent-science-fiction-and-fantasy-novels-reviews-roundup |archive-date=June 25, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> and an "emotionally raw trilogy about a space pirate crew looking for collapsed planets."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bookriot.com/space-opera-series/ |title=10 Space Opera Series to Get You Through the Winter |last1=Ashford |first1=Max |date=October 8, 2020 |website=Book Riot |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118141645/https://bookriot.com/space-opera-series/ |archive-date=November 18, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Roy McBride, main character of the film ''Ad Astra'', fights with space pirates on the Moon before traveling to Mars.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.space.com/ad-astra-sneak-peek-video.html |title='Ad Astra' Sneak Peek: Moon Rover Chase Is a Fight Against Space Pirates |last=Snowden |first=Scott |date=September 13, 2019 |website=Space.com |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920195401/https://www.space.com/ad-astra-sneak-peek-video.html |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://collider.com/ad-astra-clip-brad-pitt-space-pirates/ |title=Brad Pitt Battles Space Pirates on the Moon in New 'Ad Astra' Clip |last=Chitwood |first=Adam |date=September 5, 2019 |website=Collider |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226042416/https://collider.com/ad-astra-clip-brad-pitt-space-pirates/ |archive-date=February 26, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The film's screenplay mentions "mining pirates"{{efn|This may be a reference to asteroid mining.}} and "pirate activity."<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=Ad Astra |year=2019 |url=https://8flix.com/assets/screenplays/Ad-Astra-2019-screenplay-by-James-Gray-and-Ethan-Gross.pdf |access-date=November 23, 2020 |last=James |first=Gray |last2=Gross |first2=Ethan |pages=35, 38 |type=Screenplay |publisher=8Flix |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925094230/https://8flix.com/assets/screenplays/Ad-Astra-2019-screenplay-by-James-Gray-and-Ethan-Gross.pdf |archive-date=September 25, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===2020 to present=== In 2020, various stories and narratives featured space pirates. In the young adult novel, ''Aphotic'' by D. R. Mattox, a main character, Ko, is shipped off onto a "self-driving, unmanned pirate ship" en route to a training camp.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/entertainment/2020/11/21/ya-sci-fi-novel-aphotic-nc-author-d-r-mattox/6340840002/ |title=In NC sci-fi YA novel 'Aphotic,' young heroes do the time warp, again |last=Steelman |first=Ben |date=November 21, 2020 |website=Star News Online |access-date=November 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122215152/https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/entertainment/2020/11/21/ya-sci-fi-novel-aphotic-nc-author-d-r-mattox/6340840002/ |archive-date=November 22, 2020 }}</ref> The Korean science fiction film ''Space Sweepers'' has a main cast of space pirates who discover a humanoid robot created as a weapon of mass destruction.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2020/11/20/entertainment/movies/Space-Sweepers-Netflix/20201120170200461.html |title=Korean sci-fi 'Space Sweepers' set for release on Netflix |date=November 21, 2020 |website=Korea JoongAng Daily |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122182943/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2020/11/20/entertainment/movies/Space-Sweepers-Netflix/20201120170200461.html |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/22/space-sweepers-is-this-years-most-awaited-sci-fi-thriller/ |title='Space Sweepers' is this year's most awaited sci-fi thriller |last=Bueno |first=Seven |date=November 22, 2020 |website=Manila Bulletin |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122033025/https://mb.com.ph/2020/11/22/space-sweepers-is-this-years-most-awaited-sci-fi-thriller/ |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hellokpop.com/news/netflix-confirms-exclusive-launch-space-sweepers/ |title="Space Sweepers" Readies For An Exclusive Launch On Netflix |last=Hallyuland |first=Abbyin |date=November 20, 2020 |website=Hellokpop |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120144757/https://www.hellokpop.com/news/netflix-confirms-exclusive-launch-space-sweepers/ |archive-date=November 20, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> This includes Captain Jang, a "mysterious ex-space pirate."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pop.inquirer.net/102345/worlds-top-streaming-service-brings-entertainment-variety-with-new-korean-films-and-series |title=World's top streaming service brings entertainment variety with new Korean films and series |date=November 24, 2020 |website=INQPOPW |access-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124101422/https://pop.inquirer.net/102345/worlds-top-streaming-service-brings-entertainment-variety-with-new-korean-films-and-series |archive-date=November 24, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> L. Neil Smith's 2020 novel ''Henry Martyn'' focuses on pirates in space, specifically protagonist Henry Martyn, who tutors another to become a pirate and take up his name.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Alan |date=December 3, 2020 |title=Pirates in Space: Henry Martyn by L. Neil Smith |url=https://www.tor.com/2020/12/03/pirates-in-space-henry-martyn-by-l-neil-smith/ |url-status=live |work=Tor.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213182411/https://www.tor.com/2020/12/03/pirates-in-space-henry-martyn-by-l-neil-smith/ |archive-date=December 13, 2020 |access-date=December 13, 2020 }}</ref>
In February 2021, CBR called Hondo Ohnaka, who had appeared in ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' leading a group of pirates, a "lovable space pirate and smuggler," who mentors one of the protagonists of ''Star Wars Rebels'', Ezra, with the crew of his ship reluctantly accepting him as an ally.<ref>{{cite web |last=Somers |first=Fraser |date=February 13, 2021 |title=Star Wars: 12 Best Guest Appearances In Rebels, Ranked |url=https://www.cbr.com/star-wars-rebels-best-greatest-guest-appearances-cameos/ |work=CBR |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217044952/https://www.cbr.com/star-wars-rebels-best-greatest-guest-appearances-cameos/ |archive-date=February 17, 2021 |access-date=February 17, 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> While ''Hyenas'', a first-person shooter revolving around space pirates who steal pop-culture relics from wealthy Martian colonists, was planned for release in 2023, it was cancelled by Sega due to a lack of confidence in its profitability.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wheeler |first=CJ |date=2022-06-23 |title=Sega's new space-pirate shooter Hyenas is getting the sass to Mars |language=en |work=Rock Paper Shotgun |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/segas-new-space-pirate-shooter-hyenas-is-getting-the-sass-to-mars |access-date=2023-09-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Phillips |first=Tom |date=2023-09-28 |title=Sega cancels Creative Assembly's Hyenas |language=en |work=Eurogamer |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/sega-has-cancelled-hyenas |access-date=2023-09-28}}</ref>
==In the real world== Some have considered the idea of space pirates operating in the Solar System, with the possibility of a space-based economy, asteroid mining,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/who-will-protect-us-from-space-pirates |title=Who Will Protect Us From Space Pirates? |last=Axe |first=David |date=October 30, 2017 |website=The Daily Beast |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201123233821/https://www.thedailybeast.com/who-will-protect-us-from-space-pirates |archive-date=November 23, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> debates over Extraterrestrial real estate and other space law questions. In 2018, Michael Viets proposed adding "space piracy" into the lexicon of international law<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Viets |first1=Michael |date=2018 |title=Piracy in an Ocean of Stars: Proposing a Term to Identify the Practice of Unauthorized Control of Nations' Space Objects |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/stanit54&div=11&g_sent=1&casa_token=GD-LsLaAAaUAAAAA:XPgW1UuRdu7m3iSu44WqXpM_2ps3MgPIASi6eMACiTOH_S8Z0ys-p8mCtOROohXOLe3Tu3oedg&collection=journals |journal=Stanford Journal of International Law |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=159–212 |access-date=November 23, 2020}}</ref> and in 2019, legal scholars Alex Ramsey and Jessica Ramsey asked what would be "responsible actors" in space, saying they would not include those who are "some form of a space pirate," adding that the United States would determine the "responsible" parties in space.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ramsey |first1=Alexis |last2=Ramsey |first2=Jessica |date=2019–2020 |title=Space Force and the Outer Space Treaty: One Small Step Forward for a Man, One Giant Leap Backward for Humankind |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/usfor54&i=15 |journal=University of San Francisco Law Review |volume=54 |pages=15 |access-date=November 23, 2020}}</ref> In May 2019, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz spoke in a congressional hearing, stating that "pirates threaten the open seas, and the same is possible in space", and defending the creation of the Space Force.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Ted-Cruz-not-laughing-about-space-pirate-jabs-on-13851153.php |title=Ted Cruz not laughing about space pirate jabs on MSNBC, Twitter |last=Wallace |first=Jeremy |date=May 16, 2019 |website=Houston Chronicle |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626160830/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Ted-Cruz-not-laughing-about-space-pirate-jabs-on-13851153.php |archive-date=June 26, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/ted-cruz-space-pirates-donald-trump-836275/ |title= Space Pirate Truther Ted Cruz Has Been Totally Broken by Trump |last=Bort |first=Ryan |date=May 16, 2019 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922044735/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/ted-cruz-space-pirates-donald-trump-836275/ |archive-date=September 22, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2019, American entrepreneur Nova Spivack declared he was the "first space pirate" for smuggling tardigrades to the Moon on board an Arch Mission Foundation lander without informing the Israeli launch company SpaceIL.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mashable.com/article/smuggled-moon-tardigrade/?europe=true |title='I'm the first space pirate!' How tardigrades were secretly smuggled to the moon |last=Taylor |first=Chris |date=August 8, 2019 |website=Mashable |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031121814/https://mashable.com/article/smuggled-moon-tardigrade/ |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Items have been taken into space without permission since the mid-1960s.
In 2025, John Wiley & Sons published "Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit<ref>{{Cite web |last=published |first=Leonard David |date=2025-03-25 |title=Space pirates already have their sights set on the 'high seas' of Earth orbit. Can we stop them? |url=https://www.space.com/space-exploration/space-pirates-already-have-their-sights-set-on-the-high-seas-of-earth-orbit-can-we-stop-them |access-date=2026-03-23 |website=Space |language=en}}</ref>" by Marc Feldman and Hugh Taylor.
==List of space pirate media== <!-- Do not add entries without reliable reference sources, otherwise they will be deleted. --> {|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Work || Years || Medium || Description |- | ''The Red Peri''|| 1935 || Novella || Peri is the novel's protagonist and space pirate who has a base on the Moon.<ref name="pasadenastarnews.com"/> Additionally, some said that "the background is imaginative, but the romance is on the level of the shopgirl pulps, and the writing leaves much to be desired,"<ref name="Everett F 1998, p.483"/> with David Bowman's helmetless spacewalk in ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' inspired by Frank Keene's escape from the pirate base the novel.<ref name="Arthur C. Clarke 1990"/> |- | ''Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids''|| 1953 || Novel || Juvenile science fiction penned by Isaac Asimov.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Westfahl| first = Gary| author-link = Gary Westfahl | title = The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works and Wonders, Volume 2 | publisher = Greenwood Press| date = 2005-09-30| pages = 600–601| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3JXnz9x9sO4C&q=space+pirates+fiction&pg=PA600| isbn = 0-313-32950-8 | via = Google Books}}</ref> |- | ''The Space Pirates''|| 1969 || Television serial || A ''Doctor Who'' serial starring the Second Doctor. The TARDIS materializes in the midst of a pitched battle between space pirates and the Army Space Corps. The pirates dismantle space beacons for their scrap value of a rare material.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.allmovie.com/work/doctor-who-the-space-pirates-episode-1-243042| title =Overview - Doctor Who: The Space Pirates, Episode 1| author = Erickson, Hal| publisher = allmovie| access-date = 2010-07-09}}</ref> |- | ''The Pirates of Orion''|| 1974 || Television episode || An episode of ''Star Trek: The Animated Series'', the crew of the USS ''Enterprise'' are threatened by a band of space pirates.<ref name="greenwood"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Douglass Jr.|first=Todd|title=Star Trek – The Animated Series – The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/25349/star-trek-the-animated-series-the-animated-adventures-of-gene-roddenberrys-star-trek/|publisher=DVD Talk|date=November 29, 2006|access-date=June 22, 2013}}</ref> In the episode, these Orions are shown to be ruthless pirates,<ref name=treknationreview>{{cite web|last=Green|first=Michelle Erica|title=Retro Review: The Pirates of Orion|url=https://www.trektoday.com/content/2011/08/retro-review-the-pirates-of-orion/|publisher=TrekNation|date=December 8, 2011|access-date=June 22, 2013}}</ref> As such, some recommended this episode for featuring the trio of characters Kirk, Spock, and Bones of ''The Original Series''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/star-trek-an-episode-roadmap-for-beginners/|title=Star Trek: An Episode Roadmap for Beginners|website=Den of Geek|date=8 September 2018 |language=en|access-date=2020-07-03}}</ref> Later, the Orion Syndicate was mentioned in ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', but no actual Orions were seen, only members of other species.<ref name=honor>Erdmann & Block (2000): pp. 538-539</ref> |- | ''The Pirate Planet''|| 1978 || Television serial || A ''Doctor Who'' serial starring the Fourth Doctor, written by ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' creator Douglas Adams. A band of space pirates use their own planet to drain the life force of other planets by materializing around them; the Captain has a giant robot parrot.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.allmovie.com/work/doctor-who-the-pirate-planet-episode-4-243287| title =Overview - Doctor Who: The Pirate Planet, Episode 4| author = Erickson, Hal| publisher = allmovie| access-date = 2010-07-18}}</ref> |- | ''The Ice Pirates'' || 1984 || Film || Space pirates raid cargo vessels carrying ice, in a system where water is scarce.<ref name="greenwood"/> |- | ''Metroid'' series|| 1986–present || Video game || Space pirates are the series' primary enemies.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=248814| title = Space Pirates - The Sworn Enemy| publisher = Computer and Video Games| date = 2010-05-28| access-date = 2010-07-09}}</ref> |- | ''Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon''||1989|| Video game || Roger visits a variety of locations, including a fast food restaurant called Monolith Burger and a desert planet called Phleebhut. At the latter, he encounters trouble, as ''Arnoid the Annihilator'' (an Arnold Schwarzenegger-like android terminator) persecutes him for not paying for a whistle acquired in ''Space Quest II''. From the information he picks up there and at Monolith Burger, Roger eventually uncovers the sinister activities of a video game company known as ScumSoft, run by the "Pirates of Pestulon".<ref>{{cite book |last=Tringham |first=Neal Roger |date=2014 |title=Science Fiction Video Games |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0o5qBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA118 |location=Boca Raton, Florida |publisher=CRC Press |page=118 |isbn=9781482203882}}</ref> |- | ''Planet Pirates'' series|| 1990–1991 || Novel || Trilogy of novels by Anne McCaffrey.<ref name="greenwood"/> |- | ''Sol Bianca''|| 1990-1991 || Original video animation || The name of the 1990 OVA is also the name of the ship that serves as both the home and the interstellar headquarters for an all-female band of notorious pirates.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=660|title=Sol Bianca [Review]|last1=Høgset|first1=Stig|date=2004|website=THEM Anime Reviews|language=en|access-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919123425/https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=660|archive-date=September 19, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Thanks to a stowaway who hides aboard their ship following one of their raids, they learn of the ultimate treasure: the Gnosis (pronounced "G'Nohsis" in dialogue), an artifact reputedly from old Earth itself. The second OVA, in 1991, centers around the crew encountering pirates "with a grudge," and their ship is "hit by a missile containing a virus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=354|title=Sol Bianca 2 [Review]|last1=Høgset|first1=Stig|date=2004|website=THEM Anime Reviews|language=en|access-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926050325/https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=673|archive-date=September 26, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> A single video game was released based on the series for the PC Engine CD-ROM² on June 29, 1990<ref>[https://www.gamefaqs.com/console/turbocd/data/916092.html Sol Bianca Info – Sol Bianca Information – Sol Bianca Release Date<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> by NCS exclusively in Japan. It's a role-playing video game. It featured the ship's crew from Sol Bianca and offered seven episodes.<ref name="TurboCDcontend">{{cite web |title=Turbo CD game contend |url=http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand-Suzuran/9038/SolBianca/pce_kouryaku19.html|date=February 26, 2004 |access-date=25 May 2012 }}</ref> |- | ''Path of the Fury''|| 1992 || Novel || Written by David Weber; after a woman's family is slain by space pirates, she is possessed by a Fury and seeks revenge.<ref name="greenwood"/> |- | ''Wing Commander: Privateer''|| 1993 || Video game || A space pirate computer game based in the ''Wing Commander'' universe.<ref name=privateersite>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970330142915/http://www.origin.ea.com/english/prod-info/pc-cd/classics/privateer/index.html|url=http://www.origin.ea.com/english/prod-info/pc-cd/classics/privateer/index.html|archive-date=1997-03-30|date=1997-03-30|title=Origin Classics: Privateer|url-status=dead}}</ref> A television series based on ''Privateer'' was planned to debut sometime in 1997.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Origin|magazine=Next Generation|issue=13 |date=January 1996|pages=105–108}}</ref> An unofficial fan remake entitled ''Wing Commander: Privateer - Gemini Gold'' was made using the ''Vega Strike'' engine and released in 2005.<ref name=mw_pgg>{{cite web | title = Privateer Gemini Gold 1.02a Review | publisher = Macworld | date = January 9, 2008 | url = http://www.macworld.co.uk/macsoftware/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=2417 | access-date = 2008-06-20 | archive-date = 2011-06-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110610174812/http://www.macworld.co.uk/macsoftware/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=2417 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/story.php?ArticleID=10960 |title=Wing Commander: Privateer Remake for OS X |last1=Largent |first1=Andy |date=March 7, 2005 |website=Inside Mac Games |access-date=2015-12-17 |archive-date=2015-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222085535/http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/story.php?ArticleID=10960 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |- | ''Space Pirates''|| 1992 || Video game || The player assumes the role of a star ranger (as in all American Laser Games releases except ''Who Shot Johnny Rock?'', the player character's name is not given, and he is referred to throughout the game as "Star Ranger") who picks up and responds to a transmission by Ursula Skye, the commander of a starship called ''Colonial Star One''. The SOS call lets the star ranger know that the ship has been invaded by an evil group called the Black Brigade, led by Captain Talon. As the entire colony on board the ship is in danger, the player answers the distress call. Following a short target practice tutorial, consisting of shooting at fast-moving asteroids, the player heads out to the Black Dragon to defeat the space pirates. Some praised the game for "mindless fun", liking the game's futuristic setting, saying that the imaginative characters and scenery make the game much more visually appealing and atmospheric than most full motion video games.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=ProReview: Space Pirates|magazine=GamePro|issue=85|date=October 1995|page=74}}</ref> Others complained that American Laser Games' usage of the same basic format for all their games was becoming tiresome, but acknowledged that the game had good quality video and enjoyable acting and gameplay. They scored it two out of five stars, deeming it "entertaining enough, in a brain-dead sort of way".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Space Pirates|magazine=Next Generation|issue=7 |date=July 1995|page=67}}</ref> |- | ''Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie'' || 1995 || Film || The antagonists of the film are space pirates who are involved in mass kidnappings of children on behalf of Queen Badiane, who intends to use the power of their dreams to absorb the Earth into her Black Dream Hole. |- | ''Outlaw Star''|| 1997–present || Manga, Television series || Gene Starwind and Jim Hawkins are machine repairmen who meet Hilda, a space outlaw, and through clashes with others like her, they end up "on the run with her and the cargo" that the outlaws want.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1145|title=Sol Bianca [Review]|last1=Høgset|first1=Stig|date=2009|website=THEM Anime Reviews|language=en|access-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926153846/https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1145|archive-date=September 26, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> |- | ''Independence War'' || 1998 || Video game || Pirates and terrorists are the target of the player in this space combat game.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=14537| title =Overview - Independence War| author = Marriott, Scott| publisher = allgame| access-date = 2010-07-09}}</ref> Followed by ''Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos'' in 2001.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=25282| title =Overview - Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos | author = Deci, T.J.| publisher = allgame| access-date = 2010-07-09}}</ref> |- | ''Rayman 2: The Great Escape''|| 1999 || Video game || Platform game where robo-pirates from deep space have invaded Rayman's world and broken its heart into a thousand pieces of energy.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=20004| title =Overview - Rayman 2: The Great Escape | author = Thorpe, Damien| publisher = allgame| access-date = 2010-07-09}}</ref> |- | ''Sol Bianca: The Legacy''|| 1999–2000 || Television miniseries || In this six-episode mini-series, a group of five pirates travel across the galaxy, chased by the "army of the entire solar system."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=354|title=Sol Bianca: The Legacy [Review]|last1=Tiu|first1=Diane|date=2003|website=THEM Anime Reviews|language=en|access-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015071630/https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=354|archive-date=October 15, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> |- | ''Treasure Planet''|| 2002 || Film || Disney animated space opera version of the novel ''Treasure Island'', the cast try to locate the treasure hoard of space pirate Captain Flint.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=review&reviewid=VE1117919385&categoryid=31&cs=1| title = Treasure Planet Review| author = Klein, Andy| work = Variety| date = 2002-11-24| access-date = 2010-08-18}}</ref> |- | ''Rogue Galaxy''|| 2005 || Video game || When the game begins, the storyline follows a linear path, but at a certain point, the game world opens up, and the player is free to move from planet to planet using the pirate ship, ''Dorgenark''. When Jaster learns they are space pirates working for the legendary Dorgengoa,<ref>{{cite video game | title=Rogue Galaxy | developer=Level-5 | publisher=Sony Computer Entertainment | date=2007 | platform=PlayStation 2 | quote=Space Pirate Dorgengoa: A space pirate known throughout the galaxy. In the Guin System, even children know his name. Rather than pillage other ships, this tough-as-nails explorer prefers to take on military warships in a quest for treasure. Not especially popular among Longardian soldiers and higher-ups.}}</ref> he decides to join, maintaining the ruse that he is Desert Claw. |- | ''Galactic North''|| 2006 || Short story || This story starts in the year 2303, when Captain Irravel Veda of the lighthugger ''Hirondelle'', her second-in-command Markarian, and some fraction of their Ultranaut crew are ambushed by pirates while engaged in an unexpected repair stopover in a cloud of rocks and cometary matter in the charted but uninhabited star system Luyten 726-8.<ref name="sfsignal">{{cite web |url=https://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2008/08/review_galactic_north_by_alastair_reynolds/ |title=REVIEW: Galactic North by Alastair Reynolds |last=DeNardo |first=John |date=August 18, 2008 |website=SF Signal |access-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125194124/https://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2008/08/review_galactic_north_by_alastair_reynolds/ |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> She briefly considers activating the "Greenfly" terraforming Von Neumann machines being transported on board, which she believes would easily be able to swarm and dismantle the pirate vessel and probably aid in repair as well. She rejects this option, however, and their ship is captured by the infamous terroristic pirate Run Seven. She is tortured to reveal the codes to the security protecting her ship's cargo – twenty thousand colonists' cryopreserved bodies – but refuses due to intense psychological conditioning that makes her view the cargo as her children and do anything to protect them. Pirates also appear in the short story, "Weather," as the shipmaster, Inigo, finds a girl on a pirate ship.<ref name="sfsignal" /> |- | ''Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction''|| 2007 || Video game || The main character, Ratchet, fights through hordes of robotic Space Pirates led by Captain Romulus Slag.<ref name="ign">{{cite web| url = http://ps3.ign.com/articles/829/829409p1.html| title = Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction Review| last = Dunham |first = Jeremy| date = 2007-10-23| work = IGN| publisher = News Corporation}}</ref> This game is followed by ''Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty'', where Ratchet again fights the Space Pirates.<ref name="ignreview">{{cite web| first=Jeremy| last=Dunham|date=2008-08-15|access-date=2008-08-16|title=IGN: Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty Review|url=http://ps3.ign.com/articles/899/899120p1.html }}</ref> |- | ''Space Pirates'' || 2007-2008 || Children's television series || A TV series that was aired on The BBC's CBeebies Channel between 2007 and 2008. The show is primarily aimed at children aged from four to six years old, although the show is designed to reach all ages and "bring the whole family together to explore a diverse range of musical performances."<ref name="bbc1">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/about/programmes/spacepirates_03.shtml ''Space Pirates - Information for grown-ups''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511135441/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/about/programmes/spacepirates_03.shtml |date=11 May 2008 }}</ref> |- | ''Miniskirt Space Pirates/Bodacious Space Pirates''|| 2008–present|| Light novel/ Television series || In the far future where space travel is the norm, Marika Kato, born and raised in the Tau Ceti planet Morningstar, is the newly recruited teenage captain of the space pirate ship ''Bentenmaru'', inheriting the title from her deceased father.<ref name="bspreview">{{Cite web|url=https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1474|title=Bodacious Space Pirates [Review]|last1=Høgset|first1=Stig|date=2012|website=THEM Anime Reviews|language=en|access-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015060543/https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1474|archive-date=October 15, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Apart from the anime series, she appears in the manga series of the same name, and the 2014 film, ''Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1871|title=Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace [Review]|last1=Høgset|first1=Stig|last2=MacLean|first2=Nicole|date=2016|website=THEM Anime Reviews|language=en|access-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014025434/https://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1871|archive-date=October 14, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Other pirates in the show included Marika's mother, once known as "Blaster Ririka" and wife of Gonzaemon Kato (otherwise known as Captain Ironbeard), Captain Kenjo Kurihara of the ''Barbaroosa'', helmsman Shane McDougal of the ''Barbaroosa'', Quartz Christie of the ''Grand Cross'', The Legendary Chef who runs the Pirate's Nest, heir to the ''Barbaroosa'' (Chiaki Kurihara), and those on the crew of the ''Bentenmaru''. These include Misa Grandwood, Kane McDougal, Hyakume, Coorie, Schnitzer, San-Daime, and Luca. |- | ''Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta''|| 2009 || Video game || In this side-quest for Fallout 3, the Vault Dweller is abducted by aliens and must form a space pirate crew with fellow survivors, like Sally, in order to seize control of the flying saucer, steal advanced alien equipment, and teleport back to the Wastes.<ref>[https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/fallout-3-mothership-zeta-review Mothership Zeta review]</ref> |- | ''Space Pirates and Zombies (S.P.A.Z.)'' || 2011-2012 || Video game. || ''S.P.A.Z.'' is an open-world game which allows players to choose which tasks to undertake during play.<ref name="dsinterview">{{cite web| url = https://www.dualshockers.com/interview-s-p-a-z-creators-minmax-games/| title = Interview: S.P.A.Z. Creators – MinMax Games | first = Scott| last = Lipowitz| publisher = Dual Shockers| date = 2011-12-24| access-date = 2017-11-15}}</ref> Players can take the role of space pirates "looking to explore the universe, expand their fleet, and make a buck or two in the process,"<ref name="shack">{{cite web| url = https://www.shacknews.com/article/68564/space-pirates-and-zombies-impressions|title = Space Pirates and Zombies preview| author = Mattas, Jeff| publisher =Shacknews| date = 2011-05-24| access-date = 2011-08-22}}</ref> as the player builds up their pirate fleet, allowing them to "negotiate feuding factions and eventually take on the zombie horde."<ref name="gamepro">{{cite web|url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/222134/review-space-pirates-and-zombies-pc/|title=Review of Space Pirates and Zombies|author=Capri, Tony|publisher=GamePro |date=2011-08-18|access-date=2011-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202233613/http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/222134/review-space-pirates-and-zombies-pc/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2011-12-02}}</ref> |}
==See also== * Outlaw (stock character) * Space Cowboy (disambiguation) * Space marine * Space Western * List of fictional pirates * ''The Five Gold Bands'' * Pirates in popular culture * List of pirate films
== Notes == {{Notelist|group=nb}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.businessinsider.com/space-pirate-law-international-waters-2015-10 How to become a space pirate] in Business Insider * Christian Powell, "[https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=sketchestsu Cancer Spaceship]," 2013
{{Pirates}} {{Stock characters}}
Category:Science fiction characters Category:Fiction about space pirates Category:Stock characters