List of space pirates

s are a type of stock character from space opera and soft science fiction. 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. Like historical sea pirates, space pirates may be involved in slaving or smuggling in addition to raiding spacecraft and settlements.
The names are organized alphabetically by surname, or by single name if the character does not have a surname. If more than two characters are in one entry, the last name of the first character is used.

Animation

Name	Work	Duration	Description
Amsaja	Cleopatra in Space	2020–present	The self-declared "Queen of the Space Pirates," who heads a crew of three other pirates, and the doppelgänger of series protagonist, Cleopatra. She previously had the telepathic space shark ninja as her ex-boyfriend, and the series villain, Octavian, might be her ex-boyfriend as well.
Atomsk	FLCL	2000-2001	Pirate King in this OVA, who also appears in the manga, and two anime series, FLCL Progressive and FLCL Alternative.
Ryoko Balta	Tenchi Muyo! GXP	2002	Although she named herself after Ryoko Hakubi, Balta is hardly as bloodthirsty as that infamous space pirate was rumored to be, although she is notorious. Even though she was a member of the dreaded Daluma pirate guild, Ryoko Balta is an educated and cultured pirate. She is well-versed in many customs from other planets, including the Japanese Tea Ceremony.
Lars Barriga	Steven Universe Steven Universe Future	2013-2019 2019-2020	A human who died on the Gem Homeworld and was resurrected by Steven, later becoming the captain of a group of fugitive gems on a stolen spaceship. He has been described as "complicated fellow" by his voice actor, Matthew Moy, and was designed by series creator Rebecca Sugar when she was in college. Some have said that the outfit Lars wears is reminiscent of Captain Harlock. He is also set to return in the spinoff series Steven Universe: Lars of the Stars.
Boop	Cleopatra in Space	2020–present	She is a doppelgänger of Mihos, Cleo's animal companion. She is on the pirate ship along with Cyborg Dwayne, Amsaja, and Ostea. His attack cry is just saying her name over and over.
Brak	Space Ghost Space Ghost Coast to Coast	1966-1967 1994-2008	A supervillain who is portrayed as a catlike alien space pirate trying to conquer the galaxy. Cartoon Network described him as having "meager wits and the love of a peppy tune."
Captain Cracker	ThunderCats ThunderCats Roar	1985-1989 2020–present	A robotic space pirate who has a robot parrot which sits on his shoulder.
Cyborg Dwayne	Cleopatra in Space	2020–present	The doppelgänger of protagonist Brian Bell who is also on the pirate ship with Ostea, Boop, and Amsaja.
Spectre Gabbro Foolscap Shear Goma	Ancient Ruler Dinosaur King DKidz Adventure	2007-2008	Spectre, Gabbro, Foolscap, Shear, and Goma are members of the “Spectral Space Pirates” and collect cosmos stones throughout time.
Hammerhand	ThunderCats ThunderCats Roar	1985-1989 2020–present	The leader of the Berserkers who has a cybernetic arm that can punch and pound with great force. After he and his original Berserkers were killed, Hammerhand was later mystically resurrected by Mumm-Ra who summoned up his spirit to animate a clone of Panthro which he had created. When the plan failed, Hammerhand's spirit broke Mumm-Ra's control and the clone body shifted into Hammerhand's original form before departing. Other Berserkers are Topspinner, Ram Bam, and Cruncher, all of whom are "gold-loving" pirates and all cyborgs.
Captain Harlock	Space Pirate Captain Harlock	1978-1979	Captain of the Arcadia. The character was created by Leiji Matsumoto in 1977 and popularized in the 1978 television series Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Since then, the character has appeared in numerous animated television series and films, like Arcadia of My Youth, the latest of which is 2013's Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Harlock has achieved notable popularity. Several anime and manga characters have been, in some way, inspired by Matsumoto's creation. Naoko Takeuchi drew inspiration from Harlock's stoic qualities when designing the character of Tuxedo Mask, while Last Exile Alex Row was modeled after the Captain. His basic character design is even thought to be a source of inspiration for Osamu Tezuka's manga character Black Jack.
Marika Kato	Bodacious Space Pirates	2012	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. Apart from the anime series, she appeared in the manga series of the same name, and the 2014 film, Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace.
Ririka Kato	Bodacious Space Pirates	2012	She is the mother of Marika, the captain of the Bentenmaru, and wife of Gonzaemon Kato, the captain of the Parabellum pirate ship, and was once a space pirate known as "Blaster Ririka". Sometime after Marika becomes the captain of the Bentenmaru, she joins the crew of the Parabellum.
Duelo McFile	Vandread	2000-2001	Duelo quickly takes over medical emergencies often at the objection of the female pirates, but ignores them, assuring the crew members that he is not a threat. Since he is the only licensed medical practitioner on board the Nirvana, as well as being that the medical facilities on board the female pirate ship were no longer operational, the female pirates were left with no choice but to have him as their official doctor.
Mito	Space Pirate Mito	1999	Mito masquerades as a fashion model, but is actually a legendary space pirate.
Hondo Ohnaka	Star Wars: The Clone Wars Star Wars Rebels	2008-2020 2014-2018	Leader of the Weequay space pirates, known as the Ohnaka Gang, which kidnaps, and attempts to ransom, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Count Dooku—and later Ahsoka Tano—to the highest bidder during the Clone Wars. He follows a code of honor and respects the Jedi, but is not above using sneaky tactics and treachery if it is for "good business". Years after the Clone Wars, despite losing his crew to the Galactic Empire, Hondo continues his criminal activities while having dealings with the Rebellion crew of the Ghost. He also rebuilt the Slave I ship, which Boba Fett took control of following his father's death, and Boba Fett kept it for years onward.
Orions	Star Trek: The Animated Series	1973-1974	The first appearance of a male Orion was shown in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Pirates of Orion". In the episode, these Orions are shown to be ruthless pirates, As such, some recommended this episode for featuring the trio of characters Kirk, Spock, and Bones of The Original Series. Later, the Orion Syndicate was mentioned in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but no actual Orions were seen, only members of other species.
Ostea	Cleopatra in Space	2020–present	A doppelgänger of series protagonist Akila Theoris, she is a pirate in the same crew as Cyborg Dwayne and Amsaja. She is a pirate who apparently edits, or a major contributor, to a newsletter for space pirates.
Black Patch	Colonel Bleep	1957-1960	Part of the titular colonel's intergalactic rogues' gallery in this first color cartoon series made for television.
Pirate Clans	Exosquad	1993-1994	In the first season of this series, a group of humans defend their homeworlds from attack when under attack from these rogue pirates and humanoids, a theme which continues in season 2.
Sinbad and the Space Pirates	Challenge of the Super Friends	1978	Space pirates come to Earth to loot its treasure in the second part of episode 4.
Herc Starsailor	Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors	1985-86	A pirate, mercenary and captain of the space barge Pride of the Skies.
Magno Vivan	Vandread	2000-2001	The commander of the pirates and everyone addresses her as Boss. She sees her crew as her children and she hold them in high esteem, also she hold a picture of any of the crew who have left/died displayed when Gascogne apparently dies and she places her picture inside the cabinet.

Comics and manga

Name	Work	Duration	Description
Abslom Daak	Doctor Who	1963-1989 2005–present	Ex-convict, pirate and mercenary hired by the Time Lords to destroy Daleks in this comic, also appearing in the Deceit novel in 1993, traveling across the galaxy on his starship which is named the "Kill-Wagon."
Black Barney	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D.	1929-1967	In this comic strip, Barney begins as a space pirate and later becomes a friend of Buck Rogers.
Cobra	Cobra	1978-1984	Appearing in this manga, then later in a film, anime, original video animation, Cobra is a notorious rogue pirate who refuses to align with a federation of star systems or a guild of pirates, meaning that he has to keep his identity hidden. In the process, he teams up with Jane, a bounty hunter who is trying to find her sisters, with their goal to liberate a treasure from the planet of Mars.
Queen Emeraldas	Queen Emeraldas Galaxy Express 999 Space Pirate Captain Harlock	1978-1979 1977-1981 1977-1979	Spinoff character from Galaxy Express 999 and Capt. Harlock in Leiji Matsumoto universe. Sister of Maetel from GE999. In the manga, ahe comforts the series protagonist, Hiroshi Umino, who escapes Earth on a freighter, and is fascinated by him, as she fled Earth in the past to a ship which she designed herself. Addiionally, Emeraldas shows up in the animate films Galaxy Express 999 and Space Battleship Yamato.
Ironwolf	Weird Worlds	1972-1974 2011	Antihero resisting the tyrannical Empress Hernandez. He first appeared in the last three issues of Weird Worlds, a comics anthology series published by American company DC Comics from 1972 to 1974. and was created by Howard Chaykin, who plotted and drew the stories.
Boris Jorgen	Explorers on the Moon	1953-59	The disgraced former aide to the King of Syldavia who attempts to steal Professor Calculus' rocket for the Stalinist regime of Borduria, and abandon Captain Haddock and the Thompsons on the moon.
Killer Kane	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D.	1929-1967	Flamboyant 25th century crime boss, later dictator of earth and Saturn, with a fleet of spacecraft and raygun-toting henchmen who appeared in the Buck Rogers comic strip and its subsequent 1939 Buck Rogers serial film produced by Universal Studios, the 1979 film and subsequent TV series. Some reviewers believe that when measured against other serial villains such as Ming the Merciless, Killer Kane pales somewhat in comparison.
Jonathan Rockhal	Nathan Never	1991–present	A space pirate captain. John Silver, whose name was inspired by Long John Silver, a man with a mechanical leg, is his second-in-command, who appeared in these comics. Before they turned to piracy, they were generals of the Federal Army of Earth. Also in the comic series is a former space pirate named Madoc, a friend of Rebecca "Legs" Weaver, a colleague of the protagonist.
Kaguyo Ryuutsugi	Space Pirate	2019–present	The blue-haired, arrogant and often impatient main character of the Space Pirate manga series. A known criminal among the Blue Sun Empire and son of the late Omega Pirate.
Starjammers	Uncanny X-Men	1963-2019	A team of space pirates, led by Corsair, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Starjammers first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #107 and were created by Dave Cockrum. The name "Starjammers" was created on the basis of the type of sailing ship known as "Windjammer".
Elon Cody Starbuck	Star Reach	1974-1979	In this 1970s comic, Starbuck is a "rollicking space pirate" and swashbuckler who was sometimes a hero, and other times a villain who has some redeeming qualities. Some have also said that Lieutenant Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica was based on Starbuck in this comic series.
The Star Pirate	Planet Comics	1940-1953	Called the "Robin Hood of the space lanes," looked very much like the DC Comics hero Starman, and appeared between issues #12 and #64. Among several artists, George Appel produced a dozen early issues, while the bulk of issues #33-51 were drawn by Murphy Anderson, whose additions transformed the Pirate into "an almost completely new strip." Three late issues are credited to newspaper comic strip artist Leonard Starr.
Yondu	Marvel Super-Heroes Guardians 3000	1967-1982 2014	An alien space pirate and mercenary who is a founding member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. A second incarnation of Yondu was introduced in the Earth-616 continuity and modeled after the Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation of the character; this version of Yondu was identified by writer Sam Humphries as "the great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather of the Yondu in the original Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians 3000." The Earth-616 Yondu is the leader of the Ravagers, a group of space pirates. Yondu finds Peter Quill when his ship malfunctions and strands him on Earth. The Ravagers rescue him as Peter tries to steal his ship, managing to outsmart every member of the crew and capturing Yondu. After Yondu frees himself from his restraints and attacks Peter, he gives him a choice between letting himself be released into space without more trouble or execution. Peter instead asks to join his crew. Yondu is initially skeptical of this idea, but after he learns Peter, like him, is a homeless orphan, Yondu allows him to stay on the ship with the Ravagers as their cleaning boy. Peter uses the opportunity to learn everything he can from space. Later, Yondu makes him an official Ravager.