Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) sports a new X scar in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, On Stranger Tides, but just where did it come from? Jack Sparrow was first introduced back in 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, though even then there were hints at a storied history for the pirate. He's a man surrounded by various myths and legends, many of which he has encouraged himself, and that goes for this scar too.

Jack's X scar was first seen in the promotional materials for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It's a relatively small mark upon his cheek, but its prominent placement and curious design makes it an interesting feature, especially since he didn't have it in previous Pirates movies. Of course, with Jack being an infamous pirate with no shortage of enemies, then it's always likely he's going to be picking up more scars, bruises, marks, and more as he goes along, but where did this one in particular come from?

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The X scar on Jack Sparrow's face is as enigmatic as the Captain himself, and the idea actually came from Johnny Depp himself. He and the make-up team decided to add the scar to Sparrow's cheek, which, like many mentions of Jack's past, is designed to hint at an event - even if it's unknown what it actually is. Depp told Yahoo!: "It's nice to have a little bit of a pre-story to things," adding that "you don't really get that [scar] from a sword fight, do you?" Speaking to EW, meanwhile, he said: "If you end up with a cut on your face, it's just a cut... But an X? He must have woken up and found that someone put a deliberate X on his face." The actor also admitted that he'd hoped people would ask about it, but nobody did.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 Poster X Scar

Of course, it isn't hard to imagine many people doing such a thing to Jack Sparrow, given he's left a long list of enemies in his wake. Given that X typically "marks the spot" on treasure maps, it's possible that it was deliberately designed as a warning to Jack (though he obviously didn't get the memo) or a way of marking him out, so that it would be clear who he is immediately, since the scar being on the cheek means it can't be hidden by clothing. The scar is blood red, and looks like it was quite carefully carved into Jack's face; quite how he wouldn't notice that happening is another question, but given how drunk he gets, perhaps he had blacked out. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides picks up around 6 years after the conclusion of At World's End, during which time Jack Sparrow mostly looked for the Fountain of Youth (albeit unsuccessfully). With how much he journeyed around at that point, it's not much of a surprise he picked up a new facial feature.

Jack Sparrow's X scar was so noteworthy that it even made it into the marketing for Pirates of the Caribbean 4 beyond just Depp's own face. In the skull-and-crossbones poster for On Stranger Tides, the X can be seen in the exact same place on the cheek of the skull too. The X scar isn't the only notable detail on Jack's face either. Since the first movie, he has had a mark on his jawline that has seemingly worsened with each movie; while unconfirmed, it has been speculated that this is a sign of Jack Sparrow having syphilis. Whether that's actually the case or not, the scarring on his face all just adds to the legend and mystique of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.

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