# Captain Hook — Peter and Wendy character guide

> Captain Hook in Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** James Hook, Hook, the real Hook

**First appearance:** 0004-v-the-island-come-true

## Snapshot

The Jolly Roger's elegant, tormented captain, who lost a hand to Peter Pan and now hunts the boy with a rage that borders on grief.

## Who they are

Hook commands the pirate brig with theatrical menace and a genuine taste for cruelty, feared by his crew and haunted by the ticking of a crocodile that once ate his hand. Educated, vain, and prone to sudden weeping, he is a villain who knows he is playing a part and cannot stop, and his obsession with Peter gives the island its central feud. His schemes drive the story's escalating danger, turning Neverland from a playground into a place where children can genuinely be lost.

## Relationships

### [Peter Pan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters/peter_pan)

_rivalry_

A bitter and obsessive enmity, with Hook seeking revenge for Peter cutting off his hand and feeding it to a crocodile.

### [Smee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters/smee)

_professional_

Hook's loyal but bumbling boatswain, who serves as his confidant and comic relief aboard the Jolly Roger.

### [Wendy Darling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters/wendy_darling)

_rivalry_

Hook sees Wendy as a threat to his vendetta against Peter, attempting to capture or manipulate her to gain an advantage.

### [Peter Pan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters/peter_pan)

_rivalry_

A bitter and obsessive enmity, with Hook seeking revenge for Peter cutting off his hand and feeding it to a crocodile.

### [Smee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters/smee)

_professional_

Hook's loyal but bumbling boatswain, who serves as his confidant and comic relief aboard the Jolly Roger.

### [Peter Pan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters/peter_pan)

_rivalry_

A bitter and obsessive enmity, with Hook seeking revenge for Peter cutting off his hand and feeding it to a crocodile.

### [Smee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters/smee)

_professional_

Hook's loyal but bumbling boatswain, who serves as his confidant and comic relief aboard the Jolly Roger.

### [Wendy Darling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters/wendy_darling)

_rivalry_

Hook sees Wendy as a threat to his vendetta against Peter, attempting to capture or manipulate her to gain an advantage.

### [Wendy Darling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters/wendy_darling)

_rivalry_

Hook sees Wendy as a threat to his vendetta against Peter, attempting to capture or manipulate her to gain an advantage.

## In the story

### [The Flight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/chapters/iv-the-flight)

Mentioned as the pirate captain, feared for his reputation, and known for his iron hook after Peter cut off his hand.

### [The Island Come True](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/chapters/v-the-island-come-true)

Plots revenge against Peter for cutting off his arm; fears the crocodile that swallowed a clock; devises a plan to poison the lost boys with a cake.

### [The Mermaids' Lagoon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/chapters/viii-the-mermaids-lagoon)

Hook arrives in the lagoon, reveals his melancholy over the boys having a mother, and devises a plan to kidnap Wendy.

### [The Children Are Carried Off](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/chapters/xii-the-children-are-carried-off)

Leads the treacherous surprise attack on the Piccaninny tribe and orchestrates the deception with the tom-tom to capture the children.

### [XIII: Do You Believe in Fairies?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/chapters/xiii-do-you-believe-in-fairies)

Hook orchestrates the capture of the children, discovers Slightly's secret, and uses it to enter the underground home. He poisons Peter's medicine with a virulent yellow liquid, then departs, looking like 'the very spirit of evil.'

### [The Pirate Ship](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/chapters/xiv-the-pirate-ship)

Profoundly dejected despite his triumph, Hook is haunted by his public school past and the question of good form. He feels terribly alone among his socially inferior crew and is gripped by a presentiment of his early dissolution.

### [Hook or Me This Time](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/chapters/xv-hook-or-me-this-time)

Leads the pirates, faces Peter in a final battle, and dies by the crocodile.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters/captain_hook
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/peter_and_wendy_se/characters