first appearance as in the is a legendary introduction. He makes his way into port, alone and on his pirate ship, and he barely even makes it because his ship -- which is actually more of a dinghy -- is sinking the whole time. As he plants his first step on the dock, his boat sinks completely, leaving no trace of how he has arrived. That scene kicks off an entire franchise of movies following the one of clumsiest, luckiest .

The scene also begs all kinds of questions about the history and character of Jack Sparrow. In the first film, viewers only learn of Jack’s history as captain of the Black Pearl, but there is so much more than that. In fact, it’s not until the third movie -- -- that something truly substantial about his past life is revealed. Unfortunately, the information comes in a deleted scene.

The scene in question takes place aboard the East India Trading Company’s flagship, which is captained by Cutler -- chairman of the company, villain of the franchise and all-around bad guy -- Beckett. In his slimy, conniving way, Beckett brings a captive Jack Sparrow to his quarters and offers him multiple drinks and a deal if he will divulge details regarding the identity of the their meeting place and the meaning of the Nine Pieces of Eight.

During the conversation, two important details about Jack Sparrow’s backstory come to light. First, Beckett and Sparrow have had previous dealings. In fact, Sparrow once worked for Becket as part of the EITC. His tenure there ended when he chose to disobey Beckett’s orders to transport slaves for the company.

For his insubordination, Beckett had branded Sparrow as a pirate. While Beckett reminisces, Jack reiterates his position: “People aren’t cargo, mate.” It’s also clear that Sparrow doesn’t regret his decision, telling Beckett: “You have spared me any possibility of ending up as anything other than what I am, and for that, I truly thank you.” In other words, Jack would rather be branded a pirate than wind up like Beckett.

The second thing that this deleted scene reveals is Sparrow’s debt to Davey Jones. As revenge for liberating his “cargo,” Beckett had sunk Jack’s ship, the On his way to death, Sparrow had made a deal with Davey Jones to let him live and raise his ship from the depths of the sea. In exchange for that and thirteen years of captaincy, Jack had promised his soul to Davey Jones.

The scene does a good job of connecting Sparrow’s history to Davey Jones, and it also paints his career as a pirate in a new light. Taking moral ambiguity to new heights, the British navy and its use of slaves are painted as villainous while the pirate -- the likes of which history portrays as unilaterally evil -- is the one to free the slaves. It’s a great characterization device but was likely cut due to the weight that it would have added to the  films that hitherto emphasized Jack’s comedic side.

The backstory, however, wasn’t completely abandoned and was later included in the 2011 prequel novel It tells the same tragic story in greater detail of how Jack became a pirate and the captain of the .