Pete

Pete is a former steamboat captain, come follower of Maleficent and a commander of her Heartless army. Pete used to live in Disney Castle, but was cast into another dimension by King Mickey for causing mischief. His original name was Pegleg Pete, and he holds the distinction of being the oldest continuous Disney character, appearing as early as Walt Disney's Alice Comedies. Pete is also one of the few characters from Kingdom Hearts II to become a major character in the series.

Although he plays an antagonistic role in Kingdom Hearts II, he is mostly just a comic-relief character and doesn't pose much of a threat, as Sora himself states. As Sora puts it, Pete's "not smart enough to tie his own shoes".

However, in his own way, Pete did serve a unique role. In the first game, Maleficent held meetings at Hollow Bastion with the other Disney villains, in which they would receive orders from her directly. However, in the second game, Maleficent seems to have been a lot busier, looking after important matters that happened after her death. As such, she was never able to hold direct meetings, although she seems to have had connections with the other villains like Scar and Barbossa. Instead, Pete served as a sort of emissary, delivering orders or possibly recruiting allies in the field.

Pete has been confirmed to make an appearance in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and could make an appearance in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.

Kingdom Hearts II
Steamboat Willie (1928)

''A tough and mean former steamboat captain. Donald and Goofy know Pete real well - he's so bad that King Mickey was forced to banish him to another dimension.''

''Maleficent found Pete there and helped him escape from exile. Since then, he's been traveling the worlds, assembling an army of Heartless for Maleficent. It's pretty certain that the two of them are planning to take over and rule all the worlds.''


 * Olympus Coliseum

Steamboat Willie (1928)

''King Mickey's nemesis. Pete is collecting an army of Heartless and helping Maleficent in her scheme to take over all the worlds. He's also lending Hades a hand with his collection of Heartless.''


 * Pride Lands

Steamboat Willie (1928)

Pete's using the Heartless to get control over all the worlds.

''He's helping Scar's phantom, too. Seems like Pete's trying to cover all his bases.''


 * Timeless River

Steamboat Willie (1928)

''King Mickey's old nemesis. He traveled back in time on Maleficent's orders.''

''As part of Maleficent's scheme to take over Disney Castle, Pete plans to destroy the Cornerstone of Light. Without the Cornerstone, Disney Castle will be defenseless.''


 * Port Royal

Steamboat Willie (1928)

Pete's been a thorn in King Mickey's side ever since the days the King served on Pete's steamboat.

''Now Pete's teamed up with Captain Barbossa and his men. He's planning something bad - that much is certain.''

History
Many, many years before Kingdom Hearts, Pete worked as the captain of a steamboat. His deck hand was none other than the future king of Disney Castle, Mickey Mouse. This past association causes Pete to refer to Mickey as "the Boat-Boy King."

At some undetermined point, "a long time ago," Pete turned to evil, and King Mickey banished him to another dimension. He found aid in the form of Maleficent, who helped him escape his exile. In return, Pete became a commander in her Heartless army, and traveled around many worlds building up more and more legions of Heartless to help her plot of world-domination.

Kingdom Hearts II
Pete is first encountered outside Yen Sid's Tower, having sent in a squad of Heartless to turn the powerful sorcerer Yen Sid into a Heartless to act as Pete's bodyguard. But Sora, Donald and Goofy showed up, informing him of Maleficent's demise, and in anger Pete called an army of heartless to attack. Afterward Pete decided to tell them who lived in the tower and Sora, Donald and Goofy ran inside in excitement, leaving Pete to lose his temper.

He returned to Hollow Bastion to see if what he'd heard was true and found the fortress devoid of activity, until Maleficent's pet raven, Diablo appeared, a precursor to her own return. When she finally made her way back, he informed her of the breakdown of her villain's alliance, and the pair set their sights on raising more Heartless and finding a new castle.

Pete was present to help Hades by kidnapping Megara and distracting Hercules and Sora long enough for Hades to send the Hydra to the Coliseum, Barbossa by calling on the Illuminator to help Barbossa fight Sora and Jack Sparrow and Scar - but he doesn't fight in this world - with their respective attempts to snuff out their enemies, but all of their plots ended in failure. After being admonished by Maleficent, he began pining for the old days, causing a portal to Timeless River to open up. Going back into the past to steal Disney Castle's treasured Cornerstone of Light, which would enable Maleficent to take it over, Pete found unexpected resistance in the form of the Keyblade Master, and himself from the past.

By that point, Past-Pete had not yet turned evil, and the heroes thwarted the scheme, though Sora never considered Pete much of a threat due to Pete's incompetence (Sora once describe him as "Not smart enough to tie his own shoes"). He later appears aiding Scar in the plan to take over the Pride Lands, and at that particular part of the game's climax, he successfully turns Scar into a Heartless and by the looks of it has already begun to submerge Heartless into the Keyhole. This isn't stated but is implied as the skies turn an ugly grey-green color and he says to Simba, "Oh you'll rule all right, in the Pride Lands of darkness!". In order to accomplish this, he transformed into a lion, although he doesn't have very good balance. He also tried to retrieve Jafar's lamp in Agrabah which ended in predictable results.

During the invasion of Hollow Bastion, Pete fled when he saw the Nobodies.

He and Maleficent turned up one last time in The Castle That Never Was, seeking to take it for their own. When Ansem the Wise's machine to encode Kingdom Hearts exploded, it caused the creation of thousands of Heartless. Knowing that the Keyblade Master and his friends were the only ones who could stop Xemnas, Maleficent volunteered to hold off the Heartless, on the condition that when they'd destroyed them all the Castle would be hers. Pete suggested fleeing, causing Maleficent to dismiss him, but a conversation with Mickey convinced him to stand and fight. It is unknown of what has happened to Maleficent and Pete after the castle was destroyed. Pete appears as an opponent in the Hades Paradox Cup. However, it is unclear if this happens before or after his and Maleficent's plan to take over the Castle That Never Was.

Pete's fear of Organization XIII, as opposed of Maleficent's delusory confidence, seems well-founded. His attempts to flee when facing the Nobodies may have been, in a way, rational decisions on his part. It could be figured that Pete's change of personality during his final meeting with Sora and friends might be a result of them befriending Pete in the past creating a time paradox of sorts.

Battle Skills
Pete is capable of throwing explosive bowling balls at his opponents. He can also use fireworks to immobilize his opponents.

Another attack involves throwing a close-range "temper tantrum".

Lastly, he can generate a shield with regenerating and protective properties.

Battle Quotes
"Look kids, Pete's invincible!" "Why you little runts!" "I'll show you!" "Get out of my way!" "How bout a change?" "You punks couldn't follow me even if you wanted to." "Later losers!" "What are you doing!?" "You mugs couldn't follow me if you wanted to!" "Oooh, I can't take anymore..."

Forms

 * Past Pete
 * Lion Pete

Trivia

 * Pete is the first Disney villain to appear in the series that is directly related to Mickey Mouse's cartoons as opposed to other Disney films.


 * Pete is the only character in Kingdom Hearts II that went to Timeless River and did not change to an older form. This is never explained, though it could be for a number of reasons, such as the past version of Pete already being present, or Pete discovering Timeless River differently than Sora and his friends, giving him a mode of transport that doesn't trigger a transformation. It is more likely that this was done to help players identify the different versions of Pete, as he appears in both his Kingdom Hearts form and his classic Steamboat Willie form.


 * Since it was revealed in Kingdom Hearts II that Pete was banished years earlier by King Mickey, he could possibly appear in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, working alongside Maleficent.


 * Pete changes his form to a lion in the Pride Lands. However, how he changed his form is never explained. Some say his power of darkness helped him to change.


 * In his earlier cartoons, particularly with Mickey Mouse, Pete was originally presented as a cat. However, he was changed into a more canine character for his inclusion in the late 80's cartoon Goof Troop (which starred a more modern and paternal Goofy). The canine Pete was eventually retained.


 * In Disney canon, Pete has a son, aptly named Pete Junior, or PJ, who is the best friend of Goofy's son Max. It is unknown, however, if they exist within the Kingdom Hearts continuity.