Updated October 18, 2009, 2:28pm,
Updated October 18, 2009, 2:28pm,
During the late nineteenth century, piracy was thought to have diminished due to the development of the steam engine and growth of the British and American navies. It seemed less likely that a pirate would emerge to tyrannize all of mousedom. Or so they assumed. That's where the name Captain Lillian Bates (a.k.a. The Poison Lily) hangs over our thoughts like a spider on a web-string.
Captain Bates was the leader of the infamous Nightwing Pirates and made her mark in history as the most notorious female pirate that ever lived. A cold-blooded, man-hating woman by nature, Bates preyed on drunkard men in taverns and practically anyone who got in her way. She despised men with a passion and often claimed that it was because of men that she became what she was.
Bates was born Anne Carol Bonny on August 2, 1840, in Liverpool, England. She was the sole child of Irish parents Thomas Bonny (a lawyer) and Diane O'Donnell (a cook). When she was only two months old, Anne's father neglected both her and her mother. Because she was left with nothing, O'Donnell was forced to take care of little Anne while struggling to make-ends-meet. However, she was unable to support even herself as a single mother and eventually abandoned a four-year-old Anne to live with a rich, elderly mouse named Charles Bates. But Anne's new guardian was a very cruel and strict man who believed that women were manipulative whores by nature if not closely watched. Throughout most of her childhood, the young Anne was made to scrub the floors, wash the dishes, cook the meals, and any other form of housemaids work. She was never allowed to play outside or meet other children (especially boys) in case she polluted them with her "whorish ways." Anne was treated like a lowly servant, made to dress in rags and keep silent. But Anne didnt intend to keep her mouth shut all the time. There were times when she spoke out against her guardian after which she received a sound-thrashing with his cane. Things seemed grim for poor little Anne. At the same time, Anne also had a few moments in which she snuck out of the house to play. She mainly hung out with other bat-lings she came across by coincidence (most were boys) and participated in mischief making, such as pouring buckets of water on passersby from a tree and breaking windows with bricks. Anne was a natural tom-boy by nature and often engaged in wrestling matches with the boys. She seemed quite happy with her boy friends. In fact, a part of her believed that a man would come her way and rescue her from her cruel guardian. In 1852, Anne finally rebelled against Charles Bates, who responded by disowning her. Anne was now forced to live on the streets, practically starving.
Finding no other way to support herself, Anne began an early life of prostitution. She invited many men to her run-down shack and slept with them. At the age of thirteen, she bore a son which she eventually abandoned. Bates seemed to enjoy her free and frivolous life and was under the impression that she would meet the right man. Unfortunately, this wish backfired. Not only was she treated poorly by many men, but Anne was raped and almost beaten to death by a bat named Augustus Livingstone (she was sixteen when this happened). She managed to escape and return to her little run-down shack in a bloody mess. Although the incident left her somewhat unstable, Anne slowly pulled herself together and started work as a waitress at the local tavern in Liverpool. Things went from bad to worse. Men at the tavern (both rodent and bat alike) tried to take advantage of Anne every time she came to their tables to serve them beer and Meade. She made every possible measure to keep her distance for three years straight, but the worst was yet to come. One night, a couple of ruffians grabbed her, tore off her clothing, and displayed her body to others like a trophy while mocking her. One of the ruffians in particular was Bruto Santino, an Italian bat with a bad seed. Again Anne managed to escape a worse fate and returned to her shack. This incident (as well as many past incidents) was too much for Anne to bear and it drove her mad with rage and vengeance. It was then she realized that something had to change.
Nineteen year old Anne eventually left her shack and began an aimless travel. On her way, she encountered a strange band of bats. Anne realized that they were pirates. She was prepared to defend herself until she noticed that one of them was an old and ugly female bat. This bat happened to be Captain Rose Nightwing (a.k.a. The Bloody Rose), leader of The Nightwing Pirates. Captain Nightwing noticed a certain spark in Anne that she found to be of use. She then took Anne under her wing and trained her in piracy. Anne was taught everything from fencing to managing the crew. It didn't take long for her to learn and she excelled in her new skills. Captain Nightwing made her a partner and produced a new name for her. Anne Bonny was now known by everyone as Lillian Bates (it was a custom of the Nightwing Pirates to adopt new names). In order to avoid any familiarity, Bates took the liberty of styling her hair like a troll. In 1861, Captain Rose Nightwing retired and Bates was appointed the new captain of The Nightwing Pirates.
During her years as captain, Bates took full control of The Nightwing Pirates. One of her trademarks is her nasty temper. Whenever a task was unmet, Bates screamed up a storm. If a crewmember dared to betray the captain or The Nightwing Pirates, Bates responded with a pistol. Bates became an icon of fear to both crewmembers and outsiders. She made the most of her pirate years, sailing to many countries, stealing treasure, and taking in prisoners deemed as threats. On the side, she also worked as a waitress under cover to each tavern she stopped by (she tidied up her hair and wore it in a bun in order to disguise herself). When dealing with prisoners, the captain often resorted in torturing them and/or killing them. This depended on the mood she was in and who it was (Bates was very selective about who gets released and who dies). Bates used ancient methods of torture such as the Spanish Inquisition, the Question, and the Quartered in order to make them talk. One of them happened to be Bruto Santino, the same ruffian responsible for her misfortune at the tavern in Liverpool. Remembering the man that humiliated her, Bates used the Quartered method of torture to kill him. Another method of torture she used from time to time was something similar to the Goats tongue (a.k.a. tickle torture). This was done by binding the prisoners wrists to their ankles and swishing the feather upon their bare feet. This resulted in uncontrollable laughter that continued until the prisoner told Bates what she wanted to know. One of the prisoners to suffer this torture was a mouse named Reginald Barker, a womanizing drunkard who somehow knew too much about The Nightwing Pirates (Bates claimed that he tried to make advances on her while she was serving beers at the tavern).
In 1884, Bates sailed to London. It is there that her crew members unexpectedly encountered an amnesiac male bat-ling. This boy was brought to Bates. Although her crew was tempted to kill him, Captain Bates was against the idea. She saw something special about this bat-ling. Since there was no other crewmember worthy to succeed her, she took the boy in as her new partner. Bates then gave him the name Fidget, due to his tense and nervous nature. Since then, she raised and trained the boy in the ways of piracy (just as Rose Nightwing did with her). Bates had him in charge of stealing treasure and kidnapping whomever she wanted. This included the stealing of the Moche Tweezer Pendant at the Museo del Prado in Spain and the kidnapping of Baron von Freirherr in Germany (a rich man Bates perceived as a womanizer). Her new partner also participated in some of the torture methods she used, particularly the tickle torture. For many years to come, Bates and Fidget made a great duo. She took quite a fancy to her partner. She secretly considered him as a little brother, even though she inflicted the same nasty attitude upon him as she did with the others. But although Captain Bates excelled in her crime sprees, she also had a crime rival that frequently stood in her way. This rival was named Professor Ratigan, who lived the life of a crime-lord as long as Bates had. He took quite a fancy to Captain Batess dexterity and fighting skills. He often tried to persuade her to join forces with him and his thugs. Bates, however, refused and made it clear that she would never submit to the likes of a man. But in 1893, she suddenly had another thorn on her side. This thorn was called Selena Lunarias, a Swedish-Italian Black Widow who turned out to be the niece of Bruto Santino. Although her partner happened to be fixated on this woman, Bates sensed an uneasy vibe about her. In response, Bates threatened to have Lunariass head for a trophy if she ever came near Fidget again. Lunarias simply laughed at the captains response. Then the Black Widow bat eventually discovered that Bates had killed her uncle and sought to have her revenge through Batess partner. While Bates was busy dealing with Ratigan (who demanded her to hand over Fidget), Lunarias secretly listened to the conversation and devised a plan that would get rid of Bates once and for all. The Black Widow bat tricked Fidget into coming to the dock to meet her, where a group of ruffian mice (who hated him) waited. When he arrived, Lunarias allowed the ruffians to do as they pleased with him. Fidget ended up in a rough fight that nearly cost him his life. Although he managed to escape, his right wing was broken and his right leg was severely mangled. Bates eventually got word from a crewmember as to what happened with her partner. She suddenly rushed back to her ship, where Fidget was waiting. She was in a state of shock upon the appearance of her partner. Bates treated his wounds to the best of her ability. However, she was forced to have her partners right leg amputated and replaced with a peg. As for his wing, Bates promised that she would find something to use as a splint and went on her way. Unfortunately, this unstable state of mind left her off her guard. A group of thugs (sent by Ratigan himself) encountered the wandering captain and nearly beat her to death. Bates managed to escape, but she was seriously injured. She limped down the streets in search for nearby shelter and bumped into another mouse. This mouse was Basil of Baker Street, who was also on the hunt for Ratigan. Batess wounds were so unbearable to endure that she fainted at the detectives feet. She was then taken to Basils flat. The detective had a doctor come by to dress her wounds. Despite his distrust of the lady pirate, Basil was honorable enough to offer her food, drink, and shelter until her strength returned. Bates was generally too proud for gratitude and didnt approve of the detectives generosity at first. But Basils behavior toward her was something new to the captain. Learning to trust him, Bates spoke of her incident with Ratigans thugs and his plans to take Fidget away. Basil began to notice her secret fondness for Fidget. He then offered to keep both the captain and her partner under his protection until Ratigan was brought to prison. But Bates simply answered, "This is my fight. I will handle it."
Once her strength returned, Bates left the detectives flat to return to her ship. She had planned to get Fidget as far away from Ratigan as possible. Unfortunately, she never made it. Ratigans thugs re-appeared before she could reach her ship. She was shot and killed on November 11, 1893 at the age of fifty-three. Shortly after her death, the rest of her remaining crewmembers were also killed. The only survivor left was Fidget, who shortly became an accomplice to Ratigan.
![Deborah Harry [Blondie]](http://webspace.webring.com/people/xp/princess_reyelene/Fidget_Connections_Cast/debbieharry.jpg)
Creating Lillian Bates was a real experiment for me. My original intention was to re-create the female pirate figure through the bat. This wouldnt have been possible without the notorious Captain Anne Bonny, my base model for Bates. In order to further develop the character I started to look more to blondes with attitudes. The first blonde model was female serial killer, Aileen Wuornos (left). This was where Bates's early life of prostitution came into play. The last blonde model (and probably the most important) was ex-Playboy bunny Deborah Harry (right) from the punk-rock band, Blondie. Harrys photogenic appearance and seemingly dark gazes were key elements in completing Batess character, as well as the voice. Other minor blonde models include Michelle Pfeiffer, Jean Harlow, and Charlize Theron.
*All properties of Fidget and The Great Mouse Detective are copyright 1986 by Walt Disney Productions. All other characters represented in The Fidget Connections are copyright 2002-2009 by Leila Acevedo (a.k.a. Reyelene). Photos of Aileen Wuornos used with permission from Kevin Lang.
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