Pete

"You just wait! Nobody, and I do mean nobody, messes with the mighty Pete!"

- Pete

Pete (commonly known as Peg-Leg Pete) is a villainous anthropomorphic cat created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. He is the arch-nemesis of Mickey Mouse, and has also been featured as a recurring rival for Donald Duck, Goofy and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the latter of which predates Mickey. Pete first appeared in Disney's early cartoon series the Alice Comedies in 1925, three years before the first appearance of Mickey Mouse, which makes him Disney's oldest recurring character and the first villain conceived by the studio.

Personality
"I was born to cheat and lie! I'm a mean, rotten guy!"

- Pete

Pete's personality has changed over the years, but one factor has always remained the same: Pete is always up to no good. Pete can be called many things: a schemer, thief, monster, con artist, or even a heartless villain (as Mickey once noted in "Pete's Christmas Caper"). In most roles, Pete is conceived as monstrous, being feared by most and challenged by few. His plans have ranged from a simple money scam to kidnapping, to taking over a country, and are often driven by his own selfishness and twisted sense of entitlement. Sometimes, though, Pete is just plain sadistic and is evil for pleasure as seen in his appearances in The Prince and the Pauper and Mickey's Christmas Carol. When met with a certain goal, no matter the scale, Pete is quite persistent in accomplishing said ambition, and he can be quite crafty and cunning when going about his business.

He is also fully aware of the fact that he is a cruel villain and that people strongly dislike him. However, Pete takes great pride in his evil deeds, feeling no remorse for his victims for the most part. According to "Petey's King of France", Pete believes that if one can't be loved, they should be feared, explaining his nature, since he was apparently unloved and uncared for by his mother. This aspect of his character has been featured several times in some of his recent appearances, specifically House of Mouse and the Kingdom Hearts series, where Pete's ambitions have been revealed to be motivated, partially, by loneliness and a lust for admiration, driving him to madness and villainy, as well as making him a rather tragic villain.

This could also explain why he strongly detests Mickey Mouse and constantly goes out of his way to torment him, the mouse being all-around beloved by most who know him and more often than not coming out victorious through all endeavors, having everything Pete desires, but can never gain.

Aside from his truly villainous nature, Pete was shown to have a softer side, notably in Goof Troop, which depicted Pete as a mischievous schemer, rather than a villain. However, Pete was rather cruel and abusive to his son P.J. (who'd rather "eat glass than go fishing with his father"), though he spoiled and doted on his daughter, Pistol, a side very rarely seen by Pete in his other appearances. Furthermore, in A Goofy Movie, Pete and Goofy were portrayed as best friends, albeit with opposing viewpoints on parenting. While Goofy cherishes the idea of being both a parent and a friend to his son, Max, Pete believes children should be kept "under your thumb", and by asserting your authority in an overbearing manner, you'd become feared (or "respected" as Pete sees it), thus preventing them from becoming delinquents. As a result of this, Pete has, on various occasions, treated P.J. more as his servant than his son. An additional consequence to Pete's viewpoints was his self-imposed goal to ensure Goofy and Max's relationship mirrored that of the relationship shared between himself and P.J. While not necessarily a villainous act, he seemingly relished in proving himself right by collecting evidence that Max (as a result of Goofy's attempts to form a friendly bond) was a manipulative "bad kid", as he informed Goofy of his son's mischief with false sympathy.

The popular Kingdom Hearts video game series portrays Pete as the bumbling sidekick-type that comically fails his evil missions. While not always conceived as a major threat to the game's protagonist Sora, Pete manages to be a key part in the plots of his partner Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

Through all the years the world has known the notorious Pete, whether he has been simply an antagonist or a full-blown villain, he still manages to play the part of the character he was created to be; the fellow everyone loves to hate.

Creation; 1925
Pete first appeared in the Walt Disney-produced 1920's short subject series, "Alice Comedies". He appeared in Alice Solves the Puzzle (February 15, 1925) as Bootleg Pete, the name referencing to his career of bootlegging alcoholic beverages during the United States Prohibition (January 16, 1920 - December 5, 1933). His activities brought him to a beach, where he sees Alice playing with a crossword puzzle. Pete happened to be a collector of crossword puzzles and identified Alice's puzzle as a rare one missing from his collection. The rest of the short focused on him antagonizing Alice and her drunk-on-moonshine cat, Julius, in an attempt steal the puzzle. The menacing, bear-like villain commanded quite a presence on the screen and was destined to soon return.

1927
When Walt Disney needed a villain to stack up against his new star, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Pete was again put to a good use. The introduction to his new adversary came with the sixth Oswald short, The Ocean Hop (September 8, 1927). Inspired by Charles Lindbergh, the two enter an aeroplane race across the Atlantic Ocean.

1928-1940's
Pete soon appeared as Mickey Mouse's archenemy, beginning with the cartoons The Gallopin' Gaucho and Steamboat Willie, (both 1928). He has, by this time, shed his bear-like appearance and had become more defined as a cat, sporting a cat-like tail, muzzle, nose, and fur. In the Disney cartoons of the 1930s, Pete would be Mickey Mouse's nemesis, but would vary in professions, from an all-out outlaw (Gallopin' Gaucho) to a brutal law-enforcer (such as Moving Day, in which he is a sheriff who serves Mickey and Donald Duck with an eviction notice).

Pete was redesigned many times over the years, losing his tail in 1932's The Mad Dog and developing more obese features, including a rounder body, a wider muzzle, and a shorter appearance. Pete would play the villainous role in a particular formula common in Mickey's black and white shorts in the 20s and 30s, including Two-Gun Mickey, Building a Building, Shanghaied, and Get a Horse!, where Pete apparently had romantic affections for Minnie Mouse, resulting in him kidnapping her, and Mickey coming to the rescue. While in recent years, Pete's affections for Minnie were dropped, the "damsel in distress" storyline remains iconic, and intact in recent incarnations of the characters.

In 1934's Shanghaied, Pete was redesigned again, this time getting a white face with long cat-like whiskers and cat-like ears. His muzzle and nose were also changed slightly. This design was short-lived, however, because he lost the whiskers in The Dognapper (also released in 1934). His peg leg was seen for the last time in 1935's Mickey's Service Station where he antagonized Mickey, Donald, and Goofy in their first trio cartoon. However, it reappeared in Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers (2004). Pete was not seen again until Moving Day (1936) which was also his first appearance in color. Pete would remain the main antagonist in the Mickey Mouse film series throughout their lifespan.

1940's-present
Pete went on to appear in shorts starring Mickey's companions, including Donald Duck, as his popularity would grow during the 1940s onwards, beginning in the short Officer Duck, though he previously tormented the duck when he appeared alongside Mickey in previous shorts such as The Dognapper and Moving Day. In contrast to Pete's dynamic with Mickey, where the two seem to match each other equally, the relationship between Pete and Donald would be established as extremely abusive, as Donald, even in the modern era, has shown to be the most fearful of Pete, and suffers the most physical harm from the villain whenever the latter's on screen, as Pete tends to use Donald as a personal punching bag. In Officer Duck, he even tried to kill Donald with a machine gun upon realizing that he was a police officer. This cartoon also showcases Pete's final and modern form, with a Caucasian colored face and a slightly less round body.

Aside from Donald, Pete was also cast as an antagonist for other companions of Mickey, including Goofy (beginning in the short Two Gun Goofy), Pluto (in several shorts starring Mickey), and even Chip and Dale (in The Lone Chipmunk). Prior to Goofy shorts, Pete also previously tormented Goofy when he appeared alongside Mickey and Donald in previous shorts such as Moving Day, Mickey's Service Station, etc.

During World War II and throughout the 1950's, Pete would continue to appear in the last remaining shorts produced in that period of the studio's history, and would also pop up in Disney-produced television programs such as Walt Disney's Disneyland series. In 1983, Pete made his theatrical return alongside the rest of the classic cast in the final act of Mickey's Christmas Carol, where he played the role of the satanic Ghost of Christmas Future. Pete's role was expanded in his next appearance, 1990's The Prince and the Pauper, where he played the tyrannical captain of the royal guard bent on controlling the kingdom. In 2013, Pete reappeared as the villain of the theatrical short Get a Horse!, which featured archived dialogue of Billy Bletcher's various recording sessions.

Voice
Beginning with the Mickey shorts, Pete was given a distinctive booming voice, in contrast to Mickey's light, falsetto voice. This was provided by Billy Bletcher in most of the classic shorts. Afterwards, Pete was voiced by Will Ryan in Mickey's Christmas Carol short and DuckTales, Arthur Burghardt in The Prince and the Pauper (who would continue to voice the character in video games until 2003), and currently by Jim Cummings, who began voicing Pete in 1992, with the premiere of Goof Troop.

A Goofy Movie
Like in the television series Goof Troop, Pete is Goofy's neighbor. Pete often gives Goofy advice on how to raise his son with discipline, telling him that he should keep Max under his thumb. In the film, it is shown that Pete works with Goofy, taking photos of children. Pete tells Goofy that P.J. asked him to take him camping and comments that camping is the perfect way to make a good father/son relationship and that if a son doesn't want to be with his parents, the boy could be stealing or with a gang. This makes Goofy believe the aggravate comments of Principal Mazur about Max and he tells Pete that he is going to fish with his son. Pete attempts to finish the photography session with the current child (a little girl) after Goofy excitedly declared that he's taking Max on a fishing trip. However, the child managed to unseat her diaper and run off while Pete was distracted.

Pete is then shown arriving in an RV with P.J. to the forest where Max and Goofy are camping. There, Pete tells Goofy that he must control his son. Pete invites the Goofs to dinner, but Goofy goes with Max to practice fishing. This makes the legendary Bigfoot emerge, terrifying Max and Goofy and making Pete drive away.

Pete reappears at a motel where Max and Goofy are staying and is surprised to see Max and Goofy there. When Pete overhears a conversation between Max and P.J. about Max changing Goofy's map route to get to Los Angeles, he tells Goofy about it. Although Goofy didn't believe Pete, he looks at the map and sees the change. Pete is shown for the last time when Max and Goofy are with Powerline. Pete was drinking a beer, but when he sees the Goofs on TV, he spits the drink on the TV screen, shocked.

Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas
Taking place before the events of Goof Troop, Pete is Goofy's neighbor, except here, Pete's family is not seen. Pete tells Max that there is no Santa Claus, crushing Max's spirit and having him questioning his existence due to lack of evidence. During Max's overnight research, Max mistakes a Beagle Boy for Santa, who instead is robbing Pete's house, only to be caught by the police. Pete is present when the real Santa arrives, but doesn't get anything except a property full of snow.

Later, Pete appears as Mickey's cruel and uptight boss. Pete tries to sell oversized trees for thrice the amount of an ordinary tree. Thanks to Mickey, a lacking family finds the perfect tree, leaving Mickey to be robbed of his tip money and fired. Pete mistakenly places his cigar in his pocket, causing a fire and leaving his overpriced trees to burn.

An Extremely Goofy Movie
Taking place a few years after the events of A Goofy Movie, P.J., Bobby, and Max are heading for college and Pete is hardly showing any disappointment towards P.J leaving - indeed, he openly plans to turn P.J.'s room into a bowling alley.

Later on, after losing his job, Goofy is forced to finish college in order to get employed once more. He attends the same college as Max, making life increasingly complicated for him. Goofy visits Pete for advice on how to make things work, but Goofy gets a brainstorm himself and heads back to the college, leaving Pete confused.

Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers
In the 2004 direct-to-DVD animated adaptation of The Three Musketeers (with Mickey, Donald Duck and Goofy playing the title roles), Pete again appeared under the name Captain Pete as the main villain. This also marks the first time Pete was depicted with his infamous peg-leg since the 1930s.

In this film, Pete is the captain of the musketeers who secretly plots to kidnap Princess Minnie and take over France as king. To do so, he hires the bumbling Beagle Boys, whose foolish attempts to murder Minnie drives her to demand musketeer bodyguards out of fear. Pete assigns three janitors, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, thinking they'll do a terrible job. However, the trio proves to be qualified, forcing Pete to move on to Plan B. Pete orders the Beagle Boys to kidnap Donald and his lieutenant Clarabelle Cow to kidnap Goofy while he goes after Mickey. Donald escapes his capture while Goofy convinces Clarabelle to reform. Together, Donald and Goofy set off to rescue Mickey. They succeed and head for the Opera where Pete has managed to take control and lock Minnie away in a chest. The trio arrives and a battle ensues. Pete defeats Donald and Goofy and holds a single battle with Mickey. Pete nearly murders him, but before he can attempt to do so, Donald and Goofy return to battle. The trio defeats Pete, leaving him to collapse with "I hate happy endings!".

In a cast commentary on the DVD version of the movie, Pete is heard talking with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy in their debut scene in the movie. During the commentary, Pete talks with Mickey and friends in a friendlier manner, showing off his softer side. The way they interact with each other implies that Pete seems to be friends with the gang offset.

Other films
Pete made a cameo appearance as a Toontown police officer in the very last scene of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He is viewed from the back, alongside Spike the Bulldog and Horace Horsecollar in security uniforms. This can be seen just before Porky Pig and Tinker Bell close the movie.

DuckTales
In the first season of the 1987 TV series DuckTales, Pete appeared in a few episodes. However, he was portrayed as a different character in each of his appearances. Because of this, in some episodes, he makes peace with Scrooge's group. The various "Petes" appear to be their own characters, as two of them lived in different time periods, as well as the fact that Scrooge never recognizes him, despite any previous encounters he may have had with any of the other Petes.

Goof Troop
Pete is the main antagonist of the 1992 TV series Goof Troop (though he is not completely evil in the show). Like Goofy, Pete has a family of his own; it consists of his wife, Peg, their two children, Peter Junior Pete (or PJ for short) and Pistol, and their dog, Chainsaw. They live next door to Goofy and his son, Max. Pete owns a used-car dealership, and although no longer openly villainous, he is still conniving, as well as abrasive, obnoxious, and truculent. His wife Peg generally attempts to rid Pete of his uncouth attitude in the show.

Pete often exploits his good-hearted and somewhat addled friend, Goofy. He frequently openly manipulates, pushes, insults and threatens his son PJ, as well. Usually, his schemes will backfire, although very rarely he will just feel guilty about his oafish behavior and work to set things right.

PJ often displays fear of his father, of spending time with him, and of disobeying or failing him. Pete seems to interpret this fear as respect. PJ is eager to leave, and their father-son relationship clearly revolves around fear, abuse, and control. With this thrown into even starker relief when compared to the much more healthy relationship between Max and Goofy, it is speculated (though never confirmed) that Pete may actually be physically as well as emotionally abusive towards PJ. Despite this abuse, Pete often voices the belief that he is a good father and an even stronger desire for PJ to be successful. In his narcissism, Pete wants PJ to be just like him; however PJ is nothing like his father.

It is eventually revealed in the show's pilot episode "Forever Goof" that one of the main reasons why Pete dislikes Goofy so much is that when Pete was a high school quarterback in a big football game, it was Goofy who accidentally caused Pete to fumble the ball and get hit in the face by a pom-pom (Goofy was on the cheerleading squad at the time), causing the team to lose the game. However, he might have put off the grudge in A Goofy Movie and An Extremely Goofy Movie, since he seems to be more friendly with the Goofs.

Jim Cummings provided Pete's booming bass voice in the series and, to date, in all other media.

Mickey Mouse Works
In the Mouse Works series of shorts, Pete was a recurring antagonist, most frequently portrayed as a local thug. In some cartoons, he was given a less controversial profession, such as that of a NASCAR racer, or the co-worker of Donald in a small music shop. In Mickey's Cabin, he was accompanied by his dimwitted cousin Zeke, in a scheme involving a captive Mickey.

He also served as the villain of the short segments Mickey to the Rescue, in which he kidnaps Minnie and traps her within his not-so-hidden lair, forcing Mickey to endure elaborate traps in order to rescue her.

House of Mouse
In House of Mouse, Pete is the titular club's evil landlord. In the series' first episode, "The Stolen Cartoons", Pete legally purchased the club's building and tried to force Mickey and friends out. However, the contract states that, so long as Mickey and his crew put on a show, they can not be removed from the premises. Thusly, several episodes involved Pete's attempts to close down the club by sabotaging the show. His schemes ranged from stealing the cartoons shown at the club to trying to drive the guests away by messing with the air conditioning.

Pete can also be seen taking part in the Disney Villains' takeover of the club in Mickey's House of Villains. However, despite being the show's primary antagonist, he does not contribute to the movie's plot and he later flees with the rest of the villains when Mickey seals Jafar in Genie's lamp.

However, in a similarly-titled episode, "Pete's House of Villains", Pete did take over the club for a majority of the evening and renamed it "House of Villains." He gathered his closest villain friends to replace Mickey and the gang. Unfortunately for Pete, his bad entertainment skills, his firing of the villain employees and the fact that he was panned by the guests forced him to return the club to Mickey's possession.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Pete appears in numerous episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Disney's 3D animated children's series. He maintains his antagonist role but is significantly toned down for its preschool audience. He is mischievous. Viewers will find that Mickey and gang are very forgiving of Pete and his escapades. They even admit Pete is their friend several times in the show. He often appears as a seller of objects the gang needs and will give them an item in exchange for beans. He is more polite than his previous incarnations. In one episode, he invites the group to a Halloween party. In the most recent episode, Pete would often play, what seems to be a villain role, but this will eventually turn out to be Pete trying to help. However, in all specials and spin-off films, Pete plays the main antagonist. Like most of the show's major characters, Pete has a theme that plays instrumentally every time he appears on screen. Pete also appears in the spin-off series Mickey Mousekersize.

Mickey Mouse
Pete returns in this animated series, as a recurring antagonist. He has also regained his peg leg, which is maintained throughout all his appearances.

His first appearance in the series was in the episode "Tapped Out." Here, Pete is an undefeated world champion wrestler. After one of his matches, Goofy volunteers Mickey to be Pete's next opponent. The mouse is reluctant at first, but after Pete pummels Goofy as a warm up, Mickey steps in, though he proves to be no match for the peg-legged cat. Mickey then gets the idea to steal Pete's golden wrestling wig and throw it into Donald's nachos, causing Pete to run after it, accidentally ruining Donald's snack. The duck becomes furious and pummels Pete himself, rendering him unconscious. With this, Mickey is able to finish Pete, thus resulting in him, Donald and Goofy becoming the new champions.

Pete also made a brief cameo appearance in the episode "Doggone Biscuits," where he's seen as a dog catcher (similar to that of his role in The Mad Dog and The Worm Turns).

In "Al Rojo Vivo," Pete appears as a bullying Spanish cat with an eye for Minnie's beauty.

In "A Flower for Minnie", Pete was a police officer overseeing a flower parade, which was crashed by Mickey, who stole a flower to give to Minnie, resulting in a short chase involving himself and Pete.

In "Wish Upon a Coin", an antagonizing and greedy Pete stole the coins of a local wishing well, which prevents the wishes of previous visitors from coming true. Mickey chases after the villain, who makes an attempt to escape in his getaway car. Though he nearly does so, Mickey attacks the car with a legion of doves, using eggs to attack, and ultimately causing Pete to crash. Afterward, the coins are returned, and as punishment, Pete is used as a steed for Mickey and Minnie's "happily ever after" wish.

In "No", Pete takes advantage of Mickey's inability to say the word "no", though he shows genuine gratitude for Mickey's kindness in the end.

In "Dancevidaniya", Pete was a Russian folk dancer with an eye for Minnie, making a forceful attempt to woo her during his stage performance.

In "Sock Burglar", Pete is the mysterious title burglar who has been stealing people's single socks because it was difficult to find one for his peg-leg. Thanks to Minnie knitting him a sock made exclusively for peg-legs, however, Pete willingly returned the stolen socks to their owners, allowing him to "doos" what he's always wanted to "doos": rob banks.

Mickey and the Roadster Racers
Pete appears as a recurring character in the animated racing series. His role varies by episode as he is usually typecast as a villain, but has also been featured as a friendly acquaintance to Mickey and the others on occasion. Additionally, like many of the classic Mickey cartoons of the 30s and 40s, Pete takes on a number of personas and professions, such as a bullfighter in Madrid or a British criminal in London.

Other shows
Pete made a few appearances in the long-running Walt Disney anthology series, mostly in episodes focusing on Mickey and the gang.

Pete made a few appearances in the animated opening of The Mickey Mouse Club, usually seen singing as well as holding a trampoline that is bouncing Mickey upward.

Pete also made a cameo appearance in the Bonkers episode "Cartoon Cornered".

Printed media
In the early years of the Mickey Mouse newspaper comic strip, Pete was portrayed as Sylvester Shyster's sidekick and looked noticeably more muscular than his screen counterpart. His portrayal was eventually changed in 1934's "The Captive Castaways" to better match his depiction in the cartoons, and he gradually started to work up on his own. In comic strips and comic books, Pete is consistently depicted as a hardened criminal. In the 1943 comic strip story Mickey Mouse on a Secret Mission, he was an agent of Nazi Germany, working as the henchman of Gestapo spy Von Weasel. In the 1950 comic strip story The Moook Treasure, he's even portrayed as the Beria-like deputy chief of intelligence in a totalitarian state on the other side of the iron curtain.

In later Mickey comics, Pete often teams up with Mickey's other enemies, such as Eli Squinch and The Phantom Blot, or sometimes is accompanied by his own henchman, Weasel. Pete sometimes also teams up with other Disney bad guys, such as Scrooge McDuck's enemies (the Beagle Boys and Magica De Spell), Mad Madam Mim, Captain Hook, and the witch from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

In the Italian stories, Pete (called Pietro Gambadilegno), is a recurring antagonist.

Mickey Mousecapade
Pete appears as the captain of a pirate ship in the American version of the NES game Mickey Mousecapade (or simply Mickey Mouse in Japan). The player fights him at the end of the level and, later, has a rematch with him in Maleficent's castle. (In the original Japanese version, Captain Hook was the boss.)

QuackShot
QuackShot follows the adventures of Donald Duck as he, with the aid of his three nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, sets out to obtain some treasure from a map he found. Pete appears as the antagonist of the game. Near the end of the game, he kidnaps Donald's nephews and demands to be given the map and must be fought immediately prior to the final stage and boss of the game.

World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
In this game, he is the main antagonist and is portrayed as the cloaked Master of illusion, though it is only at the final boss stage that his face is revealed. After Mickey and Donald find his magic box and step inside, he throws down a challenge to them that if they find and defeat him, he will help them find their way back home. They succeed and he sends them back home. He is later shown amongst the audience watching Mickey and Donald's magic show and makes a thumbs up at the player. He is also seen as a Joker Card at the main menu operated by Goofy.

Disney's Magical Quest series
In the Disney's Magical Quest trilogy by Capcom, Pete is the final boss of each game, impersonating a distinct ruler (Emperor, Baron, and King). He serves as an evil ruler who terrorizes the land he reigns and often kidnaps another character. In the first game, he kidnaps Pluto, and in the third game, he kidnaps Donald's nephews. Mickey and, depending on the game, Minnie or Donald, are always set to defeat him. At the end of the first two games, when he is defeated, he simply disappears, but in The Magical Quest 3, after being defeated by Mickey and Donald, he eventually surrenders and promises to become a good person, a promise that was implied in the ending to have been kept.

Mickey Mania
Mickey Mania follows Mickey Mouse, who has been catapulted back in time to his earliest appearance in Steamboat Willie. In this game, Pete is the true main villain (although one does also go up against The Mad Doctor in his namesake's short, and also, in the PlayStation release of the game, against Willie the Giant at the end of the Mickey and the Beanstalk level). Pete appears as an obstacle in the first level, based on Steamboat Willie, and again as the boss of the final level, based on the then-recent The Prince and the Pauper.

Mickey's Speedway USA
Pete appears in the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color game as one of the six available characters (the other five being Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy) in which his racing stats are the same as Goofy (4/5 on Speed, 4/5 on Weight, 2/5 on Handling, & 2/5 on Acceleration).

Mickey's Racing Adventure
Pete is the boss of each of the racers (Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Daisy, Minnie) after the racers defeat Pete's cronies in 3 different races. If beaten, Pete gives back something he stole. Before racing Pete, you must rearrange a picture of Pete that is mixed-up. The clothes that Pete wears changes for each boss.

Kingdom Hearts series
Pete appears as a major antagonist in the Kingdom Hearts series. Since his debut in Kingdom Hearts II, Pete has become a major recurring antagonist, acting as the primary minion of Maleficent in her quest to rule the worlds through the power of the Heartless. His story actually begins years before Sora or any of the major characters. Pete and the other inhabitants of Mickey Mouse resided in a world known as Timeless River where Pete worked as a steamboat captain, actually employing Mickey who has yet to become king of Disney Castle. Once the castle was built, as well as the new town surrounding it known as Disney Town, leading into Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Pete would eventually leave his job as steamboat captain and become a troublemaking mischief-maker, constantly annoying the citizens of the world until he was eventually banished by orders of Queen Minnie. He was recovered some time later by Maleficent and given freedom in exchange for assisting her in her goal to conquest. Since then, Pete began invading various worlds, attacking their inhabitants and turning them into Heartless, thus adding to Maleficent's army, which led to the events of Kingdom Hearts II.

At some point, Pete's next destination was Mysterious Tower, home of Master Yen Sid. Though he planned to turn the powerful sorcerer into a demonic heartless, Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrived and prevented this, also telling him the news of Maleficent, whom they had slain whilst he was out dominating worlds. Pete retreats to Maleficent's former lair, Hollow Bastion to see if the rumors were true. However, though they were, Maleficent was mysteriously revived from the dead and rejoined forces with Pete again. Together, they continued their mission to both dominate worlds as well as their new objective to find a new hideaway, preferably a castle, but in every world Pete visited, Sora and his friends were close behind, bumping into the cat various times and defeating him on each occasion. Eventually, Pete and Maleficent found themselves in the stronghold of Organization XIII, The World That Never Was, along with the rest of the main cast. The sorceress planned on taking over the castle, but before she could, she and Pete decided to help put an end to the evil Organization by joining forces with Sora and Mickey to defeat the Heartless minions that they lost control over. In the end, the castle was destroyed and the whereabouts of Pete and Maleficent were unknown until Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, where they once again plotted to dominate the worlds using a special computer device created by Chip 'n' Dale. Pete's portrayal in Re:coded was considerably darker, as well as larger, than his previous appearances in the series. While he retained his comedic elements, he was shown to be far more competent, abusive, as well as murderous throughout the storyline.

Pete would again appear in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance both in his regular form and as a Musketeer's Captain in the world Country of the Musketeers.

Disney TH!NK Fast
In Disney TH!NK Fast, Pete appears as the final secret playable character after you've collected 30,000 points in a single game.

Epic Mickey series
Pete is featured in Epic Mickey as a recurring character in many forms, led by a regular Big Bad Pete on Mean Street. He will give the player various missions throughout the game, such as rounding up the bunny children. Even though he was immediately recognized by Mickey, Pete explains that Wasteland has several different versions of his character.

As Small Pete in the Gremlin Village, he dresses as a Dutch girl doll from It's a Small World, and has gotten into a conflict with the Gremlins after crashing his boat into their village. The player can clear his name if they find his ship's log for him or ignore his request for help and be attacked by his Blotlings in the ride's Colosseum. If the player clears his name, the Gremlins will let him help rebuild their Village during the ending.

In Tomorrow City, Petetronic serves as one of the boss fights, taking on the guise of Sark. If the player befriends him with Paint, Petetronic will help rebuild Tomorrow City.

In Ventureland, he takes on the identity of Pete Pan, and can be called on for help in dealing with the animatronic version of Captain Hook. If the player manages to call on him, he and the animatronic Hook will be shown continuing their duel during the ending.

Before visiting Lonesome Manor, Big Bad Pete asks Mickey to find the lost cartoons of a Colonel Pete, though the Digicomics mention a Ghost Pete who made a bet with the Lonesome Ghosts to try and spend a night in a living house.

Pete returns in the game's sequel; Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, initially as allies to Mickey and Oswald. However, in the ending of the game, it shows Big Bad Pete with Small Pete and Pete Pan (with Petetronic joining them in the thinner ending) stating "They won't know what hit 'em," before leaving through a projector on Mean Street, likely heading for Ventureland, while taking Gremlin Prescott hostage.

If Epic Mickey 3 had not been canceled (due to Junction Point Studios being closed on January 29, 2013), Pete and his other selves would have been the main villains of that installment.

In Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, Mizrabel uses Illusion versions of Pete in her army of minions. These Petes include massive spiked blocks with Pete's face, a large Pete that attacks by creating shockwaves with his fists and a Pete wearing a spiny shell (similar to those worn by the Spinies in Super Mario Bros.).

Disney Magic Kingdoms
Pete—in search of a quiet escape—enters the kingdom following Maleficent's mysterious purge. He welcomes the darkness and appreciates how it scared away the visiting kids. He thusly decides to make the kingdom a vacation spot and parks his RV near Tomorrowland. During his stay, he repeatedly causes trouble for Mickey and Goofy, despite the latter's attempts to make peace. Eventually, both Mickey and Goofy (with additional help from Pluto) run Pete out of the kingdom by making excessive amounts of noise. He later returns after a jackhammer factory was built next to his house, as he claims the kingdom is much more quiet and peaceful in comparison, as a result of its arrival.

Disney Parks
Despite his prominent role in the cartoons and comics, Pete has oddly never made any live appearances in the parks, and his only known live appearance was in the Walt Disney's World on Ice show Mickey Mouse's Diamond Jubilee. However, his likeness can be found in several spots around the parks.

Disneyland Resort
During the Disney California Adventure expansion, Pete was seen in a mural of him and several other classic Disney characters as construction workers.

In the 2015 rendition of World of Color, Pete made a few cameo appearances during the montage celebrating Mickey Mouse.

Walt Disney World Resort
In the former Mickey's Toontown Fair at the Magic Kingdom, Pete was the mascot of Pete's Garage which was a restroom for park guests. Also, there was Pete's Paint Shop for face painting and removable tattoos.

In Disney Springs, a large Pete statue can be found in the Team Mickey shop.

In 2011, Mickey's Toontown Fair was closed and replaced by Storybook Circus, a new section of Fantasyland. As part of that, Pete is the host of Pete's Silly Sideshow, a meet-and-greet area where one can meet different Disney characters all in circus regalia. However, only his voice is heard in the attraction; as of 2014, he has yet to appear in person.

Shanghai Disneyland
Pete's likeness is featured alongside other classic characters in the Mickey Avenue section of the park.

Trivia

 * Despite officially being a cat, Pete is sometimes mistaken for a dog (specifically a bulldog).
 * Pete and Goofy are the only characters from the classic Disney shorts to have a biological child, instead of a traditional niece or nephew. Pete has P.J. and Pistol, and Goofy has Max.
 * Due to his constant careers changes in the franchise, Pete doesn't have an official outfit.
 * Because of Pete's varying role as a villain, and character in general, Pete seems to represent all seven of the seven deadly sins, making him unique among Disney villains, with Wrath, Greed, Envy and Gluttony being the ones he usually represents the most.
 * In nearly all appearances, Pete is shown to have a different ability (his herculean strength being the only ability present in all of them), ranging from superhuman intelligence, magical powers, master weaponist, to even god-like or supernatural powers. Pete's varying powers can arguably make Pete the most powerful Disney villain ever (and possibly the most powerful Disney character overall).
 * In Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip, Pete says, "MEOW!" and behaves like a real cat (with fangs and whiskers) to outsmart Pluto.
 * Ironically, while Pete is the taller half of the duo consisting of himself and Mickey, Billy Bletcher and Walt Disney were completely the opposite (with Walt being much taller than Billy).
 * Jim Cummings has noted in several interviews that he does not consider Pete a true villain.
 * Pete was referenced by Candace in the Phineas and Ferb episode "The Baljeatles".