Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5521796-20130130052521/@comment-6195464-20130130171648

Captain Hook was around -loooooong- before PotC, and the character in the book, while not being -quite- so smarmy was certainly just as sarcastic and sneaky. If anything, PotC was incredibly unoriginal in their representation of pirates... Just my opinion.

Give it time - I guarantee once they've developed Hook's backstory and given people something to feel sorry for or relate to, he'll get much less animosity.

Honestly, though -I don't think he's as hated as you may think. The haters are just a lot more vocal. Really, he's quite a popular character... from what I've seen on other boards and in polls. They would've kept him as just a guest star if he wasn't received well by the public.