The Dread Pirate Roberts is the identity assumed by several characters in the novel The Princess Bride (1973) and its 1987 film adaptation.
[1] Various pirates (including Westley) take on the role of Roberts and use his reputation to intimidate their opponents, before retiring and secretly passing on the name to someone else.
They then hire a new crew, the ex-Roberts staying aboard as first mate and referring to his successor as "Captain Roberts".
The fear is amplified by Fezzik's size and a few more tricks, and makes the entire guard run away so that the invaders can easily enter.
Ross Ulbricht, operator of the illicit goods marketplace Silk Road, used the alias Dread Pirate Roberts.
In a display of life imitating art, another person claimed the name Dread Pirate Roberts, reopening the Silk Road website one month after the original site was seized by US law enforcement.