Indiana Jones (character)

## Background

From the Ark of the Covenant to the Holy Grail, from the Temple of Doom to the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, ancient artifacts, and locales have fascinated adventurers the world over, whether their interests lie in scholarly pursuits or more… “economic” purposes. But no archaeologist and treasure hunter is more accomplished and notable than the debonair fedora-lover and O.G. whip-cracking action hero: Indiana Jones!

Born Henry Walton Jones Jr. to a famous professor of medieval studies near the end of the 19th century, Indy was a miniature genius from a young age. He underwent instruction from the best tutor around, frequently rubbed elbows with some of the most famous people in history, and was going on adventures when he was just 8 years old. He grew distant from his father as he got older, however, and eventually ran away to join the military, fighting in both the Mexican Revolution and World War I.

But it was all just a prelude to his true calling in life. Indy may be a staunch skeptic of all things out-of-the-ordinary, but he has also always had a fascination with the supernatural, and upon achieving a Ph.D. in archaeology, he set out across the world to make a name for himself as an explorer. And make a name for himself he did! Indy has been everywhere from the City of Gold, to Atlantis, and even to other dimensions, and fought everything from Krakens to demons to fearsome pirates, though he doesn’t hate or oppose any adversary quite as much as the Nazis (which, I mean, fair enough).

Throughout his travels, he has achieved renown the world over, much to the adoration of many women (like WAY too many holy shit), and the chagrin of other rival archaeologists, in particular, his archnemesis Belloq. But there was no one whose approval he craved more than his eccentric father, who had always cared more for his work than his son. It took a long time, but eventually, in their joint quest for the Holy Grail, Indy and his father found common ground and a mutual understanding, picking up the pieces of a long-broken relationship.

But Henry Sr. was not Indy’s only burned bridge in desperate need of un-burning. While he had found quite literally dozens of romantic partners over the years, none had quite captured his heart in the same way as former sweetheart Marion Ravenwood, whom he had left at the altar years prior, likely in fear of commitment and his own feelings. It’s possible that Indy’s stoicism and constant womanizing are all a defense mechanism; he’s afraid to allow himself to get truly close to someone, in fear that it will only bring him pain, as was the case with his father or his late mother. Leaving Marion, ditching his young sidekick Short Round, and cycling through relationships faster than he cycles through his revolver; Indy has always run away from happiness, choosing to immerse himself in his work rather than spend time with others – ironically, the same mistake that his father made with him.

In the end, however, Indy overcame this tendency, though not without many years spent alone in the interim. Upon reuniting with Marion and learning that he had a son who looks suspiciously like Shia LeBeouf, Indy was given another chance to rethink his life and make the commitment he had been afraid to make decades before. Of course, that doesn’t mean his adventures are over; he’s still got a Dial of Destiny to find, whatever that is. And as long as there's treasure to be found and Nazi ass to kick, Indiana Jones will always be there at the crack of a whip.

## Powers & Abilities

* **Superhuman Physique:** Generally, Indy has been portrayed as superhuman and far more capable than most other humans, particularly given how his refrigerator survival is described in the Crystal Skull comic.
* **Enhanced Senses:** When a spell was cast to create an illusion made to hide a village completely, Indy could see it perfectly fine.

## Equipment

* **Fedora:** Although it may serve no practical use to him, Indy’s fedora is the cherry on top of his iconic look. Given to him by a henchman of a former enemy, it seems to be a reminder that even though Indy may lose, he doesn’t have to like it. That sentimental value is also the reason that he risks his life to save it so many times throughout the series.
* **Bullwhip:** The most classic item in his arsenal, Indy somehow uses this line of rope as an all-purpose tool. He uses it to swing across large gaps, scale walls, disarm people of various weapons, stop them from smoking (good man, Indy), and it can also somehow block fireballs on top of that.
* **Pistols:** Indy has carried a Smith and Wesson M1917 on his person across many adventures, as well as a Browning Hi-Power 9 when he ran out of ammo and a Colt New Service M1917. From his youth, he owned an 1866 Derringer pistol and could also kill a polar bear with a revolver. Indy has stated he can accurately fire almost anything in his hands. Works great in a sword fight.
* **Machete:** A blade that Indy regularly carries on his explorations, great for cutting bridge ropes, hacking through vines and obstacles, and, of course, slashing people in dire situations. Though Indy isn’t typically portrayed as a sword fighter, he did demonstrate some skill in the art during his youth.
* **Knives:** Indy has carried knives of various sorts throughout his career, including a pocket knife, a knife that he acquired in a trade, a Turkish knife, and throwing knives (1, 2). These can be used for various purposes, like cutting himself out of rope, carving or scratching surfaces, and, of course, stabbing people.
* **Other Firearms:** Indy has used many other firearms that he has acquired throughout his journeys, whether by finding them lying around or by disarming them from his various enemies. Notable examples include shotguns, grenade launchers, rifles, machine guns, bazookas, SMG’s, mausers, Lugers, and more. It should be noted that Indy doesn’t typically carry most of these things with him on adventures, but he is proficient at using all of them and has done so on various occasions.
* **Binoculars:** An excellent tool for any explorer, Indy frequently carries binoculars on him, allowing him to spy on people and see things from a long distance away. These have proven very useful for scoping out any potential dangers on his crusades.
* **Lighter & Matches:** Indy has been repeatedly shown to carry matches on him, as well as a lighter. This has come in handy whenever he needs to burn something or illuminate his surroundings, which has gotten him out of sticky situations more than once.
* **Gas Mask:** As a kid, Indy carried a gas mask during the war which could protect him from deadly toxins. Similarly, he has made other use of gas masks when the situation calls for it, namely in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles NES game.
* **Flashlight:** To shine a light in any raiding of arcs or temples of doom. He could also probably hit someone pretty hard with it.
* **Torches:** Indy has carried torches with him on many adventures, useful for exploring the dark, burning people, repelling snakes, etc. He has created torches quickly simply by grabbing some wood and starting a fire.

## Feats

### Strength

* Works together with Sallah to lift the large stone lid off of the container housing the Ark of the Covenant
* Tips over a large statue by rocking it back and forth
* Pushes a large sandstone block
* Clings to the outside of a u-boat/submarine all the way through its trip to the Nazis’ hidden base
* While poisoned, throws a meat skewer across a room with enough force to impale the gangster Chen through the stomach
* Pushes a large stone pillar thing
* Punches a guy so hard it sends him skidding across the ground
* Outmuscles Mola Ram, preventing him from ripping out his heart
* Smashes through a wall by ramming it a couple of times with his shoulder
* Swings down with his whip and kicks a man through a glass window
* Smashes through a window
* Uses a rope to divert the movement of a falling pillar
* Kicks down a wooden door
* Kicks through a wall made out of bone
* Wrangles an alligator with a makeshift rope, lashing its jaw closed and wrestling/restraining it until it stops moving
* Takes down a sumo wrestler who is strong enough to smash down a stone pillar
* Kicks a guy through a window
* Drives off a kraken
* Wrestles with Bill Lawton and hurts him
* Uses a person’s momentum against them to throw them over his head and off a balcony with his legs
* Smashes through a window
* Pushes a large boulder
* Smashes a stone wall with his whip
* Pushes a large stone block
* Lifts a metal gate
* Pushes a large boulder
* Breaks through a wall of fallen rocks with a pickaxe
* Pulls around a giant stone block
* Pulls and pushes a large crate
* Pushes over a massive stone pillar
* Can smash wooden crates with a kick, later destroys even larger ones with a punch, and even two at once
* Knocks over a large stone structure by swinging into it
* Smashes through a wall by swinging into it
* Pushes a large stone statue
* Pushes some wooden beams and a large chunk of stone off a ledge
* Shoulder bashes through a large stone wall
* Picks up and carries a large rock chunk
* Pushes a large stone statue
* Pushes a giant boulder
* Knocks over a large stone pillar with several hits
* Another pillar push
* Pulls a large stone statue
* Pushes another statue
* Another statue push
* Punches a guy hard enough to knock down a door
* Weaponry:
	+ Uses a rucksack of dynamite to cause a massive explosion that reaches from the pit within the Tomb of the Gods out past the opening, collapsing the tomb
	+ Grenade blows a large hole through a wall
	+ Blows up a tank with several grenades
	+ Destroys a much larger tank with grenades as well
	+ Destroys the largest tank yet, Big Bertha, knocking out its guns
	+ Blows up yet another giant tank, referred to as the BattleTank
	+ Uses a Bottle of Nitro to blow up a wall
	+ Does it again, this time with dynamite
	+ Blows up a pile of rocks with a blasting cap
	+ A soldier’s bazooka blows a huge hole in the ground
	+ Blows up a large metal grate with a demo charge
	+ Blows up a large door with an explosive
	+ By charging up the Pa Cheng with elemental powers, is able to hurt Kai when he had the Heart of the Dragon
	+ Uses the Staff of Kings to split a hole in the clouds and return the split sea to normal
	+ The Staff of Kings was also used by Moses to push back the Red Sea, splitting it in half
* Scaling:
	+ Mola Ram rips out a person’s heart with his bare hand
	+ Mola Ram killed a water buffalo with his bare hands
	+ Short Round is able to break out of metal chains by hitting them repeatedly with a pick
	+ Janice smacks away a hammerhead shark
	+ A buff guy cracks a stone pillar with a drop kick
	+ A guy smashes through a wooden door
	+ Maggie pushes a large boulder
	+ Kai with the Heart of the Dragon changes the Netherworld’s landscape around the Emperor’s Crypt and conjures a storm above the area

### Speed

* Reacts to a gun clicking fast enough to turn around, pull out his whip, and whip the gun from the man’s hand faster than he could pull the trigger
* Runs through a bunch of dart-shooting traps without getting hit by them
* Outruns a large rolling boulder (classic)
* Snatches a Nazi’s machine gun and mows down a group of them before any of them can react and return fire
* Tackles a man with a gun from several meters away before he can react and pull the trigger
* Snares the lower strut of Amelia Earhart’s speeding plane with a rope
* Dodges a bullet with his back turned (1, 2)
* Aim dodges some bullets
* Dodges a blow dart
* Dodges bullets
* Reacts to a bullet as it is coming toward him
* Can move in tandem with cannon balls
* Dodges a tank’s gunfire (the game’s manual specifically talks about dodging said gunfire)
* Can move in tandem with gatling gun fire and electricity blasts
* Catches up to a trolley pulled by a running horse on foot
* Can move in tandem with arrows
* Reacts to an electrical blast from the Chinese demon Kong Tien
* Outruns a tiger
* Outspeeds a train while riding a bike
* Can move in tandem with bullets in many video games, including:
	+ Raiders of the Lost Ark Atari 2600
	+ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Action Game
	+ The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles NES
	+ Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures SNES
	+ Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures
	+ Indiana Jones (Didj game)
* Scaling:
	+ His assistant, Brendan O’Neal, catches the Spear of Longinus mid-flight, preventing it from impaling him
* Though these may be outliers, Indy also:
	+ Dodges bolts of natural lightning from the sky
	+ Can move in tandem with natural lightning strikes in the Emperor’s Tomb game
	+ Reacts to a beam of sunlight as it reflects between surfaces
	+ Moves in tandem with light energy / aether blasts from Marduk, which are linear and unbroken, and can be reflected with a mirror

### Durability

* Takes a bullet to the upper arm/shoulder
* Tanks getting smashed through a windshield
* Scoots under the bottom of a speeding car, clinging to the underside and maneuvering his way to the back while it is still moving. Subsequently survives getting dragged behind the truck while clinging to a rope, skidding across the ground. Then climbs up into the car and beats up the guy driving, before throwing him out through the broken windshield and resuming control of the vehicle. Does all of this with a bullet wound.
* Survives falling out of a plane on an inflatable boat; subsequently survives falling off a cliff in the same boat
* Withstands being lashed repeatedly with his own whip
* Withstands being burned in the stomach by a torch
* Severs a rope bridge he’s standing on, survives impacting the side of a cliff when it falls
* Tanks getting smashed over the head with a vase
* Survives smashing through the windshield of a moving car
* Survives the G-force of a rocket engine pushing him
* Survives a nuclear bomb by hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator, which is launched out of the city at high speeds fast enough to greatly outpace a car
	+ Narration in the comic adaptation notes that very few people would survive the nuke via the fridge method that Indy used, suggesting that it is intended to be a remarkable feat of resilience on his part
* Survives falling off three waterfalls in a row while in a car
* Tanks getting a wooden plank smashed over his head, pretends to be unconscious so he can follow his assailant
* Survived being blasted by the Invincible Ruby’s energy, which incinerates Ballantine Gruber and collapses the castle around them
* Survives being pummeled by the Sea Devil, though is left dazed
	+ The Sea Devil was strong enough to move a boat, smash up part of it with a swing of its tentacles, and snap its wooden mast in half
* Survives a huge explosion that engulfs a boat from a couple of meters away, though is knocked out for several hours
* Tanks getting smashed through a bookcase
* Takes hits from Prospero when he is amped by a special elixir
* Survives a lightning blast from Ian Soames that destroys the top of the lighthouse that he’s inside of
	+ Soames possibly creates a storm with his sorcery
* Survives being grappled by a kraken
* Tanks getting a chair smashed over his head
* Endures being lashed
* Survives a plane crash
	+ His father is shown laying on the ground far away from the plane after the fact, so he might have just straight-up fallen out and survived impacting the ground directly
* Survives falling several stories
* Can technically survive landing in lava
* Survives a bookcase falling on him and smashing him through the floor
* Survives a somewhat long fall into water
* Survives getting his torso bitten by an alligator, before managing to escape
	+ Later does the same with a shark
* Survives smashing through a wooden wall
* Survives a large explosion caused by a shot from a cannon
* Shrugs off being pushed hard enough to break through some wooden paneling
* Survives being on the fringe of a bomb explosion
* Survives getting bombed
* Scaling:
	+ Bill Lawton survives the explosion of the Vasquez de Coronado
	+ Prospero (without his elixir) and his grandson survive a huge explosion that eclipses part of a mountain
	+ Ian McIver survives a blast that reduces an entire temple/colony to pebbles and ash, “obliterating every speck of solid matter in its path”
	+ A sorcerer temporarily survives a blast that blows up the top part of the Tower of Tears with him inside

### Skill

* Pioneered the treasure-hunting genre
* Discovered many ancient artifacts including the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Crystal Skull of Akator, the Staff of Kings, the Spear of Longinus, the Golden Fleece, and more
* Explored many famous or ancient locations including the Temple of Doom, Atlantis, Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Tomb, the City of Gold, the Tomb of the Gods, the Shrine of the Sea Devil, and more
* Fought in WWI under the name of Henri Defense for the Belgians, and later in WWII for the Americans
* Participated in the Mexican Revolution
* Got a degree in archaeology and a job at Marshall College
* Outsmarted René Emile Belloq, Ballantine Gruber, Walter Donovan, and more
* Defeated Mola Ram and the rest of the Thuggee cult, the Chinese demon Kong Tien, the reincarnation of Dracula Mattias Targo, Kai with the Heart of the Dragon, the Babylonian god Marduk, various Nazis, Soviets, and others

## Weaknesses

* Indiana may be a legend, but that doesn't mean that he's not without his faults. The most obvious flaw is his fear of snakes from when he fell into a crate of them as a teenager, with him somehow always managing to run into them on adventures.
* He’s also not great in terms of fatherhood and relationships, as seen in Temple of Doom and Crystal Skull, though when push comes to shove, he’ll find a way to make it work and save them.
* He will also put himself in danger just to save his hat, most notably in Raiders of the Lost Ark when a stone wall would have crushed him.
* His most notable flaw would be his obsession with adventure and knowledge. Across almost every single piece of Indy’s media, he will always willingly put himself in dangerous situations that he otherwise could just leave and ignore, just to discover treasure.
* Also, despite his notable catchphrase, he’s only managed to retrieve one artifact for a museum to display.