Good afternoon, folks,
Happy Friday! Today's topic is the twentieth issue of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. The cover depicted Indy running in a field from an airplane that was firing at him, in a scene that was reminiscent of that from an old Alfred Hitchcock movie. The tale was titled "The Cuban Connection!" The issue had a cover date of August 1984.
The story started at Marshall College in Connecticut, as Professor Jones was examining the fake Arnhem ring, just before the National Museum's new curator, Osborn Sloams-Hagen, walked in. Indy was certain he'd brought back the genuine article, and didn't take too kindly to Osborn's jabs at his friend, Marcus Brody. Indy was certain that Brody had nothing to do with the swap.
Meanwhile, Marcus was cleaning out his old office when Marion Ravenwood entered. Moments later, Indiana arrived, asserting that the ring must have been switched out before the exhibit began. Marcus remembered that the only people who had been cleared to move large objects at the time were the crew assigned to install the new boiler. Indy and Marion then set off to find those workers.
A short while later, they arrived at the warehouse. Indy brought a folder containing a fingerprint that had been left behind on the fake Arnhem ring. The man Jones accused then lashed out at him before making a run for his truck. Marion followed and managed to climb on for a while in an effort to stop the thief. She was eventually knocked off the vehicle, but only after the suspect ran back into the warehouse.
Jones and Ravenwood followed, until they were pinned into a corner by a forklift. Marcus came to the rescue, knocking out the man named Al with the business end of his umbrella. Al confessed that he'd been hired by a man named Juan Soto. The trio wasn't convinced that the confession would be enough to restore Marcus' good name, and they soon set off to find Al's employer in Cuba.
They learned that Soto had a sugar plantation outside of the city of Havana, and arrived at its outskirts not long after their plane landed. Indiana entered the plantation, inadvertently setting off a silent alarm in the process. A plane swooped down on the newcomers, guns blazing. Jones shooed his friends away as he crept toward a nearby tractor. He lit the fuel and waited for the plane to collide with it.
Soto witnessed the crash from the safety of his office and assumed that Indy had to have been involved somehow. The explosion was enough of a distraction to allow Jones, Ravenwood, and Brody to reach the compound's outer wall. However, when they scaled it, they saw a trio of hungry wolves waiting for them on the grounds.
The heroes were prepared for battle until a shrill whistle called the beasts off. Soto then approached his guests. After they were disarmed, the Americans were given a tour of the facility. Soto supplied weapons to local rebels and assisted the white slave trade in the area. He admitted that his men had taken the real Arnhem ring, but he was not about to disclose the name of the client who had hired him to accomplish that goal.
During the conversation, Soto realized that Brody no longer had his cigar in his mouth. Moments later, some of the ammunition in the hallway went up in flames. Marion and Indy took guns from some of their captors, and the trio followed Soto by boat. Indy was finally able to toss a rope onto Soto's craft and pull himself back into harm's way.
While Marcus and Marion were driving alongside the larger boat, Soto and Indiana were engaged in a fist fight. Marion moved to save her friend, but she would not interfere with the scuffle. Jones was the victor and got Soto to whisper the name of the mystery client to him before Juan jumped into the water, not realizing that he was heading straight for several very hungry sharks.
It was too late to save the villain, but Indy had a much greater concern at the moment. He'd learned that the client was none other than his old rival, Ben Ali Ayoob. In Guatemala, Ayoob was being informed of his lackeys' failures and knew they meant that Jones was on his way. He was pleased with the news, knowing that their game would resume until reaching its inevitable end.
It was good to see Ayoob again, although Marvel's colorists have been very inconsistent with his skin tone coloring in most of his appearances in this series. It seemed like the villain had hideouts in multiple corners of the globe. Despite another change of penciler (Luke McDonnell this time), inker Danny Bulanadi kept David Michelinie's script moving right along at a steady pace.
I'm going to take a brief break from the regular series to cover Marvel's adaptation of the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, starting tomorrow morning. I'll discuss the first of that three-part limited series before resuming with issue #21 of this title. We'll see Indy embark on an unexpected quest with an ally and an unwanted guest as they delve deeper into a centuries-old legend. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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