Happy Friday, everyone!
I'm closing out the work week with a recap of the second issue of Marvel's ongoing Indiana Jones title. The cover, illustrated by John Byrne and Terry Austin, showed Edith Dunne and Indy tied together to a chain that was being slowly lowered into a pit of molten gold, with several tribesmen preparing for their captives' eventual demise. If you look closely inside the right-hand side of the opened pit, you can see both artists' signatures. The story was called "22-Karat Doom!" The issue had a publication date of February 1983.
The story started right where the first issue left off. Indiana and Edith were tied together and attached to a chain that was about to drop them into a pit of liquid gold. The act was being observed by several natives. It appeared that the heroes were about to end up alongside the other idols that surrounded the inner walls of the temple.
Just when things seemed dire, the building was shaken by the sounds of explosions outside. A few members of the tribe left to investigate and learned that outlanders had detonated rounds of dynamite and were now waiting to pick them off with their guns. As the temple began to crumble, Indy and Edith swung back and forth until Jones was able to kick the lever that would drop the chain. The pair landed safely outside the pit and began to free themselves. As they did so, Edith mentioned that she was glad that it was Indiana's office where her brother had Charles had met his demise.
Things were quiet for a while, so the adventurers assumed the coast was clear. However, when they exited the temple, they found Solomon Black and his men waiting for them. The villain ordered one of his guards to shoot the Americans, which he was about to comply with until the guard was felled by a poison dart that had just struck his neck.
Indy grabbed the guard's pistol and fired at the natives before herding the group toward the beach. He led Edith to safety and brought part of a flimsy hut down to create some distance between them and their attackers. Before long, Indiana and Black's soldiers were able to eliminate the threat.
That didn't mean that Jones and Dunne were out of the woods just yet. They still had Black and his henchmen to deal with. Indiana reasoned that Black could kill them, but mentioned that without him, they would never know about the second set of icons, because he was one of less than a dozen people in the world who could successfully transcribe the inscriptions.
Black's tone changed significantly upon hearing that tidbit. He allowed Indy and Edith to board their ship along with the remaining icons that his crew carefully boxed up, one by one. A couple of hours later, Edith asked Jones about the transcription. Indy admitted that he'd bluffed and that there was no second set of inscriptions. He'd mentioned earlier, while they were being held captive, that the inscriptions he'd read were nonsense about waking the dead and getting revenge on the wicked.
Indiana hoped to access the ship's radio room so that he could send a distress signal. Edith had something that might help him accomplish that goal. She went to the room's closet and soon donned a dress that made her look absolutely stunning. She then caught the interest of the guard outside their quarters long enough for Indy to knock him out.
Jones made his way to the ship's radio and overtook the operator. He was able to transmit a rough message in Morse Code before being fired at from behind. Moments later, Edith was pointing the pistol that was purloined from the guard they'd just taken out and waved it in front of several crewmembers, demanding to see Black. Unfortunately, without her glasses, Edith's vision was compromised, and she was overpowered by a soldier from behind right after Jones was taken prisoner.
Black was obviously incensed and ordered that the two Americans be brought to the deck, where they would walk the plank. Solomon was willing to take the risk of finding another person who could interpret the inscriptions. Jones was nearing the ship's edge when he spied a torpedo nearing a collision course with their ship. He quickly realized that his message must have been picked up by a German U-boat, and that Germany and Czechoslovakia weren't exactly friendly at the time.
Indy grabbed Edith and ran off the plank just before the missile struck. The ship went down, and Jones and Edith clung to one of the crated icons as they floated toward the German submarine. A while later, they secured passage aboard the vessel, and after a month, the duo was finally nearing New York.
Some time later, Edith was barking orders as the icon was being loaded onto an airplane at Idlewild Airport. She was taking credit for the discovery, as well as the glory. Jones decided to tag along. During the trip, Indy mustered up the courage to ask Edith how she thought she could get away with her brother Charlie's murder.
Edith was appalled by the accusation, but Indy explained how he'd figured everything out. He started by saying that he never told her that her brother had been killed in his office. Indiana had also figured out that it was Edith who had shot at him in the radio room on Black's ship, but because she wasn't wearing her glasses, she couldn't see what she was aiming at clearly.
Jones wondered who had taken out her sister. He got his answer from the pilot, Jerry, who entered the compartment. He was Edith's boyfriend and was obviously involved for the rewards. The ship was on autopilot, and Edith demanded that Indy be executed. Jerry offered a bullet in Jones' body, or the opportunity for him to step outside without a parachute.
Indy offered a third option. He remarked that he'd had a month to interpret the inscription he read in the temple back in Africa, and how it talked about vengeance on the wicked. He felt the two people in front of him now fit that category. Jones spoke the words before the icon. Moments later, the crate opened, and the person encased in gold stepped out. His hide was impervious to bullets, and Jones stepped aside while his foes stood there in terror.
Indiana donned a parachute and set the plane's controls so that it would fly over the Atlantic Ocean. He then stepped outside, just before the icon was about to grab Edith. As Jones tumbled toward the ground, he pulled the parachute's cord, mentioning how he would never forget Edith Dunne, and that he'd pray for her if he were the praying type.
I was very pleased with this storyline from Byrne, Austin, and writer/editor Dennis "Denny" O'Neil. Sadly, it was the only time that this trio would collaborate on this title, but it definitely got the series started on the right foot. It's too bad that there was never a return to that island or a follow-up to this story. I've been thinking for years about what might have happened to Edith and Jerry, and whatever became of the other idols that were presumably destroyed by the German missile. There hasn't even been an Indiana Jones comic book since 2010, so maybe it's time to revisit this tale and others like it before too long.
Well, that's all I have to say for now. I'll kick off the weekend by summarizing the third issue of this series. We'll find out where Indy landed, and meet a few new characters there. We'll also see what Jones does when he encounters a new threat and how he tries to reason with those who are in a position to do something about it. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment