Happy Tuesday, everyone,
Hope all is well. It's time for me to discuss the second issue of Marvel's Raiders of the Lost Ark movie adaptation. The cover to the middle part of this Marvel Movie Special showed Indiana Jones descending a rope toward the bottom of the Well of Souls, with his friends watching from above and dozens of snakes awaiting him below. The issue had a cover date of October 1981.
The story began right where the previous issue left off. Marion Ravenwood was being held by a henchman hired by the German named Toht, who was about to interrogate the owner of the tavern in Nepal as to the whereabouts of the headpiece that would be placed on the Staff of Ra. However, before any evil could be carried out, the familiar strands of a bullwhip wrapped around the poker in Toht's hand and flung it toward a curtain.
Indy reappeared, with his whip in one hand and pistol in the other, ordering the villains to step away from Marion slowly. Toht and his gang scattered right before the first shots rang out. Indiana returned fire, and his shots rang true, taking out one foe immediately. Marion dove under the bar as the man who'd been keeping her captive set his sights on the American archaeologist.
While the heroes were fending for themselves, Toht found the medallion in a small blaze. He reached out for it, not realizing how hot the metal icon was. He dropped it in pain before ordering Jones' execution.
Indiana was able to defeat the gunman as Toht ran outside to douse his burned hand in the cold snow. Marion fled with Indy right after she retrieved the medallion. She lost her bar and the money Indy had paid her for the bauble, but he'd gained a partner in her.
The next day, the couple flew to Cairo, where they soon met with Jones' old friend Sallah. Sallah was well aware of the Germans' activities, noting that Belloq was aiding in those efforts. Indy learned that there was an associate of Sallah's who might be able to help them translate the symbols carved on the medallion. Sallah expressed concern about the dangers that the Ark of the Covenant might pose.
Indy and Marion walked together down city streets the following morning. They ran into a few unsavory characters and were eventually forced to separate during the fracas that ensued. Marion hid in a basket and cried out Jones' name before he saw the basket being loaded into a truck. Indy fired at the truck's driver, causing him to crash his vehicle, which exploded spectacularly moments later. It appeared that Marion had perished in the explosion as well.
A distraught Jones later rode with Sallah to the home of Imam. The wise old man was able to translate the markings on the medallion. He said that the staff should be six kadam high (about 72 inches), and noted that the back of the medallion said to take back one kadam to honor the Hebrew god that the Ark belonged to. Sallah remarked that the medallion he had seen Belloq use only had markings on one side of it, which meant that he and the Germans were digging in the wrong location.
The next day, the two friends drove out to the site where the Nazis had begun their search some time before. In disguise, they made their way slowly to the map room of Tanis. Sallah lowered a rope down for Indy. As Jones was getting his bearings and trying to figure out where to position his staff and medallion, Sallah was interrupted by a Nazi who assumed he was part of the hired help.
Sallah grudgingly assisted his enemies, which postponed his return to help Indy. Jones found the correct location to dig in and called for Sallah. He had to wait a while, but was soon assisted. Sallah explained his tardiness, and the arrival of more Nazis forced the duo to part temporarily.
Indiana ducked into a nearby tent, where he was surprised to see Marion tied up and sitting on a chair. He deduced that their foes must have switched baskets and gave his love a fierce kiss before being forced to leave her bound and gagged. Indy explained that if he freed her, the Nazis would scour the grounds for the two of them, and that was something he simply couldn't risk then.
Jones promised to return for Marion before setting off to find Sallah. The two longtime colleagues ventured further into the desert and located the correct spot to start digging. Meanwhile, Belloq and his allies were conversing about their progress. The Fuhrer wished they had accomplished more by then, but Belloq was confident that they would succeed. During the conversation, Toht entered. As he saluted Hitler, we could see the medallion inscription burned into the palm that had touched the medallion back in Nepal.
After several hours, the outline of a stone block was finally cleared. Indy, Sallah, and their crew moved the heavy stone aside and finally peered down into the Well of Souls, and a box on the floor that had to contain the Ark. Indiana tossed a torch down to reveal a multitude of snakes that slithered about the surface. Indy was deathly afraid of snakes, but still gathered enough courage to rappel down toward the floor. A few well-placed torches and the canister of gasoline he'd brought down with him helped to clear a path that was safe enough to traverse across.
Back in the camp, Belloq removed Marion's gag and expressed his regret for her captivity. Belloq offered her food and a new dress, which she accepted. While the Frenchman was admiring Marion, Indiana, and Sallah were marveling at the Ark of the Covenant that they'd just brought up out of its container. They loaded it into a crate and had it hauled up to their associates.
Indy was the last one left in the Well of Souls and asked for the rope, which fell at his feet. He looked up to see Belloq holding his companions at gunpoint. Once again, his rival had taken something from him that he'd found. Toht did not want their foe to be left there all alone and threw Marion down into the pit, much to Belloq's frustration. Indy stood there for moments as she fell several stories in the final panel of this issue.
Once again, there were a few minor details from the movie that writer Walt Simonson omitted, like the swordsman in the city melee that Indy shot and the monkey that Marion had briefly adopted, but they didn't detract from the overall story. John Buscema and Klaus Janson worked very well together in this collaborative effort, and I found myself reading it eagerly, wondering what would happen next with each page that I turned.
Tune in tomorrow to find out how things turned out for Indy, Marion, and Sallah. We'll see what Belloq, Toht, and the Nazis did with the Ark, and how the heroes attempted to thwart the evil plans. We'll also learn where the historic treasure made its final resting place. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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