Good morning, peeps,
May the Fourth be with you! I'm done covering Star Wars titles for a while, but I decided to kick off this week by recapping another series that was co-created by George Lucas. It begins with a discussion of the first issue of Marvel's three-part adaptation of the 1981 film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. This "Marvel Movie Special" was also collected in a single volume Super Special. The cover for this particular issue showed the German mercenary Toht giving a salute, where we can see part of a medallion's inscriptions burned into his palm, and Indy running from Hovitos warriors. The issue had a cover date of September 1981.
In Peru in the year 1936, an American archaeologist and his crew approached the remains of an old temple. Jones' colleagues, Barranca and Satipo, talked amongst themselves along the way until they finally found the building that was once used by Chacopoyan warriors. Some of the crew were frightened by what they saw, including the indication that the Hovitos warriors were indeed nearby.
While Indy was reviewing the map just before they were about to enter, Satipo noticed something that froze him where he stood. Jones turned around and swung his trusty bullwhip in time to disarm Barranca, moments before his former ally ran off. It was up to Indy and Satipo to venture inside. Jones took the lead, wondering what had ever happened to his rival Forrestal.
It turned out that he didn't have to wonder very long, for as they neared one passageway, Indy tossed a stick inside, and a series of spikes sprang out, carrying the body of Forrestal on them. Jones correctly deduced that his now former opponent must have broken the light beam, which in turn triggered the spike mechanism. He and Satipo crawled across slowly, careful not to break the beam.
They soon found themselves in a narrow hall, with a large stone missing. The gap was wide enough that they couldn't jump across. Indiana tossed his whip up to a beam above the break in the path, which allowed he and Satipo to cross safely. Before long, they saw the idol they'd been searching for mere feet in front of them.
However, Indy knew that it couldn't be that simple. He used the butt end of their torch to tap the tiles that stood between them and the idol. He learned that the light tiles were okay, and that pressing on the dark tiles caused poison darts to shoot from holes littered across each wall. He made his way nimbly across them until he could leap up to the pedestal.
Jones eyed the golden icon for several moments before pulling a pouch from his bag. He knelt before the pedestal, filling the small bag with sand. Indy hoped that the weight would be the same, as he substituted the icon for the bag.
Things were fine, but only for a short while. The pedestal eventually began to descend, and the chamber started collapsing. Indy crossed the tiles carefully and reached the hall with the large gap. Satipo offered him the whip if Jones would throw over the idol.
Indy realized he had no other choice and obliged. Satipo grabbed the treasure and ran off. Jones made a running leap and barely caught the edge of the other side of the floor. He had finally pulled himself up when he heard an agonizing scream. Indiana ran forward, making sure not to trip the light beam, and found that Satipo had forgotten that trap. He pulled the idol from the dead man's hands and continued on. Indy had to outrace a giant boulder before he could finally exit the tomb.
Jones had no sooner landed on his face when he heard a familiar voice next to him. It belonged to another rival, a Frenchman named Belloq. Indy surrendered the idol and his pistol to Belloq, who raised the icon before the Hovitos. Jones took advantage of their inattentiveness to run through the woods and would live to see another day.
Some time later, back at the university where Jones taught, Indy was describing his recent adventure with Marcus Brody and expressed his interest in returning when Brody informed him that several members of Army intelligence were there to speak with him. Major Eaton and Colonel Musgrove had arrived to speak with Jones about his experience. They already knew about some of his history, including the fact that he'd studied under Abner Ravenwood.
Jones admitted that, adding that they parted on difficult terms. He then learned that the Army was engaged in a race against the Nazis in attempting to discover the Ark of the Covenant, the legendary vessel that was rumored to contain the pieces of the tablets of Moses, the original Ten Commandments. A communique intercepted by the Nazis indicated that the Germans had found Tanis, a place where the Ark had supposedly been hidden within the Well of Souls. That section had long since been covered by sandstorms and was presumably lost to time.
Abner had dedicated most of his career to finding the Ark and had located a few pieces, including the headpiece for the staff of Ra, which was supposedly a key component to finding the Well of Souls' location. Indy agreed to join the search after being promised that the Ark would become property of the university's museum.
In a small watering hole in the Himalayas, a big, burly man known as Red was engaged in a drinking competition with the tavern's proprietor. It was a contest that he lost. The owner, Marion, was cheered on by her patrons just before she shooed them out for the evening. Marion was ready to close up until she saw someone sitting in a booth.
She ordered him to leave until she saw that it was Jones. Marion swung at him before yelling at him to leave. Indy explained that he was looking for Abner, but was informed that he'd arrived two years too late. Abner was never found after an avalanche buried the site he had been working at. Marion then worked at the very bar before the previous owner left one day, screaming as he was taken away.
Marion still bore a grudge against Indiana for hurting her years earlier. He knew what he did was wrong, and that he'd never meant to hurt her. Jones described the piece he was looking for, which Marion said she might know where it was located. Indy gave her $5,000 in cash before being told to return the next day. He walked away, not knowing that the headpiece was on a chain around Marion's neck.
As she thought about what she could do with the cash, Marion was alerted to an unfamiliar voice behind her. She informed her guests that the bar was closed, to which the stranger dressed in a black overcoat informed her that they were not thirsty. The man named Toht said that he was after the same item that Jones was. He was prepared to offer more money, but was not about to wait for it any longer. His men grabbed Marion by the arms as he walked toward the fire. Toht took a poker, dipped it into the fire, and came closer to Marion with each passing step, so that he could show his captive what he was accustomed to.
The final page of content was a breakdown of the movie's crew and production staff. This adaptation was written by Star Wars artist Walt Simonson and illustrated by John Buscema and Klaus Janson. There were a few minor details, like Barrana's death by Hovito poison darts and the seaplane scene that showed Indy's disdain for snakes, but I know it's nearly impossible to fit everything from a two-hour-plus movie into a three-issue limited series. I had the Marvel Super Special adaptation as a child that I'd ordered from a school book fair and read it until the cover came off, so I'm glad that I acquired this miniseries a few years back. I loved the storyline and admired "Big" John's artwork. Janson's inking was a bit spotty at times. Sometimes, it complemented the pencil work perfectly. In other panels, it was rather rough. All in all, this adaptation was rather faithful to the original movie script and honored the themes and character roles.
Tomorrow, I'll tackle the middle part of this adaptation. We'll find out what happened to Marion and where Jones ended up afterward. We'll also learn how the Nazis neared Tanis and if the Ark actually existed. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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