Hi everyone,
Today's topic is the final issue of Marvel's adaptation of the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie. The cover to this issue showed Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood tied to a post together, as Belloq prepared to open the Ark and unleash its contents, with several Nazi soldiers looking on. The issue had a cover date of November 1981.
Things got started with Narion falling into the Well of Souls after having been tossed down there by Toht. Indy grabbed her before she could reach the ground. Belloq, Toht, and their associates then slid the stone slab back to its original position, trapping the heroes inside.
Marion and Indiana held torches to keep the snakes writhing about at bay. Indy climbed one of the tall statues and was able to eventually swing it so that it came crashing down into one of the walls. It didn't take the adventurers very long to escape afterward. They emerged near a makeshift Nazi airbase.
As the Americans plotted their escape, their presence didn't go entirely unnoticed. A pair of guards spotted them, and the larger one engaged in a brief fight before falling to the floor, firing his pistol as he did so at the airplane and subsequently setting off an explosion.
A short while later, Indiana grabbed Sallah and whisked him inside the tent where he and Marion had been hiding out. Sallah was overjoyed to see his friends and informed them that their enemies were taking the Ark to Cairo by truck. Indy knew he had to follow them, even though he didn't have a plan just yet.
Jones rode on horseback until he was able to catch up with the lead truck. He got close enough to the moving vehicle to open the passenger door and wrestled the driver from his post. He was able to drive the truck and its precious cargo back to the village that Sallah and his family occupied. A bit of tidying, including sweeping away tire tracks, and the occupants of Belloq's car could not tell what had happened to the stolen vehicle.
Later that night, Indiana and Marion secured passage aboard a ship run by Sallah's friend, Captain Katanga. He was willing to take them and the Ark to their next destination. The couple finally had some time to reconnect, until Indy noticed the engines had stopped. He ran to find Katanga and saw the German U-boat that had forced such action.
Indiana escaped the troops and saw a pair of them taking Marion away rather forcefully. Indy remained in hiding as the Captain lied to the invaders about killing the archaeologist. Jones waited until Marion and the Ark had been carted off to pursue his foes. He swam to the U-boat and lashed his whip to the periscope to keep it there until they reached a hidden base.
Belloq ordered the Ark to be brought on land. Indiana watched the procession until it stopped at their destination. The Frenchman changed into a religious outfit and oversaw the ceremony. Indy was interrupted by a threat to blow up the treasure and everything near it with the bazooka that he'd stolen.
What Jones didn't know was that a pair of soldiers had crept up behind him, and the American was now staring at the barrels of several pistols pointed at him. He and Marion were tied up together as the ceremony continued. Marion was tempted to look at what lay in store until Indiana commanded her to close her eyes.
Everyone else in attendance watched as the contents of the ancient vessel burst forth into the air. The Ark was the repository of the original Ten Commandments once given to Moses. It was also God's reply to evil men, as Belloq and his comrades soon discovered. It would be the last thing that they would ever see.
A short while later, it was all over. Marion and Indy freed themselves before examining what was left behind. They returned the Ark to America and met with the Army brass in Washington, D.C. Indiana stressed the importance of researching such a powerful entity, and was told that top men would take care of it. Indy was still disgusted by the government response as he and Marion departed. While they decided what to do next, a lowly worker was carting the crated artifact into a spacious warehouse, where it would take up space alongside many other similarly sized boxes.
Even though there were a few things from the film that were not included in this adaptation, and Indy's threat to destroy the Ark was shown out of chronological order, this was still an age-appropriate, satisfying conclusion to this miniseries. I was used to writer Walt Simonson's artwork on the Star Wars title, and this was my first exposure to his writing abilities. I felt that he took the source material seriously and made his best efforts, as did penciler John Buscema and inker Klaus Janson.
Like many other fans, I was eager to read about more exploits of Indiana Jones and company. As it turned out, we didn't have to wait very long. Next time, I'll discuss the first issue of the ongoing series The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. It was a fun beginning of a two-part story, co-plotted by John Byrne. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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