As Harrison Ford dons his fedora and grabs his bullwhip to star in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, there are a lot of characters and events to remember before Indy’s last adventure. Directed by James Mangold and starring Ford, Antonio Banderas, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Mads Mikkelsen, the fifth installment in the franchise shows Indy embarking on one of his greatest quests yet in search of the fabled Dial of Destiny. Together with new and old allies, Indy must beat Mikkelsen’s Jürgen Voller to its location, a Nazi-turned-NASA scientist who hopes the artifact will grant its possessor the ability to manipulate time.
Raiders of the Lost Ark came out in 1981 and established Indiana Jones as a pop culture icon while at the same time launching Ford into super stardom. It was followed by three sequels including; Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008. Indy has had many adventures leading up to this point, so here’s a recap of the highlights of the film franchise ahead of Indy 5, which looks like the perfect send-off for one of Ford’s most popular characters and a beloved cinematic icon.
13 Indiana Jones Got His Hat And Whip Searching For The Cross of Coronado
It’s not until Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade that fans get to see a peek of a teenage Indiana Jones searching for adventure with his boy scout troop in Utah. Full of spirit and altruism in the flashback, Indy can’t stand idly by and let treasure hunters make off with the Cross of Coronado, a legendary conquistador treasure. Though he puts up a good fight, he can’t combat their partnership with local law enforcement, and while he loses the treasure, he ends up with his signature bullwhip and his iconic fedora, a gift from one of the hunters who’s begrudgingly impressed by Indy’s bravery.
12 Indiana Jones Developed His Fear Of Snakes In The Last Crusade
One of Indiana Jones’ most famous quotes is, “Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?” from Raiders of the Lost Ark, but fans don’t find out why he hates reptiles until Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. While trying to steal the Cross of Coronado back from greedy treasure hunters, he confronts them on a train filled with wild animals on their way to a circus. He gets his bullwhip from the boxcar holding the enraged lion, and his fear of snakes from tumbling into a car full of slithering serpents, a horrible phobia that he carries with him through the rest of the films.
11 Indiana Jones Was A War Hero In WWII Before Becoming A Teacher
In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull fans find out that Indy fought in WWII and was decorated for valorous service as a spy. Flashbacks of this time period can be seen in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny when he’s captured by Voller and several Nazis to be interrogated. After serving with distinction and becoming a war hero, Indy took a position as a professor of archeology at the fictional Marshall College, where he was often approached by museum curator Marcus Brody (Denham Elliot) to track down some of the most sought-after artifacts in the world on the university’s dime.
10 Short Round Was Indiana Jones’ First Sidekick
The first sidekick to join Indy on one of his adventures was Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), who already had an established history with the archaeologist when he appeared in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Aside from being a guide to Dr. Jones in Shanghai, he traveled with him to India and helped him find the lost Sankara stones, as well as free child victims from the Thuggee cult. Short Round not only provided Indy with his expertise and wit, but he also was one of the reasons Indy didn’t get sucked into the cult himself, making fans wonder what happened to Short Round after Temple of Doom.
9 Indiana Jones Searched For The Ark of the Covenant In Raiders of the Lost Ark
In Raiders of the Lost Ark Indy searched for the Ark of the Covenant, a religious artifact believed to house the pieces of the Ten Commandments as dictated to Moses by God. The United States government enlisted Indy’s help in recovering the Ark before it could fall into the hands of Adolf Hitler, who sought it for himself as a means to turn the tide of WWII in his favor. Belloq, one of the best Indiana Jones villains and an old rival of Indy’s perfectly revealed the dark side of their profession when his greed forced the Ark to reveal its full and awesome power.
8 Indiana Jones Searched For The Sankara Stones In Temple Of Doom
Along with his sidekick Short Round and Shanghai showgirl Willie (Kate Capshaw), Indiana Jones traveled to India to seek the Sankara stone in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Believed to be associated with the Hindu god Shiva and an embodiment of both his benevolence and his wrath, they were sacred to the inhabitants of Pankot Province and stolen by the Thuggee cult to be used against perceived British occupying forces. Though a practical man who had no use for superstition, Indy had enough cultural respect to believe in the stones’ power just enough to make them turn against Mola Ram, the cult’s brutal leader.
7 Indiana Jones Searched For The Holy Grail In The Last Crusade
The Cup of Christ, protected by the fabled Knights Templar after the Holy Crusades became the focus of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Enlisted by a private collector named Walter Donovan (Julian Glover), Indy teamed up with his father Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) Marcus Brody, and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) to find the Holy Grail before the Nazis. Donovan ended up trying to double-cross Jones and Co., but his avarice ultimately proved to be his undoing while they used the goblet to successfully save Indy’s father from a mortal injury.
6 Indiana Jones Searched For The Crystal Skull In Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull took a more supernatural approach to Indy’s adventures when it pit the famed archaeologist against the Soviet forces in the search for an extraterrestrial totem. The Crystal Skull of Akator, thought to be the Lost City of El Dorado, had telepathic powers that Doctor Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) hoped to use to control the mind, s of American citizens prior to a Soviet invasion during the Cold War. Together, Indy and his old love Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) were able to stop her and prove the existence of aliens at the same time.
5 Indiana Jones Has Fought Nazis Over 4 Decades
Nazis have been the prevailing villains over the course of the franchise beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark, so it’s only fitting, then, that Indy fights them again for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as the worst manifestations of evil and malice in the world. That they’re hiding in plain sight with Voller working for American interests as part of NASA conveys the insidious way that evil changes shape over the decades. Some of the best episodes of the Young Indiana Jones series on Disney+ outline his teenage exploits in WWI, as well as why he hates Nazis so much in the first place.
4 Indiana Jones Fell In Love With Marion & Became Mutt’s Father
Indiana Jones met Marion prior to the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark as a young archeologist who accompanied her father on several digs, but they didn’t consummate their relationship until after she joined him in the search for the Ark of the Covenant. Jones was shocked to find out that she’d had their son, Mutt Williams (Shia LeBouef) in secret while searching for the Crystal Skull of Akator, and discovering he had a family inspired Indy to finally marry Marion after their decades-long romance. Based on everything we know about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Mutt won’t be returning but Marion may make a cameo.
3 Indiana Jones’ Father Died After The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones had a tempestuous relationship with his father who, while a great mentor and educator during Indy’s childhood, was more of an absentee father. Henry Jones Sr. was a serious-minded and religious man who didn’t approve of his son’s reckless need for adventure, though he began to see the appeal of it when he joined him in pursuit of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Sadly, he passed away sometime after that despite drinking from the Cup of Christ, and his presence is sorely missed by Indy fans.
2 Marcus Brody Died After The Last Crusade
One of Indy’s oldest friends and mentors Marcus Brody joined Henry Jones Sr. in passing away after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but a fine statue of him was erected in front of Marshall College. Though he was often a source of comic relief on Indy’s adventures thanks to his British fastidiousness, Indy wouldn’t have been able to see half the sights (and sites) he did without Marcus’s influence and commitment to funding. Fortunately, he made sure that Indy was taken care of before he went on the ultimate adventure himself.
1 Indiana Jones Hasn’t Seen Sallah Since The Last Crusade
A friendly face fans are looking forward to seeing will be Sallah’s, who hasn’t been part of Indy’s adventures since his last appearance in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. One of Egypt’s most famous diggers and a loyal friend to Indy, he punched Nazis, shot treasure hunters, and made sure Indy didn’t accidentally poison himself. Including his character, who’s been there since the beginning of the franchise, is one of the many reasons why Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is going to feel like its natural and fitting conclusion.
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This story originally appeared on Screenrant
