A reason I think Young Indy failed is because Indy is shown in a different light than the Indy in the films. What I mean is: for example, we never see Indy (in the films) interact with women outside of an adventure--they always come as part of the adventure and are thrust along for the ride, whereas in the Young Indy series he meets them like any guy would normally. We don't see how Indy indulged in social settings outside of his adventures, when he's Dr. Henry Jones Jr. and not Indiana Jones, whereas we do in Young Indy. What I'm saying is we see a completely different side only hinted at in the movies;
Many claim that the Indy in the AoYIJ is not Indy, that the way he acts is incongrous with the older character as portrayed by Harrison. I would say that is a half truth.
It is my opinion that Indiana Jones and Henry Jones, Jr. are two distinct identities. Think of how different Clark Kent and Superman are. Kent is a dorky, naive, nervous, nerdy guy; quite boring. Superman is a bad-ass and is handsome and charming, the kind of hero women love and men want to be. Indy and Henry are the same. They are two distinct identities in one man, and his part time job as a college professor is a cover for his other identity in the way that Superman works during the day as Clark Kent to hide his ''true'' identity.
Henry Jones, Jr. is, by his 30s, a mild mannerd,seemingly unassuming ivy league professor. His quite conservatively dressed, in a bow tie and glasses. His hair is neat, his face cleanshaven and somehow his young female students find him appealing.
Indiana Jones is a two-fisted, treasure hunter and gun fighter, who will at times work as a mercenary recovering ancient goods and is not neat: He wears a leather jacket and khaki pants and almost always has a week's worth of stubble by the time his adventure is through.
I believe that Junior, if you will, created this identity as a way of unconciously rebelling from his father. He eventually became everything his father was not: a man of action, a man who would destroy ancient tombs to find the object he was seeking, whereas his father would care more about the destruction of an ancient vase than the damage it did to his son's head. They are alike in one key way, however: They value the past.
Indy ran away from home at 16, and joined the revolution as an act of rebellion from his father. His spirit, as we've seen in the younger adventures, was adventurous, and while he may seem like a ''wussy'', it takes a brave man to go into the trenches and witness the horrors of WWI and come out as unscathed as he did.
Many decry that Indy's character in YIJC (saying it ''belongs in a museum'') is incongrous with ToD Indy, who lives for fortune and glory. However, I would say that ToD's Indy is incongrous with the rest of the series: In 1912 (as shown in LC), Indy believed it belonged in a museum, and flashfoward to 1938and he felt the same way. Somewhere between that time and 1935 he began to feel that these objects were worth nothing more than money. I believe it may have been because of his experiences in WWI.
Seeing the horrors he saw in that war may have led him to feel (even subconciously) that the past (represented by the artifacts he would search for) was meaningless except as a use for money and that the present and future was what mattered. I'm not a psychology expert, but I'd imagine that cynicism began to well up in Indy after WWI. After witnessing so much death, the ''magic'' of these artifacts wore off, and he decided that if he was going to search for these artifacts, he might as well make some money.
Indy would still love archeology, and ancient artifacts would become a good source of revenue for himself (especially during the Depression) and for the museum.
But after witnessing the supernatural events of ToD, something clicked in Indy. These relics were indeed much more important than simply as a source of extra money. IMO, the Sanakara Stones in ToD were the first supernatural artifacts he collected.
Many claim that the Indy in the AoYIJ is not Indy, that the way he acts is incongrous with the older character as portrayed by Harrison. I would say that is a half truth.
It is my opinion that Indiana Jones and Henry Jones, Jr. are two distinct identities. Think of how different Clark Kent and Superman are. Kent is a dorky, naive, nervous, nerdy guy; quite boring. Superman is a bad-ass and is handsome and charming, the kind of hero women love and men want to be. Indy and Henry are the same. They are two distinct identities in one man, and his part time job as a college professor is a cover for his other identity in the way that Superman works during the day as Clark Kent to hide his ''true'' identity.
Henry Jones, Jr. is, by his 30s, a mild mannerd,seemingly unassuming ivy league professor. His quite conservatively dressed, in a bow tie and glasses. His hair is neat, his face cleanshaven and somehow his young female students find him appealing.
Indiana Jones is a two-fisted, treasure hunter and gun fighter, who will at times work as a mercenary recovering ancient goods and is not neat: He wears a leather jacket and khaki pants and almost always has a week's worth of stubble by the time his adventure is through.
I believe that Junior, if you will, created this identity as a way of unconciously rebelling from his father. He eventually became everything his father was not: a man of action, a man who would destroy ancient tombs to find the object he was seeking, whereas his father would care more about the destruction of an ancient vase than the damage it did to his son's head. They are alike in one key way, however: They value the past.
Indy ran away from home at 16, and joined the revolution as an act of rebellion from his father. His spirit, as we've seen in the younger adventures, was adventurous, and while he may seem like a ''wussy'', it takes a brave man to go into the trenches and witness the horrors of WWI and come out as unscathed as he did.
Many decry that Indy's character in YIJC (saying it ''belongs in a museum'') is incongrous with ToD Indy, who lives for fortune and glory. However, I would say that ToD's Indy is incongrous with the rest of the series: In 1912 (as shown in LC), Indy believed it belonged in a museum, and flashfoward to 1938and he felt the same way. Somewhere between that time and 1935 he began to feel that these objects were worth nothing more than money. I believe it may have been because of his experiences in WWI.
Seeing the horrors he saw in that war may have led him to feel (even subconciously) that the past (represented by the artifacts he would search for) was meaningless except as a use for money and that the present and future was what mattered. I'm not a psychology expert, but I'd imagine that cynicism began to well up in Indy after WWI. After witnessing so much death, the ''magic'' of these artifacts wore off, and he decided that if he was going to search for these artifacts, he might as well make some money.
Indy would still love archeology, and ancient artifacts would become a good source of revenue for himself (especially during the Depression) and for the museum.
But after witnessing the supernatural events of ToD, something clicked in Indy. These relics were indeed much more important than simply as a source of extra money. IMO, the Sanakara Stones in ToD were the first supernatural artifacts he collected.