"Do you know how many medals this *** won?"

IAdventurer01

Well-known member
In an attempt to create a thread about Indy IV that isn't "I loved it!" "I hate it!" "You're stupid for your opinion!" I pose this question:

What do you think Indy did during WWII?

It's something I had never really thought of before seeing the movie. I'd have a hard time imagining him as a "double agent" for too long, seeing as he should probably be on Nazi most wanted lists everywhere for all the damage he's done. :gun:
 

jg23

Member
Indy was a damn good spy during WWI...so i'd imagine he created just as much havoc for the Germans during WWII.
 

eroc

New member
What a great question. That is definitely something worthwhile to ponder. How do you think he felt going "back in the lion's den", as a double-agent? Maybe he volunteered for that one. "Hey guys, I've infiltrated the Nazi ranks wearing a Nazi uniform twice before. I got this."
 

Crusade>Raiders

New member
Hey, once you met Hitler face-to-face and have the autograph to prove it, I think he automatically gets the job as a spy. I do kinda wonder how Mac and him did out in Germany, I'm sure his face was on every "Most Wanted" list in the country.
 

Little Indy

New member
Yes very good question. I've been thinking about this one too. I like to think he was involved in commando type infiltration missions, then once getting behind enemy lines assuming a false identity. I would love to see, if they ever made a movie, Indy finally getting to parachute out of a plane. He's done everythig esle in one, so why not.
 

Gamingboy

New member
I remember from the Secret Journal that he took part in the D-day invasion, and ended the war near Flensburg (which was the last place that Nazi command used as a headquarters. See here.)

I also seem to recall a mention of the Enigma machine during Crystal Skull, but I might be getting that mixed up with something else.
 

Lance Quazar

Well-known member
One of the OTHER things I hated about Crystal Skull - the references to Indy's war years.

The fact that he worked as an undercover spy in German during the war is awful.

But more egregious is the suggestion he and Mac "spied on the Reds" at some point after the war! And quite a bit, from the dialogue.

Huh? Didn't he have, like, a life and career to get back to. He's not friggin James Bond, he's Indiana Jones!!!

Morons. Sheesh.
 

DocWhiskey

Well-known member
Yeah but Indy's had tons of adventures prior to WW2. He's an experienced guy when it comes to danger and action. So why not put him to good use in the Military.
 

James

Well-known member
I don't think the comments were meant to be taken at face value. After all, Indy essentially worked as a government spy in ROTLA.

According to Lucas, the general idea is that he performed similar work during the war. Far from being James Bond, he would've been attempting to retrieve further artifacts from the Nazis.
 

Dewy9

New member
I assumed that Indy worked like a consultant for the army. They have the occasional special thing they need him to do and he'll do it.
 

emtiem

Well-known member
Lance Quazar said:
The fact that he worked as an undercover spy in German during the war is awful.

But more egregious is the suggestion he and Mac "spied on the Reds" at some point after the war! And quite a bit, from the dialogue.

Huh? Didn't he have, like, a life and career to get back to. He's not friggin James Bond, he's Indiana Jones!!!

Look at Raiders- he's less trying to find an archelogical prize in the Ark than preventing the Nazis from getting their hands on an uber weapon. He pretty much is James Bond; he just has a special subject.
 

The Drifter

New member
He was kicked outta the Army.
Something about how they put him on mine-sweeping duty, and he kept trying to find buried treasure with the equipment.
 

WilliamBoyd8

Active member
Somehow I always thought that he would have ended up
identifying archaeological treasures stolen by the Nazis from
European museums.

:)
 

Quickening

New member
Yeah, I'm amongst those who doesn't like the idea of Indiana Jones as a soldier. I think his outlook on life would be far too philosophical than to side with anyone in a conflict like that and I just can't see him at the beach landings at all. To me it's pretty much at odds with the character we know from the trilogy and especially the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Giver and taker of life anyone?

But to answer the question, I'd imagine that Lucas had in mind that as others have suggested he'd be up to his World War One antics again.
 

Kevin

Member
Indy is an American patriot, he would have served his country in WW2 without question. His knowledge of history and languages would make him a perfect candidate for an intelligence officer.

However, Indiana Jones was a world-renowned archeologist. Heck, Chattar Lal recognized his name almost immediately. As such, I do not feel that he would have been a "behind the lines" sort of operative. As has been mentioned, he has killed so many Nazis by 1939 that his face must have been plastered all over Germany. The Gestapo may have even had people out looking to kill him. What Nazi is going to fall for it when Indy shows up in Germany undercover? My thought is that Indy would have been attached to Army Intelligence, but stationed Stateside or in England, analyzing information and decoding German communiques with Eaton and Musgrove. He might have occasionally been sent to recover artifacts whilst racing against the Nazis, ala ROTLA and TLC, but for actual behind-the-lines operations and commando work, Indy was too well-known, and frankly, too old.

I also agree with Lance that after the war was over, Indy would have returned to academia and archeology, not continued to "spy on the Reds." However, Indy as a post-war spy is at least a little more plausible, because he could have been stationed in Berlin, ostensibly as an archeologist or academic, while secretly gathering info on the Commies for the US govt.
 

Indy_Forever

New member
Spy

I believe he must've been a spy as i'd say he's better as a spy than a gunman. And he was excellent in WW1. So he must've been a spy in WW2
 

Indy86

New member
I think it's an interesting question. Last thing I know from the books is that Indy was in Belgium in the Legacy of Avalon in 1940 but in 1943 he was searching for the Lost People in America.

Maybe in some way, Indy sort of did the same kind of work the O' Connells did in The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Work for the government. Do I consider Indy as a soldier? Maybe not in the traditional sense as in actually going into battle or be at the landings in Normandy. I think his reputation as archaeologist and the findings of the Ark and the Grail and other things showed how valuable he could be in the war.

If I think about it, I can imagine the officials offering him jobs under the rank of Colonel and allowing him to help think out and participate in operations like in ROTLA, even though he wasn't happy about how it ended that time. But if it involves archaeology, I can see him become a spy. And even if he was well in those forties by then like I think most colonels and generals, I think he still saw plenty of action during those days.

What do we actually understand under 'spying'? The well-being of historical sites that are about to be bombed? Maybe he was a Monuments Man.

I think it also depends when he became a spy. The Lost People is set in 1943. Maybe he was just a spy in the final years of the war until the Infernal Machine or the Air Force fiasco in 1947. Those are still four years for spying.
 
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