Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones is the titular main protagonist of the film series of the same name. He is a mix of archeologist and adventurer who seeks out rare and exotic finds from across the world while also battling to keep such artifacts falling into the hands of an assortment of villains who would use them for nefarious goals - he is most famous for his fedora and bullwhip.

History
A native of Princeton, New Jersey, Indiana Jones was introduced in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, set in 1936. The character is an adventurer reminiscent of the 1930s film serial treasure hunters and pulp action heroes, whose research is funded by Marshall College (named after producer Frank Marshall), a fictional college in Connecticut, where he is a professor of archaeology.

In this first adventure, he is pitted against the Nazis, traveling the world to prevent them from recovering the Ark of the Covenant (see also Biblical archaeology). He is aided by Marion Ravenwood and Sallah. The Nazis are led by Jones's archrival, a Nazi-sympathizing French archaeologist named René Belloq, and Arnold Toht, a sinister Gestapo agent.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Set in 1935, Jones travels to India and attempts to free enslaved children and the three Sankara stones from the bloodthirsty Thuggee cult. He is aided by Short Round, a young boy, and is accompanied by singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw).

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Set in 1938, returned to the formula of the original, reintroducing characters such as Sallah and Marcus Brody, a scene from Professor Jones's classroom (he now teaches at Barnett College), the globe trotting element of multiple locations, and the return of the infamous Nazi mystics, this time trying to find the Holy Grail. The film's introduction, set in 1912, provided some back story to the character, specifically the origin of his fear of snakes, his use of a bullwhip, the scar on his chin, and his hat; the film's epilogue also reveals that "Indiana" is not Jones's first name, but a nickname he took from the family dog.

The film was a buddy movie of sorts, teaming Jones with his father, often to comical effect. Although Lucas intended to make five Indiana Jones films, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was the last for over eighteen years, as he could not think of a good plot element to drive the next installment.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Set in 1957, 21 years after the third film, it pits an older, wiser Indiana Jones against Soviet agents bent on harnessing the power of a crystal skull associated with extraterrestrials discovered in South America by his former colleague Harold Oxley. Jones is aided in his adventure by his former lover, Marion Ravenwood, and her son—a young greaser named Henry "Mutt" Williams, later revealed to be Jones's biological child, Henry Jones III.

There were rumors that Harrison Ford will not return for any future installments and LaBeouf will take over the Indy franchise. This film also reveals that Jones was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (a predecessor department to the Central Intelligence Agency) during World War II, attaining the rank of Colonel in the United States Army and running covert operations with MI6 agent George McHale on the Soviet Union.

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles
Indiana Jones also appeared in canonical The Young Indiana Jones, TV series which which ran on ABC from 1992 to 1993 that revealing adventures that Jones had in his younger days. Here, it's revealed that his adventures led to his interaction with various historical figures and involvement in important events of the early 20th century, which all of them are not shown in the film series.

Jones' lifetime of adventures eventually took its toll: he sustained a wound to one eye, and was forced to walk with a cane during his 90's. By the early 1990s, he was living in the New York City area with his daughter and grandchildren.

Similar Heroes

 * Rick "O" Connell (The Mummy series)
 * Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)
 * Daring Do (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)
 * Han Solo (Star Wars series)
 * Ben Gates (National Treasure)
 * Nathan Drake (Uncharted series)

Trivia

 * He also has Ophidiophobia, which is a fear of snakes.