After 15 years, the life and times of Indiana Jones is expanded at last in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which takes the immortal archaeologist’s adventures up to 1969. While the individual quality of the five films that make up the franchises may vary, the fact that the series spans so many decades of Indy’s existence ensures that he’s one of the most lived-in cinematic heroes of all time.
After debuting in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark and returning in 1984’s The Temple of Doom, it was 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade that fully embraced Indy’s status as a legend. A legend in need of a more fleshed-out backstory, to be precise, as the third and — as it was originally intended — final outing for the character offers so much in the way of details on Indy’s origins, his past, and what turned him into the Indy we know and love in the first place.
Let’s run through everything The Last Crusade taught us about Indy.
Indy was a Boy Scout
The very first thing we learn about Indy’s origins in the opening scene of The Last Crusade is that the future archaeologist was once a Boy Scout. This is a perfect revelation, as it contrasts with Indy’s grizzled older self yet speaks to his core good nature, but it also has a deeper meaning. Specifically, Young Indy is a Life Scout, the same rank that Harrison Ford reached in his own youth.
How he became terrified of snakes
At the beginning of the Boy Scout scene, Indy berates his friend for being scared of a measly snake while they are spying on the treasure hunters swiping the Cross of Coronado. This comes as a shock given Adult Indy’s well-known fear of the creatures. We soon find out how he came to change his mind, though, as his escape from the angry looters leads to a chase through a circus train. At one point, Indy falls into a crate of snakes. Upon feeling them slithering all over his body, Indy screams and his famous phobia is born.
Where he acquired his skill with a whip
This circus train chase sequence also sees Indy end up trapped in a carriage with a lion. Indy picks up a lion tamer’s whip and uses it to subdue and repel the lion. Clearly, the young Jones Jnr. realized just how handy and versatile a weapon a whip could be in this instance and eventually made it his go-to accessory. In real life, co-creator George Lucas was inspired to give Indy a whip as a homage to the character of Zorro.
How he got the scar on his chin
When using the whip to scare away the lion, Indy is initially a little overzealous and cuts his own chin, thereby leaving us to infer that this is how he got the distinctive scar on his chin. In actuality, Ford acquired his scar in what he’s since called a “real mundane way,” but which still sounds pretty frightening. A young Ford was driving to work at a department store when he careened into a telephone booth and hit his face on the steeling wheel (this is before cars had airbags).
How he got his famous hat
Boy, this was one fateful afternoon in Indy’s life, huh? The last iconic element of his character that falls into place in Last Crusade‘s opening sequence is the question of how he got his fedora. Although Indy fails to keep the cross out of their hands, one of the treasure hunters admires his courage and affectionately leaves the boy with his hat. Despite his antagonistic relationship with his guy, Indy clearly thought the headgear suited him and kept it for the remainder of his life.
Archaeology runs in his veins
The most significant revelation about Indy’s backstory in the third movie, though, has to be the introduction of Dr. Henry Jones Sr., Indy’s fellow archaeologist father. Unlike his son, however, Henry is not one for adventure and has spent much of his life researching the legend of the Holy Grail. He’s so obsessive about it, in fact, that Indy developed a chip on his shoulder against his father for spending so much time working and not with him. Perhaps he became an archaeologist in the first place in a bid to impress his dad?
His mother died when he was young
The other reason for Indy’s strained relationship with his dad is the fact that his mother died when he was a boy. In the film, Indy and Henry finally open up about the loss of their wife/mother during the Berlin zeppelin sequence. Henry admits that his wife knew how invested in his work he was and so kept her “illness” from him. Though it’s not specified in the film, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles reveal that Anna Mary Jones died of Scarlet Fever.
He can speak Latin
Indy might be a man of action, but he’s also hit the books just as hard as his dad in his time. The similarity between the two Joneses is showcased when Indy is tasked with navigating his way through the cave to reach the Holy Grail at the film’s end. At one point, Indy must make his way across a treacherous path by only stepping on the stones that spell out the name of God — Jehovah. Both the dying Henry and Indy independently realize that, in Latin, Jehovah starts with an I.
His real name
The Last Crusade brings things full circle by squeezing in one more revelation about Indy in its final scene, both its most important and its funniest. I’ll come to the funny part in a moment, but first of all when Sallah questions why Henry keeps calling his son “Junior,” Henry explains that his real name is “Henry Jones Jr.” The oddness of Indiana’s first name had never been called into question before, so learning it was just a self-styled nickname provided a satisfying answer to something we didn’t know we needed answered.
Indiana was his dog’s name
But where did Indiana get his nickname from? Yes, in a line ingrained in the brains of fans everywhere, he’s named after the dog. Indy’s beloved pet is glimpsed in Last Crusade‘s opening scene, with Adult Indy explaining at the end that he has a lot of “fond memories” of his childhood pooch. So much so that he apparently named himself after the dog. Weird flex, but OK. Funnily enough, this trick would be unknowingly repeated by his son, Henry Jones III, who goes by the very canine name “Mutt.”
