Why Indiana Jones Is Actually The Villain Of The Franchise

Indiana Jones is a professor of archaeology, an expert on the occult, an obtainer of rare antiquities, and — how does one say it — a bad guy? The "Indiana Jones" films are cinematic thrill rides full of iconic movie moments starring an equally iconic "hero" who is anything but a knight in shining armor. In fact, he's as likely to steal that armor and sell it to a museum as he is to do a good deed in it.

Inspired by the action-adventure serials of the 1930s, Indy was first brought to life in 1981's "Raiders of the Lost Ark" by George Lucas, Stephen Spielberg, and Lawrence Kasdan. While Indy punches Nazis with aplomb and saves the day as much as he saves history, he's also a selfish jerk, a sloppy thief, a callous partner, a cynical professor, a total heartbreaker, a menace to public markets — we could go on, at length. And, just like the mine cart chase in "Temple of Doom," we will.

But before you crack the nearest bull-whip in fury, know that while Indiana Jones might be a baddie, he is a beloved one. So take the leap, pierce the veil of nostalgia and peer into the cavern of truth. Read on to discover why Indy is the villain of his own film franchise — and why that might not necessarily be a bad thing.

If anyone recognizes the villainous qualities in Indiana Jones, it's the main antagonist of "Raider of the Lost Ark," Dr. René Belloq. They're both in the artifact-selling business, even if Belloq manages more black-market deals than Indy. The film implies that Indy was once devoted to his thirst for knowledge. He had a sense of historical stewardship that he satisfied with archaeology, but now, he is a lot closer to Belloq than he would care to admit.

"Archaeology is our religion, yet we have both fallen from the purer faith," Belloq tells Indy. "Our methods have not differed as much as you pretend. I am a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me, to push you out of the light." What makes Belloq's speech so horrible is how true it is. Even though Indy is obsessed with retrieving the Ark and wants it to end up in a museum, he lacks any apparent deeper desire to understand it. It could just be the nuance of Paul Freeman's performance, but Belloq seems reverent of the Ark. He seems to treat working for Hitler as a means to an end to finally behold the "radio for speaking to God."

Of course, Belloq literally melts his own face off when he does use the Ark. Still, it's remarkable how much belief and conviction he has compared to Indy in "Raiders." Indy fights Nazis incidentally, not ideologically — he punches any face in between him and his quarry, with no particular passion behind his actions. Belloq sees this, and he sees that Indy is entering his villain era.

Indiana Jones is obsessed with hunting down artifacts, and he doesn't care what stands in his way — even when he should. Indy is initially so focused on attaining "fortune and glory" via glorified grave-robbing that he engages in sloppy and selfish archaeological practices. Indy regularly (and callously) threatens present life and precious history all around him, all for the sake of his quests.

First up, the human price of villainous focus: Indy passes on an opportunity to rescue Marion from Belloq in "Raiders" because he thinks doing so will mess up his chances at getting the Ark. "Dial of Destiny" reexamines a lot of Indy's past misdeeds, but also shows that bad habits die hard. Instead of going to rescue young Teddy, Indy tells Helena that Schmidt and his goons won't hurt Teddy, and that they'll just use him to get to Archimedes' tomb — so instead of saving the kid, Indy and Helena go for the gold.

Indy also flies by the seat of his khaki pants when it comes to entering and escaping the graves he robs. He uses corpses as torchlights, regularly destroys his archaeological sites, and he can't keep a skeleton intact to save his life — unless he's restoring the skull of a possible alien overlord, that is. When Indy keeps his eyes only on the prize, his villainous tendencies are on full display.

Indiana Jones isn't above cutting ties with friends and colleagues after he's gotten what he needs from them — at least, until they become useful again. Perhaps the most obvious example is Indy inexplicably abandoning his little buddy Short Round (Ke Huy Quan), never to be seen again (not including offscreen comic book appearances).

Indy drops contact with his father, only to reunite with him for a job in "Last Crusade." He ignores the letters of his fellow archaeologist Baz Shaw in "Dial of Destiny," finding Baz's obsessive correspondence about the dial obnoxious and off-putting. By ignoring Baz, Indy also cuts off his relationship with his goddaughter Wombat at a young age — only to meet her again, many years later, after Baz is dead and gone.

Only after Indy and Helena start hunting for the dial does he realize that his old friend's letters weren't mad ramblings, but — much like his father's journals and the walls of Harold Oxley's cell in "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" — directions to discover a precious truth. A villain often thinks he knows best. Indiana Jones does exactly that, but, unlike most villains, Indy eventually learns that acting like he alone knows best comes at too high a price.

If you run a market stall in a country with precious relics, Indiana Jones is not your friend. In fact, he's your worst enemy. No melon cart is safe from this man. No woven basket can escape intact. No tower of oranges will meet Indiana Jones and live to tell the tale. And his destructive streak doesn't stop there.

If there is a military vehicle or quaint tourist boat anywhere near Indiana Jones and he's in the middle of a quest, chances are that vehicle will be thoroughly destroyed within the hour. Should your local library, church, or library-church contain the secret tomb of a knight with an artifact clutched to his decaying breast? We're sorry. Start the fundraiser for a new one now.

Tanks, planes, temples, subways, horses, camels, the ocean floor, circus trains, plunder trains, mining trains, and — quite possibly — alien ships. If wrecking it gets Indy an inch closer to where he needs to be, he won't think twice about it. This list is far from complete, but it's enough to show that this archaeologist doesn't care about anyone else's property.

"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" is a turning point for our villainous hero, and for the Indiana Jones franchise. On one hand, the film is a damning display of the outright racism, exoticism, and misogyny that mainstream popcorn cinema could get away with in 1984. On the other, "Temple" helped give Indiana Jones back his heart — even if it had to rip out a few more in the process.

"Temple" is the second movie in the franchise, but it's set before the events of "Raiders." While the film itself is culturally insensitive to the max, Indy as a character is not. In this film, he learns the languages and customs of the communities he's working with. He returns their stolen artifacts to them rather than sending them off to gather dust in a Western museum. And, most importantly, the movie shows that, when push comes to shove, Indy cares more about saving kids and other innocents than he does about fortune and glory.

Indy may be the "hero" of "Raiders," but in "Temple" he becomes truly heroic — even if (especially if) he didn't set out to be. "Temple" also starts a tradition of evolving the closed-off, cruel character of Indiana Jones presented in "Raiders." This revisionist history allows room for a more heartfelt and heroic Indiana Jones. The result makes Indy a much more relatable character, even if he does become somewhat embittered and cynical between the events of "Temple" and "Raiders."

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" came out in 2008, 19 years after "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." The titular character has changed over the course of almost two decades, and he's grown a whole lot more by the time the credits roll on the fourth installment in the franchise. He's more comfortable teaching, he's pretty much blown up Area 51, he's survived a little nuclear attack, he's discovered he's a father and gotten back together with Marion. Aside from the whole nuke survival thing, he seems almost average, with way fewer villainous tendencies than he had in years gone by.

These are the kinds of changes that come with age. When FBI interest causes a shake-up at work, Indy's colleague Charles Stanforth (Jim Broadbent) advises that the FBI has put him on a paid leave of absence. Indy shoots his mouth off, disgusted by the offer of the FBI's money — until he learns that in order to get such a pay-off, Stanforth resigned from his own beloved job. Indy softens, and further bonds with Stanforth while looking at photos of his father and Marcus Brody. "We seem to have reached the age where life stops giving us things and starts taking them away," Stanforth says. Indy's sad look says it all — his concern is not for fortune and glory anymore, but for other treasures entirely.