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Episode Studies by Clayton Barr

enik1138
-at-popapostle-dot-com

Indiana Jones: Gateway to Infinity Indiana Jones
"Gateway to Infinity"
The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones
#4
Marvel Comics
Plot/Script: David Michelinie
Pencils: Ron Frenz
Inks: Danny Bulanadi
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Bob Sharen
Cover: Ron Frenz and Mike Gustovich
April 1983


Indy goes on loan to the British government to study an ancient crystal cylinder found inside a broken Stonehenge sarsen stone.

 

Notes from the Indiana Jones chronology

 

This issue takes place in 1936.

 

Notes from The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones

 

The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones is a 2008 publication that purports to be Indy's journal as seen throughout The Young Indiana Chronicles TV series and the big screen Indiana Jones movies. The publication is also annotated with notes from a functionary of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation, the successor agency of the Soviet Union's KGB security agency. The KGB relieved Indy of his journal in 1957 during the events of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The notations imply the journal was released to other governments by the FSB in the early 21st Century. However, some bookend segments of The Young Indiana Chronicles depict Old Indy still in possession of the journal in 1992. The discrepancy has never been resolved. 

 

The journal as published does not mention the events of this issue, going from the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1936 to Indy's recovery of the Cross of Coronado in 1938 in The Last Crusade.

 

Characters appearing or mentioned in this issue

 

Arnold 'Smitty' Smith/Schmidt

Indiana Jones

Major Temple

British government officials

British scientists

Professor Karen Mays

German radio operator

Hauptman Emil Loeb

Adolph Hitler (mentioned only)

restaurant host

restaurant patrons

waiter

Leutnant Nebbel

German soldiers

high society couple

Meddings

 

Didja Notice?

 

The twin-engine Grumman that flies Indy across the Atlantic to England has registration CE3K on the fuselage. These letters are a common abbreviation of the 1977 Steven Spielberg film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and of the third type of "close encounter" experience of the UFO phenomenon in which the experiencer makes "contact" with an alien being (from which the movie draws its title). This would not have been a legitimate airplane registration number for the time, as it should be letters only and be in the format of A-BCDE. Grumman was an aircraft and aerospace manufacturer from 1929-1994, now part of Northrop Grumman.

 

To escape the falling plane, Indy must "unlock" the cargo hold door with his Smith & Wesson. Indy often carries a sidearm during his quests, usually a Smith & Wesson M1917 or Webley revolver.

 

Surviving his dive from the plane into the Atlantic Ocean, Indy jokingly thinks about trying out for the Munich Olympics. He must mean the Berlin, Germany Olympics, which took place August 1-16 of 1936. The Olympics would not be held in Munich, Germany until 1972.

 

On page 5, Indy identifies the ship that rescues him from the water as being from the (British) Royal Navy. But the flag seen flying near the ship's smokestack has two white diagonals on a red background...which is the flag of Gascony during various periods from the 12th-15th centuries!

 

On page 6, Indy is informed that the British "Gateway Project" is related to Stonehenge and Indy remarks that Aubrey, Stukely, and others have postulated that Stonehenge was related to Druid god worship around 1500 BC. This is very roughly true of John Aubrey (1626-1697) and William Stukely (1687-1765), both English antiquarians. Indy previously had adventures centered around Stonehenge in Circle of Death and Dance of the Giants.

 

In the Indiana Jones universe, one of the stone blocks of Stonehenge was toppled by an electrical storm "a few days ago", splitting the stone and revealing a crystal cylinder about a foot long inside.

 

Learning that Nazi Germany is interested in obtaining the crystal cylinder "by any means necessary", Indy remarks that Uncle Sam forgot to mention he'd be putting his life on the line. Uncle Sam is a common personification of the United States government.

 

On page 7, Professor Karen Mays tells Indy she knows a marvelous little French restaurant in Tottenham. Tottenham is a town in the London borough of Haringey.

 

Hauptman Emil Loeb is introduced on page 7. Hauptman is German for "captain".

 

Loeb mentions that der Fuhrer (Germany's leader, Adolph Hitler) still bristles at the mention of the lost Ark affair, and particularly at Indiana Jones' participation in it. This refers to the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

 

Karen tells Indy that she very much enjoyed his paper on the Viking relics he uncovered at the Coolay digs, especially after Forrestal had already determined them to be barren. Vikings were Scandinavian warriors and seafarers in the 8th to 11th Centuries. They are known to have conquered many areas of England in their time. As far as I can find, the "Coolay digs" are fictitious. Forrestal is mentioned as an archaeologist competitor of Indy's in several other stories and was found dead by Indy in the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

 

On page 8, the waiter at the French restaurant brings Indy and Karen le potage..."the soup."

 

In an attempt to seduce her, Indy tells Karen he's always been fascinated with things uniquely British like Tudor history, Oxford regatta, and beautiful female language experts. "Tudor history" refers to the Tudor dynasty in England, the reign of the House of Tudor from 1485-1603 of Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. "Oxford regatta" refers to a number of rowing regattas held by the clubs of Oxford University.

 

On page 9, Indy finds a dead fly in his soup and, smelling the steaming bowl, realizes it has been laced with prussiate acid. This is a ferrocyanide, less toxic than many other cyanides, but still not safe to ingest.

 

Indy's use of the phrase "Herr Goosestep" on page 9 presumably refers to the leader of Germany, Adolph Hitler.

 

As Indy and Karen walk through London on page 10 after buying fish and chips from a sidewalk stand, what appears to be Big Ben, the Great Clock of Westminster, is seen in the background.

 

Karen tells Indy that the British scientists have analyzed the stone that surrounded the crystal cylinder and found that it dates from the Triassic Period, long before humans ever walked the Earth. The Triassic Period lasted from 252-201 million years ago.

 

On page 13, Indy refers to the lead German ambusher as Fritz. "Fritz" was a common derogative nickname given to German troops in the WWI through WWII years.

 

As Indy and Karen dash into the London Underground in an attempt to elude the Germans, Indy exclaims that they'll be sitting ducks waiting for the Kensington local. Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

 

On page 18, Loeb shouts to his men, "Schnell!" This is German for "Fast!"

 

On page 19, Indy tells Karen he worked a dig in Montreal a few years back where a subway construction crew had uncovered a Seneca burial ground, and so he learned a lot about the Senecas and about subways. The Seneca are a group of indigenous people who have historically lived in the Lake Ontario region of North America.

 

Back on the surface streets, Indy steals a Rolls-Royce limousine from a high society couple and their chauffeur so he and Karen can escape the Germans.

 

At the end of the issue, the Rolls is hanging precariously by its rear bumper from a bridge over the River Thames, with Indy and Karen inside. The following issue, "The Harbingers", reveals that the bridge is London Bridge, the one that existed there from 1831–1967 (since replaced with a new bridge and the old one sold to American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch and deconstructed, shipped, and reconstructed over the Bridgewater Channel of Lake Havasu City, Arizona).

 

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