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Allies
Mutt Williams
Henry Walton Jones III (AKA Mutt Williams)
Played By: Shia Labeouf
Dubbed By: Alexis Tomassian (European French)
A high school dropout who is the illegitimate son of Marion Ravenwood and Indiana Jones. Mutt didn't even know who his biological father was until 1957, when he meets Indy for the first time and then joins him on the quest for the Crystal Skull of Akator.
- Action Duo: With Indy in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
- Badass Bookworm: Despite being a high school dropout he's learned quite a lot, especially under Indy's guidance.
- Berserk Button: See Momma's Boy. Also, don't touch his hair. Or his bike.
- Blade Enthusiast: He is very eager to use his switchblade whenever an opportunity presents itself.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Has a lovely habit of being repeatedly kicked out of prep schools, despite being an excellent student.
- Bus Crash: Dial reveals that he died in Vietnam, nearly driving Indy and Marion to divorce.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Mutt understandably gets furious when learning Indiana was his father, and he left Marion while the two were ostensibly together. While Marion explains that she didn't tell Indiana she was pregnant, Mutt doesn't understand why a man would abandon the woman he loves. As they're tied up in the back of a truck, he tells off Indiana for ordering him to go back to school when the guy hasn't even been a proper father.
- Chekhov's Skill: Mutt's reason for being kicked out of every school he went to is that he is such an accomplished swordsman he has made quite a handsome profit betting on himself in the inter-high fencing tournaments, and he proves just how fearsome a warrior he is in the Jungles of Peru, fighting experienced-swordswoman Irina Spalko to a standstill atop two speeding jeeps.
- Composite Character: Mutt is modeled on a combination of Jim Stark (James Dean) from Rebel Without a Cause; and Johnny Strabler, a biker played by Marlon Brando in The Wild One.
- Generation Xerox: Acquires a visible facial scar through his weapon, much like his father did on his chin with the whip. He even named himself Mutt. More tragically extends further in Dial of Destiny, where he enlisted in Vietnam like his father did in World War I, but did not survive his experience.
- Glass Cannon: While he's good with a sword, knife and any improvised weapon. His skills in hand to hand combat vary. He can take on any mook, but when faced in a hand to hand situation with Spalko, she wipes the floor with him.
- Greaser Delinquents: Intentionally presents himself as such, but has Hidden Depths.
- Heroic Bastard: When he was born, his REAL parents were most certainly NOT married.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Attempted. When Irina threatens his life to get Indiana to cooperate, Mutt stares her in the eye with a sword at his neck and tells Indiana not to give anything up.
- Hot-Blooded: He gets rather wound up on certain subjects.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mutt may be a rebellious young man with a penchant for getting into trouble, but it's clear he isn't a bad person by any stretch of the means, as shown by his close relationship with his mother.
- Luke, You Are My Father: Marion reveals that Indy is actually his biological father. Overlaps with Luke, I Am Your Father since neither party was aware of the relationship.
- Meaningful Name: "Mutt" is slang for a dog, hinting at his relationship with Indy, who took his own nickname from his childhood dog Indiana. More specifically, the term "mutt" often refers to a dog of mixed or uncertain breed, hinting at him being an illegitimate child unaware of his real father's identity.
- Moment Killer: For Indy and Marion. Of course, can he be blamed for not wanting to see his mum about to make-out? Particularly since he's only just learnt that Indy's actually his real father.
- Momma's Boy: Say anything remotely resembling an insult about his mother and he'll jump to fight you. It's obvious they really care for each other. Heck, the plot is pretty much incited by Mutt wanting to find his mom and Ox!
- Nerves of Steel: The kid is tough, even when facing the other end of a sword and threatened with death.
- Never Bring a Gun to a Knife Fight: Mutt literally finds himself in this situation when confronted by some KGB operatives.
- Oh, Crap!: He has this reaction on learning that Irina was holding his mother hostage and is threatening her life.
- Reckless Sidekick: While far from incompetent, he at times forgets to pay attention.
Harold Oxley
Professor Harold Oxley
Played By: John Hurt
A British archaeology professor and an old friend of Indy who was driven insane due to prolonged exposure to the Crystal Skull.
- Affectionate Nickname: He's referred to as "Ox" by his friends.
- The Bore: Implied. When Indy tries getting him to remember who he is, one of the things he says is "you were never this interesting".
- Cloudcuckoo Lander: Prolonged exposure to the crystal skull drove Ox to the point of insanity, meaning he naturally had a few screws loose.
- Expy:
Word of God said that he was inspired by Ben Gunn from Treasure Island. - Mad Oracle: He recites all the instructions on how to get to where everyone's meant to go.
- Parental Substitute: He acted as Mutt's father figure during his childhood.
- Remember the New Guy?: He's been friends with Indy ever since the two of them were students under Marion's father, but he's never mentioned in any of the previous films. Possibly justified given the implication he is The Bore, there simply is nothing worth mentioning.
- Restoration of Sanity: After spending most of the movie as a barely comprehensible lunatic, the Crystal Skull being returned to the alien ship causes him to suddenly become somewhat sane again, with the end of the film showing that he's overall back to normal.
- Sanity Slippage: Looking into the eyes of the Crystal Skull for too long does that. It wears off once the alien ship leaves.
Charles Stanforth
Dean Charles Stanforth
Played By: Jim Broadbent
Indy's boss at Marshall College.
- Cool Old Guy: He's a sixtyish man who is supportive and friendly toward Indy and holds the Red Scare in contempt.
- Happily Married: He states that his wife was both panicky and proud upon hearing that he resigned rather than abet the Red Scare.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He defends Indy against accusations that he's a communist and is willing to sacrifice his own career to protect Indy's.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: He fills the late Marcus Brody's role as Indy's supportive, Non-Action Guy friend and superior.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Indy is seen teaching at Hunter College in Dial of Destiny with no word as to why he left Marshall or what became of Stanforth.
General Ross
General Robert "Bob" Ross
Played By: Alan Dale
Dubbed By: Marc Cassot (European French)
A World War II friend of Indy's who defends him against accusations that he's a communist after the Hangar 51 incident. Mac also claims that Ross is his handler and tasked him with infiltrating the KGB, but this is implied to be a lie.
- The Brigadier: Ross is a reasonable and influential general who looks like he's too old for active combat duty.
- Character Witness: Ross shows up when the FBI are accusing Indy of being a Communist spy to talk about how he's a trustworthy war hero and dedicated archeologist.
- Deadpan Snarker: He quips about refrigerators being death traps after learning that Indy hid inside of one to avoid an atomic blast.
- Friend on the Force: A Military variation for Indy.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He defends Indy against the accusations of being a Communist collaborator.
Enemies
George McHale
George "Mac" McHale
Played By: Ray Winstone
Indy's former friend, a British MI6 agent whom he knew from World War II, now working as a double agent for the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
- Death by Materialism: His greed is what ultimately did him in.
- Death Equals Redemption: For what it's worth, he regarded Indy as a friend to the very end, and let himself be dragged into oblivion so Indy wouldn't be dragged down with him.
- Fallen Hero: Did 20-30 missions with Indy for the Allies in World War II, then became a Soviet collaborator in the 50s.
- Fatal Flaw: Greed, he would rather ransack a tomb than escape it whilst it is being torn into another dimension, and he betrays his friend Indy just for a big payoff.
- The Gambling Addict: He implies that his reasons for betraying Indy for the Russians is financial, following a spot of "bad luck with the cards".
- Heel–Face Revolving DoorIndy: (exasperated) So, what are you, like a triple agent?!
Mac: No, I just lied about being a double. - I Did What I Had to Do: When trying to justify his actions to Indy, of course for him, he's just a greedy little bastard.
- Never Found the Body: Technically he doesn't die, instead disappearing into "the space between spaces". It is possible he didn't die at all.
- Remember the New Guy?: Averted. Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide reveals he and Indy didn't meet until 1939, one year after the third film.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Mac is essentially a replacement for Sallah; a Boisterous Bruiser side kick with a shady past. His character is introduced as if we already knew him from previous installments; a lot of dialog refers to his and Indy's previous adventures; and the audience is supposed be emotionally invested in his change of alignment from good to evil, even though we never actually get to know him first.
Irina Spalko
Colonel/Dr. Irina Spalko
Played By: Cate Blanchett
"How fortunate our failure to kill you, Dr. Jones. You survive to be of service to us once again."
A KGB agent who is leading a Soviet expedition to find the Crystal Skull of Akator.
- Affably Evil: Out of all of Indy's foes, she treats him with the most respect and as an equal. She is even the second playable character for the warehouse scene in the LEGO DS adaptation of the film. She also showed genuine horror and sadness at the death of Dovchenko, implying that she saw the fellow Colonel as a friend rather than just a tool. Could also be the horrifying manner of his death, too.
- Badass Bookworm: Unlike most villains in the franchise, Spalko does her own fighting and holds her own against Mutt. When the two get into a direct scrap, she is quite easily his superior.
- The Baroness: She's a perfect cross between both versions of the trope. Her personality leans more towards the Rosa Klebb than the sexpot, but she's clearly much younger and more attractive than your average Rosa Klebb.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Said to her by Indy.
- Big Bad: Of the fourth film, since her actions and theft of the alien corpse kick off the plot.
- Brainy Brunette: All in all, Spalko is an intelligent operative with brunette hair. Her intellectual prowess is displayed in the fact that she's a military colonel, KGB Agent and highly respected scientist, all by her mid 30's.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Mentally, she's a little "out there" compared to most other Indiana Jones villains.
- Colonel Badass: Kicks Mutt's ass in a straight-up fight and holds equal rank to Colonel Dovchenko as leader of the Soviet operation to find Akator.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Standard Indy fare; like the other villains in the series, Spalko is killed a direct result of attempting to exploit the film's resident MacGuffin. The aliens fill her brain with so much knowledge that it disintegrates her from the inside-out.
- Double Entendre: "You fight like a young man; eager to begin, quick to finish!"
- Emotionless Girl: She rarely outwardly shows any kind of emotion, rather appearing cool and almost impenetrable.
- Fatal Flaw: Gluttony, actually. She doesn't just crave knowledge, she craves all knowledge, even surpassing what she already knows or what her mind could possibly handle. It's this desire for excess that ultimately destroys her when the aliens' unfathomable knowledge overloads and fries her brain.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: More like Villains prefer swords, she is hardly seen without her smallsword on the belt and is a deadly fencer.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Her eyes are incredibly blue and incredibly unsettling when she's trying to 'read' Indy.
- I Know Karate: According to Cate Blanchett, Irina knows Shotokan-Ryu Karate to be exact. However, considering Irina's vocation as a Russian soldier, it's more likely to be the Soviet Military art of Sambo.
- Lady of War: Unlike most franchise villains, Spalko does most of her own fighting, and she's damn good at it too. Her trademark weapon is her trusty Royal Rapier.
- Large Ham: It's pretty clear Cate Blanchett is having a blast playing a bad girl with an Ukrainian accent, who always speaks with intensity.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Desired ultimate knowledge and to control the minds of people with the Crystal Skull. She winds up having her mind fried by the aliens when they grant her wish to know everything.
- Master Swordsman: She is noted by US intelligence as being a 'master of edged weapons'. Oh, and she can fence and beat her opponent whilst balancing on a moving vehicle.
- Ms. Fanservice: She may not dress in a traditionally sexy way but she does wear almost Painted-On Pants and also she's a Ukrainian dominatrix who can fence and is played by Cate Blanchett.
- My Skull Runneth Over: Her brain ignites after the aliens tell her everything.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Cate Blanchett's natural accent slips out from behind the Ukrainian one every so often, particularly when saying "Doctor Jones".
- Psychic Powers:
- Spalko believes she has psychic abilities and can read people's minds but the movie is fairly vague on whether she actually does or not as she is unable to read Indy's mind or communicate with the crystal skull. The Novelization on the other hand explores her (apparently real) abilities in more depth. She displays her telepathic ability to Mac (to chilling effect) and she finds the entrance to Akator through her own precognition, rather than via Mac's tracking beacons.
- Supplemental material for the movie says that she displayed some kind of psychic ability as a child, and was thought by the people of her small Ukrainian village to be a witch. At some point, her apparent talents caught the attention of the NKVD, and she eventually wound up working directly for Beriya and Stalin.
- Real Award, Fictional Character: In-Universe Spalko was the recipient of both the Order of Lenin
(three times!) and the Hero of Socialist Labour, both real medals and pretty much the highest distinctions that a civilian and member of the armed services could receive in the former Soviet Union. - Reality Is Unrealistic: Blanchett caught a lot of flak for her apparently unrealistic Russian accent. In point of fact, her Ukrainian accent (which is identified as such by Indy and confirmed as such in the supporting materials) was dead-on perfect.
- Royal Rapier: Her weapon, used with the skill of a Master Swordsman.
- Sci-Fi Bob Haircut: She sports her hair in this style, perhaps fittingly due to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull being an affectionate homage to the 50's sci-fi b-movie.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: Rarely raises her voice, which adds to the creepy effect.
- Tragic Villain: Her lust for knowledge leads to her destruction.
- Villainous Cheekbones: Cate Blanchett famously has very high and prominent cheekbones, so much so that they have inspired epic poetry.
- Villainous Friendship: If her reaction to his death is any indication, she seems to have genuinely liked Dovchenko.
- Weak, but Skilled: Being a thin woman she is not that physically strong, Indy and Mutt manhandle her with ease. But she is very nimble and her skills in hand to hand combat more than make up for it.
Antonin Dovchenko
Colonel Antonin Dovchenko
Played By: Igor Jijikine
A Soviet military officer who is serving as Spalko's right-hand man during the expedition.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: As the siafu ants begin feasting on and carrying him away, he screams for help in Russian several times.
- All There in the Manual: According to Crystal Skull's novelization, he has a crush on Spalko.
- Break the Haughty: He can kick Indy's ass, but is incredibly annoyed when he has to have the entire Jones Family hostage while they are arguing.
- Colonel Badass: He fights Indy and utterly kicks his butt due to their age difference.
- Devoured by the Horde: Having thousands of giant ants eat you from the inside out is never pleasant.
- The Dragon: A mild subversion as he actually holds equal rank to Irina Spalko, namely a Colonel. She's clearly his superior in hierarchy though as she gives him direct orders which he readily complies with.
- Expy: He basically fills up the role of giant, hulking characters as played by Pat Roach from the older films, such as the huge German mechanic and the head Thuggee guard.
- False Flag Operation: Dovchenko and his men roll up to Warehouse 51 in US Army vehicles, American uniforms (he even wears Colonel's Eagles), and carrying American Weapons. The US Air Force APs at the gate are about to ask about an unscheduled delivery when they get hit with a hail of bullets.
- Giant Mook: As covered under Expy, he's a large military type who gives Indy more of a challenge than the regular henchmen.
- Husky Russkie: The male Russian colonel is a big 6'3 3/4" strong guy. What are the odds?
- I Know Karate: Dovchenko shares Igor Jijikine's proficiency in the fighting style of Sambo, which focuses on throws, grappling and painful joint-locks/breaks. Combined with his already impressive size and strength, Dovchenko's mastery of Sambo almost allowed him to kill Indy were it not for the timely presence of a tree branch...
- Mighty Glacier: Though he relies more on technique and skill rather than brute force alone, he's still a very big and fairly slow guy.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Ends up on the receiving end of this, after giving Indy a thorough beating. Gets hit in the side with a stick, then again in the leg, and then so hard over the head the branch breaks! Indy then proceeds to punch him until he simply topples over.
- Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Indy hits him repeatedly, only for Dovchenko to tank the punches and strike back.
Others
Smith and Taylor
Agent Paul Smith and Agent Taylor
Played By: Neil Flynn and Joel Staffer
Two FBI agents who question Indy after he's found near the site of a nuclear weapons test.
- Hate Sink: Smith and Taylor come across as utter jerks who can't be reasoned with in the slightest and embody all of the worst aspects of the Red Scare.
- Inspector Javert: They are keen to accuse Indy of being a communist spy. Even after General Ross (who seems to be on good terms with Smith) acts as a Character Witness for the archeologist, they try to get Indy fired from his teaching job.
- The Men in Black: They're intense government agents in dark suits who are paranoid about why Indy was near a nuclear testing site.
The Hotrodding Teens
Jimmy "Quick Shift" Keegan, Tommy Shiner, Suzie, and Lindy
Played By: Adam Kirley (uncredited), T. Ryan Mooney, Helena Barrett, and Audi Resendez
Two teenaged couples who obliviously challenge one of Spalko's men to a drag race in the opening scene.
- All There in the Manual: Their names and relationships to each other only come from the junior novelization.
- Cool Shades: Lindy is a hotrodding teenager with an impressive pair of sunglasses.
- Drives Like Crazy: Jimmy drives off road and on the wrong side of the road even before the drag race begins, while the others cheer him on. His nickname "Quick Shift" implies that this isn't unusual behavior for him.
- Genki Girl: The girls get very excited about the drag race, jumping in their seats a little. They beg for the other driver to race their car, with Suzie drumming her hands on the back of the seat and Lindy waving excitedly as they speed up.
- Greaser Delinquents: They're dressed in brighter, more expensive clothes than Mutt and the other self-described greasers in the movie, but they spend their entire screen time hotrodding across the desert while listening to Elvis Presley music.
- Intro-Only Point of View: They are the first characters to appear in the movie (mainly to establish the time period), but depart from the story about three minutes later.
- Jerkass: Downplayed, but in the novel, Jimmy doesn't seem to respect women very much, and unnecessarily taunts his opponent after winning the drag race.
