Charles Jacob Kingston was a professor of archaeology at the University of Chicago, and was a mentor to both Indiana Jones and Magnus Völler.
In the wake of Kingston's disappearance on a dig in 1933, the career paths of his former pupils ended up colliding against each other in 1939 and they discovered the professor guarding the location of the Staff of Kings.
Biography[]
Early work[]
Kingston once did field work in the Paris Catacombs as a grad student.[1]
In 1922[2], while teaching at the University of Chicago's Archaeology Department, Professor Kingston took two of his most promising students, Indiana Jones and Magnus Völler, to Panama with him in search of the Jade Sphere, an artifact which would in turn lead him to the Staff of Kings, his lifelong obsession. While on the expedition, Völler tried to steal artifacts from Kingston, creating an abrupt end to their relationship.[1]
In 1933, Kingston was considered to have disappeared on a search for the Staff.[1]
Kingston eventually reached the temple where the Staff was kept, and lived in the nearby village in Nepal, helping to ensure that the powers of the Staff did not fall into the wrong hands. At some point, Kingston was forced to use a wheelchair.[1]
Several months prior to Jones' and Völler's rival expeditions to Panama, Kingston returned to the region, visiting the Jungle Village, and hiding his notebook inside the Temple of the Cosmos. He then sent the Jade Sphere to Archie Tan, who hid it in Chinatown.[1]
Search for the Staff[]
In 1939, Kingston and the villagers met up with Jones and Maggie O'Malley, who were on the trail of the staff before Völler. However, Völler arrived with Nazi soldiers from the Odin and began attacking the town to get through to the temple. Kingston was captured by Völler and his crew, and brought aboard the zeppelin.[1]
After losing the staff to Völler, Jones managed to get aboard the Odin. Confronting Jones when he reached the bridge, Völler pulled his gun and aimed at his former classmate. The quick-thinking Kingston jumped in the way and was fatally shot saving Jones.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- "Sacred objects cannot be found in the ordinary way. They are found by the seeker who follows his heart and the clues that mysteriously appear along the way."
- ―Charles Kingston[src]
Concept art of Charles Kingston
Christopher Goodwin provided the voice for Charles Kingston in Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings.[1]
Continuity[]
While Charles Kingston was created for the plot of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings,[1] the position of Kingston as Indiana Jones' mentor and the subsequent search for him was first brought into the franchise's continuity through their inclusion in Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide.[2]
Kingston's death differs slightly in the different versions of Staff of Kings:
- Wii/PS2 version: Kingston was on the bridge of the Odin with Magnus Völler discussing the Staff of Kings. Indiana Jones and Maggie O'Malley sneak onto the bridge and are spotted by the pilot. Völler pulled his gun out to fire on Jones, but Kingston got up from his wheelchair, grabbed Völler and was shot in the gut. Jones rushed to his side and the man passed away speaking of the staff.
- PSP version: While Jones was fighting Völler on the bridge, O'Malley found and freed Kingston. The two entered the bridge after Jones had defeated Völler in a fight. While Jones is distracted by their arrival, Völler picked up his machine gun, and attempted to fire on Jones. Kingston jumped out of his wheelchair and is gunned down, saving his former student.
- DS version (similar to the PSP version): After Jones defeated Völler in a fight, O'Malley and Kingston arrived on the bridge together. Völler shot at Jones, but Kingston jumped in the way and got shot. Jones knocked Völler down, then knelt over his mentor, who told him to take the staff and protect it from Völler, and then died.
Rob MacGregor's unpublished novelization of the game states that Kingston went missing while Indiana Jones "had been immersed in another research project [...] involving the Ark of the Covenant",[3] which would suggest the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1936,[4] but the novel also says the man's disappearance was before 1934.[3]
The book explains that Kingston received what should have been mortal injuries in Nepal before he was discovered by the inhabitants of Suya Desh who used the Staff of Kings to revive him. However, when he regained consciousness during the process he realized that he was being healed by supernatural means and stopped it partway, a decision which left him confined to a wheelchair.[3]
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings novel (Cancelled)
- Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
- Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings Scavenger Hunt (Avatar available as Kingston)