Marcus Brody
From Indiana Jones Wiki
| CHARACTER | |
| Marcus Brody | |
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| Gender | Male |
| Birth | 1878[1] London[2] |
| Death | 1952[1] |
| Nationality |  British
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Allegiance(s) | |
- "You know Marcus, he got lost once in his own museum."
- ―Indiana Jones to Henry Walton Jones, Sr.[src]
Marcus Brody was a British-born archaeologist, historian, and lecturer. As a curator for several prominent museums on the east coast of the United States, he became a frequent patron of Indiana Jones. After his job as curator of the National Museum, he became Dean of Students at Marshall College. He was a good friend to both Indiana Jones and Henry Jones, Sr..
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[edit] Biography
Brody was born into a wealthy British family and grew up in London. In college, he spent some time at Princeton[3], where he earned a bantam-weight boxing title[1], before transferring to Oxford, where he became fast friends with classmate Henry Jones. After graduation, Brody followed Jones to the United States, lecturing at various universities and participating in minor archaeological digs. Brody watched as his friend's son Indiana Jones grew up, and in 1913 he let the younger Jones accompany him on an expedition to Egypt, where they found the Ring of Osiris.
By 1913, Brody had become assistant curator of the National Museum. Shortly thereafter, Brody's wife died of pneumonia.[1]
In 1922, Brody — representing the museum — contacted a young student Indiana Jones to inform him he was interested in his services, and asked Indy to give him a call the next time he was in the States.[4]
In the winter of 1930, Brody and Jones were invited by the Swedish government to help excavate the Temple of Old Uppsala. Because of a heavy snow, Brody stayed at the hotel in Uppsala while Jones explored the ruins with Theresa Lawrence. After Lawrence had left with the main treasure, a ring, Brody reluctantly agreed to Jones' request to recover the ring from the British Museum. In London, Brody was robbed by René Belloq, who took the real treasure, a scroll that Jones had found. Jones and Lawrence managed to prevent Belloq from selling the scroll in Marrakesh to the Nazis, and then Brody and Jones returned to America from London, after Jones stole the ring back.[5]
In the late spring or early summer of 1931, Brody, upset about the theft of one of the Wohat Statues from the New York Museum of History, had brought the museum's security chief, Ballantine Gruber, to Marshall College to meet with Indiana Jones, who was better suited to tracking down the stolen crocodile statue. Jones realized that the statues were a clue to the Invincible Ruby of Ali Bey, and after Brody received a telegram about the theft of another statue in Barcelona, sent Jones after the stolen statues and the ruby.[6]
Also by that year, Brody's work had led him to a position as Director of Special Acquisitions at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
In 1936, he accompanied Jones to Tibet to track down a piece of the key held by an acquaintance, Francis Beresford-Hope. Escaping from a cave explosion, he and Jones met with Alex Beresford-Hope, who joined them to help prevent the Nazis from using the key. In Shanghai, Brody remained behind, cautious about the dangerous power represented by the ancient key, while Jones and Beresford-Hope journeyed toward Siberia. Changing his mind, Brody set after them on a whaling ship, and rescued Jones and treasure hunter Janice Le Roi from being stranded at sea. Reaching the Siberian coast with copies of the map, Brody rode on a dogsled with Jones over an ice bridge which collapsed behind them. Catching up with Friedrich von Hassell and his Nazi agents, they fell into a chasm, where Brody was captured by the Nazis and taken to the Tomb of the Gods, where Brody was nearly forced to open the tomb after Beresford-Hope was killed for refusing to do so. When voices in the tomb possessed several of the agents, starting a massacre, Brody was saved by Jones and Le Roi. Giving his satchel of dynamite to Jones, Brody waited in the antechamber while Jones chased von Hassell into the main vault. After Jones had dynamited the building, Brody agreed with the decision, since some knowledge was best left unknown.[7]
By this time, Brody had become curator of the National Museum, and it was in this role that he helped arrange Indiana Jones' expedition to recover the Ark of the Covenant for the U.S. government, negotiating with military intelligence agents Musgrove and Eaton. When the Ark was recovered by Jones and Marion Ravenwood, Brody went to Washington DC, where they were paid, but told that the Ark would not be going to the Museum, but instead be researched by the government's own men.
Later that year, Brody joined Jones and Ravenwood on a mission to Wales, where they helped delve the secrets of Lucifer's Chamber, against Brody's former classmate, Austin Coleridge.[8]
In 1938, Indy acquired the Cross of Coronado for Brody's museum. Shortly thereafter, Indy learned that his father had disappeared while researching the Holy Grail for wealthy American industrialist Walter Donovan. Upon hearing the news, Brody insisted on accompanying the younger Jones to Venice to help search for his old friend. In Venice, an encounter with the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword sent Indy off to rescue his father, held captive by the Nazis in Castle Brunwald. Brody, after recovering from an attack by Kazim, meanwhile, traveled to Iskenderun to commission Sallah el-Kahir's assistance in obtaining the Grail. There, Brody found himself the victim of Nazi kidnapping. The Nazis used the Grail Diary in Brody's possession to trace the Grail to the Republic of Hatay, where Brody was rescued by Indy, Sallah, and the newly freed Henry Jones, Sr. Marcus joined the team for one final confrontation with the Nazis—and their secret ally, Donovan—at the Grail Temple; the result was Donovan's death, the finding and eventual loss of the Grail, and the destruction of the temple.
In 1939, Brody asked Indy to keep an eye out for several treasures on his search for the Staff of Kings.[9]. Later that year, Brody retired as curator of the National Museum in order to become Dean of Students at Marshall College, a position he held until 1944. In 1947 Brody accompanied Indiana Jones to Berlin to search for the Philosopher's Stone.
[edit] Death and legacy
Brody died in 1952 at the age of seventy-four, and his loss deeply affected his colleague Indiana Jones. As a form of tribute, Jones pushed hard for the Marshall faculty and staff to approve the erection of a bronze statue bearing Brody's likeness. The statue was already complete and installed on the Marshall campus by 1957; however a car of KGB agents, while pursuing Jones and Mutt Williams, crashed on the statue base and its head broke and fell on the car, smashing through the windshield and winding up in one KGB agent's lap.[1] Indiana remarked that even in death, his friend had his back.[10] In addition, a portrait of him was placed on one of the college walls.[11]
[edit] Personality and traits
As a younger man, Brody was more eager for archaeological fieldwork, but by 1936, he had become more the academician, leaving the exploration of sites to his friend, Indiana Jones.
He spoke English and ancient Greek.
He claimed to the street vendors of Iskenderun to be a vegetarian, though it may have been an attempt to deny the peddler a chance to sell him chickens.
[edit] Behind the scenes
In both Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Marcus Brody was portrayed by actor Denholm Elliott. He passed away before the filming of Crystal Skull.
While in Raiders, Brody was a rather serious character, in Crusade he became less so with Indy saying "he got lost once in his own museum", though it should be noted in both of his appearances, he is clearly quite astute at history and archeology, meaning his lighter appearances in Crusade may have just been a case of him being a fish out of water.
In the Playstation Portable version of Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings, though not physically seen, Brody actively sends telegrams to Indy requesting he find certain artifacts for the National Musueum. In the Wii/PS2 version Indiana Jones notes on several of artifacts that are found in the game, that Brody would be interested in the pieces.
[edit] Appearances
[edit] Sources
- Grail Diary
- The World of Indiana Jones
- Raiders of the Lost Ark Sourcebook
- Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
- The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones
[edit] Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants
- ↑ The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones: "Beyond the Lucifer Chamber!"
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (PSP version)
- ↑ Indiana Jones Adventures: Volume 1
- ↑ Indiana Jones Adventures: Volume 2: Curse of the Invincible Ruby
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods
- ↑ The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones: "Beyond the Lucifer Chamber!"
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (PSP version)
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull novel
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
