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In the Raiders of the Lost Ark scene in which he calmly shoots a sword-swinging assassin, Indiana Jones reveals that he -- unlike a more-moral Batman-type character -- is not averse to killing.

Still, by my memory of the movies, Indiana Jones rarely kills anyone. Many bad guys die, but Indy rarely causes their deaths.

In fact, I can't remember any direct victims besides the sword-swinger in the first film. Am I forgetting anyone? Across all the movies, did Indiana Jones directly kill anyone besides the sword-swinger in Raiders of the Lost Ark?

Relevant comment included from deleted answer:
My question is focused on direct killing and not "death by omission" and like you, I think the propeller death falls in the omission group.

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  • Why wouldn't you consider the melting-the-faces, opening-the-ark scene? After all he grabs the girl and tells her not to look, while hiding his own eyes from the ark. He knew something was going to happen and it wasn't going to be nice. I do happen to agree about the flying wing propeller scene, only because IIRC Indy was surprised when the NAZI is killed ...
    – CGCampbell
    Commented May 2, 2022 at 14:23

1 Answer 1

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Indy doesn't always play nice, as can be seen in the video Indiana Jones Body Count:

  • He shoots people,

    Shooting

    Shooting

  • throws people into lava,

    Lava

    Lava

  • throws a skewer of pigeon flambé

    flambe

    flambe

  • cuts a bike ride short,

    bike

    bike

(these are just a few examples, watch the video for more)


The "shooting" of the Arab Swordsman wasn't actually in the script:

Harrison Ford:
"I was in my fifth week of dysentery. I'm riding up to the set at 5.30am and can't wait to storm up to Steven with this idea. We could save four days on this lousy location this way! Besides which, it was right and important - what is more vital in the character's mind is finding Marion; he doesn't have the time for another five-minute fight. But as was very often the case when I suggested it to Steve - 'Let's just shoot the fucker' - he said he'd thought the same thing that morning."

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  • 1
    the perfect answer -- thanks! Judging by the video, I'd say Indy directly kills a total of somewhere between 6 and 12 bad guys, almost all by gunshot.
    – Shiz Z.
    Commented Sep 11, 2012 at 18:57
  • 1
    The bike crash could've been survivable, maybe the flaming skewer too (looks like a gut shot, and westerns [like BTTF 3] often say they take days to die, so maybe survivable even in a '30s Chinese hospital). Otherwise a lot more shooting than stands out in memory
    – Xen2050
    Commented Apr 20, 2018 at 1:05

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