Simon Katanga

"Jones is dead. I killed him. He was of no use to us. This girl, however, has certain value where we're headed. She'll bring a very fine price."

- Simon Katanga

Simon Katanga was the captain of the smuggling vessel, the Bantu Wind. His father was an engineer aboard a Liberian ship, the Golden Sun, where Simon was introduced to the ways of the sea as a cabin steward. He eventually worked his way up to first mate of the Bantu Wind, and took over the ship when the previous captain was mortally wounded in a gunfight during a smuggling run.



In 1936, Katanga agreed to transport Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood&mdash;along with their cargo, the Ark of the Covenant, across the Mediterranean. The boat was overtaken and boarded by René Belloq and his Nazi companions, however, and despite Katanga's efforts to intercede, Ravenwood, Jones, and the Ark were taken.

Later that year, Katanga was reunited with Indy at the Panama City jail, where Katanga was being held on rum smuggling charges. Indy arranged for bail and chartered the Bantu Wind for an expedition to the Aleutian Islands, where Indy suspected to find an ancient Chinese temple, predating the Eskimos. At the temple, Katanga and Indy were confronted by a crew of pirates led by Emerelda Vasquez. Emerelda commandeered of the Wind, stole the Chinese treasure and demolished the temple, leaving Indy, Katanga and the ship's crew for dead. Katanga's team was able to sneak aboard and assume control of Emerelda's submarine, and at the end of the naval battle that ensued, Katanga was once again captain of the Bantu Wind.

Behind the scenes

 * Captain Katanga was portrayed by George Harris in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Appearances

 * Raiders of the Lost Ark
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark novel
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark comic
 * The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones
 * Issue 15: "The Sea Butchers: Island of Peril!"
 * Issue 16: "The Sea Butchers: Death on Dark Waters"
 * LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures