German Mechanic

The German Mechanic was an enormous bull of a German man with a shaven head, who in 1936 was one of two mechanics servicing the Nazis' Flying Wing at Tanis.

Biography
When the plane was being prepped to fly the Ark of the Covenant out to Berlin in 1936, the mechanic emerged from his hut to see Indiana Jones fighting the other mechanic.



Apparently eager for a fight, the huge Bavarian stepped in after the first mechanic had been taken out by Jones, and challenged the American to a fistfight.

He easily outmatched Jones, although ironically he unintentionally saved the archaeologist's life at one point, when the Flying Wing's pilot was about to shoot Jones, the mechanic unknowingly stepped in between Jones and the pilot, so the pilot held his fire.

As he got the upper hand of the fight, the mechanic ordered the archaeologist to fight back, unaware that the rotating plane was drawing the propellers closer to him. Bemused when Jones ducked for safety, the mechanic turned just in time to see why before he was caught in the blades and met his end.

Behind the scenes
The German Mechanic was played by Pat Roach, who was an actor, stuntman and professional wrestler who also appeared on the three first movies.

Despite being credited as "1st Mechanic," Roach's character is actually the second of the two mechanics to appear onscreen.

In Campbell Black's novelization, this mechanic is described as being a young man with tattoos, thought of as a kid by Marion Ravenwood. He is not as tough as he is in the film, but is nonetheless persistent in his fight with Indiana Jones. Although in the film he overpowered Indy and knocked him onto the ground before being killed by the Flying Wing's propeller, in the novel Indy knocks him into the propeller.

The German Mechanic appears as "Enemy Boxer" as an end-of-level boss in LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures who can only be defeated when the player is carrying an anvil. It is possible for Indy to defeat him without getting hurt, unlike how Indy got hurt plenty of times by the mechanic in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! at Disney World, the second German Mechanic is absent from the plane fight scene. The German Mechanic is thus the one who spots Indy while working on the plane's wing. The pilot, who leaves the plane after landing, gives the German Mechanic instructions before going back to the Nazi camp. In some performances the mechanic is even directing the traffic for the Flying Wing as it prepares to land.

In Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures, the plane fight is omitted, but the German mechanic still appears in Cairo as an end of level boss in the streets at night, which occurs before Indy finds the Well of Souls. As the player jumps on a horsecart, the mechanic hops on and kicks away the player's gun, and the player is forced to have a fist fight with the mechanic. When he dies, the level is accomplished. As with LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, despite how the German Mechanic hurts Indy in the film, it is possible to defeat him without getting hurt in Greatest Adventures.

Appearances

 * Raiders of the Lost Ark novel
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark comic
 * Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures
 * LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
 * Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings