Abner Ravenwood

Abner Ravenwood was an Egyptologist and archaeologist at the University of Chicago. He was a mentor of Indiana Jones, whom he taught at the university, the father of Marion Ravenwood, and posthumously grandfather to Mutt Williams. Ravenwood's lifelong obsession was to find the Ark of the Covenant.

Biography
Abner Ravenwood earned degrees in history and archaeology at Yale and Harvard. He also studied anthropology under Franz Boas. At one point, while discussing anthropology with Sir Adrian Braidthwaite, he accused the British of practicing "armchair anthropology," theorizing on other cultures from the comfort of home, based on reports from braver individuals. Braidthwaite bristled at the suggestion, but later realized the accusation was largely correct. Ravenwood's accusation was partially the impetus for Braidthwaite's 1910 expedition into Africa.

In March 1909 Ravenwood's daughter Marion was born.

Later, in June, Abner for the first time met the young boy Henry Jones Jr, later known as Indiana Jones, in Jerusalem. Jones learned that Ravenwood owned a map showing the potential resting place of the Ark under the Temple Mount. Ravenwood later explained that he believed the Ark was buried somewhere else, and that one day a real archaeologist would find it.

During the 1920's Ravenwood was a Professor of archaeology at the University of Chicago. Among his students were Harold Oxley, and Indiana Jones who would join his expedition at Sinkiang. Ravenwood considered Jones to be the most gifted student he had ever trained, and as their relationship evolved, he came to love him like a son. As his obsession with the Ark deepened, Ravenwood was eventually fired from the University.

In 1925 Abner, having requested the help of Jones, located the Headpiece to the Staff of Ra, an artifact essential in finding the Ark of the Covenant. Sometime around, or after that time, Abner found out that Jones was involved with his young daughter Marion, which led to a falling out of their friendship. Abner continued his search for the Ark, and brought Marion along on his travels all over the world. He also collected a number of artifacts associated with the Ark, however he never found the city of Tanis, and therefore could not locate the Ark itself.

Abner and Marion eventually settled in Nepal and started an inn/bar. Abner used their income to finance his excavations in the surrounding mountains. He is believed to have perished in an avalanche while searching for the Ark in Nepal in 1936.

Later the same year the Nazis under orders from Adolf Hitler started searching for the Ark. The U.S. government intercepted a message from Cairo to Berlin saying "Obtain Headpiece to the Staff of Ra, Abner Ravenwood, U.S." The government at first suspected Ravenwood as being in cahoots with the Nazis, but Indiana Jones and Marcus Brody discarded that theory at once. Jones was then ordered by the government to find the Ark before the Nazis.

The Gestapo-agent Toht was ordered by Hitler to acquire the Headpiece from Ravenwood, but found that the latter had died, and also that Indiana Jones had come looking for it. In the end Indy and Marion located the Ark, and Abner's lifelong search came to an end.

Behind the scenes
Abner Ravenwood is frequently mentioned but has never appeared in any published Indiana Jones adventure; plans to include him in the action were made, but never materialized:
 * Lawrence Kasdan, writer of Raiders of the Lost Ark, said that he, when writing the script, kept the door open for Ravenwood to appear in possible sequels. In fact, the film does not definitely confirm the character's death, which at least for Kasdan meant that he still could be alive.
 * Two issues of Marvel's The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones (published in 1984) hinted that Ravenwood was still alive, and presented a masked character that may or may not actually have been Ravenwood.
 * Garth from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was originally intended to be Ravenwood in early scripts, but the idea was dropped for the final film.
 * During production on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, George Lucas had the idea for an episode entitled "Jerusalem, June 1909", in which nine-year-old Indiana Jones meets Ravenwood for the first time. However, the episode was never filmed due to the series' cancellation.
 * The Dark Horse comic Indiana Jones and the Lost Horizon was intended to present Ravenwood's story and would have marked the character's first appearance, but the project was scrapped early in development. The series would show how Ravenwood with the help of Indy found the headpiece to the Staff of Ra in the belongings of a Chinese warlord. According to artist Hugh Fleming, actor Wilford Brimley was the model for Abner Ravenwood's planned appearance in the comic.
 * Ravenwood was also originally intended to appear as Indy's partner in Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb video game, but it complicated the game design. Concept art for the character&mdash;showing an Abner not quite as hefty as the Fleming version, but still sporting a mustache and fedora&mdash;can be unlocked during the game.

Appearances

 * Indiana Jones and the Lost Horizon
 * Indiana Jones and the Curse of Horror Island
 * Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
 * Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye
 * Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark novel
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark comic
 * The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones
 * Issue 17: "The Search for Abner: The Grecian Earn"
 * Issue 18: "The Search for Abner: The City of Yesterday's Forever!"
 * Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
 * Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull