Ilsa Toht was the sister of Gestapo agent Arnold Ernst Toht, and like her brother, a high-ranking Nazi official. She attempted to kill Indiana Jones in 1936 after the death of Toht at Geheimhaven.
Biography[]
In 1936, Ilsa Toht was assigned a mission by the Third Reich: to obtain the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol and use it to persuade the native tribes of South America to side with the Germans in case war broke out between Germany and the United States of America. In addition, Ilsa planned to use the idol to get revenge on Indiana Jones, whom she blamed for the death of her brother who died on the island of Geheimhaven that same year during the opening of the Ark of the Covenant.[1]
She teamed up with the Hovitos tribal leader Xomec to steal the idol from antiquities dealer Saad Hassim in Marrakesh, but Jones and his ally Sallah Mohammed Faisel el-Kahir intercepted them. A gunfight broke out between the rival thieves but Indy and Sallah managed to escape with the idol, leaving Ilsa to plot her next move.[1]
Ilsa in a plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean.
Xomec was dispatched to steal the idol from Jones in New York City, and Ilsa then used it to lure Indy to Brazil. There, the Hovitos captured him and took him to a manor in the jungle, where she introduced herself properly for the first time. Jones escaped, but confronted Ilsa again on an airplane as she departed the country. Xomec fell to his death in the struggle, and Indy managed to wrestle the controls from Ilsa. He accidentally jammed them and the plane went down. Jones jumped from the plane as it crashed into the sea, but Ilsa was not so fortunate, and perished in the crash. Indy did consider the possibility of Ilsa surviving the crash, but concluded that if she did, she would make him know sooner or later.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
In the Readers of the Lost Ark letters section of issue 14 of The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, the Marvel Comics writers in charge of the series adressed the possibility of bringing Isla Toht back to team up with Doctor Ian McIver against Indiana Jones. Their response to the fan asking the question dismissed such idea as something "too cruel", but didn't confirm or deny if Ilsa had survived or not.[2] Isla Toht never returned to the series nor in any other production of the Indiana Jones franchise, though.
Appearances[]
The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones – "The Gold Goddess: Xomec's Raiders" (First appearance)- The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones – "The Gold Goddess: Amazon Death-Ride!"
