McWerty was a member of Captain Simon Katanga's crew aboard the Bantu Wind until his death in 1936.
Biography[]
In 1936, on an expedition in the Aleutian Islands to find an ancient Chinese temple, American archaeologist Indiana Jones was joined by Captain Simon Katanga and a select number of his Bantu Wind crewmen, including McWerty.[1]
McWerty's final moments.
They were confronted en route by a band of pirates led by Emerelda Vasquez who demanded that Katanga turn full control of his ship over to her. When Katanga didn't take her seriously, the pirate directed one of her men to kill McWerty which forced Katanga to back down and accept her demands.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
McWerty's execution was a source of contention between The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones writer David Michelinie and "The Sea Butchers" artist Herb Trimpe. Michelinie's original script had Emerelda Vasquez slit McWerty's throat personally, but Trimpe felt a woman wouldn't do that, a sentiment echoed by editor Eliot R. Brown, who asked Michelinie to change McWerty's killer, which Michelinie did by swapping Vasquez with Rudolfo and the death occurred offpanel.[2]
