Otto (Second Nazi)

CHARACTER
Otto
Gender	Male
Death	1936 The Raven, Patan, Nepal
Nationality	German
Profession(s)	Intelligence agent
Allegiance(s)	Nazis

"I not like him anyway!"

―Mean Mongolian

Otto, also known as "Eyepatch", was a Nazi Gestapo intelligence agent who accompanied his superior Major Arnold Ernst Toht to The Raven bar in Patan, Nepal to retrieve the Headpiece to the Staff of Ra from the bar's owner, Marion Ravenwood.

After recruiting some local goons, Otto and Toht entered the bar to interrogate Marion, but were stopped by American archaeologist Indiana Jones and ended up battling the man in a gunfight. Otto was killed during the encounter.

Biography

Otto was a Nazi Gestapo intelligence agent working with Major Arnold Ernst Toht in 1936. That year, the two Germans were assigned to acquire the Headpiece to the Staff of Ra to aid in the Nazis' plans to unearth the Ark of the Covenant from the Well of the Souls in Tanis outside Cairo, Egypt. The two agents flew to Patan, Nepal to visit The Raven, a bar owned by Marion Ravenwood, the daughter of the late Abner Ravenwood who had collected the headpiece. In Patan, the the pair hired three local goons, two Nepalese men and a Mongolian.

Toht at his men arriving at the bar.

After American archaeologist Indiana Jones, an old acquaintance of Ravenwood looking for the headpiece, was ejected from the bar that night, the Mongolian, Nepalese man and the two Nazis arrived. Toht spoke to the bar owner as Otto stood by the fire, the Nepalese man stood in front of the bar and the Mongolian subtly followed Marion behind the bar.

As Toht walked over to the fire whilst engaged in a passive-aggressive argument with Ravenwood, the Mongolian was fully behind Marion by the bar. When Toht gave the order, he grabbed Marion, picking her right up off the floor, and, with the aid of the Nepalese man, dragged her, screaming to the center of the room, where Toht slowly approached her with a flaming metal rod, a sight which made both men restraining the American smile. However, just as the rod was put up to her face, Jones returned and swung his bullwhip to grab the rod and fling it away, drawing a revolver and pointing it at the men.

The two thugs shared a look with each other as Toht was threatened but Otto emerged from behind the fireplace and unloaded his machine gun at Jones. The archaeologist ducked behind cover, whilst the Mongolian hopped behind the bar and the Nepalese man took cover beneath a table. Otto remained in place as Toht drew a pistol and retreated behind a pillar. The Mongolian produced a bag and drew a revolver from it for himself, before tossing a machine gun to his associate. As a gunfight ensued, Jones managed to shoot the fire, sending flaming logs tumbling into the Nepalese goon. Burning, the man stood up screaming, only to be shot in the face by Jones, killing him.

Toht ordered Otto to shoot both Indiana Jones and their Sherpa ally.

Jones was beginning to gain the upper hand when his antagonists' fifth man, a Giant Sherpa, entered the bar and accosted him. Upon the Sherpa's arrival, his associates ceased fire and watched the thug beating on Jones. The distraction provided Marion with enough time to slam a burning log over the Mongolian's head, knocking him unconscious. Eventually, Toht simply ordered Otto to shoot both Jones and his large opponent.

Realizing that they had a common enemy, the Sherpa and Jones turned the gun they were wrestling over in the direction of the machine-gun toting German and fired it several times, killing Otto the moment the first bullet went directly through his throat, leaving him with an expression that suggested a pirate keelhauled during a drunken binge. His body slumped over near Toht as the major crawled across the floor to the headpiece. Otto's corpse was then left to burn down within The Raven.

Personality and traits

A rat-faced German agent with a seedy thin moustache, Otto was a Nazi intelligence agent as his superior Major Arnold Ernst Toht, both regarded as professionals by Herman Dietrich. While he was thin, Otto tended to loom like a sinister shadow behind Toht. An evil grin sprawled through his face whenever Toht gave him particularly nasty commands. However, Otto didn't impose respect from those he worked with, with Toht calling him a "pig-dog" and their Mongolian henchman admitting by his own admission to not like him.

Behind the scenes

Otto, identified in the script and credited as "2nd. Nazi", was portrayed by Matthew Scurfield in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The character's name is given in the Raiders of the Lost Ark Sourcebook and should not be confused with the character listed as Otto in Raiders, played by Christopher Frederick. In Campbell Black's novelization, Otto is called "Eyepatch".

During the development of the film's script, written by Lawrence Kasdan, Otto had a line that went unused in the final movie. The line was "He's our man!", said to Belzig in response to being ordered to open fire on both Indiana Jones and their ally.

In Black's novel, Otto is noted as having an eye patch, the reason for which he is called "Eyepatch" in the novel. Also in the book, Indy and the Sherpa shoot him only once, in the throat. In Marvel Comics' comic book adaptation, Toht insults Otto by calling him a "schweinhund" ("pig-dog" in German) and, as the bigger sherpa is absent, the Mongolian goon is the one who helps Jones to kill him. He also shows some reluctance in shooting at the Mongolian by remarking that he is blocking Jones.

Indiana Jones Activity Annual incorrectly describes all of Arnold Ernst Toht's thugs as Nazi soldiers even though Otto is merely an intelligence agent. Indiana Jones: The Search For Buried Treasure implies that Otto and all of the thugs accompanying Toht, referred all as Nazis, survived by fleeing The Raven as it started burning.

Otto is absent from LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures and its sequel, but the Sherpa Gunner character seems to be based on him, the bigger sherpa, the Mongolian thug, and the Nepalese goon, wielding Otto’s weapon, fulfilling the giant sherpa's role and taking the appearance of the Nepalese man in the first game and the Mongolian in the second.

Appearances

• Raiders of the Lost Ark novel (First appearance)
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Raiders of the Lost Ark comic
• Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark junior novel

Sources

• Raiders of the Lost Ark Sourcebook (First identified as "Otto")