Every movie needs a good villain, and luckily for the Indiana Jones franchise, there are plenty of them. These creative villains can range from Nazis to KGB agents, or even just straight-up magic men. Some of the best villains in the Indiana Jones franchise more than deserve recognition for their abilities to challenge Indiana Jones and make an exciting adventure even tenser, with Indiana Jones 5 potentially being the tensest one yet.
With Mads Mikkelsen set to challenge Indiana Jones as the lead villain for Indiana Jones 5, it’s the perfect opportunity to look into what challenging villains faced Indiana before. Things will inevitably change after the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Mads Mikkelsen has the opportunity to rank amongst the best Indiana Jones villains.
8 Lao Che
The opening sequence for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is quite the spectacle and unlike anything seen in the previous Indiana Jones movie. Audiences are taken to Club Obi-Wan, where they meet Indiana Jones’ latest untrustworthy dealings, the man known as Lao Che. Che is cunning, and quickly becomes untrustworthy, especially when he reveals to Indiana that he just drank poison.
Despite being a quick ten-minute villain, Lao Che was a stand-out for a fun scene, involving plenty of action, as well as opening Indiana Jones up into a vast world of crime and archaeology, which further proves that Indiana isn’t just a professor who likes fedoras.
7 Walter Donovan
This American businessman prioritizes wealth and rarities above all else, but not for museums. Walter Donovan does what he does for his selfish gains, and doesn’t care who has to die for him to obtain it. He would even commit a treacherous act against his nation by teaming with the Nazis, just in the hopes of obtaining the Holy Grail, so that he may live forever in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Walter is fairly despicable and proves just how much so when he says he does not care if Hitler rules the world. Not only that, but to make Indiana Jones urgently venture through the booby traps of the Holy Grail’s tomb, he shoots Henry Jones Senior. Even his death is traumatizing and iconic.
6 Ernst Vogel
This Nazi Colonel has been tasked with the job of killing Indiana Jones by none other than Adolf Hitler himself. Vogel will do what it takes to rise through the ranks of the Nazi Party, and is specifically twisted in his efforts. Vogel not only uses manipulation and torture to his benefit, but he isn’t afraid to show the might of his army as he tries to kill an archaeologist with a fedora and a bullwhip.
Vogel’s most iconic and tense scene sees him battling Indiana Jones atop a tank, barreling towards a cliff. It’s a great set of actions that show what a good villain Vogel is for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Vogel is a man with a determination to kill.
5 Elsa Schneider
Confliction and greed are the keys to Elsa Schneider’s character. As a femme fatale, Elsa succeeded in seducing both Indiana and his father Henry, all for the sake of obtaining what she wanted, which above all else, was the Holy Grail. Elsa may work with the Nazis, but she does not believe in their ideology. Nor does she believe in the Holy Grail, just the greed it could provide her.
Her allegiances are shaky, as she both betrays Indiana Jones and the Nazis for her gain. She’s a fairly complex character, who succumbs to her desires, which would soon be fatal for her, as she tumbles towards her death by trying to save the Holy Grail, and not herself.
4 Irina Spalko
Not only is Irina Spalko somewhat of a psychic, but she is not afraid at all to get involved in the action directly. Few Indiana Jones villains get themselves involved in the fighting, but Irina Spalko will punch, kick, and fire guns at anyone that gets in her way, with the ultimate goal of obtaining ultimate knowledge from the crystal skull.
Spalko is a breath of fresh air from the male Nazi characters, and this female KGB agent pushes the Indiana Jones franchise into new territory in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, with Russian agents and aliens ripe in the franchise’s new heading.
3 Arnold Toht
As an intelligence officer for the SS and the Nazis, Arnold Toht brings an unsettling mystique to his appearance in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Not only will Toht happily wear a black suit and trenchcoat in the blistering heat of Egypt, but he will do so with little concern or discomfort. Toht is a ghastly character, who leaves a mighty impression on the audience for his crimes.
It also doesn’t help that Toht’s death is perhaps the most iconic in Indiana Jones history, as the character has his face melt off when he gazed upon the opened Ark of the Covenant. It’s entirely traumatizing for young audiences and a fate well-deserved for this Indiana Jones villain.
2 Rene Belloq
As the first central antagonist of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Belloq is a great villain and a dark contrast to Indiana Jones. Belloq is intelligent, vastly so, and as such, remains one step ahead of Indiana at all times. Even if that means eating a fly without realizing it.
Belloq is a villain through and through and seeks help from the Nazis so that he can use the Ark of the Covenant for a higher purpose than his worth, to commune with God, and use it as a radio. His curiosities betray his country, as he works with the Nazis, and isn’t afraid of killing to obtain what he wants.
1 Mola Ram
This Thuggee cult leader is as evil as it gets. Not only is the symbolism clear with the devil horns on his head, but the fact that Mola Ram participates in magic rituals, and can easily remove the hearts of his enemies with a tight grip and an uttering of a phrase, makes him one of Indiana Jones’ most feared and best villains. Mola Rum will kill, torture, kidnap, enslave, and brainwash. Just about any crime that one can think of, Mola Ram is not opposed to it.
Most of his actions are through a smile, showing just how much Mola Ram loves to be bad. The character tortures Indiana and truly puts him through the worst time of his life. He’s a greatly memorable villain for his actions alone, as Mola Ram brought a new strangeness and magical element to Indiana Jones.