The Crystal Skull is the main-antagonist of Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull in Tokyo DisneySea.
History[]
Background[]
The Crystal Skull is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican being of great power which embodied itself within what appeared to be a crystal skull. The Skull was worshiped like a god by the locals of the Lost River Delta who built a temple for it known as the Temple of the Crystal Skull. The Crystal Skull would serve as a protective guardian over this temple alongside the feathered-serpent god Quetzalcoatl with the temple supposedly holding a, "Fountain of Youth".
For unknown reasons, the civilization which worshiped the Crystal Skull perished and ages later the region became Cusco, Peru. In 1931, the temple was rediscovered by archaeologist Indiana Jones in collaboration with the League of Adventurers. Not long after they discovered the temple, the League of Adventurers was chased out by the Crystal Skull. Indiana Jones would however begin an excavation of the temple, partly in-search for the Fountain of Youth.
Eventually, Jones himself disappeared within the temple leaving his assistant Paco to run the excavation. To maintain an income of funds, Paco began hosting tours within the Temple of the Crystal Skull. One of these tours crossed paths with the Crystal Skull which attacked them, only for the guests to be saved by Indiana Jones. Jones and the guests later managed to escape the temple.
Development History[]
The Crystal Skull was created as the antagonist for Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull in 2001, replacing Mara from Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye from the original Indiana Jones Adventure. It was based on the Crystal Skull hoaxes of the 19th century where jewellers made skull carvings from milky white quartz which they claimed were South American artifacts. The Crystal Skull hoax would be adapted again in the Indiana Jones franchise in 2008 with the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. These film skulls were the remnants of inter dimensional aliens left in South America though it is unknown if they were related in any way to the Crystal Skull from the attraction.
Appearances[]
Camp Discovery[]
The Crystal Skull is referred to by the First International News newspaper on a bulletin-board. The newspaper references the Crystal Skull chasing the League of Adventurers out of its temple.
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull[]
The Crystal Skull is the main-antagonist of this attraction.
Trivia[]
- The Skull's temple has made cameos in other attractions. In the Tower of Terror, there is a photograph of the evil colonial explorer Harrison Hightower III smoking a cigar outside the temple, presumably from his journey to the delta in 1883. In Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar is a photograph of the eponymous barkeep Trader Sam in-front of the Crystal Skull's temple.
- Incidentally, the fourth Indiana Jones film, which premiered seven years after the attraction's opening, would also focus around a Crystal Skull. These skulls are not directly tied to one another, however. In the film, the crystal skulls are the dormant remains of interdimensional traveler who travelled to South America to study humanity while posing as gods, assist in the construction of cities and collect archaeological items.
- Another crystal skull was referenced in the 1995 book Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone. Incidentally, this skull is also referenced in the Enchanted Tiki Bar where Sam has a newspaper article clipping of Jones having obtained the skull.
Gallery[]
