3. Raiders of the Lost Ark is Technically a Sequel
Based purely off of the facts found in the films, Raiders of the Lost Ark takes place in 1936 and Temple of Doom (the second in the series of films) takes place in 1935. Now let's look at this for a minute. When we think about the two films in the terms of the fictional timeline, several things start to feel weird. First of all, the most glaring issue I have as an Indy nerd, is that there is a gag in Temple of Doom that technically shouldn't be a gag since it originated in Raiders. The gag is of course the shooting of a swordsman with a revolver (which was improvised by the way by Harrison Ford.) This scene is mirrored strictly for a cheap laugh towards the climax of Temple of Doom with Indy now facing two sword-wielding villains but finding his holster empty this time around. It really isn't a continuity error or anything but, if watched in chronological order, the joke makes no sense. My biggest issue with Temple of Doom occurring one year prior to Raiders is the absence of Short Round. Obviously Shorty was a one-hit wonder in Temple of Doom, but if we are trying to nitpick (and we are) where the hell did your small Asian best friend go while you were off teaching school and fighting half-naked natives who speak Hovitos? And don't tell me he was off joining the Goonies or something because that would just be a silly and pointless argument.