Indy Borgnine (インディー・ボーグナイン Indī Bōgunain), pen name Cogito Erasmus (コギト・エラスムス Kogito Erasumusu)[1], is the protagonist of the 1986 puzzle-platformer The Tower of Babel (aka Mystery Tower). He is an archaeologist and explorer who ascends the titular tower in search of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. As his name and profession would suggest, he is modeled after the famous adventurer character Indiana Jones.
Personality[]
Indy is described as a man with a strong sense of justice, though with a weakness for beautiful women.[1] Typically, he displays a rather stoic expression, though in the PlayStation remake he is far more expressive. The existence of a pen name and his desire to write a book on his exploration of the tower implies he has authored other books,[1] likely focused on his travels and/or archeological work.
His personality in the webcomic does not differ much from his game counterpart, as he shows himself to be very brave and resourceful. However, in the Mappy web series, Indy is depicted as being cocky about his excavation skills, as well as being overly paranoid about violating copyright law and getting sued.
History[]
The Tower of Babel[]

Indy's sprite from the NES original.
Indy’s first (and so far, only) starring role is The Tower of Babel. The game focuses on his mission to reach the top of the eponymous tower in search of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which are fabled to rest at the top. In order to reach the gardens, he must solve puzzles composed of stackable L-blocks in each of the tower’s 64 floors, not only to reach their exits but find 8 elusive symbols that form the “Big Password” and grant entrance into the gardens. After he has reached the top of the tower, he can also undertake a second challenge called “Babel Pro” that contains even harder puzzles.
The PlayStation remake adds cutscenes to the end of Indy’s journeys, as well as a third adventure that he can partake in called “Neo Babel”, featuring exclusive stage themes not found in normal mode or Babel Pro. At the end of the normal mode, Indy finally reaches the gardens, jumping in joy as the sun’s rays illuminate his arrival. At the end of Babel Pro, Indy reaches the top, only to be left in shock when he finds nothing. At the end of Neo Babel, Indy wakes up and falls out of his hammock at his camp near the tower; he realizes it was merely a dream, and begins getting ready to leave, taking a final look at the tower before he departs.
Afternoon Country Special - Operation Valentines Day[]

Indy makes an appearance in Afternoon Country Special - Operation Valentines Day (午後の国スペシャル バレンタインデー大作戦の巻), a short comic featured in the February 1987 issue of NG that centers around various Namco characters celebrating Valentines Day.
Clip Crocodilemouse (deuteragonist of the Afternoon Country manga series) encounters Indy traveling through ancient ruins and expressing his desire for treasure rather than holiday sweets. Later, Indy and a few others are gifted chocolate from Valkyrie, causing him to weep with joy.
Tower of Babel (webcomic)[]

Indy, referred to here as only “Dr. Borgnine”, appears in the short-lived ShiftyLook comic Tower of Babel as a side character. In #5 “Breaking News”, Indy is revealed on a news broadcast to have gone missing after entering the tower, and has remained so for 15 years. As the tower begins to deteriorate and destroy the surrounding town, his granddaughter Minnesota Borgnine is requested by the government (in exchange for them covering her large student debt) to go inside and investigate the cause. Inside, she and gentleman rat Elephant Jones stumble upon a mural which takes them to an ancient city in an alternate world, and the two find Indy asking for directions to a temple, which he shortly enters. They follow Indy inside, where he encounters a giant spider and manages to kill it (despite Minnesota’s attempt to help going awry). After taking the beast’s heart and sticking it into a statue, he manages to leave the mural world. In the penultimate comic #25 “Featherweight”, Minnesota finds Indy’s feather from his hat lying on the tower floor in the real world, though as to what this means is left unanswered, since the comic ended the following issue due to ShiftyLook’s closure.
Mappy (webseries)[]
Indy has a prominent role in Episode 8 of the Mappy web cartoon, “Buried Treasure”. Here, he is hired by Goro to dig up an ancient artifact rumored to be underneath NYAMCO's headquarters. His arrogant behavior and free rein to dig wherever he pleases draws the ire of Mappy and Dig Dug, who see him as a safety threat and want to get back at him, leading them to burrow underground and attempt to find the artifact themselves. They eventually find Indy skewered on a spike trap, much to their horror (and amusement on Dig Dug’s part), still alive and apparently able to talk. The two leave him trapped under the building, and his fate is left ambiguous (though it can be assumed he dies, given the severity of his injuries).
In the episode, Indy’s similarity to Indiana Jones is played up for humorous effect. Details, such as Indy sharing the same name as his father and his voice actor imitating Harrison Ford, have been added to make him even more like Jones. He also has a habit of making references to the series, albeit mangled (e.g. saying “It belongs in a moseum!” rather than “It belongs in a museum!”) so as to not infringe on trademarks. This often leads to others trying to correct him, which in turn causes him to chastise or shush them.