"It's always been my mission to uncover the mysteries of the ancient world" Ben Venture
Ben Venture was a young treasure hunter who worked with Indiana Jones on several occasions. He has searched for such artifacts as the Stairway to Heaven, The Mask of the Egyptian pharaoh Nebtawi, Excalibur, The city of gold, The lost continent of Atlantis, The Mitchell Hedges treasure, the Mei Long Orb and the Rod of Moses. His adventures have broght him into conflict with the Nazis, the soviet union, grave robbers, chinese triads and several other groups.
Early Years: Ben Lowrey and his sister Samantha grew up on the streets of New York. After their parents died when Ben was 10 years old he and Samantha had to take care of themselves. When Ben was 17 the archeologist George Sullivan took he and Sam under his wing. Both showed a great desire for adventure and a love of the ancient world. Ben traveled around the world, acompanied by George. He went on adventures with Indiana Jones and Rick O'Connel. During his travels with Indy, he called Ben Ben Venture because he loved to venture out and see the world. The name stuck and he went by that ever since. As he traveled he learned how to fight, shoot and fence.
Battling Vampires: When he was on an archeological dig Ben excavated the tomb of Vlad Tepes. During the excavation he was shocked to discover that the tomb was empty! After going to an ancient library Ben learned that Vlad was the insperation for Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. With this newfound knowledge he left the library. Ben was attacked by a tall dark man with very long canine teeth. After a short struggle the vampire had Ben pinned to the ground, his fangs about to sink into his neck. When all of a sudden, the Vampire screamed and Ben saw a wooden stake protruding from the monster's chest. The monster crumbled and its place stood a beautiful young woman. She revealed herself to be Kara Van Helsing, a decendant of the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing. She introduced him to a man named James Harker. They find that Dracula's army of vampires is on the move and ride to Dracula's castle to stop him. During the battle Ben and James raced up the tower to find Dracula. After a long struggle James was wounded. Ben distracted the count long enough for the sun to rise and to stab him with a stake destroying the Vampire forever. Ben said a goodby to is new friends. Before Ben left he passionatly kissed Kara, not knowing whether or not they would ever see each other again.
The Flying Tigers: Ben fought in World War 2 against the Japanese. He joined the fighter pilot strike force known as the Flying Tigers . He became a renowned pilot with over 30 combat missions. During an attack Ben's plane was shot down. Ben survived and ended up in the Chinese wilderness.