Cue Maniacal Laughter

[DirkRhyolite]

Assuming the treasure chests are hundreds--if not thousands--of years old, how can some of them have live explosives inside?

My theory: Spelunky has a rival, just like Indy had that French dude. After years of Tibetan meditation, this rival has mastered the lost art of moving in the frozen region. He is always lurking just offscreen, desperately plotting ways to eliminate his more successful competitor. It is he who plants the bombs in the chests. It is he who hired alien mercenaries to search and destroy Spelunky. It is he who operates the Giant Head via remote control.

Nobody knows what this rival looks like, or even what his name is. But he is always there, waiting, waiting for his chance to monopolize the tomb-raiding market once and for all...

[beatthelastboss]

Never compare spelunky man to Indy... EVER!!!

[eguee]

No, it's just Derek. He's off-screen, quickly drawing out the images that should appear as Spelunkyman walks. But sometimes he screws up, and that's how the bombchests come. And sometimes he's just so tired, that he draws stuff to kill Spelunkyman so that he doesn't need to draw any more sprites.

[Kegluneq]

A wizard did it. Probably a cave-wizard.

[Usernamehere]

A wizard did it.

The shopkeeper did it. In fact, the shopkeeper is probably Indie's rival. He's got a mob of yetis, cavemen and cultists out to kill our spelunking hero, all the while trying to make a buck by selling Indie stuff. Why else would he be kidnapping damsals to put in kissing booths? To spite Spelunky man and make him attack, so Shopkeep can kill him without looking like a bad guy.

Also, the shopkeeper has mastered ninjutsu which is how he appears to be in many places at once. The last shopkeep you kill before exiting a level is the 'original', and he always come back from the dead. At worst, he suffers major-burns or lead in his face, and at worst, falls down a pit or lands on spikes. Maybe he keeps coming back?

/fanfic