Tarzan (Character) Tarzan (Character) from Tarzan (1999) The content of this page was created by users. It has not been screened or verified by IMDb staff. There may be more photos available for this character. To select more photos to be displayed in this character's gallery, click the Edit Photos link. Overview Tarzan is the main character in Edgar Rice Burroughs' book "Tarzan... See more » Alternate Names: Infant Tarzan / Shame / Tarsan / Tarzan Aerial Artist / Tarzan Kid / Tarzan Teenager / Tarzan aged 12 / Tarzan aged one / Tarzan as a Boy / Tarzan enfant / Tarzan of the Apes / Tarzun / Tarzï¿½n / Teenage Tarzan / Young Tarzan Filmography ... aka "NBC's Saturday Night" - USA (complete title) ... aka "SNL" - USA (informal title) ... aka "SNL 25" - USA (alternative title) ... aka "Saturday Night" - USA (first season title) ... aka "Saturday Night Live '80" - USA (sixth season title) ...

aka "Saturday Night Live 15" - USA (fifteenth season title) ... aka "Saturday Night Live 20" - USA (twentieth season title) ... aka "Saturday Night Live 25" - USA (twentyfifth season title) The Legend of Tarzan | Disney Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia The Legend of Tarzan [Source] The Legend of Tarzan is an animated television series created by the Walt Disney Company in 2001 , based on the Tarzan character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs . Initially meant as first original series (though ultimately shunted to UPN's " Disney's One Too " lineup), it also appeared on in India. The Legend of Tarzan picks up where the 1999 feature film left off, with the title character adjusting to his new role as leader of the apes following Kerchak 's death, and Jane (whom he has since married) adjusting to life in the jungle. Rounding out the cast are Jane's father, Professor Archimedes Q. Porter ; Tantor , the germophobic elephant; and Terk , a wisecracking female ape and Tarzan's old wrestling buddy.

The series would adapt elements from numerous other Tarzan books, such as Queen La , the Waziri Tribe, and Pelucidar, a hidden world of dinosaurs. Several episodes unaired during the original run would be edited together into the Tarzan and Jane movie, but found their way in individual form in re-runs. This series was never shown on video in its entirety. Instead, several scenes were integrated into a game in the Tarzan & Jane DVD, named the Tarzan & Jane Adventure Builder, in which the player has to decide the characters' actions, using the remote control's arrow keys, while choosing a path, while Tantor narrates, gamebook style. Contents Characters Main characters Tarzan ( Michael T. Weiss ) - Since the end of the film, Tarzan assumed his role as leader of the Gorillas. He married Jane and they live happily in the jungle, residing in the old treehouse that Tarzan's parents had built before their deaths.

Although Tarzan doesn't live with his mother and the other gorillas, Tarzan will still leap into action to protect them at any length, and he often returns to seek Kala's advice in dealing with situations such as the doubts of the other gorillas, and Jane wanting him to be more "civilized". While helping Jane get over her more romantic ideas about jungle life, she acts as his guide to the duplicity in human nature—and insists he eat his food from a plate. It is a never-ending growth process for both, with some startling insights into what "civilized" means, and some uproarious stumbling blocks along the way. Jane Porter ( Olivia d'Abo ) - Daughter of Archimedes Porter and wife of Tarzan. Jane is married to Tarzan and they live in the very treehouse built by Tarzan's late parents. Throughout the series, Jane is shown to have adjusted quite well to her new jungle life with Tarzan, but often when she begins to miss her old life and England, she tries to get Tarzan to act more "civilized" which sometimes poses as a problem to Tarzan's morals.

Her appearance and human actions often cause some members of Tarzan's Gorilla Tribe to have doubts about her and question Tarzan's "leadership". She is often the damsel in distress of the series, either being kidnapped or held hostage by the episode's antagonist, only for Tarzan to rescue her. Terk ( April Winchell ) - Terk the Gorilla loves the spotlight, and she's perfect "big sister" material because she's Tarzan's closest friend—protective, concerned, and absolutely convinced that Tarzan can't survive without her. Terk loves telling Tarzan what to do—that is, until Tarzan's physical strength proves he can hold her in a headlock instead. Even though Terk is a bit bossy at times, Tarzan knows it's because Terk cares, though she will never say so willingly. Tantor ( Jim Cummings ) - "Someone's gonna get hurt, and it's always me!" is Tantor's rallying cry. Despite his size and relative stature within the jungle kingdom, Tantor the Elephant is a coward - he is afraid of anything and everything, including bacteria, pond scum, piranhas (which are not even found in Africa), and anything else that can be named.

But when it comes to helping Tarzan in trouble, Tantor shows know-it-all Terk a thing or two in the bravery department and leads the way. Kala ( Susanne Blakeslee ) - If his woes become too great or his thoughts too burdensome, Tarzan seeks seclusion and the calm council of his mother, Kala. A sympathetic ear when Tarzan needs someone wise to talk to, Kala acts as the voice of the apes, always reminding Tarzan of his unique obligations to the family. She is also Jane's closest confidant. The two share a warm, strong bond, and Jane regards her mother-in-law as her only kindred spirit in the jungle. From Kala's point of view, Jane is the human daughter she never had. Kala was Kerchak's mate, and perhaps the only one besides Tarzan that ever openly defied him without repercussions. Kala' s open mind is a well of great wisdom and she is almost always right. Even though Kerchak is gone, she is still highly respected. Although kind and motherly to Tarzan, Jane, and all the gorillas, Kala is almost undoubtedly the bravest gorilla in the family.

When the family was trapped in a cave by Tublat, Kala bravely stood up to the villain, and encouraged all the other gorillas to be brave as well. Kala's presence and support keeps the family together and ensures that they are always there for each other even in the most dire situations. Professor Archimedes Q. Porter ( Jeff Bennett ) - Father of Jane, Professor Porter is a noted scientist with years of expertise studying gorillas, though prior to arriving in Africa in the first film, he's never seen one in the wild. Sometimes the kindhearted professor gets so absorbed in his thinking that he simply forgets what he's doing. Even so, Jane doesn't bat an eye at her father's eccentric antics—she's used to them and shares his enthusiasm. When they both finally meet the gorillas, it's the fulfillment of a lifelong dream—even if the professor does faint at the sight. Recurring characters Flynt and Mungo ( Erik von Detten and Jason Marsden ) - Clueless ape brothers Flynt and Mungo have grown up along with Tarzan, but they're still as dopey as ever.

Maybe it's too much self-inflicted head trauma from playing their childhood game "Stop hitting yourself", but their IQs don't seem to have improved with time. The brothers don't mean any harm, but likely as not, their dumb behavior is bound to give Tarzan some serious headaches as he flies to save them—and protect the family—from danger. Since they spend all their time together, being separated will cause them to freak out. Booto - The leader of a Rhinoceros herd. Manu ( Frank Welker ) - A mischievous baby baboon, who is fascinated with humans, and, when no one is looking, he is irresistibly drawn to rummaging through their belongings and trying on their clothes. He may even run off with a shiny keepsake or two. Like an inquisitive kid, he leaves a mess behind, which means a red-faced Tarzan and the other family members are usually stuck with cleaning up after him. His mischief, however, sometimes ends up doing more good than first assumed. Renard Dumont ( René Auberjonois ) - Slick, opportunistic French proprietor of "Dumont's Trading Post" (est.

1912) whose lust for material gain is compromised only by his persistent attempts to, through oily charm and token gestures, lure Jane from her cozy life with Tarzan. Though somewhat of a nemesis in his first appearance, he later becomes a reluctant ally of Tarzan. A good example is when he disguises himself as a high-ranking official in order to secure the release of Tarzan, Hugo and Hooft. He even allows Tarzan and his friends to borrow one of his boats to find out the source of the poison that has flown into the river and endangered the jungle, knowing that the contaminated water would ruin his business. Hugo and Hooft ( Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty) - Loose caricatures of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby , c. the "Road to" series. Deserters of the French Foreign Legion, these Americans now work for Dumont, though they still have the occasional run-in with Lt. Colonel Staquait (their former superior), who considers their insubordination (refusal to raze a village of women and children) a capital offense. They also seem to owe money to Joey the Shark, a loan shark in Chicago, which is probably why they joined the Legion in the first place.

Although they are smooth-talking conmen who try to cheat people out of money, they are good-natured and willing to do anything for their friends. A good example is when they are arrested and sent to prison. When Tarzan helps them escape, they have the chance to flee, but return to save him from being executed. Jabari (Taylor Dempsey) - Elephant offspring of Baruti and Jamila bearing an uncanny resemblance to the young Tantor. He and "Mr. Tantor" have bonded over their shared phobias and paranoia. Chief Keewazi ( James Avery ) - Leader of the Waziri tribe, a group of natives who live deep in the jungle. Basuli ( Phil LaMarr ) - Chief Keewazi's headstrong son and future leader of the Waziri tribe. He becomes good friends with Tarzan. Tarzan once aided Basuli in retrieving an eagle's feather, which he needed as part of a rite of passage in order to marry. Though he and Tarzan are friends, they compete in many ways. Dr. Robin Doyle (Sheena Easton) - A female Irish anthropologist who began her studies in the jungle and has the Professor smitten.

The first time she came to Africa to study the Waziri people with Professor Porter, he was afraid he was too old for her and sought out a fountain that he thought would make the drinker young again. Another time, she brought her nephew Ian. Moyo ( Neil Patrick Harris ) - Another gorilla in Tarzan's family. He once believed Tarzan cared more about Jane than the family. When Hista, an enormous python, attacked while Tarzan was with Jane, Moyo managed to chase Hista away for the time being. When Tarzan returned, he boasted about this one time accomplishment, claimed that Tarzan was too busy being with Jane to protect the family, and challenged Tarzan for leadership of the gorillas. Moyo defeated Tarzan, though only because Tarzan had saved Moyo from an imminent death of being impaled on sharp spikes. Moyo led the family away and, by an error of judgment, into a tar pit. After some conflict, Moyo and Tarzan cooperated to rescue the family and lure Hista into the tar pit, where the great snake became stuck and sank, forever ending the python's reign of terror.

Moyo reconciled with Tarzan, finally seeing that Jane was part of their family, and stepped down as leader. He promised to wait until he was ready to try to become leader again. Despite his arrogance and stubbornness, when the elephants and gorillas engage in jungle warfare, Moyo plays a big part in helping Tarzan lead the gorillas to victory. Just as the gorillas are about to triumph, a fire breaks out, and Moyo is the first gorilla to follow Tarzan's lead in putting out the fire. Hazel , Greenly , and Eleanor ( Tara Strong , Grey DeLisle , and Nicollette Sheridan) - Three upper-class women and Jane's friends from England, who came to the jungle to "save" Jane from Tarzan because they thought that she was unhappy in the jungle. When she tried to show them that she was still the same polished girl they knew from London by throwing a picnic, she asked that Tarzan wear his father's suit. Tarzan, thinking Jane was embarrassed by him, wasn't too thrilled on "being something he wasn't", but after a heart to heart talk with the Professor, he put on the suit.

Meanwhile, her friends were being chased by the panthers, Sheeta and Nuru. Using the skills she learned in the jungle, Jane was able to help her friends survive until Tarzan was able to save them. The next time her friends came to visit, they brought Greenly's fiance, Henry, to the jungle to "toughen him up". After an earthquake created a tidal wave, they ended up lost in the jungle with Henry. The geologist showed exceptional ingenuity and resolve in helping the group survive until Tarzan could save them (again), including wrestling a crocodile and winning. Hazel is mentioned in "Tarzan and the Flying Ace" as being the biggest gossiper in the British Isles, which is how Robert knew where to find Jane. Hazel also happens to be the name of Jane's best friend in the books, sharing her last name with the voice actor, Tara Strong. Villains Tublat ( Keith David ) - A rogue ape and a former member of Tarzan's gorilla family. He challenged Kerchak for leadership but was defeated and cast out. He is considered dangerous by all the gorillas due to his aggressive and sociopathic behavior.

He is based on Kala's husband (and Tarzan's foster father) in the original Tarzan novel. His personality is also very much like the original Kerchak and/or Terkoz from the novel. Conversely, Kerchak's personality in the 1999 film is just like Tublat's in the original novel. He once took over another gorilla family that Gobu belonged to. But the family overthrew him and Gobu replaced him. He often calls Tarzan a hairless runt. He has four toes on his right foot, and this is one way to tell he is in the area. In the series, he plots to dispose of Tarzan so that he can take over the gorilla pack for himself, and makes no secret of his hatred against Tarzan, believing him to be unworthy of leading the gorilla pack (despite Tarzan's actual success as a leader of the gorillas). Queen La (Diahann Carroll) - In the original novels, a high priestess of a blood cult who fell in love with Tarzan.

In her adaptation for the series, she is an utterly vicious sorceress who rules over the abandoned city of Opar, where she lords over the Leopard Men, leopards whom she has changed into humanoid form to serve her. She falls in love with Tarzan after he comes to rescue Jane's father from the Leopard Men, who were capturing males as potential husbands for La. Her attempts to seduce Tarzan fail every time, as his loyalty is firmly with Jane, and in almost every encounter, La is trying to hurt Jane and take Tarzan for herself. She could actually be considered Jane's rival for Tarzan's affections. Her magic staff is eventually shattered by Jane, turning La to dust and the Leopard men back into ordinary leopards. Her spirit still lingers and tries to steal Jane's body and fix her staff. After some forced body switching and getting inside Tarzan, she is eventually forced inside the body of a rat and the staff is destroyed again, trapping her in the rodent form. Samuel T. Philander ( Craig Ferguson ) - Professor Archimedes' academic rival who frequently attempts to steal his ideas or garner fame by turning Tarzan in as the "missing link".

On one occasion, he found Pellucidar yet his photographic proof was ruined by a monkey photographing himself. He even tried to capture the silver ape Mangani who is known for his healing powers. Samuel even tried to capture Tarzan and his men mistaken Archimedes as him. His humiliations reduced him to living in an apartment in Chicago constantly ducking the Landlord when he was visited by Edgar Rice Burroughs about what he knows about Tarzan. He is modeled on the British comedy actor Terry-Thomas ; he is named after Professor Porter's bumbling assistant in the original Tarzan novel. Count Nikolas Rokoff ( Ron Perlman ) - A greedy former Russian count stripped of his title who hears about a treasure in the valley of the leopards and plans to find it to regain his title. Tarzan refuses to help him until Rokoff threatens to kill Jane if he doesn't. His intellectual battle with Tarzan goes like a chess game until Tarzan finally releases the last few leopards from the boarded up cave on him, but it is unclear if they kill Rokoff or not. Lt. Colonel Staquait ( Jim Cummings ) - A vicious, scar-faced Colonel in the French Foreign Legion.

He sees himself on the right side of the law, but his draconian means do not justify his actions, putting him at odds with Tarzan. He acts as judge and executioner, and has made it his goal to hunt down Hugo and Hooft, after they refused his order to burn down a village full of women and children. Tarzan helped fake their demise, but eventually the Colonel learned the truth and imprisoned them. Tarzan ended up imprisoned in Fort Doom as well, then after allowing Hugo and Hoof to escape, was sentenced to hang. But Tarzan was released after Renard impersonated a French magistrate, which Staquait doesn't notice as the heroes safely returned to Africa by steamship. Thaddeus Hunt ( Kevin Michael Richardson ) - The leader of a band of kidnappers (presumably drug traffickers) who try to kidnap Tarzan and former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt for ransom money. His two main minions are Jake and Sam. He and his men are eventually arrested by Roosevelt's two government agents. Nuru and Sheeta - They are two black panthers that frequently find and battle Tarzan. They are sometimes seen as part of a group of leopards.

Mbaya - A rogue bull elephant who originally belonged to the same herd as Jabari and his parents. Mabaya, like all rogues, is almost constantly angry and tramples anything he sees for almost no apparent reason. He is easily recognized by his broken right tusk and bloodshot red eyes. Episodes featuring Mabaya usually require Tantor to overcome his fears and face down the renegade in an elephantine match of strength. Johannes Niels and Merkus ( John O'Hurley and Jim Cummings ) - Two miners who first came to the jungle to mine diamonds. Niels is the tall, blond haired and calmer of the two, and Merkus is shorter, muscular, and more violent. Tarzan agreed to guide them to a volcano to dig for diamonds, on the condition that he get one to give to Jane. After a mishap, they lose their diamonds and leave in chains. They later return to retrieve the diamonds, which may not have survived the lava. They are attacked by Tublat, who they capture, and are about to take him around the world until Tarzan, along with a protesting Terk, rescue him. Once again, Niels and Merkus leave the jungle empty handed.

Hista - A giant snake that threatens the gorilla family and no one seems able to fight evenly. He threatens the gorillas until Tarzan and Moyo manage to lure him into a tar pit, where the snake dies sinking into it. Ian McTeague (Charles Napier) - A corrupt greedy businessman. He started up an illegal mining operation near the mountain, where he and his men believe that there is gold for them to dig. As they do so, they use the water from the river to irrigate their operation, where they separate the dirt from ore with chemcials, which are then later spilled out into the rest of the river heading towards the jungle. Because of this, it has caused a plague among the animals drinking it (even Tantor almost fell victim to it). Even the Waziri tribe fell victim to the plague, as they used the river for their crops and traveling. Needless to say, McTeague doesn't care about the toxicity of the chemicals and continues dumping them into the river, as he still wants to be rich.

Upon learning about the mine, Tarzan and his friends ally with the Waziri tribe to build a dam to block the river and then break it down to have the speeding water destroy the whole mine for good, leaving the river fresh and clean again. McTeague and his men then leave in a huff, but not after McTeague angrily swears revenge against Tarzan and the Waziri tribe for ruining his mining operation. Lady Waltham (Amanda Donohue) - An aristocratic lady and the sister of the deceased Clayton (originally intended to be his widow) who wants revenge on Tarzan for killing her brother (at least, in her own mind). She had her valet Hobson capture those close to him and she then poisoned Tarzan. Tarzan was then given a challenge by Lady Waltham which was either save those he is close to from danger or head to a mountain she dubbed "Clayton's Peak" where the antidote is. Though Tarzan managed to save his friends and family, he then ended up saving Lady Waltham from leopards. Afterwards, she gave Tarzan the antidote realizing that Tarzan would never have killed her brother.

She is implied to have made peace with Tarzan and his family and has returned to her original life. Hobson ( Jim Cummings ) - Lady Waltham's valet. Muviro ( Kevin Michael Richardson ) - a treacherous Waziri warrior and one of Basuli's subordinates. Despite serving for Basuli, Muviro holds a personal hatred and jealousy against the chief's son, and happens to be hostile towards outsiders (mainly Tarzan and his friends). Upon learning that Basuli is planning to get an eagle's feather with Tarzan's help as part of the customs for Basuli to marry and be future chief, Muviro secretly plotted to dispose of Basuli so that he himself can be the new chief. He caused several incidents during Tarzan and Basuli's joruney: such as chopping down a tree into a river they were crossing over, disturbing a herd of rhinoceros to stampede after the duo, and causing a rock slide on them in an elephant graveyard near the mountain. After the third attempt fails, Muviro reveals his true colors to both Tarzan and Basuli before engaging into a fight with the latter.

Fortunately, Basuli defeats Muviro and banishes him from the tribe for his treachery, and Muviro is last seen walking away into the midst with an angry look on his face, implying that he might return to get revenge. Robert Canler ( Jeff Bennett ) - Jane's old childhood friend and next door neighbour who knew her since she was five, nicknamed Bobby. He is an ace pilot who carries a sword disguised as a cane with a silver edge and a Webley pistol and flies in a Sopwith with floats. He was once working for the British Intelligence but switched to the German army as a double agent when he realised how profitable it would be, by bringing them a code machine, which was disguised as a music box he gave Jane. Despite his betrayal of Jane, he prevents her from certain death and is eventually arrested by Captain Nigel Tailer of the RAF. Minor characters Bob Markham ( Mark Harmon ) - A logger, widower, and single father to his daughter Abby. After his wife died, he sunk everything he had into logging. However, the way he was logging tore up so much soil, that a long dormant plague was released and threatened to kill his men, and daughter.

With help from Tarzan and Terk, Markham gathered all but one of the ingredients for the cure. The last one was a flower that was only found in one part of the jungle, until Markham's men bulldozed over them while logging. By some luck, Abby had picked one of them before, and Jane showed her how to press it, thus preserving it. After Abby and Markham's men were cured, they ceased logging and started to plant the seeds saved from the flower. Abigail "Abby" Markham (Nicolette Little) - Abby Markham is the daughter of Bob Markham, she appears to be 5–9 years old, but may be older. Markham loves his daughter, and will do anything for her. When she falls ill with the same plague that threatens his men, he asks for Tarzan's help to cure her. Together, they get all but one ingredient for the cure, a flower found only in an area that Markham's men had bulldozed over; Luckily, Abby had picked one of the flowers and preserved it by pressing it. She is last seen playing tag with Jane and Terk. Gobu ( Tate Donovan ) - A gorilla from another family.

Tarzan and Terk found him being attacked by hyenas and saved him. He ended up with a broken leg. Terk felt she wasn't girly enough for him. He managed to trick Tarzan into coming with him to his family so he could meet his leader. Tarzan then finds out Tublat is his leader. He showed up a few months ago and killed Gobu's original leader. Tublat and Tarzan prepare to battle, but Gobu stands up to him and reminds everyone that there is strength in numbers and the gorillas gang up on Tublat, driving him off. Gobu then steps in to take place as new leader. Terk tries her lady charms, but Gobu tells her that he always liked Terk the way she is. They both end up leaving to throw mud at warthogs. Zutho ( Jason Alexander ) - A shady mandrill that Tarzan, Terk, and Tantor first encountered as kids at the forbidden side of the river. While Tarzan teaches Zutho and his friends how to make spears, a fire broke out and nearly destroyed the jungle but the rain had put it down. Tarzan blamed himself and ended up in Zutho's debt.

20 years later, Zutho resurfaces in order to get Tarzan to fulfill his favor into dealing with some annoying monkeys that were keeping him up at night. With help from Jane, Terk, and Tantor, Tarzan did the right thing and admitted what happened the day of the fire to Kala, who then dealt with Zutho. Gozan ( John DiMaggio ) - A mandrill who is one of Zutho's friends. Edgar Rice Burroughs (Steven Weber) - A book writer who was in need of inspiration for his next novel. He eventually finds it when discovering about Tarzan. After meeting some of Tarzan's acquaintances, he finally meets Tarzan when Tarzan saves him. After a talk with Tarzan and Jane he creates a novel (in comparison to the reality version of it) and his boss says everyone will remember him by it. He was also a real person who wrote the Tarzan series. Theodore Roosevelt ( Stephen Root ) - Former President of the United States . The writers take Roosevelt's real life post presidency trip to Africa for the Natural History Museum of New York and put it in the series.

The growling sound effects for the gorillas were recycled ones by Clarence Nash. Episodes Main article: The Legend of Tarzan episode list Episode Goofs In "The Prison Break", Hugo states to a local prison mate as he, Hooft, and Tarzan begin their breakout, "We'll send you a postcard from Zaire". This is inaccurate as the series takes place sometime within 1912, while the Republic of Zaire was the name, between 1971 and 1997, of a Central African state, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Republic of Zaire was a Belgian colony named Belgian Congo in 1912. Gallery Tarzan of the Apes Citations Tarzan of the Apes is the first of twenty-four novels in the Tarzan/Adventures of Lord Greystoke series by Sir Edgar Rice Burroughs. The book is an American publication and was first published in 1912 in a magazine titled the All Story . Tarzan was born in the African jungle to Lord John and Lady Alice Greystoke. After the death of Lord and Lady Greystoke, Tarzan was taken and raised by the ape Kala.

Tarzan grew knowing nothing of his "human" life, always thinking that he was an ape. With the help of the books and tools left in what was once the cabin where Tarzan's parents lived, he was able to teach himself to read and write, but not to speak. Years later, an American gentleman and his daughter Jane visited the jungle in hopes of finding buried treasure. Instead, they found Tarzan, who worked to protect them. The Americans and other men in their group did not stay long, they returned to America. Tarzan was so in love with Jane that he followed her to America and once again protected her, this time from a forest fire and an unsuitable suitor, only to be turned down when she decided to marry another man. About the Author Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) After a chain of unsuccessful jobs, Burroughs turned his efforts to writing in order to support his family. Although he was first successful with a series of stories set on Mars, Tarzan was the character that cemented his name into literary history.

Top Dialogues Tarzan of the Apes illustrates Tarzan as not only a jungle hero, but a man who is able to communicate in many languages and styles. He can speak with animals in their language and teaches himself to communicate in English writing and later the spoken word. However, he uses each language differently and treats the recipiants of his languages differently as well. Tarzan to the Animals Tarzan, though a citizen of the jungle, shows little respect for the other animals in the jungle. He is continually looking to kill lions and other animals for their skins and simply to show his brute strength. When dared by men, not knowing of his jungle upbringing, to kill a lion with nothing but a bit of rope and a knife, he complies. Having lived among these animals for so long does not influence his decision, he simply kills for sport. Tarzan to Women Lacking in respect for the animals of the jungle, Tarzan lacks none for Jane. He loves her and tries his best to care for her. Although Jane's reactions to his advances seem somewhat shocking, she adores him and admires his strength and animal behavior.

Tarzan likewise has fallen in love with Jane and gives up all he knows in order to follow her to the United States, and saves her life once again. This time, rather than take her away into the jungle, he chivilriously allows her to make her own decision in the face of marriage. Unlike many of the male characters in African literature, Tarzan choses not to devote his life to any woman except Jane. In this way he is devoted like Mbenda in Agatha Moudio's Son , yet different from Okonkwo or El Hadji in Things Fall Apart and Xala . Tarzan to the Villiage of Mbonga Tarzan behaves essentially as a colonist toward the Villiage of Mbonga. He steals arrows from them and frightens them into thinking he is a god. Although these people look more like him than any ape in the jungle, Tarzan views them as completely different. The racism Tarzan shows toward this tribe in not unlike that which Kurtz and Marlow show toward the Africans in Heart of Darkness . Tarzan to American and European Men Tarzan shows great respect to the men who accompany Jane to his jungle. He protects them and makes sure that they are always safe.

He then conforms to their ways, in a similar fashion as El Hadji does in Xala ending his colonization by taking the place of the colonizer. Top Notes Edgar Rice Burroughs' novel Tarzan of the Apes seems to strongly indicate his feelings of the full civilization of white men and the lack of civilization of for other humans. "The immediate vision of the book figures those ideological correlatives of the Western sign - empiricism, idealism, mimeticism, monoculturalism - that sustain a tradition of discipline of Commonwealth history" (Berglund 55) Tarzan, even though secluded in the jungle, teaches himself to read. Burroughs explains this simply by the fact that as a human his knowledge is superior to that of not only the apes, but to the villagers of Mbonga's tribe. In fact, when Jane Porter and her father arrive in the harbor, Tarzan writes them a note warning, "This is the house of Tarzan, the killer of beasts and many black men. Do not harm the things which are Tarzan's. Tarzan watches" (Burroughs 116). The "black men" that Tarzan killed, were lynched by his hand and his rope.

In addition, Tarzan gives no thought to writing to the Porters, yet not once does he write to the village of Mbonga. In response to this, Jeff Berglund critiques, "If he [Tarzan] intuits that writing is a product of humans, why does he refrain from using it with other humans? If the binary opposite of textuality is orality, then the Africans of the Mbongan tribe in their extreme orality - cannibalism - are alienated from the English book, from all that it connotes, the power it bestows. Burroughs seems to be suggesting that WRITE = WHITE = RIGHT(CIVILIZATION). Moreover, he suggests that Tarzan senses an inherent connection between the written word, the self-created English book and whiteness: he intuits that writing is a means of communication between white humans, not just between paper and reader" (60). Through his writing, Burroughs creates a character that does not view life and humanity, but only to better his own circumstances and those of Jane Porter. Films and Other Tarzan Paraphenalia Tarzan is one of the best known characters in all fiction.

In 1917, the first movie based on his adventures was made starring Elmo Lincoln. There were later movies, most recently a Disney version, as well as comic books, comic strips, Playstation games , and countless other forms of Tarzan paraphernalia. Tarzan has become an archetype of the great lover, and the strongest man. One could even say he was one of the sources for the hit series Survivor . Meet the Comic Book 'Tarzan' Wannabes | Hollywood Reporter 11:00am PT by Graeme McMillan Meet the Comic Book 'Tarzan' Wannabes Michael Kaluta/Marvel Entertainment It's not easy to fill the loincloth of Edgar Rice Burroughs' hero, but a surprising number of comic book characters have tried. Considering the comic book success of Tarzan across the decades, it should come as no surprise that the errant Viscount Greystoke should have inspired similar creations in the medium, but each of the ersatz Lords of the Jungle had their own selling points to separate them from Edgar Rice Burroughs' character, however vaguely.

The five characters below are far from the only Tarzan-related comic book characters in existence — Spider-Man's enemy Kraven the Hunter bears strains of the same DNA, as do pre-historic throwback Tor, Jann of the Jungle ("Can Jann save 'The Lost Safari'?" asked one 1956 cover) and countless other characters. Each one, however, offers up a different facet of how Tarzan made an impact in the comic medium as a whole. Not only a lord of the jungle, Tarzan turned out to be the forerunner of an entire species of comic hero, it turned out. Sheena, Queen of the Jungle Sheena is a far more interesting character from a meta-textual angle than she is in-story; an orphan who raised herself in the jungle, Sheena's backstory is actually pretty generic. One of an initial wave of Tarzan-inspired characters, Sheena has a particularly fascinating pedigree; she was co-created by Will Eisner, who would later go on to create The Spirit and be named the father of the graphic novel, and was the first female character to ever headline her own comic book (Sheena, Queen of the Jungle launched in 1942).

She's also one of the first times a concept has been adapted across genres, ahead of such characters as Supergirl, Batgirl and Spider-Woman. First Appearance: Wags No. 1 (1937) Yarmak, Jungle King Australian jungle hero Yarmak wasn't just modeled after Tarzan — he was created as a specific replacement for him, after Tarzan comics were withdrawn from sale in the country. This isn't a unique situation in comics, thanks to the various international licensing agreements between publishers; Alan Moore's groundbreaking Miracleman comics feature a character created to replace Captain Marvel in the U.K. after a similar situation, for example. For a last-minute fill-in, Yarmak did pretty well for himself, lasting an impressive 56 issues before disappearing into obscurity. Some up and coming writer somewhere should consider a post-modern revival before it's too late. First Appearance: Yarmak, Jungle King No.

1 (1949) Turok, Son of Stone Turok's origins might not mark him as an obvious Tarzan figure — he's, at least initially, a pre-historic Native American teen lost in a valley filled with dinosaurs — but both the format of those early stories and, notably, his co-creator Rex Maxon (who drew the Tarzan newspaper strip for years prior to this series) display the effect that the Lord of the Jungle has. Latter incarnations of Turok, who has been revived by Valiant Entertainment in the '90s and Dynamite Entertainment just a few years ago, would play up the notion of an honorable figure in a savage environment even more. Think of him as aping the appeal of the original without swiping the concept. First Appearance: Four Color Comics No. 596 (1954) Ka-Zar, Lord of the Hidden Jungle Perhaps the most high-profile Tarzan rip-off — I mean, "influenced character," of course — Ka-Zar first debuted as a pulp hero in 1936, before being revamped by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and folded into the Marvel comic book universe early in the line's existence.

An English aristocrat orphaned in the "Savage Land" — a tropical area in the Antarctic where dinosaurs continue to exist, because comics — he was raised by a saber-toothed tiger with near-human intelligence. When not safeguarding the Savage Land, Ka-Zar periodically visits the civilized world, saber-toothed tiger in tow, to teach the urban jungle the laws of the real thing. To all intents and purposes, he's the most obvious lift from the original, with the only real twist being that he co-exists with superheroes occasionally. First Appearance: X-Men No. 10 (1965) Lord Blackstock A clear analog of Tarzan, created purely to comment on the tropes and ideas behind the original character — an increasingly common trick in 1990s and early-2000s comics, with characters like Supreme and Tom Strong serving similar purposes for Superman, elsewhere — Lord Blackstock originated in Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's Planetary, a series filled with pulp and genre stand-ins to illuminate the meta-text of the impact superheroes had on older adventure fiction genres.

The father of one of the series' main characters, Blackstock was a straight-up Tarzan riff inserted into Opak-re, a technologically advanced secret African society similar to Marvel's Wakanda. First Appearance: Planetary No. 1 (1999) Graeme McMillan The problem with Tarzan - CNN.com The problem with Tarzan By Lewis Beale Updated 7:54 AM ET, Tue July 5, 2016 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. Photos: Tarzan through the years In 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs created the character of the loinclothed legend, a white man swinging through the African jungle on a fever dream of paternalistic imperialism. Hollywood followed, and through more than 40 screen versions over a century was careful to leave actual Africans out of the picture, except as broad stereotypes. Tarzan is back in theaters again. Here, in a 1959 publicity shot for the film, "Tarzan, the Ape Man", Denny Miller strikes the classic pose for the Tarzan yell.

Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: Tarzan through the years The fourth screen version of Tarzan was a 15-part movie silent serial, "Adventures of Tarzan", starring Elmo Lincoln, a little less naked in an animal skin. Stranded in Africa after his English parents die, young Tarzan is raised by an ape, battles animals and a volcano, and rescues Jane from Arab slave traders. A window card for the 1921 serial shows scenes. Hide Caption 2 of 8 Photos: Tarzan through the years American actor Herman Brix (later known as Bruce Bennett), plays Tarzan in 1938's "Tarzan and the Green Goddess," a cloak-and-dagger adventure (there's a super-explosive hidden in an idol) set in Guatemala. It features perhaps the most absurd Tarzan yell ever. Hide Caption 3 of 8 Photos: Tarzan through the years Here he is, the classic Hollywod Tarzan: Olympic swimming champion-turned-actor Johnny Weissmuller in 1941's "Tarzan's Secret Treasure," also starring Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane and Johnny Sheffield as Boy.

Weissmuller appeared in a dozen Tarzan films, first for MGM, then RKO. He owns the classic Tarzan yell. Hide Caption 4 of 8 Photos: Tarzan through the years The super buff American actor Gordon Scott did six Tarzan films for RKO in five years before going on to play Hercules and other shirtless characters in a series of sword-and-sandals flicks. Here he is in 1955's "Tarzan's Hidden Jungle," filmed on location in California. Hide Caption 5 of 8 Photos: Tarzan through the years The Tarzan franchise pretty much went dark in the '70s, but returned for a sexy swing with Bo Derek and Miles O'Keeffe in 1981's "Tarzan, The Ape Man," panned by the critics, despite the presence of the esteemed actor (and future Dumbledore) Richard Harris as Jane's father. Film critic Leonard Maltin called the movie "deranged." Hide Caption 6 of 8 Photos: Tarzan through the years The most egregious example of Hollywood's aversion to portraying Africa or Africans, has to be Disney's 1999 animated "Tarzan," writes Lewis Beale.

While set "on 'the dark continent,' it contains not a single African figure. No gun bearers, tribal leaders, nada. It's as if some anti-black plague has struck." Hide Caption 7 of 8 Photos: Tarzan through the years 2016's take on Tarzan, "The Legend of Tarzan", features Alexander Skarsgård (shown here with Samuel L. Jackson) as the white hero, but avoids many of the earlier Tarzan mistakes, writes Beale. Native characters, most of them played by African actors, such as Benin native Djimon Honsou, have speaking roles, and the film gives a sophisticated view of African society. Hide Caption 'Tarzan': The Forgotten Comic Book Legend | Hollywood Reporter 11:59am PT by Graeme McMillan The Forgotten Comic Book Legend of 'Tarzan' Courtesy of Tarzan Comic Cover, image credit Joe Kubert/DC Entertainment Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle hero has been leaping around comics since 1929, with releases from DC, Marvel and more. Tarzan might not be a character many associate with comics, but he's been a constant presence in the medium since 1929.

With series issued by Marvel, DC and many other publishers and a long-running newspaper strip that featured work from some of the medium's greatest artists, the question might be asked: Why don't more people know about the Lord of the Jungle's comic career? The character got his start in the medium with a newspaper strip created for the United Features Syndicate in 1929 that originally adapted Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1912 Tarzan of the Apes novel with art by Hal Foster, who would later go on to create Prince Valiant. Subsequent stories would mix adaptations of novels and all-new material, with artists on the strip including Nick Cardy (known for his work on DC's Aquaman and Teen Titans), Burne Hogarth and comic book great Russ Manning. The strip would run until 1972 before switching to reprints on the daily material, with the Sunday strip running all-new stories until 2000 before it, too, became an all-reprint feature. By the time Manning signed onto the newspaper strip in 1967, he already had some Tarzan experience under his belt; by that point, he'd been drawing the hero's comic book for some years.

The initial Tarzan comic books were simply collections of the newspaper strip, although he graduated to all-new adventures with 1947's Four Color Comics No. 134, published by Dell Comics — an appearance so successful that it led to a return engagement in the 161st issue of the series ("Tarzan and the FIRES of TOHR!" the cover exclaimed, with artist Jesse Marsh showing a laughing Tarzan, knife in hand, as multi-colored flames burned behind him), and then to his own series, which launched in 1948. Featuring artwork from Marsh, Doug Wildey and Russ Manning, the Tarzan series ran through 1972 — switching publishers from Dell to corporate sibling Gold Key with 1962's No. 132 — and was successful enough to spin off a Korak: Son of Tarzan title. That wasn't enough for the Burroughs estate, which wanted more product and ended up moving the rights to DC Comics to ensure that happened. DC's Tarzan comic maintained the numbering of the earlier run, but gave the character a visual makeover thanks to Joe Kubert, whose lush linework and dynamic staging brought an energy to Tarzan that previous comics versions had missed.

(Kubert's Tarzan material remains many fans' high watermark for the character in comics; a high-quality reprint was published by IDW in recent years.) DC also continued the Korak series, retitling it Tarzan Family, and launched a Weird Worlds anthology title based on other Burroughs characters, but sales weren't high enough to support the arrangement. After just five years, ERB, Inc. and DC parted ways, and Tarzan moved to DC's biggest competitors, Marvel Comics. Marvel put two of its top creators — Roy Thomas and John Buscema, late of both Fantastic Four and the wildly successful Conan the Barbarian comic — on the relaunched Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle series, which ran from 1977 through 1979, but it was a doomed relationship, with both Marvel and ERB, Inc., pulling in different directions from the start; everything from story length to visual aesthetic was up for debate, and after just 29 issues, the series was cancelled and Tarzan left comic books for the first time in three decades. He would return, of course.

After a couple of false starts — Marvel tried to resurrect the character in the mid-1980s, and Malibu, an independent later purchased by Marvel, would do the same in 1992 — Dark Horse Comics took on the character in 1995 with Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan the Lost Adventure, a series that tried to recreate the pulp feel of Burroughs' original stories (horror writer Joe R. Lansdale even completed an unfinished Burroughs story for the series). The success of that four-issue series launched a number of subsequent projects, including team-ups with DC's Superman and Batman, and a series which pit the lord of the jungle against 20th Century Fox's Predator. While ERB has officially licensed Tarzan to Dark Horse, a second independent publisher, Dynamite Entertainment, launched its own Tarzan comic in 2011 thanks to the fact that the original novel was, by that point, in the public domain. A lawsuit followed, ending in 2014 with a new partnership between Dynamite and ERB .

Currently, Dynamite is in the midst of a relaunch of the property that teams Tarzan with fellow jungle hero Sheena in a new series called Lords of the Jungle. With such a lengthy history — almost 70 years in comic books, with an additional 18 in newspaper strips — Tarzan turns out to be one of the longest-serving comic heroes around, even if it's not a medium often associated with the character. Graeme McMillan

Question: Who created the character of Tarzan?
Answer: Edgar Rice Burroughs