JOHN CARTER

TARZAN: THE EPIC ADVENTURES (TRENDMASTERS)

“The Warlord of Mars!  Faster, smarter and a better swordsman than any Martian warrior, John Carter has no equal!”

Writer Edgar Rice Burroughs is perhaps best know for his creation Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, but Tarzan isn’t actually Burroughs’ first enduring pulp hero.  That would be the star of his “Barsoom” series, John Carter, Warlord of Mars.  John Carter is a precursor to…well, just about every major sci-fi hero since, so, you know, kind of a big deal.  Despite his significance in the world of fiction, John’s not had the same level of success as Tarzan.  They both had Disney movies, but one has a Phil Collins soundtrack that shaped a generation, and the other is the victim of executive in-fighting and got essentially no merchandising.  Tarzan’s gotten a lot of merch over the years, especially action figures.  Carter?  Well, he’s got a couple.  Here’s one of them.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

John Carter was released as part of Trendmasters’ 1995 Tarzan: The Epic Adventures line, specifically under its “Conqueror of Mars” sub-line.  He was available one of three ways.  First, as part of a two-pack with the Thark O Mad Zad, then in a larger nine figure boxed set, and then finally alongside his wife Deja Thoris.  The figure stands (or crouches, anyway) 3 1/2 inches tall and he has 3 points of articulation.  Movement is limited to swivels at the neck and both shoulders.  None of the joints are fully unobstructed, especially the shoulders, but there’s a bit of variety to be had nonetheless.  The sculpt to this guy is unique.  He’s sporting some intricate armor, which is a little larger and more involved than we usually see John in, but it’s also not totally out of place.  He’s incredibly pre-posed, to the point that a Total Justice figure looks tame.  He’s got a very serious deep lunge going on.  All of that pre-posing makes the exact proportions of John seem…off?  The arms are most certainly too long for the rest of the body, but at least they’re bent at the elbows, so as to better hide it.  His head is a reasonable enough rendition of John.  The scream is kind of an odd choice, as that’s more of a Tarzan thing, but it works in a sort of action oriented sense.  John’s color work feels pretty true to the illustrations of the character.  He’s kind of orange, but less-so than Deja Thoris, suggesting it’s just from all the time he’s spent on the red planet.  John was packed with a sword and small pistol, allowing for him to really get into that action-oriented orientation.  For action.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I knew Tarzan from all manner of media tie-ins when I was a kid, but didn’t know John Carter prior to this line.  In my defense, I was three.  Given it was a Tarzan line, I was more invested in Tarzan, but my dad, a pretty big Barsoom fan, was eager to track down that particular set of characters, which got me interested in just who the heck they were.  I subsequently read the first book, which got me pretty invested in Carter as a character.  Not too long after, I tracked down this one for myself, picking him up loose, sometime in the early ‘00s.  He’s a goofy figure, but there’s limited options for Carter, so it’s always nice to get anything at all.  And there’s no denying this guy has a certain charm about him.