Tarzan

Real Name: John Clayton, Lord Greystoke

Identity/Class: Normal human

Occupation: Lord of the Jungle

Affiliations: The Apes

Enemies: Kerchak

Known Relatives: John Clayton (father); Alice Clayton (mother)

Aliases: Lord of the Jungle; Lord of the Apes

Base of Operations: Africa

First Appearance: "Tarzan of the Apes" (All-Story Magazine, October 1912)

Powers/Abilities: Great strength and agility, able to communicate with animals.

History: Born in 1889, the child of John Clayton, Lord Greystoke and his wife Alice, both of whom had been stranded in Africa by a mutinying ship crew. His mother died in childbirth, having gone insane from living in the jungle well before this point; his father was killed by the great ape Kerchak. Deep in the savage African jungle, the baby Tarzan was raised by a fierce she-ape, Kala of the tribe of Kerchak. There he had to learn the secrets of the wild to survive - how to talk with animals, swing through the trees, and fight against the great predators. Extremely intelligent, he learned to read and write when he was twelve when he discovered a picture alphabet book in his parents' cabin. He grew to the strength and courage of his fellow apes. And in time, his human intelligence promised him the kingship of the tribe. Killing Kerchak, he became truly Lord of the Jungle. Having reached adulthood he observed white men from the Arrow, a ship, in his jungle. He saves one of them repeatedly from the dangers therein, and falls in love with another, Jane, who went on to be his wife

Comments: "Tarzan of the Apes" appeared in the October 1912 issue of All-Story magazine, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. In 1914 Tarzan of the Apes was published as a book. Eventually Burroughs would put out a total of 26 Tarzan books. The first Tarzan movie appeared in 1918, with Elmo Lincoln in the title role. Burroughs was not pleased with the choice. His Tarzan was a graceful yet powerful man, muscled like an Olympic gymnast. Elmo was muscled like a wrestler, a huge barrel-chested man who looked like he could knock a tree over instead of swinging from one. In 1932 MGM released the first sound Tarzan movie, "Tarzan the Ape Man" with the now legendary Johnny Weissmuller.

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