Tarzan (character)



Tarzan is a man raised by apes in the African jungle and a prince of Arendelle.

Physical appearance
Tarzan's brown hair is styled in long dreadlocks. He wears almost no clothes. The only piece of clothing he wears is a tattered, brown loincloth around his waist. He wears his father's clothes once when he decides to go to England. His eyes are blue-green in color and his muscular body is tanned from living in the jungle all his life.

Personality
Tarzan is an extremely brave, loyal and honorable character. He cares deeply about his family and friends and was willing to risk his life to save them. He has also been known to be willing to rescue his enemies; an example of this was when Clayton was about to fall to his death and Tarzan exclaimed "Clayton! Clayton, don't!" and reached out to save him, even though Clayton had fatally wounded Kerchak and attempted to kidnap his whole gorilla family. In his youth, Tarzan was playful and fun loving, but also felt like an outcast due to the fact that he was human. Until Jane Porter, her father and Clayton arrived he had never seen another human before and was therefore unaware of what species he was. And as an adult, he had matured into a more serious character but still displayed a playful and friendly side when around his family and friends. Tarzan was also very curious and when he heard a gunshot he went to investigate while the rest of his family moved deeper into the jungle. It was because of his curious nature that he met Jane, Professor Porter and Clayton.

Having lived in the jungle his whole life, Tarzan developed exceptional abilities that would be impossible for other humans. He was able to swing through the trees, hold things with his feet and had a good sense of hearing and smell. He frequently moved like a gorilla, walking on his knuckles but would walk upright at times too. He was an incredible fighter being able to hold his own against some of the jungles deadliest predator. One of Tarzan's most notable accomplishments was when he managed to kill Sabor a ferocious and powerful leopard who had killed his parents many years earlier. Tarzan often fought with a spear but would also commonly use his bare hands to defeat his opponents. He is also incredibly strong being able to pin down Kerchak and lift at least two fully grown humans at the same time without any apparent effort.

Early life
In the late 1880s off the coast of Africa, a married couple and their infant son escaped a burning ship, ending up on land near uncharted rainforests of West Africa. The couple craft themselves a treehouse from their ship's wreckage, but were subsequently killed by Sabor, a rogue leopardess. Kala, a gorilla whose own son was killed and eaten by the vicious leopardess, heard the cries of the orphaned infant, and found him in the ruined treehouse where the parents' dead bodies lay in a dark corner. Kala took an instant liking to the baby. Kala was attacked by Sabor, who wanted to kill and eat the baby, but Kala managed to get her tangled in the ropes holding the derelict rowboat, and she and the baby escaped.

The kindly Kala took the baby back to the Gorilla troop to raise as her own, despite her mate Kerchak's disapproval. Kala raised the human child, naming him "Tarzan". Though he befriended other gorillas in the troop including the teenage female gorilla Terk, and other animals including the paranoid male elephant Tantor, Tarzan found himself unable to keep up with them, and took great efforts to improve himself.

Tarzan (film)
As a young man, Tarzan was able to kill Sabor with his crude spear and protect the troop, earning Kerchak's reluctant respect.

The gorilla troop's peaceful life is interrupted by the arrival of a team of human explorers from England, consisting of Professor Porter, his daughter Jane and their hunter-guide Clayton. Jane is accidentally separated from the group and chased by a pack of baboons. Tarzan saves her from the baboons, and recognizes that she is the same as he is, a human. Jane leads Tarzan back to the explorer's camp, where both Porter and Clayton take great interest in him—the former in terms of scientific progress while the latter hoping to have Tarzan lead him to the gorillas so that he can capture them and return with them to England. Despite Kerchak's warnings to be wary of the humans, Tarzan continues to return to the camp and be taught by Porter, Clayton and Jane to speak English and learn of the human world, and both he and Jane begin to fall for each other. However, they are having a hard time convincing Tarzan to lead him to the gorillas, due to Tarzan's fear for their safety from the threat of Kerchak.

When the explorers' boat returns to pick them up, Clayton tells Tarzan that if he shows the group the gorillas, then Jane will stay with him forever. Tarzan agrees and leads the party to the gorilla troop's home, while Terk and Tantor lure Kerchak away to avoid having him attack the humans. Porter and Jane are excited to mingle with the gorillas, but Kerchak returns and threatens to kill them. Kerchak heads directly towards Clayton but Tarzan is forced to hold Kerchak at bay while the humans escape, and then leaves the troop himself, now alienated by his actions.

Kala takes Tarzan back to the treehouse she found him in, and shows him his true past. She encourages him to follow his heart, and leave with Jane, Clayton and Professor Porter (although it will break her heart to see him go). When they return to the ship, they are ambushed by pirates. It is then revealed that Clayton desires to capture and sell the gorillas in England for a fine price. Tarzan and the others are locked up in the hull of the ship, but are rescued by Terk and Tantor after the latter hears Tarzan's cry of anger.

Clayton and his men arrive back in the jungle and capture the gorillas. Tarzan returns and frees Kerchak, whilst the rest of the gorillas (including Kala) are freed by Jane, Professor Porter, Terk and Tantor, and some other of Tarzan's miscellaneous animal friends (baboons, rhinos, etc.), after fighting and/or scaring away the rest of Clayton's men, imprisoning them in the very same cages they planned to imprison the gorillas in. Kerchak and Tarzan together battle Clayton; Kerchak is fatally shot, while Clayton chases Tarzan into the vine-covered trees, where Tarzan gets the drop on him, destroying Clayton's gun. Clayton, in his haste to kill Tarzan, ignores his warning about the vine wrapped around his neck, and once Clayton cuts the vine holding him up, he and Tarzan fall, but while Tarzan lands safely, Clayton is killed when the vine snaps his neck leaving him hanged. Kerchak, in his dying breath, accepts Tarzan as his own adopted son finally, and names him the leader of the gorilla troop.

The next day, as Porter and Jane prepare to leave on the ship, Tarzan reveals that he now plans to stay with the gorilla troop. As the ship leaves shore, Porter encourages his daughter to stay with the man she loves, and Jane jumps overboard to return to shore; Porter shortly follows her. The two are accepted into the gorilla troop and Jane marries Tarzan.

Tarzan II
In the midquel film, Tarzan is still a child, and is still having trouble fitting in with his family. He is shunned by the other apes after he causes an accident that endangers the babies.

The Legend of Tarzan
Tarzan appears as the protagonist of the animated series. 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. Many episodes revolve around his romance with Jane, interacting with the human world, as well as meeting and encountering various visitors of the jungle from England, with the rainforest having become a place of trade and port established by the recurring, Renard Dumont.

With Clayton and Sabor having been killed, a new line of enemies emerge for Tarzan to face, most notably Queen La, who fell in love with Tarzan and began an endless pursuit to eliminate Jane and have him as her mate. Another would include Tublat, a rouge gorilla and Kerchak's former rival who one does wishes to rule over the gorillas.

Tarzan & Jane
Tarzan appears in this direct-to-video same as in The Legend of Tarzan, but in three unaired episodes.