This is a character page for Warlord of Mars comics. See here for tropes exclusive to the book characters and here for the 2012 movie.
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Heroes
John Carter
- Action Dad: From the first story arc forwards, after his son Carthoris is born.
- Abdicate the Throne: When Tardos Mors returns to life, Carter willingly forsakes his title as Warlord of Barsoom to him. Though characters do comment about it being a rushed decision, he justifies it with saying he wants to avoid another Civil War from tearing Helium apart.
- All-Loving Hero: John possess an remarkable sense of compassion, mercy and justice that is almost alien to most Martians. Well, he is certainly an alien to them anyway.
- Big Good: He becomes one after ascending as Warlord of Mars specially after Tardos Mors' death.
- Chick Magnet: Has no less than three women pining for him in Gods of Mars, although he is already spoken for one of them who happens to be a Dude Magnet herself. It bites him in the ass when Issus realizes this and has them all thrown inside a dungeon to die because they loved him.
- Dented Iron: In The End, he is no longer as strong and agile as he used to fight due to his advanced age, he is still capable of leaping great distances.
- Despair Event Horizon: He very nearly crosses it at the end of The Gods of Mars when Dejah is trapped inside the Temple of the Sun and might have been killed by Phaidor in a fit of jealousy..
- He crosses it again during a one-shot comic which he is put into a Lotus-Eater Machine that makes he think he is back to Earth, has gone insane and seeing everyone around him as Martians, and was severely mutilated while trying to find a way back.
- Distressed Dude: In Dejah of Mars.
- Establishing Character Moment: He enters a fight with a group of Union soldiers after they insult his home country Virginia, but avoids killing an injured enemy in cold blood.
- The Good King: As Warlord of Mars, Carter is a just, noble, wise ruler. He is merciful to his enemies, sparing collective punishment to their people after deposing their tyrants, instead of breaking and enslaving them.
- Heavy Worlder: As a result of Mars' low gravity and atmosphere.
- The Hero: Of course.
- Master Swordsman: He is the finest swordsman in Barsoom.
- Mr. Fanservice: His chiseled physique is displayed so frequently its rare the instances he is show completely covered. He also appeared completely naked every time he gets transported to Mars.
- Nice Guy: John is an honorable Southern Gentleman, who is kind to everyone. Just don't make him angry.
- Psychic Powers: He displayed an unusual type, unlike what is associated with most Martians. He can sense other people's thoughts and communicate using his mind, but its not very well explained how.
- Super-Strength: As result of living in Barsoom, he is able to kill a Green Martian (who is much bigger and tougher than the human-like Red Martians) with a single punch.
- Supporting Leader: In stories he is featured, but he is not focused like Green Men of Mars.
Dejah Thoris
- Adaptational Badass: While in the books Dejah did not lack for attitude and bravado, she wasn't a fighter. Here, she is a skilled combatant and already had her fair share of adventures before she event met John.
- Action Girl: She is still a Distressed Damsel for some time, but she can handle herself better than her book counterpart.
- Action Mom: Giving birth to Carthoris hasn't stopped her from becoming a brave adventurer.
- Badass Normal: Martian's limited psychic abilities and longevity aside, Dejah is about as strong as a human female on Earth, yet faced countless threats on her own like Green Martians, First-Born pirates, giant ice worms, vampires, assassins, cyborgs, white apes and all that, without Super-Strength.
- Cain and Abel: She is the Abel to Kajak's Cain.
- Exposed to the Elements: Her usual attire provides no protection from dangerous Martian terrain or weather. It doesn’t seem to bother her at all most of the time. There are occasions where she dawns a pair of boots and or a hooded cloak, but even that provides little protection from the elements.
- Generation Xerox: With her mother Heru. Not only they resemble each other very closely, but they fell in love for Earthmen.
- The Heroine: In the several miniseries focused on her.
- Head-Turning Beauty: She is so stunningly beautiful even males from the most racist, xenophobic and supremacist races that regard the Red People as "lesser" find her attractive.
- Human Alien: Dejah is a Red Martian, who is physically indistinguishable from humans save for a slightly reddish skin tone (which tend to vary a lot).
- Lady of Adventure: Specially during the prequel series set before the events of the book where she makes her own series of adventures on Mars.
- Lovely Angels: Alongside Vampirella and Red Sonja in Swords of Sorrow.
- Made a Slave: Several villains captured her with the intent to make her a slave or a forced concubine, but it never lasted.
- Most Common Super Power
- Ms. Fanservice: If her usual attire wasn't any indication, many variant covers feature her completely exposed.
- Prefers Going Barefoot: Implied. Unlike other Res Martians who usually wear thick boots, Deja seems to shift between going barefoot and wearing sandals Depending on the Artist. In her own series, she tends to go everywhere without any footwear apart from occasional foot jewelry. Even her boots for colder climates are not common.
- Proud Warrior Race Girl: Though her people are far more civilized than the Greens, they still put great deal of pride into their martial skill. Dejah herself made her first kill when she was just a little girl to save her mother Heru.
- Red Skinned Space Babe: She is a female Red Martian and our Earth hero falls in love with her.
- Really 700 Years Old: She is at least 500 years old by the time she met John Carter and fell in love with him.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Dejah is not only a Politically-Active Princess, but an adventurer and scientist of her own right.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: She killed an entire group of Warhoons that managed to neutralize Carter in the relaunch.
Tars Tarkas
- Bash Brothers: With John Carter.
- Eye Scream: Tars has one of his eyes pulled out by John to free him from mind control. He apparently got better between the original series and the 2014 relaunch.
- Eye Patch Of Power: He wears one after being stabbed in the eye.
- The Lancer: He is John Carter's first friend on Mars and his loyal brother in arms.
- Large and in Charge: In The End, he has grown into a truly gargantuan size as he is nearing the end of his species' life cycle and he is looked up by all other Greens as their leader.
- Klingon Promotion: How he became Jeddak of Thark by killing Tal Hajus.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: He has two arms sets.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Being a Thark that is kind of given.
- You Kill It, You Bought It: As custom among Tharks, he got his surname "Tarkas" by killing the previous name holder.
Carthoris
- Badass Bookworm: Carthoris is well-learned about ancient technology and also trained as a warrior.
- Interspecies Romance: With Linea, a Black Martian.
- Kid Hero: Carthoris is, at the very least a teenager by the time he meets his father for the first time. He completely humiliates Black Martian champions that are twice (if not more) his own age in the Arena of Issus.
- Half-Human Hybrid: His dad is a immortal human of Earth and his mom is a Red Martian. He is introduced with a lighter-shade of red skin than normal Martians.
- Ship Tease: With Linea and much later, with Thuvia.
- The Smart Guy: His comic version gets to show his inventor skills that his book counterpart merely had as an Informed Ability.
- Warrior Prince: His mother is a Princess and his father is the Warlord of Mars. And he is a badass fighter. Need to say more?
Woola
- Badass Adorable: Woola is a cute dog-like alien... Who runs extremely fast and has massive sharp teeth that can tear enemies like cloth.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Woola follows Carter after being saved from an white ape attack and due to being the very first being (outside of Sola) to show him kindness.
- Over 400 years ago, Woola also met Dejah when she attempted to take the Sword of Barsoom which he was guarding over. He is initially hostile up until she goes over to pet his head, where he becomes friendly almost instantly and follows her around.
- Canine Companion: The Martian equivalent to it, anyway.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: He doesn't react well towards the Sword of Barsoom.
- Forgotten First Meeting: With Dejah Thoris several centuries ago, while she was researching for an artifact kept by Woola's masters.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Well, he actually multi-legged. And while he is a adorable big brute, he is not to be messed with when Carter's family is endangered.
Sola
- The Caretaker: Her role is to watch over the Thark young and care for both John and Dejah when they were captured by her tribe.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Averted. She is a Thark yes and has four arms, but she is far from a warrior, nor dangerous.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: She is kind and gentle, unlike most Green Martians. She got it from her father.
Kantos Kan
Jedwar of Helium's army and loyal retainer of Dejah's family.
- The Lancer: To Dejah as her padwar.
- Platonic Life-Partners: Kantos has known Dejah for centuries, longer than she has been with her husband.
- The Reliable One: He is always there to get Dejah or John out of a pinch.
Tardos Mors
Jeddak of Helium, the father of Jed Mors Kajak, and grandfather of Princess Dejah Thoris. His reign saw Helium become one of the most powerful Red Martian kingdoms in all of Barsoom, and possibly the first to make an alliance with a Green Martian kingdom.
- Big Good: To the Red Martians.
- Death by Adaptation: Tardos and his son die in Okara, while they managed to survive and return home in the source material.
- Killed Offscreen: He died after inciting a Red rebellion among the Yellow Martians, though we never see his death, his body is never found.
- Never Found the Body: His body is never recovered and we only have second-hand word of his death. Kantos Kan eventually recovers a skull that belonged to Tardos.
- Unexplained Recovery: Despite being presumed dead in the North Pole, he mysteriously reappears inside the Red Spire in Hellium alive and well. Turns out its a double created by Xerius and Tardos is really dead.
Mors Kajak
Jed of Lesser Hellium and Dejah's father.
- Eye Scream: He is stabbed in the eye by one of Yorn's men when Senneth Door orders the arrest of Helium's royal family.
- Eyepatch of Power: All his subsequent appearances after the deal with Yorn.
- Older Than They Look: He looks old enough to appear like Dejah's older brother, instead of her father.
Tak Nan Lee
- Benevolent Precursors: He realized the time of the Orovars was at an end, and taught the Red People how to operate the Atmosphere Factory. His actions basically ensured the Barsoomians survived to this day.
- The Greatest Story Never Told: Sadly, his noble deeds were never recorded except for statues erected in his honor that nobody in modern times knows about their identity.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Nicest White Martian ever.
- Hero of Another Story / Precursor Heroes: He is the main protagonist of the Fall of Barsoom miniseries.
- Posthumous Character: He is long dead for thousands of years
- Nice Guy: He doesn't treat Red Martians as savages like most White Martians do and is extremely hospitable to Anouk after rescuing her.
Villains
Joshua Clark
Joshua Clark of Pennsylvania was a veteran from the American Civil War, he fought for the North and was mortally wounded in a battle by John Carter. He managed to survive and for many years searched for revenge against Carter, until he was abducted by an alien race known as the Kahori - a violent and brutal people that raid and enslave any planet they come across and move on to the next. His skill and experience allowed impressed them so much that he rose to the position of Warlord. After learning that his long-time nemesis has ascended as Warlord of Mars, he launches an invasion against the planet and intends to do the same for Earth once he is finished with Clark.
- Arch-Enemy: Considered Carter his, having both fought in the Civil War in opposing sides and Carter and was bested by him in a duel.
- Badass Normal: He was deemed formidable enough among the Kahori, that he rose through their ranks and became their Warlord. And this was before he became a superhuman on Mars due to the planet's gravity and atmosphere.
- Evil Counterpart: They were both Civil War veterans who fought in opposite sides and to make their similarities more obvious, they share the same initials. However, while Carter went on to become The Good King, Clark became a Galactic Conqueror.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Clark went from a captain in the Union's army to a Warlord in charge of planet-conquering aliens.
- Galactic Conqueror: Being the leader of an space-faring race that loots planets, he counts as one.
- Heavy Worlder: While on Mars.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Carter stabbed him through the chest in the Battle of Manassa, but he survived managed to survive it. Clark finally meets his end the same way in the final duel in Barsoom.
- Made of Iron: He survived being stabbed in the chest during the Civil War for goodness sake, and went on to fight in other conflicts in America before being kidnapped by aliens and become their leader.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: He orders his Kahori warriors to stand down when confronting Carter, because he has a score to settle with the former Confederate.
- Revenge Before Reason: He is utterly obsessed with getting even with the Confederate captain, the conquest of Mars is just secondary.
Vush Tanzar
A Red Martian scientist who surrendered Barsoom's defenses to the Kahori invaders.
- Les Collaborateurs: A Red Martian of Helium that threw his lot with aliens so he could become their lapdog.
- Disney Villain Death: Dejah Thoris pushes him off their ship.
- Evil Genius / The Dragon: To Joshua Clark.
- Karmic Death: He is thrown off a ship by the very woman he desired so much he sold out their planet to alien invaders.
- Love Makes You Evil: He turned evil because he fell in love with Dejah and she wouldn't return his feelings.
- Mad Scientist: Just another evil scientist, though one driven more by lust than to prove his intellect (like Ras Thavas) or take revenge (like Kajak).
- Ungrateful Bastard: When Dejah convinces him to break her out of prison and lead her through a cavern by knifepoint, she saves his life from rat-like creatures and its pointed out that she didn't need to do it. When they are found out by Clark, he promptly sells her out to save his own skin, albeit very reluctantly.
Issus
- A God Am I: The delusion variety, since she didn't have any special powers to back up her claim.
- Ambiguously Bi: In one hand, it's established that she had descendants so she may have had a male consort. On the other thing, the first thing she says when she see Phaidor is that she is "very pleasing" and gives her the Go-Go Enslavement treatment by chaining her to her throne
◊. - Big Bad: Of The Gods of Mars story arc.
- Brain in a Jar: Her head was conserved by the First-Born since she is one of the few living Martians with memories of ancient times.
- Do with Him as You Will: Carter leaves Issus at the mercy of her subjects after exposing.
- Dirty Old Woman: Heavily implied towards Phaidor (see Ambiguously Bi).
- Elderly Immortal: Martians are said to be The Ageless, yet Issus clearly shows signs of age. She is probably that old. In Vampirella/Dejah Thoris, she outrights says she isn't truly immortal, only very long-lived.
- God-Emperor: God Empress of Mars.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Issus ruled over her kingdom with iron fist, had female slaves regularly sacrificed to her for no reason but to glorify her "divinity".
- Greater-Scope Villain:
- During the Dejah Thoris prequel series, where her hold on Barsoom was not yet broken by John Carter since the comics took place centuries before his arrival on the planet.
- Her presence is still felt after her death in Pathfinder: Worldscape where the Holy Therns had successfully installed her worship as Shareen's state religion (even though its still a hollow belief).
- Hoist by His Own Petard: She was butchered by her own people after Carter revealed she was nothing more than an crazy old woman.
- I Am a Humanitarian: After a year or so, Issus devours her handmaidens.
- The Man Behind the Curtain: When actually confronted, she's revealed to be powerless.
- Time Abyss: How old is she said to be is not specified, but her figure had been venerated for hundreds of thousands of years such as in Fall Of Barsoom which takes place 100,000 years before the comic's events and its stated that her preserved brain still retains memories from those times.
- Villainous Breakdown: Issus is laughing mad at the end of the arc, just few moments before her death.
Matai Shang
- Abusive Parents: Shang threatens to kill Phaidor when she dares to defend Dejah and Thuvia.
- Adaptational Villainy: A downplayed example; He was pretty vile and slimmy in the source material, but he never threatened his daughter like in the comics.
- Affably Evil: He is rather welcoming and pleasant when addressing Dejah and Carthoris in his first appearence.
- A God Am I: He is a Thern after all.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With Thurid, and later Salensus Oll in the Warlord of Mars story arc.
- Boom, Headshot!: Courtesy of Salensus Oll.
- Death by Adaptation: Of the second variant. He dies early in the comics than he does in the books, at the hands of someone else other than Thurid.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Shang makes an early appearance in the comics two arcs prior to his formal introduction in the books. He manifests himself as a non-bodied voice that interacts with Dejah Thoris in a very friendly way.
- Man Behind The Curtain: He is introduced as speaking through a chamber with a voice comm, declaring that no Barsoomian may see the holy form of a Thern.
- Smug Snake: He likes to gloat to his enemies and his arrogance leads to his downfall.
- Too Dumb to Live: Really, Shang? You were going to still play the "A God Am I" card and make demands to a Jeddak while surrounded by his men? In a city he is merely a guest to long-time enemies?
- Villainous Crush: He has it out for Dejah since he first saw her. He tries to arrange for her to join him on Valley Dor, presumably be his wife/concubine. And gloats to John's face how he will make her his plaything before giving her to Thurid and his lieutenants.
- Would Hit a Girl: He has no problem slapping Dejah's face or threatening to kill his own daughter for speaking out of line.
Salensus Oll
- Adaptational Jerkass: He was already pretty evil in the original books, but at least, he lived up to his end of the bargain and didn't turn on his accomplices.
- Beard of Evil: Typical among Okarans.
- Death by Adaptation: Type 2. He dies during the Red Martian attack on Kadabra at the hands of the female leads he enslaved. In the books, he died during the marriage ceremony between him and Dejah, which is cut short by Carter who makes short work of him.
- Evil Overlord: Of the Yellow Martians.
- Evil Uncle: To Talu. Subverted as it turned out Talu was just as evil as Oll, if not more so.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: In the Dynamite comics, he makes Dejah, Thuvia and Phaidor his concubines by chaining them up with him. They take advantage and stab him to death. For extra injury, the blades were his own that were sheathed on his wrists.
- Large and in Charge: He's a huge, imposing man.
- Karmic Death: His lust for the women that made him turn on his allies proved to be his undoing when they took an opportunity to stab him to death.
- Kick the Dog: He forces Dejah, Thuvia and Phaidor into his harem and threatens to castrate Thuvia's father. He also kills Matai Shang in front of his daughter Phaidor.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute / Sequel Escalation: In his role in the story, he's basically a bigger, meaner version of Sab Than from the first book.
- Undignified Death: Stabbed to death by a trio of princesses-turned-slave girls.
- 0% Approval Rating: His own people largely hate him, except for his warriors who are loyal.
Thurid
- Anguished Declaration of Love: To Dejah. She does not approve of it.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With Oll and Shang, just like in the books.
- The Brute: For Shang.
- Disney Villain Death: He dies by being knocked off a ship by Phaidor.
- Paper Tiger: Being a dator (i.e. a prestigious First-Born warrior and prince), Thurid would be a formidable warrior, but everytime he enters a fight (specially with John Carter) his ass gets handed to him. His death is rather ignoble for a Proud Warrior Race Guy.
- Undignified Death: Phaidor knocks him down from a ship with a single headbutt, causing him to fall to his death.
Xerius
Once a valiant White Martian warrior, he was killed in battle alongside his wife against the Black and Yellow Martians. To keep him alive, his men transferred his consciousness into crystals inside the Red Spire in Helium.- And I Must Scream: His consciousness was aware the entire time it was trapped inside the Red Spire... For thousands of years.
- Arc Villain: In Tyrant of Mars.
- Becoming the Mask: In a way after being trapped in the Red Spire for so long and being surrounded by Red Martians, he came to identify himself as one.
- Evil Overlord: The story arc's title is dead give-way. Though he only becomes one while masquerading as Tardos Mors.
- Fallen Hero: He was to the White Martians of ages ago what John Carter is for most of Barsoom.
- Fantastic Racism: Xerius despises all polar races (The White, Black and Yellow Martians) and view even the Green Martians under his control in contempt.
- Kissing Cousins: His wife Xaraya was also his cousin.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: He was imprisoned inside the Red Spire until John Carter unwittingly released him.
- Shadow Archetype: The death of his beloved drove Xerius mad, what happened to him is likely what would have happened to Carter if one day he lost Dejah.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: More "extremist" than "well intentioned" at any rate. Xerius wants to avenge all atrocities the Red people suffered under the polar races, by comitting genocide against them.
- You Are What You Hate: He pretends to be a Red Martian that really hates the Whites, though he is actually a White Martian himself.
Senneth Dor aka Mortus
- Abusive Parents: He is physically and emotionally abusive towards his son Valian, regarding him as a failure for not being a warrior like him. The reason he hasn't killed him yet for the memory of Valian's mother.
- Bald of Evil: Except for his braided, Dor is clean-shaven and very much evil.
- Big Bad: In Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris, he was the very first antagonist faced by Dejah and her family. And he continues to plague them even after his first death as Mortus.
- The Caligula: He was regarded as a demented madman.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Dor did apparently love Valian's mother and used to be less terrible while she was alive. He also cared a great deal for his daughter Tash Lia.
- Fantastic Racism: Towards the Green Martians, his extreme hatred stems from a Green horde butchering his most beloved concubine. After gaining control of the Colossus, he starts a bloody campaign to annihilate them completely, wiping out three entire tribes from existence in two weeks.
- Freudian Excuse: He used to be less cruel and harsh man while his favorite concubine (Valian's mother) until she was murdered by Green Martians.
- Kick the Dog: His mistreatment of his son Valian, imprisoning Mors' family (who were his own vassals) and ordering the workers that found the Colossus to be executed to keep it secret, as well as their families too.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: He is stabbed and blasted by Dejah, with his body being obliterated by the Colossus' fall. He only survives due to his head being intact, allowing his conversion into a Machine Man. Finally, it takes a massive ship being dropped on him to end him for good.
- We Can Rebuild Him: He is killed by Dejah, but his head is recovered by Vas Argus who turns him into the very first Machine Man.
Xen Brega
- Arc Villain: In Pirate Queen of Mars.
- Artificial Limbs: He has a golden prosthetic hand that can be switched with a blade.
- Bald of Evil: His head is completely clean shaven.
- Beard of Evil: Brega has a bushy one though he loses it after being devoured by an ice worm, with its digestive acids burning it off.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He is pushed by Dejah and Phondari into a pit of ice worms, who all proceed to devour him alive.
- Dragon Ascendant: He used to be Phondari's slave, but after her fall from grace among other Black Martians, he became her master instead.
- Eaten Alive: He is devoured by ice worms. Twice!
- I'm a Humanitarian: As a First-Born, Brega eats the flesh of Red Martians, but he goes into another level when he declares he will devour his fellow First-Born Phondari too.
- Handicapped Badass: He is missing his right hand, which he replaced with a golden prosthetic that can also equip it with blades. After being eaten by an ice worm for the first time, he literally tore his way out from the monster.
- Would Hurt a Child: Brega tore out Joktai's tongue a long time ago.
The Boora Witch
- Arc Villain: In The Boora Witch.
- Charm Person: The Witch is capable of manipulating the minds by breathing her "essence" into their bodies. Her victims are completely unaware they are being controlled.
- The Dark Arts: She dabbled in forbidden sorcery, which resulted in her being exiled by her people.
- Expy: She is extremely similar to Zhuvan D'ark, an original character created for Marvel's Warlord of Mars from 1980s, who also happened to be a Evil Sorcerer who was exiled by his people for practicing black magic.
- Grand Theft Me: Over the eras, she had lived off possessing the bodies of countless females both Orovar, Red and even one Green Martian. Dejah was intended to be the next one.
- Kick the Dog: She tried to devour a little boy, but settled on for eating his calot (Martian dog) instead.
- Manipulative Bitch: Upon taking over Dejah's body, she attempts to take over both Helium and Zodanga by setting up events where Dejah's grandfather would be dethroned and attempting to marry Zodanga's prince to secure control over both cities.
- Off with His Head!: Her original body is beheaded by Kantos Kan, freeing Dejah from her control.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Her true name is lost to the ages, so she is only referred as the Boora Witch.
- Vain Sorceress: She favors extremely beautiful bodies to possess (its why Dejah was the chosen), though she isn't particularly picky (as seen with the female Green Martian body in her collection).
- Wicked Witch: Her true body is that of a wizened White Martian crone.
- Wizards from Outer Space: Considering that the comic is very sci-fi in nature, the Boora Witch really stands out with her magical powers.
Dagur Andlaust
A Vathek, he is member of a vampire race from Saturn that abducted Dejah during her self-imposed exile and attempted to organize a full-scale invasion of Mars.
- Classical Movie Vampire: As close to this trope as it can get away in Barsoom with long cape, pale skin, red eyes and the works.
- The Dragon: To Commandant Keisairi.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Andlaust's people are a result of exposure to a virus rather than being truly undead. They are still extremely sensitive to sunlight.
- Villainous Crush: On Dejah Thoris.
Boll-Rem
An mysterious assassin hired to kill Tash Lia, Jeddara of Yorn.
- Assassin Outclassin': Several of his attempts on Tash Lia's life fail either due to bad luck
- The Faceless: He is completely clad in body armor and his face is never seen except for one panel after his second death.
- Disney Villain Death: He dies his first death after being kicked off a cliff by Dejah.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He might be a remorseless killer for hire, but he kills a White Martian attempting to rape and kill Tash Lia, stating that he wouldn't stay idly by and let this happen even to his own targets.
- Informed Attribute: His alleged skill as an assassin, with everyone saying that nobody can survive him. His attempts fall short everytime, his own target kills herself rather than allowing him to kill her and he dies in a rather pathetic way by being kicked off a cliff.
- Hitman with a Heart: He got a code of honor that forbids him to stand by and watch his own targets being defiled.
- We Can Rebuild Him: He is turned into a Machine Man after his first death.
Kajak Thoris
Dejah's long-lost brother who was believed to have been killed years ago by their Zodanga enemies.
- Abusive Parents: He uses his own daughter Tala as weapon of revenge against his family.
- Arch-Enemy: His own sister Dejah Thoris.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Towards Mors Kajak and Heru.
- Big Bad: He is the climactic villain for Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris.
- Cain and Abel: Kajak is the Cain to Dejah's Abel.
- Freudian Excuse: He was kidnapped by Zodanga men and raised to believe he was abandoned by his family.
- Gaslighting: In his introduction, he kidnaps his sister, places her on a asylum and tries to convince her that she is not actually Dejah Thoris herself, but a madwoman pretending to be her.
- Mind Rape: A specialty of his by means of Gaslighting and Psycho Serum.
- Self-Made Orphan: He poisoned his own mother Heru.
- The Sociopath: Everyone around him are just tools for him to use, including his family. Specially his family.
Voro
- An Arm and a Leg: He loses several of his limbs to the female Red Martians he tortured.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He is introduced as the primary antagonist of Dejah Thoris: Green Men of Mars, but he is disposed half-way through the series.
- Driven to Suicide: At the end, he is pushed to kill himself by Dejah after being convinced he is unfit to lead.
- Fat Bastard: Not as fat as Tal Hajus, but still pretty plump and evil.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He gets viciously butchered by the women that he previously mutilated for their meat.
- To Serve Man: Him and his men have a taste for Red Martian flesh... Preferably female.
General Otis
Belonging to a distant future where humans have colonized Barsoom, Otis is the local military leader overseeing the occupation. He is currently locked in a war with the resistance lead by Dejah Carter, a descendant of John and Dejah.- Bad Future: Otis exists in a alternate timeline where Earth has taken over Mars.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Subjected Dejah to this when she ended up his prisoner while time-displaced. There was no point to it, other than to remind who is in charge.
- Dramatic Irony: He and his men don't have superior strength and agility like John Carter due to the terraforming process they made on Mars.
- Hostile Terraforming: While the occupation restored the oceans back and made the atmosphere more appropriate for humans to live, it ended up driving several native species into extinction.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Him and his men have enslaved Barsoom's populace and driven many species to extinction.
- Not Distracted by the Sexy: While very sadistic and evil, he doesn't seem fazed by Dejah in any way, and doesn't treat her differently than any other prisoner, unlike most main villains.
Ar-Hap
King of the Thithers, a race of isolationist red-skinned humanoids similar to the Tharks, but more monstrous.
- Predecessor Villain: He is this to his son Nar-Hap, who is the current King of the Thithers by the time John Carter is Warlord.
Ras Thavas
A brilliant, but insane Red Martian scientist responsible for creating artificial beings known as Hormads.
- Adaptational Villainy: Ras was a neutral figure in the source material that turns on a new leaf by the end of the book he is introduced. Here he is a straight-up villain.
- Big Bad: In the 2014 series and also John Carter: The End.
- Evil Old Folks: He is a very old-looking Red Martian, though not as old as Issus, and a Mad Scientist with the world-conquering dominations.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: He is cut in half by Dejah in The End.
- Mad Scientist: Particularly specialized in cloning and creating inhuman monsters.
- Man Behind the Man: He aspired to become one by cloning Dejah and Carter, replace them with his creations and rule Helium through his puppets. He turns out to be this trope once again for Den Thorkar's clone, being actually referred to as "Mastermind of Barsoom".
- Remember the New Guy?: Due to the book he appeared on never being adapted in the comic first-hand, he is brought up during a flashback as the events of the comic taking place off-screen.
- Unexplained Recovery: He is revealed to have survived his death in the second volume, and years into the future, managed to fulfill his dream of ruling Barsoom through Carter's issue.
- Wham Shot: In John Carter: The End, Den Thorkar, the God-Emperor of Barsoom, kneels before Thavas, who removes his crown and is lauded by people around him as the true "Master Mind of Barsoom".
Jagati Khen
Holy Hekkador of the Therns following Matai Shang's demise. He longs for the old days where the Therns ruled over Barsoom as living gods, but ever since John Carter dethroned their false goddess and ended their hold on Martian society, he brings forth a champion from Earth - Lord Greystoke, also known as Tarzan that could match the Warlord of Mars in a fight.
- Big Bad: In Lords of Mars.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Khen and the Holy Therns presents themselves as a noble people oppressed by John Carter and his red barbarians.
- Colony Drop: When his plan to have Tarzan kill Carter fails, he attempts to summon an asteroid known as "Eye of the Goddess" to hit the Western Hemisphere of Barsoom, causing such catastrophic devastation that he expected the Therns would re-emerge as living gods among those who survived and rule the planet once again.
- Fat Bastard: Khen is so massive he can't even move by himself.
- The Hedonist: He is frequently surrounded by female White Martians to attend him.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Khen's plan involves setting up Tarzan against John Carter, painting the latter as a horrible tyrant to motivate Tarzan to fight him.
Den Thorkar
A tyrant that took control of Barsoom in the distant future of John Carter: The End. He is revealed to be none other than John and Dejah's great-grandson that they have adopted, who was thought to be dead long ago but in reality, he was merely exiled by John after he murdered an innocent in cold-blood and faked his death.- Affably Evil: Despite being the tyrannical ruler of all Barsoom, he is kind and gentle while speaking to his adoptive mother at least.
- Antagonistic Offspring: To John and Dejah. Technically, he is their great-grand child, but he was raised by them as if they were their own son.
- Big Bad: He serves this role in John Carter: The End. Subverted when its revealed he is not really evil and that he was cloned several times by the real Big Bad Ras Thavas, who used his Den clones as puppets to rule Barsoom.
- Death Faked for You: John exiled him in secret and convinced everyone he was dead by using a dead calot disguised as his body.
- Fantastic Racism: Against the Green Martians.
- Enfante Terrible: He made his first kill when he was just a boy and when John looked in the eyes to see if there was any regret, he found none. Because Den was his last living descendant and adoptive son, he decided to secretly exile him instead of executing him for murder.
- Evil Overlord: His genocidal rule is slowly driving the entire planet to death.
- God-Emperor: Because of John's super-human strength and Dejah's proud lineage, he is venerated as a divine being in Barsoom.
- Half-Human Hybrid: A Human-Red Martian hybrid to be precise.
- Last of His Kind: Den is the last of the Carthoris Dynasty, meaning he is the last still surviving heir of John and Dejah.
- Shout-Out: His name Den is a reference to Den, a comic series heavily inspired by John Carter of Mars.
Other Characters
Thuvia
- The Beastmaster: She has some sort of psychic ability she doesn't understand very well, but allows her to soothe and control all banths around her.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She hasn't appeared again in the comic after being rescued in the arc corresponding to the third book in the trilogy. Oddly enough, since she would become the main female lead in Thuvia of Mars the following book.
- Friend to All Living Things: To all banths at least.
- Ms. Fanservice: A little more modest than Dejah Thoris, since she wears only a Fur Bikini.
- Sex Slave: She was this to her Thern overlords while enslaved on Valley Dor and would have been this to Oll if he had time to have his way with her.
- Ship Tease: With Carthoris.
Xodar
- Defector from Decadence: He renounces Issus when he realizes she is not an omnipotent deity, but a maddened crone with god delusions.
- Hypocrite: He chastises Linea, accusing her of presiding over several agonizing deaths and stating that no First-Born is innocent. Its quite striking to hear it from a First-Born dator that handed over Phaidor to be Issus' slave (which would have lead to her being devoured by the crazed goddess) all with a grin on his face, while Linea is implied to have resisted being as cruel as most of her kind.
- The Quisling: He is considered this by his fellow First-Born such as Linea, having helped the Red people overthrow Issus and then replaced her as their ruler.
Phaidor
- Adaptational Attractiveness: An downplayed example. In the source material, Phaidor is supposedly completely hairless just like the rest of her race and her blonde hair is in fact a wig. Here, she is depicted with blonde eyebrows, indicating that her hair is real. This also extends to her Worldscape counterpart, where the Therns are portrayed as even more wild-looking and ditches wigs entirely, while she has blonde hair and looks practically indistinguishable from humans.
- Adaptational Badass: Really downplayed example mind you, since she is still an damsel in distress for the most part, but Phaidor ends up offing 2/3 of the Big Bad Triumvirate in the comics; first, Salensus Oll with Dejah and Thuvia's help, for killing her father Matai Shang and trying to turn them into his concubines, and later Thurid by knocking him out of the ship. In the books, she only kills Thurid, while John curb-stomps Oll effortlessly.
- Adaptational Heroism: In the Dynamite comics, her Heel–Face Turn comes much earlier than in the books. Here, she befriends Dejah while they were under captivity together and tries to protect her from her father's wrath. Her speech about justifying oppressing Red Martians from the books is omitted here, along with her Slasher Smile she gives to John in the books when he says that he will kill her captors.
- A God Am I: To be expected for any Thern.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Carter and Dejah are legitimately moved and grieved at her death.
- Anti-Villain: While she's not a very good person, and has all the character flaws of your average thern, she's genuinely in love with John Carter and Obliviously Evil for most of her life.
- Avenging the Villain: Her father is killed by Salensus Oll and avenges him not long afterwards when she stabs him to death.
- Daddy's Little Villain: To Matai Shang.
- Driven to Suicide: After her Heel Realization, invoking Death Equals Redemption.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She is visibly mortified with her father's death◊.
- Heel Realization: Happens much earlier than in the book, where it was at the very end, while Phaidor's Heel–Face Turn takes place between the time she was imprisoned.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Phaidor admits that she will never match Dejah Thoris for John's affection in front of him and in the end, takes her own life in reparation.
- Light Is Not Good: A beautiful White Martian with blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin. She also happens to be member of a cannibalistic cult with god delusions and racial supremacy.
- Ms. Fanservice: This girl is pretty much topless, except for her gold ornaments which leave nothing to the imagination.
- Shadow Archetype: To Dejah.
- Sex Slave: She was very nearly made Salensus Oll's concubine. It was the worst mistake he ever made, along with killing her father.
- Villainesses Want Heroes: Initially at least, though she is no longer after her release from captivity.
- Woman Scorned: Let's just say that princesses of races of creepy mystics with god complexes don't take rejection very well...
Talu
Oll's rebellious nephew, he is the Jed of Marentina and later becomes Jeddak of all Yellow Martians with his uncle's death.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the Dynamite comics, he plots to turn the Green Martians against other Martians and undermine John Carter as Warlord of Barsoom. In the books, he remains loyal and friendly as ever.
- Big Bad: In Savages of Mars.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He is revealed to be this in Dynamite Entertainment's adaptation.
- Boom, Headshot!: Tars kills him like this.
- Death by Adaptation: In the comics, he is summarily executed by Tars Tarkas after having his plot exposed for mindraping Tars.
- False Friend: He is this to Carter in the comics. He presents himself as a sympathetic figure that helps John infiltrate his uncle's city and topple him. Turns out he did so to become the sole ruler of the Yellow Martians.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: After becoming Jeddak of all Yellow Martians, he pretends to be a slothful ruler interested in hunting apts than actually running things. Its all a ruse to deflect his role as the conspiracy mastermind behind the Green People attacks.
- Rebel Leader: Against his uncle's rule.
- The Wise Prince: He provides Carter his support into helping rescuing his wife. The Okarans prefer him over his uncle as well.
Thuvan Dihn
Jeddak of Ptarth and Thuvia's father.
- Papa Wolf: He would do anything to save his daughter Thuvia. Even if it means disguising himself as a slave to infiltrate a heavily-fortified city state where she is imprisioned.Nothing is beneath my station when my daughter's life is at stake.
Linea
An Black Martian noblewoman that is taken hostage after the fall of Issus, but is promptly released by John Carter. After overhearing a conversation between him and his son about a crazed priest of Issus escaping and figuring out what he wants, she reveals that Barsoom's existence is in peril and decides to help the princes of Helium into stopping him. As it turns out, the mad priest is her father and Issus' son, making Linea the granddaughter of Issus.
- A God I Am Not: Its implied that she always rebelled against her lineage and did not want to be worshiped as a goddess by her people.
- Blue Blood: She is Issus' granddaughter and a member of the First-Born's aristocracy.
- Canon Foreigner: She doesn't exist in the books.
- Enemy Mine: Linea makes it clear that she hates the Red People, but she works alongside them to help secure a future for her people and ensure they are spared.
- God-Emperor: She is treated as one by lineage. She'd rather not.
- Ice Queen: She is very curt and hostile to the Red People. She defrosts a bit after her lineage is revealed.
- Heroic Sacrifice: With her last breath, she orders the First-Born to cease all hostility with the Red People and help rebuild Barsoom. Linea accepts her doom because so long as her Issus' line exists, the Black Martians will never be free from it.
- Last of Her Kind: She is the only known surviving descendant of Issus and with her death, the entire line is extinguished.
Valian Dor
- Arranged Marriage: It was thought he was going through one with Dejah, but turns out it was all a set up to imprison her family.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He develops a one-of-a-kind flying apparatus for Dejah to use.
- Irony: While he doesn't quite kills his father, its with Valian's inventions that Dejah kills Senneth.
- Missing Mom: Valian's mother used to be his father's favorite concubine, but she was then killed by Green Martians.
- Nice Guy: He is a kind young man who promises that he will be the best possible husband to Dejah even though he admits he isn't a warrior nor a looker.
- The Smart Guy: After siding with Helium's family, he provides his inventions for their use.
- The Unfavorite: Valian is looked down by his father for his meekness and its the memory of his mother that prevented Senneth from killing him.
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Valian is not a warrior and seen as a disappointment by Senneth.
Phondari
- Anti-Villain: Phondari is in search of Songatha's treasure so she can retire peacefully with her little brother.
- The Bus Came Back: She is set to return in the upcoming event Pathfinder: Worldscape.
- Big Sister Instinct: She looks up to her little brother, who had his tongue cut out by their previous master, forcing her to rebel against him.
- Dark Action Girl: Phondari has redeeming qualities such as caring for her relatives and being a woman of her word, but she works mostly self-gain unlike Dejah, or with less than savory individuals such as Kulan Gath.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: Her crew is made up of Red Martians, a Green Martian with herself (a woman and a lesbian at that) in charge, in contrast with other First-Born, who view any race besides their own beneath them and only employ their own for raiding and warfare duties.
- Even the Girls Want Her: Merisiel was very attracted to her beauty.
- Interspecies Romance: Its revealed in Pathfinder: Worldscape that she had a brief relationship with Merisiel, a elf from Golarion.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Like other First-Born, she is very arrogant and looks down on the Red People's achievements. With that said, she honors her word as bond and she proves to be a reliable ally to Dejah. She is not as racist as the rest of her kind, since her crew is composed of men that otherwise wouldn't be considered equals by other First-Born.
- Ms. Fanservice: Phondari is no more modest than Dejah or any Martian lady for that matter.
- Mystical White Hair: She is a Black Martian with silver hair.
- Noble Demon: Phondari may be a Moon Pirate, but she keeps her word whenever she makes a bargain.
- Pirate Girl: Notable since this is an exclusively-male job and custom.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Shortly after helping Dejah out, she retired as a pirate and was never seen again. Its revealed that at some point, she ended up in the Worldscape and spent a unknown amount of time there. At the end of Pathfinder: Worldscape, after all her allies have been killed by the heroes, Phondari is the only one to have survived, but its unknown what happened to her beyond this point if she was brought back to Barsoom with John and Tars or if she was abandoned in the Worldscape yet again.
Tash Lia aka Uras
Senneth Dor's daughter and Valian's sister. She becomes Jeddara of Yorn after he father's death.
- Freudian Excuse: She acts very cold and frigid towards Dejah, but that is because she blames her for her father Senneth's death, whom Tash loved despite him being a tyrant who brought his own death.
- Parental Favoritism: Tash Lia was better loved by her father than her brother was, so much that he ordered she was brought back to life as a Machine Woman with her memories intact.
- Spoiled Brat: She is seen as one by Dejah.
- We Can Rebuild Him: She is turned into a Machine Woman shortly after her death.
Gullivar Jones
A hapless US Navy Lieutenant that comes across a strange carpet that transports him to Mars. He falls in love with the Sethian princess Heru after rescuing her from the hated Thithers, but he is presumed dead after they launch an all-out invasion against Seth. Turns out his magical carpet protected him and placed him in suspended animations for centuries, awakening during John Carter's time.
- Guile Hero: He tricks the Thithers into releasing Heru by pretending to be a haunting spirit.
- Interspecies Romance: With Heru, a Red Martian.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Because of his blonde hair and fair skin, he is initially thought to be a White Martian.
- Hero of Another Story: Quite literally.
- Human Popsicle: He is not technically frozen, but he was put into suspended animation for centuries.
- Red Baron: "The Ghost of Seth".
- What Happened to the Mouse?: His ultimate fate is being stranded on a distant future where Mars has been taken over by humans from Earth, his magic carpet is in their possession and he sided with the current Warlord of Mars, Dejah Carter, to retrieve it. To make matters worse, he is deprived of superhuman strength and speed like John because of the terraforming process.
Heru
Dejah Thoris' mother and Mors Kajak's wife. She was Princess of Seth, a Red Martian kingdom that was at war constantly with the Thithers, an reclusive monstrous race. After being kidnapped by their brutal enemies, she is rescued by Gullivar Jones, an Earthman whom she falls in love with. However, their romance is cut short when Seth is invaded by the Thithers, her father is killed and Jones is presumed dead. She found her way to Helium and married Mors Kajak, giving birth to his children.
- Action Mom: Never mind her tendency to get in danger, she will defend her daughter from a Green Martian if necessary.
- Back from the Dead: Thanks to Dejah wishing it on Gullivar Jones' magical carpet, Heru is magically brought back to life. Sadly, because of her wording, Heru is spared just a few moments before returning to the afterlife.
- Distressed Damsel: Like mother, like daughter. In her introduction, she has to be rescued from drowning by Jones and later from being captured by Thithers.
- Interspecies Romance: With Gullivar Jones, very briefly. She married a Red Martian like herself in the end, but deep down she had always loved Jones.
- Missing Mom: She died when Dejah was still a young girl.
- Posthumous Character: She is long dead by the time the comics take place.
- Strong Family Resemblance: To the point Gullivar mistakes her daughter for Heru upon seeing her for the first time. Even her distant descendant from a thousand years in the future resembles her closely.
Dejah Carter
The Warlord of Mars from thousands of years in the future, she is a direct descendant from John Carter and Dejah Thoris. She leads the resistance against the Earth's invaders that had colonized Barsoom and enslaved their people.
- Action Girl: She is the Warlord of Barsoom in her timeline.
- Big Good: Of the Martian resistance in the Bad Future.
- Heroic Lineage: She is the last descendant of John Carter's illustrious bloodline.
- Named After Somebody Famous: She was named after the legendary Earthman who united Mars and his wife.
- Strong Family Resemblance: She resembles her ancestor's wife (in turn, her mother Heru as well) so closely that her enemies mistake her for Carter when she ends up trapped in the future.
- Secretly Dying: Her exposure to nerve gas will lead her to slow and painful death.
Svero
A male Palidor from Saturn, he belongs to a humanoid race that was enslaved by the vampire-men known as Vathek, and he is part of a resistance cell that fights against them. After Dejah is abducted during her self-imposed exile, he helps her break out from prison as they have a common enemy with the Vathek also threatening to invade her own home.
- Human Alien: Other than his purple skin and blue hair, he is virtually indistinguishable from humans.
- La Résistance: He is part of a resistance group that stands against the Vathek invaders.
