History YMMV / JohnCarterOfMars

* OnceOriginalNowOverdone: The core of a lot of the criticism the [[Film/JohnCarter film version]] received. ''Barsoom'' books were TropeMakers and {{Trope Codifier}}s for pretty much everything fantastical, starting all the way back in 1912, with the elements introduced by Burroughs managing to become tired cliches already by the 40s. The books themselves, even if hailed for their "founding father" effect, are significantly less original, with over a century of genre(s) development since ''Princess Of Mars'' came out.

* EvilIsSexy: Phaidor. [[DaddysLittleVillain A Thern princess]] [[DiamondsInTheBuff wearing nothing more than jewelry]]. Many illustrators depict her just like [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Dejah Thoris]] with blonde hair [[LightIsNotGood and white skin]], but with a [[AGodAmI god complex]] and [[ImAHumanitarian taste for cannibalism.]] Even the hero notes she is very beautiful, despite turning down her advances.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Probably at the core of a lot of the criticism the film version is receiving.

* Some fans of [[Film/{{Avatar}} a little James Cameron film]] saw the trailer for the Disney adaptation and declared it a rip-off. Unknown to them, not only is this series older, but James Cameron himself has cited it as direct inspiration for his film.

* FanonDiscontinuity: ''John Carter and the Giant of Mars'' tends to fall victim to this. One notable example: in the book "A Guide to Barsoom" writer John Flint Roy clearly states he does not consider this story to be a true Barsoom story, and thus didn't include any information about this story and the characters apearing in it in his guide.

* NewerThanTheyThink:

* OlderThanTheyThink: Some fans of [[Film/{{Avatar}} a little James Cameron film]] saw the trailer for the Disney adaptation and declared it a rip-off. Unknown to them, not only is this series older, but James Cameron himself has cited it as direct inspiration for his film.

** John being a Confederate veteran is a lot harder to swallow in the modern day, as the romantic ideal of the Confederacy has faded and their uglier aspects, particularly support of slavery, have been focused on. Modern adaptations tend to get around this by portraying him as having become disillusioned with the Confederacy, and showing his service as DesperatelySeekingAPurposeInLife which he fills on Mars.

** John is a ''former Confederate soldier''. [[note]]At the time, the Confederacy was often seen as the more romantic side of the Civil War; as attitudes shifted, particularly about race, they became seen as a much more villainous side. Where once a Confederate hero might be expected, to modern readers it carries a whole bucket of ValueDissonance. TheFilmOfTheBook largely [[AuthorsSavingThrow gets around it]] by making it plain Carter was extremely disillusioned by the Civil War and felt little loyalty towards the Confederate cause[[/note]]

** John is a ''former Confederate soldier''. [[note]]At the time, the Confederacy was often seen as the more romantic side of the Civil War; as attitudes shifted, particularly about race, they became seen as a much more villainous side. Where once a Confederate hero might be expected, to modern readers it carries a whole bucket of UnfortunateImplications. TheFilmOfTheBook largely gets around the UnfortunateImplications by making it plain Carter was extremely disillusioned by the Civil War and felt little loyalty towards the Confederate cause[[/note]]

* TheWoobie: Dejah Thoris. Her husband disappears mysteriously one night during a mission to save all of Barsoom, their child is born on the same day and [[DisappearedDad she is forced to see him grow without their father]]. Then, [[AdultFear her child goes missing, followed by her father and grandfather who go looking for him, leaving her completely alone]]. When she tries looking for them, [[MadeASlave she is captured and enslaved by the First Born]]. [[HopeSpot She manages to reunite with her husband after 10 years for a few moments]] [[YankTheDogsChain before being thrown]] inside a dungeon with a murderous White Martian that is jealous of her [[MurderTheHypotenuse and tries to kill her]] - and when that fails, she is forced to spend several months locked with her attempted murderer. When she is finally freed from the Temple, its not Carter who came to save her, but his enemies who want to exact retribution on him through his wife and take her prisoner. She spends every moment being thrown around as a hostage with the threat of [[DefiledForever being horribly defiled]] and [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured by them]] just to spite Carter, [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe and is even faced with the prospect of being forcibly married]] to a EvilOverlord [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty who has taken a shine on her]]. It's truly a wonder how she did not break by the end of the whole ordeal.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[MsFanservice Dejah Thoris]], despite her decreased focus in succeeding books, is one of the most recognizable characters in the Barsoom series. She has been heavily depicted in John Carter's fan arts, popular pin-up subject among artists like Creator/FrankFrazetta and is given expanded roles in Dynamite Entertainment's comic adaptation, even starring her own regular series and original miniseries as ''Dejah of Mars'' and ''Dejah Thoris and the Green Men of Mars''.

* AntiClimaxBoss: All major antagonists are this, one way or another. None of them provide a serious challenge to Carter in a straight up fight ([[NonProtagonistResolver that is when they are not being disposed by someone else]]), given they are mostly schemers, way past their former glory or just can't keep up with a InvincibleHero. The only time Carter found himself outmatched in ''sheer skill'' was old Solan, a BossInMooksClothing. Carter even laments that [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold that phenomenal duel had no witnesses.]]

* OneSceneWonder: Solan, the OldMaster and BossInMookClothing. The guy appears ''very'' briefly, but he gives Carter a better fight than ''anyone else in the series''.

** John being a Confederate veteran is a lot harder to swallow in the modern day, as the romantic ideal of the Confederacy has faded and their uglier aspects, particularly support of slavery, have been focused on. Modern adaptations tend to get around this by portraying his service as DesperatelySeekingAPurposeInLife which he fills on Mars.

* ValuesDissonance: Burroughs was writing at a time when scientific racialism was in vogue, and it shows; the Red Martians, the most populous of the humanoid Martians, are said to have originated out of miscegenation between the White, Yellow, and Black Martians, who have been forced into polar enclaves by dysgenic pressure. The fact that the Black Martians are cannibalistic raiders is questionable in modern eyes.

** In ''Gods of Mars'' and ''Warlord of Mars'', there are suggestions of this between Dejah Thoris of Helium and Thuvia of Ptarth, who are imprisoned together with the villanous Phaidor in the Temple of the Sun. When Dejah Thoris is reunited with her beloved John Carter at the end of Warlord, she recounts how Thuvia's "tender love" kept her sane through the months of their imprisonment.

* {{Tear Jerker}}: The end of ''The Gods of Mars''.

* TheWoobie: Dejah Thoris. Her husband disappears mysteriously one night during a mission to save all of Barsoom, their child is born on the same day and [[DisappearedDad she is forced to see him grow without their father]]. Then, [[AdultFear her child goes missing, followed by her father and grandfather who go looking for him, leaving her completely alone]]. When she tries looking for them, [[MadeASlave she is captured and enslaved by the First Born]]. [[HopeSpot She manages to reunite with her husband after 10 years for a few moments]] [[YankTheDogsChain before being thrown]] inside a dungeon with a murderous White Martian that is jealous of her [[MurderTheHypotenuse and tries to kill her]] - and when that fails, she is forced to spend several months locked with her attempted murderer. When she is finally freed from the Temple, its not Carter who came to save her, but his enemies who want to exact retribution on him through his wife and take her prisoner. She spends every moment being thrown around as a hostage with the threat of [[DefiledForever being horribly defiled]] and [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured by them]] just to spite Carter, [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe and is even faced with the prospect of being forced married]] to a EvilOverlord [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty who has taken a shine on her]]. Its truly a wonder how she did not break by the end of the whole ordeal.

** In the first book at least, John Carter is disgusted at the Green Barsoomians for their warlike ways and violent tendencies, but it is taken for granted that [[BrokenAesop his killing of dozens of generally innocent people is perfectly justifiable]] because he is doing it to rescue his OneTrueLove. The closest he comes to acknowledging that maybe murder isn't the best way to solve all his problems is when he reflects that the guards were {{Worthy Opponent}}s and fighting men like him. An AlternateCharacterInterpretation might be that since the story is told in the first person, the reason John is portrayed as chaotic good despite his somewhat chaotic neutral method of interacting with obstacles is because he's actually a narcissistic sociopath who doesn't see anything wrong with sacrificing other people's lives if they get in the way of his personal happiness and that of those he cares about.