“John Carter,” based on a magazine serial at the turn of the last century by Edgar Rice Burroughs (of Tarzan fame), tells the story of an embittered Confederate soldier after the Civil War looking for a fortune in gold in the Arizona territory. Happening upon an intriguing cave, he encounters a mysterious being who appears and vaporizes instantly when he is shot, leaving behind a glowing medallion. Examining the pulsing amulet, Carter is immediately transported to an unknown desert where he discovers he has the power to leap incredible distances. He has landed on Mars, or Barsoom as the natives call it. This is not, however, enough to protect him from the quadruple armed creatures who surround him.
From the land of the multi-armed, he finds himself enmeshed in a war between two peoples – those of the land of Helium (Burrough’s playfulness in evidence as the element had been discovered only 20 years before his serial) and those of Zodanga. Helium is led by Tardos Mors and his daughter Princess Dejah. Siding with the underdog Heliums and in thrall with the Princess, Carter must use his limited resources and the friends he has made to try to save Helium from Sab Than and the Zodangas.
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