Figure:Dejah Thoris vs. Nolach the Kaldane

Edgar Rice Burroughs created John Carter, a Virginian and Confederate soldier, as the hero of his "Martian Tales," eleven novels published in the early decades of the 20th century. In the first volume, "Princess of Mars," set in 1866, John Carter travels to Mars and confronts the Tharks, the "green men" of Mars. Burroughs's subsequent stories recount Carter's adventures of adapting to life on the harsh dry planet, battling alien creatures, rising to power in the political arena, fighting for justice, and falling in love with and marrying Dejah Thoris, a princess of humanlike, red Martians. Burroughs's character enjoyed popularity in the 1930s and 1940s when various radio serials, sci-fi periodicals, and books promoted space exploration as an appealing adventure. Carter appeared on a number of toys manufactured by Louis Marx & Company and others. Carter's endurance as a pop culture hero is underscored in this action figure manufactured some 90 years after Burrough's character first appeared.