John Carter

In 1881, Edgar Rice Burroughs arrives at the estate of his recently deceased uncle, John Carter, a former American Civil War Confederate Army captain. Per Carter's instructions, the body is put in a tomb that can be unlocked only from the inside. His attorney gives Carter's journal to Burroughs, to whom Carter bequeathed his fortune. In a flashback to 1868 in the Arizona Territory, Union Colonel Powell arrests Carter with hopes that he will help in fighting local Apache. Carter escapes his holding cell with cavalry soldiers in close pursuit. After a run-in with a band of Apaches, Carter and a wounded Powell hide in a cave that is filled with gold. A mysterious man, later revealed to be a Thern, appears in the cave and attacks them with a knife; Carter kills him but accidentally activates the Thern's medallion and is transported to a ruined and dying planet, Barsoom, known to Carter as Mars. Because of his different bone density and the planet's lower gravity, Carter can jump high and perform feats of incredible strength. He is captured by the Tharks, a nomadic tribe of Green Martians and their Jeddak, Tardos Mors, Tarkas.