Tal Hajus was the Jeddak of Thark at the time that John Carter first arrived on Barsoom.
History
A fat, disgusting old beast, he had once been a great warrior, but in the years since he attained the rank of Jeddak, he had debased himself by indulging in every sin and vice that presented itself. By 1866, when John Carter arrived on Mars and the Tharks captured Princess Dejah Thoris of Helium, Tal Hajus' willpower was so atrophied that he was prepared to throw away the possibility of receiving an exorbitant ransom from the princess' family just for the fleeting thrill of raping her.
Unfortunately for him, he also made advances at the young Green Martian woman Sola, and that was the mistake that led to his downfall. When the Jed Tars Tarkas later discovered that Sola was his daughter, he demanded the right to challenge Tal Hajus' fitness as a Jeddak, arguing that the old pig's corpulence prevented him from fighting alongside his men, which was expected of all Jeddaks. Tal Hajus was forced to accept the challenge, and minutes later, he lay dead on the floor.
Notes
- In the Disney film universe Tal Hajus is the result of a Warhoon and Thark pairing.