Dejah Thoris

Origin

Dejah Thoris was an exceptionally beautiful young woman born of the Red Martian race on the planet Barsoom (known on Earth as Mars). A princess by birth, she was the daughter of Mors Kajak and granddaughter of Tardos Mors , the lords of Lesser Helium. Her story began 400 years before the coming of John Carter, when two factions of the Red Martian empire, Lesser Helium and Greater Velium, were at war with one another for control of Mars, as they had been for centuries. One day, Senneth Dor, the Jeddak of Yorn and the overlord of Greater Helium, called for a truce and wanted to end the war between the two factions. As a sign of peace, Senneth Dor asked Dejah Thoris to be the wife of his son, Dor Valian. The marriage never took place as the Jeddak of Yorn betrayed the lords of Lesser Helium shortly afterward. Dejah Thoris proved herself by triumphing through the crisis and becoming a great princess of all of Helium.

Creation

Dejah Thoris was created by author Edgar Rice Burroughs and was the titular character of his classic sci-fi/fantasy novel A Princess of Mars, published in 1917. The novel was the first in an epic series of Martian novels starring the heroic Earthman John Carter, and Dejah Thoris, as Carter's primary love interest and later his wife, appeared in all of them. The novels have been adapted into comic books by no less than four different publishers, originally by Dell in the 1940's, followed by DC, Marvel, and most recently Dynamite Entertainment.

Character Evolution

Dejah Thoris was described by Burroughs as being beautiful in the extreme, with wavy coal black hair, large lustrous eyes, and light reddish copper-colored skin. Because the Red Martian people are born from eggs rather than giving live birth, she has no belly button (though artists frequently draw her with one). As was typical of Martian custom, Dejah wore no clothing: She was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who accompanied her; indeed, save for her highly wrought ornaments she was entirely naked, nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty of her perfect and symmetrical figure.

Dejah's lack of apparel was a challenge for comic book publishers. Dell, the publisher of her earliest comic book appearances, simply ignored the description of her character being virtually naked. Due to the socially conservative time period of the 1940's, Dejah appeared in Dell comics wearing a modest brown dress. Later publishers, beginning with DC in the 1970's, decided to be truer to the novels and had Dejah's "highly wrought ornaments" strategically placed so the character would not be in violation of the Comics Code Authority. In these appearances her ornaments essentially took the form of a decorative metal bikini. Dejah's most recent publisher, Dynamite Entertainment, has made her nearly as naked as originally described in the novels, with only the smallest of ornaments covering her modesty. 

Dejah Thoris is sometimes confused with another Edgar Rice Burroughs character named La, the Queen and High Priestess of Opar (from the Tarzan universe), for having a similar appearance as well as a similar lack of wardrobe. 

Major Story Arcs

Rise to Power

When the overlord of Greater Helium, the Jeddak of Yorn, proposed marriage between Dejah Thoris and his own son, Dor Valian, Dejah accepted. She felt that the union would help increase Lesser Helium's influence with Greater Helium and bring peace between the two factions. Two weeks later, members of Lesser Helium were assembled at the Greater Helium's castle for the engagement ceremony of Dejah Thoris and Dor Valian. After an awkward introduction of Senneth Dor's son, the lords of Lesser Helium were invited to a feast that night. Dejah Thoris proposed a toast for peace when suddenly they were interrupted by the Greater Helium's guards. The engagement party turned out to be a ruse, as the Jeddak of Yorn had no intention of wanting his son to be married. Instead, he wanted to destroy the rival faction and dispose of the lords of lesser Helium, Mors Kajak (Dejah's father) and Tardos Mors (Dejah's grandfather). Dor Valian was not aware of this evil scheme and was just as surprised as Dejah Thoris. He tried reasoning with his father but failed to do so. Though her royal family was captured and imprisoned, Dejah escaped and led a successful revolt against the Jeddak of Yorn, proving herself as both a princess and a warrior. After the conflict, she became the princess of all of Helium and revered among her people.

John Carter

In the early chapters of John Carter's original adventure, Dejah tried to lead an expedition on Mars to find a better and more peaceful way of life for her people. But during the expedition, her aircraft was attacked by the rival Green Men of Mars known as the Tharks and she was was taken prisoner, being the only person to survive the wreck.

As the Tharks hauled Dejah away, a human named John Carter saw her for the first time. She greeted him in her people's way, but Carter was ignorant of the custom and did not return the greeting, which greatly insulted her. Dejah was held prisoner by female Thark guards and a guard named Sarkoja treated her very cruelly. Later, the captive Dejah was brought in chains before Lorquas Ptomel, the Jed (chief) of the Tharks, where she gave an impassioned speech pleading for peace between their two peoples. But her words fell on deaf ears, and one of the Jed's warriors took it upon himself to physically assault Dejah. John Carter, looking on, could not stand to watch a beautiful woman being abused, and leaped into the courtyard and killed the Thark with a single blow.

This ignited a romance between Carter and Thoris. It also enhanced the hatred Sarkoja had for the both of them. Sarkoja quickly snooped on the two in a private conversation and found out that they were planning to escape, and she quickly betrayed them to Ptomel. Meanwhile, Thoris refused to talk to Carter for several days after she was insulted by Carter's words from that conversation. However, the two made up and went on to become lovers. After Carter rose to greatness and became the Warlord of Mars, he and Dejah Thoris eventually married. 

Powers and Abilities

Being a member of the Red Martian race, Dejah Thoris has great longevity and is capable of living for over a thousand years. Like all Martians, Dejah possesses a degree of psychic ability and can control riding beasts by using telepathy. She can also use this ability to assist in verbal communication with others. Dejah is an intelligent and capable fighter, well-trained in the combat arts, and frequently accompanies John Carter on his adventures. 

Other Media 

Princess of Mars (2009 film)

Traci Lords as Dejah Thoris (2009)

John Carter (2012 film)

 Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris (2012)