Hercules Vs. Tarzan

Welcome to another round of Vs.  Today I'm pitting two of the strongest characters against each other.  Coming from Ancient Greece, Hercules and coming from the jungle, the ape man himself  Tarzan.  The criteria for this battle of brawn will include personality, training,  Battle,  Song,  and of course, The Film Factor.  Let's begin.

Personality (Round 1)

Hercules

When we first see Herc as a teen, we see he is a bit clumsy and as he grows up, we seem him to be a nice guy and well meaning.  Okay I'll get this out of the way, he is Disney's Clark Kent.  The parallels are uncanny but they're there. Just like Clark, he started out clumsy and unsure of himself but as his strength increased, so did his confidence and it made him a better person. Still as we saw at times he can be a bit gullible and naive but I feel that adds another bit of charm to him.

Tarzan

Tarzan for his entire life was raised by animals and so in a sense it gave him an  animal like personality.  This also applies to his training in shaping him into become the hero he is.  I'll admit  it is fun watching a character like Tarzan who has these animal like traits that he can use while fighting.  Now this is just one side of the character because as we see, he does have relationships even such as with Kala who is very loving of her son.    I  feel that both of these characters have wonderful personalities that are fun to watch develop but at the end of the day,  I feel that character with the better personality is...

Hercules

 Training  (Round 2)

For the training, we'll be using videos both of which are set to songs.   

One Last Hope (Hercules)

I have to admit this is a lot of fun to watch seeing Hercules go through all the different training routines that Phil set up for him even if the song leaves something to be desired.  This montage shows us a nice span of Herc's training to becoming a hero and watching him go through all of this is really fun.

Son of Man (Tarzan)

This song is awesome and I feel that Tarzan's reason to make himself stronger are more interesting as he wants to prove that he belongs.  Also this is a lot more fun to watch because it covers a longer period of his life and plus I love the transformation scene where he jumps out of the water. I could give it to Tarzan just for that but there other things that make this stick out over One Last Hope and for this reason this round goes to...

Tarzan

Battle  (Round 3)

We're going straight from training into battle and for this round, I have chosen to look at two standout battles that these two took on that weren't against the villains of their respective films.  Oh no, instead for Herc, I'll be looking at his battle against the Hydra and for Tarzan, his battle against Sabor. Once again, I'll  be using video.

Hercules Vs. The Hydra





Now this isn't the entire battle but it shows enough for what I want to cover. This battle of Hercules and the Hydra is fun to watch.  You can actually see him sweat and the Hydra is really coo looking. One problem I have a little bit is that even though I stated I like Herc's personality, I feel as though isn't sure of himself. Which is okay but when fighting a monster like this you need to have confidence that you can take him on and I feel as though Herc is lacking that confidence.


Tarzan Vs. Sabor




This battle in a word is awesome!!!  Seriously,   this battle feels more intense and it really seems like there is more at stake with this one than when Hercules fought the Hydra.  Also while the setting for Herc's battle is nice, there is something about having a fight take place in the jungle that adds another level of coolness to it.  I actually like how Sabor's death is off screen because even though you know Tarzan will win, it adds another layer of suspense to this battle. Add in the fact that Tarzan killed the one responsible for the death of his parents (Even though I think he didn't know that),  it feels as though Tarzan has been vindicated.   Like I even need to tell you who won this round but just for safe measure this round goes to...

Tarzan

Song  (Round 4)


Now we come to my favorite part of Vs. besides the Final Round, the Song. Which character was given the better song that describes their character.  For Hercules, I have chosen Go The Distance and for Tarzan, Strangers Like Me. Let's begin.


Go The Distance (Hercules)





I really enjoy this song and I feel that it helps to set up the character of Hercules quite well.  He wants to know if there is a place in the world where he belongs.  I feel that we've all been there, wondering where we belong on this earth.  Hercules takes a step towards finding out by going on this journey to get an answer.  I really feel that this is a beautiful song that does the character of  Hercules justice.


Strangers Like Me





I have to admit that this is hard area to judge.  Both of these songs are great.  Just like Go The Distance, I find this song to also be about self discovery and learning where you belong in this world.  Really the only thing that sets this song apart is that it isn't sung by any of the characters but that works for this film and I think instead having Phil Collins sing  over a montage works better for this film but if I had to choose a song from falling off a cliff, I'd pick Go The Distance because that song resonates with me more. For that reason, this round goes to..

Hercules

The Film Factor (The Final Round)


This is what it all comes down to, The Film Factor. Which character works better in their respective film?   This will decide the winner.  Will be it the demi-god  or  the ape man? Let's find out!

Hercules

Herc for all intents and purposes does work well in his film but at times, I feel as though he gets lost amongst the other characters such as Meg who tend to stand out more. Don't get me wrong, I still think he has the better personality as I find it to be more relatable but he doesn't seem to command the attention that a leading character should.


Tarzan


With Tarzan, when he's onscreen, there is no doubt in your mind that he is the star of his film as he commands the attention of the audience.  He works wonders and his actions are so engaging and so fun to watch.  When Tarzan is onscreen,  your eyes are on him and not wandering off to any of the other characters because he is a character who you want to see what his next move will be.  For that reason this round goes to...


Tarzan

The End Result


In this battle of heroes, Tarzan is the winner.  He had the better battle,  the better training and most importantly a better Film Factor.  This one was tough to judge but at end of the day, Tarzan stands out as the better hero.  Hercules came close but I had to give it to Tarzan.  Do you agree?  Tell me in the comments.  As always, if you have any match ups that you's like to see, tell me who or what they are.  These aren't limited to characters.  But that tends to be the most fun.