{{character
|name=General Tara
|image=[[Image:Image003.jpg|200 px]]
|first= "[[The Tyrant of Tarakimo]]"
|creators= [[Lee Falk]] and [[Sy Barry]]
|}}

== Profile ==

*'''Name:''' General Tara
*'''Occupation:''' Dictator of Tarakimo from Tarakimo's establishment to 1978.
*'''Legal Status:''' Criminal, presumed executed by his people but not officially known
*'''Allies:''' Major Isamu, his "right hand."
*'''Place of Birth:''' Unknown
*'''Marital Status:''' Single, but has an ample "harem."
*'''Base of Operations:''' Tarakimo
*'''First Appearance:''' The Phantom daily strip - August 15, 1977 (The Tyrant of Tarakimo)
*'''Subsequent Appearances:''' The Phantom daily strip - April 17, 1978 (Return to Tarakimo)
*'''Height:''' Approximately 6'0" - appears taller than most of his countrymen
*'''Weight:''' Probably 280-300 lbs. - moderately muscular, but with a large pot belly and rear.
*'''Eyes:''' Black
*'''Hair:''' Bald, with rounded black goatee and large waxed black handlebar mustache
*'''Signatures:''' Favors over-decorated dress uniforms and swank lounging robes, smokes with a elegant, foot-long cigarette holder
*'''Special Abilities:''' None

== History ==

Ruling the small Asian nation of [[Tarakimo]] for an unknown number of years (and presumably founding the country, hence it's name) [[General Tara]] kept a nation of people literally and figuratively at his feet, immobilized in a vice of jackbooted terror and squalor while he personally enjoyed an unprecedented life of luxury. [[Lee Falk]] has been quoted as saying that [[The Tyrant of Tarakimo]] and [[Return to Tarakimo]] (the story's sequel) were his personal "statements" on the growing number of harsh third-world dictatorships fueled by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture torture] cartels.

Tara first polluted the Phantom and his soon-to-be-wife [[Diana Palmer]]'s lives when Diana agreed enthusiastically to travel to Tarakimo, along with her UN colleague Sven, to expose the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictator dictator's] regime of greed and corruption, along with it's inherent human-rights violations. Unfortunately, Diana's naiveté led her into this dangerous mission months before her wedding to the [[21st Phantom]].

== The Tyrant of Tarakimo (1977) ==

As the first part of the Tarakimo saga unfolds, Diana and Sven face off in a stringent competition to diffuse Sven's misogyny in the face of having to take a woman to such a "savage" third-world nation. As Diana swiftly bests her co-worker in a number of physical contests, we cross-cut to Tarakimo, where Tara basks indolently on a large gilded [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throne throne] chair, plotting how he will cover up his crimes from the incoming UN interlopers. During these early sequences, all we see of Tara are his large, ornately accessorized boots (symbolizing tyranny), and a gauntlet gloved hand delicately gripping a long [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette_holder cigarette holder] as his menials grovel before him on hands and knees simply because "he saw it in a movie once" and found it amusing. [[Image:Glove.jpg|thumb]]

It is implied from his decadently lavish lifestyle that Tara uses the nation's funds as something of a personal checking account as did many dictators such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin Amin] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Duvalier Papa Doc].

As Diana and Sven are met by Tara's legion of soldiers at the airport, it is disclosed that a newsman, MacGregor, is also in the country, secretly sending out stories of the general's atrocities. Diana and Sven are stalled for as long as possible, then shown Tara's prison, which turns out to be, as Diana terms it, a "farce." The two witness "prisoners" (in reality, guards) sleeping till noon and eating steak in their beautifully furnished "cells." For Tara to believe this ruse will be successful is more a testament to his insanity than to his cunning, but he has a fair share of both, in spades, as we will soon see.

Diana and Sven are not deceived by this ludicrous trick, and Tara is enraged --- even more so when his men uncover news of a note that one of the inmates slipped Diana, detailing his crimes ("hundreds of men are tortured and killed in these prisons")...a note that Diana cleverly mails out of the country via Tara's butler.

Tara demands the note. He orders their rooms torn apart and their persons strip-searched, incurring more humiliation for our heroine and her sidekick. When they are questioned again by the despot and again refuse to exonerate him, he orders their arrests. "You came here to spy on our jails!" he ominously intones. "Now you will see them...FROM THE INSIDE!"

As the Phantom slowly but surely uncovers the danger Diana has unwittingly placed herself in, and completes his round-the-world trek to Tarakimo, the dictator sends his thugs to retrieve Diana and Sven from their dank little cells. If they won't give him the note, his maniacal mind reasons, they will give him a “confession” stating that the note was a lie. It’s a rationale that only the most deranged of minds could construct: “I will torture you into giving me a confession that states I do not torture.” One can only imagine Falk’s grim chuckling at this darkest of ironies.

[[Image:Torturechamber.png|thumb]]

It is in Tara's underground [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_chamber torture chamber], that we truly see how twisted and sadistic this monster is. Even though the room is set up as a medieval dungeon, with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_(torture) racks], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_maiden_(torture_device) iron maidens], and whipping posts, it has been given a modern spin, with closed-circuit cameras mounted all around. These cameras transmit the images of Tara's victims, along with their pain and suffering, to the tyrant's plush private office, for his perverse "enjoyment."

After the general orders Diana bound to a torture rack, and Sven to a whipping post, [[Major Isamu]], Tara’s sycophantic flunky, badgers them further, threatening them with physical injury if they don't comply with the tyrant's demands --- much to Tara's delight, as he coolly monitors their mounting distress from his office ("I hope they refuse," he smugly giggles to himself).

Meanwhile, the Ghost is closing in, parachuting past Tara's "closed" airport and leaving his trademark skull-shaped brand on numerous thugs and henchmen. Back in the dungeon, Diana (being Diana) mouths off to the tyrant, calling him on his ridiculous demands. Tara, deciding he will teach her some manners, orders Isamu to stretch her on the rack.

[[Image:Gloat.png|thumb]][[Image:Watch.png|thumb]]

Even though she is bound tightly on the uncomfortable wooden frame, with Tara’s insidious camera winking down at her, Diana refuses to cooperate, still believing the torture room and it's ancient devices to be another elaborate ploy by Tara to scare them. Just before Major Isamu can give the order to commence with the stretching, Tara gives her a reprieve --- of sorts. "She's too beautiful and bold to waste," he muses, genuinely impressed by the woman’s audacious resolve as he puffs languidly on his cigarette holder, "...I will keep her...." For his personal pleasure...no doubt!

Supremely confident that he can have the lovely Diana for himself and still extract a confession, he orders Isamu to torture Sven first. It’s really quite brilliant in the most twisted sense of the word. He accurately surmises that, to a valiant woman such as Diana, it would be far worse to watch her co-worker be tortured before her eyes. It's all the same to Tara, as long as he gets the added bonus of inflicting pain, which ultimately gives him the most satisfaction. This unabashed cruelty is something that distinguishes Tara among many of the Phantom villains --- he really enjoys hurting people.

But the villain's vile intentions for Diana and Sven are not to be. Just as he's settling into his comfy chair for some depraved "fun," and Isamu and his henchman begin interrogating Sven, two hands of steel wind their way around Tara's pudgy neck! As he chokes the despot, the Phantom demands that the general call off his goons. Tara, ever the yellow-bellied coward, instantly wilts, sweat streaming down his face, his form-fitting tunic suddenly a tad too tight. He sends for Diana, Sven, and MacGregor, then casually tries to depress the emergency call switch, to summon his guards, to the left of his leather easy chair. "Don't touch that button, General!" the Ghost warns. "Or it will be the last thing you'll ever do!"

Isamu frees his prisoners reluctantly, warning them that the worst is yet to come ("Sometimes the General likes to question spies ''personally''....").

But, up in Tara's office, Kit is the one doing the questioning. When his wife arrives with her comrades, he forces the over-dressed thug to his hands and knees at gunpoint, just as he forced Diana and Sven to pay him homage earlier. Tara complies, vehemently cursing the Phantom and vowing revenge.

Probably not a good idea, that last bit...since the Phantom decides to take Tara hostage to ensure a safe escape. As the general's battalion of tanks and fighter planes idle, his soldiers watching helplessly, he is directed aboard a plane...and then pushed out...with a parachute of course. Nice guy, that Phantom...considering the fat creep was going to dislocate his fiancee's limbs just for kicks!

Diana and the Ghost ride off into the sunset to their nuptials (after all, how can [[Lily Palmer]] refuse a man who saved her daughter from the torture rack?), and all seems to be well.

But evil never sleeps, as they say....

== Return To Tarakimo (1978)==

The next year, Tara is still reeling psychologically --- literally seething --- at the humiliations forced upon him by the Phantom and his bride (he fittingly landed in a pig pen after he was pushed from the plane). He wants the Ghost at his feet, begging for forgiveness and mercy. And, he logically figures, the key to accomplishing this is Kit's blushing bride. This time, it’s personal: he’ll set Diana out as bait, then kill them both after suitable, extended torture --- just as he promised Kit the previous year.

He cavalierly orders his thugs to spare no expense in kidnapping Diana Palmer, despite Isamu's warnings of the danger of abducting a UN official. After several unsuccessful stalk-and-snatch attempts, the general's self-described "killer squad" --- in reality, just a seemingly random bunch of largely incompetent goons --- finally succeed in abducting her.

[[Image:Surprise.jpg|thumb]]

Diana is delivered to the evil man as if she were a large pizza (though an expensive one, no doubt), and he relishes the old woman disguise that his henchmen have fitted her with, even placing a small mirror in front of her face so she can “admire” her “aged” countenance. But, even a heartless tub of lard can have an off day: the mask is revealed to have no eye holes and what’s worse --- she’s asleep! Not to be deprived of his sick joke, the wicked sovereign takes great delight in decreeing the "first sight" the drugged Diana sees upon waking up to be himself, hovering over her from his fancy dais-mounted throne chair as he hedonistically stuffs his face with roast chicken and fine wine.

After Isamu has spitefully clothed Diana in a skimpy, humiliating harem girl costume, he orders her to kneel before the "Celestial One." Tara is in his glory. He leans back in his throne chair, smugly lights a cigarette, and, lazily blowing smoke rings, begins to gloat over his imminent "victory." However, he soon tires of verbally sparring with the fiesty brunette and becomes impatient for the mysterious "rescuer’s" blood ("THAT'S the man I want!" he broods).

[[Image:Harem.jpg|thumb]]

He demands Diana reveal the identity of the Ghost Who Walks. When Diana refuses to give her husband up, Tara decides to once more have his cake and eat it: he finally decides to satisfy his lust for the lovely woman, believing this threat to "inspire" her to cooperate ("We have plenty of time...until you tell me," he purrs, drawing her inches from him).

Though Tara is a large man, he is no match for Diana's quick Judo moves, and the tyrant is soon flying across his throne room, smack into a large wall. While Tara "recovers," Isamu slyly extracts the Ghost's identity from Diana, amid veiled threats of what the tyrant will do when he eventually "deals with her." "What'll he do?" Diana asks nervously, realizing slowly that she's still very much under the big man's thumb, despite her well-executed attack. "Something diabolic," is Isamu's dry, amused response.

And diabolic it is: Isamu and Diana watch as Tara's goons assemble a steel cage, one identical to those housing the dictator's enemies...cages that line the rim of his palace walls. Those guilty of treason, the irritating little man explains, are placed in such cages to be executed. And the cage before her eyes...belongs to her!

But Tara is no fool. Not wanting Diana's presence to be advertised, he orders his pretty prisoner caged not outside, but ''inside'', for his private pleasure at the top of his glass-domed throne room. As he flaunts his "divine" authority over her, Diana spews back "You can't do this...it's illegal!" to which he retorts indulgently: "Foolish woman...*I* AM THE LAW!" (shades of [[General Bababu]] here, and a number of other Falk dictators).

Tara eventually gets tired of mocking and teasing Diana and heads off to bed, giving strict orders to be woken when Walker is captured so he can "supervise his punishment personally." Unfortunately, the dictator's benefits are slim and his exhausted goons nod off into the night.

The Phantom executes a daring rescue, one that makes his previous caper in Tarakimo look like child's play, and exacts a particularly just means of punishment on the ruthless tyrant. He breaks into his bedroom and, while the fat man snores away, places him in one of his own barbaric cages, outside the palace walls.

The general awakes, calling for his breakfast, only to be met with jeers and showers of thrown garbage. Soon, what seems to be the entire country is mocking him, causing the arrogant man to “lose face” in the ultimate sense of the expression. Even Major Isamu shrinks from helping his once mighty boss.

The second story ends with Tara being hauled off in chains, as a new dictator, Colonel --- now General --- Dito (read: ditto, as in same evil, different face), ascends Tarakimo's throne under the auspices of "democracy."

== Analysis ==

Tara's grating effeteness in how he remotely monitors Diana's aborted torture scene is no chance plot or character construction on Falk’s part. Just as he steers clear of handling his cigarettes, Tara considers himself too superior to lower himself to dirtying his hands (usually gloved, remember?) --- at least with those whom he doesn’t plan to kill. He wants to remain as cozy and isolated from his foul deeds as possible, thereby insuring himself a somewhat tight alibi (“Torture? Who, ''me?'' ''I'' didn’t torture anyone.”).

The cynical ending to this story makes it somewhat unique in the Phantom oeuvre and seems to be an attempt by Falk at commenting on how ultimately futile forced governmental overthrows can sometimes be. He seems to be saying (and this is echoed in the story's denouement) that real change can only come through the will of the people.

Phantom comics have always been much richer than the average adventure yarns, and here, there is indeed more than initially meets the eye. The story’s moral is extremely prescient. Tara, despite his exaggerated evil-villain accouterments --- the riding crops, the cigarette holders --- isn't that much different from the bloated bullies who have attempted to rule by fear since the world began.

And his fate isn't much different from theirs, either.

== Trivia ==

*A third installment of this story is rumored to exist, but it was not an original US daily strip appearance. It is speculated to be available from [[Indrajal Comics]]. In it, Tara is supposedly tried and executed for his countless crimes against humanity.

*''The Tyrant of Tarakimo'' was finished by an unknown inker. If you examine the strip closely, you will see marked changes in Tara and Diana's appearance following the scene where Diana, Sven, and MacGregor are brought to the general's office, after Tara has been captured by the Phantom.

*The Tarakimo stories, though unbelievably well drawn --- Barry's eye for detail in illustrating the general's opulent palace and his garish uniforms is amazing for a daily comic strip, not to mention making Tara into a superb characture of evil excess --- suffers from a little irregularity. The most blatant gaffe can be seen on this page in the frame of Tara gloating "I hope they refuse" to the monitor, sans goatee. His uniform breeches seem to change color mid-scene as well. Maybe they're mood breeches? It ''was'' the '70s!

*In ''Return to Tarakimo'', the careful reader will note that the general is now referred to deferentially as "the Celestial One." Could this perhaps be because of his heavenly descent from that plane?
[[Category: Characters|Tara, General]]

General Tara

2008-01-08T12:00:11Z

Kit n kat: /* History */

{{character
|name=General Tara
|image=[[Image:Image003.jpg|200 px]]
|first= "[[The Tyrant of Tarakimo]]"
|creators= [[Lee Falk]] and [[Sy Barry]]
|}}

== Profile ==

*'''Name:''' General Tara
*'''Occupation:''' Dictator of Tarakimo from Tarakimo's establishment to 1978.
*'''Legal Status:''' Criminal, presumed executed by his people but not officially known
*'''Allies:''' Major Isamu, his "right hand."
*'''Place of Birth:''' Unknown
*'''Marital Status:''' Single, but has an ample "harem."
*'''Base of Operations:''' Tarakimo
*'''First Appearance:''' The Phantom daily strip - August 15, 1977 (The Tyrant of Tarakimo)
*'''Subsequent Appearances:''' The Phantom daily strip - April 17, 1978 (Return to Tarakimo)
*'''Height:''' Approximately 6'0" - appears taller than most of his countrymen
*'''Weight:''' Probably 280-300 lbs. - moderately muscular, but with a large pot belly and rear.
*'''Eyes:''' Black
*'''Hair:''' Bald, with rounded black goatee and large waxed black handlebar mustache
*'''Signatures:''' Favors over-decorated dress uniforms and swank lounging robes, smokes with a elegant, foot-long cigarette holder
*'''Special Abilities:''' None

== History ==

Ruling the small Asian nation of [[Tarakimo]] for an unknown number of years (and presumably founding the country, hence it's name) [[General Tara]] kept a nation of people literally and figuratively at his feet, immobilized in a vice of jackbooted terror and squalor while he personally enjoyed an unprecedented life of luxury. [[Lee Falk]] has been quoted as saying that [[''The Tyrant of Tarakimo'']] and [[''Return to Tarakimo'']] (the story's sequel) were his personal "statements" on the growing number of harsh third-world dictatorships fueled by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture torture] cartels.

Tara first polluted the Phantom and his soon-to-be-wife [[Diana Palmer]]'s lives when Diana agreed enthusiastically to travel to Tarakimo, along with her UN colleague Sven, to expose the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictator dictator's] regime of greed and corruption, along with it's inherent human-rights violations. Unfortunately, Diana's naiveté led her into this dangerous mission months before her wedding to the [[21st Phantom]].

== The Tyrant of Tarakimo (1977) ==

As the first part of the Tarakimo saga unfolds, Diana and Sven face off in a stringent competition to diffuse Sven's misogyny in the face of having to take a woman to such a "savage" third-world nation. As Diana swiftly bests her co-worker in a number of physical contests, we cross-cut to Tarakimo, where Tara basks indolently on a large gilded [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throne throne] chair, plotting how he will cover up his crimes from the incoming UN interlopers. During these early sequences, all we see of Tara are his large, ornately accessorized boots (symbolizing tyranny), and a gauntlet gloved hand delicately gripping a long [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette_holder cigarette holder] as his menials grovel before him on hands and knees simply because "he saw it in a movie once" and found it amusing. [[Image:Glove.jpg|thumb]]

It is implied from his decadently lavish lifestyle that Tara uses the nation's funds as something of a personal checking account as did many dictators such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin Amin] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Duvalier Papa Doc].

As Diana and Sven are met by Tara's legion of soldiers at the airport, it is disclosed that a newsman, MacGregor, is also in the country, secretly sending out stories of the general's atrocities. Diana and Sven are stalled for as long as possible, then shown Tara's prison, which turns out to be, as Diana terms it, a "farce." The two witness "prisoners" (in reality, guards) sleeping till noon and eating steak in their beautifully furnished "cells." For Tara to believe this ruse will be successful is more a testament to his insanity than to his cunning, but he has a fair share of both, in spades, as we will soon see.

Diana and Sven are not deceived by this ludicrous trick, and Tara is enraged --- even more so when his men uncover news of a note that one of the inmates slipped Diana, detailing his crimes ("hundreds of men are tortured and killed in these prisons")...a note that Diana cleverly mails out of the country via Tara's butler.

Tara demands the note. He orders their rooms torn apart and their persons strip-searched, incurring more humiliation for our heroine and her sidekick. When they are questioned again by the despot and again refuse to exonerate him, he orders their arrests. "You came here to spy on our jails!" he ominously intones. "Now you will see them...FROM THE INSIDE!"

As the Phantom slowly but surely uncovers the danger Diana has unwittingly placed herself in, and completes his round-the-world trek to Tarakimo, the dictator sends his thugs to retrieve Diana and Sven from their dank little cells. If they won't give him the note, his maniacal mind reasons, they will give him a “confession” stating that the note was a lie. It’s a rationale that only the most deranged of minds could construct: “I will torture you into giving me a confession that states I do not torture.” One can only imagine Falk’s grim chuckling at this darkest of ironies.

[[Image:Torturechamber.png|thumb]]

It is in Tara's underground [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_chamber torture chamber], that we truly see how twisted and sadistic this monster is. Even though the room is set up as a medieval dungeon, with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_(torture) racks], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_maiden_(torture_device) iron maidens], and whipping posts, it has been given a modern spin, with closed-circuit cameras mounted all around. These cameras transmit the images of Tara's victims, along with their pain and suffering, to the tyrant's plush private office, for his perverse "enjoyment."

After the general orders Diana bound to a torture rack, and Sven to a whipping post, [[Major Isamu]], Tara’s sycophantic flunky, badgers them further, threatening them with physical injury if they don't comply with the tyrant's demands --- much to Tara's delight, as he coolly monitors their mounting distress from his office ("I hope they refuse," he smugly giggles to himself).

Meanwhile, the Ghost is closing in, parachuting past Tara's "closed" airport and leaving his trademark skull-shaped brand on numerous thugs and henchmen. Back in the dungeon, Diana (being Diana) mouths off to the tyrant, calling him on his ridiculous demands. Tara, deciding he will teach her some manners, orders Isamu to stretch her on the rack.

[[Image:Gloat.png|thumb]][[Image:Watch.png|thumb]]

Even though she is bound tightly on the uncomfortable wooden frame, with Tara’s insidious camera winking down at her, Diana refuses to cooperate, still believing the torture room and it's ancient devices to be another elaborate ploy by Tara to scare them. Just before Major Isamu can give the order to commence with the stretching, Tara gives her a reprieve --- of sorts. "She's too beautiful and bold to waste," he muses, genuinely impressed by the woman’s audacious resolve as he puffs languidly on his cigarette holder, "...I will keep her...." For his personal pleasure...no doubt!

Supremely confident that he can have the lovely Diana for himself and still extract a confession, he orders Isamu to torture Sven first. It’s really quite brilliant in the most twisted sense of the word. He accurately surmises that, to a valiant woman such as Diana, it would be far worse to watch her co-worker be tortured before her eyes. It's all the same to Tara, as long as he gets the added bonus of inflicting pain, which ultimately gives him the most satisfaction. This unabashed cruelty is something that distinguishes Tara among many of the Phantom villains --- he really enjoys hurting people.

But the villain's vile intentions for Diana and Sven are not to be. Just as he's settling into his comfy chair for some depraved "fun," and Isamu and his henchman begin interrogating Sven, two hands of steel wind their way around Tara's pudgy neck! As he chokes the despot, the Phantom demands that the general call off his goons. Tara, ever the yellow-bellied coward, instantly wilts, sweat streaming down his face, his form-fitting tunic suddenly a tad too tight. He sends for Diana, Sven, and MacGregor, then casually tries to depress the emergency call switch, to summon his guards, to the left of his leather easy chair. "Don't touch that button, General!" the Ghost warns. "Or it will be the last thing you'll ever do!"

Isamu frees his prisoners reluctantly, warning them that the worst is yet to come ("Sometimes the General likes to question spies ''personally''....").

But, up in Tara's office, Kit is the one doing the questioning. When his wife arrives with her comrades, he forces the over-dressed thug to his hands and knees at gunpoint, just as he forced Diana and Sven to pay him homage earlier. Tara complies, vehemently cursing the Phantom and vowing revenge.

Probably not a good idea, that last bit...since the Phantom decides to take Tara hostage to ensure a safe escape. As the general's battalion of tanks and fighter planes idle, his soldiers watching helplessly, he is directed aboard a plane...and then pushed out...with a parachute of course. Nice guy, that Phantom...considering the fat creep was going to dislocate his fiancee's limbs just for kicks!

Diana and the Ghost ride off into the sunset to their nuptials (after all, how can [[Lily Palmer]] refuse a man who saved her daughter from the torture rack?), and all seems to be well.

But evil never sleeps, as they say....

== Return To Tarakimo (1978)==

The next year, Tara is still reeling psychologically --- literally seething --- at the humiliations forced upon him by the Phantom and his bride (he fittingly landed in a pig pen after he was pushed from the plane). He wants the Ghost at his feet, begging for forgiveness and mercy. And, he logically figures, the key to accomplishing this is Kit's blushing bride. This time, it’s personal: he’ll set Diana out as bait, then kill them both after suitable, extended torture --- just as he promised Kit the previous year.

He cavalierly orders his thugs to spare no expense in kidnapping Diana Palmer, despite Isamu's warnings of the danger of abducting a UN official. After several unsuccessful stalk-and-snatch attempts, the general's self-described "killer squad" --- in reality, just a seemingly random bunch of largely incompetent goons --- finally succeed in abducting her.

[[Image:Surprise.jpg|thumb]]

Diana is delivered to the evil man as if she were a large pizza (though an expensive one, no doubt), and he relishes the old woman disguise that his henchmen have fitted her with, even placing a small mirror in front of her face so she can “admire” her “aged” countenance. But, even a heartless tub of lard can have an off day: the mask is revealed to have no eye holes and what’s worse --- she’s asleep! Not to be deprived of his sick joke, the wicked sovereign takes great delight in decreeing the "first sight" the drugged Diana sees upon waking up to be himself, hovering over her from his fancy dais-mounted throne chair as he hedonistically stuffs his face with roast chicken and fine wine.

After Isamu has spitefully clothed Diana in a skimpy, humiliating harem girl costume, he orders her to kneel before the "Celestial One." Tara is in his glory. He leans back in his throne chair, smugly lights a cigarette, and, lazily blowing smoke rings, begins to gloat over his imminent "victory." However, he soon tires of verbally sparring with the fiesty brunette and becomes impatient for the mysterious "rescuer’s" blood ("THAT'S the man I want!" he broods).

[[Image:Harem.jpg|thumb]]

He demands Diana reveal the identity of the Ghost Who Walks. When Diana refuses to give her husband up, Tara decides to once more have his cake and eat it: he finally decides to satisfy his lust for the lovely woman, believing this threat to "inspire" her to cooperate ("We have plenty of time...until you tell me," he purrs, drawing her inches from him).

Though Tara is a large man, he is no match for Diana's quick Judo moves, and the tyrant is soon flying across his throne room, smack into a large wall. While Tara "recovers," Isamu slyly extracts the Ghost's identity from Diana, amid veiled threats of what the tyrant will do when he eventually "deals with her." "What'll he do?" Diana asks nervously, realizing slowly that she's still very much under the big man's thumb, despite her well-executed attack. "Something diabolic," is Isamu's dry, amused response.

And diabolic it is: Isamu and Diana watch as Tara's goons assemble a steel cage, one identical to those housing the dictator's enemies...cages that line the rim of his palace walls. Those guilty of treason, the irritating little man explains, are placed in such cages to be executed. And the cage before her eyes...belongs to her!

But Tara is no fool. Not wanting Diana's presence to be advertised, he orders his pretty prisoner caged not outside, but ''inside'', for his private pleasure at the top of his glass-domed throne room. As he flaunts his "divine" authority over her, Diana spews back "You can't do this...it's illegal!" to which he retorts indulgently: "Foolish woman...*I* AM THE LAW!" (shades of [[General Bababu]] here, and a number of other Falk dictators).

Tara eventually gets tired of mocking and teasing Diana and heads off to bed, giving strict orders to be woken when Walker is captured so he can "supervise his punishment personally." Unfortunately, the dictator's benefits are slim and his exhausted goons nod off into the night.

The Phantom executes a daring rescue, one that makes his previous caper in Tarakimo look like child's play, and exacts a particularly just means of punishment on the ruthless tyrant. He breaks into his bedroom and, while the fat man snores away, places him in one of his own barbaric cages, outside the palace walls.

The general awakes, calling for his breakfast, only to be met with jeers and showers of thrown garbage. Soon, what seems to be the entire country is mocking him, causing the arrogant man to “lose face” in the ultimate sense of the expression. Even Major Isamu shrinks from helping his once mighty boss.

The second story ends with Tara being hauled off in chains, as a new dictator, Colonel --- now General --- Dito (read: ditto, as in same evil, different face), ascends Tarakimo's throne under the auspices of "democracy."

== Analysis ==

Tara's grating effeteness in how he remotely monitors Diana's aborted torture scene is no chance plot or character construction on Falk’s part. Just as he steers clear of handling his cigarettes, Tara considers himself too superior to lower himself to dirtying his hands (usually gloved, remember?) --- at least with those whom he doesn’t plan to kill. He wants to remain as cozy and isolated from his foul deeds as possible, thereby insuring himself a somewhat tight alibi (“Torture? Who, ''me?'' ''I'' didn’t torture anyone.”).

The cynical ending to this story makes it somewhat unique in the Phantom oeuvre and seems to be an attempt by Falk at commenting on how ultimately futile forced governmental overthrows can sometimes be. He seems to be saying (and this is echoed in the story's denouement) that real change can only come through the will of the people.

Phantom comics have always been much richer than the average adventure yarns, and here, there is indeed more than initially meets the eye. The story’s moral is extremely prescient. Tara, despite his exaggerated evil-villain accouterments --- the riding crops, the cigarette holders --- isn't that much different from the bloated bullies who have attempted to rule by fear since the world began.

And his fate isn't much different from theirs, either.

== Trivia ==

*A third installment of this story is rumored to exist, but it was not an original US daily strip appearance. It is speculated to be available from [[Indrajal Comics]]. In it, Tara is supposedly tried and executed for his countless crimes against humanity.

*''The Tyrant of Tarakimo'' was finished by an unknown inker. If you examine the strip closely, you will see marked changes in Tara and Diana's appearance following the scene where Diana, Sven, and MacGregor are brought to the general's office, after Tara has been captured by the Phantom.

*The Tarakimo stories, though unbelievably well drawn --- Barry's eye for detail in illustrating the general's opulent palace and his garish uniforms is amazing for a daily comic strip, not to mention making Tara into a superb characture of evil excess --- suffers from a little irregularity. The most blatant gaffe can be seen on this page in the frame of Tara gloating "I hope they refuse" to the monitor, sans goatee. His uniform breeches seem to change color mid-scene as well. Maybe they're mood breeches? It ''was'' the '70s!

*In ''Return to Tarakimo'', the careful reader will note that the general is now referred to deferentially as "the Celestial One." Could this perhaps be because of his heavenly descent from that plane?
[[Category: Characters|Tara, General]]

Tarakimo

2008-01-08T11:59:39Z

Kit n kat:

Kit n kat: /* Return To Tarakimo (1978) */

{{character
|name=General Tara
|image=[[Image:Image003.jpg|200 px]]
|first= "[[The Tyrant of Tarakimo]]"
|creators= [[Lee Falk]] and [[Sy Barry]]
|}}

== Profile ==

*'''Name:''' General Tara
*'''Occupation:''' Dictator of Tarakimo from Tarakimo's establishment to 1978.
*'''Legal Status:''' Criminal, presumed executed by his people but not officially known
*'''Allies:''' Major Isamu, his "right hand."
*'''Place of Birth:''' Unknown
*'''Marital Status:''' Single, but has an ample "harem."
*'''Base of Operations:''' Tarakimo
*'''First Appearance:''' The Phantom daily strip - August 15, 1977 (The Tyrant of Tarakimo)
*'''Subsequent Appearances:''' The Phantom daily strip - April 17, 1978 (Return to Tarakimo)
*'''Height:''' Approximately 6'0" - appears taller than most of his countrymen
*'''Weight:''' Probably 280-300 lbs. - moderately muscular, but with a large pot belly and rear.
*'''Eyes:''' Black
*'''Hair:''' Bald, with rounded black goatee and large waxed black handlebar mustache
*'''Signatures:''' Favors over-decorated dress uniforms and swank lounging robes, smokes with a elegant, foot-long cigarette holder
*'''Special Abilities:''' None

== History ==

Ruling the small Asian nation of [[Tarakimo]] for an unknown number of years (and presumably founding the country, hence it's name) [[General Tara]] kept a nation of people literally and figuratively at his feet, immobilized in a vice of jackbooted terror and squalor while he personally enjoyed an unprecedented life of luxury. [[Lee Falk]] has been quoted as saying that ''The Tyrant of Tarakimo'' and ''Return to Tarakimo'' (the story's sequel) were his personal "statements" on the growing number of harsh third-world dictatorships fueled by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture torture] cartels.

Tara first polluted the Phantom and his soon-to-be-wife [[Diana Palmer]]'s lives when Diana agreed enthusiastically to travel to Tarakimo, along with her UN colleague Sven, to expose the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictator dictator's] regime of greed and corruption, along with it's inherent human-rights violations. Unfortunately, Diana's naiveté led her into this dangerous mission months before her wedding to the [[21st Phantom]].

== The Tyrant of Tarakimo (1977) ==

As the first part of the Tarakimo saga unfolds, Diana and Sven face off in a stringent competition to diffuse Sven's misogyny in the face of having to take a woman to such a "savage" third-world nation. As Diana swiftly bests her co-worker in a number of physical contests, we cross-cut to Tarakimo, where Tara basks indolently on a large gilded [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throne throne] chair, plotting how he will cover up his crimes from the incoming UN interlopers. During these early sequences, all we see of Tara are his large, ornately accessorized boots (symbolizing tyranny), and a gauntlet gloved hand delicately gripping a long [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette_holder cigarette holder] as his menials grovel before him on hands and knees simply because "he saw it in a movie once" and found it amusing. [[Image:Glove.jpg|thumb]]

It is implied from his decadently lavish lifestyle that Tara uses the nation's funds as something of a personal checking account as did many dictators such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin Amin] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Duvalier Papa Doc].

As Diana and Sven are met by Tara's legion of soldiers at the airport, it is disclosed that a newsman, MacGregor, is also in the country, secretly sending out stories of the general's atrocities. Diana and Sven are stalled for as long as possible, then shown Tara's prison, which turns out to be, as Diana terms it, a "farce." The two witness "prisoners" (in reality, guards) sleeping till noon and eating steak in their beautifully furnished "cells." For Tara to believe this ruse will be successful is more a testament to his insanity than to his cunning, but he has a fair share of both, in spades, as we will soon see.

Diana and Sven are not deceived by this ludicrous trick, and Tara is enraged --- even more so when his men uncover news of a note that one of the inmates slipped Diana, detailing his crimes ("hundreds of men are tortured and killed in these prisons")...a note that Diana cleverly mails out of the country via Tara's butler.

Tara demands the note. He orders their rooms torn apart and their persons strip-searched, incurring more humiliation for our heroine and her sidekick. When they are questioned again by the despot and again refuse to exonerate him, he orders their arrests. "You came here to spy on our jails!" he ominously intones. "Now you will see them...FROM THE INSIDE!"

As the Phantom slowly but surely uncovers the danger Diana has unwittingly placed herself in, and completes his round-the-world trek to Tarakimo, the dictator sends his thugs to retrieve Diana and Sven from their dank little cells. If they won't give him the note, his maniacal mind reasons, they will give him a “confession” stating that the note was a lie. It’s a rationale that only the most deranged of minds could construct: “I will torture you into giving me a confession that states I do not torture.” One can only imagine Falk’s grim chuckling at this darkest of ironies.

[[Image:Torturechamber.png|thumb]]

It is in Tara's underground [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_chamber torture chamber], that we truly see how twisted and sadistic this monster is. Even though the room is set up as a medieval dungeon, with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_(torture) racks], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_maiden_(torture_device) iron maidens], and whipping posts, it has been given a modern spin, with closed-circuit cameras mounted all around. These cameras transmit the images of Tara's victims, along with their pain and suffering, to the tyrant's plush private office, for his perverse "enjoyment."

After the general orders Diana bound to a torture rack, and Sven to a whipping post, [[Major Isamu]], Tara’s sycophantic flunky, badgers them further, threatening them with physical injury if they don't comply with the tyrant's demands --- much to Tara's delight, as he coolly monitors their mounting distress from his office ("I hope they refuse," he smugly giggles to himself).

Meanwhile, the Ghost is closing in, parachuting past Tara's "closed" airport and leaving his trademark skull-shaped brand on numerous thugs and henchmen. Back in the dungeon, Diana (being Diana) mouths off to the tyrant, calling him on his ridiculous demands. Tara, deciding he will teach her some manners, orders Isamu to stretch her on the rack.

[[Image:Gloat.png|thumb]][[Image:Watch.png|thumb]]

Even though she is bound tightly on the uncomfortable wooden frame, with Tara’s insidious camera winking down at her, Diana refuses to cooperate, still believing the torture room and it's ancient devices to be another elaborate ploy by Tara to scare them. Just before Major Isamu can give the order to commence with the stretching, Tara gives her a reprieve --- of sorts. "She's too beautiful and bold to waste," he muses, genuinely impressed by the woman’s audacious resolve as he puffs languidly on his cigarette holder, "...I will keep her...." For his personal pleasure...no doubt!

Supremely confident that he can have the lovely Diana for himself and still extract a confession, he orders Isamu to torture Sven first. It’s really quite brilliant in the most twisted sense of the word. He accurately surmises that, to a valiant woman such as Diana, it would be far worse to watch her co-worker be tortured before her eyes. It's all the same to Tara, as long as he gets the added bonus of inflicting pain, which ultimately gives him the most satisfaction. This unabashed cruelty is something that distinguishes Tara among many of the Phantom villains --- he really enjoys hurting people.

But the villain's vile intentions for Diana and Sven are not to be. Just as he's settling into his comfy chair for some depraved "fun," and Isamu and his henchman begin interrogating Sven, two hands of steel wind their way around Tara's pudgy neck! As he chokes the despot, the Phantom demands that the general call off his goons. Tara, ever the yellow-bellied coward, instantly wilts, sweat streaming down his face, his form-fitting tunic suddenly a tad too tight. He sends for Diana, Sven, and MacGregor, then casually tries to depress the emergency call switch, to summon his guards, to the left of his leather easy chair. "Don't touch that button, General!" the Ghost warns. "Or it will be the last thing you'll ever do!"

Isamu frees his prisoners reluctantly, warning them that the worst is yet to come ("Sometimes the General likes to question spies ''personally''....").

But, up in Tara's office, Kit is the one doing the questioning. When his wife arrives with her comrades, he forces the over-dressed thug to his hands and knees at gunpoint, just as he forced Diana and Sven to pay him homage earlier. Tara complies, vehemently cursing the Phantom and vowing revenge.

Probably not a good idea, that last bit...since the Phantom decides to take Tara hostage to ensure a safe escape. As the general's battalion of tanks and fighter planes idle, his soldiers watching helplessly, he is directed aboard a plane...and then pushed out...with a parachute of course. Nice guy, that Phantom...considering the fat creep was going to dislocate his fiancee's limbs just for kicks!

Diana and the Ghost ride off into the sunset to their nuptials (after all, how can [[Lily Palmer]] refuse a man who saved her daughter from the torture rack?), and all seems to be well.

But evil never sleeps, as they say....

== Return To Tarakimo (1978)==

The next year, Tara is still reeling psychologically --- literally seething --- at the humiliations forced upon him by the Phantom and his bride (he fittingly landed in a pig pen after he was pushed from the plane). He wants the Ghost at his feet, begging for forgiveness and mercy. And, he logically figures, the key to accomplishing this is Kit's blushing bride. This time, it’s personal: he’ll set Diana out as bait, then kill them both after suitable, extended torture --- just as he promised Kit the previous year.

He cavalierly orders his thugs to spare no expense in kidnapping Diana Palmer, despite Isamu's warnings of the danger of abducting a UN official. After several unsuccessful stalk-and-snatch attempts, the general's self-described "killer squad" --- in reality, just a seemingly random bunch of largely incompetent goons --- finally succeed in abducting her.

[[Image:Surprise.jpg|thumb]]

Diana is delivered to the evil man as if she were a large pizza (though an expensive one, no doubt), and he relishes the old woman disguise that his henchmen have fitted her with, even placing a small mirror in front of her face so she can “admire” her “aged” countenance. But, even a heartless tub of lard can have an off day: the mask is revealed to have no eye holes and what’s worse --- she’s asleep! Not to be deprived of his sick joke, the wicked sovereign takes great delight in decreeing the "first sight" the drugged Diana sees upon waking up to be himself, hovering over her from his fancy dais-mounted throne chair as he hedonistically stuffs his face with roast chicken and fine wine.

After Isamu has spitefully clothed Diana in a skimpy, humiliating harem girl costume, he orders her to kneel before the "Celestial One." Tara is in his glory. He leans back in his throne chair, smugly lights a cigarette, and, lazily blowing smoke rings, begins to gloat over his imminent "victory." However, he soon tires of verbally sparring with the fiesty brunette and becomes impatient for the mysterious "rescuer’s" blood ("THAT'S the man I want!" he broods).

[[Image:Harem.jpg|thumb]]

He demands Diana reveal the identity of the Ghost Who Walks. When Diana refuses to give her husband up, Tara decides to once more have his cake and eat it: he finally decides to satisfy his lust for the lovely woman, believing this threat to "inspire" her to cooperate ("We have plenty of time...until you tell me," he purrs, drawing her inches from him).

Though Tara is a large man, he is no match for Diana's quick Judo moves, and the tyrant is soon flying across his throne room, smack into a large wall. While Tara "recovers," Isamu slyly extracts the Ghost's identity from Diana, amid veiled threats of what the tyrant will do when he eventually "deals with her." "What'll he do?" Diana asks nervously, realizing slowly that she's still very much under the big man's thumb, despite her well-executed attack. "Something diabolic," is Isamu's dry, amused response.

And diabolic it is: Isamu and Diana watche as Tara's goons assemble a steel cage, one identical to those housing the dictator's enemies...cages that line the rim of his palace walls. Those guilty of treason, the irritating little man explains, are placed in such cages to be executed. And the cage before her eyes...belongs to her!

Tara, his rage now stoked to a mighty level, orders Diana caged not outside, but ''inside'', for his private pleasure at the top of his glass-domed throne room. As he flaunts his power over her, Diana spews back "You can't do this...it's illegal!" to which he retorts indulgently: "Foolish woman...*I* AM THE LAW!" (shades of [[General Bababu]] here, and a number of other Falk dictators).

The Phantom executes a daring rescue, one that makes his previous caper in Tarakimo look like child's play, and exacts a particularly just means of punishment on the ruthless tyrant. He breaks into his bedroom and, while the fat man snores away, places him in one of his own hideous cages, outside the palace walls.

The general awakes, calling for his breakfast, only to be met with jeers and showers of thrown garbage. Soon, what seems to be the entire country is mocking him, causing the arrogant man to “lose face” in the ultimate sense of the expression. Even Major Isamu shrinks from helping his once might boss, the self-proclaimed "Celestial One."

The second story ends with Tara being hauled off in chains, as a new dictator, Colonel --- now General --- Dito (read: ditto, as in same evil, different face), ascends Tarakimo's throne under the auspices of "democracy."

== Analysis ==

Tara's grating effeteness in how he remotely monitors Diana's aborted torture scene is no chance plot or character construction on Falk’s part. Just as he steers clear of handling his cigarettes, Tara considers himself too superior to lower himself to dirtying his hands (usually gloved, remember?) --- at least with those whom he doesn’t plan to kill. He wants to remain as cozy and isolated from his foul deeds as possible, thereby insuring himself a somewhat tight alibi (“Torture? Who, ''me?'' ''I'' didn’t torture them.”).

The cynical ending to this story makes it somewhat unique in the Phantom oeuvre and seems to be an attempt by Falk at commenting on how ultimately futile forced governmental overthrows can sometimes be. He seems to be saying (and this is echoed in the story's denouement) that real change can only come through the will of the people.

Phantom comics have always been much richer than the average adventure yarns, and here, there is indeed more than initially meets the eye. The story’s moral is extremely prescient. Tara, despite his exaggerated evil-villain accouterments, isn't that much different from the bloated bullies who have attempted to rule by fear since the world began.

And his fate isn't much different from theirs, either.

== Trivia ==

*A third installment of this story is rumored to exist, but it was not an original US daily strip appearance. It is speculated to be available from [[Indrajal Comics]]. In it, Tara is supposedly tried and executed for his countless crimes against humanity.

*''The Tyrant of Tarakimo'' was finished by an unknown inker. If you examine the strip closely, you will see marked changes in Tara and Diana's appearance following the scene where Diana, Sven, and MacGregor are brought to the general's office, after Tara has been captured by the Phantom.

*The Tarakimo stories, though unbelievably well drawn --- Barry's eye for detail in illustrating the general's opulent palace and his garish uniforms is amazing for a daily comic strip, not to mention making Tara into a superb characture of evil excess --- suffers from a little irregularity. The most blatant gaffe can be seen on this page in the frame of Tara gloating "I hope they refuse" to the monitor, sans goatee. His uniform breeches seem to change color mid-scene as well. Maybe they're mood breeches? It ''was'' the '70s!

*In Return to Tarakimo, the careful reader will note that the general is now referred to deferentially as "the Celestial One." Could this perhaps be because of his heavenly descent from that plane?
[[Category: Characters|Tara, General]]