Samuel T. Philander is a recurring antagonist in The Legend of Tarzan.
He is Professor Archimedes' academic rival who frequently attempts to steal his ideas or garner fame by turning Tarzan in as the "missing link". He was voiced by Craig Ferguson.
Background[]
Personality[]
As mentioned before, Philander is an arrogant, rude, mean, cruel, careless, and selfish man and has a maddeningly superior attitude. He behaves like he is the better scientist than Professor Porter when he clearly is not. He also seems to be a bit paranoid, as evidenced by his misguided belief that Porter had not returned from Africa because of a new discovery he made. Philander was even shown at one point to be murderous when he felt his achievements were threatened, as he nearly succeeded in killing Tarzan when the latter attempted to rescue Mangani from him aboard Philander's ship. Had the silver ape not healed Tarzan's wounds, he would have been the only person to have slain the ape-man.
Appearances[]
The Legend of Tarzan[]
On one occasion, he found Pellucidar after spying on Tarzan and the professor, yet his photographic proof about dinosaurs' existence was ruined by Manu photographing himself, resulting in his becoming a laughing stock among the scientific community. He even tried to capture the silver ape, Mangani, who is known for his healing powers. Samuel also tried to capture Tarzan and his men mistook Archimedes as him. In every case, he was defeated and subjected to further humiliation and in some cases, even it is implied he received physical punishments for his failures to make good on his promises. His humiliations and lack of scientific expertise eventually lost him his laboratories and reduced him to poverty, forcing him to leave England. Eventually, the destitute Philander was forced to live in squalor in a run down apartment in Chicago, vowing to humiliate Tarzan while constantly ducking the Landlord to avoid paying rent when he was visited by Edgar Rice Burroughs about what he knows about the ape-man. As a result of his lack of money, poor living conditions and loss of his credentials, he was never able to pose a threat to Tarzan and his family ever again.
Gallery[]
Tarzan and the Hidden World[]
Tarzan and the Silver Ape[]
Tarzan and the Missing Link[]
Tarzan and the Mysterious Visitor[]
Trivia[]
- Philander is modeled on the late British comedy actor, Terry-Thomas.
- Philander was named after Professor Porter's bumbling assistant in the original Tarzan novel.
- His name is an obvious take on "philanderer", a person, usually male, who has casual relationships with frequent women. In other words, a womanizer.