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  • John defeating Tal Hajus (a violent and brutal bastard) by simply beheading him with one swing of his blade, in midair to boot. Flawless victory.
    • Just before that, he challenges Tal for the position of Jeddak, calling for the support of the other Tharks with, "WHO WILL PLEDGE THEIR METAL TO MINE?!" All the Tharks in arena then draw their swords as asked. Every. Single. One of them.
  • The white ape sequence, a scene that was heavily marketed in trailers and TV spots.
  • John's One-Man Army moment against a whole entire army of Warhoons.
    • Woola's lone moment of helping, showing exactly why a giant dog with Super-Speed is deadly.
    • It should be noted that by the end of the battle, John is surrounded by a 360 degree, five foot high wall of dead Warhoons. That is the definition of One-Man Army.
  • Woola throwing a spanner into Matai Shang's works. All by crashing into him at super speed and destroying his control bracelet, allowing John to escape. Didn't See That Coming, did you, Shang?
  • Tharks do not fly, so for the final battle, they board a bunch of Zodangan airships and fly them, badly, (in)to Helium. They could try to land, but that's not how Tharks roll, so they just crash the ships right into the battlefield and leap off, guns blazing and swords swinging.
  • The first time we see Dejah Thoris in combat. A bunch of Zodangan soldiers charge her, and John steps in front of her to protect the obviously Damsel in Distress ("Just get behind me; this could get dangerous"), at which point Dejah whips out a sword and kills three of the soldiers in a matter of seconds.
    John Carter: "Maybe I should just get behind you."
    Dejah Thoris: "Let me know when it starts getting dangerous."
    • In the same sequence, Sab Than having John at swordpoint...only to then spot the entire Thark horde taking aim at his flagship. John uses the distraction to escape and Sab is forced to retreat (with the added humilation of one of his gunships being shot down).
  • John's entire decade-long Batman Gambit to find not only a way back to Mars but also a Secret-Keeper (who turns out to be Edgar Rice Burroughs) to ensure that his body is in safe hands when he does return. All while evading the Therns tracking him down across Earth.
    • The best part? Edgar has opened the tomb, a Thern is about to strike, and then - BANG! John makes his return in a truly awesome way.
  • Sola pulls Sarkoja into the arena with her, and the White Ape tears Sarkoja in two.
    Sarkoja: [forces Sola to watch Tars] Watch your father die like the whimpering Calot (weakling) he is!
    Sola: No! Let us watch YOU!
  • The film ends with the title John Carter turning into John Carter of Mars, and the JCM logo finally showing up. May be a Take That! against the execs who dropped Mars from the title, to avoid being associated with Mars Needs Moms and/or because they thought girls wouldn't watch a movie with Mars in the title.
    • Also noticeable as Carter tells Woola "John Carter of Mars sounds way better."
  • Most people didn't like the very first trailer (and indeed, bad advertising is cited as one of the reasons the movie failed at the box office), but the moment we first see John jump on Mars is incredible.

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