| “ | (Kerchak: Tublat, you're no longer part of this family. Leave, and never return.) You won't live forever, Kerchak. This tribe will be mine. | „ |
| ~ Tublat swearing to take over Kerchak's family. |
Tublat is a monstrous gorilla who appears as one of the main antagonists of Disney's animated TV series The Legend of Tarzan. As Kerchak's rival, he aggressively tried to take over control of the family, but was quickly banished. The banishment only worsens his evil, turning him bitter, rage-filled, and, shockingly, carnivorous and willing to kill anyone who crosses his path.
With Tarzan now in charge of Kerchak's family, he seeks to defeat him and assert himself as the leader of the gorillas. Strangely enough, while the books portrayed Kerchak as being the violent and dangerous one, but was made more sympathetic by Disney, using the book's portrayal of Tublat as being benevolent, Disney's version of Tublat suffered the complete opposite (he is changed into a villain using the original version of Kerchak's personality). His strength is extreme, even by gorilla standards.
He was voiced by Keith David, who also played, Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog, and Malcolm Kane in Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters. His roars are performed by the late Jimmy MacDonald, who also performed the roars of Shere Khan.
Biography
Tublat's Revenge
A violent and destructive thunderstorm has Tarzan, Jane Porter, and the rest of the gorilla family seeking shelter in nearby caves, but they have chosen the same cave that the banished gorilla Tublat lives in. Tublat first kidnaps Flynt in the hopes of leading Tarzan into a trap, which succeeds. Tarzan is no physical match for Tublat, and after he is defeated in a battle, Tublat proceeds to kidnap Jane, Terk, Kala, Professor Porter, and the rest of the gorilla family. But using his superior cunning, speed, agility, and ingenuity, Tarzan manages to defeat Tublat and rescue the gorillas.
Caged Fury
Niels and Merkus return to the Jungle to mine diamonds. Tarzan agrees to this as long as they stay away from the gorillas. Neils and Merkus are threatened by Tublat, who attempts to eat them, but they capture and plan to make money off him. Tarzan is initially tempted to let them take him due to their past conflict. However, after he talks to Jane about it, he knows that the right thing to do would be to rescue them. So in spite of Terk's similar protests to about their history, he sets out to rescue Tublat, which he does.
Enemy Within
In this episode, Tublat appeared as the leader of the family of a gorilla named Gobu, whom Tarzan had earlier nursed back to health after he found him being attacked by a pack of hyenas. Gobu states that a few months before the events in that episode took place, Tublat killed the family leader and took over control, content to take over another family rather than Kerchak's. He also forced Gobu to gain Tarzan's trust and bring him to him directly under threat of mutilating or killing Gobu's relatives. Relishing the long-awaited opportunity to kill Tarzan, Tublat has his minions pursue him after the ape man escapes and blackmails him into compliance by threatening Terk (who had also traveled to find Gobu and pursue a relationship with him). To save his friend Tarzan, concedes to allow Tublat to have his way with him. Eagerly intending to do so, Tublat is intercepted by Gobu himself.
Emboldened by Tarzan's earlier speech towards him, Gobu openly speaks out against Tublat, claiming he is dependent on the family to secure his victory over Tarzan. Seething with rage, Tublat attacks Gobu with lethal intentions for his defiance, stating maliciously that he has outlived his usefulness. After beating aside the intervening Tarzan, Tublat grabs Gobu in a bear hug to crush him to death. Gobu cries out to his family encouraging them to stand together and face Tublat and that they are stronger than him together. Inspired and bolstered by his words, the family turns on Tublat and overpowers him. Driven off, Tublat lets out a roar of anger before fleeing. With he and his family now free from Tublat's reign of terror, Gobu steps up to lead them.
Personality
Tublat is an incredibly mean, selfish, aggressive, and obstreperous gorilla who challenged Kerchak for leadership, but was defeated and cast out. He is considered to be the most dangerous and destructive by all of the gorillas. He is based on Kala's mate (and Tarzan's foster father) in the original Tarzan novel. His personality is also very much like the original Kerchak or Terkoz from the novel.
He once took over another gorilla family to which Gobu belonged to by killing the leader of that family. But the family (with Tarzan's help) overthrew him and Gobu replaced him. He often calls Tarzan a "hairless runt." He has four toes on his right foot, and this is one way to tell he is in the area. He is also shown to be increasingly abusive and argumentative towards his fellow gorillas.
Trivia
- Tublat first appeared in the original novel Tarzan of the Apes. However, in the novel, he was Kala's mate and was more like the Disney version of Kerchak. Whilst Kerchak in the novel was a lot more like the Disney version of Tublat.
- Tublat's name fittingly means "broken nose," which he received after a young Tarzan threw coconuts at him.
- Judging by all the bones in the cave in which he formerly resided, it could mean that Tublat has either turned or has always been more carnivorous than other gorillas. This would not be surprising, since there have been rare real-life reports of gorillas engaging in carnivorous acts rather than herbivorous ones.
- This is further supported when, after Tarzan tries to wield a large bone against him in combat, Tublat easily chomps it in half, demonstrating his possible ease with taking down potential prey by snapping their bones.
- Tublat being carnivorous lands him in a rare class of carnivorous gorillas that is also occupied by Gorilla Grodd.
- Just before he is banished from the family, he says, "You won't live forever, Kerchak. This family will be mine." This might imply that Tublat is younger than Kerchak.
 Villains
| ||
|
Books Movies Television Video Games | ||