The Achilles' Heel

[Pendragon]

On an abstract level, I'm thinking the disparity between genetics and upbringing that leaves him wondering where he belongs.

That, or the strange lack of body hair.

A reasonable thought, but no. He will, of course, never really be comfortable in clothing from Salvile Row, but he knows he is human (perhaps more than human since due to several factors he does not age, nor does Jane and Korak, or Tarzan's extended family). When the German army occupies Africa and Tarzan believes they have killed Jane, he reacts as any man would, revenge is on his mind and he exacts a fearsome payment for that pain they put him through. This something comes from without Tarzan and causes a reaction within him, over and over.

[RobinHood3000]

He's not allergic to peanuts, is he?

[Boris239]

Okay, these ones are too simple, but they are the only ones who we can remember:
Venom
Kastchei the Deathless

Kastchei's death is hidden in the needle that is hidden inside the egg that is inside something else (a duck, as far as I remember)

[Pendragon]

He's not allergic to peanuts, is he?

No, no. Ma amigo, now you are having fun at my expense! I seem to be the only one who has read the entire series. In the first book, Tarzan is involved in a horrible fight as a youth with a gorilla, right after he first discovers that he is not an ape, but a man. He has taken his dead father's hunting knife, and manages to kill the gorilla, but almost dies from the wounds. Then in the battle to become King of the Apes, further damage is inflicted on his skull.


As a result, when Tarzan actually gets struck on the head and becomes unconscious, he awakens with amnesia and madness. Until this wears off, he knows nothing of who he is or what; he becomes a raging primitive. This has allowed some look-alikes to pass themselves off as Tarzan, while the real Lord of the Jungle is off somewhere foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog. That's why Tarzan always prefers his enemies in front of him; his weakness is in the back of his skull, a wound that healed improperly.

[RobinHood3000]

My apologies -- I've never read the Tarzan series.

I never knew that about him -- cool!

[Pendragon]

Hummm. Lee Falk's creation, The Phantom, aka The Ghost Who Walks. What would you say is his Achilles' Heel?