Dr. Hans Zarkov is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

appearing in the ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

'' comic strip and the following serials, films, television shows and comic books. Zarkov is a brilliant scientist who creates a rocket and forces Flash and

Dale Arden Dale Arden is a fictional character, the fellow adventurer and love interest of Flash Gordon and a prototypic heroine for later female characters, including Princess Leia and Padme Amidala in '' Star Wars''. Flash, Dale and Dr. Hans Zarkov fi ...

to come with him to the planet

Mongo Mongo may refer to: Geography Africa * Mongo, Chad, a Sahel city * Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo (Roman Catholic missionary jurisdiction) * Mongo, Sierra Leone, a chiefdom * Mongo River (Little Scarces River), Guinea and Sierra Leone, a tributar ...

, and fight against

Ming the Merciless Ming the Merciless is a fictional character who first appeared in the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip in 1934. He has since been the main villain of the strip and its related movie serials, television series and film adaptation. Ming is depicted as ...

. In the original comic strip, he was first thought to have died when his ship crashed into the planet Mongo. It is later revealed that Ming's minions pulled him out of the wreckage. Zarkov's character in the 1980s DC comic was handled the same way.

Alex Raymond's comic strip

In the first ''Flash Gordon'' storyline, Zarkov discovers the Earth is endangered by an impending collision with the planet Mongo.Alex Raymond and Don Moore,''Flash Gordon'', "On the Planet Mongo" (1/7/34 to 4/8/34). Discovering Flash and Dale near his laboratory, he abducts them at gunpoint and forces them into his spacecraft, which he then launches at the planet Mongo. By the second storyline in the strip, Zarkov becomes a more sympathetic character who works with the heroes to become a regular companion.

Comic books

The 1996 ''Flash Gordon'' comic book published by King Features has Zarkov perform his traditional role of assisting Flash in his adventures. It also resolves the discrepancy in the serials about Zarkov's first name, by giving the character's full name as Hans Alexis Zarkov. In the 2011

Dynamite Comics Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptations ...

comic ''Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist'', Doctor Hans Zarkov is a Russian émigré, suffering from clinical

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...

, living in Switzerland.Eric S Trautmann, Daniel Indro; Ron Adrian ''Flash Gordon: Zeitgeist''. Mt. Laurel, NJ: Dynamite Entertainment, 2012. He abducts Flash and Dale and takes them to Mongo on board his rocket, here named ''Copernicus''.

In other media

Zarkov was first portrayed in the ''

'' film serials by

Frank Shannon Francis Connolly Shannon (27 July 1874 – 1 February 1959) was an Irish people, Irish actor and writer. Career A Stage (theatre), stage actor and silent film pioneer, Shannon made his screen debut in 1913's ''The Artist's Joke''. He la ...

. He is identified as "Alexis Zarkov" in the 1938 serial ''

Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars ''Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars'' is a 1938 Universal Pictures 15–chapter science-fiction movie serial based on the syndicated newspaper comic strip ''Flash Gordon''. It is the second of the three Flash Gordon serials made by Universal between 1 ...

''. The character was portrayed by Joseph Nash in the 1954 ''

'' TV series. In 1977, Zarkov appeared as a scientist bent on saving the Earth and introducing immense alien powers to the Earth in the ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of ...

'' season 2 episode 11 titled "Forbidden Powers." In this episode, Flash Gordon and Dale Arden are replaced by

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

and

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

who journey to space in order to rescue Zarkov and his assistant. The assistant is kidnapped much like he attempted to do to Munson in the 1980 ''

'' film.

Alan Oppenheimer Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930) is an American actor. He has performed numerous roles on live action television since the 1960s, and he has had an active career doing voice work since the 1970s. Early life Oppenheimer was born in New Yor ...

provided the voice for the character in the 1979

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and pr ...

animated series. The issue of Zarkov forcing the heroes to accompany him to Mongo is avoided by changing the story by having Flash and Dale come to his underground laboratory during a dangerous meteor shower that sets off a deadly volcanic eruption that traps the visitors even as it threatens to kill them. Thus Zarkov's rocket is the only means to escape certain death and they board willingly. After which, Zarkov apologizes that he cannot drop the pair off before continuing to Mongo and they immediately agree to help him once he explains his mission. In 1980,

Chaim Topol Chaim Topol ( he, חיים טופול; born September 9, 1935), also spelled Haym Topol, mononymously known as Topol, is an Israeli actor, comedian, singer, film producer, author, and illustrator. He is best known for his portrayal of Tevye the ...

(billed only as "Topol") portrayed the character in the film ''

'' produced by

Dino De Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. He ...

. This version of Zarkov is a former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

scientist, who was fired and dismissed because of his "mad" theories about an alien attack on Earth. After capturing him Ming reveals the only reason the Earth is being destroyed is because Zarkov recognised the catastrophes as a deliberate attack. The quick flashbacks during his memory wipe scene revealed some further information about his past. He is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and was born in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

. His family moved to the United States fleeing from

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Zarkov worked in the United States space program (including the Apollo program), before being removed. Also, at one point in his life he had a wife, who died by drowning in a pool. He is able to nullify the memory wipe by remembering all he can (songs, events, anything) during the process, giving it too much to process and essentially "jamming" it.

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both '' Late ...

is the voice of Dr. Hans Zarkov in the 1996 animated series.

Jody Racicot Jody may refer to: *Jody (given name), a list of people with the given name *Jody (singer), French singer, real name Julie Erikssen * "Jody" (song), 1986 single by Jermaine Stewart *"Jody", a 1982 song by America from ''View from the Ground'' *"Jod ...

portrayed the character in the 2007 ''

'' television series. He assists Flash, Dale, and Baylin by monitoring rifts that open. He seems very nervous constantly and Baylin describes as a "strange, fidgety little man". His nervous attitude came from the fact that after Doctor Gordon disappeared in the rift experiment, he was hounded by FBI agents to cover up the truth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zarkov, Hans Comics characters introduced in 1934 Fictional scientists Superhero film characters Flash Gordon characters Fictional Russian people Fictional Jews Fictional Eastern European people