Tarnak was a character who was the main henchman of Ming the Merciless during his time on the planet Mars, and was seen in the 1938 serial Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars. Tarnak's origins are not clear. Given his uniform, he appears to be a native of the planet Mars, yet his loyalties clearly lie with Ming rather than, as one would expect, Queen Azura. He is described as "Ming's first assistant" and even Azura states that Ming is Tarnak's "master". It is possible that when she formed her alliance with Ming, Queen Azura formally appointed Tarnak to be Ming's aide, and Ming then assured Tarnak's loyalty by promising him wealth and/or power for assistance in toppling Azura from the throne. Tarnak seems to share Ming's pleasure in scheming to see Queen Azura meet with unfortunate accidents, so hi