The Phantom (comics)

The Phantom is a superhero from a comic strip created by Lee Falk (also creator of Mandrake the Magician). It recounts the adventures of a costumed crime-fighter called the Phantom. The series began with a daily newspaper strip on February 17, 1936, which was joined by a color Sunday strip in May 1939; both are still running as of 2006 and are read by millions of people every day. Lee Falk died in 1999, and the newspaper comics are now written by Tony DePaul and drawn by Paul Ryan (daily strip) and Graham Nolan (Sunday strip). Previous artists on the newspaper strip include Ray Moore, Wilson McCoy, Bill Lignante, Sy Barry, George Olesen, Keith Williams and Fred Fredericks. The Phantom is also successfully published in comic books throughout the world, by several different publishers.
The Phantom is credited as being the first "costumed superhero", i.e. the first crime fighter to wear the skintight costume attributed to comic book superheroes, and being the first hero to have white eyes behind his mask, a phenomenon very common with superheroes. Previous fictional crime fighters, such as Zorro and Doc Savage, were not designed especially for newspaper comic strips or comic books.
== Biography ==
The Phantom is known as " The Ghost Who Walks ", and is believed to have lived for more than 400 years. But in reality, this is just a myth. The Phantom is an ordinary human being. Almost every Phantom has married a woman of Royal Blood. They have had sons, most of whom have shared the name, Kit Walker. When a father Phantom retires from his work as Phantom, his son takes his place, swears the oath and becomes the new Phantom. Then the father is buried inside a secret burial chamber inside the Skull Cave.
== Origin ==
During the sixteenth century, a man named Christopher Walker was sailing on the seas of Africa with his father, when they fell prey to pirates' attack. The pirates slaughtered the ship's crew and blew up the ship. The only survivor was young Christopher. He was washed up onto the Bangallan Beach. He then took his father's skull and swore an oath upon it, "I swear to devote my life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty and injustice! And my sons, and their sons, shall follow me!"
Thus originated the first Phantom. He became friends with the various local tribes and dedicated his life to fighting injustice and cruelty. The violet costume was standardized by this Christopher 'Kit' Walker.
== Character Evolution ==
The current Phantom is the 21st of the line. After a long courtship he married his childhood sweetheart Diana Palmer in a lavish 1977 jungle ceremony notably attended by two African presidents and fellow Lee Falk creation Mandrake the Magician. Soon afterwords Diana gave birth to twins, a boy named Christopher "Kit" Walker-Palmer and daughter Heloise Walker-Palmer. He is primarily assisted in his adventures by a tamed pet wolf called Deviland a white horse named Hero, whose speed is legendary. His best friend since childhood is Guran, the now current chief of the Pygmy Bandar tribe.
The 21st Phantom remains a devoted family man knowing that in his line of work, whatever time he has with his family is precious, but always holding strong the family tradition of fighting injustice wherever it may take him. Their young son, Kit, is in training to someday take the sacred "Oath of the Skull" and become the 22nd Phantom.
=== Lineage ===
The Phantom is known as " The Ghost Who Walks ", and is believed to have lived for more than 400 years. But in reality, this is just a myth. The Phantom is an ordinary human being. Almost every Phantom has married a woman of Royal Blood. They have had sons, most of whom have shared the name, Kit Walker. When a father Phantom retires from his work as Phantom, his son takes his place, swears the oath and becomes the new Phantom. Then the father is buried inside a secret burial chamber inside the Skull Cave.
But it is not only the son who becomes the Phantom. Evidences of female Phantoms have also been found. Sometimes a daughter would take on the task of the Phantom in a similar Phantom outfit. This way the Phantom lives on, and has become a jungle legend.
=== Aliases ===
The Ghost Who Walks: When the Phantom is in his outfit and battling injustice, he is known as such. In this form, jungle people and other tribes know him to be a ghost who has lived for more than 400 years. In this form, the Phantom patrols the Bangallan area with his base of operations being deep inside the jungle.
Mr. Walker: This is the manner in which the Phantom presents himself to the outside world. He wears a long overcoat with blue trousers and a hat. His face is concealed in dark glasses. No one even knows his first name, all call him 'Mr. Walker'.
Mysterious Commander: Unknown to The Jungle Patrol, the Phantom is the Commander in Chief of the unit. He leaves messages and orders inside the Colonel's locker which he accesses via a secret tunnel. No one knows who the sender is, so they refer to him as "the Mysterious Commander".
== Abilities ==
* Peak Human Conditioning: Every version of the Phantom is trained from birth in the fighting arts and is cross-trained in numerous other athletic disciplines. As a result, each Phantom is as strong, fast, agile, flexible, and enduring as humanly possible.
* Master Marksman: Each iteration of the Phantom is expertly trained in all weapons, especially firearms. As a result, the Phantom almost never misses his mark.
==Gallery==
Phantom-0.jpg
vlcsnap-2018-10-06-10h21m30s239.png|Billy Zane as The Phantom from the 1996 film of the same name
Category:Comic Book Heroes
Category:Male
Category:Cartoon Heroes
Category:Live Action Heroes
Category:Crossover Heroes
Category:TV Show Heroes
Category:Protectors
Category:Movie Heroes
Category:In Love
Category:Adventurers
Category:Neutral Good
Category:Vigilantes
Category:Legacy
Category:Animal Kindness
Category:Vengeful
Category:Tragic
Category:Orphans
Category:Fighters
Category:The Hero
Category:Thrill-Seekers
Category:Keeper of Secret Identity
Category:Legendary