Fantômas
Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appeared in a total of 32 volumes written by the two collaborators, then a subsequent 11 volumes written by Allain alone after Souvestre's death. The character was also the basis of various film, television, and comic book adaptations. In the history of crime fiction, he represents a transition from Gothic novel villains of the 19th century to modern-day serial killers. The books  and films that came out in quick succession anticipate current production methods of Hollywood, in two respects: First, the authors distributed the writing among themselves; their "working method was to draw up the general plot between them and then go off and write alternate chapters independently of each other, meeting up to tie the two halves of the story together in the final chapter." This approach allowed the authors to produce almost one novel per month. Second, the film rights to the books were immediately snapped up. Such a system ensured that the film studio could produce sequels reliably. The  popular depiction of Fantômas as wearing a blue mask, black gloves, and using technological devices did not originate in the novels, but is a result of the popularity of the trilogy of Fantômas films directed by André Hunebelle in the 1960s. The trilogy, which started in 1964 with "Fantômas", departed considerably from the novels by giving the story a more comedic tone as preceded by the first two "Pink Panther" films, and by making Fantômas (played by Jean Marais) more of a James Bond enemy by likewise borrowing from the first two Bond films. Despite these discrepancies, the blue-masked  Fantômas is arguably the one that is most easily remembered. Overview. Fantômas is a criminal genius, ruthless and particularly elusive. As described by Schütt (2003) in her analysis of French crime fiction literature, Fantômas is the cause of almost any unsolved crime, a merciless criminal who can get away with his evil deeds by impersonating pretty much anyone. He is obsessively chased by Inspector Juve, who is generally the only one able to see Fantômas's tracks. Fantômas was introduced a few years after Arsène Lupin, another well-known thief. But whereas Lupin draws the line at murder, Fantômas has  no such qualms and is shown as a sociopath who enjoys killing in a sadistic fashion. He is totally ruthless, shows no mercy, and is loyal to none, not even his own children. He is a master of disguise, always appearing under an assumed identity, often that of a person whom he has murdered. Fantômas makes use of bizarre and improbable techniques in his crimes, such as plague-infested rats, giant snakes, and rooms that fill with sand. Fantômas's background remains vague. He might be of British and/or French ancestry. He appears to have been born in 1867. In  the books, it is established that c. 1892, the man who later became Fantômas called himself Archduke Juan North and operated in the German principality of Hesse-Weimar. There he fathered a child, Vladimir, with an unidentified noblewoman. In circumstances unrevealed, he was arrested and sent to prison. C. 1895, Fantômas was in India. There, an unidentified European woman gave birth to a baby girl, Hélène, whose father might be Fantômas or an Indian prince who was Fantômas' acolyte. The girl was raised in South Africa. In 1897, Fantômas was in the United States of America and Mexico. There, he  ruined his then business partner, Etienne Rambert. In 1899, he fought in the Second Boer War in South Africa under the name of Gurn. He fought in the Transvaal as an artillery sergeant under the command of Lord Roberts. He became aide-de-camp to Lord Edward Beltham of Scottwell Hill and fell in love with his younger wife, Lady Maud Beltham. Upon their return to Europe, soon before the first novel begins (c. 1900), Gurn and Lady Beltham were surprised in their Paris love nest, Rue Levert, by her husband. Lord Beltham was about to shoot Maud when Gurn  hit him with a hammer then strangled him. Fantômas then impersonated Etienne Rambert and framed his son, Charles, for a murder he had committed. As Etienne, he persuaded Charles to go into hiding, but the young man was soon found out by French police detective Juve, who was truly obsessed with the capture of Fantômas. Juve knew that Charles was innocent and gave him a new identity: journalist Jerôme Fandor who is employed at the newspaper "La Capitale". Juve later arrested Gurn and, at his trial, brought forward a convincing argument that Gurn and Fantômas were one and the same , though the evidence was too circumstantial to make a real case. On the eve of his execution, Gurn/Fantômas escaped from custody by being replaced by an actor who had modelled the appearance of his latest character after him and was guillotined in his place. Lady Beltham remained constantly torn between her passion for the villain and her horror at his criminal schemes. She eventually committed suicide in 1910. Fandor fell in love with Hélène and, despite Fantômas's repeated attempts to break them up, married her. Fantômas's evil son, Vladimir, reappeared in 1911. Vladimir's girlfriend was murdered  by Fantômas and Vladimir himself was eventually shot by Juve. Films. Silent serials. The silent film pioneer Louis Feuillade directed five "Fantômas" serials starring René Navarre as Fantômas, Bréon as Juve, Georges Melchior as Fandor, and Renée Carl as Lady Beltham. They are regarded as masterpieces of silent film. His later serial "Les Vampires", which concerns the eponymous crime syndicate (and not actual vampires) is also reminiscent of the "Fantômas" series. There was a 1920 20-episode American "Fantômas" serial directed by Edward Sedgwick starring Edward Roseman as Fantômas, which bore little resemblance to the French series. In it, Fantômas 's nemesis is detective Fred Dixon, played by John Willard. It was partially released in France (12 episodes only) under the title "Les Exploits de Diabolos" ("The Exploits of Diabolos"). A novelization of this serial was written by David Lee White for Black Coat Press under the title "Fantômas in America" in 2007. Television. A "" series of four 90-minute episodes was produced in 1980 starring Helmut Berger as Fantômas, Jacques Dufilho as Juve, and Gayle Hunnicutt as Lady Beltham. Episodes 1 and 4 were directed by Claude Chabrol; episodes 2 and 3 by Luis Buñuel's son, Juan Luis  Buñuel. The French movie version of "Fantômas" appears in the Czechoslovakian 1979-1981 children fantasy series "Arabela" as well as its sequel series "Arabela se vrací", performed respectively by actors František Peterka and Pavel Nový. In this version, he does not perform a villain's role, but becomes an ally and friend of the protagonists. Fantômas also has a cameo appearance in the Czech children's series "Lucie, postrach ulice" as a TV character, where he resembles his original 1911 book serial covers' depiction. Comic books. Mexican. During the 1960s the Mexican comics publisher Editorial Novaro produced a "Fantomas, La  Amenaza Elegante" (Fantomas, the Elegant Menace) comic book series that became popular throughout Latin America. This was apparently meant to be the same character, although rewritten as a hero. Perhaps as a way to make the original French character more attuned to Latin American audiences who crave justice avengers in fiction and national politics. It is not known if this was done with or without legal permission. This Fantômas was a thief who committed spectacular robberies just for the thrill of it, and wore a white skintight mask all the time or a variety of disguises so his true face  was never shown to his nemeses. The character was also pursued by the authorities, in his case mainly by a French police inspector named Gerard. His mask in the Latin American version – which was clearly inspired by the black mask worn by the Italian comic book criminal "Diabolik" — and his use of it, seems to have been influenced by the popular images generated by Mexican wrestling. Apparently the series was also influenced by the "James Bond" movies, as Fantômas, equipped with advanced technology created by a scientist called Professor Semo, had all kind of adventures around the world, and even  fought other, more cruel criminals. The Latin American Fantômas, created in Mexico, encompassed the aesthetic of both the British James Bond and American Hugh Hefner, who created "Playboy" magazine, with a necessary dose of traditional Latin American machismo. A mixture that immediately gained traction with vast Latino audiences, mostly prepubescent and adolescents males. Latino Fantômas also was a millionaire, owning several corporations under assumed identities, had secret headquarters outside Paris, and was assisted by several secret agents, including the 12 "Zodiac Girls", beautiful women who assisted him personally and dressed provocatively, known only by their codenames – the signs of the  zodiac. The attractive female element was another concession to Latin American audiences familiar with beautiful women as part of male-dominated environments playing key roles without hiding their femininity and preceding Charlie's Angels by decades. Although cancelled years ago (Novaro folded in 1985, and a character revival by rival Grupo Editorial Vid in Mexico in the 1990s did not last long), it is from this Mexican comic that the character is best known in both Central America and South America. Fantômas continues to be one of Latin America's favorite comic characters. For more information on this version of  the character check the link to the Fantomas Lives website below. American. A "Fantômas" short story by Paul Kupperberg and Roy Mann appeared in "Captain Action Comics" No. 1, published in 2009 by Moonstone Books. New Fiction. "Yes Virginia, There is a Fantomas" by William Patrick Maynard was published in "Tales of the Shadowmen" Volume 6, published in 2009 by Black Coat Press. Fantomas has appeared in several stories in the series. The first third of the novella, "Reign of Terror" by R. Allen Leider was published in "Awesome Tales" No. 3, published in 2016 by Bold Venture Press. The  second third of the novella was published in "Awesome Tales" No. 9, with the final third coming. Cultural influence. The "Fantômas" novels and the subsequent films were highly regarded by the French avant-garde of the day, particularly by the surrealists. Blaise Cendrars called the series "the modern Aeneid"; Guillaume Apollinaire said that "from the imaginative standpoint "Fantômas" is one of the richest works that exist." The painter René Magritte, the surrealist poet and novelist Robert Desnos and the cubist painter Juan Gris produced works alluding to Fantômas. The films were also popular in the Soviet Union. After their success  Fantômas had a short appearance in two popular Soviet comedies: Seven Old Men and One Girl (1968) and Grandads-Robbers (1972). In 2007, Russian author Andrey Shary published the book "Sign F: Fantomas in Books and on the Screen", dealing in particular with this phenomenon. In October 2021, Kanye West was seen wearing a Fantômas-style mask while at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport. West's wearing of the mask brought attention to Fantômas, particularly internationally in circles outside of France. West's cultural power and fame has inspired many to revisit Fantômas and French film history more generally.