Phantom Talk

[BlackKnight]

I gotta Be Honest Here ....
I think the Phantom is the Most Over Rated GD Super Hero Ever.
I don't understand the Consistant Love and Talk for the Character.
Let Alone the Nurmous Customs, after Customs of this Guy in this Formate.
Perhaps I am Just too Young to get it...
But I can think of Aleast 200 Characters I would much Rather Watch, See, Play with or Make , Rather than the Phantom.

[Earth 2 Chris]

The Phantom came before Superman and Batman. He was the first hero in what we would consider a traditional super hero attire (mask and tights), only predated by Zorro, (who had a cape, but no tights).

While his popularity has waned since the heyday of the comic strip here in the US, he is a HUGELY popular character in other countries, particularly Australia and New Zealand.

In addition to the obvious super hero trappings aped by later characters, the legacy aspect of the character (the son succeeds the father as the Phantom) has also been picked up and emphasized in comics and other media in recent years.

Chris

[The Toyroom]

I used to love reading the Phantom daily strip in my newspaper when I was a kid. But beyond that I've never followed him in any other incarnation.

[Godzilla]

I think he has a fascinating legacy and a significant place in comics history. The movie with Billy Zane was pulp fun and the Phantom serial is exceptionally well done. My kids like him well enough.

[jwyblejr]

I like the early stuff but after awhile it's like how many times can he stop poachers or smugglers?

[thunderbolt]

And, he basically invented the legacy hero, too.

[PNGwynne]

^As many times as Batman can battle Joker & Catwoman. I love the Phantom--a dynastic combination of Tarzan & Batman that I find quite fun.

[PNGwynne]

Can't most "super-heroes" be traced back to the influence of the Shadow, Doc Savage, Sherlock Holmes, Zorro, and the Phantom?

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

I think he's one of them things that people love the IDEA of, more than the actual execution. So yeah; he's an influential character for comics and comic strips overall, he's an interesting idea, but to actually sit down and read a Phantom comic is something of a chore 'cos he feels like a fairly generic character.

Don C.

[torgospizza]

I love the Phantom--a dynastic combination of Tarzan & Batman that I find quite fun.

That's an excellent way to explain the character. I love the character, but kind of like in the way Don said, I think I love what he represents more. It's kind of like dissing Jesse Owens because Usain Bolt's faster--you still have to respect the guy for sort of paving the way for the other guy. But I know what BK's saying. I'm kind of that way about Wolverine--I liked him back in '82, but couldn't be less impressed with him today.

[BlackKnight]

Where you could possibly Take Wolverine ...., is so Much More than you Could the Phantom. In Every Area of the Spectrum, it isn't even the Same Frick'in Sport.

I am reading what Everyone is writing ...., I still think He's Lame-Arse.

[bobws]

I Loved the Movie and the strip when i read them. I think it's interesting that in all these years they didn't just tell the story of 1 , 2 or 3 generations since he was created,
but rather explained the legacy history of the character with stories of the other ancestors as well.

[MIB41]

People are drawn to characters for a variety of reasons. The Phantom laid the foundation from which the likes of essentially all heroes are created today. He was the first costumed hero and the first to have white eyes depicted in his mask and star in his own comic strip and comic book. And it's impossible not to see the near direct steal of his origin to Batman. His father was murdered and he set out to devote his life to fighting injustice from his Phantom cave. Sounds just a TAD familiar eh? Fans like the old school approach to his roots and enjoy that period from which he came. What he doesn't do is get as edgy as modern day heroes. He's maintained that old school set of values that does not always translate to those readers who are more conditioned to the violence in comics today. The Phantom has remained mostly tied to that original era of story telling. So he remains largely a hero appreciated by those who enjoy the folk tale quality of his adventures.

[Apositive]

One of my favorites. Wolverine and Iron Man are probably more over-hyped.

[ctc]

>Where you could possibly Take Wolverine ...., is so Much More than you Could the Phantom.

Well.... Most superheroes are pretty basic, and there's a lot you could do with either of them because of it. Wolverine has more story, but a lot of that is ad-hoc. You could do the same with the Phantom. "So.... okay; he lives in the jungle and he inherets the hero identity.... but he's also trained by secret African ninjas, and the original Phantom was the result of alien experiments to create a super-soldier, but he escaped, and the reason the title passes from father to son is 'cos the son still has some of that alien DNA and it compells him to return to the Phantom cave when it's time for a new hero.... and it does this 'cos there's an ancient African tribal spirit that had been at war with the aliens for centuries, and it ursurped the original experiment that made the first Phantom and helped him escape, but in doing so it linked him to the land...."

etc.

Don C.