When it comes to classic costumes there are few that are as iconic as 'The Phantom' who was one of the first 'masked men' in pulp literature. He has such a fantastic origin that he was irresistible to a young kid like me seeking adventure.
His story had it all, pirates enemies, vengeance, an oath to fight evil in all it's forms, jungle danger and a cool mythology centered on the fact that the Phantom 'appears' immortal. He is called the 'ghost who walks' because he can never technically be killed. There will always be a Phantom. No one knows that the mantle of the Phantom is passed from father to son - a neat trick to strike fear in the hearts of your enemies.
The jungle is a perfect setting for his tales and gives his stories a timeless quality. The stories are equally comfortable be they set in 1810 or 2010. You can see in this newspaper comic strip how uncomfortable the Phantom is with the trappings of modern society. (click to enlarge) For me that only adds to his appeal.
The recent attempt to revive the character on TV was a total disaster because the creators dumped all the things that were great about the character. From the casting of the young actor to play Kit Walker to the updating of the classic look, they got everything wrong. Real fans of the Phantom don't bring up that program in polite conversation.
Say what you will about the Billy Zane movie of the same name but it is a fun adventure tale that respects the hero and his pulp roots. Sure Treat Williams overacts like few have done before but Billy is cool as the Phantom, the costume looks good and the villains are appropriately cartoonishly evil.
What follows are some of PROJECT ROOFTOPS redesigns of the Phantom. Each succeed or fail on their own merit and I will leave it to you to decide which you prefer. I find that ones that stick closest to the design and color scheme of the more 'classic' look are the best. You really can't mess to much with perfection.
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3 comments:
I love the Phantom -- he is one of my all-time favourite comic book heroes. I even liked the Billy Zane movie. For me Treat Williams got balanced out by Patrick McGoohan. I loved that they set it in the 1930's.
I did not bother to watch the new Phantom because I thought the concept was wrong-headed. A better take on a new Phantom would be to have the mask pass from father to daughter. I don't know if anyone has done that but I would read the hell out of that comic or watch the hell out of that TV series.
With all I know and love about the Phantom, I never ever concidered a female Phantom. What if along the line there wasn't a boy born. Girls would be so much better at the swinging and gymnastics that is his means of fighting. What a fantastic idea. We should be combining our brains to re-develop comics as we know them. Genius.
The reason there has never been a female incarnation of the Phantom is because the first Phantom was a man.
It would kind of ruin the whole "immortal boogieman of the Dark Continent" image that he uses to intimidate his enemies if someone suddenly notices that The Phantom has recently changed his figure so drastically after someone shot him.
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