Amac Productions

Do you know who the first costumed superhero is?

I’ll give you a hint, it’s not Superman or Batman.

The Phantom!

The Phantom was created by Lee Falk and first published in February 1936, predating Superman by two years and Batman by three.

He was also the first to feature a hero with whited-out or not visible eyes while in costume.

Lee Falk took his inspiration from the theater, from statues, and his successes with his previous comic strip about a Magician using his powers to stop evil.

However, for this hero, Lee Falk wanted a regular man. One who doesn’t have special powers. One who can die. He’s just a guy trying to do the right thing and stop evil wherever he finds it.

Most notably in the Bangalla Jungle. His home.

Though the exact location of this Bangalla jungle is sometimes up for debate, it’s most likely found in Africa.

The Phantom became The Phantom some four to five hundred years ago. Kit Walker was abroad ship with his father when it was attacked by pirates. He was the only survivor.

He washed ashore and the tribe of Bangalla took him in, and he vowed on the pirate skull of the man who murdered who killed his father that he would fight pirates, greed, and evil in all it’s forms. He swears on his behalf and behalf of his sons.

The mantle of The Phantom is passed from father to son until we reach the current Kit Walker who the comic is set around. He’s the 21st Phantom.

Though only the tribe in Bangalla and the higher ups of the Jungle Patrol know the truth that it is passed from father to son.

Everyone else believes it to be one unkillable man.

Many evil doers have claimed to have killed him over the years, but ‘The Ghost Who Walks’ continues his crusade against evil.

The Phantom uses his fists, period correct guns, (which he never uses to kill), his reputation, and his cunning to defeat enemies.

The Phantom was also the first hero to employ a vow not to kill.

Oddly enough, The Phantom is most popular outside the USA, despite its creator living in the USA. Some countries tried to ban his publication during WWII, but his comics were smuggled in anyway.

The Phantom has no connection to two biggest names in comics, DC or Marvel. Which probably is why he’s a lesser known in the USA. However, he is one of the best and most accurate comics to read. Lee Falk worked to make him for the people.

So much so, he was one comic actually allowed in schools because of his accurate depiction of history.

Not to mention, during the war, Superman’s sales took a hit. I remember watching a history of Superman and his depiction of the war was always along the lines of just going over to clean things up. He could fix the war in ten minutes, making waves with readers.

Unlike Superman’s blunder in trying to capture the audience during the war, The Phantom was more popular than ever.

His story in the war, depicts him trying to keep Bangalla from getting overrun by Nazis. He fights his own war, instead of just stepping into clean things up in five minutes. As he is just a man, people could relate to his struggle to protect his home.

All in all, The Phantom is a superhero for the people.

For all people.

Lee Falk was so dedicated to his hero, he dictated his plans to his wife on his deathbed so she could finish it for him after he was gone.

That’s some dedication.

If you’d like to learn more about this hero, here’s some links!

His Wikipedia page!

His biography on Youtube!

A history on Youtube!

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