The comic strip originally revolved around Dilbert and his "pet" dog Dogbert in their home. Many plots revolved around Dilbert's engineer nature or his bizarre inventions. Also prominent were plots based on Dogbert's megalomaniacal (evil) ambitions. Later, the location of most of the action moved to Dilbert's workplace at a large technology company, and the strip started to satirize technology, workplace, and company issues. The comic strip's popular success is attributable to its workplace setting and themes, which are familiar to a large and appreciative audience; Adams said that switching the setting from Dilbert's home to his office was "when the strip really started to take off."

Dilbert portrays corporate culture as a Kafkaesque world of bureaucracy for its own sake and office politics that stand in the way of productivity, where employees' skills and efforts are not rewarded, and busy work is praised. Much of the humor emerges as the audience sees the characters making obviously ridiculous decisions that are natural reactions to mismanagement.

Dilbert

The main character in the strip, Dilbert is a stereotypical technically-minded single male. He is usually pictured wearing a white dress shirt, black trousers and a red-and-black striped tie which inexplicably curves upward (though it flattens when he meets Antina, an extra-masculine female co-worker; Adams has said that the phallic symbolism was intentional in Seven Years of Highly Defective People. Adams has also claimed that it might be a metaphor for Dilbert's inability to control his environment). In old Dilbert strips, his neck was long shaped. Over time, his neck has become smaller. Dilbert received his Masters degree in electrical engineering from MIT; he understands engineering well and has good ideas, but has a poor social life. Neither attractive nor blessed with tremendous social graces, Dilbert is capable but ignored at work, and struggles with his romantic life. While he is frequently seen having dates with eligible women, his dates almost invariably end in disaster, usually in surreal and bizarre ways. Dilbert loves computers and technology and will spend much of his free time playing with such things. Two comic strips show the tie pointed downward, which, according to Adams, was a secret message to readers of his newsletter that Dilbert had "lost his innocence" with his girlfriend, Liz.

Pointy-haired boss

The manager of Dilbert and the other engineers, and the main antagonist of the strip; his real name is never mentioned. In earlier strips the Boss was depicted as a stereotypical late-middle-aged balding middle manager; it was not until later that he developed his signature "pointy hair". He is hopelessly incompetent at management and is very bombastic. He does not understand technical issues but always tries to disguise this, usually by using buzzwords he also does not understand. The Boss treats his employees alternately with disdain or neglect; he is narcissistic, using them to his own ends regardless of the consequences to them. Adams himself wrote that "He's not sadistic, just uncaring." The Boss's level of intelligence varies from near-vegetative to perceptive and clever, depending on the strip's comic needs. His utter lack of ethics, however, is perfectly consistent. His brother is a demon named Phil, the Prince of Insufficient Light, and according to Adams the pointy hair is intended to remind one of devil's horns.

Wally

One of the oldest engineers. Originally was a worker trying to get fired to get a severance package. He hates work and avoids it whenever he can. He often carries a cup of coffee, calmly sipping from it even in the midst of chaos or office-shaking revelations. Wally is extremely cynical. He is even more socially inept than Dilbert, and references to his lack of personal hygiene are not uncommon. Like the Pointy-Haired Boss, Wally is utterly lacking in ethics and will take advantage of any situation to maximize his personal gain while doing the least possible amount of honest work. Squat and balding, Wally is almost invariably portrayed wearing a short sleeved dress shirt and tie. Adams has stated that Wally was based on a Pacific Bell coworker of his who was interested in a generous employee buy-out program -- for the company's worst employees. This had the effect of causing this man -- whom Adams describes as "one of the more brilliant people I've met" -- to work hard at being incompetent, rude, and generally poor at his job to qualify for the buy-out program. Adams has said that this inspired the basic laziness and amorality of Wally's character. Despite these personality traits Wally is accepted as part of Dilbert, Alice and Asok's clique. Although his relationship with Alice is often antagonistic and Dilbert occasionally denies being his friend, their actions show at least a certain acceptance of him.

Alice

One of the more competent engineers. Alice has a huge, triangular hairstyle. She is often frustrated at her work not getting proper recognition, which she believes is due to her sex. She also has a short, often violent temper, sometimes putting her "Fist of Death" to use, even against the Pointy Haired Boss. Alice originally depicted a series of female characters, like Ted the Generic guy, and appeared for a time as the current Alice with a somewhat more normal hair style before, like the Boss, she finally developed her signature triangular hair. Alice is claimed to be based upon a woman that Scott Adams worked with named Anita, who is described as sharing Alice's "pink suit, fluffy hair, technical proficiency, coffee obsession and take-no-crap attitude."

Dogbert

Dilbert's pet dog (if such a subordinate appellation can be applied to him). Dogbert is a megalomaniac intellectual, planning to one day conquer the world. He once succeeded, but became bored of the ensuing peace and quiet. Often seen in high ranking consultant jobs, he constantly abuses his power and fools the management of Dilbert's company, though considering the intelligence of the company's management in general and Dilbert's boss in particular, this is not very hard to do. Dogbert also enjoys pulling scams on unsuspecting, and usually dull customers to steal their money. However, despite Dogbert's cynical exterior, he has been known to pull his master out of some tight jams. Dogbert's nature as a pet was more emphasized during the earlier years of the strip; as the strip progressed, references to his acting like a dog became less common, although he still wags his tail when he perpetrates his scams. When an older Dilbert arrives while time-traveling from the future, he refers to Dogbert as "majesty", indicating that Dogbert will one day indeed rule the world...again, and make worshiping him retroactive so he could boss around time travelers.

Asok

Pronounced "Ah-SHOKE" A young intern. He works very hard but does not always get proper recognition. Asok is intensely intelligent but naive about corporate life; the shattering of his optimistic illusions are frequent comic fodder. Asok is Indian, and has graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). The others, especially the Boss, often unwittingly trample on his cultural beliefs. If Asok mentions this, he is normally ignored. Asok's test scores (a perfect 1600 on the old SAT) and the fact his IQ is 240, show that he is the smartest member of the engineering team. There are a few jokes about him having psychic powers which he learned at the IIT. (Examples are: telekinesis; being able to move objects with ones mind, etc.) Yet despite his intelligence, ethics and mystical powers, Asok sometimes takes advice from Wally in the arts of shiftlessness and passing-the-buck, and Dilbert in surviving the office bureaucracy. He died while test piloting the company's prototype moon shuttle. Dilbert cloned his body, but because Carol put candy in his DNA jar, he is part Snickers bar. By random luck (which Dilbert was hoping for), Asok's soul reincarnated into his new body. Luckily, his studies of Guided Reincarnation and Advanced Shapeshifting at IIT allowed him to assume his usual form.

Carol

The misanthropic and bitter secretary of the Pointy-Haired Boss, who hates her boss and all of her co-workers. Originally a minor character in the company where Dilbert, Alice, Asok, and Wally work, her character's popularity as the "secretary from hell" grew enough to the point where she was given entire storylines to herself in the strip. The Boss has made it clear that Carol will never be promoted past secretary even though she has an MBA.

Ratbert

A rat formerly used as a laboratory test animal. A cheerful pollyanna character, and something of a nitwit though he does make the occasional brilliant observation. He usually gets all the lowest and most menial jobs (e.g. temp). Ratbert is originally disliked by Dilbert for being a rat, but is later accepted as a member of the family. He was not originally intended as a regular character, but because of his popularity with readers he was kept.

Catbert

The company's evil feline Human Resources director. Although he was originally just supposed to be around for a few strips, the fans named him and demanded more of him. He derives sadistic pleasure from seeing employees worry about their jobs, and particularly enjoys tormenting Wally. Merely mentioning the term "layoffs" causes him to purr with delight. Unlike Dogbert, Catbert has no apparent owner, but retains all of the qualities of a cat, and frequently purrs or sheds or performs other acts of "catness". He is particularly cooperative and friendly with the Pointy Haired Boss.

Dilmom

She is homely and intelligent. She used to think Dilbert worked at a railroad because he is an engineer. She's often selfish and openly uncaring towards her son; in the TV series she states that, although she loved him, she did not actually like him. She has nearly the same level of technical knowledge as Dilbert, although she has him do technical work for her. She is obsessed with Scrabble, and has been accused of cheating with "counterfeit vowels". (This is a reference to Scott Adams' own mother.) She also is on an unnamed department store's "bad customer list", because she returned over a thousand items to the store, one scarf in particular 17 times.

Phil the Prince of Insufficient Light

A minor demon who punishes people for small crimes by "darning them to heck" with his "pitchspoon", a parody of Satan (the "Prince of Darkness"). Such crimes include using copier paper for the printer, stealing a chair from another cubicle, finishing off the last coffee from the coffee maker without topping it up. As a minor demon Phil's punishments tend to be of an annoying rather than downright tormenting nature, such as being forced to sit at a secretary's desk and be teased by coworkers or being forced to sit among the accountants at lunchtime and listen to their inherently boring conversations. Ostensibly, Phil is eventually revealed to be the Pointy-Haired Boss's brother. Adams is inconsistent with his depictions of Phil; he sometimes has horns and sometimes does not, and sometimes carries a pitchfork rather than a spoon. Adams has stated that the inconsistency is because he sometimes forgets that Phil is not supposed to have a cape or a pitchfork.

Bob the Dinosaur

A vegetarian dinosaur who is the wedgie enforcer at the office. He was found after Dilbert calculated that dinosaurs could not be extinct, and they therefore must be in hiding. Bob is found hidden behind the couch. Bob has a wife (Dawn) and son (Rex), who also live in Dilbert's house, but they are seen far less frequently than he is, since most of his time is spent at Dilbert's office, where his wedgie duty is constantly needed while working with incompetent co-workers, salesmen, or clients. He has also revealed that being a dinosaur he is, of course, a COBOL programmer.

Garbageman

Dilbert's garbageman is a mysterious philosopher and scientist. He occasionally solves extremely complex problems for Dilbert and has several inventions, including a weather control device, a phaser, and an anti-stupidity gun. He also goes through Dilbert's trash on occasion, and once completed a robot that Dilbert had thrown out. In the TV show, it is revealed that he is the only garbageman for the whole city, and is able to collect for all houses through teleportation.

Tina

Tina was introduced as a technical writer in order to add more females to the cast. She feels that her skills are unappreciated. Initially, she was called "brittle" and would believe every statement was intended to be sexist in some way. Readers criticized Adams for what they believed to be a stereotypical and negative portrayal of women. In response, Adams created the character Antina (the antidote to Tina), who was very smart and did not look like a typical woman. Readers criticized him again for Antina, believing that he was making fun of lesbians.

Ted the Generic Guy

Ted is the name that creator Scott Adams attributes to a number of one-shot characters, because they all look the same. He has gone by other aliases in the strip. When Adams needs to kill or fire a co-worker, he often kills Ted.

Elbonians

People from a fictional Fourth World nation, used as a parody of outsourcing. Their culture is radically different from Western culture, and their patriarchy often annoys Alice. Their country is covered in waist-deep mud which they keep wet using expensive bottled water as revealed in one strip. The main vehicle of their national airline is essentially a giant slingshot. At one point, the French declare war on Elbonia because they tried to launch a French satellite with the town slingshot before Dilbert can intercede; the satellite flattens the French Embassy. At another time Dogbert lobbies Switzerland to "liberate" Elbonia's oil. Elbonia was first described as an Eastern European nation. Elbonia's traditional hats, long beards, male-centric culture and technological backwardness suggest it is modeled after a Third World Islamic society, such as Afghanistan; it is also similar to Post-Soviet States in its headwear and former communism. Scott Adams stated in Seven Years of Highly Defective People that Elbonia was created to allow for a foreign nation inoffensive to people outside the United States, and is based on the average American's perception of any country without cable TV. Despite this, Adams has been accused of racism several times.

Accounting trolls

Sadistic trolls from the accounting department whose bodies are 95% saliva. As Dogbert shows, their brains are so hard-wired that seeing someone wearing a baseball cap backwards causes their heads to explode, which he referred to as a "paradigm shifting without a clutch." The trolls' accounting offices resemble a cavernous Hell. They were originally ruled by a witch who turned Dilbert into an accounting troll but was destroyed when Dilbert, assigned to budget erasing, erased the accounting department's budget.

The trolls are rarely given names, however occasionally a troll by the name Nordlaw is referenced. The first troll met in the comics was named Bradley. In the television series one of the trolls was voiced by Gilbert Gottfried.

Loud Howard

Another coworker who became a regular character in the TV series, despite appearing in just a few comic strips (on 21 April 1995  and 17 March 2006 , and again by popular request on 11 October 2006 ).

Loud Howard is incapable of speaking quietly, and in the TV series his overpowering voice often breaks anything and everything around him, including people's eardrums. It has also shattered glass and slammed people against the wall. When he sneezes, it is highly advisable to take cover, as the resulting blast has blown the flesh off people, leaving only a skeleton (at least among the folks in Marketing). In "The Merger", he mentions that they should "create a product that keeps your fillings from vibrating when you talk", as his fillings fly out of his mouth, which he then starts to pick up and presumably re-insert them into his mouth.

In the strips, his loud voice is represented by huge lettering and his comically huge mouth (when talking), which takes up most of the available panel space and is therefore difficult to sustain as a running joke. Howard as a recurring character is better-suited to the animated series, where his voice actor, Jim Wise, can speak as loudly as necessary.

A strip on 14 April 2008 sees Alice, Asok, and Dilbert complaining to the pointy-haired boss (PHB) about Loud Howard insisting on using his speakerphone in his cubicle. The PHB made swift response by moving Loud Howard to a newly available private office, much to the three employees' dismay.

During the TV episode "Ethics", Loud Howard holds a party, and it is shown that his house borders an airport, a railroad track, and a freeway - possibly explaining his need to shout everything.

Dildad

An unseen character in the comic strip, although he does appear in the animated series, in which his face is hidden in a fashion similar to Mammy Two Shoes from Tom and Jerry or Wilson from Home Improvement. He left Dilbert's mother during a trip to the mall in 1992 (1999 in the TV series), and lives at the all-you-can-eat restaurant in the mall because he has not eaten all he can eat. He does not have "lupus".

Liz

Dilbert's girlfriend from 1994 to 1996. He met her at a soccer game, where she rebounded a ball off his head to score a goal. Liz would constantly taunt Dilbert about their comparative levels of attractiveness and his obsession with technology, though Dilbert always took such comments in stride. Adams admitted in Seven Years of Highly Defective People that "Liz never really clicked with me", and eventually had her break up with Dilbert, after she started dating other men. She is Dilbert's longest relationship; in a series of rather ambiguous strips, it is suggested that Dilbert almost lost his virginity with her (Seven Years of Highly Defective People). Scott Adams clarified in a user interview that Dilbert is still a virgin and will remain so for a while.

Dawn and Rex

Introduced in 1989, Bob and Dawn came into the strip after Dilbert figured out that not all dinosaurs could be extinct. Bob often gives wedgies to people. Rex was born shortly after the introduction of Bob and Dawn. Bob is close friends with Ratbert.

Bob makes a cameo appearance in the teaser of one of the TV episodes, and can also be seen amongst several other prehistoric creatures in the opening title sequence.

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

 The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, for planned broadcast in 2010. In an interview with Phil LaMarr, it was revealed that the Wasp will be voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Thor and the Absorbing Man will be voiced by Rick D. Wasserman, the Hulk will be voiced by Fred Tatasciore, Ant-Man will be voiced by Wally Wingert, Hawkeye will be voiced by Chris Cox, JARVIS and Wonder Man will be voiced by Phil LaMarr, Pepper Potts will be voiced by Dawn Olivieri, and Balder will be voiced by Nolan North. Kyle Hebert will also be providing voice work for the show, though his voice role is unspecified. Phil LaMarr also confirmed that Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther, the Masters of Evil, Loki, and Odin would appear in the show, though he did not reveal their voice actors. It has officially been announced that the show will debut on Disney XD in Fall 2010 starting with a 20 part micro-series. Also Whirlwind and Whiplash are shown to appear, as well as Maurice LaMarche who is confirmed to voice the villain Mad Thinker

Founded in England (where the Ruling House resides in London) in the 6th century, the Legacy was established to collect dangerous and ancient knowledge and artifacts, solve paranormal problems and protect humanity from supernatural evils. Over time, the membership expanded around the world. As the Legacy grew, it established branches in other cities and countries. Known as Legacy "Houses", these are staffed by small teams of specialist members.

Each house is ruled by a "Precept" who wears a signet ring engraved with a distinctive L (one of the original cast members notes that the whole team had rings and only when a founding team was dissolved or a member lost, the rings were taken off and worn only by the Precept thenceforth). Other houses are mentioned and occasionally seen in the series, but most of the action centers on the San Francisco house.

Dr. Derek Rayne is the Precept of the San Francisco House, set in a castle-like mansion on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. It works under the guise of the Luna Foundation, a philanthropic institution which collects artifacts and antiquities. Together, the characters of Poltergeist: The Legacy search and uncover a secret world of terror as they resolve to defend the world against evil and darkness.

• Dr. Derek Rayne (played by Derek de Lint) - The Precept of the San Francisco house. Derek is a brilliant scholar with a mysterious background. He is Dutch, and holds doctorates in anthropology and theology. Derek follows in the footsteps of his father, Winston, who was also a Legacy member. Winston was corrupted and killed by supernatural forces when Derek was a teenager, and eventually, that same evil attempts to do the same to Derek himself. Derek also has 'the Sight', a form of precognition that allows him to 'see' things happen before they become real. At times, this allows him to change what he sees. Derek appeared to be killed off in the final episode of the series.
• Nick Boyle (played by Martin Cummins) - A former Navy SEAL who resigned after his commander caused the deaths of the other men in his unit. His father was a member of the Legacy before him. Nick had a brash and impulsive nature which often caused him to clash with the methodical Derek, although Derek once referred to Nick's lack of respect for the powers of evil as his "greatest strength". He is an expert in weapons and tactics as well as being a skilled investigator, and he becomes Precept at the end of the series.
• Alexandra "Alex" Moreau (played by Robbi Chong) - An African-American woman with psychic abilities that enables her to sense information about people or events by touching objects associated with them. Alex serves the Legacy as a researcher and investigator. She comes from an old Creole family in New Orleans, and her sister also has ESP. Derek was her mentor in college, and it is hinted that they may also have been lovers at that time.
• Father Philip Callaghan (played by Patrick Fitzgerald) - A Roman Catholic priest and linguist from Ireland. Philip is a compassionate man who believes that virtue and faith are the best weapons against evil. He appeared only in the first two seasons of the series, but returned for a 2-part episode in the final season.
• Dr. Rachel Corrigan (played by Helen Shaver) - A psychiatrist who is helped by the Legacy in the pilot episode. Impressed by her skills and strength of character, Derek invited Rachel to join his team. Rachel is a widow with an 8-year-old daughter, Kat. She is a skeptic to a fault, refusing to believe even when confronted with the many supernatural occurrences dealt with by the Legacy. Rachel also struggles with alcoholism.
• Katherine "Kat" Corrigan (played by Alexandra Purvis) - Rachel's daughter, 8-years-old at the beginning of the series. Though not a member of the Legacy, Kat often visits the mansion and is drawn into many of their adventures. She also has latent psychic powers, and it is hinted in several episodes that she will become a powerful force for either good or evil when she grows to adulthood.
• Kristin Adams (played by Kristin Lehman) - A Harvard anthropologist on leave from the Legacy House in Boston. Kristin joins the cast in the third season, but was never a formal member of the San Francisco house. She was killed in the fourth season episode "Sacrifice".
• William Sloan (played by Daniel J. Travanti) - The head of the Ruling House in London. Very little is revealed about him, except that he has a troubled history with Derek. Sloan was introduced in the second season, and his character recurred a few times before giving himself over to a demon in the episode "Trapped".
• Julia Walker (played by Jordan Bayne ) - An investigator who is killed in the pilot episode. Julia was Alex's best friend and Nick's girlfriend, and her death affects the characters up until the end of the series.

The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk. A popular feature adapted into many forms of media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.

The Phantom is the 21^st in a line of crimefighters that originated in 1536, when the father of British sailor Christopher Walker was murdered during a pirate attack. The only survivor of the attack, Christopher was washed ashore on a Bengallan beach, and swore an oath on the skull of his father's murderer to dedicate his life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty and injustice, with his sons and their sons set to follow him. Making a costume based on the image of an old jungle idol, he became the Phantom. When he died, his son took over the role of the Phantom, and such the mantle would be passed down to new generations, leaving people to give the mysterious figure nick-names such as "The Man Who Cannot Die", "Guardian of the Eastern Dark" and "The Ghost Who Walks", believing him to be immortal.

Unlike many fictional costumed heroes, the Phantom does not have supernatural powers of any kind, but relies on his strength, intellect and reputation of being an immortal ghost to defeat his opponents. He is protected at home in part by the Bandar pygmies, or "Poison-People", whose fearsome reputation is enough to keep the uninvited out of his jungle. He carries two forty-five caliber pistols, and wears two rings that have been worn by every Phantom, one on his right hand which permanently scars villains with the mark of a skull, and another with his good mark, worn on his left hand, which places his seal on those placed under his protection as a warning to others. The twenty-first Phantom is married to Diana Palmer, whom he met as a child while studying in the US, and the couple have two children together, Kit and Heloise. Like all previous Phantoms he lives in the ancient Skull Cave, and also has a trained wolf, Devil, and the horse Hero.

The series began with a daily newspaper strip on February 17, 1936, followed by a color Sunday strip on May 28, 1939; both are still running as of 2010. At the peak of its popularity, the strip was read by over a hundred million people every day.

Lee Falk died in 1999. As of 2010, the comic strip is produced by writer Tony DePaul and artist Paul Ryan. Previous artists on the newspaper strip include Ray Moore, Wilson McCoy, Bill Lignante, Sy Barry, George Olesen, Keith Williams, Fred Fredericks and Graham Nolan.

New Phantom stories are also published in comic books in different parts of the world, among them by Moonstone Books in USA, Egmont in Sweden, Norway and Finland and Frew Publications in Australia.

While the Phantom is not the first fictional costumed crimefighter, he is the first to wear the skintight costume that has become a hallmark of comic book superheroes, and the first to wear a mask with no visible pupils, another superhero standard.

In the jungles of the fictional African country of Bangalla, there is a myth featuring The Ghost Who Walks, a powerful and indestructible guardian of the innocent and fighter of all types of injustice. Because he seems to have existed for generations, many believe him to be immortal. In reality, the Phantom is a Legacy Hero, descended from 20 previous generations of crime-fighters who all adopt the same persona. When a new Phantom takes the task from his dying father, he swears the Oath of the Skull: "I swear to devote my life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty, and injustice, in all their forms, and my sons and their sons shall follow me". (The comic sometimes runs flashback adventures of previous Phantoms.)

The Phantom of the present is the 21st in the line. Unlike most costumed heroes, he has no superhuman powers, relying only on his wits, physical strength, skill with his weapons, and fearsome reputation to fight crime. His real name is Kit Walker. References to "Mr. Walker" are in the strip often accompanied by a footnote saying "For 'The Ghost Who Walks'", although some versions of the Phantom's history suggest that Walker was actually the original surname of the man who became the first Phantom.

A signature of the character is his two rings. One has a pattern formed like four crossing sabres, "The Good Mark", that he leaves on visitors whom he befriends, placing the person under his protection. The other, "The Evil Mark" or "Skull Mark" has a skull shape, which leaves a scar of the corresponding shape on the enemies he punches with it. He wears the Good mark on his left hand because it is closer to the heart, and the Evil Mark on his right hand. The Skull Ring's original owner was Emperor Nero of the Roman empire, and the Good Mark ring was made after the sixth Phantom founded the Jungle Patrol. It would later be revealed that the Skull Ring had been made from the nails that hung Jesus to the cross.

His base is in the Deep Woods of Bengali (originally "Bengalla", or "Bangalla" and renamed Denkali in the Indian edition), a fictional country initially said to be set in Asia, near India, but depicted as in Africa during and after the 1960s. The Phantom's base is the fabled Skull Cave, where all previous Phantoms are buried. For a period of time, he also lived with his family in a tree house built by the Rope People — a tribe he had assisted. The Phantom has an Isle of Eden in which he has trained animals that are natural enemies to live in harmony, a Mesa in America called Walker's Table and a castle in the Old World.

The Phantom is the commander of Bangalla's world-famous Jungle Patrol, who never know his name but answer consistently to his orders.  Due to a betrayal leading to the death of the 14th Phantom, the identity of the commander has been kept hidden from members of the patrol ever since. The Phantom use several ways to stay in contact. These include radio and a safe with a false bottom. At a few rare occasions the Phantom also visited the patrol wearing his patrol uniform. The sixth Phantom originally formed the Jungle Patrol with the help of former pirate Redbeard and his men back in 1664.

Another character who has aided the modern-day Phantom is Guran, chief of the local pygmy tribe, who are the only tribe to know his true nature. Guran is the Phantom's best friend since childhood, and a supporter of his cause.

The Phantom has two helpers, a mountain wolf called Devil, and a horse named Hero. He also has a trained falcon named Fraka. From 1962 on, The Phantom raised an orphan named Rex King, who was later on revealed to be the prince of the kingdom of Baronkhan. He also has two dolphins named Solomon and Nefertiti, and numerous other animals kept on the island of Eden.

In 1978, he married his sweetheart since his days in American college, Diana Palmer, who works at the United Nations. Guran, his best friend since boyhood, was best man. The guests present at the wedding included President Luaga of Bengalla, President Goranda of Ivory-Lana, and Mandrake the Magician (the Phantom would later be a guest at Mandrake's wedding when he married in 1997).

A year later, twins were born to the Palmer-Walkers; Kit and Heloise.

The Phantom's family have always played a significant role in the series. His romance with Diana Palmer was an ongoing part of the story from the beginning, and many later stories revolved around the Phantom becoming involved in adventures as a result of young charges including his children.

When the Phantom leaves the jungle, he frequently dresses in a fedora, a trench coat, and sunglasses. The Phantom usually does not allow his unmasked or undisguised face to be seen except by close friends or members of his family. Even readers of the comic have never been shown the Phantom's unmasked face clearly.

Origin

The story of the Phantom started with a young sailor named Christopher Walker (sometimes called Christopher Standish in certain versions of the story). Christopher was born in 1516 in Portsmouth. His father, also named Christopher Walker, had been a seaman since he was a young boy, and was the cabin boy on Christopher Columbus's ship Santa María when he sailed to the Americas. Christopher Jr. became a shipboy on his father's ship in 1526, of which Christopher Sr. was Captain.

In 1536, when Christopher was 20 years old, he was a part of what was supposed to be his father's last voyage. On February 17, the ship was attacked by pirates of the Singh Brotherhood in a bay on the coast of Bengalla. The last thing Christopher saw before he fell unconscious and into the sea was his father being murdered by the leader of the pirates. Both ships exploded, making Christopher the sole survivor of the attack. Christopher was washed ashore on a Bengalla beach, seemingly half dead. He was found by pygmies of the Bandar tribe, who nursed him and took care of him.

A time later, Christopher took a walk on the same beach, and found a dead body there, whom he recognized as the pirate who killed his father. He allowed the vultures flying around the body to eat its meat, took up the skull of the killer, raised it above his head, and swore an oath:

"I swear to devote my life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty, and injustice, in all their forms! My sons and their sons shall follow me."

After learning the language of the Bandar tribe, Christopher learned that the majority of their people were slaves of the Wasaka, a tribe consisting of what the Bandars called "giants". Immediately, Christopher walked into the village of the Wasaka, and asked them to set the Bandars free. He was taken prisoner and laid before the Demon God of the Wasaka, Uzuki, who was supposed to decide his destiny. Christopher was tied up and laid on an altar made of stone, where vultures surrounded him. Christopher was quickly saved by a group of Bandar before the vultures or the Wasaka could do him any real harm. They managed to escape from the village of the Wasaka unharmed.

Christopher later learned of a Bandar prophecy that featured a man coming from the ocean to save them from their slavery. He made a costume inspired by the look of the Demon God of the Wasaka and went to the Wasaka village again, this time with a small army of Bandar armed with their newly-discovered poisoned arrows, which were capable of killing a man in a few seconds. The Wasaka, shocked at seeing what many of them thought was their Demon God come alive, were fought down, and the Bandars were finally set free after centuries in slavery. This resulted in a dedicated friendship between Christopher and the Bandars, which would be brought on to the generations to come after them.

The Bandars showed Christopher to a cave, which resembled the look of a human skull. Christopher later carved the features out to enhance this. This Skull Cave became his home.

Wearing the costume based on the Demon God, Christopher became the first of what would later be known as the Phantom. When he died, his son took over for him; when the second Phantom died, his son took over. So it would go on through the centuries, causing people to believe that the Phantom was immortal. These people gave him nicknames including "The Ghost Who Walks" and "The Man Who Cannot Die".

Over the course of more than seventy years' worth of stories, the backstory "legend" of the Phantom grew to become an integral part of the series. The legend of the "Ghost Who Walks" made the character stand out from the innumerable costumed heroes who have battled crime throughout the 20th century, and has helped maintain his appeal through to the present day.

Much of the underlying, continuing plots and "themes" of the series focus on the continuing legend of the Phantom. The series regularly quotes the "old jungle sayings" surrounding the myth of the Phantom. Perhaps the most well-known of these is the tradition that anyone who sees the Phantom's true face without his mask will certainly "die a terrible death".

The Phantom is feared by criminals over the entire world, and knows how to use his frightening image against them.

The 21st Phantom's birth name is Kit Walker, as was the name of many of the Phantoms before him. Kit was born in the Skull Cave, and spent his first years in the jungle of Bengalla. His mother, Maud Thorne McPatrick, who worked as Rita Hayworth's stunt double, was born in Mississippi, where Kit went to study when he was 12 years old, living with his aunt Lucy and uncle Jasper in the fictional town of Clarksville.

Here he met his wife-to-be, Diana Palmer. Kit was an extremely talented sportsman and was predicted to become the world champion of many different events (even knocking out the world heavyweight boxing champion in a sparring match when the champion visited Clarksville). Despite the opportunity to choose practically any career he wanted, Kit faithfully returned to Bengalla to take over the role of the Phantom when he received word from Guran that his father was dying from a knife-wound.

One of Kit's first missions as the Phantom was to find his father's killer, Rama Singh, who had betrayed and murdered the 20th Phantom by first helping him to blow up a fleet of ships owned by the Singh Brotherhood, only to then stab him in the back, stealing his special gunbelt in the process. The 21st Phantom eventually found him and reclaimed the belt at the island of Gullique, but before he could avenge his father and bring the killer to jail, the desperate Rama blew up his lair, killing himself and his henchmen in the process.

As part of the official uniform, the Phantom wears a black mask and a purple skintight bodysuit. He also carries period-appropriate sidearms, currently two M1911 pistols

While there had been masked crime fighters like the costumed Zorro or the business-suited The Clock, the Phantom was the first fictional character to wear the skintight costume and eyes with no visible pupils that has become a trademark of superheroes. In a Sunday strip story published in the 1960s it was shown that the first Phantom chose the costume based on the appearance of a jungle idol, and colored the cloth with purple jungle berries.

As part of a modernization of the character in Moonstone Books' series The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks, the Phantom began wearing a costume made of kevlar.

The Phantom's costume is colored blue in Scandinavia, red in Italy, Turkey.

Given his oath to fight all evil in the world, The Phantom faces a vast array of villains. The most dangerous and lasting enemy of the Phantom is the Singh Brotherhood, which have been active for centuries and were responsible for the pirate attack that resulted in the death of Christopher Standish's father and the beginning of the Phantom legacy. The brotherhood has evolved from merely being pirates into a modern company called Singh Corporations, led by Sandal Singh, who is the daughter of former leader Dogai Singh and also the current President of Bengalla.

Another major threat against the Phantom and his country was Kigali Lubanga, the President of Bengalla for several years. Other recurring villainous characters are General Bababu, The Python, Manuel Ortega, Ali Gutalee, Goldhand, Bail, and HIM. The Phantom has also fought numerous crime-organizations such as the Sky Band, the Vultures, Hydra and The Flame.

The entire run of the Phantom newspaper strip has been reprinted in Australia by Frew Publications. Edited versions of most stories have also been published in the Scandinavian Phantom comics. In the United States, the following Phantom stories have been reprinted, by Nostalgia Press (NP), Pacific Comics Club (PCC), or Comics Revue (CR), all written by Lee Falk.

• "The Sky Band", Ray Moore, 9 November 1936, CR
• "The Diamond Hunters", Ray Moore, 12 April 1937, PCC
• "Little Tommy", Ray Moore, 20 September 1937, PCC
• "The Prisoner of the Himalayas", Ray Moore, 7 February 1938, NP
• "Adventure in Algiers", Ray Moore, 20 June 1938, CR
• "The Shark's Nest", Ray Moore, 25 July 1938, PCC
• "Fishers of Pearls", Ray Moore, 7 November 1938, CR
• "The Slave Traders", Ray Moore, 30 January 1939, CR
• "The Mysterious Girl", Ray Moore, 8 May 1939, CR
• "The Golden Circle", Ray Moore, 4 September 1939, PCC
• "The Seahorse", Ray Moore, 22 January 1940, PCC
• "The Game of Alvar", Ray Moore, 29 July 1940, PCC
• "Diana Aviatrix", Ray Moore, 16 December 1940, PCC
• "The Phantom's Treasure", Ray Moore, 14 July 1941, PCC
• "The Phantom Goes to War", Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy, 2 February 1942, PCC
• "The Slave Markets of Mucar", Sy Barry, 21 August 1961, CR

In the October 2009 issue, Comics Revue began reprinting the Sunday story "The Return of the Sky Band" for the first time in color.

Lee Falk's entire run of Phantom adventures up until Sy Barry's final story is set to be reprinted in hardcover books by Hermes Press, starting in 2009. The publisher will issue three volumes of daily strips each year and one volume of Sunday strips collecting five years of the strip, in color. Press proofs will be used as the primary source for these reprints so the strip will look better than when it was originally printed. For the Sunday version of the strip Hermes Press will digitally recolor all of the Sundays

Comic books

In the United States the Phantom has been published by a variety of publishers over the years. Through the 1940s, strips were reprinted in Ace Comics published by David McKay Publications. In the 1950s, Harvey Comics published the Phantom. In 1962, Gold Key Comics took over, followed by King Comics in 1966 and Charlton Comics in 1969. This lasted until 1977, with a total number of 73 issues being published. Some of the main Phantom artists during these years were Bill Lignante, Don Newton, Jim Aparo and Pat Boyette.

DC Comics published a Phantom comic book from 1988 to 1990. The initial mini-series (dated May-Aug. 1988) was written by Peter David and drawn by Joe Orlando and Dennis Janke. The subsequent series, written by Mark Verheiden and drawn by Luke McDonnell, lasted 13 issues (March 1989 - March 1990). It depicted the Phantom fighting such issues as racism, toxic dumping, hunger, and modern-day piracy. According to Verheiden, the series ended because of licencing issues as much as dropping sales. The final panels of issue 13 saw the Phantom marrying Diana.

In 1987, Marvel Comics did a four-issue miniseries based on the Defenders of the Earth TV series, written by Stan Lee. Another three-issue Marvel miniseries, The Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks (Feb.-April 1995) followed. Written and drawn by Dave DeVries and Glenn Lumsden, it featured the 22nd Phantom, with an updated, high-tech costume. Marvel later released a four-part miniseries (May-Aug. 1995), pencilled by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, based on the Phantom 2040 TV series. One issue featured a pin-up by the original two Spider-Man signature artists, Ditko and John Romita, Sr.

The gadgets used by Marvel's 22nd Phantom were slightly reminiscent of those in Phantom 2040, only less advanced. For instance, while the 2040 Phantom had a talking artificial intelligence built into one of his wristbands, the 22nd's wristband contained a sophisticated, but clearly present-day, palmtop computer.

Moonstone Books published Phantom graphic novels beginning in 2002. Five books, written by Tom DeFalco, Ben Raab, and Ron Goulart, were published. In 2003, Moonstone debuted a Phantom comic-book series written by Raab, Rafael Nieves, and Chuck Dixon, and drawn by artists including Pat Quinn, Jerry DeCaire, Nick Derington, Rich Burchett, and EricJ. After 11 issues, Mike Bullock took over scripting, with Gabriel Rearte and Carlos Magno creating the artwork before Silvestre Szilagyi became the regular artist in 2007. Bullock's stories often feature topical issues based on real-life African conflicts. In a 2007 three-part story arc called "Invisible Children", the Phantom fought a fictional warlord called "Him", loosely based on Joseph Kony.

In 2006, Moonstone published a retcon of the Phantom's origin, called Legacy, by Raab and Quinn. That same year, the company published a hybrid comic book and prose book it called "wide-vision", premiering the format with the Phantom story "Law of the Jungle". Moonstone also released the first American Phantom annual. A second annual teamed the Phantom up with Mandrake the Magician.

In 2009, Moonstone re-launched the series as The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks, starting with issue 0, a retelling of the origin of the first Phantom. The goal of this launch was to make the comic darker, grittier and more realistic, like the stories of Lee Falk and Ray Moore from the 1930s. It also updated the character of the Phantom by giving him more modern day accessories, and introduced many supporting characters and villains. The Phantom frequently fights reality based enemies in the series, such as modern day terrorists, organ-smugglers and Somalian pirates.

2009 would see Moonstone Books launch the 21 issue maxi-series Phantom Generations, with each of the twenty one Phantoms spotlighted in their own story, crafted by different creative teams including writers such as Ben Raab, Tom DeFalco, Tony Bedard, Will Murray and Mike Bullock. Artists on the project include Pat Quinn, Alex Saviuk, Don Hudson, Scott Brooks and Zeu. Moonstone will also publish The Phantom Handbook, featuring entries for all 21 Phantoms and many supporting characters.

Moonstone will also publish "Phantom Action", a story written by Mike Bullock that sees the Phantom meeting Captain Action a five issue mini-series in black and white called "The Phantom Double Shot: KGB Noir", and a two part mini-series called "The Phantom: Unmasked".

After Moonstone Books finishes their Phantom series, Dynamite Entertainment is set to publish new Phantom stories

Egmont Publications has published original Phantom stories in a fortnightly Phantom comic book published in Norway as Fantomet, in Sweden as Fantomen, and in Finland as Mustanaamio ("[the] Black-Mask").

The first issue of Fantomen was cover-dated October 1950. Over 1500 issues have been published.

The first story created originally for the Swedish Fantomen magazine was published as early as 1963, and today the total number of Fantomen stories is over 800. The average length of a Fantomen story is 30+ pages (compared to 20-24 pages for most American comics). Among the most prolific artists and writers that have created stories for Fantomen are: Dick Giordano, Donne Avenell, Heiner Bade, David Bishop, Georges Bess, Jaime Vallvé, Joan Boix, Tony DePaul, Ulf Granberg, Ben Raab, Rolf Gohs, Scott Goodall, Eirik Ildahl, Kari Leppänen, Hans Lindahl, Janne Lundström, Cesar Spadari, Bob McLeod, Jean-Yves Mitton, Lennart Moberg, Claes Reimerthi, Paul Ryan, Alex Saviuk, Graham Nolan, Romano Felmang, and Norman Worker. The artists and writers working on these stories have been nicknamed Team Fantomen. Instead of the American purple version, the Scandinavian Phantom's costume is dark blue. In later years, the Team have started to experiment more with the character and his surroundings, by having Singh Brotherhood member Sandal Singh taking over as President of Bengalla, giving the Phantom and Diana marriage problems, and exploring the Phantom-canon more.

Egmont are also well known for their numerous historical Phantom adventures, detailing the lives and deaths of former Phantoms and having them appear in real historic events.

Another country where the Phantom is popular is Australia, where Frew Publications has published a fortnightly comic book, The Phantom, since 1948, celebrating 60 years of uninterrupted publication in September 2008. Frew's book mostly contains reprints, from the newspaper strips and from Fantomen (in English translation) and other The Phantom comic books, but has on a few occasions also included original stories, drawn by Australian artists. The editor-in-chief is Jim Shepherd. Frew's The Phantom is the longest running comic book series with the character in the world, and is Australia's best selling comic. The Frew comics are also imported and sold in New Zealand. The comics appear in numerous Perth Royal Show showbags.

The Phantom also has a long publishing history in India. The Phantom first appeared in India in the 1940s via a magazine called The Illustrated Weekly of India, which carried Phantom on Sundays. Indrajal Comics took up publication of Phantom comics in English, Hindi and other Indian languages in 1964. They ceased publication in 1990. This same year, Diamond Comics started publishing Phantom comics in digest form, again in many languages including English. This continued until 2000, when Diamond Comics stopped publishing Phantom comics; Egmont Imagination India (formerly Indian Express Egmont Publications) took up publication the same year. They published monthly comics (in English only) until 2002. Since then they have only brought out reprints of their earlier stories with new covers and formats. Rani Comics published Phantom from 1990 till 2005. However, Rani comics were available only in the Tamil language. It may be noted that, for the most part, Indrajal Comics, Diamond Comics, and Rani Comics all published reprints of Lee Falk's daily or Sunday strips. Egmont Imagination India printed the Scandinavian work. Euro Books India has launched 15 titles of the Phantom comics in large format along with compilations in 2007. In West Bengal the Phantom is published daily in a newspaper called Anandabazar Patrika in the Bengali language, and monthly in the magazine Anandamela. the Phantom is known in various names as Aranyadev(Bengali), Betal.

Italian publisher Fratelli Spada in Italy also produced a large number of original Phantom stories for their L'Uomo Mascherato (The Masked Man) series of comic books in the 1960s and 1970s. Among the artists that worked for Fratelli Spada were Raul Buzzelli, Mario Caria, Umberto Sammarini (Usam), Germano Ferri, Senio Pratesi, Angelo R. Todaro, Mario Caria and Felmang. Ferri, Usam, Felmang and Caria have all later worked for the Swedish Fantomen magazine.

Brazilian publisher RGE and German publisher Bastei also produced original Phantom stories for their comic books. In Brazil the Phantom is known as o Fantasma.

Different Phantom comics are published and have been published in England, Israel, Spain, Poland, Russia, Denmark, Hungary, Germany, Turkey, New Zealand, South America, France, Thailand, Singapore, Netherlands, Greece, Yugoslavia, Fiji and Venezuela. In Turkey, where the comic has been very popular for decades, the Phantom is mainly known as the "The Red Mask" (Kizil Maske), and published under that title.

The first novel about the Phantom was published in 1944 by Whitman Publishing Company, and was called "The Son of the Phantom". Written by Dale Robertson, the book was based on Lee Falk's comic strip story "Childhood of the Phantom", although Falk had no involvement with the novel. It featured a cover drawn by Wilson McCoy.

Avon Publications in the United States put out 15 books based on Lee Falk's stories. The series ran from 1972 to 1975, and were written by Falk himself or other writers. The covers were done by George Wilson. Many of the books were translated into foreign languages.

1. The Story of the Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks 1972, Lee Falk
2. The Slave Market of Mucar 1972, Basil Copper
3. The Scorpia Menace 1972, Basil Copper
4. The Veiled Lady 1973, Frank S. Shawn
5. The Golden Circle 1973, Frank S. Shawn
6. The Mysterious Ambassador 1973, Lee Falk
7. The Mystery of the Sea Horse 1973, Frank S. Shawn
8. The Hydra Monster 1973, Frank S. Shawn
9. Killer's Town 1973, Lee Falk
10. The Goggle-Eyed Pirates 1974, Frank S. Shawn
11. The Swamp Rats 1974, Frank S. Shawn
12. The Vampires & the Witch 1974, Lee Falk
13. The Island of Dogs 1975, Warren Shanahan
14. The Assassins 1975, Carson Bingham
15. The Curse of the Two-Headed Bull 1975, Lee Falk

In 2006, the books The Story of the Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks and The Veiled Lady were released as audio books in Norway and Sweden, as part of the celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the character.

To coincide with the 1996 Phantom movie, Avon published The Phantom, based on the Paramount Pictures film. It was written by Rob MacGregor.

In 2007, Moonstone Books released The Phantom Chronicles, a collection of short stories written by authors Mike Bullock, Ron Fortier, Jim Alexander, David Michelinie, Craig Shaw Gardner, CJ Henderson, Clay and Susan Griffith, Jim Alexander, Will Murray, Mike Oliveri, Nancy Kilpatrick, Ed Rhoades, David Bishop, Grant Suave, Trina Robbins, Richard Dean Starr, Dan Wickline and Martin Powell.

The book was released in both a softcover and limited hardcover edition, and featured an introduction written by Lee Falk's daughter, Valerie Falk.

A new book called The Phantom Chronicles 2 was released in 2010. It features a story where the Phantom teams up with Green Hornet, written by Harlan Ellison, and has a foreword written by Diane Falk.

A fifteen-part movie serial starring Tom Tyler in the title role was made in 1943, with Jeanne Bates as Diana Palmer, Frank Shannon as her uncle Professor Davidson, and Ace the Wonder Dog as Devil. The story was about the Phantom's first mission after taking over the mantle of the Ghost Who Walks from his murdered father: to find the Lost City of Zoloz and prevent the evil Dr. Bremmer, played by Kenneth MacDonald, from building a secret airbase in the jungle.

The Phantom's real name in the serial was Geodfrey Prescott, as the alias of Kit Walker had not been mentioned in the strip at that point. However, he goes by the alias of Mr. Walker after having become the Phantom.

Two episodes loosely adapted Lee Falk's story "The Fire Princess" for the screen, and fit it into the plot of the Phantom's fight against Dr. Bremmer.

The serial was a success, and a sequel, to be called Return of the Phantom, was filmed in 1955 starring John Hart, but after problems with the rights to the character it was partially re-shot and re-named The Adventures of Captain Africa.

The Phantom (1996)

The Phantom was also adapted into a live-action movie in 1996. Produced and released by Paramount Pictures, the movie was set in the 1930s, and incorporated elements from several of the Phantom's earliest comic-strip adventures. It starred Billy Zane in the title role, Kristy Swanson as Diana Palmer, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Sala, an aviatrix. It was directed by Simon Wincer, after director Joe Dante and producer Michael Douglas dropped out of the project, and was written by Jeffrey Boam, who also wrote Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Cult-icon Bruce Campbell was another choice for the role, but Zane, already a huge fan of the comic strip since being introduced to Australian Frew comics on the set of Dead Calm, ended up getting the part after actively lobbying for it for years. After his casting, he feverishly pumped iron for a year and a half to fill the Phantom's costume, refusing to wear a Batman-like costume with moulded muscles. He also closely studied panels of the comic to capture the character's body language. 

The movie was filmed on location in Australia, Thailand, and in Los Angeles, and featured the Phantom in his attempt to stop madman Xander Drax (Treat Williams) from obtaining a weapon of doom, the legendary "Skulls of Touganda". The story also features the Sengh Brotherhood, a fraternity of pirates who are held to be the killers of the first Phantom's father; the all-female clan of air pirates known as the Sky Band, of whom Sala is leader; and a subplot wherein the 21st Phantom recovers his father's gunbelt and avenges his father's murder, inspired by the Lee Falk/Wilson McCoy story "The Belt". The film also has elements taken from the 1936 story "The Singh Brotherhood", the first Phantom story, and its 1937 continuation "The Sky Band"

At least three unauthorized Phantom movies were made in Turkey. Two were made in 1968 and both were titled Kızıl Maske (the Turkish name for the Phantom, translated as "Red Mask"). The Phantom was played by Ismet Erten  and Irfan Atasoy. The costume worn by Irfan Atasoy bears little resemblance to the one seen in the comic strip, but the uniforms worn by Ismet Erten and in Kızıl Maske'nin Intikamı ( Revenge of the Red Mask) both stayed close to the original outfit.

In 1971, Kızıl Maske'nin Intikamı (The Phantom's Revenge) was released

An unaired color Phantom TV-pilot was made in 1961 starring Roger Creed as the Phantom, with Lon Chaney Jr., Paulette Goddard as the antagonists and Richard Kiel as an assassin called "Big Mike" in supporting roles. It was called "No Escape", and saw the Phantom breaking up a slave camp in the jungle.

The pilot also featured the Phantom's horse Hero and his wolf Devil. Made on a limited budget, the pilot features fight scenes and the Phantom terrorizing villains in the jungle. Writer John Carr originally wrote four episodes, but due to the fact that the pilot was not picked up by a network, the remaining three were never filmed. Actress Marilyn Manning had originally been cast as Diana Palmer, but never appeared in the pilot.

The pilot was shown at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in 2008 and has also been shown at Comic Con in San Diego.

Defenders of the Earth

In Defenders of the Earth, which ran from 1986 to 1987, the twenty seventh Phantom, voiced by actor Peter Mark Richman, teams up with fellow King Features adventurers Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician and Mandrake's bodyguard and assistant Lothar. The cartoon also featured a daughter, Jedda Walker, who briefly took on the Phantom mantle in an episode where she believed her father to have perished.

Other episodes of the series featured classic Phantom villains like the Sky Band, the Phantom's evil older brother Kurt Walker (created specifically for the show) and a flashback to the days of the first Phantom. The episode "Return of the Sky Band" also featured lengthy flashbacks to the Phantom of Lee Falk's comic strip; the 21st Phantom, showing him and his wife, Diana Palmer, and their encounter with the original Sky Band.

In the original presentation pilot for the series, The Phantom had a son, Kit Walker, and Flash Gordon had a daughter, but this was changed for the final series.

In Defenders of the Earth, The Phantom was able to use supernatural means to give himself increased strength and speed, by saying the incantation:

"By Jungle Law
The Ghost Who Walks
Calls forth the strength of ten tigers"

It is only in this cartoon series that the Phantom has such an ability. In the series, the Phantom also used a special helicopter nicknamed "The Skull Copter", and had an updated Skull Ring that would shoot a laser on to the faces of antagonists, marking them for life.

The complete series has been released on DVD in several editions, the latest in 2010. 

Phantom 2040

Premiering in 1994 to critical acclaim ,Phantom 2040 is about the adventures of the 24th Phantom. Young Kit Walker, living happily with his aunt Heloise (daughter of the 21st Phantom) in the city of Metropia (previously known as New York) in the year 2040, knowing nothing about his family's legacy, when one day, The Phantom's friend Guran turns up to reveal the secret of the Phantom legacy. Kit takes up the mantle of the Phantom, and starts a battle against the evil company Maximum Inc., and their plans to destroy Earth's ecosystem while a select few seal themselves in a controlled environment. He also tries to solve the mystery of the death of his father, the 23rd Phantom.

The series lasted two seasons, and spawned a large number of merchandise, a comic book series and a video game. The Phantom/Kit Walker was voiced by actor Scott Valentine, Margot Kidder voiced main antagonist Rebecca Madison, Ron Perlman played tortured cyborg Graft, Debbie Harry played Vain Gloria, and Mark Hamill lent his voice to the character of Dr. Jak.

The first five episodes of the series was edited into a feature length film and released on DVD in 2004, called "Phantom 2040: The Ghost Who Walks". Other episodes of the series were released on VHS in 1997.

Betaal Pachisi

An Indian TV serial named "Betaal Pachisi" (meaning Phantom XXV), starring Shahbaz Khan, Tom Alter and Sonu Walia, and directed by Sunil Agnihotri, was inspired by the Phantom, after the producers failed to obtain the rights to make an actual series about the character. It was first aired in May 1997 on the Doordarshan TV network of India. Each episode was half an hour long and in the Hindi language. 49 episodes were made.

Documentaries

In 1996, the A&E Network created a documentary about the history of the Phantom for television, called The Phantom: Comic strip crusader. Narrated by Peter Graves, it featured interviews with creator Lee Falk, actors Billy Zane and Kristy Swanson, director Simon Wincer, Frew-editor Jim Shepherd, George Olesen, Keith Williams, and president of the US Phantom fan club Friends of the Phantom, Ed Rhoades. The documentary was released on DVD in 2006.

To promote the 1996 Paramount Phantom movie, a HBO special called "Making of The Phantom" was made. It featured behind-the-scenes information on the movie and the comic.

An original documentary presentation called History of the Phantom was shown at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in September 2008.

MythBusters "Superhero Hour"

On MythBusters season 5, episode 17 "Superhero Hour", it was tested whether when you punch someone while wearing a ring it would make an imprint on them (as it does in the case of the Phantom's skull ring). The result was the myth was "busted", in that hitting a person in the face hard enough to leave a ring imprint on the skin requires more than enough force to crush a human skull.

Nevertheless, the Phantom's ring has sharp edges and is covered with a permanent ink from plants in the depths of the Bengal jungle, leaving a scar-like mark that will never come off.

Stage

A musical about the Phantom was produced in Sweden in 1985. It was written by Peter Falck and Urban Wrethagen and starred Urban Wrethagen as the Phantom. A recording of the songs was released on LP and a comic adaption of the story was published in the Swedish Fantomen magazine. The Falck-Wrethagen musical was also performed in Perth, Western Australia in 1989 The Phantom was played by Robert Peron.

Another musical called "Fantomets glade bryllup" ("The Phantom's Happy Wedding") was made in Norway, with actor Knut Husebø as Fantomet and popular Norwegian singer Jahn Teigen composing the music and playing the antagonist. This humorous take on the character included the Phantom clashing with Tarzan. Teigen also had a hit song about the Phantom's relationship with Diana Palmer.

In the 1990s, Toadshow produced a Rock Opera entitled Phantoad of the Opera, about the Phantoad, the Ghost Who Hops, a masked musical genius wanted to appear on Broadway. The show uses elements of many different stories including The Phantom, Phantom of the Opera, Greystoke, and even The Pirates of Penzance. This rock opera continues to be produced by schools.

A parody called "The Phantum" was written and directed by Zac Gillam and performed in 2002 by UDS with Brendon Fisher playing the lead as "The Ghost who Baulks".

Video games

The Phantom has appeared as a playable character in two video games, Phantom 2040 and Defenders of the Earth. Both were based on the animated series with the same titles. However, in Defenders of the Earth, the Phantom was not the only playable character, as players were given the choice to control Mandrake the Magician and Flash Gordon as well.

In Phantom 2040, released on Sega Genesis, Game Gear and Super NES, the Phantom was the only playable character. He had use of a number of his special skills and high-tech gadgets from the Phantom 2040 TV-series. The game had a complex storyline, and featured several different endings, dependent on the choices the player made during the game.

In 2003, a video game made for Game Boy Advance was announced, called "The Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks". It was developed by 7th Sense, and produced by Microids, and was described as a free-roaming jungle adventure. During the development process, Microids went bankrupt, and the game was never released.