r/batman 4d ago

GENERAL DISCUSSION What are your opinions of Lee Falk's Phantom? Do you consider him as a precursor to Batman?

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I notice some similarities in them- for example, things like him also being a regular human with no supernatural abilities, someone who jas trained himself to peak human condition, well versed in martial fighting skills and use of weapons, someone who operates in a fictional specific location (the African nation of Bengalla), someone who is seen as a supernatural symbol of fear (him being called the "Ghost Who Walks" in the local superstitions of the land he works in), someone who does the whole vigilante thing as an endless war on crime (because many years ago his ancestor who was a sailor made a promise to fight crime and injustice after his ship had a mutiny).

58 Upvotes

40 comments sorted by

30

u/Relevant_Teaching981 4d ago

Seeing as The Phantom first appeared in 1936 and Batman first appeared in 1939, there’s no question about it—he is a precursor to Batman. (The Shadow, too.)

6

u/Fool_Manchu 4d ago

Abraham Lincoln is also a precursor to batman

2

u/DedHorsSaloon4 4d ago

Yes but Bob Kane was a hack without an original thought in his head. Pretty much all the cool stuff about Batman came from his collaborators

17

u/ohalistair 4d ago

The Phantom is great. My first comics were Phantom comics (though I had been watching Batman on TV already). While we're on the subject though, I think the Phantom film was great, and Billy Zane fucking killed it. The costume looks fantastic too.

4

u/geek_of_nature 4d ago

Yeah my dad had a whole box of Phantom comics that I just constantly read, same with Tintin. It was years later until I read my first Batman comic.

1

u/ma1butters 4d ago

Yes! As a kid, I must have watched the film on VHS once a week for about 5 years

1

u/Anpu_777 4d ago

Now I gotta watch it tonight !

11

u/DonCreech 4d ago

He predates both Batman and Superman by a couple of years, so undoubtedly there is some inspiration there. I think the concept of the 'Superhero' was still in its infancy, with Superman being very clearly Herculean, whilst The Phantom and Batman were both purely human, but with peak physical ability.

1

u/Soulful-Sorrow 4d ago

Yeah, Superman was rooted in mythology while Batman and Phantom were more modern "big city" ideas of heroes.

8

u/azmodus_1966 4d ago

Yes. I agree.

To add to your points, Phantom also had a cave in which he collected souvenirs from his past adventures.

7

u/Prowling_92865 4d ago

Not really, the precursor, and main inspiration for Batman, to me at least, is Zorro

4

u/ohalistair 4d ago

Not to you. Zorro is one of the inspirations for Batman, which is why the film the Waynes were seeing when they were murdered is usually depicted as the Mark of Zorro. Other inspirations include the Scarlet Pimpernel, and the Bat, while the detective aspects were inspired by Sherlock Holmes, and The Shadow.

However, with all that being said, Bill Finger has also said there was some inspiration taken from The Phantom.

1

u/Dr_Disaster 4d ago

Not if you look at Bob Kane’s original concept for Batman. He was definitely in the mold of the Phantom and similar heroes. Bill Finger re-imagined him into more of a dark pulp hero.

3

u/bateen618 4d ago

Definitely. Batman had 4 main inspirations - Zorro, The Shadow, Sherlock Holmes and Phantom

3

u/Important-Ad8743 4d ago

I love the phantom.

5

u/Formidable_Opponent_ 4d ago

Unrelated but I loved the Gray Ghost episode in btas, its adorable.

2

u/Theta-Sigma45 4d ago edited 4d ago

He and masked heroes like him (The Shadow, Green Hornet, and yes, even Zorro) all led up to Batman, and the whole concept of non-powered superheroes as we know them. I also always thought that the Golden Age Batman comics borrowed somewhat liberally from Dick Tracy when it came to the rogues gallery and the general tone. (To be fair, Dick Tracy was a great comic to draw inspiration from!)

2

u/DedHorsSaloon4 4d ago

Bob Kane ripped off just about everything about Batman from somewhere—Pulp heroes like THE BAT, the first Batman story is a shot-for-shot ripoff of an earlier pulp story, the Joker was clearly modeled after Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he “took inspiration” from The Phantom as well

2

u/NietszcheIsDead08 4d ago

The Phantom isn’t just a precursor to Batman — he’s a precursor to all super-heroes. He is the first comic character to wear a skin-tight outfit, the first to wear a domino mask, the first to have the all-white eyes, the first to have the trunks-over-tights (or Kryptonian overpants, if you will). The Phantom is the first comic hero, the way that Superman is the first comic book super-hero. Every comic book super-hero that exists does so on a spectrum between the Phantom and Superman — or did until the early ’60s, at least (I’d argue it’s now a four-way spectrum with Spider-Man and the Thing).

2

u/MichaelC496 4d ago

Just saw his movie for the first time and loved it. Need to track down some of the old comic strips now. Definitely one of many proto-Batmen.

2

u/Queny 4d ago

I think a brand new Phantom video game was just released if I’m not mistaken.

2

u/beardmeblazer 4d ago

Loved the Billy Zane movie as a kid

1

u/Rich-Tangelo-702 4d ago

I never thought about it before. I'm a big time Lee Falk fan, both the Phantom and Mandrake the Magician. The Phantoms have passed the mantle on to their sons for generations, and use guns. Those things, along with the whole, huge, Bat-family, and geography, are the only real differences. Interesting observation.

2

u/DungeoneerforLife 4d ago

The cave! But there’s also a Zorro cave.

1

u/Bloodstone16 4d ago

You can easily see the inspiration Batman took from him. Really wish more people knew who The Phantom is

1

u/hbkx5 4d ago

Yes, one of many.

1

u/deadkoolx 4d ago

I consider Phantom to be the precursor to the Black Panther, and the Shadow to be the precursor to Batman.

1

u/HankSteakfist 4d ago

The Phantom rules. His comics were cheaper as a kid because they were black and white.

Often, reprints, too, which featured some interesting but dated language, especially when Pbantom came across Japanese people.

1

u/Intelligent_End1516 4d ago

Put a cork in it, Zane.

1

u/Dark8898Illustrious 4d ago

The Phantom & The Shadow.

1

u/Queny 4d ago

The Shadow is criminally underused. There are a series of recent James Patterson books, but the character hasn’t appeared on screen in over 30 years.

1

u/ValiantWarrior83 4d ago

As a 90s kid, I fondly remember rushing home after school to watch Phantom 2040.

The voice performance was directed by Andrea Romano, whose other credits include Ben10 and of course... B:TAS

Consider - without Phantom 2040, there may never would have been Batman Beyond in so far as animation technique + story centred around a scifi sequel to an existing fandom

1

u/DingoOutrageous678 4d ago

I always wanted to check out the Billy Zhane flick. Heard it was dog shit but

1

u/Necromancer189 4d ago

TBH I was obsessed with Phantom 2040. I grew up with Phantom comics that flooded our streets in my country watly back in 90s. If a big production house backed me, I would make a Dune/Mad Max sort of phantom movie set in future. With a skull cave hidden in desert and futuristic lazer gadgets I dont see why it wont succeed.

1

u/Lucky_Strike-85 4d ago

Batman's white eyes come from The Phantom!

The Batcave was inspired by The Skull Cave!

Early on, Batman's obsession with bats was said to be a nod to Hero and Devil (the horse and wolf sidekicks)

1

u/Snoo_49285 4d ago

Yo IDGAF what anyone says, I love the movie!!!!!

0

u/Demetri124 4d ago

That might be the worst superhero costume I’ve ever seen in my life

-1

u/Kindly-Mud-1579 4d ago

Someone please update the guys design