Rex
| Rex | |
| |
| First appearance: | "Rex King" |
|---|---|
| Created by: | Lee Falk & Sy Barry |
Rex, originally known as Rex King, now more formally as Prince Rex of Baronkhan or Rex, the Prince of Baronkhan is the foster son of the Phantom.
Rex first appeared in "Rex King", the 68th Phantom Sunday story.
Contents
Fictional Character Biography
Rex was born to Lisandra, the daughter and only child of the ruler of Baronkhan. Lisandra died giving birth to Rex and her father then ordered Rex to be taken away for adoption. Rex father died mysteriously the day after Lisandra, there was never made clear whether he fell or was pushed down the cliff. Instead of giving the child away as told his evil cousin Badur said that the old man had order the murder of his grandchild and took him to a private boat where the nurse, Norada, overheard the talking about killing the baby. Norada then tried to rescue the baby by putting him on a small raft. The attempt succeeded, though Norada was discovered and could not got with the raft. Badur had killed the Captain of the boat and then took the crew with Noradah and left the boat, letting it explode. However, Norada was considered a dangerous witness, so she was thrown into the water and thereby lost her memory. She was found by the Mori, who took her to dr Axel where she remained for twelve years before getting back her memory.
Meanwhile, the raft was discovered by the mori, who tried to find out where it had come from. When they did not succeed in finding the boy's origin, they put the baby outside the house of an old missionary couple, Jeremiah and Maria. The missionaries took good care of Rex and also tried to find out to whom he belonged, though hoped to keep him. Unfortunately, they fell victim to a tropical disease, and died within hours of each others. The Phantom was out hunting and noticed that some vultures had gathered near the house, together with a leopard. Gunshots scared away the vultures, and the leopard was killed by the Phantom. The Phantom then discovered the boy and a personal journal and understood the tragedy. He tried also to find out to whom the baby belonged, but every attempt failed. The Phantom then adopted the boy as his own and gave him the name Rex King since something appeared royal about him Rex King.
During the next twelve years, Rex grew up in the jungle and got a close friend in Tom-Tom, the son of the Llongo-chief. During these years there was some attempts to establish his true identity, though everything failed as always.
When Rex was twelve years old he asked the Phantom whom he really was and as a result, the Phantom conducted a research that identified Noradah in the hospital as his nurse. Noradah regained her memory at the sight of Rex and told him that he was born in Baronkhan and that his mother Lisandra had died during his birth. Rex became very sorrowful when he heard that his mother was dead.
The Phantom then went to Baronkhan and discovered the truth of Rex identity. Badur was exposed as a traitor and the old ruler finally got to know that his grandchild was still alive, Badur having told im that he died. Rex was taken to him and he made him the next succesor to the throne of Baronkhan at the same time as he declared that all slavery in Baronkhan was to be ended immediately Tale of Rex.
Unfortunately, the old ruler was very sick and had left less than a year. He died of a heart attack that was triggered by watching Rex falling down a cliff to his apparant death. Rex, however, managed to grip a root and was rescued by colonel Petra. Lying at his deathbed, the old ruler met Rex one last time and saw that he was fine, dying in peace. Rex was the made the new ruler of Baronkhan Ruler of Baronkhan.
The Phantom has ever since watched after his adoptive son, since the throne of a country could be very dangerous to possess. Several times, the Phantom has helped Rex in sorting out attempts against the throne and other difficult affairs.
Finally, Rex met princess Alicia of Shambad, the ruler of his neighbor country Shambad, and they fell in love. Though they had some difficulties in meeting since there were a lot of political problems, negotiations between the two countries, however, finally solved everyting hindering the couple meeting Prince Rex and Princess Alicia.
Notable Appearances
Daily and Sunday stories
Team Fantomen stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Boy Detectives" | Avenell | Bess | |
| "Easy Money" | Tierres | Bess | |
| "The Disappearance of Prince Rex" | Avenell | Bade | |
| "The Spy" | Lindahl | Lindahl | |
| "The Floating Cemetery" | Lindahl | Lindahl | |
| "The Invasion of Baronkhan" | Reimerthi | Felmang | |
| "Fatal Salvation" | Reimerthi | Bade | mentioned only |
| "Dangerous Vacation" | Granberg | Vallvé | |
| "The Man with Six Fingers" | Reimerthi | Saviuk |
