The Test (Team Fantomen story)

The Test
Produced for:	Krönika över en vandrande vålnad (1990)
# of pgs:	25
Writer:	Norman Worker
Artist:	Kari Leppänen
Original colorist:	N/A
Producer:	Semic Press

The Test is a 1990 Team Fantomen story, written by Norman Worker, with art by Kari Leppänen.

Plot summary

The Phantom and Diana are in the Tree House, when Diana discovers an old greeting card that her husband sent her for her fourteenth birthday. Diana then recounts that for some reason, he missed that birthday. The Phantom tells her that it was because he was busy then and explains what happened.

He and Diana's birthdays nearly coincide and when he was about to become seventeen and was known as Kip, Guran fetched him in America and took him to Bangalla. After a birthday party in the Skull Cave, he is informed that he is about to go through a test to prove that he is worthy of becoming the Phantom. He will begin the next morning and will have to be back at sunset the same day.

The next day he leaves the Skull Cave and manages with most of his tasks, but when he enters a swamp to fetch a rare orchid, he saves a woman in distress who turn out to be the betrothed bride of Wambatta, the future chief of Wambesi. She has been kidnapped by thugs in order to force Wambatta to give them the necklace of Solomon. Kip decided to help her while also finishing his test, well aware that helping her would make it impossible for him to finish the test before sunset. Kip brings the woman to safety and then confronts the thugs, taking everyone out as Wambatta is about to hand over the Necklace of Solomon. The 20th Phantom is contacted by Wambesi and informed of the mysterious helper, and realizes that it is Kip who has helped them. He goes to the last place where his son would go to before returning home. There, he finds his son fast asleep, having done all the tasks, but failed to returned to the Skull Cave in time.

The 20th Phantom wakes Kip up and the son confesses that he did not make it in time because he was held up by "a few things" that delayed him. Having heard the story from the Wambesi, the 20th Phantom realizes that it is something of an understatement and that the boy had confronted reality as it sometimes turns out to the Phantom, therefore he informs his son that he has passed the test.

After listening to the story, Diana asks if their son will do the test as well, but the Phantom answers that both Kit and Heloise will do the test.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• The 21st Phantom
• Guran
• Diana Palmer-Walker
• Kit and Heloise
• Wambatta of Wambesi
• The 20th Phantom
• Maude Thorne McPatrick

One-time characters

• Duffy
• Wamong of Wambesi
• Wandy of Wambesi

Locations

• Bangalla
  • Deep Woods
    • The Skull Cave
    • The Tree House

Tribes

• Bandar
• Wambesi

Organizations

Vehicles

Items

Old Jungle Sayings

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Australia

• "The Test", The Phantom #1029 (1992)
• "The Test", The Phantom #1125 (1996)
• "The Test", The Phantom #1708 (2014)

Finland

• "Tulikoe", Legenda vaeltavasta aaveesta (1991)
• "Tulikoe", Mustanaamio 17/1993

India

• "The Test", The Phantom Action Adventure Series: The Test / Barbary Pirates (2001)
• "The Test", The Phantom #11 (2001)
• "The Test", The Phantom #10 (2003)
• "The Test", The Adventures of the Ghost who Walks #7 (2003)
• "The Test", The Adventures of the Ghost who Walks: The Test / Barbary Pirates (2007)
• "The Test", The Adventures of the Ghost who Walks: Guardian of Truth (2007)

Norway

• "Prøven", Fantomet 9/1993
• "Prøven", Fantomets Krønike 6/2000

Sweden

• "Provet", Krönika över en vandrande vålnad (1990)
• "Provet", Fantomen 5/1993
• "Provet", Fantomen Krönika 5/2001

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Best Story Winners
Finland
1985: "The Prisoner at Capitolium" | 1986: "The Moor of Death"
Norway
1979: "The Heirs" | 1983: "Tale of Rex" | 1984: "Hero" | 1985: "Pirates of the Yellow Snake" | 1986: "The Beanstalk" & "Race Against Death" (tie) | 1987: "Devil's Adventure" | 1988: "Eden" | 1989: "The Last Unicorn" | 1990: "The Last Emperor" | 1991: "Death of a Patrolman, Part 2: Tracking the Killers" | 1992: "The Wolf is Coming" | 1993: "Aron" | 1994: "The Commander is Dead" | 1995: "The Demon's Image" | 1996: "Johnny Hotwire" | 1997: "The Ghost Who Died Twice" | 1998: "The Last Phantom, Part 1: The Eighth Circle" | 1999: "Devil's Story" | 2000: "The Phantom vs Singh 2050" | 2001: "The Invisible Phantom" | 2002: "In A Strange Land, Part 2" | 2003: "My Darling Pirate" | 2004: "Son of the Pirate Queen" | 2005: "The King of Norway" | 2006: "The Singh Brotherhood" | 2007: "Dogai - The Road to Power" & "The Commander is Dead" (best reprint) | 2008: "The Devil of Ravenscar" & "Kingdom of the Amazons" (best reprint) | 2009: "Duel at Deadman's Gulch" | 2010: "The Cabin Boy and the Princess" | 2011: "The Gulf of Aden Pirates" | 2012: "The Pirates' Prisoner" | 2013: "The Slave Ship Zong" | 2014: "Death of a Pirate Queen" | 2015: "A Plague in Venice" | 2016: "John X" & "Patrolman X" | 2017: "The Karabasan League"
Sweden
1978: "The Avenger from the Sea" & "Phantom Wedding" (tie) | 1979: "Devil's Story" | 1980: "The Treasure from Rhodes" | 1981: "The Legend of the Swords, Part 1: Excalibur" | 1982: "The Stone Carving People" | 1983: "The Water of Life" | 1984: "The First Phantom" | 1985: "The Beanstalk" | 1986: "The Battle on Malta" & "Devil's Story" (best reprint) | 1987: "The King is Dead" | 1988: "Eden" | 1989: "The Last Unicorn" | 1990: "The Cathedral Mystery" | 1991: "Devil's Story" | 1992: "Hoogan's Revenge" | 1993: "The Test" | 1994: "The Commander is Dead" | 1995: "The Set Up, Part 1" & Part 2 | 1996: "The Last Viking" | 1997: "The Ghost Who Died Twice" | 1998: "Return of the Zombies" | 1999: "Devil's Story" | 2000: "The Phantom vs Singh 2050" | 2001: "The Prodigal Son" | 2002: "The Long Bow of Little John" | 2003: "My Darling Pirate" | 2004: "Son of the Pirate Queen" | 2005: "The Battle on Malta" | 2006: "The Singh Brotherhood" | 2007: "The Phantom Crusader, Part 1" & "The Commander is Dead" (best reprint) | 2008: "The Castaways" & "Kingdom of the Amazons" (best reprint)" | 2009: "The  Phantom Gladiator, Part 1" | 2010: "The Cabin Boy and the Princess" & "The Dragon Throne" | 2011: "The Sons of Captain Walker" | 2012: "The Pirates' Prisoner" | 2013: "Year 1349" | 2014: "Death of a Pirate Queen" | 2015: "A Plague in Venice" | 2016: "Nat Turner's Spirit, Part 6: The King of Louisiana" | 2017: "Farewell to the Deep Woods" | 2018: "The Ghost at Gallows' Inn" | 2019: "The Devil in Stockholm" | 2020: "A Reckoning with the Nomad"