The 1st Phantom
| The 1st Phantom |
| Active years (Team Fantomen): |
|---|
| 1536-1566 |
| Active years (Lee Falk): |
| Mid 1500's |
| Active years (Moonstone): |
| Mid 1500's, active in 1556 |
| Active years (Bastei): |
| 1535-1571 |
| Active years (Other producers): |
| N/A |
The 1st Phantom was the first one to swear the Oath of the Skull. He swore it with his hands on the Skull of his father's killer.
Fictional Character Biography
According to Team Fantomen
Christopher Walker was born in 1516 as the son of Captain Christopher Walker and Mary Walker of Plymouth, England. However, he himself states he was born in Portsmouth. The Mask of Death He spent much of his childhood with his cousin Simon Walker. The Treasure from Rhodes
In 1527, he and his father visited Rome and found Caesar's laurel. Caesar's Laurel
From 1530 to 1536 he served on board his father's ship. It was on the last journey before his father's retirement that the ship was attacked by Singh Pirates in the Bay of Bangalla. Young Christopher was washed ashore as the only survivor of the pirate attack. He was found and helped by people of the Bandar tribe. On the skull of his father's murder, Christopher swore the Oath of the Skull and became The Avenger. After helping the bandars to break free from slavery of the Wasaka tribe and creating a costume based on the Demon God of Wasaka as well as finding a new home - the Skull Cave in the Deep Woods - he began to plan revenge on the man responsible for the pirate attack. One year after the attack on his father's ship he got revenge and brought the pirate leader Kizim, who used the name El Aswad, to court where he was sentenced to death. The Avenger
In 1538, he had a vision and saw his recently deceased cousin Simon Walker (though he did not know that Simon was dead at that point), who asked him to clear his name. He then travelled to Malta and discovered that Simon had been part of a mission to retrieve lost treasures which had been captured by arab thugs and Simon was accused by the only knight who was let go of having been broken down by the torture and told where the treasure was hidden. Simon's servant Drago, who had been let go by his capturers, told him that it was the knight who had betrayed the location of the treasure. The 1st Phantom managed to clear his cousin's name and was for the first time called The Phantom, by Suliman who believed it was Simon Walker returning from beyond the grave. He was then made a knight of the Order of Saint John at Malta. The Treasure from Rhodes
In 1541, he travelled back to England and through a sequence of events he was given the Skull Ring from Paracelsus. It was said to once have belonged to emperor Nero. The Ring
In 1542, he met Gabrielle de Montmorency in Paris. The Mask of Death They had a brief affair that resulted in a son, René de Montmorency. The Prisoner Who didn't Exist The 1st Phantom never knew he had a son with Gbrielle. He and René met in 1563, but they were both unaware of their relationship. The Missing Pages
He married princess Marabella of Maravilloso in 1545.
He was married by an archbishop, presumably to Marabella. Sir Thomas' Revenge He married Marabella in Europe. Marabella
In 1565 he participated in the defense of Malta against the Turkish sultan Suleiman and was badly wounded but survived. He and his son then returned to Bangalla but the means of traveling were not so advanced in those days so they didn't arrive in the Skull Cave until February 1566. By then he was so weak that he died in the Skull Cave shortly after that his son, who then was 18 years old, had sworn the Oath of the Phantom and become the 2nd Phantom. The Battle on Malta
According to Lee Falk
The year of the death of the father of the first Phantom and of the birth of the Phantom line has been specified as 1525 The Singh Brotherhood, 1535, 1536 and 1550 The First Phantom.
After swearing the Oath of the Skull, he became ruler of the jungle by entering the annual wrestling tourney The Wrestling Tourney and he received the Skull Ring from the jungle kings The Phantom's Ring.
In 1555 he fought the pirate Thomas Kidder Captain Kidder's Treasure It has been stated that he received the Diamond Cup of Alexander the Great Alexander's Cup, something which has also been attributed to either the 3rd or the 4th Phantom The Third Phantom Captain Amazon - Pirate Queen.
Diana believed that the 1st Phantom was the one who destroyed the Scorpia pirates in 1612. The Scorpia.
The first Phantom married either an unnamed granddaughter of Christopher Columbus The Heirs; or Christina, the daughter of the Viking Eric the Rover The Name; or an unnamed Spanish princess Captain Amazon - Pirate Queen.
The first Phantom was eventually killed by bandits The Wig.
According to Moonstone
The name of the 1st Phantom was Sir Christopher Standish [citation needed] or Kit Walker.[citation needed]
In 1531, a merchant ship was attacked by the Singh Brotherhood off the coast of Africa. Only the captain's son the cabin boy survived the attack and was washed ashore. He was found by Bandar warriors who took him to their village, where he was nursed back to health. The Bandar tribe belived that a prophecy had been fulfilled, of a man who comes from the sea to save them from being enslaved by the Wasaka tribe, and they called the cabin boy "Fan-Tum". The cabin boy spent many months with the Bandar. When the Bandar chief Turan's son Suran was kidnapped by the Wasaka, the cabin boy followed a group of Bandar warriors. On their way to the Wasaka village, they found the body of the man who murdered the cabin boy's father. Upon the skull of the murderer, the cabin boy swore an oath to fight piracy, greed, cruelty and injustice. The warriros returned to the Bandar village, now with a plan to free Suran and the rest of the enslaved Bandar. The cabin boy disguiseed as the Wasaka's god, Kua the Undying. Led by the cabin boy, the Bandar managed to defeat the Wasaka. The cabin boy was given two rings by the Bandar chief, and a new home in a cave shaped like a skull, and swore that his sons and their sons also would follow the Oath of the Skull. Enitan
He was married to Marabella, a great-granddaughter of Christopher Columbus Legacy, or to Christina who was of Scandinavian origin. Blackguard
According to Bastei
The first Phantom was born in 1515, became Phantom in 1535 and died in 1571. Die Ahnentafel Phantoms
He was found by the Bandar after ten days of wandering and was taken care of by the medicine man Zoran. Zoran gives him the name "Phantom".
During the hunt of a man-eating leopard, he enters the Skull Cave and nearly dies due to poisonous gasses. He discovers that plants create the gas and subsequently burns all the plants in the cave.
He then decides to make the Skull Cave his home. The Bandars agree to join him and build a throne as a gift for their protector. The Secret of the Skull Cave
According to Phantom 2040
The 1st Phantom survived the pirate attack due to the fact that his father pushed him overboard. He was then found by the Bandars and swore an oath to fight evil, he did not, however, start using the traditional Phantom suit, which actually seemd to have been developed during the centuries.
According to SyFy's 2010 TV pilot
He was born 1516 in Portsmouth. In 1536, his ship upon which his father was the captain, was attacked by Singh pirates. He was the only survivor, however, he found the body of his father, which he burned. He then met a native tribe and swore an Oath to "devote his life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty, and injustice in all their forms and my sons and their sons shall follow me."
Notable Appearances
This list does not include appearances of the first Phantom in the short retelling of the origin of the Phantom - a passage which has introduced several stories through the years.
Daily/Sunday stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Set in | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Walker's Table" | Falk | Barry | 1490s to early 16th c. | |
| "The First Phantom" | Falk | Barry | 1550 | |
| "The Singh Brotherhood" | Falk | Moore | ?? | |
| "The Phantom's Ring" | Falk | McCoy | ?? | |
| "The Wrestling Tourney" | Falk | McCoy | ?? | |
| "Alexander's Cup" | Falk | McCoy | ?? | |
| "Captain Kidder's Treasure" | Falk | McCoy | 1555 | |
| "The Scorpia" | Falk | McCoy | ?? |
Team Fantomen stories
Gold Key/King/Charlton stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Set in | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Diamond Cup" | Falk, Harris | Lignante |
Moonstone stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Set in | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Curse of the Phantom Part 2" | Raab | Derington | mentioned | |
| "Enitan" | Bullock | Szilagyi, Mulko | 1531 | |
| "Legacy" | Raab | Quinn | 15?? | |
| "Blackguard" | Raab | Quinn | 1556 |
Bastei stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Set in | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Secret of the Skull Cave" | Mennigen | unknown | 1535 | |
| "The Wolfman" | Mennigen | unknown | 1545 |
Marvel stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Set in | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Called to Account" | DeVries | Lumsden | 15?? |
DC stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Set in | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Ghost Who Walks" | David | Orlando, Janke | 15?? |
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|---|---|---|---|
| The 21st and current Phantom The Past Phantoms | |||