The Phantom vs Singh 2050
The Phantom vs Singh 2050 | |
Produced for: | Fantomen 21/2000 |
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# of pgs: | 38 |
Writer: | Claes Reimerthi |
Artist: | Hans Lindahl |
Original colorist: | Times Graphics Singapore |
Producer: | Egmont Serieförlaget |
"The Phantom vs Singh 2050" is a 2000 Team Fantomen story written by Claes Reimerthi, with art by Hans Lindahl.
Plot summary
It begins at the beginning of the 21st century. Singh pirates attack "The Lynx", a cruiser and tax-free gambling place, lying o international water. The Phantom interfere and the Singh have to flee, the Phantom the discover that the leader, Dogai Singh, is dying in cancer and leaves him at a deserted beach.
2050: a space shuttle arrive to the space station Gaia, of whom two thirds is created for tourists.
When the space shuttle has been emptied, it is loaded for the return trip, also some employees and militaries enter to return home, one of which is lieutenant Mickey Talbot. When the space shuttle has landed i Switzerland, Talbot drives home but is ambushed and shot.
Meanwhile, at the other side of the Atlantic, the 23rd Phantom is entering an airship and beginning a travel back home. When he is having his meal, a man named Luther Kasadiakis begins to argue with the waiter, the Phantom helps the waiter back on feet and is informed that mr Kasadiakis is a arms dealer. Later in his quarter, the Phantom hear a fight in his neighbor quarter and knocks down a man attacking a woman. The woman presents herself as Celia Parks, detective at Glosec, the antiterrorist organization, and following mr Kasadiakis. A major terrorist operation is to be launched soon and Kasadiakis is involved. Unfortunately, the latest events will put his attention at highest alert. The Phantom then suggest that they will let the captain report that two passengers has been killed in what is assumed to be a jealousy fight and that he will continue to watch over Kasadiakis. Miss Parks reluctantly accepts.
The Phantom then follow Kasadiakis to Venice and finds out that he is planning to threaten to let a missile explode at the roof of Venice that keeps the water out of the city since Venice nowadays lies completely under water. The Phatom then loses the track and breaks into the Police office and watches what moves Kasadiakis has made through PMI (Personal Microchip Implantate). He traces him to the train station. To his great surprise, Calia Parks turns up with Kasadiakis and turns out to be in league with him. A fight ensues and is ended with the presumed death of everyone except the Phantom and miss Parks. Miss Parks reveal that everything was made by Singh to keep him busy so that he do not intervene in a much bigger operation and that the missile already is in Venice at the train station. She then deactivates it by giving the command "Shooting Star".
Twenty four hours earlier at the secret headquarters of the Singh pirates: the Leader is introduced and presents plan to take over the space station Gaia, using the microchip of an officer who is not on duty. Then they issue an ultimatum to the countries of the Earth: if they do not pay what is asked for, they will crash Gaia into one of the greatest cities on Earth!
The police takes care of miss Parks and the Phantom begins to wonder what Singh operation it could be that is bigger than erasing Venice when the news suddenly breaks that Gaia has been taken over by terrorists. The orbit of Gaia is such that several of the metropolis of the Earth lies in the danger zone, including Moscow, Berlin, London, and New York. Angered, the Phantom becomes determined to show that he is not out of the game.
A couple of hours later in Switzerland: the Phantom travels in an aircar and are closing Bern, when he pulls out his gun and forces the driver to go to the military Wilhelm Tell-base east of Bern. At the base, the Phantom quickly takes over a space shuttle that is ready to go and forces the pilots to start, the personnel cannot do anything since the space shuttle is worth billions of dollars.
The Phantom instructs the pilots to go to Gaia. When they are getting close to Gaia, the Phantom signals "Shooting Star", confused the pirates at Gaia hesitates too long to be able to shoot him down with a robot.
Once at Gaia, the Phantom takes out all the Singh pirates except for the Leader, he then frees the crew before the Leader knocks him out from behind.
The Leader takes the Phantom to the popular "Mastodont Park" in Morristown in Bangalla, which is a facade for the Singh pirates. There it is revealed that the Leader is Dogai Singh, who has been frozen down through some advanced technology and then awakened when a cure against cancer has been found.
Dogai Singh has a new interesting choice of executioners: saber-toothed tigers. The Phantom is left unarmed with only a few minutes of time before the cats are let loose. To get it a little more fair, he manages to capture the helicopter in which Doagi Singh is watching everything in. The helicopter accidentally flies into a tree. Dogai survives, but realizes that he needs to set himself in safety from the tigers immediately. Meanwhile, the Phantom takes what is left of the helicopter rotor and kills one of the tigers, he then hears a scream and discover that Dogai Singh has been attacked by the other sabre-toothed tiger. The Phantom kills the other tiger but Dogai has got a little hole in his suit and air is leaking in. Due to the medical processes that he has gone through, this is mortal to him and he is turned into a skeleton at a few moments. The Phantom notes how ironic it is that Dogai should die of something that is giving everyone else life.
The organization of the Singh Brotherhood has been stupefied by the death of their leader but the Phantom promises that he one day should exterminate it forever.
Appearances
Recurring characters
One-time characters
- The 23rd Phantom
- Smilin Jack
- Lieutenant Mickey Talbot
- Luther Kasadiakis
- Celia Parks
Locations
- Italy
- Venice
- The spacestation Gaia
- Switzerland
- The Wilhelm Tell-base
- Bangalla
- Morristown
- "Mastodont Park"
- Morristown
Organizations
Behind the scenes
- The orbit of Gaia as presented in the second panel of the 24th page does not correspond to how real objects actually orbit Earth.
Reprints
This story has been published in the following publications:
Australia
- "The Phantom vs Singh 2050", The Phantom #1276 (2000)
Finland
- "Mustanaamio vastaan Singh 2050", Mustanaamio 21/2000
Norway
- "Fantomet mot Singh 2050", Fantomet 21/2000
Sweden
- "Fantomen vs Singh 2050", Fantomen 21/2000
Awards