The Jungle Olympics
| The Jungle Olympics | |
| |
| First appearance: | "The Phantom Trophy" |
|---|---|
| Created by: | Lee Falk and Ray Moore |
The Jungle Olympics is a sporting event held every four years where the tribes of Bangalla compete against each other. It is inspired by the Ancient Olympic Games, but with sporting events adapted for jungle conditions.
History
According to the newspaper strip
The Jungle Olympics were started by the Phantom but the question of when they were started is unclear in the Lee Falk stories and differs from story to story. It has been stated to be started four centuries ago by the 1st Phantom The Phantom Trophy, The 17th Phantom or the 18th Phantom (by Great or Great-great Grandfather of the current Phantom) The Jungle Olympics (daily story), 300 years ago Jungle Olympics (daily story), simply years ago The Stolen Trophy or by the 20th Phantom. The Crater
Periodicity of the games is fixed at four years though it has also been said to be annually The Phantom Trophy,for three years The Stolen Trophy or every few years. The Jungle Olympics (Sunday story)
Women participation in the Jungle Olympics started in 1993. The Jungle Olympics (Sunday story)
The most successful tribe of the Jungle Olympics is awarded a ten gallon gold trophy, known as The Phantom Trophy. All participating tribes pay an entrance fee of a coconut filled with precious jewels that are poured into the trophy. The winning tribe is then responsible for guarding the trophy until the next Olympics, but can keep the jewels. It has also been stated that the jewels are contributed by the winning side and belong to the whole jungle. The Phantom Trophy
According to Team Fantomen
The Olympics were started by The 5th Phantom. The Strength of Ten Tigers
Events
This list is incomplete - you can help PhantomWiki by expanding it.
The events of The Jungle Olympics are often based on the events from the Ancient Olympics, but changed to become more dangerous or relevant for the jungle tribes.
Champions
Llongo were reigning champions when the Olympics were won by Wambesi. However, the trophy had been stolen from the Llongo village by thieves, and replaced with a worthless replica. Wambesi accused Llongo of stealing the trophy, and war almost broke out between the tribes, but the Phantom found the thieves and returned the trophy to its rightful owners. The Phantom Trophy
Wambesi were reigning champions when the trophy was presumed stolen by Oogaan. Rex spotted the real thieves, of which one was Oban of the Oogaan tribe. The winning tribe Llongo prepared to attack Oogaan but the Phantom returned the trophy from the real thieves in time to stop the Llongo warriors. Jungle Olympics
Lugo of Llongo is a champion of the pole vault over fire. Jungle Olympics
Obiju and his Oongaan tribe are notable champions of the Jungle Olympics. The Stolen Trophy Obiju was a competitor for Bangalla at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Takal's Mask
The steeplechase was won by Lookanda of Llongo and the pole vault was won by Wamuttan of Wambesi when Wambesi won the games. Jungle Olympics
Lloni of Llongo won the leap over the wall of fire and Llongo won the games, before Lloni became addicted to drugs and commited crimes. Gooroo's Jungle Muggers
Oonyatto of Oongan was a Jungle Olympics champion. The Snake Goddess
Wambesi were reigning champions the year that women were first allowed to compete in the Jungle Olympics. Wambo of Wambesi was a reigning champion who won several events this year. The mixed couples race ended in a tie with all couples crossing the finish line together. The Jungle Olympics
Waran of Wambesi won the stick fight, the high jump and and the pole vault. The Crater
Behind the Scenes
- The first story to show the Jungle Olympics was originally published in US newspapers while the 1948 Summer Olympics were taking place in London.
- "The Jungle Olympics" story was originally published in US newspapers while the 1960 Summer Olympics were taking place in Rome.
- In the Fratelli Spada story "Wild Olympics", the plot takes place just after the real 1956 Olympics, with Diana and Mr. Walker (The Phantom) sailing back from the Melbourne Games. On board, they are surrounded by several medal winners. The Phantom invites them to attend the Jungle Olympics where they can compete with Bangalla natives. The story was published in 1967, but the creators choose to place the action after the Melbourne Olympics rather than during the following ones, in Rome in 1960 or Tokyo 1964. Even if the story refers to real Olympic events, the names of the portrayed athletes remain purely fictional.
- "Takal's Mask" was originally published in Sweden one week after the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona had ended.
- In "The Jungle Olympics", the games are explicitly referred to as the 1993 Jungle Olympics in the strip of September 26, 1993.
Appearances
This list of appearances is considered to be complete, with reservations for the possibility of mistakes.
Daily/Sunday stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Phantom Trophy" | Falk | Moore | |
| "The Jungle Olympics" | Falk | McCoy | |
| "The Mystery of the Island of Dogs" | Falk | Barry | mentioned |
| "Jungle Olympics" | Falk | Barry | |
| "The Stolen Trophy" | Falk | Barry | |
| "Jungle Olympics" | Falk | Barry | |
| "Gooroo's Jungle Muggers" | Falk | Barry | mentioned |
| "The Jungle Olympics" | Falk | Barry | |
| "The Crater" | Falk | Olesen, Williams |
Team Fantomen stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Takal's Mask" | Worker | Cruz | mentioned |
| "The Jungle Sayings: The Strength of Ten Tigers" | Worker | Vallvé |
Fratelli Spada stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Nancy and the Olympics" | ? | Ferri | |
| "Wild Olympics" | ? | Pratesi |