The Viper God
| The Viper God | |
| |
| Start date: | December 29th, 2003 |
|---|---|
| End date: | May 1st, 2004 |
| # of strips: | 108 (18 weeks) |
| Writer: | Tony DePaul |
| Artist: | George Olesen & Keith Williams |
| Original colorist: | KFS staff |
| Preceded by: | "The Connoisseurs" |
| Followed by: | "The Locust God" |
"The Viper God" is the 210th Phantom daily story. The story was written by Tony DePaul and drawn by George Olesen and Keith Williams.
It is a remake of "Death in Central Park", a Team Fantomen story from 1998, also written by DePaul. The reason was that Tony DePaul had been involved in a serious motorcycle accident and reused some of his previous Team Fantomen scripts in order to catch up on deadlines.
Plot Summary
Walker and Diana are canoodling in New York City when they encounter two men, one costumed as an ancient Mesoamerican warrior and making a hissing noise, and the other man calling him Lord Cuchinactacz. Walker scuffles with the latter, who knocks him out and then vanishes into thin air. A day later, at the New York Museum of Mesoamerican Antiquity, board members note the murder of "Fitz" and refer to the warrior as "the Viper God." Professor Thorson talls her colleagues that they'll all die for daring to exhibit the Zapotec artifacts. Walker and Diana ask to see the relevant Zapotec artifacts. Among them is a realistic, lifesize figure of Cuchinactacz. When they open the sarcophagus, it is empty. As Thorson walks home, she encounters Cuchinactacz, who kills her.
The next morning, the Phantom is in the museum offices. Professor Steelberg tells him about his discovery of Cuchinactacz, 30 years earlier, in which a partner, Drake died. The Phantom follows when another museum man, Tomz, walks home later. He too encounters Cuchinactacz. When the Phantom attacks, Cuchinactacz fades away again, but reappears behind the Phantom and coldcocks him. When he comes to, Tomz is dead. Only one member of the expedition (other than Steelberg), Professor Meekim, remains alive. The Phantom goes to his home and sees Cuchinactacz in the house. In the garage, it disappears again. In the garage, the Phantom discovers a large number of welding-gas tanks and a trap door.
The next night, Steelberg hears the hissing but it turns out to be the Phantom. The two men, wearing gas masks, then encounter Cuchinactacz. After a big fight, the Phantom unmasks the villain as Meekim. Meekim had buried hundreds of gas tanks in the park, controllable from his costume. The gas somehow made victims see him vanish and reappear. Meekim had been stealing the Zapotec artifacts over the years, replacing them with fakes. He had killed not only the three people in NYC, but Drake in the original dig. Meekim runs away from the police, the Phantom gives chase, then Meekim is stopped by a hissing, vanishing image of the Viper God. Police call his death a heart attack, but the Phantom had seen the image strike him with a weapon.
Appearances
Recurring characters
One-time characters
- Professor Steelberg
- Professor Fitz
- Professor Devers
- Professor Meekim
- Professor Thorson
- Professor Drake
- Professor Tomz
Locations
Tribes
Organizations
Vehicles
Items
Related stories
Remake of
- "Death in Central Park" by Tony DePaul and Joan Boix.
Reprints
This story has been published in the following publications:
Australia
- "The Viper God", The Phantom #1384 (2004)
Denmark
- Nordjyske Stiftstidende June 29, 2006 – October 14, 2006
- Horsens Folkeblad May 14, 2009 – September 19, 2009
Finland
- Åbo Underrättelser ? – March 15 (?), 2012
India
- Anandabazar Patrika September 4, 2004 – January 7, 2005
- "The Viper God", The Viper God (2011)
- "The Viper God", The Secret City (2011; excerpt)
- "The Viper God", Evil's Nemesis (2011)
- "The Viper God", Enemy of Evil (2011; excerpt)
- "The Viper God", Ghost Quest / The Viper God (2014)
- "The Viper God", The Locust God and other stories (2014)
Jamaica
- The Daily Gleaner December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
Mexico
- El Informador January 29, 2005 – June 26, 2005
Norway
- Tønsbergs Blad ?, 2005 – June 18, 2005
- Sandefjords Blad February 14, 2005 – June 28, 2005
- Lofotposten March 18, 2005 – July 29, 2005
- Østlendingen March 21, 2005 – July 29, 2005 (last two strips missing)
- Østlandsposten March 30, 2005 – August 9, 2005
- Varden April 2, 2005 – July 22, 2005
- Finnmark Dagblad April 30, 2005 – September 6, 2005
- Romsdals Budstikke May 4, 2005 – September 9, 2005
- Sunnmørsposten May 12, 2005 – September 16, 2005
- Nordlys July 13, 2005 – November 16, 2005
- Telen July 18, 2005 – November 21, 2005
- Ringerikes Blad ?, 2005 – December 6, 2005
- Haugesunds Avis September 5, 2005 – January 9, 2006
- Aftenposten October 26, 2005 – March 27, 2006
- Oppland Arbeiderblad October 21, 2010 – November 24, 2010 (incomplete)
- Bergensavisen June 10, 2016 – September 23, 2016
El Salvador
- La Prensa Gráfica September 23, 2004 – January 28, 2005
Sweden
- Svenska Dagbladet October 15, 2004 – April 30, 2005 (from January 25, 2005 restarted with the first strip from the strip of January 20, 2004)
Turkey
- "Engerek Tanrısı", Kızılmaske #37 (2017)
USA
- The Baltimore Sun December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
- Bangor Daily News December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
- Boston Herald December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
- The Daily American December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
- The Daily Item December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
- The Daily Journal December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
- Houston Chronicle December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
- Observer-Reporter December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
- The Plattsburgh Press-Republican December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
- Reading Eagle December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004
- Republican Herald / Republican & Herald December 29, 2003 – May 1, 2004