Superhero Media: The Phantom (1996)

Hey, would you like a comic-accurate film adaptation, set in the Golden Age that remains faithful to the source material and tells a compelling story? Well, probably not, I'm assuming, as The Phantom, as a character, only really remains popular in Australia and some of the South Pacific, outside of a few die-hard fans elsewhere. For those fans, the 1996 film, The Phantom, is considered such a milestone classic that some fans still tout the possibility of Billy Zane returning to the role, more than two decades later. The Phantom is part of that odd wave of superhero films that were made in the wake of Batman's (1989) success, that drew on Golden Age heroes, as the rights to more popular and contemporary characters were too hard to get. Most of these films have been forgotten by all but the most tragic of nerds, but along with The Phantom, there was Darkman, The Rocketeer and The Shadow, all of which are worth checking out if you can find them. 

The film opens with a recounting of the history of The Phantom and how the line has descended to Kit Walker, then the ride starts and doesn't let up for ninety minutes. The Phantom is not high art, or attempting to be anything more than a fun, pulpy romp, and there's a fun honestly to that which really makes the film watchable. The antagonist, Xander Drax, is an industrialist searching for three mystical skulls which, when united, grant the power to  rule the world, The Phantom is on the trail of Drax and his Sky-Pirates, crossing the world in classic pulp style. Style is probably the key word for The Phantom, as a lot of thought has gone into the design, sets and locations used for the film, really evoking an inter-war serial feel and making the film a pleasure to watch, even through the goofy sequences. In fact, The Phantom, in terms of look, feel and design, plays like a trial run for the Marvel Cinematic Universe; taking the core elements of the characters and just making a good film around them. 

I'm not a big reader of The Phantom comics, but the film really does translate what I recognise, from The Phantom and Devil, through to the Singh Brotherhood and trick-shooting. Some minor changes, like Bangalla seeming to be in South East Asia, rather than Africa are pretty easy to overlook, as the pace doesn't let up long enough for the cracks to show. It's kind of shocking just how compelling a not-terribly-popular character like the Phantom can be when the adaptation is done well and with a decent sensitivity to what made the original media popular. The Phantom isn't a gritty reboot, it doesn't attempt to shave away the goofy parts of the character and it has the balls to be a Golden Age treatment. If my The Pitch articles on the Defenders of the Earth weren't indication enough, I think The Phantom would be a great opportunity for any studio looking to make a superhero film outside of the Marvel/DC paradigm. Because the character is a legacy, any film or television could be set at any time, or the actor replaced without needing a full reboot; just steer clear of making bad choices with the character and pandering to trends.