— by MARIUSZ ZUBROWSKI —
Leon Harrison Gross’s brainchild, the Phantom, started out as a comic strip for a newspaper. Though not as well known as Spiderman or Batman, the Phantom was a pioneer of the time.
Though it is not a fairly well-known comic series, at the time of its release in 1936, “The Phantom” was revolutionary.
“The Phantom” was not the first costumed vigilante to hit popular culture, but he was a pioneer of the hallmark skintight costume and the mask with no visible pupils that other fictional characters later turned into their own.
In the original film adaption, Billy Zane played the role of Kit Walker — or as he more commonly is known: The Phantom — but Syfy is releasing a new miniseries on his exploits.
In the miniseries, Kit Walker is killed and his son acquires his father’s costume and responsibility. The young Kit Walker Jr. must first train to be able to don the costume to which he responds in embarrassment: “I’m not wearing that.”
This new Kit Walker is played by Ryan Carnes, who upon further research, was in a movie called “Eating Out,” which received poor reviews.
Judging from the trailer this series follows Syfy’s tradition of bad acting, clichés and horrible CGI. The trailer featured everything from the forced romance scene to the crazed company leader that wants to start a “revolution.”
They also changed the iconic costume of the original Phantom to one that looks more like a Robocop suit that has been painted black. Hardcore Syfy channel fans are sure to enjoy this one, and as for the rest of us, this is nothing new and special that is bound to keep our interest for long.
According to PhantomSite.net, the miniseries will air Dec. 22 on the Movie Network in Canada, and on the Syfy Channel in the United States in 2010.
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Blah, blah, blah. No originality at all. Next!!
That costume is abysmal.
yea i remember reading/hearing about this syfy miniseries/movie thing. I am curious to check it out once it does hit the air here in the usa. Darn canadian is getting it first. But ya i agree the modern suit is very gawh awful looking. But i will check it out to judge it more fairly.