Phantom 2040 is an animated series that is loosely based on the comic strip superhero The Phantom, created by Lee Falk.^[3] The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom. It was aired from September 18, 1994 to March 3, 1996 in syndication.^[4]

Story – Phantom 2040

“The year is 2040. The place is Metropia. Here, a new hero prepares for action. The man who cannot die. The ghost who walks. The Phantom 2040. The Phantom’s pledge: To fight evil and injustice wherever they may be found. In this future world, in this dying city with the fate of the earth and all humanity in the balance. The Phantom is there!”

Phantom 2040

– opening narration.

It is the year 2040, all environmental disasters and the economic Resource Wars from the early 21st century have decimated the fragile ecosystem balance of an Earth once teeming with life. Everywhere, the privileged and wealthy continue to thrive in expensive real estate developments that tower above the suffering masses. The victims of Earth’s misfortune have been forced to subsist on scavenged refuse from the past on the mangled streets of forlorn city-states.

In Metropia (once known as New York City), the largest and most powerful of the city-states, the powerful robotics manufacturing corporation Maximum Inc. has slowly shaped a cold, steely urban center, consisting of huge, residential towers intertwined with TubeTrain tunnels.

Maximum’s robotic “biots” (Biological Optical Transputer System) have replaced enormous amounts of human labour, and the corporation is illegally producing prohibited combat biots to form Maximum’s private underground army. Under this guise of efficient progress, Maximum has own plans for the future, all known as the Maximum Era.

Through the construction of the fortress of Cyberville, an immense survival shelter where only the wealthiest and most elite humans will retreat, and the take over of Metropia by Maximum’s biot armies, their plans all ultimately involve the dark path of decline and extinction as the culminating result of man’s prior errors and efforts, once Earth finally succumbs to its slowly deteriorating state.

The only hope for the survival of humanity is the Ghost Jungle — thousands of square miles of mutated vegetation that may be the planet’s salvation. This secret source of life is submerged beneath Metropia, unseen by most. College student Kit Walker Jr. is chosen by fate to save the world, donning the black mask and purple suit of his people’s savior, the 24th Phantom.

Cast and characters – Phantom 2040

Phantom 2040′s voice cast included Scott Valentine, Margot Kidder, Ron Perlman, Leah Remini, J.D. Hall, Alan Oppenheimer, Richard Lynch and Jeff Bennett – while Mark Hamill, Debbie Harry, Rob Paulsen and Paul Williams had recurring roles.

• Kit Walker, Jr. – The 24th Phantom, Kit was not trained for the role like his ancestors were. His father died under mysterious circumstances when he was only a baby, and he grew up not knowing about his heritage. When Guran tells him about the Phantom on his eighteenth birthday, he is initially disbelieving but takes on the role with increasing conviction.
• His equipment includes optical camouflage for invisibility, a wristband that contains a powerful computer (“analytical”), and another that contains a smart inductance rope. He has several vehicles, including a nimble airborne Hypercycle, a cloaking multi-passenger cruiser, and an upgraded 1999 Mustang named “Hero”, after the 21st Phantom’s horse. After defeating Maximum Inc, he looks towards a long vacation, until the day the Phantom is needed again. Voiced by Scott Valentine.^[5]

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