Since the start of February Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel’s Sunday The Phantom has been about filling in a surprisingly underexplored piece of the 90-year-old comic’s lore, that of how exactly the first Kit Walker decided to stick around in Bandar territory and establish a legendary line of heroes. And, more, why the Bandar cared for this. So far there hasn’t been any touch of the current, 21st, Phantom — the story started in its title year of 1536 — but that doesn’t need to constrain the story’s end.

All my plot recaps for Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel’s The Phantom (Sundays) — and DePaul and Mike Manley’s separate weekday continuity, plus Alex Segura, Michael Moreci, and John Amor’s Phantom 2040: A New Shadow — should be at this link, so if it’s past about August 2026 and you don’t see why I’m not up to date, try that link and see if that helps.

The Phantom (Sundays).

22 February – 17 May 2026.

Bandar people, seeing the lone survivor of the Singh pirate attack on the Matilda washing ashore, see not just a needy sailor. They see someone who might be the hero from the sea that the ancients foretold. And how did they do that foretelling? We haven’t seen in the story yet, but since we know from other stories that precognitive dreams are a thing in The Phantom’s universe we can make inferences.

Kit Walker doesn’t know any of this, or more than a handful of Bandar words at first; he even mistakes “Bandaryomo” as the name of the authority-figure-y woman who takes interest in his case, rather than her title, if you can imagine. He also doesn’t figure why he has to stick around there. Sure, the attempt to set signal fires for English, or Portuguese, or any friendly ships fails. But if need be he could walk home, a feat that would be astounding but not actually impossible.

If he could get going, though, since he’s haunted by the battle that sank his father’s ship and killed everyone aboard but him. Reliving the battle he realizes that his father knew its hopelessness even as he looked forward to the action. He retrieves a sword from the shipwreck, thinking of how it’ll help his journey. But the Bandar have told him how, as they see it, his destiny is to be their man of legend. He can’t see it, himself.

Still, he hadn’t heard the whole story. But a man from the sea who for all time is obliged to fight against evil, be a ghost who walks, a man who cannot die, that’s got a certain appeal. He’s trying to shake it off as a pagan legend to be hung on him. To convince him, the Bandar bring him into the Deep Woods, to the waterfall that guards Skull Cave. It makes an impression, must say. And that’s all I can say for now about this. But …

Next Week!

How about the much gentler story of a Hollywood star who’s discovered by a diner needing a waitress? This and other soft tales of fortune in Terry Beatty’s Rex Morgan, M.D. should be explained in seven days, barring storms.