Kit Walker: The 21st Phantom
The Ghost Who Walks, The Man Who Cannot Die,
The Guardian of the Eastern Dark.
He’s the 20th Kit Walker born in Bangalla, East Africa, since the family adventure began in 1536.
The Phantom is 40ish, stands 6 feet 4 inches, 230 pounds. He’s bright, clever, emotionally mature, and his moral compass is unerring. He played football as a college freshman in the United States, set world records in track and field, and once knocked out the visiting light- heavyweight champion of the world in an exhibition match (“Hope I didn’t hurt him.”)
His weapons are a brace of M-1911 sidearms, .45 caliber APC.
Unflappable in all situations, he uses deadly force only in the most extraordinary circumstances; in defense of himself and the innocent. He’ll exhaust all other possibilities first.
Women fall for the Phantom everywhere he goes but he’s true to the one and only woman in his life, Diana Palmer Walker.
Kit Walker is a level-headed man who rarely loses his temper; rather, he is calm and calculating whether he is battling a villain or investigating a problem.
He is a master detective and an excellent negotiator who is highly respected for his thoughtful approach to any situation. He always wants what’s best for those around him and puts others first. He listens to others and is wise enough to understand that he may not always know best.When he is helping people from a culture not his own, he puts their interests first and does not presume to know their needs better than they do themselves. He has great respect for the Bangallan people and their varied cultures. He doggedly protects the Bangallan nation’s right to self-determination and democracy and acts to support their leaders, not taking leadership for himself.
Kit is also a loving husband and father who tries his best to be patient with the people he cares about and support them in their endeavors. He is a loyal friend who takes the important relationships in his life seriously. Kit also has an easy sense of humor and a good-natured demeanor which can sometimes catch villains off guard. While he takes his work as The Phantom seriously, he is rarely morose or brooding about it.
Kit also cares deeply about the natural world and the jungle where he grew up. He is known as a protector of wildlife and continues his father’s work on the animal sanctuary Isle of Eden.
Kit has several alter egos, most notably:
Mr. Walker
The everyday alter ego the Phantom adopts when he leaves the jungle and walks the streets of the town as an ordinary man, Old Jungle Saying.
Mr. Walker is most often seen wearing a trench coat or bomber jacket, a fedora, and a pair of sunglasses to obscure his face.
The Unknown Commander
An alter ego the Phantom adopts to command the famed Jungle Patrol, an elite paramilitary law enforcement agency created in 1664 by the 6th Phantom. The Unknown Commander often communicates with the Jungle Patrol from the shadows or by radio on the X Band frequency.
John X
Another persona that The Phantom uses for his interactions with the Jungle Patrol. He poses as John X, a special member of the Jungle Patrol who reports directly to and carries out secret missions for the Unknown Commander, when he needs to interact with the Jungle Patrol in person*
Diana Palmer Walker
Diana Palmer Walker, born in the United States, the Phantom’s childhood sweetheart, now his wife and the mother of their twins, Heloise and Kit. Diana’s a brunette, 5 feet 9 inches tall. She’s smart, family- and community-minded, very much interested in making the world a better place. She is a former nurse who now works for the United Nations as a human rights advocate, both at U.N. headquarters in New York and its local offices in Mawitaan. In her youth, she was a renowned explorer and an Olympic diver. She’s also a competent aviator and a blackbelt in judo and karate.
Diana was raised by her mother, Lily, and her uncle, Dave, after her father died at a young age. She is a warm and affectionate woman who cares as deeply as Kit does about righting wrongs and solving issues of injustice in the world. She is an intelligent woman and moving speaker who is guided by her heart and a bit quicker to show her temper than Kit is.
Kit Walker, Jr.
Kit Walker (Jr), the son of the Phantom and Diana. He’s generally assumed to be the 22nd Phantom-in-waiting. He’s 17, taking a break from his studies in Arunachal Pradesh, India, where he’s pursuing his secondary education at Nyamjang Chu Monastery (every Phantom is educated overseas). Kit’s not a monk, just a foreign student at the monastery, as were two of his ancestors. The monks believe Kit to be the reincarnation of the Kit Walkers who studied at Nyamjang Chu in previous centuries.
Kit is learning the lessons he needs to become the next Phantom, but he is still young. He’s good-hearted and kind, and generally sees the best in people. He’s very loyal to his family and still depends on his parents when he’s having a rough time. His biggest fear is not living up to the family legacy or becoming a person who isn’t worthy of being the Phantom.
Heloise Walker
Heloise Walker, daughter of the Phantom and Diana. She’s been raised equallyin the lore and has had all requisite training. If called upon, she would be fully capable of continuing the legend of the Ghost Who Walks.
At 15, while attending school in New York, Heloise used her lifelong Phantom training to take out one of the Phantom’s most fearsome enemies: Eric Sahara, aka The Nomad. Nowadays, Heloise lives in Mawitaan, the capital of Bangalla, where she shares an apartment with her best friend, Kadia Sahara, The Nomad’s estranged daughter. They attend a public high school and work part-time at a coffee shop called Cafe Gugu.
Heloise is a bit more intense and temperamental than her brother, taking after Diana where Kit takes after their dad. Her experience with The Nomad has left her fiercely protective of those she cares about.
Hero and Devil
Hero and Devil, the Phantom’s constant companions of the animal kingdom.
Hero’s a white stallion, Devil’s a Bangallan mountain wolf.
Both are highly intelligent and highly loyal.
Guran
Guran, chief of the Bandar Tribe, the indigenous people of the Deep Woods, the hidden sanctuary that’s been home to 21 Phantoms since 1536. Guran is the Phantom’s closest friend, a wise and trusted mentor and advisor. He’s impeccably fair-minded, a gentleman, more likely than the Phantom to want Diana to be fully informed on trouble the Phantom’s facing.
Guran’s, highly skilled in both native and western medicine and acts as the lifesaving physician who patches up the Phantom whenever he’s been wounded. He’s the tribe’s foremost botanical expert.
Guran is about ten years older than Kit, but they have always been very close friends. They are still very close to this day. When Kit was sent to the US to study at an American school as a child, Guran accompanied him and was the first of the Bandar to learn to read and write English.
Guran is usually seen wearing the ceremonial garb of the Bandar Chief, which includes a grass skirt and hat and ceremonial jewelry, but he will dress in more modern clothing when he ventures into the city or to other countries.
Guran is highly intelligent and an excellent leader of his people. He makes choices that benefit the most people and is benevolent and fair. He is a sounding board for Kit’s ideas and offers excellent advice.
Dr. Lamanda Luaga
Dr. Lamanda Luaga, President of the Republic of Bangalla, a stalwart defender of democracy. A friend to the Walker family, he knows the Phantom’s true identity and has been to the Deep Woods on many occasions. His tribal background is Llongo. He was an Olympic medalist in boxing.
Luaga is a medical doctor and served the people of the jungle for many years before becoming President.
He was educated at Oxford in England, the colonial power that ruled Bangalla before independence. He’s dignified, well-spoken, and cuts an elegant presidential figure in traditional English morning attire, a tradition he insists upon.
As one might expect from his background, Luaga is very caring and compassionate and always willing to offer help to those who might need it. He strives for what is best for his people and is a calm, thoughtful, and intellectual leader who places the needs of his people first.
Luaga has an adult son named Lon and a daughter-in-law named Lila, who is the daughter of his political opponent, General Bababu. He has a brother, Loka, who is a ne’er-do-well best known for stealing the sacred two-headed deer of the Llongo people. His father, Morra, runs a Bangallan orphanage.