History WesternAnimation / Phantom2040

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Vaingloria, a pop idol voiced by [[Music/{{Blondie}} Deborah Harry]], is the show's futuristic {{Expy}} of Music/{{Madonna}} who brainwashes her fans using multiplied light at frequencies matching waking brain activity.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

''Phantom 2040'' is an AnimatedAdaptation of the comic book superhero ComicStrip/ThePhantom, breaking from the hero's usual routine battling evil in the jungle into a {{Cyberpunk}} future.

* LeanAndMean: Sean One, who is inhumanly tall due to having lived his entire life in an orbital platform.[[note]]Actual TruthInTelevision for astronauts and space travelers due to [[https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/astronauts-get-taller-in-space/ the phenomenon of spinal elongation under the influence of micro-gravity exposure for long periods of time]][[/note]] He requires an exoskeleton to walk on Earth.

* DistinguishingMark: The Phantom's Good Mark, that marks its bearer as under the hero's protection. The Phantom inscribes a pendant that Kit won Sagan Cruz earlier that episode in the episode of that name. Because she still regards the Phantom as a dangerous vigilante at that point in the show, she's less than flattered by the display.

* CoolOldGuy: This version of Guran is significantly older than Kit, and frequently gets in on the action personally.

* FiveEpisodePilot: Though the show technically had a two part opener, the first five episodes all act to introduce the main characters and establish the status quo that would remain for the remainder of the series. The first five episodes were also later reworked into a movie.

* ImposterForgotOneDetail: An episode focuses on what appears to be messages from a future Phantom telling the current Phantom that he must break his rule and kill Rebecca or she will cause an event that will cause the complete destruction of the world. Despite believing the possibility that it is a true message, they notice that the "future" Phantom addresses the current Phantom as if it was himself as if he was an immortal like the legend says rather than how it is actually the descendants. They later find out it was created by Sean One when he stated that the Phantom was going to kill Rebecca where everyone else knew he doesn't kill.

The visual aesthetic of the series is similar to that of ''WesternAnimation/AeonFlux'', as it has the same designer, Peter Chung. The series also, in retrospect, has some interesting similarities to the later ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', though this is probably just convergent evolution from a similar premise, that being a LegacyHero character in a cyberpunk future.

The visual aesthetic of the series is similar to that of ''WesternAnimation/AeonFlux'', as it has the same designer, Peter Chung. The series also, in retrospect, has some interesting similarities to the later ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', though this is probably just convergent evolution from a similar premise.

* SecretKeeper: Professor Archer becomes one after he figures out why Kit suddenly isn't focussing on his academic performance as much as he used to.

* DistinguishingMark: The Phantom's Good Mark, that marks its bearer as under the hero's protection. The Phantom inscribes a pendant that Kit won Sagan Cruz earlier that episode in the episode of that name. Because she still regards the Phantom as a dangerous vigilante, she's less than flattered by the display.

* MeaningfulName: Two meanings of the word "graft" are "A portion of living tissue surgically transplanted from one part of an individual to another, or from one individual to another, for its adhesion and growth" and "The acquisition of money, gain, or advantage by dishonest, unfair, or illegal means, esp. through the abuse of one's position or influence in politics, business, etc." It's the perfect name for the character Graft, a HollywoodCyborg who is the enforcer for a CorruptCorporateExecutive.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Rebecca Madison, who appears to the world at large to be the benevolent of a large corporation, plagued by a villainous purple-clad vigilante.

The Phantom's fight against crime and corruption often involves crossing swords with {{Megacorp}}oration Maximum, Inc. Maximum's founder, Maxwell Madison, disappeared on the same night as Kit's father, and this, it quickly becomes clear, is not mere coincidence. The corporation is now run by his widow, Rebecca, with (not much) help from Max Madison Jr. Following the death of his father, Max Jr. has developed into a psychologically withdrawn young man with no interest in anything much except his cat, Baudelaire. (Having the temperamental Rebecca for a mother probably didn't help.) Rebecca Madison's [[TheDragon Dragon]] is Maximum's security chief, Graft, a cynical former soldier and environmentalist who was critically injured in a battle and now is kept alive by Maximum technology; what's left of his body can be plugged into a variety of robotic frames ranging from approximately human to full on battle mech.

* TheDragon: Graft, the security chief of Maximum, Inc., has a weapon-packed cyborg body, and handles all fight scenes on behalf of the CorruptCorporateExecutive BigBad.

''Phantom 2040'' is an AnimatedAdaptation of the comic book superhero ComicStrip/ThePhantom.

** BIOT, what robots are called in this setting, stands for Biological Optical Transputer System.

Is being released a few episodes a week on [[https://www.youtube.com/c/ComicsKingdomOfficial the youtube channel]] for [[https://comicskingdom.com/ Comics Kingdom]], a comic strip site that also releases strips of the original Phantom.

** A particularly creepy example can be found in Maxwell Jr. Yes, he's a disturbed young man whose only real friend is his cat...but his psychosis comes as a result of his ParentalAbandonment issues (his father being dead and his mother not being all there in the head herself), and he is in fact quite capable of being a VERY ManipulativeBastard when the episode calls for it.

* ConsultingMisterPuppet: Max Madison Jr. never expresses an opinion without prefixing: "Baudelaire says"... Baudelaire is his cat.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: The Phantom is chased by the authorities because he's believed to be guilty of the Sector Zero crash and the murder of Maxwell Madison, Sr.. Not even Guram or Heloise know for certain if Kit's father, the 23rd Phantom, actually murdered Madison.

Is being released a few episodes a week on [[https://sta.sh/01wd4ef9f0m9 the youtube channel]] for [[https://comicskingdom.com/ Comics Kingdom]], a comic strip site that also releases strips of the original Phantom.