The character of Fantômas is a curious example of Adaptation Expansion; originally, he starred in a series of turn-of-the-(20th)-century French novels, as a masked Diabolical Mastermind. These novels were later adapted into movies. Somehow, however, the character also ended up as the star of a Latino-American comic book series during the 1970s.
Fantômas was also the name of a villain in three films starring Jean Marais and Louis de Funès. This version also was a criminal mastermind, but more like a Spy Fiction supervillain and wore a blue rubber mask.
TV Tropes articles:
- Fantômas, the original series of novels, started in 1911.
- Fantômas, the French movie trilogy from the 1960s.
- Fantômas, the Mexican comic book series from the 1970s.
Other adaptations:
- Fantômas, a French-German 1980 TV mini-series of four feature-length episodes, directed by Claude Chabrol.
- Fantomex, an X-Men character, is based on Fantômas and Diabolik (mostly the latter).
- In The Venture Bros., Fantômas is a founding member of the original Guild of Calamitous Intent (along with Col. Venture, Eugen Sandow, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain and Aleister Crowley). He is the grandfather of supervillain Phantom Limb.
