About this season
Phantom 2040 is a French-American animated science fiction television series loosely based on the comic strip hero The Phantom, created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom. The unusual character designs are the work of Peter Chung, creator of Æon Flux. The show debuted in 1994 to rave reviews, though it survived only 35 episodes before it was relegated to weekend repeats in 1996. Along with action sequences, stories focused on intelligent plotting and character development, winning the series praise for its subtle teaching of such values as individuality, freedom, and the volatility of humanity. It also spawned comic books tie-ins and other merchandise. Featured voice actors included Scott Valentine, Margot Kidder, Ron Perlman, and Jeff Bennett, while Mark Hamill, Debbie Harry, Rob Paulsen, and Paul Williams had recurring roles.
Episodes (20)
1. Generation Unto Generation, Part 1
Aired 18 September 1994 • 23 min
The origin of the 24th Phantom, as he is called into service on his 18th birthday, unaware of his family's history.
2. Generation Unto Generation, Part 2
Aired 25 September 1994
The origin of the 24th Phantom, as he is called into service on his 18th birthday, unaware of his family's history.
3. The Sum of the Parts
Aired 2 October 1994
Maximum's new invention, the fractal (shape-changing) biot is part of a new plot to capture the Phantom. Meanwhile, Professor Archer finds out about Kit's dual identity.
4. Fire and I.C.E.
Aired 9 October 1994
A new member joins the team - a superhacker kid named Sparks, and just in time to ""skate"" the Integrated Cyber Environment and meet the mysterious entity known only as Cairo.
5. Reflections of Glory
Aired 16 October 1994
The story behind the rock star, Vaingloria, is revealed during an adventure involving kidnapped teens.
6. Shadows from the Past
Aired 23 October 1994
An egyptian would-be queen wants revenge on the Phantom, who unified her continent many years ago. But when her venom-tipped darts affect Guran instead of Kit, we find out a little more about the night Kit's father vanished
7. The Good Mark
Aired 30 October 1994
The Phantom learns the meaning of his Good Mark and, in the course of a plot by Maximum to lure the Phantom into a trap, ends up marking Sagan with it.
8. Ghost In the Machine
Aired 6 November 1994
When Rebecca is partially successful in resurrecting her dead husband, more of the history of the Great Train Wreck of 2024 is revealed, as the Phantom squares off with Max Madison, Sr. at Grand Central Station... again.
9. Dark Orbit, Part 1
Aired 13 November 1994
With the aid of Australian crime boss Gorda, raids Maximum cargo ships to obtain chemicals needed for his Damocles Platform, a deadly orbital laser cannon he plans to use to force the Earth into recognizing the independence of the Orbital Colonies.
10. Dark Orbit, Part 2
Aired 20 November 1994
Sean 1 of the orbital platform is close to achieving his dream of acquiring enough power to enforce a declaration of independence. Will Graft and the Phantom team up to stop him from destroying Metropia and part of the world in his quest for a Free Orbital Nation?
11. The Biot In Red
Aired 27 November 1994
The further adventures of Heisenberg the fractal biot, as he explores the concept of ""feelings"", and Dr. Jak has to do without his biot assistant for a while.
12. The Gauntlet
Aired 4 December 1994
The mystery of Sparks' missing parents is finally solved, during an adventure with a new security system at Cyberville
13. Three Into One
Aired 11 December 1994
Maximum Inc's latest innovation is a virtual theme park featuring the rock star Vaingloria. But when three people seem to be taken over by a strange psychic force, their combined might may be too much for Metropia, so the police decide they need the Phantom's help - and offer him absolution if he solves the case. And the liason the police choose to work with the Phantom? Why, Sagan, of course
14. Life Lessons
Aired 4 February 1995
Heisenberg returns to warn the Phantom of a danger to both biots and humans deep inside Cyberville. But why would anyone care about the destruction of biots, even Heisenberg? After all, they're not alive... are they?
15. The Magician
Aired 11 February 1995
When Sagan digs into the mystery of the Phantom's identity, she uncovers an old associate of the Phantom from 20 years ago. Unfortunately, her search has been tailed - now, can that associate protect both himself and the Phantom from Graft's overeager crew?
16. Swifter, Higher, Faster
Aired 18 February 1995
Kit's investigation into the dissemination of a new drug leads him to the athletes at his own college, where his friends confront him about his strange behavior and evasive secrecy.
17. Lasers in the Jungle
Aired 25 February 1995
Graft leads an armed raid on the Ghost Jungle to find the Phantom's hidden lair, and is forced to bring Vaingloria along with him. When Kit's plan to divert Graft from the skull lair goes awry, the Phantom must improvise to save his friends from the wrath of Maximum's biot army.
18. Down the Line
Aired 29 April 1995
A message from the Phantom of 2157 sent back to the Phantom of 2040 leads Kit to some surprising clues and faces him with a difficult choice: whether to continue the Phantom's code against killing, even in the face of the inevitable destruction of the Earth.
19. Control Group
Aired 29 April 1995
Rebecca Madison decides to test a new brainwave transfer method on Graft, causing the Phantom to stumble upon some of Graft's old memories, of his time as a soldier in the Resource Wars and his defiance of Maximum. Now, the Phantom must help Graft remember that he was once a hero to stop Rebecca from turning Metropia's new war memorial into a lethal plasma cannon
20. A Boy and His Cat
Aired 29 April 1995
Maxwell Jr. ends up trapped in virtual reality after his leisurely stroll through Maximum's defences leaves Rebecca fuming, and the Phantom must get him out before he unknowingly destroys Metropia with his indestructible, virtually-controlled army of combat biots.