The Phantom made its American debut as adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk (who also created Mandrake the Magician) and syndicated by King Features. through the years, King Features adapted the popular feature into many forms of media, including television, film and video games. It stars a costumed crime fighter operating from the fictional African country, Bengalla. The Phantom is the 21st in a line of crime fighters that originated in 1536, when the father of British sailor Christopher Walker was murdered during a pirate attack. The only survivor of the attack, Christopher was washed ashore on a Bengallan beach, and swore an oath on the skull of his father's murderer to dedicate his life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty and injustice, with his sons and their sons set to follow him. Making a costume based on the image of an old jungle idol, he became the Phantom. When he died, his son took over the role of the Phantom, and so the mantle would be passed down to new generations, leaving people to give the mysterious figure nicknames such as "The Man Who Cannot Die," "Guardian of the Eastern Dark" and "The Ghost Who Walks," believing him to be immortal. Unlike many fictional costumed heroes, the Phantom does not have supernatural powers of any kind, but relies on strength, intellect and his reputation of being an immortal ghost to defeat his opponents.