Crucible:Phantom
Phantom
| |
| Real Name | Errol Drake |
|---|---|
| Identity | Public |
| Affiliation | None |
| Base of Operations | Stellar Studios |
| Status | Unknown |
| First Appearance | WATCHSTAR WEST #1 |
| Creator | Jeff Messina |
“The cameras stopped rolling long ago. But the show has just begun, my dear friends!"
— Phantom
Phantom is the ghostly revenant of actor Errol Drake, a swashbuckling film star of the 1940s whose life and career were destroyed by accusations of Nazi espionage during the Second World War. After taking his own life in disgrace, Drake entered into an occult bargain with Guillaume D'Arc, binding his spirit to the abandoned grounds of Stellar Studios. Decades later, when Watchstar West established its headquarters on the old studio lot, Drake’s spirit awakened and launched a campaign of terror against the young superhero team.
Errol Drake
In life, Errol Drake had been one of Hollywood’s great action stars. Handsome, athletic, and charismatic, he made his name in lavish pirate adventures and costume epics produced by Stellar Studios during the Golden Age of cinema. Unlike many actors of his era, Drake insisted on performing his own stunts, and became known for his swordsmanship, acrobatics, and daring physical performances.
At the height of his fame, Drake was accused of passing information to Nazi agents during the war. Whether the accusations were true, exaggerated, or entirely fabricated has never been conclusively established. What is certain is that the scandal destroyed him. His contracts vanished, his reputation collapsed, and many of his friends abandoned him almost overnight.
Unable to endure the humiliation and public hatred, Drake committed suicide inside Stellar Studios, ending what had once seemed a brilliant career.
The Bargain
According to occult investigators, Drake’s despair drew the attention of Guillaume D'Arc, who offered the dying actor a terrible bargain. Drake’s spirit would survive death, retaining memory and will, but would forever remain bound to the place where his life had ended.
Whether Drake fully understood the nature of the pact remains unclear.
After his death, strange stories began to surround the abandoned studio lot. Trespassers reported hearing phantom applause echoing through empty soundstages. Security guards claimed to see a ghostly swordsman wandering the backlots at night. Entire film reels allegedly projected themselves in empty theaters.
Most dismissed the stories as Hollywood folklore.
Then Watchstar West moved in.
Watchstar West
When Watchstar West established headquarters within the old studio complex, Drake’s spirit violently awakened. Members of the team found themselves stalked through darkened soundstages by an unseen attacker capable of moving through walls and striking without warning.
Entire sets transformed into surreal recreations of old swashbuckling adventure films twisted by Drake’s bitterness and madness. Hallways became shifting labyrinths of props, lights, and shadows. The studio itself seemed to respond to the Phantom’s emotions, as though the old dream factory had become an extension of his will.
The attacks culminated in a direct confrontation with the spirit itself, now calling itself the Phantom.
Powers And Abilities
As a ghost, Phantom possesses the ability to become insubstantial and pass through solid matter at will. Conventional weapons have little effect on him, and his presence is often accompanied by unnatural cold, flickering lights, and disturbances in electrical systems.
Most dangerously, he wields an ectoplasmic sword capable of inflicting genuine physical harm despite its spectral nature. The blade resembles the elegant dueling sabers Drake carried in many of his films, suggesting that his ghostly form is shaped as much by memory and identity as by supernatural forces.
Skills
Before his death, Errol Drake was famous for performing his own stunts in action films. He was an exceptional fencer, acrobat, and athlete, and these abilities appear to have carried over into his ghostly existence.
Even in undeath, Phantom moves with the polished theatrical grace of a classic Hollywood leading man. His speech, mannerisms, and dramatic flair all suggest a man who still thinks of life as a performance unfolding before an audience.
Personality
Phantom is neither wholly monstrous nor wholly sympathetic. Beneath his rage lies the tragedy of a man destroyed by scandal, humiliation, and isolation. Yet decades of undeath have twisted that grief into bitterness, and he increasingly views the living as intruders trespassing upon the ruins of his world.
His fixation on performance remains intact. Confrontations with Phantom often unfold like scenes from some lost black-and-white adventure serial, complete with taunts, dramatic entrances, sword duels, and elaborate staging.
Whether Errol Drake was truly guilty of espionage has never been resolved. Some historians believe he was innocent and destroyed by wartime hysteria, while others suspect there may indeed have been darker truths hidden beneath his glamorous Hollywood image.
The Phantom himself has offered contradictory accounts over the years, sometimes proclaiming his innocence and at other times speaking bitterly of the country that condemned him.
Legacy
Phantom remains one of the most infamous supernatural figures associated with old Hollywood. Stories about Stellar Studios continue to circulate among actors, stunt performers, and occult investigators alike, and there are still sections of the abandoned lot that even hardened criminals refuse to enter after dark.
Many insist that if one walks the empty soundstages late at night, it is still possible to hear the clash of swords echoing somewhere deep within the ruins.