Danny Phantom (character)

Daniel "Danny" Fenton (Danny Phantom)
Danny Phantom character
Danny Fenton/Danny Phantom
First appearance	"Mystery Meat"
Last appearance	"Phantom Planet"
Created by	Butch Hartman
Voiced by	David Kaufman
Information
Aliases	"Inviso-Bill" "Ghost Boy/Kid/Child" "Phantom Kid" "Dipstick" ("Fenton","Fentons o' Fun", and various other nicknames) to Dash Baxter various nicknames and insults given to him by his enemies The "Halfa"
Species	Human-Ghost Hybrid (Halfa)
Family	Jack Fenton (Father) Madeline "Maddie" Fenton (Mother) Jasmine "Jazz" Fenton (sister)
Relatives	Alicia (Maternal aunt) Danielle "Dani" Fenton/Phantom (clone/"cousin") Danny clones (clones, deceased), John Fenton Nightingale (Paternal Ancestor)
Nationality	American

Danny Phantom, the heroic ghostly alter-ego of Daniel "Danny" Fenton – is a superhero, the protagonist and title character of the Nickelodeon animated television series Danny Phantom, created and designed by Butch Hartman, Shannon Tendell, and Stephen Silver.^[1] Danny Fenton/Phantom is voiced by David Kaufman.

Danny received his powers through an accident with his parents' ghost portal, rendering him with ghost powers.^[2] Throughout the series, Danny struggles to master his abilities while balancing school life and his own teenage emotions.^[3]

His parents are Jack and Maddie Fenton and his older sister is Jazz Fenton. He has two best friends, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley. Danny is a fourteen-year-old freshmen in Casper High. Unpopular, he is the constant victim of bully Dash Baxter^[4][5][6] and harbors a crush on popular student, Paulina.^[3]

His primary enemy and rival is Vlad Plasmius, another half ghost like him. He is constantly under his persuasion to be his son and apprentice.^[7]

Creation and Conception

With Nickelodeon's response for a "boy's action show", Hartman's creation of Danny's character did not originate into the superhero he is now. He was originally a normal human who hunted ghosts. Accompanying him would be an owl named Spooky and his means of travel would be a motorcycle, the latter which Hartman paid tribute later in the series.^[8] He and Sam were meant to share a psychic connection as well.^[1]

Character

Having become a half-human, half-ghost teenage superhero has significantly altered Danny's life and gained him great maturity. Danny started off the series as a naive and clumsy^[9] teenager who tries to find an identity for himself and his newfound powers.^[4] His early days had him yearning for popularity and often has him shallow and superficial.^[10][11]

Later in the series, Danny starts to move beyond the superficial to focus on his goal as a superhero,^[12] preferring to step out of the spotlight when he isn't on-duty.^[13] But he continues to uphold his vow to protecting his hometown and those in need.^[14] He has developed a more confident^[15] and mature attitude over the course of the series as he continues to develop his powers,^[16] but it is ultimately his loyalty to his cause that helps him to overcome the obstacles. Even when he is vilified by the public early in his career^[14] his sense of duty is so strong that he felt retirement was out of the question.^[17]

He said that his battles had a "pattern: "Witty banter, fight, kick-butt, lesson." ^[18]However, he can be cocky in battle and at times underestimates his enemies due to his naïveté and young age, though he is just as often cautious.^[6][7] He is also often too emotional, which can be used as a disadvantage^[19][20]He is sometimes overcome by his emotions and this shatters his confidence and self-esteem as well as his actions as a ghost hunter.^[15] .

But Danny can also be responsible, considerate, and intelligent while battling. He tries to protect his loved ones. For instance, he tried to protect his parents from Vlad Masters, when he, unlike his family, knew Masters was half-ghost. He tries to protect his friends as well, since they may be more vulnerable to other ghosts since they are closer to Danny. ^[11] When he makes mistakes, he honestly tries to repair the results, with his friends and family. ^{[18] [11][21]}

Danny also has dreams of becoming an astronaut^[4] and expresses an interest in space.^[22][23] He gains his "DP" insignia during the Season Two premiere.^[2]

Plot Overview

On the urging of his best friend, Sam, Danny explores the contents of the then under construction Fenton Portal. It resulted in an accident that caused Danny's molecular structure to be infused with ectoplasm, resulting in him being half ghost.^[2] Unsure of what to make of it for a month, Danny's battle with a Lunch Lady Ghost causes him to pursue the path of a superhero.^[4]

In the beginning, he struggles with his powers as he deals with heroic life and his normal, teenage existence.^[3][10][24] However his life quickly turns into something bigger when Walker, Ghost Zone's ghost cop frames Danny with the assault of the then-mayor of Amity Park^[14] as an act of revenge for escaping his prison earlier.^[25] Dubbed "Inviso-Bill" by his hometown,^[26] Danny vowed to continue his heroism despite their hatred for him. He eventually gains their trust when he saves both Amity Park and the Ghost Zone from an old, but powerful ghost king.^[6] He later becomes their duly-deputized protector.^[27] By the end, he is known and beloved over the world.^[13][22]

He meets Vlad in-between who would serve as his primary arch-nemesis throughout the series, possessing the same half-ghost powers he does, only with twenty years more experience.^[7] He would constantly try to vile and force Danny into becoming his surrogate son, but often fails. His last plan to obtain Danny resulted in him creating numerous clones of Danny until he reached the perfect one. The one below him was Dani Phantom who, after much convincing, teams up with Danny when she found out she is nothing but a tool to Vlad.^[23] Afterward, Vlad changes his ideals and spends the remainder of the series tormenting and trying to destroy Danny.^[28]

One of Danny's ongoing stories is his constant battle against his temptation to abuse his powers.^[6][29][30] This came full circle when he cheats on his C.A.T. tests, resulting in a future timeline where he becomes Dark Danny, the most powerful, evil ghost in existence. He defeats his future self with the element of surprise; using the newly acquired Ghostly Wail. The dark future is then permanently altered when Danny is given a second chance by Clockwork.^[21]

In total, Danny has had his secret identity exposed three times, once in Reality Trip, Ultimate Enemy and Phantom Planet. On two of these three occasions, everyone has had their memories wiped except for Sam, Tucker, and Jazz.

The final episode chronicles Danny's struggles to compete against the "Masters' Blasters", a team of teenage ghost hunters which bests Danny in his field. He briefly retires from ghost hunting, but gains his powers back when he goes to the ghost zone and stops an incoming Ecto-coated asteroid from hitting the earth. He reveals his secret identity to the people of the world during victory and the last scenes involve a bright future with him and his new girlfriend, Sam.^[17]

Ghost Powers

Upon receiving his ghost powers, Danny often had great difficulties controlling it.^[2] At the mercy to his teenage emotions in the beginning, his nervous behavior would often trigger episodes of intangibility or invisibility, much to his embarrassment.^[3] Besides his ability to switch between his human and ghost forms, his early powers composed primary of the most generic of ghostly powers; flight, intangibility, and invisibility. When he transforms, he shouts out "Goin' Ghost" before two white rings intersect his body. When he flies, his legs often turn into a ghost "tail". He also gains super strength and enhanced abilities and agility his human form does not possess. He can manipulate his body and twist himself into odd shapes to avoid stray attacks.^[4][12][31] He is able to walk on walls, though this is rarely utilized.^[14]

He has a ghost sense that manifests as a blue wisp from his mouth that announces nearby ghosts. It is described as being akin to a cold breath during chilly weather^[15] and served as a precursor to his ice powers.^[32]

Danny gains a ghost ray early on which has become one of his most frequently used powers;^[33] becoming an energy ball that can expand in size and corresponding area of effect, and even be usable as a flashlight at low power.^[34] He possess a ghost shield that can protect him by deflecting attacks.^[7][35] He has the ability to overshadow people and ghosts, causing their eyes to glow green as well as change their voice to his.^[3][7][33] He later masters the power, able to cancel or control such obvious signs of possession.^[28] He is also capable of entering people's dreams.^[36]

One of his most powerful attacks is the Ghostly Wail,^[21] a sonic scream that can hit multiple targets. It appears to take massive amounts of energy to utilize, draining Danny heavily, so he often reverts to his human form after use. By the end of the series he appears to have mastered this ability (to an extent).^[17] He can duplicate himself, but struggles to master it throughout the series—often with disastrous, or amusing, results.^[37][38] He succeeds in splitting in two,^[11] then eventually four later on.^[20]

Danny is either able to breathe underwater when in ghost form, or likely does not need to breathe.^[39] It is unclear if he can breathe in space, though it is shown that he can handle its extreme conditions with little more than a space helmet.^[17][19] Danny can also later on produce an ice beam which can freeze the opponent among other things and so on. His ice powers, though, do not come in till later in the series since it takes a while for them to develop.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Butch Hartman Interview, March 30, 2006
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "Memory Blank. Director: Butch Hartman, Ken Bruce, Gary Conrad; Writer: Steve Marmel.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-06-24. No. 21, season 2.
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Parental Bonding. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Sean Dempsey; Writer: Steve Marmel, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-04-10. No. 2, season 1.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Mystery Meat. Director: Butch Hartman; Writer: Butch Hartman, Mark Banner, Steve Marmel.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-04-03. No. 1, season 1.
5. ^ "Shades of Gray. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-09-24. No. 10, season 1.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} "Reign Storm. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Steve Marmel.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-07-29. No. 24/25, season 2.
7. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Bitter Reunions. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Steve Marmel, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-05-08. No. 7, season 1.
8. ^ "Livin' Large. Director: Butch Hartman; Writer: Mark Drop.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2007-07-13. No. 47, season 3.
9. ^ Danny Phantom Official Site
10. ^ ^{a b} "Attack of the Killer Garage Sale. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Richard Bowman; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-04-17. No. 4, season 1.
11. ^ ^{a b c d} "Beauty Marked. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Marty Isenberg.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-02-24. No. 34, season 2.
12. ^ ^{a b} "Pirate Radio. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-07-22. No. 23, season 2.
13. ^ ^{a b} "Forever Phantom. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Gary Conrad; Writer: Butch Hartman.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2007-07-12. No. 45, season 3.
14. ^ ^{a b c d} "Public Enemies. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Steve Marmel, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-02-04. No. 14, season 1.
15. ^ ^{a b c} "My Brother's Keeper. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-06-24. No. 9, season 1.
16. ^ Tucker: That's the good thing about your powers, there's no downside!, What You Want
17. ^ ^{a b c d} "Phantom Planet. Director: Butch Hartman; Writer: Butch Hartman.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-10-08. No. 52/53, season 3.
18. ^ ^{a b} "Secret Weapons. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Marty Isenberg".". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-12-09. No. 31, season 2.
19. ^ ^{a b} "Flirting With Disaster. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Steve Marmel.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2006-01-13. No. 32, season 2.
20. ^ ^{a b} "Torrent of Terror. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Gary Conrad; Writer: Sib Ventress, Butch Hartman.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2007-07-11. No. 44, season 3.
21. ^ ^{a b c} "The Ultimate Enemy. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Marty Isenberge, Steve Marmel, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-09-16. No. 28/29, season 2.
22. ^ ^{a b} "Reality Trip. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Gary Conrad, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Steve Marmel, Marty Isenberg, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2006-06-09. No. 37/38, season 2.
23. ^ ^{a b} "Kindred Spirits. Director: Butch Hartman, Daniel De La Vega, Gary Conrad; Writer: Steve Marmel, Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2006-04-07. No. 40, season 2.
24. ^ "Fright Night. Director: Butch Hartman, Juli Hashiguchi, Wincat Alcala; Writer: Marty Isenberg.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-10-29. No. 15, season 1.
25. ^ "Prisoners of Love. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Marty Isenberg.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-05-15. No. 08, season 1.
26. ^ "Lucky in Love. Director: Butch Hartman, Gary Conrad, Ken Bruce; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-02-11. No. 17, season 1.
27. ^ "Urban Jungle. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Gary Conrad; Writer: Butch Hartman.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2006-10-09. No. 46, season 3.
28. ^ ^{a b} "Eye for An Eye. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Gary Conrad; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2007-08-20. No. 41, season 3.
29. ^ "Splitting Images. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Richard Bowman; Writer: Marty Isenberg.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-04-24. No. 5, season 1.
30. ^ "Control Freaks. Director: Butch Hartman, Ken Bruce, Gary Conrad; Writer: Marty Isenberg.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-07-17. No. 20, season 1.
31. ^ "Life Lessons. Director: Ken Bruce, Gary Conrad, Butch Hartman; Writer: Marty Isenberg .". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-02-25. No. 18, season 1.
32. ^ "Infinite Realms. Director: Butch Hartman, Gary Conrad, Wincat Alcala; Writer: Butch Hartman.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2007-07-09. No. 42, season 3.
33. ^ ^{a b} "What You Want. Director: Butch Hartman, Rick Bowman, Wincat Alcala; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-05-01. No. 6, season 1.
34. ^ "Micro Management. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Steve Marmel, Matt Wayne". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2007-01-27. No. 33, season 2.
35. ^ "Teacher of the Year. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2004-10-15. No. 12, season 1.
36. ^ "Frightmare. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Gary Conrad; Writer: Kevin Sullivan.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2007-08-22. No. 49, season 3.
37. ^ "Maternal Instinct. Director: Butch Hartman, Gary Conrad, Juli Hashiguchi; Writer: Sib Ventress.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-02-18. No. 16, season 1.
38. ^ "Identity Crisis. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Kevin Petrilak; Writer: Marty Isenberg.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2005-09-23. No. 26, season 2.
39. ^ "Girls' Night Out. Director: Butch Hartman, Wincat Alcala, Gary Conrad; Writer: Kevin Sullivan.". Danny Phantom. Nickelodeon. 2007-07-10. No. 43, season 3.

External Links

• Danny Fenton/Phantom at the Internet Movie Database