10 Best Villains in 'Danny Phantom,' Ranked by Evilness
Danny Phandom is the second show created by The Fairly OddParents creator, Butch Hartman, and considered by many to be his best. It follows a teenage boy named Danny Fenton (David Kaufman) from a family of ghost hunters. An accident with his parent's portal to the ghost zone turns him into a half-ghost, and he decides to use his powers to fight against evil ghosts who threaten his home and loved ones.
Hartman took inspiration from superhero comics to make his show, which can be seen in Danny's rogues gallery. The show had a wide spectrum of villains distinguished by their powers and many of them seemed to take delight in how evil they could be.
10 Ember
After dying in a fire, Ember McLain (Tara Strong) emerged as a ghost with a love for rock and teen rebellion. When people say her name, it increases her power. As such, she uses hypnotic songs to turn others into her personal fanbase and fighters against authority figures.
Ember's chaotic nature and hatred for authority make her a sort of agent of chaos. She doesn't really have a goal for world domination, just to start teen rebellions or get rid of men when they get on her nerves. Ironically, her use of mind control to increase her power makes her an authoritarian character of sorts.
9 Technus
A mad genius in life, Nicolai Technus' (Rob Paulsen) ambitions have only increased in death. His plans involve gathering as much advanced technology and trying to connect to the global internet, so he can take over the world. Fortunately, his egotism often results in him declaring his plans and leaving himself open to defeat.
Technus starts out as a comedic character, but over time, his comedic elements get filed down and replaced with calculated ruthlessness. His genius gives him contempt for human life, but he also has an understanding of human emotions. This is best seen when he intentionally pushes Danny and Valerie (Cree Summers) together so that Danny is too distracted by romance to notice his latest scheme.
8 Desiree
In life, Desiree (Peri Gilpin) caught the eye of a sultan who offered her a kingdom. After being banished by the sultan's wife, she died of a broken heart and old age. As a ghost, Desiree travels the world and grants the wishes of others, but always in the worst ways possible.
While her actions might seem benevolent, they hide Desiree's vindictive and spiteful nature. She is more than happy to twist the wishes of others to suit her benefit and doesn't care who gets hurt in the process. A great example is when she used Tucker's (Rickey D'Shon Collins) wish to have ghost powers to turn him into an envious rival for Danny.
7 Skulker
Called the ghost zone's greatest hunter, Skulker (Matthew St. Patrick and Kevin Michael Richardson) is always looking for rare and unique creatures. Due to Danny's nature as a half-ghost, Skulker views him as the most unique creature in existence. Beneath his high-tech armor, he's really a small, harmless blob-like ghost.
Skulker is a determined hunter who always has his eyes on the prize. It doesn't matter if there are innocents between him and his prey or not: they can be made into trophies as well if he finds they're good sport. He also has some impressive leadership skills and frequently serves as the head of the ghosts when they come together as a community.
6 Walker
The warden of the ghost zone's prison, Walker (James Arnold Taylor) dedicates his unlife to punishing criminals. However, his methods are Draconian, brutal, and offer no chance for redemption. After failing to capture Danny, Walker focuses on ruining Danny's reputation in the human world, so his prison will seem safe by comparison.
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Walker might view himself as a righteous character since he is punishing criminals, but his methods are diabolical. He warps the law to suit his own interpretation and has no issue putting an entire town in peril if it means getting at Danny. Fortunately, he doesn't leave the Ghost Zone too often.
5 Penelope Spectra
Though her true form is that of a shadow, Penelope Spectra (Tara Strong) is able to disguise herself as a human. She maintains her powers and youthful appearance by preying on the miseries of others. To get a steady supply, she disguises herself as a guidance counselor at Casper High and intentionally inflames the misery of the teens.
Spectra cares nothing for the sufferings of others, so long as it benefits her in the end. When she returns in season two, she tries to make a new, perfect body for herself by infecting Danny's classmates with a ghost virus in order to collect samples from them. Battling against her is part physical and psychological, since she knows how to get into her opponent's heads.
4 Freakshow
Coming from a ghost-obsessed family, Freakshow (Jon Cryer) has more knowledge of ghostly artifacts than anyone. Using a staff that can control ghosts, he set up a carnival that travels from town to town, committing robberies. His ultimate goal is to find the Reality Gauntlet and use it to become the master of all reality.
Freakshow is, at his core, an insecure man who is envious of the creatures his family has studied. He's so tired of being overlooked that he wants to amass as much power and control as possible so that he will always be the center of attention. When he finally assembles the Reality Gauntlet, his ambition is to force everyone in the world to watch him defeat Danny in battle and grow upset when they cheer for Danny over him.
3 Vlad Master/Plasmius
Once the college friend of Jack (Rob Paulsen) and Maddie (Kath Soucie), Vlad (Martin Mull) lost his chance to win Maddie's love when Jack accidentally infected him with ecto acne. While recovering, Vlad developed ghost powers and spent the next twenty years mastering them. When he re-enters the Fenton's lives, he has three goals: kill Jack, steal Maddie, and turn Danny to his side.
Vlad has plenty of comedic moments thanks to his miserable life, but his actions are also quite diabolic. He cares nothing for Maddie's agency, viewing her more as a prize to be won than a person. When Danny refuses to join him, he engages in other plans including cloning Danny or trying to corrupt his sister, Jazz (Colleen O'Shaughnessey).
2 King Pariah Dark
Once, Pariah Dark (Brian Cox) ruled over the ghost zone with an iron fist, drawing power from his two magic items: The Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage. He was defeated and sealed away by ancient ghosts but was released when Vlad tried to claim his power. As Pariah begins to re-assert control, the other ghosts flee to Earth to escape his tyranny.
Hartman said that he based Pariah on Darkseid from DC Comics, and it's easy to see the influence. His design and personality exert power and control: his size and strength make him nearly unstoppable to fight, and Cox's delivery is regal and authoritative. All that matters to him is conquest and anyone who dares challenge his power is to be destroyed.
1 Dark Danny
When the local fast-food restaurant explodes, all of Danny's friends and family are killed. Wanting to escape from the pain of loss, Danny asks Vlad to remove his human and ghost halves. He agrees, but Danny's ghost-half removes Vlad's ghost and merges with it before literally killing his humanity.
Dark Danny (Eric Roberts) combines the worst parts of Vlad and Danny's personalities with none of the positives. He cares nothing for innocent life and wages a single-ghost war against the lands of living and dead just because he can. So evil are his actions that a group of guardian ghosts called The Observants (Dee Bradley Baker and Phil Morris) hire Clockwork (David Carradine), a time ghost, to try and kill Danny as a teenager to prevent Dark Danny's creation.
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