Recap / Danny Phantom S 2 E 15 King Tuck

"Wrapped In Terror!"

Produced 2005, aired in U.S. on 3/17/06

Production order: 33 (2-13)

Tucker and Dash are running for student body president, but while Dash easily makes everyone listen to him (by intimidating them), no one pays any attention to Tucker, including Danny and Sam, who infuriate him by ignoring all of his ideas for his campaign. Later on, the class visits a museum with Mr. Lancer to see an Egyptian exhibit, where they find out about King Duul Aman, an ancient pharaoh who looked exactly like Tucker, his scarab scepter, and his minion Hotep-Ra, who's held inside a sarcophagus with a Magic Mirror. Legend has it that if King Duul Aman's face reflects on the mirror, Hotep-Ra will rise — which is exactly what happens when Tucker looks in the mirror, awakening Hotep-Ra, a mummy-like ghost who immediately recognizes Tucker as his pharaoh. On a power trip thanks to having a "minion", Tucker is easily manipulated by Hotep-Ra, who eventually makes him hold the scepter. The staff's magic powers brainwash Tucker, making him go rogue and turn on his friends, and after being enraged by no one listening to his campaign speech in the Casper High auditorium, he uses the scepter to transport everyone to an ancient Egyptian realm, wherein the other students and Mr. Lancer are his slaves. However, Hotep-Ra is only using Tucker, as he plans on usurping his power and becoming king himself, and it's up to Danny to find a way to stop him.

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This episode provides examples of:

• All Animals Are Dogs: When Tucker starts commanding The Sphinx, it behaves like a trained dog.
• All Elections Are Serious Business: The student body president election is taken very seriously by Tucker and Dash in their respective campaigns.
• Ancient Egypt: Hotep-Ra is the spirit of the minion of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who looks just like Tucker. Later on, the scepter transports everyone in the Casper High auditorium to an Ancient Egypt-like dimension.
• Artifact of Doom: The scarab scepter makes Tucker a power-hungry dictator who enslaves his classmates and teacher, and it can trap people in a physical manifestation of Ancient Egypt.
• Barefoot Captives: When Paulina and Star are captured by Tucker, they are initially barefoot. When he leaves, they are suddenly wearing shoes again.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: As mentioned above and below, the scepter brainwashes Tucker into being a Nepharious Pharaoh who enslaves his classmates and teacher.
• A Day in the Limelight: This is one of the few episodes that focus on Tucker.
• The Dog Bites Back: The episode plays with Tucker's Butt-Monkey status (and exaggerates it a bit): absolutely no one listens to anything Tucker has to say, including his best friends. This makes him easily fall for the apparently loyal Hotep-Ra who not only listens but does anything he orders, and when Tucker falls under the effect of the scepter, he goes rogue and enslaves everybody.
• Feud Episode: For Danny and Tucker, although minor.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Hotep-Ra is defeated by his own sphinx when Tucker discovers it also obeys him.
• Hypno Trinket: The scepter brainwashes Tucker when Hotep-Ra gives it for him to hold, making him a despotic "pharaoh" who enslaves his classmates and sends Danny to die battling a Roman ghost. Tucker goes back to normal when Danny takes the scepter from him.
• Hypocrite: While Tucker has every right to be mad that other people, including his best friends, are not listening to him, he in return wasn’t listening to his friends’ ideas to help get more votes for the election, some of the ideas could have slightly improved his chances in the election.
• Hypocrite Has a Point: That being said, Tucker’s frustration in this episode is quite rational, as no one was listening to him, like Sam and Danny rewriting his campaign and putting up posters without asking him, them not letting him try to tell them about a ghost that showed up, and no one, not even Mr. Lancer, who as a teacher should be paying attention to both students’ campaign speeches, paying attention to him as he is giving his campaign speech in the Auditorium.
• Kidnapping Bird of Prey: One of the hieroglyphs Hotep-Ra summons to attack Danny is a bird, which grabs Danny and throws him far away.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: When Tucker transports everyone back to Casper High, he makes everyone but himself, Danny, and Sam forget what happened. It doesn't wipe 100% of their memories, though, as Paulina and Star still feel offended when they think Tucker calls them "handmaidens" and have the impression they know what his feet smell like.
• Living Statue: Once The Sphinx is finally built, Hotep-Ra brings it to life using the scepter and controls it to attack Danny.
• Loony Laws: As pharaoh, Tucker enacts laws such as the citizens having to wear a hat just like his, everyone only being allowed to eat meat, and miniskirt Fridays.
• Made a Slave: Tucker makes the others slaves when he becomes king.
• Magic Mirror: Hotep-Ra's sarcophagus has a mirror that awakens him if his pharaoh — or Tucker, who looks just like him — looks into it.
• Magic Staff: The scepter not only brainwashes Tucker, but also transports everyone to an Ancient Egypt-like realm. It can also be used to control the sphinx and summon hieroglyphs to life.
• Mummy: Hotep-Ra is the spirit of the minion of an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, and manifests as a skeletal mummy ghost covered up in bandages.
• No-Sell: None of Danny's attacks have any effect on the sphinx, including his strongest power, the Ghostly Wail.
  Danny: Oh, great. That thing is as hard-headed as Tucker was.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Sam is initially reassuring when Kwan thinks they're doomed, but when Danny fails to even land a scratch on the sphinx, she changes her mind.
    Sam: Okay, now we're doomed.
  • Hotep-Ra realizes he's screwed when Tucker also manages to take control of the sphinx.
• One-Shot Character: This episode is Hotep-Ra's only appearance aside from cameos in Phantom Planet.
• Our Sphinxes Are Different: Hotep-Ra has Tucker's servants build a large sphinx, which is later brought to life to attack Danny.
• Pet the Dog: When asked what should be done about Tucker's ridiculous laws, Hotep-Ra decides they should be implemented to let Tucker have his "moment of glory", until Hotep-Ra takes over the realm himself.
• Quaking with Fear: Tucker is so terrified when he confronts the sphinx that his legs shake.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Tucker's eyes glow red when he's under the effect of the scepter, and the Sphinx's eyes turn red when it's in its aggressive mode (they become blue when it's calm).
• Scary Scorpions: One of the hieroglyphs Hotep-Ra summons to attack Danny is a scorpion.
• Smelly Feet Gag: Tucker apparently has stinky feet and doesn't clip his toenails, which makes Paulina and Star's job of scrubbing his feet more disgusting than it should be. They still feel like they know what his feet smell like even after Tucker wipes their memory of what happened.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Had Kwan not taunted Tucker into looking into the sarcophagus' mirror, maybe Tucker wouldn't have looked and Hotep-Ra wouldn't have been awakened.
• Weaponized Landmark: Hotep-Ra controls the sphinx to attack Danny using the scepter. However, it's also loyal to Tucker, who sends it to attack Hotep-Ra himself.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: The scepter makes Tucker powerful, but also completely insane, to the point of having no qualms about enslaving his own friends or sending them to die in battle.