- "It's Fang-Tastic!"
Produced 2004, aired in U.S. on 2/4/05
Production order: 14 (1-14)
Walker, warden of the prison Danny escaped from in "Prisoners of Love," has managed to recapture all of his escapees except the mastermind. Simply locking up or destroying Danny Phantom, however, is way too good for him. After launching the first major mass ghost attack on Amity Park, definitively revealing the existence of ghosts to the world, Walker has his mooks possess everyone around Danny so he can make him look like the enemy, wanting to make the public hate and mistrust the Ghost Boy until his home becomes a prison on its own. It works. Thanks to the help of Wulf, a very reluctant prisoner Walker recruited to help him track down Danny and his friends, Danny's able to stop the invasion and send Walker back to the Ghost Zone, but not before most of the town is turned against him.
Tropes found in this episode:
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Jack and Maddie, yep.
- Attention Whore: Mayor Motez only spoke at the school assembly for a photo op with the press.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Walker succeeds in turning Danny into Public Enemy #1 by framing him for kidnapping the mayor.
- Batman in My Basement: The trio hide Wulf in Tucker's attic. Although he doesn't get caught, it leads to Sam getting stuck at Tucker's for the night, prompting her to decide that "next time, we take the extra-dimensional fugitive to my place."
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Wulf helps Danny fight Walker and his guards because Danny saved him from them earlier.
- Bittersweet Ending: While Danny wasn't locked up by Walker and the latter's Ghost Invasion has been subsided, Danny's reputation has been shredded thanks to Walker's actions, but some like Paulina and Jazz acknowledge Danny's heroics, and he still seeks to fight the good fight.
- The Cake Is a Lie: Walker promises Wulf his freedom if he helps him get revenge on Danny. Raise your hand if you never expected him to keep his promise.
- Exact Words: Technically he did promise that Wulf would be "free of [him] forever," though he let Wulf assume he meant free from prison.
- Chekhov's Gun: The portable ghost portal. It makes a comeback in "Lucky In Love."
- Darkest Hour: The entire episode is Danny's hardest struggle to date, with the most hopeless odds and the most persistent enemy he's ever faced. It reaches its peak when Danny has to lock himself in his house behind the ghost shield, realizing that nowhere is safe for him anymore.
- Demonic Possession: Walker puts this to good use, having his minions overshadow the people closest to Danny, and later the mayor.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: A brown-furred, Esperanto-speakingnote Wulf wearing a hoodie who is relentlessly tortured (and likely unfairly imprisoned) by a Southern Gentleman Villain in a White Suit, who also wants to abuse his power as a (ghost) prison warden to permanently ruin the life of a teenage boy based on one minor past transgression. Oy, so much to unpack there.
- Electric Torture: Walker controls Wulf this way until Tucker manages to remove the collar used to shock him.
- Esperanto, the Universal Language: Wulf speaks in Esperanto, which Tucker can understand with limited success.
- Ghost Invasion: Walker launches the first major mass ghost attack on Amity Park, definitively revealing the existence of ghosts to the world in the process.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: What Danny becomes by the end of the episode.
- No-Sell: Wulf's power means he can also get through ghost shields, something no other full ghost in the series can do.
- Not Helping Your Case: Danny doesn’t exactly make himself look better when he shows up at the town meeting and tries to blast his parents, thinking they are overshadowed.
- Obligatory Joke: Opens with a joke the show was just as obligated to use as The Real Ghostbusters was.Prisoner: You'll never take me alive, coppers!Bullet: You're a ghost.
- Sequel Episode: To "Prisoners of Love."
- Series Continuity Error: Walker claims that he has recaptured all the escaped prisoners from "Prisoners of Love" save for Danny, but he hasn't recaptured Technus, who is currently trapped in a computer game in the human world.
- Shout-Out: Danny at the beginning of the ghost invasion.
- Shown Their Work: Maddie's blaster is shown to have a powerful recoil when it's shown firing out the back as well.
- Tailor-Made Prison: Wulf has the power to open portals between our world and the Ghost Zone, making locking him in a cell rather ineffective. Walker keeps him in line via a collar that gives him a painful electric shock if he tries to escape or disobeys orders.
- Techno Babble: According to Maddie, a ghost is an "odd manifestation of ectoplasmic energy and post-human consciousness", whatever that means.
- It actually does mean something. All she said was that a ghost is the mind of a dead person ("post-human consciousness") combined with the energy of ectoplasm (a hypothetical substance once believed to be the motive force behind telekinesis and other psychic abilities). Not terribly informative, but the words are real enough.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Danny, when he realizes he just attacked his not-overshadowed parents.
- We Will Meet Again: Both main guest stars say this to Danny before being forced to depart.Wulf: Friend. We'll meet again.
Walker: So will we, punk! Feared on Earth and wanted in the Ghost Zone, you've lost, ghost kid! LOOOOOST! - Wham Episode:
- The public finally accepts the existence of ghosts.
- Thanks to Walker's actions, Danny Phantom is now seen as a villain in the eyes of the public.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Walker pulls one on Danny while possessing the Mayor, making the public believe that Danny is attacking him. It works.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Walker, saying this line verbatim, electrocutes Wulf after he no longer needs him.
