Have you ever wanted to take a bit of a nostalgia trip? If so, this gem may send you packing to the early 2000s because today we're looking at Danny Phantom by Gabriella Epstein and Killian FG's take on Danny Phantom: A Glitch in Time.
Summary
After years of protecting Amity Park from ghosts as Danny Phantom, Danny Fenton seemingly has had his perfect ending. Everyone knows and accepts his secret identity. The city now has several other ghost hunters to protect it, and now his arch nemesis Vlad Plasmuis is out of this world in the best way possible.
Overall, life is good. Well, good until a cruel twist of fate gives Danny's ultimate enemy a second chance to get his revenge and threaten existence as he knows it. With everything on the line, our resident ghost boy will have to confront past foes and rely on his present allies if he has any chance to live out a future.
Characters
Danny Fenton/Phantom: Our main character, Danny, like most moody teenagers, is often hot-headed, apathetic, sarcastic, and reckless. However, phasing through these flaws reveals a brave hero willing to lay his life to protect his friends.
Sam: Danny's current Sam is a proud goth and activist, constantly willing to stand back against the status quo and focus on making a difference in the world. Sam is the one who often backs up Danny the most, both emotionally and physically, serving as the emotional core of the group.
Tucker: Danny's current bf, Tucker, is a computer geek, certified carnivore, and overall reliable guy. At the same time, there are many times Tucker will let his ego swell whenever fame sweeps his way. Still, he's an ever-faithful "bro" for Danny to lean on.
Vlad Plasmius: Danny's main archrival and nemesis, Vlad, is a family friend of the Fenton's who used the Ghost powers he received in a freak accident decades before the series starts. Motivated by pettiness and hatred, most of Vlad's schemes center around gaining more energy and money to fill the emptiness of never getting a family of his own.
Overview
Glitch in Time feels like a gigantic season premiere, and I mean that in the best way possible. Growing up, Danny Phantom was a show I used to rewatch and revisit all the time till I fell out of favor with it a couple of years back, not only because they stopped showing the show through the reruns but also due to its creator.
While DP has most doubly aged the best out of Butch Hartman's works (Fairy OddParent's overall success not included), the man himself has not. Ever since the guy left Nick in 2018, he's stolen about a quarter million dollars in donations to OAXIS, a streaming service that has no updates or plans to take off, actively said that the power of prayer can "cure autism" and cheated prominent artists like Kuro the Artists to try to create failed pilots. And the list goes on.
Combined this with Danny Phantom, a show which already suffered a little from leaving story threads hanging in favor of its villain of the week status quo, basically going on a sharp decline in due part to Butch getting more creative control after Steve Marmel left after Season 2; I'm kinda glad DP project is back with his name on it.
While Gabriella Epsiten clearly modeled the story to give new and returning fans a refresher on the series, Glitch in Time is very much a tale for those who've been A-1 since day one. There are tons of references and lore mentions from the series prior in here, but they're less made for sheer nostalgia's sake and more to further build upon it in a new direction.
The lore of Danny Phantom has never felt bigger as we get more information and world-building on how the Ghost Zone operates. Details help to make the crazy stakes feel like a natural evolution of the characters and the show.
The grander depth bleeds into the characters, too. Everyone in the cast feels like they've never left, but I could feel a freshness and more precise direction through reading. Course references to smartphones and modern slang help things. Through Epestien's art and Killian's expert colors, our eyes are given a feast for the eyes throughout the Ghost Zone and Human World.
Through various settings, we were greeted with many fun alternate costumes, dynamic action that zooms off the panels, and colors that pop out when things get spooky. Still amidst the fanservice and effort, there is an actual story here shared through Danny and Vlad. While one has reached his happily ever after, the other is practically at rock bottom; both still need to navigate the next step in their lives. While both can find their distinctive answers, Glitch in Time allows these new directions to be explored further.
Overview
Danny Phantom: Glitch in Time is a great return to form for those who've always hungered for a more mature and complex return to the show. I don't particularly know if the fandom or even the original crew treats this as canon due to Butch Hartman sitting this one out or if we would ever get a possible sequel to this.
However, considering that Butch also tried convincing us the ghosts in Danny Phantom are monsters from another dimension instead of fucking ghosts, I'm lovely with leaving him out to the kitchen. Either way, whether this a signal of a new age for our spectral defender or a one-time round call for the series, I'm glad DP was brought back after all these years better than ever. Until we get an answer to my previous queries, though, let's shine the spotlight on something else for now.
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