Vlad Plasmius

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vladimir "Vlad" Masters"
(Vlad Plasmius)

Vlad Plasmius (Vlad Master's alter ego)

Publisher	Nickelodeon
First appearance	"Bitter Reunions"
Created by	Butch Hartman

Characteristics
Alter ego	Vladimir "Vlad" Masters
Species	Human-Ghost Hybrid (Halfa)
Affiliations	VladCo., himself
Notable aliases	Vladdy, V-Man, Wisconsin Ghost, One Seriously Crazed-Up Fruit Loop
Abilities	Has all the same powers as Danny (possibly excluding the Ghostly Wail and Cryokinesis) and more

Vladimir "Vlad" Masters (a.k.a. Vlad Plasmius) is a fictional character, a supervillain from the television show Danny Phantom. He serves as the primary antagonist, mostly as an arch-rival to Danny (whom he refers to as "Daniel" or rarely, the more affectionate "little badger"). He is voiced by Martin Mull.

1 Origin
2 Appearances/History
3 Personality and Weakness
4 Relationships
5 Powers
6 Trivia

[edit] Origin

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Vlad just moments before he would receive his ghost powers

His past life up until his days in college is unknown; what is known is that he attended the University of Wisconsin alongside his best friend Jack Fenton and love interest Maddie. Vlad's friendship with Jack ended during an experiment with a portable ghost portal in the works when he was blasted in the face after Jack accidentally poured diet soda in the main engine, (an accident he was apparently too proud to admit that he was wrong), after which he was forced to stay in the hospital, ruining his social life after his face was covered in "Ecto-Acne" . Having developed ghost-like powers as a result, he spent the next 20 years honing and taking advantage of his newfound powers (stealing money, possessing millionaires) in order to become rich. Vlad is currently obsessed with wanting to kill Jack Fenton, for both the accident and for "stealing" Maddie. He also desires to win over their young son Danny and mold him into his son and possible successor.

[edit] Appearances/History

[edit] Mysterious Occurrence

Vlad Masters

Vlad Masters first appeared was in "Bitter Reunions" where he sent three ghost vultures to kill Jack Fenton, only to be thwarted by Danny upon first encounter after learning what they had planned to do. Despite their failure, he invites the Fentons to a college reunion at his mansion in Wisconsin. However, it was really just part of a plot to humiliate Jack and to get his wife Maddie, the woman of his dreams.

Danny (as well as his sister Jazz) is dragged along where he immediately had decidedly mixed feelings about the well-off man. He later confronts the ghost named Vlad Plasmius when his ghost sense lets off that night, although as much as Danny fough valiantly, he is easily outmatched by this ghost, who reveals he has 20 years of experience. After their fight (which leaves an unconscious Danny), Vlad discovers that Danny Phantom is Jack Fenton's son, but remained tight-lipped until the reunion.

At the reunion, Vlad Masters asks Danny to go to the lab to get a present for Jack, but is deceived when Skulker captures Danny with the ghost-neutralizer. Vlad enters and reveals to Danny that he was the ghost Danny encountered the night before, and that the Ectopusses and Skulker were all sent by him to test Jacks' ghost hunting abilities from previous episodes. After giving Danny a chance to join his side and help him further train and hone his powers (to which Danny declined), he leaves and puts the next phase of his plan into action.

He possesses Jack, and makes him cause chaos to the reunion to ruin his reputation, as well as capture Maddie Fenton. However, Danny is freed by a friendly ghost and uses the Fenton RV to stop him. Danny manges to exploit his biggest weakness; his affection for Maddie, and they settle on a truce when Danny threatens to expose both of them for who they really are. However, Vlad vows to return.

[edit] Arch Nemesis

Vlad makes a short cameo in "Shades of Gray" afterwards where he provided Valerie her infamous ghost hunting suit and weapons, much to Valerie's joy.

Vlad's second appearance was in "Maternal Instinct" where he, through the inconspicuous "DALV" group ("Vlad" spelled backwards) invites Maddie and Danny to a mother/son convention. Taking a reluctant Danny along as an attempt to bond with him, the two were both tricked into parachuting out of their plane, conveniently finding themselves at Vlad's Rocky Mountain retreat.

There Vlad attempts to convince them to stay with him by confessing his undying love for Maddie. When they refuse and storm off, Vlad attempts to chase them both back to him by means of his mutated ghost animals. While Maddie attempts to find a way out of the wilderness, Danny confronts Vlad, who shorts out his powers and leaves him at the mercy of his ghost animals. Danny is saved by his mother and with little choice, is forced to return to Vlad's to find a means to get out, using her charm to find a phone to call.

Danny, left alone with Vlad pretends to want to live with him to let his guard down. Successfully tricking Vlad by setting back his clock (which shows how much time is left until Danny's powers return), he wraps the Specter Deflector around Vlad, which weakens him considerably. In his weakened state, Danny defeats Vlad by tricking the ghosts of animals that Vlad killed, and disables his powers with the Plasmius Maximus.

In "The Million Dollar Ghost", Vlad travels into the Ghost Zone in search of a Skeleton Key, which will give him access to powerful artifacts. When the guardian appears, he shows considerable power and easily outmatches it, but his arrogance costs him as the guardian whacks Vlad out of the Ghost Zone and back into his manor without the key. Having accidentally blown up his castle mansion when he forgot to change the "Ecto-Filtraitor" on his ghost portal, he then plans to steal the Ghost Portal from the Fentons. Needing to distract Danny so he can have the time to dismantle it, he offers a million dollar bounty on the ghost boy to distract him. Ghost Hunters from all over place gather to capture him which doesn't bother Danny due to their incompetent nature. However, when Danny spots the ghost vultures making off with Sam and Tucker, he races after him, only to be brutally beaten by Plasmius, who reveals his intention to humiliate Jack before leaving.

When Danny feels sorry for Jack and his inept abilities, he allows himself to be caught to boost his terrible reputation, but when Jack leaves to claim his reward, the two are both captured by Vlad who then proceeds to steal their Ghost Portal. Working together, Jack and Danny escape their cage and head for the Portal, where Vlad taunts Jack. However, Jack uses the Ghost Gauntlets to beat Vlad and throws him into the Ghost Zone. Vlad, humiliated terribly, is glad to see that he has landed right next to the Skeleton Key.

"Maybe that's all anybody needs, a second chance."

The skeleton key would be put to use in his next appearance in "Reign Storm" where Vlad winds up releasing the ghost king Pariah Dark when he tries to steal the king's treasures: the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage. To combat the king, Vlad and Danny call a temporary truce and fight off Pariah's forces as well as help Jack with creating the "Fenton Ecto-Skeleton", which he intends to steal for himself.

Vlad ultimately saves the day by locking up Pariah Dark back into his sarcophagus prison just as an Ecto-Skeleton armed Danny passes out while fighting him. Taking advantage of the situation, Vlad steals the Ecto-Skeleton, and to Maddie and Jack he claims to have rescued Danny to worm his way back into Maddie's good graces.

[edit] Alternate Repentance

In an alternate future, as seen in the episode "The Ultimate Enemy", Danny, orphaned upon the death of his family and friends moves in with Vlad, seeing as he was "the only person left on the planet who could possibly hope to understand his situation". However, he brings in Danny with open arms and honors his wishes when a desperate Danny begs Vlad to remove his ghost half from him. During the process, Danny's ghost form turns on Vlad, tears Vlad's ghost half away and merges himself with it.

With evil having completely consumed him, Danny's ghost half then proceeds to kill his human half, destroy Vlad's mansion, and begin a 10-year long rampage of world destruction. When the present-day Danny, trapped in the future due to future Danny fusing a Clockwork medallion to him arrives in what's left of Vlad's mansion, he finds Vlad, now reduced to a miserable old hermit. The only advantage of this, he says, is that it's given him time to realize what a fool he's been. In a rare moment for both characters, Vlad shows repentance for his misdeeds while Danny, in a way, forgives him, "Maybe that's all anybody needs, a second chance". Afterwards, Vlad played a part in restoring present-day Danny back to the past to correct this mistake by removing the time medallion.

Returning to the present, Vlad's next big plan takes place in "Secret Weapons", when he hires Skulker to steal various materials to improve the stolen Ecto-Skeleton's power. When Danny's sister, Jazz, arrives with the intent to move in with him, Vlad wastes no time in convincing Jack and Maddie to let her stay. However, he doesn't realize that Jazz's true motive is to investigate Vlad (whom Jazz knows has a ghost form) and his possible connection to Skulker's thefts. Vlad starts getting suspicious when Jazz recognizes a captured Danny Phantom, and orders Jazz to prove her loyalty by putting on the Ecto-Skeleton and destroying her brother, lest she be destroyed herself. Danny and Jazz, however, get the last laugh by outsmarting Vlad's trap by means of a mock battle, escaping while he's in confusion, and setting the Ecto-Skeleton to self-destruct.

[edit] Desperation

By "Flirting with Disaster", Vlad's company VladCo had taken over Axion Lab. In "Masters Of All Time", Vlad receives another outbreak of Ecto-Acne, this one lethal. Infecting Sam and Tucker with the same disease, he blackmails Danny into helping him. Taking a different route to stop this from happening, Danny goes to the past thanks to Clockwork, and saves Vlad from getting hit by the blast.

However, this causes Jack to receive the Ecto-Acne and ultimately become Jack Plasmius. In this "alternate present", Vlad is married to Maddie, has become the new Wisconsin Dairy King, and supposedly lives as a simple dairy farmer. However, he is still a very controlling individual, as he forbids his wife Maddie from continuing her ghost research (although she still continues it in secret). He also lies and said that Jack blames her for the accident (which is how he probably convinced her to marry him).

Danny and Vlad confront one another.

When Vlad eventually discovers Maddie's lab, he's shocked to see Jack (as Plasmius) still alive and with Maddie. He blasts Jack out of jealousy, apparently killing him which angers Maddie who fights back by throwing him into the Ghost Zone. Danny returns to the real present after Clockwork changes the past back to the way it originally was, now with knowledge of the cure, revealing it is not caused by ecto-energy, but by Jack's Diet Soda. They are cured afterwards, but Vlad, still weak from the acne asks Danny to let bygones be bygones, only for him to be knocked out of the air by Danny.

Vlad eventually takes drastic and desperate measures in "Kindred Spirits" when he tries to create the perfect clone of Danny (getting various sources of Danny's ghost power through hidden cameras installed in Valerie's old ghost hunting suit given to her in ("Shades of Gray"). So far he managed to spawn a few imperfect (due to the lack of a mid-morph sample from Danny) copies, including Dani Phantom, a female version of Danny.

He eventually uses her in helping capture Danny himself. However, Dani betrays Vlad after seeing what who her "father" truly was, one who didn't care jack for her, so she thusly helped her "cousin" Danny destroy the entire clone lab, including the perfect clone. Gravely upset over the lost of his creation, Vlad almost kills Dani if not for Danny's ghostly wail which sends him back. He is then temporarily knocked out by Specter Speeder when it crash lands onto him, Tucker and Sam having come to save Danny. He is left with a Specter Deflector on him, cancelling out his powers, giving Dani the chance to get payback for her and Danny by knocking him out and turning her back on him forever.

During the episode, we also learn exactly how Vlad built his fortune: by using his ghost powers to rob banks, overshadow billionaires, and force companies to give their money to him in the last 20 years.

[edit] Politics and New Grounds

The newly elected mayor Vlad and his cat, Maddie.

By the time of "Eye for an Eye", Vlad got himself elected by overshadowing the voters into choosing him to be Mayor as revenge from a series of pranks he pulled between him and Danny. As a result, he made life miserable for Danny by cancelling technology, banning Danny Phantom, school uniforms, and tearing down Nasty Burger to make way for his adults-only hangout McMasters.

Danny eventually goes in to apology, but Vlad refuses which leds to Danny trying to annouce in public (including camera men) that Masters and Plasimus are one and the same. This fails when a Plasimus clone enters in the same area where where Danny, the public, and Vlad Masters is visible. While the duplicate and Danny fights, Vlad Masters, trying to make himself look good in public attempts to kill his Plasimus clone until Danny overshadows it and lures him to Vlad's limo which he shoots. From the wreckage is an injured Danny Fenton which the public all blame Vlad on for hurting an innocent child. As a result he repents and turns everything back to normal; his battle with Danny far from over.

In "Infinite Realms", Vlad steals the famed Infi-Map that takes the user to any parts of the Ghost Zone from Danny and friends so as to find his destiny. Danny and friends get involved in a wild goose chase to bring the map back which they eventually do when Vlad ends up landing in the Far Frozen where he is frozen by Frostbite and his people.

By "Torrent of Terror", Vlad disguises a barometer that controls the weather ghost Vortex as his "rain machine" to bring about rain upon Amity Park's recent heat wave to increase his appeal on people. The plan later backfires when Vortex rebels and the barometer breaks, forcing him to go on a rampage on Earth and accidentally giving Danny his own set of weather powers caused by his emotions. Vlad tries to keep Danny calm and pleased at all times while Sam and Tucker scopes Vortex out and bring him back to Amity Park where he is defeated by Danny. He made a cameo in "Livin Large" where the Fentons served as next door neighbors of Vlad when the family was briefly rich.

[edit] Personality and Weakness

Vlad is manipulative and cruel in his methods, yet clever, suave and debonair with a slick streak seeing as his plans are often foreshadowed and not revealed until a later episode. He's determined in his goals in which he'll use any methods to gain what he wants. As such, he never gives up, even in the face of defeat. To compensate for his losses, Vlad savors the small personal victories (such as in "Bitter Reunions" where he lost the battle, but pointed out Danny's blackmailing before leaving). When under stress, he frequently shouts out snack names ("Oh, butter biscuits", "Oh, sugar cookies", "Oh, butter nuts", "Oh, fudge buckets", "Oh, butter brickle", and "Oh, cheese logs"). He lusts after Maddie and works desperately to bring in Danny as his son and protege. He usually works alone, but has required help from Skulker several times, as well as the vulture ghosts, ectopusses, and the failed clones. Based on dialogue in the first movie, it is also probable that he struck a deal with the Fright Knight.

He's a complicated soul however, often a double edged sword as he uses the wrong methods (killing, stealing, etc.) to gain the right, namely his painful loneliness and wanting acceptance of love which he frequently shares with Maddie and especially Danny. Unfortunately this is also used to his disadvantage when his emotions were often used to trick him into losing a battle. However, the fact that he retains such emotions shows that he is not above redemption.

Though he is powerful, (having more than 20 years of ghost experience as compared to Danny), Vlad is not invincible. Like other ghosts (and half ghosts), Vlad is vulnerable to the various Fenton ghost gadgets such as the Ghost Gauntlets and the Specter Deflector. Ectoplasimic Goo was used against him twice in both "Bitter Reunions" and "The Million Dollar Ghost", and in both cases, he was left wide open. Apparently, he cannot phase through the sticky substance. Danny's Ghostly Wail and Cryokinesis are also clear advantages, seeing as these are powers that Vlad seems to lack, giving Danny a substantial edge. While Vlad's powers have remained consistent throughout the series, by "Eye for an Eye", his powers have increased since.

He is also a devoted Packers fan, going as far as decorating the entrance hall of his castle in the Packers, having a football stadium outside his home, and trying to buy the team itself (only to be rejected). Strangely Vlad hasn't tried to use his powers to get them to yield (or maybe the current owner is too strongwilled a fan himself to yield if Vlad had used his powers to overshadow the current owner.)

[edit] Relationships

[edit] Danny Phantom (Daniel Fenton)

Quite possibly the one whom he desires the most, Vlad's first meeting with Danny was nothing up until he discovered the boy was half ghost like him. With that knowledge, Vlad has since pursued after Danny, trying to convince him to be his son and successor, even going as desperate to create a clone Danny in "Kindred Spirits". Half the time he often uses Danny to get another phase of his plans moving and isn't above being manipulative towards him, yet the other half often shows off an antagonistic paternal bond towards him, giving him advices and gestures to indicate the two were a lot more alike then Danny cares to admit. It seems however by the time of "Eye for an Eye" that Vlad now sees Danny as a full time rival then the son he yearns for. To this day, their relationship is still strained.

[edit] Dani Phantom

Born as one of Vlad's many failed attempts to clone Danny, Dani was blessed with an actual mind and personality (as opposed to the other dim-minded clones, whose only coherent thoughts are to "obey father"). As a result, Vlad treated Dani as if she were his actual daughter in order to keep her trust. In truth, however, Vlad intended to dispose of her once he had succeeded in perfecting his ultimate Danny clone. When Dani found out the truth about her "father" while fighting with Danny, she turned on Vlad and left. The ultimate irony is that had Vlad actually taken the time to raise Dani like he would have with Danny, he would have actually succeeded in his plan to create the perfect child to raise as his own. Dani is currently still alive, and it's obvious that Vlad now sees her as an enemy.

[edit] Maddie Fenton

The woman Vlad desires; he has repeatedly declared that he is in love with her and will do anything to get her, mostly killing Jack who serves as an obstacle. It is possible he has more of an obsession with her (even to create a computerized program of her in "Kindred Spirits"), vying to own and control her then love and respect if things don't go the way he wants in their marriage ("Masters of All Time"). Maddie is indifferent to Vlad due to his confession that he loved her ("Maternal Instincts") and continues to harbor mixed feelings towards him even after he apparently rescued Danny in "Reign Storm".

[edit] Jack Fenton

Once the former best friend of Vlad, Jack's accidental mistake and marriage to Maddie has left a strain in Vlad's heart. While Jack seems oblivious to Vlad's hatred, Vlad has taken it upon himself to humiliate and eventually kill Jack when the opportunity rises.

[edit] Valerie Gray

She was given her ghost hunting gears by Vlad and has since used them to her fullest ability until "Flirting with Disaster" (in which the suit was destroyed). Unbeknownst to her, Valerie's suit served as to spy on Danny and his ghosts powers which Vlad would use to create the perfect clone. It seems Valerie is impressed and respectful towards Vlad, obviously not knowing of his true intentions.

[edit] Skulker

One of the ghosts he primary employs to do various odds and ends for him (stealing, kidnapping, etc.) which Skulker does willingly in exchange for (presumably) money, or perhaps better equipment.

[edit] Vulture Ghosts and Others

Hired as Vlad's henchghosts by Vlad. They're quite weak, but usually reliable. It may be possible that there are other ghosts that work for Vlad. So far, Vlad has apparently hired the Fright Knight to serve him, and, in "Torrent of Terror", he has also once obtained the services of a weather-controlling ghost named Vortex, thought broke the deal when Vortex rebelled against him.

[edit] Powers

Vlad has all the same powers that Danny has, but his powers are far more developed. He is able to perform techniques that Danny has yet to learn (like duplication), and for all the feats that Danny can perform, Vlad can perform them better, possible due to the 20 year experience in which he has had more time to develop new abilities, improve his existing ones, and patch up any weaknesses he might have, although it seems Danny is slowly catching up to him.

Furthermore, it's been shown that Vlad lacks Danny's Ghostly Wail ability. He also doesn't seem to have a ghost sense, and, by extension, hasn't developed ice powers like Danny recently did.

In "Eye for an Eye", Vlad stated his powers were increasing as he managed to overshadow (or just mentally influenced) many persons via shadowy copies of himself.

His powers include (but possibly not limited to) the following :

Transformation- Vlad's rings are black, as opposed to Danny's, which are white.
Vampiric Ghost Form- Strangely, Vlad's ghost form is similar to a vampire, unlike Danny who just has a "negative image" of himself. It is unknown why Vlad looks like this, but this is most likely because Vlad was originally intended to be a vampire.
Intangibility and Invisibility- Able to phase through solid objects and not be seen. He has used this often to steal money before meeting Danny.
Flying, Floating, and Hovering- Able to fly, float, and hover, presumably with the same speed as Danny's.
Paranormal Speed, Strength, Agility, and Durability- Standard ghost powers.
Overshadowing/Possession- Able to overshadow and possess any human. He has used this ability to get rich tycoons to give their company to him.
Ectoplasmic Energy Blast ("Ghost Ray")- His blast consists of pink ectoplasm. In "Maternal Instincts" he could fire two beams, one from each of his eyes (without transformation).In the same episode one blast was light blue.
Ectoplasmic Energy Shield ("Ghost Shield")- His shield consists of pink ectoplasm; it forms a wall and can form a Mirror Shield to attack as well.
Duplication- He can split into 4 duplicates. In Eye for an Eye Vlad Masters manages to create several shadows of himself that possessed many people to make them vote for him in the city mayor elections. Creating that many copies of himself seems to indicate that there might not be a limit to the number of duplicates that he or possibly Danny would be able to create.
Ectoplasmic Absorption & Redirection- Vlad can absorb attacks and use them as his own. Though it may be likely he was only blocking the attack and firing one of his own.
Ectoplasmic Shaping- Vlad can shape ectoplasm into solid objects.
Teleportation- Vlad can disappear from one location and reappear elsewhere by wrapping his cape around him and vanishing in a cloud of mist.
Ghost Stinger- Vlad uses this electricity attack.
Ghost Twister- Vlad spins like a tornado, deflecting any ectoplasmic energy and causing huge wind gusts.

[edit] Trivia

Vlad may take his name from Vlad III, the man that inspired Count Dracula. His ghost form resembles that of a Dracula-esque vampire, in both skin tone and costume. According to Butch Hartman, Vlad was originally going to be a vampire. (See part 4 of DPOFPA's Interview with Butch Hartman)

Originally, Vlad's white hair was thought to be a side effect of getting his ghost powers. However, in "Masters of All Time", this is disproved as he's shown with white hair even without the aid of getting hit by the Proto Portal. It is possibly that it could be a sign of old age, a natural gray, or merely a goof on the animator's part.

Vlad's nickname for Danny "little badger" might have originated from his college where the football team's mascot is indeed, a badger.

Vlad's villain origin, as seen in "Bitter Reunions" is based on the origin of Doctor Doom and Lex Luthor.

It is possible that while Vlad has more developed powers than Danny, Danny may have more potential than Vlad. This might be due to the fact that he was only blasted in the face by a much smaller ghost portal, while Danny received a much stronger blast throughout his body from the full-sized ghost portal. If so, it would explain the wider array of powers Danny has over Vlad, such as the Ghostly Wail and Cryokinesis. Vlad later gains more powers; a possible explanation for Vlad's new abilities is with his ecto acne cured, his ghost half is more stable and therefore more powerful. However it might just be that like other ghosts his powers are simply evolving.

Vlad Plasmius is one of the only villains never sucked inside a Fenton Thermos.

In "Maternal Instincts" Vlad shouts out that he will not get a cat, although later gets one in "Infinite Realms" (named Maddie). However, in a fit of ego, he claims it is his sister's cat to possibly avoid the fact that he took Danny's advice.