| Phobos | |
|---|---|
Prince Phobos as seen in the comic book |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Disney |
| In-story information | |
| Place of origin | Metamoor (Meridian) |
| Team affiliations | Himself, was briefly allied with W.I.T.C.H. in the TV series |
| Abilities | Magic user |
Prince Phobos is a fictional villain in the comic book W.I.T.C.H. and the animated series of the same name.
In the comic book he serves as the primary antagonist during the first story arc, and returns in the fourth story arc. In the animated series he serves as the primary villain during the first season, and returns shortly before the end of the second season. He is the franchise's most recurring villain.
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Prince Phobos took the throne of the kingdom of Metamoor (known as Meridian in the TV series) some time prior to the opening chapter of the first story arc/season, and began to drain the life force of the people in order to fuel his own magical powers with the aim of becoming strong enough to take over other worlds. However, realizing that Phobos posed a great threat, the Council of Kandrakar, a realm at the center of the universe, raised a magical shield, known as the Veil around Metamoor, sealing Phobos inside and cutting it off from the rest of from all other worlds.
During the first story arc/season Phobos' primary concern is finding his lost sister Elyon Brown, whose powers are equal to his own (In the comic book, according to both Phobos and the Oracle, Elyon is even stronger than Phobos himself) and was spirited away to Earth approximately 12 years prior, so that he cannot drain her life force and add it to his own. With her power, Phobos would be able to break through the Veil and begin his conquest of other worlds.
At first, Phobos is unaware of his sister's identity, and sends his minions to find her, first by searching through birth records, and then using a magical talisman known as the Star of Threbe. After finding her and successfully poisoning her mind against her friends and family, Phobos brings his sister to Metamoor and attempts to gain her trust for long enough to drain her of her powers. Despite successfully draining some of his sister's power, Phobos' plans are foiled by the Guardians during the final installment of the Metamoor story arc/Season one. He is exposed as a villain, and is imprisoned by Elyon after a heated magical duel.
Following his defeat in Season 1 of the animated series, Phobos was briefly released by the Knights of Vengeance early in season 2, but was defeated while attempting to retake his castle from Elyon. He returned again late in Season 2, when the Guardians realized that, as an heir to the throne of Meridian, he was able to break the rule that "A Heart cannot be taken by force", and release him in order to deprive Nerissa of her Seal (which incorporated the Heart of Meridian), on the condition that he surrender the Seal to them afterwards. However, Phobos breaks his vow and instead uses the Seal to reconquer Meridian. After retaking Meridian, Phobos sets his sights on Kandrakar, and is on the verge of taking it when he is betrayed by Lord Cedric, who swallows him whole, thus gaining his powers for his own. After Cedric's defeat, Phobos is returned to Elyon's dungeon.
In the comic story arc "Trial of the Oracle", he became the new Oracle, as he was found to have used his negative emotions to switch minds with Endarno, who was the guardian of the Tower of Mists, the tower in Kandrakar where Phobos, Cedric, Frost, and many other villains were imprisoned in. Once he is restored to his rightful body by the Guardians, he realizes he has lost and leaps off of a balcony into the neverending void beneath Kandrakar, declaring that he will "never be imprisoned again", Similar to Lex Luthor's attempted suicide at the end of the first season of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
Prince Phobos possesses numerous magical powers, which include:
However, even he is unable to create portals that would link Earth and Meridian, as he himself stated in one episode, though he was able to create a portal to the enchanted painting the Guardians were trapped in, in hopes that his minions would go into the painting and finish off the Guardians (in the comic book, certain facts differ, such as the portal to the painting was an opening in the Veil, and Cedric was the one who opened the portal, though this leads to confusion, for if Cedric could make openings in the Veil, then it is surprising that Phobos cannot, and the Veil erected by Kandrakar is quite useless, and confusion is merely increased by more puzzling facts).
In the final confrontation against the Guardians, Phobos transforms Cedric into a red, more beastly monstrous version that is able to rival the combined strength of all five Guardians, though Will's quick thinking tricked Cedric into wearing the Crown of Light, thus draining the magic infused into him by Phobos away. Phobos also traps his sister Elyon in energy rings after using trickery to overpower her.
Throughout the series, Phobos is portrayed as a vicious and amoral young man. Like most clinically diagonosed psychopaths, he can be charming and persuasive when he wants to be as he had Elyon completely taken in and when he convinced her that he was a loving sibling and slowly weened her away from her friends while also feigning concern for her well being. However his true ruthless nature is all too apparent in his manipulative treatment of those around him as well as his utter lack of sincerity. He is also prone to violent mood swings. Phobos is an intelligent being but is given to moments of impulsiveness such as when he almost crosses over into Kandrakar to conquer it, forgetting that he swore on the Heart of Kandrakar he would not, almost resulting in the loss of his powers. It is this overconfident and arrogant side of Phobos' personality that usually contributes to his downfall. Phobos ranks alongside Nerissa as one of the Guardians' most ruthless adversaries. Irma refers to him as "the triple espresso of evil". He is also very good looking and can charm anyone just with his smile and a look of his blue eyes.
Although Phobos appears youthful, his true age is uncertain; he is known, however, to be very old.
One interpretation from the comic book story arcs is that he is an ancient immortal and that he was born shortly after the creation of the universe, which was when the Veil was raised in order to imprison him. Phobos's age is played down in the animated series, where the Veil was raised within living human memory. Though no specific details are given, it is known that Yan Lin, a mortal human, fought Phobos as a Guardian when she was a young woman, which makes Phobos at least comparable to Yan Lin in age, while leaving open the potential for him to be far older. Phobos may be thousands of years old, indeed.
In the animated series episode "B is for Betrayal", the Oracle tells the Guardians that the Veil was raised 13 years ago when Phobos first came to power, which gives him a significantly different backstory than the comic book although this would mean that thirteen years ago the extremely old Yan Lin was a young woman although this is but one of the many continuity errors in the series, and may be explained away if one accepts that W.I.T.C.H. and C.H.Y.K.N.'s guardian forms remain youthful as their mortal bodies age, meaning that they will always remain young and strong when transformed.
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