15 Best Episodes Of Danny Phantom

Danny Phantom premiered April 3, 2004, introducing a new kind of hero that would create an eternal legacy. Audiences took a liking to it, developing a dedicated cult following that exists to this day with all practically demanding a reboot. As of now, that hasn’t yet happened, but you never know. Creator Butch Hartman appears to be on-board with the idea, even giving his audience a look into Danny Phantom: 10 Years Later on his YouTube channel.

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Yet, until a reboot really does come around, we can enjoy the episodes that are available and celebrate the 15-year milestone with fifteen memorable episodes of Danny Phantom!

15 Attack of the Killer Garage Sale

Suddenly given the opportunity to join Casper High’s “in-crowd”, Danny impulsively sells his father’s “junk”, which has been infused with Technus’ (who controls technology) ghost energy in order to pay for the outfit required to attend the party. In his quest for popularity, Danny ditches his friends Tucker and Sam. That is, until the party blows up in his face and he realizes how insignificant it truly is. When Technus attacks, Danny pleads with his friends to forgive him and promises to never ditch them again, which restores their friendship just in time to stop the madman and teaches Danny to never take his friends for granted.

14 Doctor’s Disorders

When the students of Casper High suddenly begin to exhibit ghost powers, Danny investigates. Trouble is, the students are locked inside a hospital with heavy security. Danny and Tucker manage to sneak inside (despite Tucker’s intense fear of hospitals). Turns out, Danny’s familiar foes Penelope Spectra and her assistant Bertrand are behind the evil plot. Together, Danny and Tucker save the day courtesy of Tucker’s foul-smelling original cologne, which makes the source of the virus, ghost bugs, leave the bodies of the students, curing them. Unfortunately for Tucker, Sam falls on him from the ceiling and breaks his leg, landing Tucker in the hospital. How’s that for cruel irony?

13 The Ultimate Enemy

When Danny cheats on a test, he receives serious repercussions. He finds that this action leads to the deaths of those closest to him and renders him into the evil, sinister version of himself. Horrified at this future, Danny utilizes time travel and help from fellow ghost Clockwork to change his future and make better decisions. Therefore, he works towards becoming a better man. This episode’s moral lesson certainly leaves an impact and message among audiences to not make life-changing decisions lightly and to consider repercussions of your actions. This episode also offers the audience a deeper insight into Danny’s personality, so we better who he is and who he wants to become.

12 Prisoners of Love

In this episode, Danny meets Walker, a crooked, yet by-the-book prison warden from the Ghost Zone. Despite Walker’s warning to stay out of the Zone, Danny returns to retrieve his father’s anniversary present to his mother that he accidentally lost. He winds up in prison himself, alongside fellow ghosts he returned to the Zone that wound up in prison themselves–and hold a grudge against him for it. Danny manages to establish a temporary truce to escape, which proves successful. Freed from prison with the gift, Danny quickly goes after his parents to find them celebrating his aunt’s anniversary of her divorce. Stranger things can happen, unless you’re a Fenton.

11 Memory Blank

In this episode, we get a look at what life might have been like for Danny, Tucker and Sam if Danny had never gotten his ghost powers. After saying offhand that she wished she’d never met Danny, Sam inadvertently causes Danny and Tucker to forget all about her thanks to Desiree’s (the wishing ghost) powers.

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Faced with Desiree granting everyone’s wishes which would surely cause mass destruction, Sam convinces Danny to reenact his accident in order to defeat her. This episode also introduces Danny’s new customized emblem on his costume, designed by Sam herself.

10 Bitter Reunions

This episode introduced Danny’s archenemy, Vlad Masters. When Danny’s parents bring him and his sister along to their college reunion, Danny finds out more about their past through Vlad, who used to be friends with them and secretly harbors feelings towards Danny’s mother. Not only that, but in the accident Vlad had in college, it gave him ghost powers, making Danny the second person his parents accidentally turned into a half-ghost. The end of the episode results in an interim truce, or else they both reveal who they really are to Danny’s parents, something that makes Vlad back down, for fear of being forever rejected by Maddie.

9 My Brother’s Keeper

Danny has been gloomy and depressed, resulting in Jazz enrolling him in counseling with the school’s counselor, Ms. Spectra (a ghost that feeds off of students’ negative emotions to make herself look younger). Danny struggles with being hard on himself and feeling like a loser, until he realizes that it’s time to move past that. He makes this adjustment with help from Jazz, who always encouraged him and supported him. This episode exemplifies the brother-sister bond they share, and it is also a significant episode in that Jazz discovers Danny’s secret, but chooses to keep it to herself to allow Danny to tell her when he’s ready.

8 Public Enemies

Walker and his goons infiltrate the human plane to capture and incarcerate Danny. They overshadow people around him, but Danny successfully eludes them by hiding out in Fenton Works, his home, with the ghost shield up. Sam and Tucker convince him to come out and face the music despite the imminent danger, so Danny fights and ultimately defeats Walker and his gang (with some help from his new ghost friend Wulf). Unfortunately, it’s not without a sacrifice: Danny becomes Public Enemy Number 1 in Amity Park’s eyes, but despite the setback, Danny doesn’t waver from his dedication to protecting his hometown.

7 Control Freaks

“Circus Gothica” arrives in Amity Park, much to Sam’s contentment. Unfortunately, its Ringmaster, Freakshow, is providing more than just entertainment. His scepter has the power to hypnotize ghosts into doing whatever he wants, and that power soon begins to control Danny, forcing him to rob banks and conduct Freakshow’s evildoing alongside the other ghosts.

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Danny fights to regain control of his mind, but it’s not until Sam’s life is in danger that Danny finds the power to overcome Freakshow’s control in order to save her. Danny destroys the scepter and ensures Freakshow is caught, which concludes Season 1.

6 Double Cross My Heart

This episode is paramount in the sense that this is the first time we see Danny truly jealous. When Sam’s caught up with a new kid in school named Gregor, Danny relentlessly spies on them, convinced Gregor is working with the Guys in White, due to some similarities Gregor shares with them. Sam resents Danny’s spying, oblivious to Danny’s jealousy. However, Danny turns out to be right; Gregor is phony, but not in the way he previously thought.

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First loves are difficult to acknowledge, especially when you’ve been friends forever, as we see with Danny’s and Sam’s struggle.

5 Maternal Instincts

Maddie takes Danny to a science symposium to bond with her distant son. The trip instantly goes horribly awry, as it is a ruse put on by Vlad. Danny temporarily loses his powers due to one of Vlad’s devices and must survive in the woods with his mother until they return, which proves difficult as Vlad has sent some of his ghost minions after the two. The episode portrays Maddie’s adept ghost-fighting skills, Danny outsmarting Vlad with witty remarks and quick-thinking, and even a sub-plot of Jazz and Jack bonding back at Fenton Works, defending it against an army Vlad had sent to annihilate them.

4 One of a Kind

Danny meets Skulker, a ghost hunter that fancies collecting rare and unique things. Danny, being half human and half ghost, fits the bill. Danny is forced to balance pulling his Biology grade up, eluding and ultimately sending Skulker back to the Ghost Zone. Skulker is also one of the most memorable of villains and sometimes ally that always threatens to capture Danny and force him to be a part of his collection. Luckily for our hero, that never does happen. This episode gives us a look in a “day in the life of Danny Fenton/Phantom”, and we’ll easily take doing extra credit over being hunted.

3 Fanning the Flames

Rockstar Ember is the new and popular singer in town, her song “Remember” playing throughout the episode. Unfortunately for her fans, she’s a ghost. Danny figures this out, but is hit with a love spell before he can do anything and becomes enamored with Sam. Sam must break his heart to break the spell, which is bad news for Ember who has to pay the price. Teenagers can certainly relate to being invested in the newest act in music, and fun fact: this is one of creator Butch Hartman’s top five favorite episodes. Not to mention we love how catchy “Remember” is.

2 Phantom Planet

The series finale is nothing short of explosive. We see Danny losing and then regaining his powers, Vlad’s new ghost-fighting team “Masters Blasters”, an incoming “Disasteroid” that is set to destroy Earth, the revealing of Vlad’s true identity and his subsequent isolation, Danny’s plan to save the Earth, and the surprise appearance of Danny’s enemies to offer their help to save the Earth.

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All of these things and more keep viewers hooked, even now. However, what the episode is likely most remembered for is Danny and Sam finally becoming a couple. Even if the show had to end, at least we got a happy ending.

1 Mystery Meat

The episode that started it all! We were introduced to our hero, Danny, and his two closest friends, Tucker and Sam. The premise is set, and action soon sets in when Danny is faced with the Lunch Lady who has a strong affinity for meat and a volatile temper. It is in the pilot that Danny realizes that his powers aren’t a curse but a means to help, leading him to understanding what they are for and making a promise to protect Amity Park from all evildoing ghosts. This episode was what launched the adventures that became Danny’s life.

Danny Phantom was a show that wasn’t afraid to delve into the heavier topics of being a teenager and that was what resonated with audiences because they could relate. All of the episodes are special one way or another. As Danny and his friends grew up, so did we. The cult following remains today, for it is impossible to forget the adventure that began in 2004.

What did you think of these Danny Phantom episodes? Let us know in the comments!

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About The Author

Kacie Lillejord
(374 Articles Published)

A Seattle native, Kacie has loved entertainment in the forms of books, films, television and music since day one. Inspired by a filmmaker relative, Kacie has been pursuing a career in the film and television industry in Los Angeles ever since. A graduate of The University of Arizona, Kacie has written for her college newspaper The Daily Wildcat, Harness Magazine, 25YL, and now has added Screen Rant to her resume. She loves writing and all things pop culture.

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