#the phantom king

[thevindicativevordan]

Xa-du pretty much shows up whenever the Phantom Zone shows up now. He even had a cameo in a Wonder Woman comic back during infinite frontier. Do you think he counts as a meaningful addition to his rogues gallery like Manchester black or do you think he needs an animated adaptation (I'd love for MAWS to use him over Zod, especially since their brainiac already felt like robot Zod)

Gladly take an animated adaption, but I believe he's already a meaningful addition in that he embodies the Phantom Zone as an antagonistic force, and Superman can believably fight him in a brawl unlike Aethyr. Zod and other evil Kryptonians being imprisoned in the Zone is peripheral to their whole deal, but it's central to the Phantom King. He's actually been mutated by his time there, and ideally if I had my way, it would result in a different powerset for him too. As an evil Kryptonian he is different enough from the rest to justify keeping around, and he actually has an awesome design to make people remember him.

I cannot overemphasize enough how important having a cool design is. Venom has coasted off being cool-looking for practically his entire existence. Artists like to draw cool stuff and writers like to use characters that look awesome. Waid loves Jax-Ur because that guy was the most prominent Silver Age Kryptonian baddie, but Jax fell off and has never recovered because he has neither the personality, potential, or coolness factor to compete with Zod. Jax has never had a cool looking design, even his DCAU appearance makes him look like Diet Zod.

Xa-Du meanwhile strikes a dramatic contrast with Zod in both personality and motivation. If Zod remains the Space Fascist, seeking to exert total control over everything he sees, even as his control over himself continues to crack, Xa-Du is the cackling maniac who left sanity and self-control behind long ago. Where Zod dresses in pristine power armor, Xa dresses in rags. Where Zod has shown a twisted concern for his fellow Kryptonians, trying to revive the Kandorians with the Lazarus Pits, Xa used the Kandorians as bullets to try to kill Superman's loved ones. Actually that's the fundamental difference between the two and why Xa works alongside Zod: he doesn't give a damn about Krypton being gone or what happens to his fellow Kryptonian survivors. He's never going to repent or reform, he has no sympathetic backstory or traits, and he doesn't really serve as a twisted mirror to Superman. Being pure evil let's him be fun to read because he stands out amidst all the other Superman Rogues who are frequently being given sympathy in the modern era.

Waid has frequently said that Superman would struggle with Batman's villains because he can't think like a sociopath. If that's the route we're going, then I argue we need to have Superman up against villains who are as depraved as the worst Arkham inmates because they would test him in a way his other villains can't. Toyman for me is the human who brings that depravity while the Phantom King is the Kryptonian side of that coin. Superman can't empathize with, or understand them, and when he's up against them he is forced to contend with the most debased avatars of both sides of his dual heritage.

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC Legal Power

Batman: You can not punish the Joker

Batman: You are no judge, jury, and executioner

Danny Fenton, standing over Joker's beaten body: Actually, I am

Danny Fenton, raising the Creep Stick up: I am the High King of Infinite Realms, and this bitch has been resurrected more than once

Danny Fenton, smacking Joker like a piñata: With the use of a pool of some nasty smelling ecto, mind you, but it puts him under my jurisdiction nonetheless

Danny Fenton, smiling at Batman as Joker is wheezing and trying to crawl away: So I am the judge, jury, and executioner for him since I'm the highest power in a Realm where he is a denizen

Danny Fenton, catching the Joker by the ankle and dragging him back: And as the King, I hereby sentence him to death by a repetitive use of The Creep Stick over his whole body

Batman: ...

Red Hood, with a bowl of popcorn: Do you mind switching The Creep Stick for a crowbar?

[caffeinatedvigilantewriter]

So Billy is 17, doesn’t matter if he’s homeless or adopted, but the League or his family still don’t know that he Captain Marvel.

One day, he gets caught in a summon.

The summoning turns out to be a marriage contract. Billy is now married to the eldritch ghost king. Who was also not happy.

After sending the cultist to hell, the ghost king transforms into a teenager. Danny Fenton

Huh, he could work with this. Billy transforms as well.

They start working together to find a way to break off the marriage. There isn’t one. They are stuck together. And because both of them have enemies, they can’t exactly tell people that they’re married

Eventually, they learn to like each more than friends. One day, Marvel is in a meeting and someone asks him what he’s doing after work,

Marvel: oh! I’m watching that new horror movie with my husband :))

Leaguers: ….

Marvel: he was so excited to see it I couldn’t say no!

Leaguers: you’re married???

Marvel: … it was supposed to be a secret… shit…

Shenanigans

- marvel is getting his butt whipped by a new villain, Danny shows up as elderitch monster (“not my husband, bitch!”)

- JLA holiday party? Billy brings elderitch Danny

- Dani pops up:

Dani: hiya papa!!

Marvel: Dani! What are you doing here?

Dani: just stopping by to see my papa :))

Marvel: aww :))

Leaguers: aww….?

-when Billy identify is revealed;

Leaguer: I can’t believe you made up a fake husband!

Billy: oh Danny is real!

Leaguers: but he’s not your husband, right?

Billy: :))

Leaguers: ….right??

[tired-all-the-time22]

Working on ghost prince Danny design,,

This sketch is pretty so I wanted to share it

[enigmaris]

DPxDC idea that has been floating around my head for a few months now:

Gotham, given its whole... thing with Lazurus Pools and general bad vibes, has a ghostly representative. Lady Gotham, when she bothers to be coporeal, looks like an influential lady from the 1920s, straight art deco elegance. A real classy girl.

Jazz is touring college campuses around the US. She has full ride offers from Gotham University, Metroplis College, and Star City State, to name a few. Danny, upon hearing that his sister is going to GOTHAM of all cities, decides he is going on this trip with her. He might be only 15, but his big sister isn't getting mugged while he has half an afterlife left to live!

Lady Gotham is all a flutter! Why the last ghost king was so frumpy! King Phantom is so handsome and powerful, and he is coming to her city. She absolutely has to show off her best side! She feels like a teenaged girl getting her home ready before a new beau comes to visit. She's flustered, she's nervous.

Meanwhile, John Constatine wakes up with cosmic alarm bells going off because something really, really bad is happening. He investigates to dicsover that for the past three days Gotham has not had a single crime.

No murders, muggings, hell not even a single jay walker!

Gotham the most cursed place on the North Or South American continent is suddenly more squeaky clean than whatever small farm town Superman grew up in.

No crimes, no smog in the air. Crime Lords seemingly gone in a puff of smoke, Assassins asleep in their beds.

Its so freaky. Even Batman is spooked and he is never spooked by anything.

Constantine is certain some demon or other nefarious being is harnessing Gothams cursed energy for some evil plot. Gathering the power to use it like a nuclear blast. Batman is concerned about mass mind control.

Lady Gotham is doing the metaphysical equivalent of hiding all of your stuff in a closet before a guest comes over because you dont have time to actually clean. She had to shoulder the thing closed! She just knows that when the lock fails there will be a huge mess.

Jazz and her family are just surprised about how nice Gotham U's campus is. She'd heard it was so dark and dangerous, but everyone is smiling and pleasant to her! Danny is just happy Jazz is safe from various villains.

So we have Batman investigating his rogues gallery for mind control plots, Constatine hunting for demons, Jazz and her family taking a walking tour of Gotham U, and Lady Gotham using every bit of her ghostly powers to make sure her damned, cursed city doesnt embarrass her in front of her crush!

[celestialgalaxyglow]

In the Batcave during training hours.

Tim: Hey Danny what's one of your scarier powers?

Danny: Well, I have this power which I call ghostly night.

He moved towards Bruce, who was working on the batcomputer.

Danny: You see if I reach into a person and grab their spirit and shake it ever so slightly like this.

Bruce faceplanted onto the batcomputer.

Danny: They fall into a deep sleep and will only wake up when they no longer feel tired.

Tim: ...

Damian: Cool!

Danny: I've been part of this family for a short time, but I have noticed certain family members do not get a proper 8 hours of sleep per night; and at times go 24 hours or more without proper sleep, so if I am made aware that one of you is not sleeping willingly for a prolonged period of time I will have to "intervene."

Jason (who's been awake for 36 hours): ....

Danny: For example given that Bruce has been awake for the last 72 hours will be out for about 24 hours.

Jason: You know what, I feel a bit tired. I'm going upstairs to my room and get some sleep.

Tim (who's been awake for 30 hours): Me too.

Damian (who's been awake for 20): I'm not tired.

Danny: I'll tell Alfred to make you chocolate chip pancakes in the morning.

Damian: You make a good bargain.

Part: 4, (all parts)

[fanaroff]

Constantine coming across Danny for the first time: Kid, are you aware that you’re dead?

Danny, about to play the greatest prank: I’m what? D:

[stars-obsession-pit]

The Worst Branch in the Country

The GIW knows Amity Park is a huge fraud. The “most haunted city in the US”, really? They’ve been checking the place out for decades with nary a peep aside from that couple of crazy scientists that moved into town around twenty years prior.

Because of this, the town became a punishment duty. One of their agents causes trouble? They get put in time out and sent to work for a while in Amity Park. Let those idiots chase after pointless rumors while the actually competent agents work with the more important ghosts. The reports back from the town get barely more than a cursory glance before getting tossed in the shredder.

…Which really came back to bite them when ghosts did actually start to show up, and they didn’t realize until after the Amity Park branch had royally screwed up the situation.

Fuck, they really hope this doesn’t start a war.

Optional DPxDC addition: they call in the Justice League Dark for help with negotiation and taking down their rogue members

[zhelin-thames]

Constantine is a father??

Danny: "So, let me get this straight. My dad is a supernatural con artist with a death wish, and my mom's ghost-hunting tech is probably illegal in three dimensions?"

Constantine: "Oi, kid, it's not a death wish. It's called living dangerously. Plus, you got my charm."

Danny: "Yeah, sure. Charm totally stops ghosts from trying to eat me every Tuesday!"

Constantine: "You're doing fine, lad. Half-ghost, half-magician-what could go wrong?"

Danny: "When you're the half-ghost son of the world's most irresponsible magician…"

[papiliomame]

Shooting Star

The King's arrival is always a spectacle. His cape brings the night sky and his crown the aurora borealis, while he himself is crashing down to earth like a shooting star.

[unfortunatelyphoenix]

So Danny got summoned by a cult the JL failed to stop. Problem, he's a little too hungry to care

I had 2 ideas for this so you can choose which one you want.

Danny had forgotten to eat for like 24 hours when doing ghost king shit, so when he finally got some food and felt himself being pulled into a summoning he decided that whoever it was could deal with him eating, so he grabbed his plate and kept eating. To say the cult and JL were expecting to see a massive eldritch king of ghosts and space sitting cross-legged like a teenager and eating (insert the most random food you wouldn't expect a regal king to eat) would be a lie.

Danny, with food in his mouth: You're the ones who summoned me while I was in the middle of eating, so you get to deal with it.

OR

Danny had forgotten he needed food, again, but just as he was about to sit down to start eating he suddenly got summoned by some random cult. So now he's standing in the middle of a summoning circle that's surrounded by cultists and heroes, but he doesn't care, he's now just disappointed in the world and a little sad.

Danny, looking an ancient god and king of space and terror, in the most pathetic and sad voice: My dino nuggies D:

[corkinavoid]

DPxDC Ring of Rage? More Like Ring of Engage

The thing is, Tim didn't mean to put it on. He was just kind of playing with it to keep his hands busy while he was thinking about the recent murder case. GCPD had their hands full with the serial robbers that didn't rank high enough to catch Batman's attention, and Tim never had a problem with helping the police if he had time.

And the ring was a perfect fidget toy, if he is being honest. Small and plain enough not to distract him, but the round stone in the middle was loosely attached, making it able to spin inside the frame. Which is what he did, again and again, like those fidget spinners.

Of course, he was just destined to drop it sooner or later. And then, when he reached under the table to pick it up, his finger caught inside the ring, and, well.

The ring was now firmly on his finger.

The problem was that he couldn't take it off.

It wasn't stuck, at least not in the general sense of it - Tim could easily spin it around, and it wasn't tight. But it wasn't loose either, and as soon as he tried to move it past the knuckle, the ring heavily disagreed, almost like shrinking down and absolutely refusing to be detached.

Barbara suggested soap, which didn't work. Dick tried for a more mechanical approach, first with pliers and then with a laser, which the ring resisted with no effort. Cass, who was actually the one who brought the damned thing into the Cave after one of her adventures in Hong Kong, just smiled and shrugged, which was of no help either. Damian offered to cut the finger off, which probably would have helped, but Tim rather liked all his limbs attached.

Bruce called Constantine. The magician took one look at the ring, barked a humorless laugh, and pat Tim on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Congrats, mate," he said, a wry smile on his lips, "I hope you file for divorce."

Although, while all the rest of the Bats and Birds devolved into fits of hysterical laughter (Steph), indignant sputtering (Damian), and cries of outrage (everyone else sans Alfred, who was pointedly unimpressed), Tim couldn't even bring himself to be surprised. Really, his life had been a shitshow since he was around ten. It's not like he didn't expect himself to be accidentally married to some otherworldly magical creature by this point.

The worst part - worse than the actual engagement, that is - was that Constantine couldn't exactly tell them who the spouse was.

What he did say was that the Ring belonged to the King of Infinite Realms, Keeper of Unseen Worlds, and Eyes of Universe. But those were only titles, and, as John Constantine begrudgingly admitted, there has been a change in the management recently, so no one really knew what the new almighty monarch looked like or what they were, much less their whereabouts.

"You can't blame me for not being keen to find out, though," John said, wincing, "The last one was a bloody tyrant, and the Realms operate under the right of conquest rule."

At least, the mage assured them that since the being had not yet come to collect their shiny new spouse, they might never show up at all. The Ring has been lost for ages after all, so maybe the King didn't even remember having one. Or, the previous King didn't, and the new one didn't know about or didn't care.

The first week after the incident, they spent anxiously researching and worrying. Bruce even went as far as making Tim wear a tracker at all times, which was not great, but he did appreciate the gesture. Kind of.

After the first month with no sign of any changes, the worry started to abate. In half a year, most of the family stopped trying to keep an eye on Tim at all times lest he suddenly disappeared. Two years later, even Tim himself treated the Ring as a natural part of his daily life. The stone inside was still a great fidget toy, engagement or not.

Three years, one month, and five days after Tim first put the Ring on his finger, when the world was falling apart and breaking in front of him and there was not a single thing he could do to stop it anymore, Tim pressed his lips to the cold, dark strip of unknown metal on his finger.

"Whoever you are, I don't even care, please," he whispered in a useless prayer, his voice hoarse and his throat dry, "please, help."

And the world came to a stop with a short, amused chuckle.

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask."

[part 2 ->]

[wanologic]

always good to keep a screamhole handy

[trianglegoddess]

I'm Still Standing

The League felt like they had a strong sense of Phantom’s power. After all, they wouldn’t have asked him to join the team, otherwise. He’s strong, he can fly, and due to his supernatural nature, he’s amazing on recon and stealth missions. He’s also incredibly reliable, and smarter than most people give him credit for. He’s a natural hero, a more snarky Captain Marvel, some news outlets have been saying. Always saving people with just the right words to say, with a humble smile on his face. 

Phantom, with all of his power, seemed untouchable in every definition of the word. 

And then they got invaded by Darkseid. 

It wasn’t the first time Darkseid had invaded Earth, but it was the first time bringing armies so large, the first time he’s attacked all over the world to spread the League thin. It is single handedly the worst alien invasion Earth has ever had. 

Batman, bleeding out on the sidewalk, Wonder Woman knocked unconscious and restrained by a nearly egregious amount of henchmen, Superman, weak from the kryptonite Darkseid had shot him with. Thankfully it had missed all the important bits, but with that bullet inside of him, Superman was also down for the count, as well as dozens of other League members. 

If it hadn’t been for Phantom, they would have lost. 

Phantom, who’s never been seen without a smile on his face until now. Phantom, who’s never had so much as a scratch on him, until now. Phantom, who has only ever been known to be kind and compassionate, even to his villains, until now. 

Usually there’s this sort of warm, comforting feeling that radiates from Phantom. It feels like a nice breeze on a warm summer’s day, a nice cup of hot cocoa, your favorite song. It’s a feeling of safety, as if everything will be alright just because he’s there. 

Here, though, something else, something much stronger, is radiating from him. It practically rolls off of him in huge waves, making those conscious around him more aggravated, more on edge.

Phantom pulls himself off of the ground. His suit is torn, and his green blood splattered on himself and the ground. He spits a glob of it out, along with a tooth. 

“Still, you stand,” Darkseid says, as if tired. “Do you not tire in the face of your own demise?”

“As long as I’m still standing, you won’t ever win,” Phantom says. His voice is low and threatening, reverberating eerily off of the broken infrastructure that surrounds them. It sends a chill down everybody’s spines, though if Darkseid is affected, he doesn’t show it. 

“Your comrades have fallen, your militaries have failed, and you have no other help arriving. Pray tell how one singular human will be able to take me down!” 

Phantom doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he walks forward so that his friends are behind him, and braces himself. Darkseid, unable to contain his own hubris, lets Phantom come closer. 

Phantom takes in a deep breath, as if he’s about to speak.  

Instead he wails. 

Any remaining glass shatters, raining down upon them as green sound waves push back the offending forces. 

And it’s loud, of course. The ears of Darkseid’s minions are bleeding, and many of them are either dying because it’s too much for them to bear, or they’re killing themselves to give themselves some modicum of relief. But it’s also more than that, more than noise. 

It’s mourning. 

The first feeling that overwhelms everyone is anger. Phantom’s anger at Darkseid, at the destruction, at the fact that he just can’t catch a fucking break and it’s not fair. The second, is the sadness. It weighs down upon their shoulders, suffocating them like smog. It invades every part of their being-their lungs, their joints, their very hearts-and it presses and presses and presses until there’s very nearly nothing left. 

Phantom still pushes on. He is nothing if not persistent, driven to fight, driven to protect his people, his team, his friends, his family. No mortal being could ever hope to have a lung capacity like this, but Phantom is no normal mortal, and Darkseid is finally starting to come to terms with that. 

The last wave of overwhelming emotion is more of an idea than it is an actual feeling. It’s not a threat, per se, but a promise. A promise to do everything in his power to destroy Darkseid and his forces permanently and with prejudice. A promise that no matter how hard Darkseid fights, he will not win. 

A promise that, if knocked down, Phantom will stand back up, and he will not lose. 

Eventually, after what feels like eternity, the wail dies down. There isn’t a single member of Darkseid’s army that’s still on their feet or in the air. Phantom collapses down to one knee, and bright, white rings flicker around his person for just a moment, before he wills them away and stands back up. 

It’s less walking towards Darkseid, and more stalking. They are not on equal footing. Phantom is the predator in every sense of the word, his anger and grief still radiating off of his body in ways that Darkseid is unable to comprehend. 

“Do you yield?” Phantom asks. His eyes are blazing green, burning into Darkseid’s very soul. It is a sort of animalistic, primal instinct deep within him that tells him, run, run as fast as you can. Darkseid’s hubris, however, remains unmatched. 

Even as he stares Death in the eye. 

“I do not,” Darkseid says. He tries to get to his feet, but his body won’t listen, still weighed down by the effects of Phantom’s wail. 

“Then as Phantom, King of the Dead, I hereby condemn you for the rest of your afterlife.”

“Don’t count your eggs yet, boy,” Darkseid spits. “I’m still alive.”

“No,” Phantom says, in a tone adjacent to someone who’s giving their condolences, “You’re not.”

Phantom gestures beside them, and Darkseid spares a glance and sees…Himself. 

His corpse is splayed on the ground, blood spurting out of his ears, nose, and eyes. He stares lifelessly up at the sky. The blood is still leaking down the sides of his face. 

“You’re dead now, Darkseid, and therefore under my jurisdiction. Due to your extensive list of crimes you will not receive a hearing, just your eternal damnation for the sins you’ve committed.”

Phantom waves his hand, and green chains and manacles appear on Darkseid’s wrists and ankles before he’s dusted out of existence, sent to his eternal punishment in another dimension. 

As soon as he’s gone, Phantom collapses to his knees. 

He’s not sure how long he’s there, sitting in the blood of those he’s killed, before Wonder Woman comes over. She’s covered in gashes and bruises and blood that isn’t hers, but she still stands tall and proud. A battle won is a reason for celebration, after all. 

He glances behind her, sees Superman taking Batman into his arms and flying off. 

Diana doesn’t ask him questions about how he’s feeling. A victory is a victory, sure, but not without its price. 

Instead, she holds out her hand. Danny grasps it, and allows her to help him to his feet. 

“As long as you can stand, you can win,” Diana says. “I think I’ll have to use that for my next big speech.”

“By all means,” Phantom tells her. “Just be sure to credit me.”

“Deal.”

[savanir]

DP x DC prompt [15]

Danny accepts that because of his half dead status he won't be able to become an astronaut and he has to find a different way to feed his space obsession.

He decides to get really into astromancy (yes, the magic. He already knows everything about astronomy). He gets himself the more spiritual star charts, old surprisingly authentic tomes about the art and divination cards to go with it all and gets to learning.

Tbh he kind of went into this not expecting much but it turns out he had homo magus heritage from his Nightingale roots and he actually manages to call upon the power of the stars.

He figures he can blame the vaporized wall on ghosts.

Meanwhile, a foreboding feeling like cold shivers run down the spines of several magic users that they can only describe as "a child having figured out they need to switch off the safety on their mini nuke launcher in order to fire it"

The JLD is scrambling to locate the source of the surge in magic power before someone with bad intentions can get there.

[celestialgalaxyglow]

Bruce entered the dining room to see the batfam eating breakfast together, with the unusual attendance of Jason. As he sat down he went to say hi to Jason when he noticed a random kid sitting next to Jason.

Bruce: You're not one of my kids.

Jason: This is Danny, he's my new sidekick and adopted son. Congrats Bruce, you're a grandfather.

Bruce: How old are you?

Danny: Sixteen.

Bruce: Well it's going to be fun to explain why my twenty-three-year-old son has a sixteen-year-old son. In any case welcome to the family Danny.

Danny (to Jason): Is this a bad time to mention that I'm half-ghost?

Jason: Yes, and don't bring up your ghost-hating parents or that your adoption is technically illegal.

Part: 1, (all parts)