#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.

[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??

[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!

[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?

[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 Justice League was too late. The cult had successfully completed their summoning ritual, and a figure began to emerge from the crackling green rift in the air

A teenage boy in a black jumpsuit, holding a clipboard and a pen.

The figure barely seemed to pay attention and just launched into a rehearsed speech, tone bored. “Thank you for summoning the Ghost King. Due the influx of summonings, he is unavailable at the moment. I’m Phantom, and I’ll be serving as your intercessor for the time being. I am authorized to act on His Majesty’s behalf, but any larger scale actions may have a short wait time before they can go through—just a few decades at most.” His voice then picked up, tone casual. “So… whatcha looking for?”

Then he did a double take, the chaotic scene he’s appeared in finally seeming to register in his mind.

“…Err, which ones of y’all specifically performed the summoning? I need it for the file.”

[wanologic]

always good to keep a screamhole handy

[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.

[dandey-lion]

So, time in the Infinite Realms is pretty warped. Some places it moves faster, some places it moves slower.

This is pretty convenient for Danny.

This is pretty confusing for the other heroes.

Danny, leaving in a portal: Alright everybody I got some ghost king paperwork to deal with I’ll be back in a sec

Heroes, doing their business: aight

Danny: Hey I’m back! Gosh paperwork is so annoying to deal with..

Heroes: ??

*Danny has an argument with Jazz or smby idk*

Danny, storming off: Don’t try summoning me!

Heroes: you two need to work it out

Jazz: Yeah we should. I’ll apologize when he gets back.

Danny: Hey guys I’m back! Sorry about that I was pretty upset but I’ve cooled down now.

Heroes: ???

Jazz: No worries! I’m sorry too.

Heroes: ????

Or: everybody consecutively forgot to explain the time warping to them. They’ll figure it out. Eventually.

[jaytalking]

Ngl I don't know where I was going with this beyond "D'you reckon the crown gives you admin powers like being the master of time does"

[the-phantom-peach]

“ayyy itz da wind waykah!” 💨🌊

[j-jared]

This is why you don't sleep with the Tyrant King - The consequence is children

Constantine avoids involvement with the Infinite Realms for two reasons.

Who wants to deal with all those Ancients in the first place?

He’s avoiding yet another unhinged ex of his.

Of course, hooking up with Pariah Dark wasn’t really an actual relationship, more like a one night stand via dream walking (Nocturn owed Pariah, but seeing as it would be insane to release the Tyrant King from his endless sleep, he’d give him a dream partner every couple centuries) - regardless, Constantine doesn’t want to deal with that.

So yeah - the fact that the Justice League is attempting to summon the High King into the Watchtower has him wanting to drink more than usual.

Of course he gave warnings, but they’re dead set on doing so. A green folder had appeared in the secure “cursed artifacts” vault with no trace of whoever left it there. How else were they gonna find out how it got there?

So Constantine’s stuck there to set up wards, and is trying to find his way out of this one.

When the summoning circle worked, no one expected the teenager to pop out of it. 

Instead of Pariah Dark, or even the sarcophagus showing up, there was a white haired ghost boy with glowing green eyes the same color as the flames of the Crown of Fire. Except he didn’t look exactly like the others ghosts. He had a human skin tone, his proportions were exactly like a human teenager’s, and he was wearing a black and white hoodie with black sweatpants, for God’s sake. 

… Were ghosts able to reproduce with humans?

Before any of the Justice League can get into questioning, Constantine speaks up:

“You’re not the Ghost King.”

Green eyes settle on him, lighting up with recognition - Danny knows exactly who this is, with the amount of complaints on his desk about the blonde. Clockwork also informed him (he didn’t want to know but now he does) of the man’s stint with Pariah. 

Daniel “Commit to the bit” Fenton chooses to do just that.

“Of course not,” The confusion crosses the face of the heroes present- “That’s just because I haven’t had my coronation yet! I’m the Crown Prince, it’s practically the same thing!”

Oh, and the dread and realization crossing Constantine’s face is almost enough to make his core purr in amusement. 

“Now I will gladly answer all your questions, but first!” His eyes swept over the heroes before raising his hand and pointing accusingly at the British warlock.

“John Constantine,” his voice boomed, the temperature of the meeting room dropping as his face stretched with a smile too big and too pointy, “You owe me fifteen years of child support.”

[lunamugetsu]

Imagine...

It's late one night and Batman is running on one hour of sleep for the past week.

He's tired. His kids are tired. They are all going home early to catch up on sleep. No questions.

So he gathers everyone into the Batmobile and heads straight to the Batcave. It's when he tells everyone to go get some rest that something unexpected happens.

"Okay Daddy."

That wasn't any one of his kids

Bruce turns to see a little girl rubbing her drowsy eyes while letting out a yawn.

Right next to her, holding her hand, is a boy that looks to be a couple years older than her and equally as tired as his companion. They both had black hair and blue eyes.

All of the batfamily are now wide awake and staring at the kids.

"B, do you want to tell us something." Jason asks.

"Father," Damian is giving him an accusatory stare.

The girl then blinks a bit before looking straight at Batman.

"You're not Daddy." She then starts tugging on the boy's hand. "Dan! That's not Daddy!"

The boy (who they now now as Dan) immediately snaps to attention and pushes the girl to stand behind him. He's glaring at them now.

"I knew you had a adoption tendency, B. I didn't think you'd kidnap your next pair of kids." Jason says

"We've been kidnapped!" the girl yells. If it was possible, Dan starts glaring at them even harder.

Meanwhile

Knock! Knock!

Alfred opens the door to see that the visitor is an eldritch shadow-like being with glowing green eyes that was towering over him.

"Sorry for disturbing you so late at night, but I believe my children are in your house."

Basically Danny is taking care of de-aged Ellie and Dan. He's in his eldritch form when meeting the batfamily.

Batman in turn thinks that Danny is evil and most likely a very bad father. (granted, how many eldritch beings of immense powers turn out to be good fathers in the DC universe?)

But is immediately proven wrong when the two kids immediately snuggle up against Danny with not sense of fear at all.

Meanwhile since Batman took them there, Ellie and Dan take it as an open invitation to come over. So they just pop up in the mansion whenever they want.

[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

[wanologic]

yo danny fenton he was just 19

[sentient-stove]

“Do you remember when I sold my soul a few years back?”

The tapping at the keyboard did not still. “Yes of cour— Tim, you sold your soul?”

“Oh my god, you forgot.” He dramatically threw a hand against his chest, collapsing sideways out of the chair to land on the cave floor. “I’m wounded. In my cold, soulless heart, shot straight through it. You forgot I sold my soul. Dick, how could you?”

“It’s been a hectic few years-“

“It’s my soul Richard Greyson. Isn’t that important? I sold my soul to the Ghost King and now it’s apparently changed hands.”

“The Ghost King sold your already sold soul?!?”

Tim sat back up, using the BatDesk to pull himself to his feet. “Nah, apparently the og king got bested in combat and the new king now owns it. He sent me a letter. So we could meet. And potentially discuss me repossessing my soul. Anyway, are you free Thursday cause that’s when he’s picking me up and he said I could bring a friend. Cissie already said no, so you’re the next on my list.”

Dick had long since abandoned whatever report he’d been working on and was staring at Tim with what could only be described as ‘major concern.’ “Can we please backtrack to the fact you sold your soul to a Cthulhu-like entity?”

“No.”

…

Meme under the cut