Freakshow (Danny Phantom)

Freakshow
Publication information
Publisher	Nickelodeon
First appearance	"Control Freaks"
Created by	Butch Hartman
In-story information
Alter ego	Frederich Isak Showenhower
Team affiliations	Circus Gothica
Notable aliases	(Ring)master of all reality, Freak
Abilities	Extensive knowledge of various ghost-related artifacts, with his staff he can control a ghost's mind, with the gauntlet he can control reality, though both are destroyed

Freakshow is a fictional character, and a villain from TV show, Danny Phantom. This name is derived from his real name, Frederic Isak Showenhower. He is voiced by actor Jon Cryer.

Appearances

Control Freaks

Freakshow first appeared in the episode "Control Freaks" where he opens a circus called the Circus Gothica in Amity Park. The performers in the circus are actually ghosts that are on a crime spree, held under Freakshow's command via a staff that controls ghosts.

Freakshow comes from a long line of ghost-obsessives - his family has the largest knowledge of ghostly artifacts known of. Freakshow's main weapon is a staff that can control ghosts with a single word. Even a picture of the staff makes a ghost weak, and willing to do the bearer's bidding.

Danny accidentally catches sight of the staff when he sees an ad for the Circus Gothica and ends up in Freakshow's command, stealing money for him and becoming a performer in his circus. He is saved by his friend Sam, who manages to return him to the hero he truly is. Danny subsequently rescues Sam, destroying the staff in the process. Following the staff's destruction, Danny and most of the formerly controlled ghosts (except Lydia, the tattoo ghost lady) confront Freakshow, trapping him in his own stolen goods until the police can arrest him.

Reality Trip

Freakshow reappears in Reality Trip. In this episode, the Guys in White have captured Lydia, using her to get Freakshow to talk about the Reality Gauntlet, which he does. Freakshow tricks the Guys in White into giving him the Reality Gauntlet and with it traps Danny at Casper High's "School's Out!" Dumpty Humpty concert. Danny, Sam, and Tucker use the Gauntlet's defense mechanism to transport three critical gems from the gauntlet, making it useless. Freakshow escapes with help from Lydia, but not before revealing Danny's secret identity to the entire school and Amity Park media. Nursing his wounds, Freakshow comes up with a plan to get all three gems back by kidnapping the parents of Danny, Sam, and Tucker. Freakshow forces Danny, Sam, and Tucker to retrieve the three gems in exchange for their families' lives, giving them three days to do so. After Danny and friends succeed, Freakshow double-crosses Danny and retakes the Reality Gauntlet, giving himself control over all reality. In a fatal attempt at showmanship, Freakshow gives Danny the chance to save the lives of his (and his friends') parents from a roller coaster filled with death traps.

In an attempt to defeat Freakshow, Danny tricks him into becoming a ghost to become more powerful. Freakshow obliges, and Danny captures the full-ghost Freakshow in the Fenton Thermos. Danny then uses the Reality Gauntlet to undo Freakshow's madness and to rewrite reality so that the secret identity of Danny Phantom is never revealed. As a bonus, Freakshow is released into prison as a normal human, where he is recaptured by the Guys in White. Despite Danny's reality rewrite, Freakshow's lack of a blank expression suggests he may actually still know Danny's secret identity.

At the end of the movie, Danny destroys both the Reality Gauntlet and the gems.

Phantom Planet

For some odd reason Freakshow makes a cameo appearance in the final Danny Phantom movie when Skulker frees all the ghosts from the ghosts net, it may mean that Freakshow might have died in jail and become a ghost or that he got rescued by Lydia and he's been living in the Ghost Zone. However, it's most likely just an animation error.

Personality

A charismatic performer, Freakshow is a smooth talking man of drama and showsmanship, seeing the world as a circus with him as its ringleader. A glutton for power, he is a controlling, vindictive man who does whatever he can to get what he wants. Ironically, he uses ghosts as his main tools (calling them derogatory names like "minions") for battle despite his "ghost envy" - an obvious jealousy toward ghost and their powers. This envy fuels his desire to acquire even more power, but is also a great weakness (giving Danny the chance to tease him into a losing position in Reality Trip).

Powers

Freakshow doesn't have any powers on his own. He uses his circus as a distraction so that his minions can rob banks and jewelry stores. According to his family, Freakshow uses his crystal ball staff to control ghosts.

Later, in Reality Trip, Freakshow uses a Reality Gauntlet to turn Danny's world into a circus nightmare. The Reality Gauntlet controls reality with the help of "Reality Gems," including the Gem of Life (ruby), Gem of Form (topaz), Gem of Fantasy (sapphire), and a final gem that serves as the key and power source of the Gauntlet - which Freakshow disguises as one of his earrings. The Gem of Life has the ability to make inanimate or lifeless objects come to life. In "Reality Trip", the gem makes a space shuttle come to life. The Gem of Form can changes any object into any other object. It converts Sam's Gothapalooza into a sunshiney place with banners reading "Love" and other things inimical to Goths. The Gem of Fantasy can make a person's dreams and fantasies come to life. This gem turns three comic geeks into super villains. The sequence to activate all the gems is the Gem of Life, followed by the Gem of Fantasy, and then the Gem of Form.

Relationships

Lydia

Lydia goes beyond a mere assistant or sidekick to Freakshow. It is hinted that the two have, or at least had, a romantic relationship despite Freakshow being a human with ghost envy. Which may mean that she might have been a human that was either Freakshow's wife, girlfriend, or fiancee.

Danny Phantom

Freakshow sees Danny as his main enemy. He wants revenge for getting sent to prison, and has kidnapped Danny's family as a scheme to get the reality gems back. After getting sent to prison again, it is most likely Freakshow's need for revenge will only increase.

Jazz Fenton

Out of any other human there is, Jazz Fenton appears to be the only person Freakshow seems to respect, out of the fact she too has ghost envy (though not as bad as Freakshow) and understands him well.