Danny Chase (later called Phantasm) is a fictional superhero in DC Comics publications.

Publication history

Danny Chase/Phantasm first appeared in The New Teen Titans Annual (vol. 2) #3 and was created by Marv Wolfman and artist Mike Collins. Although Wolfman hoped the character would restore the "teen hero" feel to a group composed mostly of characters in their twenties, Danny was also intended as a comic foil for one of the group's foundational characters, Changeling. However, readers responded negatively to the character, leading him to be written out of the series. During Jay Faerber's run on Teen Titans, he intended for the villain Epsilon to be a resurrected Danny, but editor Andy Helfer vetoed the idea.

Fictional character biography

Danny Chase is the son of Central Bureau of Intelligence spies, and was thus trained in espionage, infiltration, and intelligence acquisition. He later joins the Teen Titans, but Nightwing forces him to leave following Jason Todd's death. In Titans Hunt, Danny is attacked by the Wildebeest Society and presumed dead. However, he survives and adopts the Phantasm identity using a makeshift costume and voice modulator. Danny later sacrifices himself to save Raven's homeworld of Azarath. He, Arella, and other disembodied souls of Azarath merge into a new entity called Phantasm. In Blackest Night, Danny's body is temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern. In The New 52 continuity reboot, Phantasm appears as a captive of A.R.G.U.S.

Powers and abilities

Danny Chase is a metahuman who possesses telekinesis, and is additionally skilled in espionage and has a photographic memory. As Phantasm, he possesses the combined magic of the souls of Azarath.

In other media