Black Phantom

**Black Phantom** is a Villain and the secondary antagonist in the 2014 action comedy film Hero Factory: The Movie. He was the former leader of the organization, Legion of Darkness. He is allied with Von Nebula/Von Ness and the Brain Attack Orchestrator.

## Biography

### ***Early years***

#### *Legion of Darkness*

Black Phantom was a notorious criminal before the Hero Factory established a presence in the Galaxy. However, shortly after they began to operate, he disappeared for a month, using the time to spy on the organization. Afterwards, he recruited Splitface, Speeda Demon, Jawblade, and Thornraxx as the first members of his Legion of Darkness, an organization with which he planned to destroy Hero Factory.

His first mission as leader of the Legion was to steal an XT4 industrial robot from one of Akiyama Makuro's Makuhero Industries manufacturing plants. After Thornraxx hijacked the vehicle containing the robots, he instructed Splitface and Speeda Demon to destroy the craft in a way that would look like it crashed by accident. Meanwhile, he modified the robots' controls so that all but one marched away in different directions, and sabotaged their power sources so that they would eventually power down somewhere close by in the area. The one robot that remained was reprogrammed to act as Black Phantom's personal servant.

In preparation for his next strike, Black Phantom hacked into the Hero Factory system to post false missions instructing Dunkan Bulk and Von Ness to escort a freight convoy and instructing Jimi Stringer and Preston Stormer to travel to a work site of the Aird Mining Corporation to oversee the relocation of Mining Robots from one region to another. At the work site, Black Phantom recorded a message on XT4 and programmed him to think he was a new member of Alpha 1 Team until he received radio commands on a specific frequency. Speeda Demon followed Black Phantom's example to program sleeper commands into the mining robots belonging to the company.

When Stringer and Stormer arrived at the work site, Black Phantom jammed their communications. As soon as it was discovered that the mission had been a set up, he sent the frequency that activated the sleeper program in the Mining Robots, causing them to attack the two Heroes. XT4 rescued Stormer and Stringer with his laser slicer, and although the Heroes were suspicious they took him aboard their Hero Craft. Once the Heroes arrived back at Hero Factory and XT4 was transported to a secure room, Black Phantom sent the frequency that activates XT4's secondary programming. Following the new commands, XT4 hijacked the Factory's security system and disabled Alpha 1 Team with a stun beam; he then stole a Hero Craft and traveled to Asteroid J-54, where he released Toxic Reapa and Voltix from their cells and played them Black Phantom's pre-recorded message inviting them to join the Legion of Darkness.

Black Phantom subsequently instructed Splitface to hijack an ore freighter and take it to the asteroid to assist XT4 as necessary and charted a course for the asteroid himself so he could command the next stage of his scheme.

When Alpha 1 Team arrived at the asteroid in two Hero Craft, Black Phantom discovered that Splitface's freighter had been instead rigged with explosives and set on a collision course with Stringer and Stormer's Hero Craft. He chastised Splitface and Speeda Demon for compromising his plan, while they argued that his plan was too slow and that they were fed up with letting the Heroes getaway. To compensate for the setback, Black Phantom fired upon the Hero Craft, intentionally revealing his scout ship's presence. Stormer opened communications with the scout ship, and Black Phantom told him about the Legion of Darkness. He continued to block the Hero Craft from moving away from the freighter, but Stormer cut off communications with the ship, and Stringer deftly piloted the Hero Craft onto the opposite side of the scout ship from the freighter. In order to escape, Black Phantom activated controls that separated the cockpit of his ship from the wings and tail, then sped away at an incredible speed before the Heroes could react, leaving them in the path of the freighter. Moments later the freighter exploded, destroying the Hero Craft, though the Heroes survived.

A few days later, Black Phantom assembled the army of criminals XT4 had freed from the prison, as well as the original members of the Legion of Darkness, in the back room of a refueling station, celebrating the closing of the Hero Factory itself, and announcing his intent to move the Legion of Darkness into the now-vacant factory and establish it as their new headquarters. Black Phantom sent Jawblade into the Makuhero Reservoir, from which he entered the factory and cut power to the external security systems, while Splitface, XT4, and the Legion of Darkness piloted two scout ships through the roof of the factory.

However, when they were met by Stormer, Black Phantom ordered Speeda Demon, Voltix, Thornraxx, and Toxic Reapa to secure the Assembly Tower while he assisted XT4 and Splitface against Stormer in his scout ship. Stormer activated a number of untested prototype security systems, one of which severely damaged Black Phantom's scout ship. Splitface was tricked into falling through a trapdoor, he dropped from his hiding place on the room's ceiling, while Black Phantom assisted XT4 in escaping metal tentacles that had erupted from the walls.

Black Phantom revealed to Stormer that the mission to capture the Hero Factory was never meant to succeed and that the scheme had been a ruse to get the elite criminals of the Legion of Darkness captured, eliminating the competition they presented to him and giving him an unmatched reputation within the criminal underworld. Bulk, Stringer, and Von Ness arrived. Von Ness used his gravity weapon to increase gravity around XT4 and send him crashing through the floor, while Black Phantom escaped.

He arrived at the Assembly Tower to find Speeda Demon, Voltix, and Toxic Reapa slowly lowering Thresher by a crane towards a disassembly machine. Alpha 1 managed to rescue their team leader, and Black Phantom threatened that the Legion of Darkness would destroy all of Hero Factory or even all of Makuhero City, but Stormer played a recording of Black Phantom's statement that he meant to betray the Legion. Together, Speeda Demon, Toxic Reapa, and Voltix took Black Phantom down, and then all four villains were captured by the four heroes and sent to Asteroid J-54 with Jawblade and Splitface.

Black Phantom and Voltix mysteriously escaped Asteroid J-54 before conspiring to destroy the Hero Factory via a mass Breakout from Von Nebula's Black Hole Orb Staff. Voltix then proceeded to allow himself to be captured by Rocka.

### ***Breakout***

After all the villains had escaped during the breakout, Black Phantom stayed in the Hero Factory. He then sent his duplicated Arachnix Drones to trap the mission managers and revealed himself to Zib. He then claimed the factory was his now that all the heroes, except for Rocka, had left to capture the villains. Then he set up the Fail Safe Shield around the factory and locked every room as well to make sure no "unwanted visitors" would enter, and forced Zib to tell Rocka, who was in the villain storage room, that it was all a safety procedure. Black Phantom later realized Rocka had escaped through the elevator shafts and sent his drone to go after him. While the duplicated Arachnix went after Rocka, the villain revealed his plan to the mission managers: to steal the plans for the Hero Factory so he may build a factory for villains and also destroy the Hero Factory. Zib then stated his plan would not succeed because the Quaza would recognize him as a villain. Black Phantom then revealed to them he had Anti-Quaza and used it shut down the mission managers. He then plugged himself into the assembly tower in an attempt to destroy the factory, only for Rocka and the rest of the Alpha 1 Team to enter. Rocka climbed up to Black Phantom and plugged more wires, the villain then became temporarily deactivated due to the power's overload, allowing Rocka to cuff him. It is possible that he was reactivated and placed in a cell.