Samantha Manson (Obsession series)

Samantha "Sam" Manson is Danny Fenton's closest friend. Partially responsible for the accident in which Danny gains his powers, she is also one of the first few people to know about Danny's ghost identity. She is a self-proclaimed Goth who is fascinated with the subliminal and netherworldly, and is a very outspoken ultra-recyclo-vegetarian.

## Samantha Manson

### Aliases

Sam Manson, Bubeleh (by her grandmother), Chaos (Doomed username), Ghost Getter #3, Goth Geek (by Paulina), Samantha (by Tucker), Orlando (By Dash), Sammy-kins (by her mother), Sam of the Very Vegan (by Danny)

### Relatives

Pam Manson (mother), Jeremy Manson (father), Ida Mansoon (grandmother), unnamed cousins, Izzy (great grandfather)

### Affiliation

Team Phantom (before explosion of Nasty Burger), Danny Fenton (friend), Tucker Foley (friend), Jazz Fenton (friend), Kwan (briefly friend)

## History

### Early Years

Sam was born to the extremely wealthy Manson family (no relation to the prolific serial killer, Charles Manson) of Jeremy and Pam Manson. They are descendants of the great inventor of the deli toothpick cellophane-twirling device. However, she keeps her family's wealth as a secret, only revealing it to her best friends in Attack of the Killer Garage Sale.

Sam has known Tucker and Danny since at least the second grade, as shown in Splitting Images. She is responsible for Danny's accident and designing the "D" emblem on his outfit, which became a permanent change to his costume as of Memory Blank.

During Danny's ghost-hunting adventures, Sam has gotten into her fair share of troubles and adventures, ranging from being turned briefly into a ghost dragon when wearing the Amulet of Aragon when Paulina gave it to Sam, thinking it was hers, to accidentally wishing away Danny Phantom's existence, and to getting possessed by Undergrowth.

### Death

It was not until her untimely death along with Tucker, Danny's immediate family, and Mr. Lancer that everything changed for Danny Phantom and Amityville Park.

## Appearance

Sam is a young Caucasian girl with violet eyes, and short black hair with a small ponytail at the top and at the back of her head held by a green hair tie. She also wears purple lipstick.

Sam's usual clothing consists of a black choker around her neck, a black top that exposes her midriff with a purple oval in the centre, black striped skirt with a green crosshatch design, purple tights, and black combat boots. She also wears a pair of black bracelets around both of her wrists.

She has also been seen in a wide variety of outfits, ranging from a rocker rebel than a goth of black and purple ball gown to a pink princess dress with hearts, and even one of the orange Fenton Works jumpsuits. In Beauty Marked, she wore fake vampire fangs.

## Personality

Sam's personality is less dreary than the stereotypical "***goth***" persona that is often depicted in media. She can be rational, sarcastic, forceful, bossy, passionate, and strong-willed, but also good-hearted and caring. Based on how she conducts herself, it would be fairer to say that she labels herself a goth more as an outlet for her independence and individuality than as an embrace of how the stereotypical goth is presumed to behave. She isn't spoiled and would rather earn real friends instead of dealing with the popularity and fake friendships that come with wealth.

Out of the three, Sam is usually the most rational and mature, often thinking on a realistic level compared to her friends and pointing out to Danny to focus more on ghost training and hunting. It is clear that she would do anything she could to help her friends during their numerous battles and keep them out of trouble.

As an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian (she doesn't eat anything with a face), Sam is often livid over the wider range of popular materials. In Mystery Meat, she forces her ultra-recyclo-vegetarian diet on the entirety of Casper High School, despite her claims of the importance of individuality.

Sam can be rather hypocritical at times. She advises Danny against using his ghost powers for abusing bullies, but in 'Memory Blank', she suggests that he uses them to scare away people from buying environmentally-threatening trucks. This trait often gets on Danny and Tucker's nerves. Another example is in Double Cross My Heart, when she got angry at Danny for spying on her and Gregor, but had previously done the same thing to him when he was going out with Valerie in Flirting With Disaster.

Additionally, Sam's poor qualities also include not taking responsibility for her actions. No matter how much she is at fault, she never accepts the fact she is responsible, never admits she's wrong and wants everyone to be her "Yes Man." Despite this, she is willing to take the blame for things to cover for Danny.

## Relationships

### Jeremy and Pamela Manson

Sam has an often strained relationship with her parents due to their optimistic, colorful personalities opposing, and sometimes oppressing, her darker outlook on life and more rebellious interests. Her mother usually tries to get her to wear clothing that is completely out of her style, such as in Control Freaks and Reign Storm. Sam mentions that she likes messing with her parents, and enjoys their absence as shown in Pirate Radio. In spite of this, she does care about them.

### Ida Manson

Sam seems to more close to her grandmother than her parents, as Ida is more understanding to her, listens to Sam more. and thinks Sam deserves more freedom. When Sam sneaks out to help Danny, despite her being under house arrest by her parents, Ida catches her, than looks the other way so she can help Danny after she explains the circumstances to her, and Sam kisses Ida on the forehead out of gratitude for doing so.

Sam also seems to her inherited her rebellious non-conformist attitude from Ida as she explained to Sam how she was a rebel when she was a teenager too in Control Freaks.

### Danny Fenton

Sam and Danny are best friends who have known each other since childhood. They always spend most of their time together, alongside their other best friend, Tucker. The two frequently quarrel, but in the end, still manage to reconcile and support each other. Sam cares a lot for Danny, and this can be seen in Parental Bonding, when she became so furious at Paulina for using Danny just to end up hurting him, that she became a dragon, (because of the amulet), who tried to attack her. She is willing to stand up for him and doing everything she can in order to keep their friendship in tact. In Memory Blank, after their argument, Sam unknowingly made a wish to Desiree that she wished she had never met him. Unfortunately, her wish was granted by and upon realizing, she regretted it, as she knew that she didn't truly mean it. She tried doing every thing she could to make things right and restore their friendship, even wearing a outfit she hated in order to get his attention.

In certain ways, Sam is actually the most enthusiastic of the three when it comes to Danny's powers and their potential. When he expresses his desire to get rid of his powers and have a normal teen life, she voices her distaste for the idea. When Danny voluntarily gives up his powers in Phantom Planet, Sam tells him that she's disappointed in his wish to be just like everybody else and tells him that she had been proud to be helping him when he was doing something good, refusing to "sit on the sidelines". She also reveals at this time that when Danny was protecting Amity Park, she felt safe knowing that there was someone out there doing the right thing, but with him no longer fighting ghosts, she's not sure what would happen.

She and Danny have always been assumed to be dating by numerous people, such as Dash in 'Mystery Meat', Valerie in Shades of Gray, Paulina in Parental Bonding, Mr. Lancer and Ember in Fanning the Flames, Star in 'Flirting with Disaster', Johnny 13 in Girls' Night Out and even Nocturn in Frightmare. However, they would always deny it, knowing that they weren't actually together.

Despite all these claims, Sam noticeably starts to develop an actual crush on him starting in 'Fanning the Flames', when she longingly stares at him as they fly to the music store. When Danny is under Ember's love spell, she mentions she enjoyed a little bit of the attention that he was giving her, but was not fully able to do so due to the seriousness of the situation. She also admits that even though she may have possibly wanted to be in a relationship with Danny, she didn't want it to be because of the love spell. Even at the end, her crush on him still remains. Her feelings towards him might have been hinted previously in 'Shades of Grey', when she kisses him for the first time, even though she passed it off as a "fake-out-make out".

Tucker was able to pick up Sam's crush on Danny soon enough, and would sometimes hint at the topic such as in Reality Trip and 'Double Cross My Heart'. Danny himself however, was rather still oblivious about her feelings towards him. Sam always had difficulty expressing her crush on him, as shown in Reign Storm, when she couldn't admit to Valerie that she liked Danny as more than a friend.

Her only other intimate interaction with him was "fake-out-make out number two" in Memory Blank which was initiated by Danny in order to create a distraction from his father. In both of the "fake-out-make outs" that they had, the two seemed to enjoy it, although they later become embarrassed by these intimate moments.

Sam has definitely shown to express an intense dislike towards other girls that Danny has had a crush on or interacted with. She would always seem to be annoyed and irritated by their presence or even when Danny mentioned them. She was upset that Danny had ditched her and Tucker in order to spend time with Paulina (who was actually being overshadowed by Kitty) in Lucky in Love, or in Flirting With Disaster, where her jealousy had reached its peak as Danny and Valerie briefly dated each other. Her extreme jealousy has known to get the best of her, but she has never been able to open up to him, in fear of ruining or complicating their friendship. In "Double Cross My Heart," she cringes when Tucker asks her if she knew how it felt to like someone she couldn't date. Ironically, Danny asks her this question, because he feels that way about his ghost persona's enemy, Valerie.

The two finally had their first real kiss in the series finale, and finally end up together. Of all of Danny's crushes, Sam is the only one who likes Danny as both Fenton and Phantom, and not just either one of them.

### Tucker Foley

Sam considers Tucker her other best friend as well, and cares for him nearly as much as Danny. but the two are quite opposites (his meat habits as opposed to her vegetarian habits, his lighthearted behavior to her more down-to-earth method) and often bicker over even the most mundane reasons.

Sam sometimes considers him to be an annoyance but is shown to still enjoy his company. This is shown when she broke up with Gregor because of how he insulted Tucker behind his back in "Double Cross My Heart", showing that she cares more about the feelings of her friends than to impress a boy. In the episode "Life Lessons," Tucker and Sam are caretakers of a flour sack for a school project.

### Jazz Fenton

Upon Jazz's admittance of her knowledge of Danny's ghost powers, Jazz begins to assist Tucker, Sam, and Danny in capturing various ghosts which attack Amity Park.

In the episode "Girls' Night Out," Sam gains respect for Jazz's ghost-fighting abilities when her plan to rescue Amity Park from the allied Spectra, Ember, and Kitty is successful. Both of them work together without disagreement in the later episodes and try to keep Danny's secret from everyone.

### Undergrowth

Undergrowth, a plant ghost, overshadowed Sam and became her "father" once he took over Amity Park. He turned her into his second-in-command because of her love for nature. He went as far as giving her plant-related powers to serve as a new "mother" for Undergrowth's plant children, although she was mind-controlled by him the whole time.

### Princess Dorathea

In "Beauty Marked", Dorathea disguises herself as a human named Dora Mattingly, and organizes a beauty contest at Casper High to find a bride for her brother. Sam is accidentally named the winner and Dora takes her to the Ghost Zone to marry Aragon.

While preparing for the wedding Dorathea confesses to Sam that her brother constantly bullies her and forces her to do whatever he wishes. Sam responds by doing her best to fill Dorathea with confidence so she can stand up to her brother, telling her they share the same power and is just as strong as him. Eventually Aragon is defeated and Dorathea takes over their kingdom as the new ruler.

### Prince Aragon

In "Beauty Marked," Prince Aragon wishes to have a human bride, so he sends his sister to find a suitable woman via a beauty pageant. Danny becomes the judge of the pageant and accidentally chooses Sam as the winner.

She is transported to Aragon's castle, where she undergoes preparation to be his wife and queen. However, in a manner typical of some villains who desire a queen, he treats Sam in a highly misogynistic manner. Danny and Tucker eventually rescue her, along with Dora's help.

### Elliot

Introduced in "Double Cross My Heart," Elliot attempts to impress Sam in order to date her. He disguises himself as a Hungarian foreign exchange student named Gregor and tells her he is a goth and an Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian.

Suspicious of his claims, Danny follows him and Sam on a date one night using his invisibility power, further suspecting him of associating with the Guys in White (since he wears all white like they do, even though he states that white is the new black in Hungary). This upsets Sam, who considers actually dating Elliot.

However, Elliot insults Sam's friends and accidentally reveals his identity as a womanizing American teen from Michigan, which causes Sam to lose all interest in him.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

Sam doesn't have any supernatural powers on her own, though she has gained ghost powers in some way during several episodes:

* **Dragon Transformation (briefly)**: In "Parental Bonding," while wearing Princess Dorathea's amulet, she was able to transform into a dragon when she got angry. This form gave Sam superhuman strength, flight, and the ability to breathe fire.
* **Plant Control (briefly)**: In the episode and videogame *Urban Jungle,* while being under the control of Undergrowth, Sam had the ability to command plants, which she used to attack and trap her enemies. To what extent is unknown, but she was able to use them to capture Danny in their brief fight.
* **Flight/Levitation (briefly)**: In "Doctor's Disorders," Sam briefly gained the ability to float after she was bitten by a ghost mosquito, though she wasn't able to control it and often found herself stuck against the ceiling because of it.

### Abilities

* **Fenton Weaponry Expertise**: Sam can use the Fentons' ghost-hunting technology with great expertise and skill. She often uses them to help in battles or in Danny's ghost training. Sam is skilled with the Fenton Weaponry. She, along with Tucker, is often shown using the Fenton Thermos with great aim. Sam has also been shown to be capable of wielding Bazooka's well enough to be able to aim and fire rapidly. Sam is often seen using the Specter Defector on numerous occasions.
* **Paranormal & Mythology Knowledge/Occult Knowledge**: Sam is quite knowledgeable about goth subjects; anything spooky or creepy like dark and evil artifacts. Danny was only able to defeat Fright Knight and Box Ghost with her knowledge of the Soul Shredder and the Pandora's Box, respectively. This ability also came in handy during Freakshow's attack on the Dumpty Humpty concert in Reality Trip. Reading a book written by Freakshow himself allowed her, Danny and Tucker to send the Reality Gems away. She has extensive knowledge of Greek Mythology, because of her affinity with dark stories. She was able to identify Pandora's box with relative ease due to the book she bought at a store. She was able to help Danny fight Pandora's box and Box Ghost.
* **Multilingual Skill**: Like Danny, Sam learned how to speak Esperanto in case they met with Wulf again. She has also displayed some knowledge of French, Italian, and Japanese, between other languages in the episode "Urban Jungle" while talking to her plants.
* **Athleticism:** Sam has displayed athletic ability on multiple occasions. She's able to shoot perfect Basket Ball shots without even looking, proved to be a good runner and performed five chin ups and a bar flip with ease. She has also completed a boot camp styled course involving monkey bar climbing and tire running. In Micro Management she was chosen be Tucker's fitness buddy/trainer. Additionally she was shown to be strong enough to leave a dent in a locker after punching it and crush a metal napkin dispenser in her hands. She was able to pass gym with an A and it is shown that she is more physically fit than Danny in his human form, and Tucker Foley.