Jack Fenton: GhostBuster's ever eager successor
VOICE ACTOR: Rob Paulsen
AGE: His 40's
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Black
STATUS: Part-time Father, full-time ghost hunter
LIKES: Ghost Hunting and just about anything pertaining to ghosts, his family, Vlad (way too much)
DISLIKES: Ghosts
PERSONALITY: Determined, incompetent, well-meaning, courageous, confident, clumsy
POWER: Possess great strength due to his size, knowledgeable of anything Ecto-related
STRENGTH: Strong, courageous nature, skilled Anti-Ghost inventor (for the most part)
WEAKNESS: Clumsy and incompetent (isn't taken seriously as a result), is very one-sided towards his attitude towards ghosts, at times naive
GOAL: Hunt down ghosts...and blather on about it
TRIVIA: He got straight "B"s in school
FIRST APPEARANCE: "Mystery Meat"
HISTORY: Jack claims he was born in a log cabin, forced to eat horse meat during the war. If you ever met him though, such a statement to his origin could be mere exaggeration then anything else. Whatever the case is, the father of two has been an obsessive hunter of ghosts and a firm believer in Santa Claus (much to the displeasure of his down-to-earth wife) for an unseen amount of years.
A student of the University of Wisconsin, Jack formed a tight bond with future wife Maddie and best-friend-of-all-times Vlad Masters. In a way, it's like looking at Danny, Tucker, and Sam if they were college-aged and stuck in the bad-hair-days-80's. All of them were deep into the Ectoplasmic paranormal world of ghosts. Using their college lab, the three built a small portable ghost portal. Putting in the final touches (as in Jack accidentally pouring a douse of diet soda in the mix), they started the machine, but their success produced tragedy. Vlad Masters stuck his face a little too close and got a massive dose of Ecto smacked right onto him. He developed the dreaded and deadly Ecto-Acne and spent a good portion in the hospital recovering, losing him his chance to win the heart of his beloved Maddie who later married Jack.
Moving to Amity Park, God-Only-Knows-State, the newlywed couple spared no expenses building the numerous doo-dads with the surname "Fenton" slapped on everyone of 'em, patenting them to create income. Ghost capturing wasn't their only concern; like any normal couples, they wanted children. And thus Jazz and Danny arrived. The two loved their folks, yet struggled to endure their bizarre habits. Being the far prominent ghost-obsessed, Jack takes it upon himself to teach his kids the way of Ecto Fu, unaware that Jazz isn't interested and that his son is half-ghost.
He eventually reunites with the now billionaire-status Vlad during a 20 year college reunion. Vlad's plans ran deeper (and thicker) then blood as he planned to use his half ghost power to kill his chubby buddy and take Maddie (and now Danny, having learned he was half ghost) away from him. It was through Danny's intervention that his plan fell through. Jack concluded Plasmius as one separate entity, dubbing him the "Wisconsin Ghost". He would meet up with him several times throughout the series, though only once did he pummel the blue-skinned menace to a near bloody pulp—don’t ever threaten his family. Ever.
Tragically, Jack assumed he and Masters are the best of friends even after twenty years. He remains his staunchest supporter when none of his family would give him such, especially during his rundown as mayor. Before and after his acceptance into office, Jack would parade around with Vlad merchandise and propaganda to ensure his #1 buddy has his undying support (much to Vlad’s annoyance). Of course, karma would eventually ass kick its way in.
When Vlad revealed his secret to the public on the onset of an upcoming Ecto-Asteroid (that's about to collide to Earth), Jack was among many who was shocked and devastated. His best friend was not only half ghost, but his [frequent] mortal enemy. When the two teamed up to stop said asteroid, Vlad finally confessed every vile feeling he had towards his "chum" with blunt hatred. Jack tried in vain to fix the mistakes he made in the past, but the stubborn Vlad refused to hear. Knowing he had lost his friend two decades ago, an angry and hurt Jack abandons his comrade in space after Vlad's plans to save the world blew through.
He later helped Danny Phantom save the world, gaining knowledge from Jazz that he was his son during the process. Jack accepted his son's role (at one point, he declared they should be partners) and the rest is history. ("Phantom Planet")
Jack had an alternate history (besides "The Ultimate Enemy") where he ended up smacked from the Ecto beams instead of Vlad, caused by Danny who traveled to the past to ensure Plasmius never existed. Returning to his present time period, Danny realized the horror he had caused when he finds his father living alone with Ecto-Acne, a cat named Jazz, and sporting half ghost powers like him. Like Vlad, he, too was alone, but he did not use his powers for dark intentions, just...wallowed around a lot. With Danny's help, he and Maddie are reunited, both blissfully in love (the latter having to endure twenty years of hell from her controlling husband). Sadly, he dies in Vlad's hand, but Danny fixes the time stream back to normal, so he got better. ("Masters of All Time")
PERSONALITY: Jack is the stereotypical (one-in-a-long-line) Bumbling Dad. He's goofy, stumbling, childish, and eager. His love of ghosts (or hunting and researching 'em) is second to none and is much of his life as it is a habit. Though he can be a towering boob, Jack is an intelligent man and the majority of his weapons work. If it doesn't, it's more the results of his impatience then anything else; the man leaps into danger and displays far too much courage for his own good (he is usually the main source for the family's embarrassment), his view on ghost strictly a one-way relationship. Ghost sees, he attacks. Rinse and repeat. His combat skills are debatable to say the least and it's usually his wife who performs much of the straightforward fighting.
Though that doesn't mean it should completely be ruled out. The lovable man adores his family as much as he does his job and if should anything come to harm, the kid gloves are off and he'll knock you seven ways to Sunday without warning. His parental skills may be questionable, but his loyalty and love lies strictly with them. He would accept his son as half-ghost despite what he is, he would willingly grab a Fenton weapon to stray off any boys who hone in on his daughter, and he has no shortage of "Man, that’s hot!" for his wife.
OPINION: The world of stupid and/or ignorant fathers have steadfast become a cult of the media. The earliest cartoon inclination may have been Fred Flintstone or at the very least, he pulled the triggered. Homer Simpson continued the ritualistic path and may have influenced the current tread. The dumb paternal figure are still commonplace today and Jack fits that and a bag of chips.
If that were his only traits, I would have sufficed annoyance with him. Thankfully, the writers were kind to administer a sense of love and admiration that most father figures wouldn't possess. For one, Jack isn't dumb in the brain department that others are, getting high grades during his youth and building workable ghost inventions that in turn help the main character succeed in capturing said ghouls. His "stupidity" is merely the minds of a childish excitement. Jack is neither uncaring nor unloving to his family. A walking disaster indeed and a constant bemusement to them, but his love for Maddie, Jazz, and Danny are just as important as ghost hunting. His only true source of outrageous ignorance are the holiday seasons where he and Maddie argue unabashed on the existence of Santa (keep in mind this also includes the wife—usually the better parental unit of the two).
So while I want the role of idiotic fathers to be severely cut down, Jack's traditional take is subverted enough to be both a doofus of a man, but one with a heart of gold. And that's all right in my book.
Back to the Characters PageArticle written revised in: Feb. 9, 2009
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