| "I'm your hall monitor, Danny. And there's no place you can go that I can't follow. Except there. Jazz to Danny Fenton[1]" |
Jasmine "Jazz" Fenton is the older sister of Danny Fenton the titular character of Danny Phantom. Viewing herself as the most rational and normal member of the family, Jazz often plays a surrogate parental role to Danny, thinking he is a naive child in need of guidance, unaware that she is often smothering him. Eventually learning about Danny's powers, Jazz not only doesn't say anything until he's ready to, but begins to realize her brother is growing up. Once Danny accepts that Jazz knows, they become much closer.
History
Jazz starts off the show as the intelligent older sibling who believes her parents' "sick obsession" with ghosts is silly. She is often overprotective of her brother Danny to the point of annoyance[2] and views herself as the most normal member of the family. As depicted by heavily detailed journals Jazz has kept for years, she also used to be self-righteous.
Jazz eventually accepts that ghosts are real when, unknown to Danny, she watches him transform. At first, she tries to question Danny's best friends, Sam and Tucker, but she quickly gives up once she realizes that they won't betray Danny's secret.
When Danny rescues her the next day while in ghost form, Jazz pretends to be scared of him and runs away. Smiling, she tells herself that "he can tell me when he's ready."[3]
As a result, Danny has no clue that Jazz now continuously covers for him when he's out fighting ghosts.[4]
Jazz gradually changes in her views of ghost hunting when she is forced to accompany her father in barricading their own home to protect it from a massive ghost invasion sent by Vlad Masters to murder Jack.
In spite of her assurance to her father that ghost hunting is nothing but a social experiment, Jazz finds herself enjoying it, easily adapting to the Fenton equipment.[5]
While Danny is reworking a desolate timeline so he won't become Dark Danny, Jazz sends him a note ten years in the future to give him useful information about Vlad. With this, Danny not only finds out about Vlad, but also that she knows about his double life.
After defeating Dark Danny, Jazz confesses to Danny that she's known his secret for a long time and was only waiting until she thought he was ready to tell her. In a touching moment, the siblings embrace, finally able to reconnect.[6]
Jazz begins to try and take a more active role in Danny's ghost fighting, and although she means well, her inexperience results in more than a few embarrassing defeats for Danny, such as accidentally sucking him into the Fenton Thermos multiple times.
He loses his temper with her about her unnecessary help and the fact that she always makes things worse. To prove Danny wrong, Jazz ventures to the home of Vlad Masters in hopes of helping Danny out, but ends up forced into combat with Danny.
They come up with a plan to work together to defeat Plasmius. Afterward, the two smooth out their conflict, and Jazz reverts back to her old method of covering up for him and only helping when she's needed. One of these situations happened in "Reality Trip", in which she gave useful strategy against Freakshow to Danny, which resulted in the ghost wannabe's defeat.
In gratitude, Danny dubs Jazz a member of Team Phantom,[7] a role she plays more fully much later when she teams up with her mother and Sam to defeat Spectra, Ember, and Kitty when they overtake Amity Park and make all the men disappear.[8] With her new-found love of ghost hunting, Jazz expresses it as part of her social life, even going so far as writing her college entrance thesis on "ghost envy."[9]
At the end of the series, Jazz reveals the truth about Danny's ghost powers to their parents when she thinks he's been killed in a crash. Later, when he turns up in one piece, she explains to Danny that she told their parents about his secret.
Appearance
Like her brother, Jazz is a young teenage with a similar facial structure and slender figure like her mother. She inherited her father's aqua blue eyes and her mother's auburn hair, which reaches down to her hips.
Jazz wears an aqua headband, a black long-sleeve v-neck shirt, aqua pants, and a pair of simple, black flats. Other than wearing a black tank top in "Fenton Ghost Peeler" and two different Ember costumes, Jazz is one of the characters who has the fewest costume changes.
Personality
At school, Jazz is apparently popular and very social. She gave a school spirit speech that was applauded and cheered on by everyone in attendance.
While she may not consciously know it, Jazz tends to think that her intelligence makes her superior to others and can go completely bonkers if she is shown to be wrong.[10] She tries to use her knowledge and her understanding of psychology to point her parents in a more "normal" direction, even if it sometimes is quite annoying to others.
Insisting that she is the most rational member of her family, Jazz often criticized her parents' obsession with ghosts. She started off as a rather snobbish genius who refuses to be associated with her parents.
Jazz gradually develops as the show progresses, embracing the family ghost-hunting, and enjoying the activity. Her sudden increased interest in ghosts causes her to believe that she is suffering from "ghost envy", stating she desires to be a ghost if only to get her parents' attention.[9]
Being the oldest sibling, Jazz takes it upon herself to be the "mature" adult. She believes she is an adult stuck in a teenager's body and wants to be a good role model for her younger brother.
However, Jazz finally embraces her childhood through her "one weakness": Bearbert Einstein, her favorite stuffed teddy bear. When Danny tore the little bear apart, she threw a fit, jumping up and down while crying. This makes her realize that she doesn't have to be the adult all the time and that there's nothing wrong with being a kid sometimes, ultimately creating a balance between the two.[1]
Jazz was often overprotective of her little brother, is constantly concerned about his development and well-being, much to Danny's annoyance.
She often bossed Danny around and acts more like a mother than a sister, but ultimately, she meant well. Jazz eventually develops a deep respect for her brother's selflessly heroic nature and supports him through "thick and thin".[11]
Relationships
Danny Fenton
When they were younger, Jazz and Danny used to talk all the time and were quite close. But as he says, that came to an end when she turned into "a fink."
Becoming snobbish, bossy, annoying, overprotective, and too mature and smart for her own good, Danny felt he could no longer talk with Jazz no matter how much she tries to bond with him.
As a result, their relationship became strained. Jazz unintentionally treated Danny like a helpless child that needs guidance and direction.[3]
Jazz's attitude towards her brother changed since she secretly witnesses him transform into his ghostly alter ego. Realizing that he is a hero of sorts and can take care of himself, she stops seeing him as a helpless baby brother, although she never truly stops worrying about him.
Jazz is able to respect Danny as the young man that he is. This allows their bond to strengthen and they both look out for one another, with her finally realizing he is more responsible and mature than she thought.[12]
Dark Danny
As Danny plans to cheat on the C.A.T., Jazz meets Dan, the evil Danny Phantom from the future. He reveals his true self to her after she admits that she knows his secret identity–much to his surprise–but he knocks her unconscious twice during their run-in anyway.
Once she realizes he's not the Danny she knows and loves, Jazz sends the younger Danny helpful information and reveals Dan's treachery to everyone at the Nasty Burger.
Jack and Maddie
In the beginning of the show, Jazz tended to clash with her parents often because she disapproved of their ghost obsession. She felt that they didn't provide the proper guidance that she thought her younger brother needs.
When she steps into their ghost-fighting shoes, Jazz begins to understand them better, eventually gaining a ghost-hunting obsession similar to her parents. This allows her respect for them to grow, although she still criticizes them for going overboard on the ghost fighting.
Jack has even admitted that Jazz is his favorite even though she looks nothing like him[13] and it is hinted that Jazz's name was his idea.[14]
In "Phantom Planet," Jazz believed Danny was killed in a plane crash. Distraught, she explained to her parents that their son is really the ghost boy, helping them to accept his shocking secret.
Sam and Tucker
Although she is never seen with friends of her own age, Jazz has been known to hang out with Danny's friends. She hangs out with them more often when she becomes a member of Team Phantom.
Sam is at first critical of Jazz, but later warms up to her in "Girls' Night Out." Her relationship with Tucker isn't explored as much, but it is clear she thinks of him as a friend.
Vlad Masters
Before she finds out about Vlad's ghost powers, Jazz seems to respect him or is at least courteous to him.
But after it's revealed to her that Vlad is her brother's archenemy, Jazz distrusts him and is wary of him being around, as she now knows how dangerous he can be. Vlad's love for her mother creeps Jazz out.
Freakshow
Jazz seems to have a small connection with Freakshow because they both have ghost envy, going as far as wishing they both were ghosts. But thanks to that connection, Jazz is able to give Danny advice about how to defeat Freakshow later on.
Johnny 13
Johnny 13 rescues Jazz from a runaway roller coaster that he secretly sent flying. His girlfriend Kitty needs a host to overshadow in order to exit the Ghost Zone and Johnny chooses Jazz to be his girlfriend's new body.
Goody-two-shoes model student Jazz seems to be attracted to Johnny's bad-boy image, not to mention that he saved her life. Although Jazz is definitely grateful to Johnny for saving her life, it's unclear how much she really liked Johnny since for the majority of their relationship she was under Kitty's influence.
Jazz begins to date Johny despite her parents' and brother's strong disapproval. Meanwhile, Kitty transferred her energy into her scarf, jacket, and ring, meaning that if Jazz wears all three items, Kitty will be able to possess her.
Johnny does his best to win Jazz over and persuade her to wear Kitty's things. He succeeds for a minute or so until Danny rescues Jazz from the items' influence and throws Johnny back into the Ghost Zone.
Dash Baxter
In "Attack of the Killer Garage Sale," Dash has an unrequited crush on Jazz and invited her to one of his parties. However, she didn't go to. For her part, Jazz seems to dislike Dash for his crush on her and for being mean to her younger brother Danny. In "Frightmare" Danny shocked Jazz out of her dream by scaring her with the thought of being married to him.
Dani Fenton
While they never meet in the series, Dani and Jazz are genetic sisters, since she is a clone of Jazz’s brother Danny. It was later confirmed by series director Butch Hartman that sometime following the events of the Disasteroid, Dani was welcomed into the Fenton family, officially making them sisters. While this interaction is never seen, it is implied that the two sisters get along well and love each other.
Abilities
- Intellect: Jazz is downright one of the smartest characters in the series, getting the highest score in the C.A.T history. She hopes to either be a brain surgeon when she graduates college or a professor at Yale. Additionally, Jazz shows interest in psychology, shown when she tries to get a rebellious student to open up to his parents and whenever she believes she knows what Danny wants or what he's going through.
Young Jazz fighting for her little brother.
- Master Strategist: Being very smart, Jazz is a cunning strategist and brings a new dimension to Team Phantom that can save them at the most unexpected times. Her skills are useful when she goes undercover to seek out Vlad's secrets in his castle[7] or manipulates Freakshow to figure out his weakness,[9] which helps Danny to defeat them. She also concocts the plan to capture the three girl-power ghosts and reverse their effects on the town.[8]
- Combat Skills: At a very young age, Jazz has shown to be prominent fighter, especially when it comes to protecting her brother. When fighting, she has to be able to endure hits and return blows with ease. She seems to have inherited her prowess for the martial arts from her mother[citation needed]. Jazz has proven to be a skilled ghost hunter, just like the rest of her family. One time, she defeated a swarm of ghost animals with her father with relative ease.
Transportation
Jazz uses a car of her own and sometimes drives the Fenton RV or the Specter Speeder. The mostly uses the Fenton Ghost Peeler.
Sightings
Season 1
- 101. "Mystery Meat"
- 102. "Parental Bonding"
- 103. "One of a Kind"
- 104. "Attack of the Killer Garage Sale"
- 105. "Splitting Images"
- 107. "Bitter Reunions"
- 108. "Prisoners of Love"
- 109. "My Brother's Keeper"
- 111. "Fanning the Flames"
- 112. "Teacher of the Year"
- 113. "Fright Night"
- 114. "13"
- 115. "Public Enemies"
- 117. "Maternal Instinct"
- 119. "The Million Dollar Ghost"
Season 2
- 202. "Doctor's Disorders"
- 203. "Pirate Radio"
- 204. "Reign Storm"
- 206. "Identity Crisis"
- 207. "The Fenton Menace"
- 208. "The Ultimate Enemy"
- 210. "The Fright Before Christmas"
- 211. "Secret Weapons"
- 213. "Micro Management"
- 216. "Masters of All Time"
- 219. "Reality Trip"
Season 3
- 301. "Eye for an Eye" (no lines)
- 302. "Infinite Realms" (pictured)
- 303. "Girls' Night Out"
- 304. "Torrent of Terror"
- 305. "Forever Phantom"
- 306. "Urban Jungle"
- 307. "Livin' Large"
- 308. "Boxed Up Fury"
- 309. "Frightmare"
- 312. "Phantom Planet"
Crossovers
YouTube-based content
The College Years
Hartman said that there are three possible options for this future Jazz, with the third being the most likely. First, she might be a professor at Fenton University. Second, she might marry Dash Baxter, although this is unlikely because that was her nightmare in Frightmare. The most likely option, the one that is probably to be taken as canon, is that she becomes Danny's handler.
Although Danny tries to stay out of the media and away from fans and reporters, it is nearly impossible, especially while attending school. Jazz steps in to help her younger brother, just like she did when they were in high school. She takes on the role of Danny's handler, which includes protecting him from swarms of fans and paparazzi, handling PR and social media.
10 Years Later
All three versions of Jazz 10 years later we see her as a tech-oriented, energetic (more-so than before), savvy member of Team Phantom.
Version 1
Version 1
This first version of Jazz 10 years later shows her in an Iron Man style, with the Fenton Peeler as her suit. As we saw in the series, the Fenton Peeler was one of Jazz's most used piece of ghost fighting equipment. In the past 10 years, she has continued to use it and upgrade it along the way.
Version 2
Version 2
The character design of this version is an echo of Maddie, as seen with her short hair and slim hazmat suit. In the picture she is holding a spectrometer, continuing with the theme of Jazz being tech and gadget oriented 10 years later.
Version 3
The third and final version of Jazz is entwined with technological tools, acting as a "man in the chair" similar to Batman's Oracle. She no longer goes out into the field, instead staying behind at Fenton Works to work behind the scenes. She is virtually wired into her seat, which itself is wired into the building. It has almost limitless technology, allowing her access to all aspects of the city. She has access to Fenton Maps to help her visualize all parts of the city, all of which she can control in some form. Cameras, traffic lights, automatic doors, or anything powered by technology is at her control.
Trivia
- In one of Butch Hartman's videos, he stated that Jazz's color scheme comes from combining both Maddie and Jack's color schemes.
Jazz exercise.
- Jazz's daily exercise is an important part of her life and keeping up with her brother. She says she usually does cardio, as it is a major factor in her personal upkeep and health.
- In one of Butch's live streams, Butch Hartman stated that if Jazz fought Vicky in a boxing match, Jazz would win due to her extensive knowledge. In a street fight, however, Vicky would beat Jazz due to sheer power.
- She is a bad singer, as shown in "Girls' Night Out."
- Jazz was the fourth person to know about Danny's ghost powers, after Sam, Tucker, and Vlad.
- She is the only member of Team Phantom that has yet to meet Danielle, which is ironic considering that they are genetic siblings.
- In an interview Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Jazz' voice actress, stated that when she auditioned for the show all she knew about Jazz was that "she was 16 and really smart, but she didn't want people to know how smart and would prefer to be a vapid cheerleader (not that all cheerleaders are vapid).".[15]
- Jazz was named after the character Jasmine from John Byrne's Next Men.[16]
Gallery
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References
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