| "And perhaps it's time to remind you...who rules this place." |
| — Pariah Dark, "Reign Storm" |
Pariah Dark, otherwise recognized as The Ghost King, is the tyrannical king of all ghosts and the supreme leader of the Ghost Zone, reputed to be the most fearsome and horrid of specters. He made his debut as the main antagonist of the episode “Reign Storm.”
History[]
Long before all the other ghosts in the Ghost Zone were even spawned, a powerful and dangerous ghost named Pariah Dark ruled the Ghost Zone with an iron fist. He held in his possession the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire, which granted him nearly limitless power and the command of his loyal servant the Fright Knight and his army of skeletal ghosts.
Pariah Dark with his artifacts
Eventually, a group of powerful ancient ghosts banded together to defeat the Ghost King by sealing away the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire, as well as banishing the Fright Knight. These ancient ghosts imprisoned Pariah himself in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep and destroyed his evil kingdom, leaving behind only his castle where they hoped he would sleep forever.
Pariah Dark overthrown
Pariah Dark's castle and army
Reign Storm[]
Vlad Plasmius went to Pariah's castle to get his ring and crown. He used the Skeleton Key opened the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep to get the Crown of Fire, but Pariah awakened and attacked him. Vlad escaped with the Ring of Rage. Pariah summoned his army and the Fright Knight to go to Amity Park in search of the ring. Pariah then transported the entire city of Amity Park into the Ghost Zone.
Pariah Dark was too powerful for Danny to defeat on his own, so Danny enlisted the help of his Ghost Zone enemies (whom Pariah had kicked out, claiming the Ghost Zone entirely for himself) and took his father's ecto-skeleton suit. Together, they managed to remove Pariah's crown, taking away his powers. Vlad used the Skeleton Key to lock Pariah back into the sarcophagus, returning everything to normal.
Other appearances[]
Pariah was mentioned in a few episodes but never made a true reappearance. Danny uses him as an excuse for being late in "Kindred Spirits." In "Infinite Realms," Frostbite and his people respect Danny for defeating Pariah Dark.
Pariah is briefly mentioned by Danny In Livin' Large when passing his Castle.
Pariah briefly appears as one of the many ghosts that attack Danny in the Ghost Zone in "Phantom Planet," even though he was supposedly still sealed away in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. This may have been because Danny possibly freed him or due to an animation or production error.
Appearance[]
Pariah Dark is a large, well-built ghost. He has a white face with a red outline, long green hair, and a braided green beard. He has green eyes, with a black scar on his right eye and a black eye patch over his left eye. Pariah has two gray horns on the sides of his head, the left of which is broken in half. When in possession of them, he wears the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire.
Pariah's outfit consists of black full-body armor, with gray shoulder guards and boots. He also wears gray gauntlets with green spikes on the cuffs and knuckles. He wears a green belt, which has a metallic circular buckle with a green center and a gray cloth hanging down from it. His sword is fastened to his belt, and he has a green shoulder strap that crosses over his right shoulder. Pariah also wears a cape, which is black on the outside and red on the inside, and is fastened to his armor by two green skulls.
Personality[]
Because he was once the king of all ghosts, Pariah has a commanding force, expecting others to heed his word or perish. Ruthless, strict, and malevolent, he'll force his armies on other places in order to get what he wants without a second thought. He seems to enjoy the power and gaining as much influence as possible. He cannot tolerate those who oppose him. He also appears to enjoy combat. He displays an interesting view of power, as when he fought Danny, augmented by his suit, he remarks that wielding that much power is a burden. This is hinted at even more as he was stated to be the only one who could handle the power of the Ring and Crown.
When he is imprisoned in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, however, everything turns back to normal. Pariah Dark is also very arrogant, often underestimating his enemies. However Pariah, like most ghost is capable of showing honor and redeeming qualities as he and a thousand other ghost (except for Dark Danny) help Danny saved the earth.
Powers and Abilities[]
Ghost powers[]
Pariah Dark is stated to be one of the most powerful ghosts in existence. Even his basic ghost powers are at a transcendent level that exceeds other ghosts. While in the time Pariah ruled, he had both the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage, which allows him to do just about anything.
- Invisibility, Intangibility, and Flight: Standard ghost powers.
- Supernatural Strength: He is able to hold both Danny and Vlad with his powerful grip, as well as drain 60% of the energy from Danny’s Ecto-Skeleton in one hit.
- Supernatural Stamina: He has survived for a thousand years with no debilitating side-effects inside the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. This ability allows him to handle the power contained within both the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire.
- Supernatural Endurance: He is able to take three of Danny’s enhanced ghost rays via Ecto-Skeleton at the same time and showed only minimal discomfort.
- Supernatural Durability: Due to his dense body, Pariah is able to withstand all forms of physical attacks.
- Supernatural Speed: He can move or fly at incredibly fast speeds.
- Spectral Body Manipulation: He has a ghostly tail at times.
- Size Alteration: He can vary his size to appear larger than normal.
- Ghost Ray: Pariah's ghost rays are presumably strong enough to destroy Vlad’s ghost shields off screen (something Danny could never do) while wrecking the upper part of his castle. Even without his full power, they were capable of knocking out both Danny and Vlad at the same time that causes them to turn back into their human forms.
- Telekinesis: He seems to have a form of telekinetic power, as shown when his thrown mace misses Danny, but then turns back and hits him on its own.
- Teleportation: With his maximum power, he can teleport the entire city of Amity Park to the Ghost Zone (though, this could be similar to the Soul Shredder). After Pariah got defeated, everything that happened instantly returns to normal.
- Conjuration: Pariah can summon a huge ghost skeleton army that obeys all his commands in order to gain control over the Ghost Zone. The number of his army seems to be unlimited.
- Voice Projection: He can project his own voice from over a distance. Pariah used it to address the citizens of Amity Park with his decree while he was in his castle.
- Pyrokinesis (apparently): When Pariah had both the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire, he is able to light the ground beneath his feet on fire with each step.
- Immortality: While being imprisoned in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, he has lived there for eons.
Abilities[]
- High Ghost Knowledge: Because Pariah is an ancient ghost, he has high knowledge of ghosts and their powers. Pariah knew almost immediately when meeting with Vlad's clone, even during his conversations with both Vlad and Danny, he appeared to intuitively know that they were not regular ghosts.
Weaknesses[]
- Without both the Crown of Fire and Ring of Rage, Pariah is still very powerful, but much more vulnerable to enemy attacks and defeat.
- Standard Ghost Weaknesses: Even as the former king of all ghosts, Pariah is presumably unable to resist from the standard ghost weaknesses, such as anti-ghost weapons.
Equipment[]
- Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire : In order to reach his full power, he must have both the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire. Even without these artifacts, Pariah could use his ability to instill fear in all of the ghosts from the Ghost Zone, as well as he easily defeats both Danny and Vlad at the same time. The Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire can only be worn by powerful ghosts as most could not handle it.
- Mace: Pariah wields a mace that he projects his ghost rays from. If Pariah loses his own mace, he can have it telekinetically return to him.
- Sword: Pariah has a sword at his belt, although he was never shown using it.
Sightings[]
Season 2
- 204. "Reign Storm"
- 217. "Kindred Spirits" (mentioned)
Season 3
- 302. "Infinite Realms" (pictured)
- 312. "Phantom Planet" (no lines)
Trivia[]
- In an interview, creator Butch Hartman said that Pariah Dark's character was inspired by the DC Comics villain Darkseid.[citation needed]
- Physically, Pariah Dark seems to incorporate elements of Odin from Norse mythology. In particular, he has an eye patch and one of his horns is damaged.
- During the ad campaign leading up to the premiere of "Reign Storm," Pariah Dark was referred to solely as "Reign."
- Pariah Dark is one of Danny's few enemies whom he has not captured in the Fenton Thermos.
- Pariah Dark is one of the largest ghosts to appear in the series.
- Pariah Dark was stated to wield "omnipotence" by Butch Hartman[1] when wearing both the Ring of Rage and Crown of Fire, with the implication that he would have had near-infinite power.
- The only other character that could possibly rival or surpass his raw power is Dark Danny which is taken into consideration that the Fright Knight serves Dark Danny, it is possible that he is the only one to beat Pariah without help or the aid of a weapon, when the latter is wearing his ring and crown.
Gallery[]
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