Okay, being completely serious, one of the reasons I never really vibed Dark Danny/Dan/Whatever was because he was portrayed as an unfeelingly awful just irredeemably evil motherfucker and AGIT finally approached him as, yes, evil, but also a Very Sad Man (TM).
We’re told in TUE that his destructive actions are due to Danny’s loss but AGIT shows us this. And I get him. He’s evil as hell but everything he does comes from a very 14-year-old, stunted emotional place—the explosion, the death of his loved ones, it’s not fair. And in another timeline it could have not happened, but in his it did. And it’s not fair.
And Danny gets that too. He gives him a chance to stand down. He knows trapping him again won’t fix anything. Like, redemption doesn’t quite happen but in the graphic novel it feels possible, and it didn’t before.
Or maybe all this is because I’m looking back on this at age 30 with more experience in storytelling and character.
I agree so much with this!!!
Because in TUE even after he sees people that could trigger an emotional response we see him as an all cold and cruel being when Danny and Vlad are not like that, feeling very out of character, even when it’s implied Dan has all of Danny’s memories and personality
(This even made me make a theory that Danny is holding back resentment towards everyone around him, but is holding back because… Morally incorrect and that would make him not human, something Dan is no longer afraid and even refers to himself as not human and that he left the burden of his human half behind long time ago)
But AGIT gave me… Life!!! With both Dan and Danny, making me gladly ditch my theory to get another perspective of both…
Danny- This is why I initially loved the show… Danny being a hero who is willing to help anyone in need but is not afraid to change perspectives, keep growing, recognize when others did something to help but not offer his forgiveness for free or hug out of the blue the people who have been awful to him.
Dan (or now referenced as Phantom)- a fragile 14 years old boy crying on the inside and still grieving after 10 years the loss of everyone he loved, disguised as a monster to keep himself save just begging to end his suffering or share it in equal parts with the other dimension that got everything when he couldn’t


















