Vlad Masters (Plasmius)

Summary

Vlad Masters, alias Vlad Plasmius, is a billionaire industrialist, the original founder and CEO of VladCo. An old college friend of both Jack and Maddie Fenton, Vlad is secretly a human/ghost hybrid (the first to come into existence), following an accidental college experiment he worked on with Jack and Maddie in which Vlad gained his powers. Having been such for about the last 20 years, he serves as the main antagonist.

Backstory

Sometime in the early 1980’s, Vlad attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison[6] alongside his roommate and best friend Jack Fenton and love interest Maddie whom Jack also had feelings for. Vlad's friendship with Jack ended when a prototype ghost portal they had built overloaded after the latter accidentally poured diet cola instead of ecto-purifier into the machine. This blasted Vlad in the face with ectoplasmic energy, resulting in him being hospitalized with ecto-acne and his DNA being infused with ectoplasm, causing him to become a half-ghost. Vlad remained in the hospital for several years thanks to his ailment which eventually went into remission. Vlad went on to blame Jack for what happened to him, secretly hating him and desiring to exact vengeance. Vlad spent the next 20 years honing and taking advantage of his newfound powers in order to become rich and famous, all in the hopes of eventually getting Maddie back. He possessed wealthy business tycoons to make them hand their companies over to him, took part in invisible insider stock market trading, and committed many invisible burglaries in order to amass his vast fortune. Though this had little effect as Maddie soon married Jack. He founded and currently owns VladCo (which would buy out Axion Labs later on) and has been featured in a number of magazines (Fortunate Magazine named him "Man of the Year" in 1997).

Human Appearance

As a human, Vlad has white hair that according to Bitter Reunions, turned white as the result of his DNA being infused with ectoplasm. However, in Masters of All Time, it's shown that even without the accident he'd end up having a white hair in the current time. It's possible that while currently his hair color is caused by his half-ghost DNA, he himself may suffer from Canities Subita (also known as Thomas More/Marie Antoinette Syndrome), which would result in his hair turning white without half-ghost DNA. His hair is tied into a ponytail and he has a matching goatee. However, he has black eyebrows and a pointed nose. He has midnight blue eyes and his eyes are heavily outlined in black, showing his dark nature and implying that he maybe wears eyeliner. He typically wears a black suit with a red handkerchief in his left breast pocket and a matching red bolo tie. The suit has three rows of white buttons, a total of six. He also wears a white undershirt and black pointed shoes.

Ghost Appearance

In his alter-ego of Vlad Plasmius, he retains little resemblance to his human form, although some features remain the same. Plasmius is more vampiric than Masters, as this was the producer's original intention, although it was rebuked by Nickelodeon, who considered it too "occult." He is more muscular in this form and has sky-blue skin and fangs. His hair is black and styled in a horn-like U-shape, and he has a black goatee. He wears a mostly white outfit consisting of white trousers and a white long-sleeved shirt with black gloves and boots. His shirt is connected via a black belt and stems up to his neck. There is a black collar on his shirt like Danny's, although it does not extend up the neck. Finally, he accessorizes with a high collar cape connected around his neck that has a white exterior and a red interior lining.

Personality

Vlad's general outer appearance showcases him as a well to-do man: rich, suave, clever, intelligent and mysterious. He’s very methodical in getting what he wants whenever he wants it, showcasing patience as well as cunning. Deceitful and cruel, Vlad is perfectly willing to use any underhanded method to obtain his desires and he possesses no qualms about resorting to such things as kidnapping and attempted murder. He is not above using others as his pawns in achieving his goals, as was shown when he infected Sam and Tucker with ecto-acne to get Danny to help him with his own case. Never giving up when he is down, to compensate for his losses, Vlad savors small, personal victories, such as in "Bitter Reunions" where he lost the battle, but proudly pointed out Danny's blackmailing being similar to his before leaving. He usually works alone, but has required help from Skulker several times, as well as the vulture ghosts, ectopuses, and the failed clones. In "Reign Storm," while gloating to Danny, he said he "...used two 14-year-old pawns to turn a knight and topple a king," implying that he may have struck a deal with the Fright Knight. However, the show never showed it come to play. Vlad is also known to hold a grudge for years. Part of the reason he hates Jack so much is due to all the humiliation and personal injury Jack has caused him over the years, blaming Jack for having caused the accident which saw Vlad become infected with ectoplasm and saw Vlad lose the opportunity to confess to and make Maddie his. (Indeed, Maddie and Jack were most likely prohibited from visiting Vlad as the doctors were unsure as to the exact nature of his condition and couldn't risk anyone seeing him lest it proved to be contagious.) When under stress, he frequently shouts out snack names ("Oh, butter biscuits," "Oh, sugar cookies," etc.) and is known for losing his temper quite easily.

Personality 2

While Vlad is, at heart, cruel, sadistic, malicious, greedy, self-serving, petty, vindictive, obsessive and power-hungry, he’s also a complicated soul. Often a double-edged sword, he uses the wrong methods (killing, stealing, etc.) to gain what he thinks is right, namely in order to fill his painful loneliness. This includes getting love that he’s never allowed himself to have blaming his life-altering incident rather than his own personal faults: Maddie, who he believes should have been his and the fact he wanted no else, and Danny, a potential son who also struggles with ghost powers.[22] Unfortunately, this longing is also used against him when his emotions leave him vulnerable, Danny, Maddie and Jazz having tricked him with it. However, the fact that he retains such emotions shows that he is not above redemption. His arrogance has also proven to be a significant disadvantage; on one occasion when he fought Jack as Plasmius—Jack, naturally, being unaware of his identity as Vlad Masters—part of the reason for his defeat was the fact that he underestimated Jack's ability to successfully battle him and launch effective attacks. Additionally, he can become too overconfident about his plans, only to ruin them because of his own short temper and inability to think some aspects of his plan through. By the time of his downfall at the end of the series, Vlad has come to realize the foolishness of his actions, contemplating his lonely future away from Earth.

Power List

Human-Ghost Physiology: Vlad has all the same powers that Danny has, but his powers are far more developed. He is able to perform many techniques that Danny has yet to learn, such as Duplication (which Danny did not master until "Torrent of Terror."), and for all the feats that Danny can perform, Vlad can perform them better, possibly due to the 20-year experience in which he has had more time to develop new abilities, improve his existing ones, and patch up any weaknesses he might have, but Danny is slowly catching up to him. At the same time, however, Vlad seems to lack several powers; like Danny's Ghostly Wail and doesn't have Ghost Sense or by extension, hasn't developed Cryokinesis as Danny later gain, possibly as a result of being less exposed to the energies that gave the two their powers than Danny was. Vlad's powers eventually grew (creating more duplicates of himself, an Ecto-Twister, etc.) It is possible the reason Vlad increased in power a bit through the series is that he never really had any worthy opponents to train to defeat until he became Danny's archenemy. Even then, because of Danny's own training, he starts losing more often.

Power List

Going Ghost: When Vlad transforms, black rings (as opposed to Danny's, which are blue-white) extend from his waist and pass over his body. Unlike Danny, Vlad does not have a battle cry. Vlad's ghost form is similar to a vampire, unlike Danny who just has a "negative image" of himself. The reason for this is that Vlad Dracula from Romania was thought to be a "vampire" for his blood lust, therefore, when they're names crossed the makers decided him to be a vampire. While in his ghost form he can use all his ghost powers. Like Danny, Vlad has also shown that he can make his blue eyes glow red, when angered, to use some of his ghost powers. His rings were only blue-white in "Maternal Instincts" when Danny used the Plasmius Maximus to short-circuit his powers. Intangibility & Invisibility: Standard ghost power. Vlad can phase through solid objects and turn invisible to be seen by others. He has used this often to steal money before the start of the series. As with other ghosts, however, he can still get hurt when intangible when other ghosts are so as well, and Anti-ghost gadgets that can get past it. Flight: Standard ghost power. Vlad can fly, float, and hover, presumably at the same speed as Danny. This is never noticeably seen before or again as Vlad does not use flying as an advantage as much as Danny does. He can even fly in his human form. Vlad’s lower half became a wispy tail as he quickly tries to escape Pariah Dark. As well as Duplication and Teleportation this is one of Vlad most often used abilities. Overshadowing: Standard ghost power. Vlad can overshadow other people to control their actions. He has used this ability to increase his wealth by possessing rich tycoons to make them give their companies to him. He also used this in Eye for an Eye on multiple people to vote for him for mayor.

Power List

Superhuman Strength: He was much stronger than Danny during their first several encounters. In "The Million Dollar Ghost," he punched away the Behemoth with ease, though he didn't hurt him and he used an Energy Strike. However, we can assume that his strength is about 40 to 50 tons. Even after been weakened by having duplicated himself in hundreds of duplicates, he was still strong enough to punch Danny hard enough to pierce through a brick wall. Superhuman Durability: He is highly resistant to all forms of external physical damage. He is able to withstand higher amounts of damage than Danny. In his ghost form, Vlad's body is incredibly resistant to damage, and he also has demonstrated a high threshold for pain. His ghost tissues and bones are considerably harder and more resistant to physical injury than those of an ordinary human. A noticeable example of this is in Kindred Spirits where he was hit by Danny's Ghostly Wail, only being knocked back and momentarily without showing signs of the attack hurting him. Superhuman Stamina: He can exert himself at peak capacity for hours before fatigue begins to impair him. Superhuman Endurance: Vlad can endure attacks much more than an ordinary human. A great example is Vlad briefly (for only a second) held against Danny's Ghostly Wail before being blown back and forced to revert to human form. Superhuman Healing: Vlad can be able to regenerate quickly like Danny. When Pariah Dark effortlessly knocked out both Vlad and Danny, who both healed very quickly in a small period of time. Superhuman Agility: In his ghost form, Vlad's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels beyond those of a normal human being.

Power List

Spectral Body Manipulation: Vlad is able to contort his ghost body into any position he desires. Vlad’s lower half became a wispy tail as he quickly tries to escape Pariah Dark. Duplication: Vlad can split his body into duplicates that share all of his ghost powers. This is his most often-used and most advantageous technique. He manages to create over a hundred shadows of him that possessed many people to make them vote for him in the city mayor elections. Creating that many duplicates still weakened Vlad to the point where Danny could easily defeat him in combat and seem to indicate that there might not be a limit to the number of duplicates that he or possibly Danny would be able to create. It's been shown that when Vlad creates a duplicate, he can make them invisible in the process. He can also transform back to his human form while forming a ghost duplicate of himself, which explains how he's been able to get away with some events that may link directly to his footsteps. Teleportation: Vlad vanishes/disappear from one location and reappears elsewhere by wrapping his cape around him and vanishing into a cloud of green or pink mist. Ecto-Energy Manipulation: Vlad can manipulate his innate ecto-energy in various ways. Ghost Ray: His blast consists of pink ectoplasm; however, he is seen using green, turquoise, violet, and blue blasts as well. His blue ghost rays are his weakest ones. He can also fire his ghost rays from his eyes in human or ghost form and fire them in the form of explosive disks. His full-powered ghost ray is enough powerful to dig a crate of 4 meters. Energy Strike: Vlad can channel ecto-energy through his fists to enhance the strength of his physical attacks. With this power, Vlad can punch the Behemoth away which fighting him or punch through a solid concrete on a street and break it.

Power List

Ecto-Energy Constructs: Vlad can create solid objects with ectoplasmic energy, such as shields to nooses/ropes, a racket, and a cage[13] or a sword capable of great damage.[3] He can also trap others in ectoplasmic bubbles which are a dome-shaped Ghost Shield. Ghost Shield: His shield consists of pink or green ectoplasm. His shields can block or even reflect enemy attacks. He has been shown to shape his shield in the form of a wall, a barrier, or a mirror shield/reflecting shield that can reflect any attack, including physical attacks. He can create a ghost shield shaped like a dome to protect himself from explosions. Energy Absorption: Vlad can absorb an opponent's ghost rays/energy attacks from his enemies and redirect them back at his opponent, use them as his own. This is considered one of the rarest Ghost Powers for any ghost or half-ghost. Though he's the only ghost/half-ghost in the series to be known having this power. For unknown reasons he only used this power once. Power Augmentation: He can temporarily increase his physical strength. He once used this to become strong enough to break out of the Fenton Ghost Fisher.[13] He also used this power to escape Danny's snowball in "Phantom Planet". Ghost Stinger: Vlad sends out ecto-energy in the form of electricity. Vlad used this attack against Danny to drain his energy to the point where he almost changed back to human form. It is unknown if it will have similar if any, effects on full ghosts. Ghost Tornado/Ecto-Twister: By waving his cape around and spinning at high speeds, Vlad can create his own ectoplasmic energy tornado that is similar to a real one. It is capable of cause mass destruction, deflecting any incoming ectoplasmic energy attacks, and causing huge wind gusts that can suck his enemies in and throw them to other places. This is arguably Vlad's most powerful technique and he only used it once in Eye for an Eye.

Power List

Vacuum Resistance: Like Danny, Vlad has shown to survive a vacuum in outer space and was unaffected by it without any form of protection beyond his normal clothing; all he needed was a helmet connected to an oxygen tank.[21] This is only shown in "Phantom Planet" while trying to stop the Disasteroid and at the beginning when he was on Saturn's rings. Near the end of the episode, he appeared he didn't need the helmet or oxygen tank as he probably needed it to incase he reverted back to human form. Self-Sustenance: Despite first entering the voids of space with a helmet and oxygen tank, Vlad was seen sitting on the Disasteroid without said equipment. This indicates that Vlad either: doesn't require oxygen to survive while in his ghost form, or that he can utilize a form of self-sustenance while in his ghost form; either way, Vlad has shown to be capable of surviving in low-pressure, low-temperature environments. Paranormal Immunity: As Half-Ghost Vlad is immune or resistant to several effects that can hurt a ghost or a human. Like Danny, he's is immune to some Fenton Ghost Weaponry like the ghost shield when he is in his human form and it's possible that he is immune to some powers meant to affect humans like Ember's music.

Abilities

Gifted Businessman: Vlad is one of the most shrewd businessmen in the world, a trait that has earned him an immense fortune. However, he is not above using cutthroat tactics, unethical practices, and illegal operations to maintain the success of his business empire; he has admitted to overshadowing other businessmen. Insanely Rich/Wealth: One of Vlad's greatest gifts was his wealth. According to his words he "overshadowed enough millionaires to become the richest man on the planet". While this boast might be overstated, he once destroyed his entire castle home, along with everything in it, and casually said, "I can always buy another one," indicating that even spending likely millions of dollars is no issue for him. Prior to the events of "Phantom Planet", Vlad was one of the richest men on the planet but after holding the Earth hostage, it's more than likely that everything he once owned was confiscated, sold, or destroyed. Genius-level Intellect: Vlad is one of the most intelligent characters in the series, possibly even more so than Maddie or Jack. He has created hundreds of high-tech ghost-related devices and equipment, created a secret lab better than the Fentons' lab, and improved the Ecto-Skeleton so the suit would not drain or kill the wearer. Furthermore, he managed to find a way to prevent anyone from knowing that he stole money from various businessmen and cover up his own evil deeds while serving as Mayor. Master Strategist: Vlad has a cunning mind and, over the series, has developed complicated plans in order to get what he wants such as power or vengeance. However, most of them have been spoiled by Danny's interference and for underestimating his abilities and intelligence or even an unexpected problem. Furthermore, Vlad sometimes lets his ego get in the way resulting in him losing even when Danny was less experienced.

Abilities

Experienced Combatant: Vlad is considerably skilled in hand-to-hand combat, as his powers enable him to execute punches and kicks with superhuman force against his opponents. This is mostly due to the fact that he has had 20 years of experience with his powers, and he was considerably more skilled than Danny in their first encounter, effortlessly overwhelming the younger hybrid and knocking him unconscious. Swordsmanship: Vlad demonstrates some ability with the sword when fighting Danny in "Infinite Realms."