| “ | That's right. I don't know who I am. I am always living as someone else for my assignments. I don't remember what my face looks like... ...or even what my personality was like. My face, memories, personality, beliefs, emotions, and soul... I left them all behind. I have no... "self." I am no one. I am nothing but an endless abyss. | „ |
| ~ The Phantom |
The Phantom is the main antagonist of the videogame Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, the fifth installment in the Ace Attorney series. He is an almost completely emotionless spy.
Appearance
As he keeps wearing a mask, the Phantom's true face and appearance remain unknown, even after the end of the game.
History
The Phantom killed Athena Cykes' mother when she was only 11 years old, forcing Athena to watch, and got Prosecutor Simon Blackquill convicted. Before that, he killed Detective Bobby Fulbright and assumed his identity. The Phantom also sabotages a national symbol of pride, known as the HAT-1, a rocket, almost killing the astronaut on board. He also killed Apollo's close friend, Clay Terran, who had almost revealed the Phantom's identity. He is indirectly responsible for almost every murder in the game, including setting off the bomb in the courtroom that was thought to be the work of Ted Tonate, which could have caused massive amount of death. And he always framed someone else (including Athena, her best friend, Prosecutor Blackquill, and the astronaut) for his crimes. He has information on all kinds of organizations around the world, which is why most of them want him dead; there may have been assassins following his every move.
After an impromptu trial that proved that nor Simon nor Athena killed Metis Cykes and that spawned the theory that "Fulbright" was the phantom, he was called to testify.
Breakdown
| “ | My own, true face...! I don't have one! My face! My face! My face! Is this my face?! Is it?! Is it?! No! That's not it! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! This isn't me, either! AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! Is this me?! Which one is my face?! What am I?! Who am I?! AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! | „ |
| ~ The Phantom during his breakdown. |
When Simon Blackquill slashes "Fullbright's" mask, it gets torn apart, revealing a Solomon Starbuck mask. When Blackquill says that Starbuck couldn't be the phantom due to being on the rocket, the phantom then reveals an Aristotle Means mask. When Phoenix Wright tries to convict the phantom by using a small fragment of the meteorite, the phantom reveals a Wright mask. Each personality of said mask is mimicked perfectly. When finally proven guilty, he looks around and shouts to someone (possibly an assassin mentioned above) that he hadn't lost yet and pulls his mask. He begins to panic as he starts removing masks trying to find his true face, each mask being of a villain in the game - Ted Tonate, Florent L'Belle and Aristotle Means, while debris fall. He then subsequently changes to Damian Tenma, his daughter Jinxie, Hugh O' Conner, Simon and even Aura Blackquill. The scene flashes between all the transitions while he questions who he really is. After changing to a final mask (Bobby Fulbright with the tear) he is shot by an unseen sniper, leaving him without a mask, but his face is hidden by darkness. Simon Blackquill confirmed that the phantom survived the shot and was going to be protected by the prosecutor's office before his trial.
Powers and Abilities
The Phantom is a master of disguise and is skilled with lots of sorts of weapons.
He is skilled at impersonating people. He could mimic Bobby Fulbright's dedication to justice and his ditzy yet passionate character. After being revealed as an impostor, he did good impressions of Aristotle Means or Phoenix Wright. The problem is that he is unaware of his real identity.
While a master impersonator, he is terrible at improvising lies. After the lighter that incriminated Athena was revealed to actually have Clay's blood, "Fulbright" claims that he is an undercover agent, that the phantom uncovered him and that he kidnapped his family to keep him compliant. His previous speech in which he "believed" Athena was guilty and his failure to say which family member was kidnapped made him less credible. Before ditching the Fulbright persona, he tried to express emotions, but his dialog mismatched his gestures.
Trivia
- Despite being called The Phantom, he was never referred to as the Phantom. Instead, he is referred to as ???, and Phoenix? during the trial.
