Who's done me a thousand wrongs Ever since Donkey Kong? Slithering down every pipe despite his plumb-shaped body type! Who's gonna run in fear while screaming 'Mamma miaaaaaaaaaa'? Who leaves me gray and grim? Oh, what does Peach see in him? MARIO! With great joy in my heart each time I watch Mario Kart! You're first and doing so well but here comes the Spiny Shell! Ha ha ha! And now you and your Rabbid friends have finally met your ends! Just let me catch my breath then I'll 'high C' you to death!
„
~ The Phantom's first ballad.
The Phantom of the Bwahpera, also known as simply Phantom or Tom Phan, is a minor antagonist in Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. He is a fusion between a Rabbid, a Boo Balloon and a Gramophone created by Bowser Jr. and Spawny, and serves as the boss of Spooky Trails. The Phantom shares his name with his song.
The Phantom of the Bwahpera is voiced by Augustin Chemelle.
After Mario, Beep-0, and co., under instructions from someone, unlock the Moon Gate in order to awaken a warrior named Tom Phan to help them, they realize that that person was actually Bowser Jr., who had hacked F.B's email account. Bowser Jr. then tells the group that Tom Phan is, or at least will be real, pulling out the "Relics of Goodness"; a Rabbid, a Boo Balloon, and a Gramophone and scaring Spawny into fusing them. As Relics combine to create Tom Phan, Bowser Jr. explains that Tom Phan really means Phantom, before flying off. Phantom then begins to sing a ballad about his hatred of Mario and desire to kill him and his friends before starting the battle. As the battle starts, Beep-0 tells the group that his sensors indicate that Phantom is immune to all attacks while in the spotlight and that they will need to take out the lights before trying to attack him. After taking out the lights and bringing down Phantom's health twice, he begins angrily singing about his hatred of Mario and desires to destroy him again, now summoning even more enemies and becoming even more powerful. After taking out the lights and taking down Phantom yet again, he falls on the stage and performs an overly dramatic death scene before finally dying.
Personality
“
Who do you think you are? You should kneel, I'm the STAR! You are nothing but a parody. I'll find you a good role in a...TRAGEDY (ha ha ha ha). "It's a me, let's a go!", The only words you know! My art will touch your Princess' HEART, and you will be pulled APAAAAART! You think you'll win this tournament? I'll send you to retirement! You're so not worth the hassle. Your Princess is in another castle! Mushrooms won't end the pain... Time for the Phantom to start his reiiiiiign!
„
~ The Phantom's second ballad, which was originally to be the third.
Phantom is best described as being extremely vain, arrogant, overconfident, and egotistical. He constantly regards himself as being superior to Mario and his friends and believes that he will destroy them even when he is quite weak and vulnerable. Even during the heat of battle, Phantom still remains concerned about his appearance, often stating "How does my nose look?" During his second ballad, he questions why Mario and his friends aren't kneeling before because he is "the star" and later states that they are not worth his time. He also has a flair for dramatization, as shown by his defeat, and a passion for acting and music.
For reasons unknown, Phantom was also deeply hateful, loathsome, calculating, and jealous towards Mario and sings about his desire to kill him constantly. Throughout the entirety of both his ballads, Phantom openly insults and pokes fun at Mario, mocking his "plumb-shaped" weight, mustache, relationship with Princess Peach, and lack of dialogue. In one of his lyrics, he states that Mario has done him "a thousand wrongs ever since Donkey Kong", meaning that his hatred for Mario stems from his very first appearance in video games.
Despite it being his full name, Phantom is not referred to as the Phantom of the Bwahpera throughout his entire appearance.
It should be noted that the way he antagonizing Mario and try to get Peach like him to seem likely to take an element of Erik'way to get Christine Daaé (who was the female protagonist) and antagonizing Vicomte Raoul de Chagny (another protagonist).
Phantom is the only Rabbid in any game to speak using actual words rather than screams and grunts.
It should be noted that this is because of the Gramophone that he is fused with.
It is currently unknown why Phantom has such a great personal resentment towards Mario, considering that all other Rabbids in the game, even ones fused with members of the Koopa Troop, don't have such a hatred for him.
Phantom is the first character in any Mario game (not including sub-series games) to have a song number, the second being Pauline in Super Mario Odyssey.
However, while Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was released first, the E3 trailer in which Pauline sings Jump Up Super Star! was shown before the Phantom's ballad.
In the game, the Phantom's ballad only had two verses. However, the game's soundtrack reveals that it originally had three. Only the first and third verses of the song are heard in-game with the second left unused. it is unknown why the second verse was removed, but it's lyrics mentioned a gap between Mario and the Phantom which doesn't exist where the boss fight takes place.
In an interview with Grant Kirkhope, the music director for Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, he mentions that his original idea for the Phantom's boss battle was divided into three verses, with the first one being an opera, the second being rock, and the third being a rap. He also mentions that, as he created this original concept, he had to do a test recording of himself covering the entire song. While this version of the song was never used in the game, he mentions that it is likely that Ubisoft still has his original recording.
During his songs, Tom Phan breaks the fourth wall, referring in particular to Donkey Kong, the first Super Mario Bros., and Mario Kart.
