Before Nickelodeon started pandering to the lowest common denominator of fart-obsessed 6 year olds. The network actually made an attempt at Action-oriented Super Hero shows. Rob Renzetti's My Life as a Teenage Robot and Butch Hartman's Danny Phantom. They're great shows with a lot going for them, but at first glance, they seem completely different. One is about a Robot fighting crime while also trying to fit in as a Teen, the other is a bout a half-ghost kid fighting ghosts. But in my view at least, these two actually have a lot more in common than they don't. So I'll compare various aspects of these two as well as which I feel does better in those categories.

Protagonists: Both Phantom and Teen-Robo revolve around kids with dual responsibilities, Saving the world, and being teenagers. Jenny Wakeman (XJ9) and Danny Fenton actually have quite a bit in common. Let's start with Jenny. Not much is known about Jenny's background, but here's what I can make out from the little info I managed to find. Jenny was originally a human similar to Astro boy or Mega Man (Hey, Rock might as well have been a human). She loved cute things and flowers. One day, though, she was killed by one of the cluster robots. Rather than sit there and morn forever, Her mother Dr. Noreen Wakeman decided to make a new Jenny, one who had the power to save the world. 8 prototypes later, XJ9 is born. However, she had to be locked in her room and kept secret, due to Noreen's sketchy reputation, only to come out when it's time to fight. Because her lack of contact with human civilization, Jenny desired to fit in with normal teenagers, going as far as to fill her room with teenage trends. After meeting Brad Carmbuckle and his younger brother Tuck, Nora realizes she was being extreme, and decides to give Jenny some breathing room, eventually enrolling her in Tremorton High.

Jenny's personality is generally kind, polite, sweet, peppy and somewhat ditzy. Being a robot trying to fit in with other teens, Jenny is pretty socially awkward. When pushed too far however, she can be testy, disrespectful, and a bit mean. Jenny's kind and trusting nature also makes her very naive, often letting antagonists like the crust cousins take advantage of her, because of this, Jenny is also kind of a doormat. Jenny has also been shown to be a bit mischievous, sometimes thinking her gadgets and weapons let her do whatever she wants without consequence, though she does learn her lesson later. Aspects of Jenny's human persona also seemed to have carried over to her robo-rebirth, as shown in the end of Killgore's debut episode where Jenny fawns over his small size, as well as having multiple stuffed animals in her room. When on Crime-fighting duty, Jenny can be brash, sarcastic, and taunting often making insults at her opponents, though this can also make her pretty careless as well. Jenny has also been shown to be a Robot's right activist of sorts, as seen in The Wonderful World of Wizzly. As the series progressed Jenny started to fit in more naturally, and gained more respect from Tremorton, though her school-mates still make fun of her occasionaly. She also gets along with her mom more as the series progresses.

Now on to Danny, unlike Jenny, Danny's backstory is more pronounced. Hell, the intro even gives you the backstory. Growing up with a pair of ghost-obsessed parents, Danny was often traumatized as a child making him an awkward and somewhat shy geek. After his parents failed to get their Fenton Portal to work, Danny was dared by his best friend Sam Manson to go in it. However, he presses the on button by accident and his DNA gets infused with ectoplasmic energy, giving him all the abilities of a supernatural spirit. At first, his powers are hard to control, making him very clumsy, so much to the point of being banned from handling fragile objects in school. Overtime however, his gains more confidence in his abilities, and learns to use his powers for good.

Remember when I said that Jenny and Danny had quite a bit in common, well personality is where the similarities really kick in. Danny is generaly portrayed as kind, sweet, good-natured, and socially awkward, much like Jenny. His trusting nature and desire for acceptance amoungst the popular kids can also make him naive, much like Jenny as well. Also like Jenny, Danny has similar flaws, his unique ghost powers can make him misguided at times, thinking he can do what he wants with no consequences, only to learn he was just being a shallow teenager later. Danny also has shown to be a mischievous too, often using his powers to get revenge on bullies like Dash. Though normaly kind-hearted, Danny can also be rude, rebellious, arrogant and mean when pushed too far. When hunting ghosts, Danny is Confident, sarcastic, and brash. Danny has also been shown to be a somewhat reckless like Jenny as well, part of the reason he was initially resented by Amity Park citizens (though Walker's propaganda plan wasn't helping either).

There isn't much I can think of in terms of differences between the two aside from Danny being more quiet and down to earth compared to Jenny's bouncy Genki Girl tendencies, but there is one thing. Whereas Tremorton knows Jenny is a crime-fighting robot, Danny keeps his identity as Danny Phantom a secret from everyone except his friends and eventually his older sister Jazz. Now I personaly feel Jenny Wakeman and Danny Fenton are good examples of how to write teenage protagonists in cartoons (unless they're the main characters, teens in cartoons tend to be one-dimensional stereotypes, or annoying antagonists). In Jenny's case, the writers generally avoid taking the lazy route and making her an annoying valley girl. She's more like that sweet, friendly girl-next-door type, and her teenage qualites are largely subtle. While she can be a bit angsty at times, Jenny rarely comes off as annoying or unlikable, and oftentimes her reasons for being annoyed at her mom are justified (Locking her in her room initially, sometimes treating her as a tool rather than a daughter, etc.). And her naivety to human society adds a certain child-like innocence to her character which also makes her unique. What makes Danny likeable is how naturally he develops throughout the show, at first he's an awkward teen who questions his purpose, but eventually grows into a brave and heroic young man. Being teenagers, Danny and Jenny have their moments of being stubborn brats, but they eventually learn from their mistakes and correct them. As for which one is better? Well, while Jenny is generally a good natured character, her portrayal in some episodes can be a bit... inconsistent, mainly in Season 1. One episode she's a sweet and loveable robot, the next she could be whinny, and stubborn. In that case, I have to give it to Danny for being a more consistent character, but I still mainly prefer Jenny.

Winner: Danny Phantom

Supporting Cast: If there's one weak point these two shows have, its their supporting characters. They're not terrible, but they seem like your typical teenage stereotypes. In Teenage Robot's case, there's Brad, your typical best friend, and laid-back ladies man (well, he attempts at least), Tuck, his younger tag along brother who's only real purpose is to give the youngest viewers a character they can relate to (though he can still be funny). Sheldon, the geeky kid with a crush on Jenny. Britt and Tiff, your typical alpha bitches, and Nora Wakeman, who while loves her daughter, can be embarrassing or nagging at times.

Danny Phantom is kinda the same. Tucker Folley is a geeky black tech-kid who can't get a date. Sam is your cynical, moody goth chick, Dash and Quan are the bully jocks, Paulina is the schools' latino hottie, Jazz is the pretty, and slightly snobish know-it-all sister. And the Fentons are your typical embarrassing or naggy parents, only with a ghost fetish. See what I mean? Typical stereotypes. To be fair, these characters work well with in their stereotypes, but they're still stereotypes.

Winner: Tie

Continuity and Character Development: Unlike most Nicktoons, Teenage Robot and Danny Phantom have actual instances of continuity and character development. Starting with Danny Phantom, while there's no real story arcs like, say, Avatar. The show is one big comic book plot. Danny starts off as an awkward, unsure teen who struggles to fit in as a normal boy, As the show progressed, he becomes a responsible, brave, and loyal young man. Other characters develop too, for example Jazz starts off as a teenager trying to be an adult, but after she learns Danny's secret, she realizes Danny's growing up just fine without her, and starts becoming more useful as the show progresses.

Meanwhile on Teenage Robot, while it's continuity isn't as tight as Phantom's due to having an 11 minute format, it still has its fair share too. The first couple episodes set up our premise, and starts Jenny's journey to become accepted amoung society. More characters are introduced, and several villains, and plot points, come back into play in later episodes. For example, the 3rd episode is about Jenny using an exo-skin to go to a fair amoung humans, few episodes later, the skin returns as Nora has been toying with it to be more advanced. Another good example is that the events of the Movie, Escape from Cluster Prime carry over and are referenced in Season 3.

Characters develop pretty nicely too. Jenny starts off as a friendly, yet stubborn teen who just wants to fit in and be more than just a walking weapon used to save the world. By Season 3, she starts becoming more accepted as Tremorton's hero, she's more accepting of her robot nature, and though she still is occasionaly made fun of, is more accepted amoung her classmates. Jenny's best friend Brad, also starts becoming more adventurous and more useful, and Shelldon goes from just the geeky love interest, to a regular member of Jenny's circle of friends. The best piece of development came from Jenny's relationship with her Mom. At first, they loved eachother, but never really saw eye to eye, often arguing with eachother over trivial matters. Jenny wants to explore the world, and be a normal girl who just so happens to be a robot. But Wakeman saw her as just an invention, a mere tool used to solve a problem, then put away when she's done. But as the series progressed, they become more concerned for eachother, get along better, and Nora begins to accept Jenny as an actual daughter rather than a glorified swiss army knife. Seriously, compare Call Hating or Tradeshow Showdown to Turn Abouts or Puppet Bride, the difference in their relationship is Night and Day.

Continuity wise, Phantom wins. But for character development, I'd give it to Teenage Robot mainly for that Relationship between Jenny and her Mom. However, Teenage Robot does lose points for having unresolved plot points, but that's mainly due to the same problem as Invader Zim (ie, abrupt cancellation).

Winner: Danny Phantom (for Continuity) Teenage Robot (for Character Development)

Comedy: Being Nicktoons, Both shows have a good amount of comedy to keep things light-hearted. Let's start with Teenage Robot, right off the bat, this show reeks of 90's Cartoon Network. From the The Hanna-Barbara sound effects, to the art-deco/Dexter's Lab hybrid visual style, everything just screams Cartoon Cartoon. This is no supprise considering the show's creator Rob Renzetti was a director for Dexter's Lab, Powerpuff Girls, and Samurai Jack. If your a fan of the old Cartoon Cartoons, you'll feel right at home with Teenage Robot's humor and style. Danny Phantom on the other hand, being a Butch Hartman creation, feels more like other Nicktoons such as Fairly OddParents. It's humor is alot closer to FOP relying on meta-jokes and references. Which one is funnier depends on which network's style of humor you like better, but I always found myself laughing more at Teenage Robot. It's jokes feel more natural compared to Danny Phantom, which at times felt forced and phoned in.

Winner: Teenage Robot

Powers and abilities: Danny and Jenny have many powers and abilities at their disposal. Being part ghost, Danny has all the powers you'd expect from a supernatural entity. Ranging from intangibility, flying, invisibility, ecto-blasts, freezing, ghostly whailing, phasing through solid objects, and of course, possession (which for some reason is called overshadowing in the show). The idea of ghost based powers is an ingenious concept, and the show puts them to great use.

As for XJ9, well she's basically Inspector Gadget on crack. I can litteraly just stop right there, but I'll explain what I mean. Jenny is armed to the teeth with a near limitless array of weapons and gizmos. Much like Inspector Gadget, there's no pattern, limitation, rhyme, or reason to her powers, she has whatever tools the writers want for any given situation either for an action sequence, transportation, or a visual gag. By this logic, Jenny would be the clear winner, but I feel this also makes her a bit over-powered. Danny is a clever fighter, and has been shown to make the most out of his more limited set of abilities. He feels more balanced, and as a result, it makes it more fun to see Danny uncover a new power. So another point for Phantom.

Winner: Danny Phantom

Villains: What is a super-hero cartoon without villains? Both shows devliver a wide array of colorful bad guys. For Teenage Robot, there's a mutated mouse, a black knight, a gigantic robot, a fun size robot who thinks he's evil, two parodies of Mario & Luigi, Dr. Locus, an electricity vampire, alien bikers, and of course, The Cluster, led by a queen voiced by Eartha Kitt.

Meanwhile on Danny Phantom, there's a ghost who feeds on teen angst, a ghost bounty hunter, a ghost who gets stronger when people chant her name, a determined police officer with a grudge against Danny, a ghost who controls technology. and of course, Vladd Plasmius, Danny's cunning, and menacing rival.

I've only touched upon some of the creative villains both shows has to offer. As for witch is better? While I like MLAATR's villains, I still think Danny Phantom's are cooler despite the lack of species variety.

Winner: Danny Phantom

So I've covered every category these shows have in common and compared strengths, and weaknesses, similarities, and differences. As for which is the overall better show? Well, on a 5:3 score, Danny Phantom is the better show. But even with that, I still like Teenage Robot a little bit better. It's definitely a hidden gem you should check out, especially if your a fan of Powerpuff girls or Dexter's Lab. So which show did you think was better?