Valerie Gray
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Valerie Gray The Red Huntress[1] |
| Occupation: | High School Student |
| Relationships: | Danny Fenton (crush) Dani Fenton (ally and friend) Tucker Foley (ex) |
| Fandom: | Danny Phantom |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Valerie Gray is both a friend and an enemy to Danny Fenton in Danny Phantom. She is a prominent character within the cartoon and popular with fans. As of October 2023, she is the ninth most fanwork'd character from Danny Phantom as a whole on Archive of Our Own. Other places where fandom lives place her on the same level of prominence.
Her most common ship by far is with Danny Fenton, forming Danny/Valerie. Her second, with Dani Fenton, forming Dani/Valerie, is also common. Dani/Valerie may be considered to be a major Age Difference pairing, though Wank for this is rare.
In early Danny Phantom fandom, she was regularly shipped with Tucker Foley, forming Tucker/Valerie. Although this is still shipped in modern, (2020s,) Danny Phantom fandom, it's notably lesser so than when the cartoon was airing.
Canon
Appearance and Personality
The Red Huntress
The Red Huntress is a Fanon term for her unlabelled alter-ego. It's been in use since the show was airing.
Valerie Gray, the Missed Opportunity?
Many Danny Phantom fans believe Valerie was underutilized despite her interesting position as both Danny's friend and enemy. More so than other characters, fanworks for Valerie tend to be AUs of canon or Futurefanworks. This may extend to delving into her former friendships with Paulina and Star, though this is uncommon for fanworks, generally speaking.
Relationships
See List of Danny Phantom Relationship Names for more.
Aside from the three ships mentioned above, other pairings for Valerie include, but are not limited to:
| With... | Full Label | Type | Pairing Name | Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Phantom | Dan/Valerie | Het | Dark Gray | Enemyslash. |
| Danny Fenton | Danny & Valerie | Gen; Friends | Friendly Rivalry | n/a |
| Dani Fenton | Dani & Valerie | Gen; Friends | Not Defenseless Duo; Vlad Haters | n/a |
| Sam Manson | Sam & Valerie | Gen; Friends | n/a | If a fanwork is both Danny/Valerie and Danny/Sam, this relationship may be portrayed as a rivalry. |
| Vlad Masters | Valerie & Vlad | Gen; Mentor | n/a | Fanworks may emphasize their dynamic to further explore how Valerie reacts to Vlad being Half-Ghost and manipulating her into believing Phantom is her enemy. |
| Star | Star & Valerie | Gen; Friends | n/a | Fanworks focusing on this pairing are rare. In fanworks that do, it may be about rekindling (fix-it) their friendship. |
| Tucker Foley; Sam Manson | Tucker & Sam & Valerie | Gen; Friends | n/a | This friendgroup may be formed to play pranks on Danny. |
| Danny Fenton; Tucker Foley; Sam Manson | Danny & Tucker & Sam & Valerie | Gen; Friends | n/a | This friendgroup may be formed to fight ghosts once Valerie comes around to Danny being Half-Ghost. |
| Clockwork | Clockwork & Valerie | Gen; Adversaries | n/a | Almost always Phantom Planet Future!Valerie interacting with Clockwork after the events of A Glitch in Time. |
| Dash Baxter | Dash & Valerie | Gen; Adversaries | n/a | Canonically, these two do not interact much. |
| Paulina Sanchez | Paulina & Valerie | Gen; Former Friends | n/a | If a fanwork is both Danny/Valerie and Danny/Paulina, this relationship may be portrayed as a rivalry. |
| Jazz Fenton | Jazz & Valerie | Gen; Friends | n/a | n/a |
Fanon and Common Valerie-specific Tropes
- Valerie Gray Knows Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom
- As this never happened in canon, many, many fanworks have Valerie discover Danny is Danny Phantom. Many works also have her already know this.
- BAMF!Valerie Gray
- She is known to kick ass.
- Halfa | Half-Ghost!Valerie Gray
- Great for Angst material and further exploring Valerie's character
- Phantom Planet Future!Valerie
- In A Glitch in Time, the entirety of Phantom Planet is retconned, save for Valerie, who escaped being retconned. Works for this version of her character may focus on revenge and interactions with Clockwork.
- Valerie joins with Jack and Maddie in hunting ghosts.
- Although this does not happen in canon due to Valerie believing they are incompetent ghost hunters, fanworks may explore the idea.
Example Fanworks
Red Error AU by realititrip, fanart and fanfiction for an AU where Technus's canonical suit upgrade slowly morphs her into a ghost. Featured in Reality Trip, a Danny Phantom zine. sykloni did similar fanart for this AU for Ectober 2022.
Fanart
- Hunter's moon by braisedhoney, fanart of Valerie with the color palette, Hunter's moon.
- Tryna new style and new inks, feat Val Gray by myriamsaviniart, fanart where her earring's design is changed.
- "Ultimate Enemy" Valerie by papiliomame, a 3D Model for The Ultimate Enemy's Valerie done in Blender.