You can’t have Danny Phantom without having Sam Manson, his best friend and eventual girlfriend. Sam is a very popular character in this cartoon series, and it’s for a good reason. She’s awesome!
Sam is a girl who dresses in the goth style, loves animals and protests things, hates conforming to anything popular, and regularly kicks ghost behind. While she may not have any supernatural powers like Danny, you still don’t want to mess with her. She will take you down.
I also like the fact that Sam was pretty unapologetic about the things she liked. She didn’t care if people thought she was weird. She didn’t care if her music and movie tastes were considered weird. And she didn’t care if people thought she was crazy for protesting for animal rights. Sam did what she thought was right and she liked what she liked. And if you didn’t like that about her, you could go jump off a cliff for all she cared. That kind of self-confidence is pretty admirable.
But while Sam appears to not care what people know about her, there are a lot of things she tends to keep to herself. She’s not the most open of people, so it makes sense that she would have quite a few interesting facts and secrets about her that not many of the other characters, or even fans of the show, would know.
So here are 20 interesting facts and secrets about Sam that not many people know. Think we missed some good secrets? Make sure to let us know in the comments section below!
20 She’s A Master Of Tongues
Considering Sam is pretty smart, it’s not that surprising that she knows another language besides English. But did you know that Sam speaks Esperanto, Wulf’s language? Both she and Danny learned it in case they ever met Wulf again. That’s not an easy language to learn, so kudos to them.
Sam also apparently has some knowledge of French, Italian, and Japanese. While we don’t know if she’s fluent in them, she at least knows some of those languages. So, she probably has the most language skills out of the trio. It wouldn’t surprise me if she learned different languages for fun. That, and her parents probably encouraged it.
19 They Were Almost Psychic
It’s no secret that Sam and Danny are very close. They’ve been friends for forever and have gotten to the point where they know each other very well. But did you know that their connection was going to be supernatural?
The creators had the idea that Sam and Danny were going to have a psychic connection that would let them know where the other person was. But this idea got taken out right before the premiere since Danny already had ghost powers and Sam had other attributes and talents. But the two are shown to have a rather special connection throughout the series, so maybe it’s not as far-fetched as you think.
18 She Knows Her Artifacts
It may come with the territory of being a goth, but Sam has quite the knowledge of anything occult in nature. And she’s pretty knowledgeable about dark and evil artifacts. What probably sets her apart though is that she uses this knowledge to help Danny out pretty often.
In fact, without Sam’s knowledge, there are a few ghosts Danny wouldn’t have been able to defeat. It’s thanks to her knowledge of dark artifacts that Danny was able to defeat Fright Knight and The Box Ghost. It just goes to show that knowledge is power, and that you really should know your enemy.
17 Appearances Can Be Deceiving
Despite Sam’s look and interests being very much your stereotypical goth teenager, she doesn’t really act like your typical goth. Most teenagers that are goth usually have a more depressed and apathetic air to them. But Sam is not so much that.
Sam’s not that apathetic or depressing.
While yes, Sam can be cynical and sarcastic, she’s also passionate about things like animal rights. She’s definitely not apathetic about the things she cares about, and she’ll go to great lengths to prove her point. She’s also probably the person who believes in Danny the most, and she’s happy that Danny became a hero. It just shows that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
16 She Can Be A Bit Much
Because Sam does care deeply for things like animal rights, human rights, etc., she can get pretty into it. But Sam isn’t perfect, and one of her flaws is that she can be a little hypocritical sometimes. She also tends to force her ideas on other people, expecting them to just go along with her ideas, despite her claims that individuality is important.
As a result, she can annoy Danny and Tucker to no end. But when push comes to shove, Sam is always there for Danny and is willing to do what it takes to protect him and help him. And I think that’s pretty cool.
15 Her Background Is A Bit Different
Most cartoons don’t talk much about religion, and I don’t blame them. Religion can be a touchy subject, so it’s often easier to just avoid the topic all together. And while Danny Phantom doesn’t go into much about religion either, it does make it known that Sam’s family is Jewish.
It was first hinted when Sam’s grandma calls her “bubeleh,” which is a Yiddish term of endearment. And it was then confirmed in the Christmas special. I think having one of the characters coming from some type of religious background is a cool idea. While we don’t know if Sam is a practicing Jew, the fact that she comes from that history is pretty awesome.
14 She Likes Samurais More Than You Think
Sam’s tastes in films are a bit varied. As you’d figure, she does love horror and monster films (her favorite monsters are Femalien, Terminatra, and Nightmerica). But did you know that she also has a thing for samurai movies? She’s a fan in particular of Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films.
Sam does enjoy various forms of Japanese anime and entertainment.
And it’s not just samurai movies; it’s been hinted that Sam does enjoy various forms of Japanese anime and entertainment. So, it looks like Sam may be an otaku. She doesn’t seem to be very open about that, so it may be a guilty pleasure for her. Be proud of what you like, Sam!
13 These Three Are Friends Forever
Since Sam is one of the main characters, it would make sense that she’s in the show a lot. Since Danny, Sam, and Tucker are practically inseparable, you see the three going pretty much everywhere together. But did you know that Sam has been in nearly every episode of Danny Phantom?
In fact, both Sam and Tucker have been in every episode of the show except for one: “Bitter Reunions.” Since this episode is the one where Danny’s family goes to visit Vlad, it does make sense that Sam and Tucker aren’t in it. That’s still a pretty impressive record. These three are definitely friends for life.
12 She’s Got Great Music Taste
Sam’s music taste is probably what you’d expect from a teen goth. She likes punk, metal, and techno/electronica music. (The techno is a bit of a surprise.) It would make sense that Sam likes the hard rock type of music since that seems to fit her personality pretty well.
But did you know that she’s also into 70s and 80s punk rock? Apparently, she has a whole vinyl record collection of various punk-rock bands from the 70s and 80s. This isn’t too surprising since Sam likes punk rock in general. But that’s still pretty cool that she has vinyl records. Love whatever music you want, girl!
11 Yep, That’s Her House
Looking at Sam and the way she acts, you’d think she came from a fairly average economic background. There’s nothing about her that says she’s anything beyond average, and she certainly doesn’t act like any of the other rich kids in the school. But did you know that Sam’s family is actually loaded?
Sam comes from a seriously wealthy background.
Yep, Sam’s parents are super rich and Sam comes from a seriously wealthy background. And she keeps this a secret from pretty much everybody except Danny and Tucker. Her reasoning is she doesn’t want people to try to pretend to be her friend just because she’s wealthy. I can understand that. You do you, Sam.
10 This Love Was A Long Time Coming
It’s no secret that Sam and Danny have romantic feelings for each other, and I’m sure everyone cheered when they finally got together in the end. But what you may not know is that Sam had a crush on Danny for a long time.
But why didn’t she act on it? It was partially that she was in denial of her feelings, and there was the fact that Danny very obviously had a crush on Paulina. She was also afraid to tell Danny of her feelings. But she’s shown to be jealous of Danny when he gets attention from other girls. So, it’s doubly awesome that these two lovebirds finally get together.
9 Yes, This Actually Happened
Despite the fact that Sam and Danny obviously have feelings for each other, the two have had other romantic interests. Danny crushed on Paulina for forever, and Sam had a thing with the womanizing Elliot. But did you know that Sam and Tucker have kissed?
It wasn’t really a romantic kiss. When Sam and Tucker were assigned to take care of a flour baby, Tucker got way into the role of the “working dad” and then gave Sam a quick kiss goodbye. What’s hilarious is right after, the two are both stunned by what just happened and then they both agree to never speak of it again. Though I’m sure there are fans who ship it.
8 One of These Things Is Not Like The Others
Sam and the words “beauty pageant” feel like they would never go together in a million years, and yet Sam does wind up being in a teen beauty pageant. She did do this out of protest to show how stupid pageant are, and the whole pageant winds up being this trap for a ghost to find his bride, but still.
It is kind of funny that Sam ends up winning in the end.
It is kind of funny that Sam ends up winning in the end, even though she showed that she couldn’t care less about it. (It was an accident, but it’s still pretty funny.) As someone who’s not that fond of beauty pageants, I can understand Sam’s disgust for them.
7 And We’ll Never Be Royals
Throughout the series, Sam has been transformed into a few different things. For example, she got possessed by a plant ghost, and at some point, she turned into a dragon. But did you know that she almost became a ghost princess?
As a result of winning a beauty pageant that was organized by a ghost, Sam gets taken away to the Ghost Zone where she’s meant to become the bride of Prince Aragon. Sam, of course, is not happy about this, and she manages to get out of there with Danny and Tucker’s help. But yeah, Sam almost became ghost royalty. That would’ve been pretty cool if Prince Aragon wasn’t such a jerk.
6 That’s Some Mad Skills
While Sam may not have any supernatural powers like Danny does, she’s still got some tricks up her sleeves. And one of them is her surprisingly vast knowledge of Fenton weaponry. Sam knows how to work most of the Fenton’s crazy weapons and does it with ease.
It does kind of make sense since Sam and Danny have pretty much grown up together. Sam would be around Danny’s family a lot and would be familiar with the Fenton’s equipment. Still, it’s seriously impressive that this goth girl can tote around one of those crazy guns and think nothing of it. You go, girl!
5 A Room Can Say A Lot
We know that Sam is into things like horror movies and punk rock music. But do we know any specific movies or bands that she likes? Well, according to her room, Sam is actually a fan of A Clockwork Orange and Nine Inch Nails.
It’s pretty cool that the show included a reference to some actual movies and bands.
If you look around Sam’s room, you’ll find posters of the movie A Clockwork Orange and the band Nine Inch Nails, as well as the German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten. It’s not that surprising that Sam would like these types of movies and bands, but it’s pretty cool that the show included a reference to some actual movies and bands. Nicely done!
4 What’s In A Name?
Danny Phantom got popular enough that it got dubbed in a few different languages, including Spanish, and Chinese. It’s in the Chinese version that we get an interesting fact about our favorite goth girl, Sam.
In English, Sam’s name is pretty straightforward. (Though apparently in Hebrew, it means “God Heard,” and in Greek it may mean “flower.”) But in the Chinese Dub, Sam’s name is changed to Xiao Shan. This translates to “little coral.” It’s an interesting choice, since I wouldn’t really associate Sam with anything little; that girl has a pretty big personality. But it’s still pretty cool. No matter what she’s called, she’s still an awesome person!
3 This Girl Is No Grinch
While Sam isn’t as apathetic as most goth teens, she can be pretty gloomy unless she’s talking about something that’s important to her. Her cynical nature makes her a pretty snarky and slightly bitter character. But she isn’t always gloom and doom. And the best time to find her in a good mood is during December.
Apparently, Sam loves the winter holidays. So, in December, she’s the happiest person. It’s kind of funny, considering Danny becomes the guy who’s a grinch about the holidays, so we’ve got a bit of a role reversal going on here. But if you want to see Sam really happy, try to catch her sometime in December.
2 She Made This Happen
The logo on Danny Phantom’s jumpsuit has become pretty iconic. The “D” looks pretty awesome and it’s just so fitting. But did you know that Sam was partially responsible for that? When she went back in time to ensure Danny becomes Danny Phantom, she changes the logo on the outfit from his parent’s weird logo to the logo we know and love.
Danny may not have ever been Danny Phantom without Sam.
And if you think about it, Sam was partially responsible for Danny becoming Danny Phantom. The first time, she was there with Tucker when the accident happens. And when she went back to fix things after a wish went wrong, she recreated the accident to give Danny his ghost powers. So, Danny may not have ever been Danny Phantom without Sam.
1 She’s All About The Animals
It’s no secret that Sam likes all of the animals. She’s a big animal rights activist, and she’s a proud vegetarian. Animals are very important to this goth girl. But are there any specific animals that she loves? Well, the truth is Sam happens to love cats.
Sam herself has said that she is a cat person when she, Danny and tucker are trying to deal with Kujo the ghost dog. Though if I had to deal with a crazy ghost dog that was causing rampant destruction, I’d probably be a cat person too. I could see Sam getting this little black kitten. She would adore it and she’d probably freak her parents out even more.
