"Velma, here's the only thing you ever need to know about boys. They are stupid. If you give a boy two choices, a smart one and a stupid one, he will always make the stupid one every time. That's why you never give them a choice."
Featured in: Scooby-Doo (countless incarnations)
Portrayed by: Stephianna Christopherson, Heather North, Mary Kay Bergman, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Grey Delisle
*SPOILERS for various Scooby-Doo shows, movies, etc.*
.
Few characters have evolved and improved so much over several decades worth of incarnations as Daphne, who started out as a mere damsel in distress and is now (though still prone to being a damsel every now and then) a strong, complex, intelligent character and perhaps the best thing about the best Scooby Doo series in its entire existence. Daphne's evolution paralleled my evolution as a fan, back when I was a kid I loved seeing her get captured and put in distress (loved Penny Gadget for the same reason), I would always fantasize about rescuing her and getting a big kiss (again, I was a little kid back then). But as I grew and got more mature, so did Daphne. I saw her in the new Scooby Doo movies, now played by Mary Kay Bergman and while she was still a bit of a ditz, she was much more competent and far less of a damsel. I also saw the 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo when they replayed it on Cartoon Network, and there was Daphne taking on a leadership role and providing the same sort of smarts and intuition that the now absent Freddy and Velma did in the original series. She was interesting in the live-action films too, though Sarah Michelle Gellar isn't as cute as cartoon Daphne and they played up the "tough" aspect of the new interpretation a bit too much for my tastes. My favorite incarnation of Daphne was Grey Delisle's incredible interpretation of her, starting in 2000 after Mary Kay Bergman's death and spanning about ten movies and two series, "What's New Scooby Doo?" and "Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated". Grey's performance fused all the great old aspects of Daphne, her occasional damsel-in-distress aspects and her ditziness, while fusing them with the new badass competent Daphne to provide one of the best characters on TV today. The "Scooby Doo and the Samurai Sword" film exhibited this perfectly, showing a badass scene where Daphne trained in martial arts and engaged in a fierce battle with a cute Japanese girl, only losing after her hair got pulled down over her face. Daphne was strong and competant but not overly so, still retaining some of her cute and girly aspects and providing a VERY well-rounded character in the process. There was also "Aloha, Scooby Doo!" where Daphne proved to be an expert surfer while still hauling around her makeup kit everywhere. And of course, there was Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated. Sure, it was a BIT annoying seeing Daphne fawning over Freddy so much, but it was offset by the fact that she was as smart and competent as ever. Plus, there was that AMAZING "Trap of Love" scene... who knew Daphne could sing goth rock? Daphne's one of those characters that I find myself liking more and more with every passing year, the various writers have done an incredible job evolving her character while keeping her core persona consistent (and tossing us damsel in distress fans a bone once in a while), and that's why even after all these years, I'm still in love with Daphne Blake.
--
I chose poorly. Black Turtle chose wisely.