TheScooby-Doofranchise is one of the longest-running animated franchises of all time. Not only has the Mystery Incorporated Gang seen 13 television shows, but also nearly fifty films released in the last half-century. Scooby and Shaggy often take center stage in individual plotlinesthrough these adventures, but Daphne Blake has accumulated her own massive fan base as well.
While Daphne has seen many forms and has been played by many actresses since her original appearances in the late 60s, there are some versions and subplots for Daphne that have worked better than others.
Updated November 5th, 2024, by Chris Harkin:The Scooby-Doo franchise rolls on with no regard for anything other than having constant fun and success across different mediums. It might be hard for fans to believe just how many versions there are of Scooby himself and his Mystery Inc friends. Daphne Blake remains an iconic character in on her own, and has managed to travel from animation to live-action and into both games and comics without any hesitation and without losing any of the appeal her no-nonsense attitude brings to the Mystery Inc gang. With Daphne and all of these characters finding new life around every corner, there will likely be further updates on her various changes in the future.
9Girl Boss Daphne
Daphne often has something going on in theScooby-Doomovies, and the variety of things she has accomplished is truly impressive. But one of the most casually amazing of the lot is inAloha, Scooby-Doowhen the gang went to Hawaii to help the locals, who wanted Daphne to design a line of swimwear for them.
When a monster appeared to disrupt the island’s surfing contest, Daphne even bravely entered and showed off her surfing skills while using herself as bait to draw the monster out and capture them. This version of Daphne was a casual badass and her own boss, brave and strong as well as having a great business mind.
8Buffy Daphne
The Ass-Kicking Live-Action Badass That Changed Daphne Forever
The list of best versions of Daphne has to include Sarah Michelle Gellar. The 2002Scooby-Doofilm is one of the few truly great examples oflive-action castingfor an animated property. The entireScooby-Doogang was brought to the screen flawlessly, and Daphne was no exception as Gellar took the role and made it her own.
The traditional view of Daphne as a damsel in distress was completely blown away by Gellar’s take, which saw the character learn karate and kick some ass in her own right. This Buffy-style take on the character was an ingenious way to bring the role into the 21st century.
7Reporter Daphne
Not A Fighter, But An Independent Woman In Charge
One of theearlyScooby-Doofilmssaw Daphne in another role that made a lot of sense. When the gang went to a mysterious island that turned out to be infested with zombies, it was with Daphne running and hosting a successful TV show and looking for a fresh scoop from the strange inhabitants.
This Daphne had her own drive and was even the one to lead the gang into this adventure. It was excellent to see her taking charge and seeking out the mystery. She was even Fred’s boss, as he was working on her show as a cameraman, giving her an element of control in the group that she had often lacked up to that point.
6Pilot Daphne
Learning New Skills While Looking Fabulous
Daphne’s journey inMoon Monster Madnessis a little different, but the development of the character and the journey she goes through are both important and hilarious. At the beginning of the film, Daphne fails a driving test and laments her attempts to finally gain independence.
But after Scooby and Shaggy win a trip to space, Daphne learns how to do many surprising new things as an astronaut and gets into a conflict with Velma, who expects herself to be the better astronaut. All this ends with Daphne and Velma’s relationship being affirmed even better, and with Daphne figuring out how to pass her driving test.
5Leader Daphne
The First Time Daphne Took Charge
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doowas a strange show. All of a sudden Velma and Fred had been abandoned, and later retconned to be working during that summer, while Daphne’s plane fell off-course and ended up with her, Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy in the Himalayas.
The gang was shifted around a lot in this show, and Daphne most of all as she suddenly embodied the roles of herself, Fred, and somewhat of Velma to boot. It was a huge leadership role for her and an impressive character arc, which would be revisited inScooby-Doo And The Curse Of The 13th Ghostwith Fred and Velma along for the ride this time.
4Clown Daphne
Becoming Something Entirely Different To Solve A Mystery
Big Top Scooby-Doowas the eventual film where the gang took on a werewolf at long last. This happened while they went undercover as part of a circus, trying to figure out the identity of the werewolf who was trying to scare everyone off. As such, the gang all learned circus acts and Daphne started training as a clown.
Daphne, a character always obsessed with her looks,becoming a clownand learning to operate under a completely different set of circumstances wasn’t having the easiest time. She also had to break down the hardened, jaded other clowns in the circus and ended up befriending them. It was a completely different moment in Daphne’s history from the norm.
3Daphne & Fred At Last
A Long Awaited, Adorable Get-Together
The will they/won’t they relationship between Daphne and Fred has long been a source of interest forScooby-Dooviewers. Sometimes the two are together, sometimes they are teasing getting together, but often they don’t appear to be with each other at all even though it makes a lot of sense.
Scooby-Doo Stage Frightis a rare occasion when the audience is treated to them finally getting together after so much time spent waiting. The duo is part of a talent show where they’ll be singing together, and the gang is simultaneouslytrying to draw out a phantom. Throughout the whole film, both are second-guessing themselves as they try to figure out how to ask the other out, with them finally ending up together in the climax of the film.
2Apocalyptic Warrior Daphne
Something Totally Different Which Has To Be Seen To Be Believed
There are few times that the Scooby gang have ended up in quite as big a mess as they did in the DC Comics run ofScooby Apocalypse, featuring the gang in a post-apocalyptic setting where the entire world has been infected and transformed into mutated creatures which the gang must fend off, giving Daphne a major overhaul as a character.
The crazy stories told as humanity is overtaken and the gang tries to help were shocking, and the things Daphne had to do were horrifying, including dealing with the loss of Fred. But through it all, she proved once and for all that Daphne is the strongest member of the gang and a natural-born survivor.
1Existential Crisis Daphne
One of the best versions of Daphne is when she had the opportunityto confront the former, original version of herself. InScooby-Doo And The Cyber Chase, the gang meets their former selves in cyberspace and gets the opportunity to interact with the versions of themselves that began the original TV show,Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
Daphne’s simple version versus the more fleshed-out and modernized character was great to see. It showed the past, the original against the modern, and was a great film. It was also one of the early direct-to-video films that gave a more mature version of Daphne as a character.
