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| “ | I have a ghost to bust. | „ |
| ~ Phoebe Spengler |
Phoebe Spengler is a major character from the Ghostbusters franchise, appearing as the main protagonist of the 2021 film Ghostbusters: Afterlife and its 2024 sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. She is a teenage girl and granddaughter of the late Egon Spengler, who continues his legacy as a key member of the Ghostbusters.
She is portrayed by Mckenna Grace, who also portrayed Judy Warren in Annabelle Comes Home and young Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Biography
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Phoebe Spengler was born in 2009 to Callie Spengler and an unnamed father. For unknown reasons, her father was no longer in her life by the age of twelve.
Phoebe possessed great intelligence and intellect, a trait passed down from her estranged grandfather Egon Spengler. She often entertained herself with games of chess or by tinkering with electronics.
At the age of twelve, her grandfather passed away. One week later, she was evicted from the apartment she was living in with her mother and older brother Trevor. With no other options, the family moved out to Egon's farmhouse in Summerville, Oklahoma, and find it full of paranormal paraphernalia and cryptic messages.
At her first day at her new school, Phoebe befriended a boy nicknamed Podcast and her teacher, Gary Grooberson. While exploring the town, Podcast showed off the abandoned Shandor Mining Company property, revealing a carved mural of a diety called Gozer and their minions.
Later that night, Phoebe experienced a paranormal encounter in the farmhouse that led her to an old Ghostbusters Trap. She brought the Trap in to school the next day, catching Gary's attention. He informs her and Podcast of the Ghostbusters, and how they saved New York City in the 1980s. Upon realizing the Trap is real, they attempt to open it, accidentally releasing Vinz Clortho, a minion of Gozer.
Returning home, Phoebe explores to find an abandoned laboratory underneath a shed. There, she realizes the paranormal presence she experienced is the ghost of her late grandfather, who guides her to repair a broken Proton Pack. She realizes that her grandfather was one of the original Ghostbusters.
The next day, Phoebe and Podcast test the repaired Proton Pack. While practicing, they come across the ghost known as Muncher and try to capture it. They meet up with Trevor, who has repaired the Ghostbuster vehicle Ecto-1, and the teens chase Muncher through the streets of Summerville to capture it. They succeed, but cause a good deal of damage and are arrested and their gear impounded. Using her phone call, Phoebe calls Ray Stantz of the original Ghostbusters, and learns that Egon left New York with supplies and technology, claiming an apocalypic event was coming. She informs him of Egon's passing. Phoebe, Trevor, and Podcast are bailed out by Callie and Gary.
The following day, Phoebe and the others discover that the town was built by Ivo Shandor, a worshiper of Gozer who also built 550 Central Park West where the original Ghostbusters fought Gozer in the 1980s. They investigate the Shandor Mine to find a shrine to Gozer, as well as the preserved body of Ivo Shandor himself. Writing on the wall reveals that Gozer intends to be resurrected that year, but machines left behind by Egon have been preventing their return. However, earthquakes had damaged the setup. Additionally, Gozer's minions Vinz Clortho and Zuul had been released, possessing Callie and Gary. They use their human hosts to unite and free Gozer, with ghosts breaking free from the afterlife and spreading out across Summerville.
Upon investigation, Phoebe realizes that the entire farmhouse is a trap big enough to contain Gozer, and that her grandfather's plan was to lure Gozer there before. Phoebe and the others retrieve the impounded Ghostbusting technology and go to the Shandor Mine. Phoebe attempts to distract Gozer while Podcast used a remote Trap to capture Zuul, weakening Gozer. The teens flee in Ecto-1, with Vinz Clortho and Gozer giving chase.
The Ghostbusters lead Gozer to the farmhouse, with Phoebe holding up the Trap holding Zuul to bait Gozer out. Gozer enters the property, but an electrical short causes the giant Trap to fail. Gozer manages to steal the Trap and free Zuul before trying to kill Phoebe, but the original surviving Ghostbusters Ray Stantz, Peter Venkman, and Winston Zeddemore arrive to help. With the aid of Egon's ghost, Phoebe and the original Ghostbusters hold Gozer in place as Trevor and Callie reactivate the giant Trap, trapping Gozer, Zuul, and Vinz Clortho, and sending the other ghosts back to the afterlife.
Phoebe formally meets the Ghostbusters, then says goodbye to her grandfather before he moves on. Having saved the world and become a Ghostbuster, Phoebe and her family are given the Ghostbuster's firehouse in New York to live in and operate out of.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Two years later, Phoebe and her family (including Gary, who began dating Callie), are operating out of New York City and catching ghosts, with Ray and Winston covering their costs and damages. One day in June, the family chases and catches the Hell's Kitchen Sewer Dragon, but with mass amounts of destruction, as well as teenage rebellion from Phoebe. This gets them backlash from the mayor Walter Peck, a longtime adversary of the Ghostbusters. Because of her attitude and status as a minor, Phoebe is suspended from Ghostbusting until she is an adult, something that infuriates her. She leaves to the park to get away from her family, where she meets the ghost of a teenage girl named Melody, who died in a fire alongside her family and cannot move on. She plays chess with Phoebe, and the two seemingly become friends.
Phoebe meets with Pdcast, who had been working for Ray in his Occult Book store. There, they see a man named Nadeem Razmaadi sell off an orb with paranormal properties to Ray. When a call is made for the Ghostbusters, Phoebe is angered by being left out. Another call comes in, and Phoebe tries to go handle it with Podcast's help. However, she is surprised to see Melody is the ghost. Melody visits Phoebe at the firehouse later. Despite being a ghost and a Ghostbuster, the two seemingly decide to remain friends.
Later, Phoebe is introduced to Winston's privately owned Paranormal Research Center, where ghosts and Ghostbusting technology is being researched and developed, including a machine that can pull the ghost from a possessed object, which have been supplied by Ray. When the orb proves to be too powerful to have the entity inside extracted, Phoebe, Ray, and Podcast go to the New York Public Library and meet with Dr. Hubert Wartzki, who reveals that the orb holds an ancient god called Garraka that seeks to end the world, freed by a chant recorded on a phonograph cylinder. They also learn that Razmadi is a descendant of a group of ancient warriors known as Firemasters who fought Garraka in ancient times. A ghost referred to as "Possessor" attempts to steal the cylinder, but fails and possesses one of the lion statues outside the library. Phoebe and Podcast use a Proton gun to destroy the statue in defense, getting them into more legal trouble. Phoebe is arrested, and Peck uses the opportunity to evict the family and seize the firehouse and all the Ghostbusting equipment.
Infuriated by her family and Peck, Phoebe decides that she wants to experience being a ghost so she can interact with Melody. She goes to the Paranormal Research Center and uses the machine to briefly extract her soul from her body so she can exist on the same plane as Melody. However, it is revealed that Melody has been working with Garraka, who controls Phoebe's spirit into reciting the incantation that opens the orb. Phoebe's spirit returns to her body, but Garraka is freed, and uses his cryokenetic powers to freeze New York and go after the firehouse, intending to release all the trapped ghosts and create an army. Phoebe and the Ghostbusters, with the aid of the original team, use backup equipment to begin defending the firehouse. Realizing that Garraka is immune to their usual Proton Streams, Phoebe modifies her pack with the spiritually-charged brass from the firehouse's poles.
As the Ghostbusters defend the firehouse from various ghosts, Phoebe finds Melody in the basement and confronts her. Melody reveals that Garraka wants to create a portal to the afterlife, and that he offered to use it to send Melody through to be with her family if she helped him. Phoebe explains that Garraka cannot help her move on, only she can do that. When Garraka arrives, he freezes the other Ghostbusters and comes for the Containment Unit. Phoebe tries to stop him with her modified Proton Pack, but he overwhelms and almost freezes her to death. Melody, having a change of heart, helps Razmadi utilize his pyrokenetic abilites to hold off and weaken Garraka. The Ghostbusters are unfrozen, and reconfigure the Containment Unit to trap Garraka. Melody is able to move on, reconciling with Phoebe before fading away.
The city begins to thaw, and the Ghostbusters are hailed as heroes. Despite Peck threatening them, pubilc support forces him to allow their business to continue, and Phoebe is made a Ghostbuster once more.
Other Appearances
- Phoebe's voice is heard in the 2021 mobile AR game Ghostbusters: Afterlife ScARe.
- Phoebe is referenced and spoken about in the 2022 video game Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed.
- A costume in the 2023 video game Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord is based on Phoebe's clothes in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Personality
Phoebe is shy and introverted, but also noble and determined. She states that she deals with stress differently than most people, and finds overstimulation soothing. She loves paranormal topics and studies, and believes her life's calling is in the thrill of being a Ghostbuster. When she is threatened or denied what she wants, she can become combative and rude, as well as rebellious. She also possesses amazing intelligent for her age, being well-versed in mechanical systems, geology, physics, metalworking, history, and paranormal studies.
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