Daniel Benfield

''This article is about the character. For the author, see User:Daniel Benfield.''

Daniel Benfield is the fictional representation of...Daniel Benfield, who is usually portrayed as a caring, loving father and good around others. He always wears regular t-shirts and sweat pants of varying colors and dark-brown shoes (laced white sneakers in the original Azumanga Who) that have been worn out over the years. He is father to three adopted daughters: Hannah, Rebekah, and Sarah.

Daniel is an incarnation of the Doctor, traveling with his girls in the TARDIS.

Background
"I felt so much anger that I wiped out the Dalek force and, lonely for the first time, continued to travel the universe and felt much emotion for I was ... the Doctor, onward and onward with no end in sight..."

Daniel originally joined the Doctor as a companion, but after three years took the mantle up himself believing that he had simply regenerated and lost that portion of his memory. In reality, he witnessed Christine Hoez (who had by then become the Doctor) be killed by the Daleks, and his sadness/anger did the rest; the resulting "memory shards" led him to believe he had regenerated.

Personality
Daniel is usually portrayed as a kind, caring man like his "ancestors", the various incarnations of the Doctor. He is a kind, loving father who never yells at his kids (except Hannah, but that is not exactly yelling as it is playful arguing and besides that it is because of their close relationship). On occasion, people have made him so angry as to beat them in the head – a trait seen in Hannah.

Daniel also has the tendency to yell at people to "SHUT UP!" when they go on about something that they have no business talking about or hit them once in the head to prove a point. He also has a somewhat warped sense of humor.

Daniel usually acts friendly to new people he meets, and is able to gain trust (and information) more easily.

Knowledge
"Chihiro, my dear, I have dealt with many kinds of issues. You can tell me."

Daniel is seen to have knowledge in many diverse fields (similar to Sherlock Holmes) and uses his knowledge of the past and future to help people and (in the Earth-bound era) change what are supposed to be "set in stone" events. If he needs to be a teacher, he usually does Science but prefers experiments over "textbook stuff" due to the fact they're quite boring. "But they're required in the lesson plans, so..."

He also has many genuine medical degrees and has studied along with his daughters under many great figures of knowledge in general. Thus, Daniel is able to give solid advice and assistance to those who need help.

Daniel has also been seen to use "hover discs" that, when attached to the bottom of his feet or the soles of his shoes, allow him to walk on the surface of the water. It is unclear if he invented them himself, but it is implied that he used them for a while because he can't swim.

Metallic Parts?
"Now I know how Dr. House feels."

Daniel has been seen to have metallic parts due to battle – namely a jaw from the Battle of Bicox XII and a skull cap from the First Planetwide Battle of Pusifet VIII (although all his hair is still very real and still growing).

Family Relationships
''"I'm certain she means me...about the "Daddy" thing, not that I'm cute." "We KNOW you're not cute."''

Daniel refers to his daughters as "my dear" and "my child", although he does call them by their real names as well.
 * Rebekah and Sarah continually used Daniel's real name when talking to or about him.
 * Hannah did this as well, until she suddenly began calling him "father" partway through the second year in Tokyo.
 * Koyomiko called him "Mester Daniel" at first, then "Daddy" after he gave her a stuffed kitty.

Daniel and Hannah have also traded one-liners throughout their time together; they are also seen together frequently, however Daniel doesn't mind the insults from Hannah as he knows she does that out of love.

"Am I...The Doctor?"
Although Daniel acts very much like the Doctor, there is some confusion as to whether he really is. Obviously, he has fought against many Doctor Who staple foes (Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Ogrons, Autons, and the Master).

Daniel has a somewhat-good knowledge of the TARDIS' layout and inner workings, along with knowledge in many diverse fields. He uses a Sonic Screwdriver and Psychic Paper to gain access to places, with the latter getting him his teaching job.

Daniel always tries to find the peaceful solution first, then resorts to violence. In addition, he has a sense of humor that is...well, it's really strange sometimes.

Scratched Side of the Coin
Daniel, however, has anger-control problems at times; he will immediately attack anyone responsible for inflicting pain on his daughters should he find out. Further, he will inflict pain on anyone who insults or threatens him; in the case of the latter, however, he will first try to peacefully end the conflict.

The clothes Daniel wears are nowhere near the classiness of the Doctor's various outfits (okay, so the fashion sense of the Sixth Doctor is debatable). Further, he is prone to severe migraines whenever thinking or discussing the intricacies of time-travel for too long.

Most importantly, Daniel has only one heart (although the First Doctor was the same) and the age he gives on occasion is nowhere near that of the Doctor (around 1,500). In addition, he has memories of his "prior incarnations" but refers to them as "ancestors".

Azumanga Who
Daniel is the Science teacher at Azumanga High School (Class 4) and, for the entire first year, is directly across from Yukari and Nyamo's classes; as such, he tended to get involved in various events whether he wanted to or not.

Daniel has immense knowledge in many fields and can solve the most difficult problems with little trouble, although he does tend to forget where things are placed in his own home and is a most horrible cooker (the last time he cooked Sarah almost gagged; immediately afterward, Hannah took over the cooking).

Daniel knows the history of the Azu-girls' time at the school and the many possibilities of their futures; as such, he tries to make decisions that will produce the best outcome. Despite this, he has a large gap in his memory – one only brought to the surface through meetings with various people and hearing about a "Great and Powerful Susan". He eventually discovers help in unlikely places – including Chiyo-Chichi, who he meets in a bizarre (and somewhat unexplained) trip into Sakaki's mind.

Daniel has been known to get depressed; the first of these depressions led to Hannah hypnotizing him to find the "last help" Chiyo-Chichi spoke of. A second depression began around his 27th birthday, and took him down considerably a bit later on.

Daniel also resides in the Realm of Possibility as a somewhat less clumsy and far more intelligent man who is married to Kaorin.

Azumanga Help Desk
Daniel is a slightly older man who is first seen in trouble with the law over the house he and his daughters lived in. He is known for sending packages to the girls and participating in a cake-eating contest with Yukari. He has also done an "experiment" involving gasoline and fire with Tomo – which causes her to get in trouble for Arson.

On Episode 26, Yukari wins 1,000,000 Yen off of him by kissing (on the lips) ten of the others as he specified...although this results in Madoka flipping her over and Kaorin punching her in the gut. Everyone she kissed got 100,000 Yen.

Due to his not wanting to get in trouble over not actually adopting his daughters, he sends his first three to the show to be with their friends while he fights the law; although this first occurs in Episode 27, none of them are seen. He sends his Koyomiko in Episode 29 to settle a discrepancy as to why there are two of them in the same universe; earlier in that same Episode, he briefly makes a cameo to hand a gold box to Jay and give him a thumbs-up.

AzuDrabble Daioh
Daniel was seen briefly in Chapter 3 of this fanfic written by The M.B.A. Squad. In it, he forbids "M" (the leader of the Squad) to raise intelligence toward stupid people after an incident with Osaka and Tomo led to the destruction of the Galapagos Islands – which in turn has the government's remnant issue a "PAY US NOW!" bill of 60,000,000 Yen, forcing Hannah to stop an experiment involving the combination of Tomo and Yomi.

As for speaking, Daniel is seen in Nyamo's home watching television with her, and asks her what's wrong when she noticeably shudders.

Azumanga Politburo: Project Alice
Comrades Yomi, Kagura, Kaorin, and Sakaki go into a parallel universe (that of Azu-Who) to find the leaders of the Silly Faction (Tomo and Yukari).

In Chapter 2, Daniel appears in the "Whoniverse" as his usual canon self. In the "Politburo Universe", however, he is Leinad Dleifneb, a well-respected scientist working with his three daughters for the Anime People's Revolutionary Democratic Socialist Whatever-It-Is (a Communism/old Soviet Union-based...something...led by Chairperson Chiyo).

Like Daniel, Leinad he loves his three daughters (named Hana, Hakibar, and Harras) and looks enough like his counterpart for the "Whoniverse" version of Yukari to throttle him, thinking Daniel was behind this.

Also like his counterpart, Leinad enjoys studying various objects, reading manuals, etc. However, Leinad has no wish to leave his loyalties behind, shooting down a suggestion by Hana that they steal the Big Catfish (a blue machine that can travel between Universes) and run from their own people because "Our place is here...not out there in the stars. There's nothing out there, anyway."

It is also revealed that Leinad is good friends with Pyotr (who is married to their version of Yomi) and that Pyotr trusts the scientist. Additionally, Leinad and Kaorin have been seen to work together rather well. Leinad, unlike Daniel, wears glasses.

Azumanga Insanity
Daniel and Hannah frequently appeared to welcome new members to the forum, usually ending with a confetti cannon blasting into the sky; later appearances of the cannon usually caused a half-cow or even someone else to fall from the sky.

In the "Daily Insanity" section, Daniel occasionally appeared to say hello, make a meal, and generally stay out of trouble – most notably, avoiding the "Running Of The Neils".

The Sakaki Wars
Daniel was seen as a man with considerable anguish (he and Hannah were forced to watch several idiots kill Rebekah and Sarah). He also dealt with horrendous demons, then headed off to destroy the foe Warlord Vir...

However, the story was brought to an abrupt end by the creator, partly due to Daniel himself. Daniel apologizes for his stupidity.

Azumanga Randomness (RPG)
Daniel and his family (complete in this instance) first appeared on Page 157 in the karaoke place which the main group went to. He was shown to hate the BBC due to their revamping of Doctor Who (which Hannah eventually realized was due to them making his travels seem as fiction). Daniel was also seen to use a "Bad Key Machine", and eat lobster.

Later, he was seen helping the First Doctor adjust to life outside the TARDIS and calculating the firing of a heat-packed missile into the Sun (which eventually proved unnecessary).

Daniel is seen as a generous sort – giving 10,000 Yen to anybody who got a score of 88 or higher in the karaoke room, offering to pay for Susie and Akane's healthcare, and volunteering himself as Susie's lawyer.

It was implied in-story that Daniel's family (plus Allura and his other OCs) had been through at least some of the events of Azu-Who. Later developments cemented a more strict date.

In the revamp, Daniel became far more in control of himself.

Lucky Daioh!
Daniel was painted as a somewhat more-hardened man, having only Hannah left by his side as the TARDIS regrows. He notably became more violent, as seen when he choked Susie Waters for apparently forcing Hannah into her car.

Azu Heaven
As before, Daniel appeared to fire a few confetti cannons for new members. He appeared in the "Daily Chit-Chat" section a few times, but was altogether rarely seen in the approximately three weeks the forum existed.

Links

 * Azumanga Politburo - Project Alice: Chapter 2