Phil is a pretty ordinary guy.  Though he has a tendency to forget things and remember them again hours later, and seems rather dimwitted, he is actually rather intelligent.  He grew up with a wonderful family in Virginia: His younger brother acts more mature than Phil seems to be but is currently in his second year of college, his older sister is a music teacher at an elementry school. His mother is very kind but constantly on the move while his father is a senior computer programmer for a large corporation.

Phil's family line is nothing special-- except not a single relative of his was affected by the “Weirding". While normally this isn't all that amazing, none of them possess the same quality as Phil: He is completely immune to any effects from magic. This ability was first seen before the sealing of magic many, many years ago. This ability was called "Null", and the last person to possess such a power was the man that helped bring down The Five Magi when they were at their peak. Phil not only has this "Null" power against magic but it may have evolved from its protection from magic to physical harm as well, as he tends to get thrown around a lot but never seriously injured, with some exceptions.

Even with this ability Phil has no "super strength" or "incredible powers" other than his invulnerability.  Phil is constantly thinking about his relationships with people; trying to make everyone happy at his own expense, so he rarely turns down favors from friends and family. However, this has him second-guessing himself when it comes to Kate. He wants her to be happy, but he doesn't know how to help her.  He knows can't totally comprehend what her life has been like up to now.