Darkwing Duck (character)

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Darkwing Duck
First appearance	Darkly Dawns the Duck
Created by	Tad Stones
Voiced by	Jim Cummings Christine Cavanaugh (In episode: Trading Faces)
Background Information
Aliases	Drake Mallard
Relatives	Gosalyn Mallard (daughter)
Friends	Launchpad McQuack, Morgana Macawber
Rivals	The Fearsome Five, F.O.W.L.

This article is about the main character. For the animated series, see Darkwing Duck.

Drake Mallard, better known as Darkwing Duck is a fictional character created for the Disney animated series Darkwing Duck. His first appearance was in the pilot episode Darkly Dawns the Duck. He is voiced by Jim Cummings.

Contents 1 Darkwing Duck 2 Drake Mallard 3 Catchphrases 4 Origins

[edit] Darkwing Duck

Darkwing's main weapon of choice in his crime-fighting escapades is his gas gun, which fires a variety of different gases at his opponents (smoke bombs, laughing gas, tear gas, etc.), as well as having a retractable line and grappling hook for transportation purposes. His main forms of transportation are the Thunderquack (a small airplane-like vehicle shaped like Darkwing's head that was built and is piloted by Launchpad) and his motorcycle, called the Ratcatcher (a name shared with a Batman villain, maintaining the theme of superhero homages and parodies).

Darkwing often demonstrates a large degree of clumsiness and lack of common sense that is hampered by his tremendous ego. However, unlike Inspector Gadget and similar cartoon heroes, Darkwing is actually extraordinarily competent as a superhero; that is once he puts aside distractions and ego and focuses completely on the case. This moment of transition would be marked by Darkwing's catchphrase "Let's get dangerous".

In some episodes, Darkwing is sent on missions as a freelance agent of S.H.U.S.H., a covert crime-fighting organization that is so secret, nobody knows what the acronym stands for. Darkwing's S.H.U.S.H. missions most often have the aim of thwarting various evil schemes of the Fiendish Organization for World Larceny (or F.O.W.L.).

[edit] Drake Mallard

When not fighting crime Darkwing spends his time as his alter ego Drake Mallard, Gosalyn Mallard's adoptive father. Most of the show is based on their father-daughter relationship. Darkwing and Gosalyn forged a close bond in a short amount of time because they were so much alike.

Darkwing's occupation as Drake is never given. This has led to inquiries by some fans as to how Darkwing makes money to pay for his house, supplies, and equipment.

The only people who know Drake's secret identity are, of course, Gosalyn, his sidekick Launchpad McQuack and Gosalyn's best friend Honker Muddlefoot. In later episodes, Morgana Macawber, with whom Darkwing has an on-again-off-again relationship, also discovers his secret identity.

Although the first episode shows that Darkwing lives in his lair in the Audubon Bay Bridge, he purchases a home and starts using his alter ego again only after adopting Gosalyn Waddlemeyer. This hints that he, for some reason, may not truly even need his alter ego anymore and only uses it to give Gosalyn some semblance of a normal life.

Drake does not seem to act any differently as Darkwing, yet even those close to him, such as his next door neighbors the Muddlefoots, cannot tell they are one and the same. It is also important to point out that Lauchpad and Gosalyn are both often seen with both Darkwing and Drake, yet no one questions this. He even dressed up Darkwing Duck while attending a Halloween party with many patrons stating he was too short to pull off being Darkwing Duck convincingly.

Drake and Gosalyn Mallard, along with Launchpad McQuack, live in 537 Avian Way, St. Canard, located in the fictional state of Calisota, the setting of other Disney cartoon cities.

The name Drake Mallard may be an homage to Kent Allard, one of The Shadow's secret identities.

[edit] Catchphrases

Darkwing is characterized by dramatic entrances; they usually involve mysteriously appearing in a cloud of smoke, and frequently include some version of the following speech:

I am the terror that flaps in the night,

I am the [noun] that [verb]s your [noun],

I am DARKWING DUCK!

The metaphor in the middle line often consists of Darkwing comparing himself to something annoying, such as "I am the bubblegum that sticks in your hair", or "I am the termite that devours your floorboards." Others tend to make very little sense, such as "I am the cat that lays kittens in your bed," (although having a litter of kittens in bed could be considered a nuisance). This middle metaphor often has something to do with the villain at hand; e.g. when facing Bushroot, he will often work plants into his metaphors.

Darkwing Duck's catchphrase "Let's get dangerous" originates from the second episode of the series, "Darkly Dawns the Duck Part 2". While chasing Taurus Bulba's airship, Darkwing Duck asks Launchpad to blow a hole in it.

DW: "We need to blow an entry hole in that thing."

LP: "I dunno DW, that sounds dangerous!"

DW: "Yeah? Well then, let's get dangerous!"

The phrase is usually used when ever Darkwing starts to put aside distractions and follow through on a case.

Darkwing also has several other catchphrases he uses. Before Darkwing fires his gas gun at his adversaries, he often uses the catchphrase "Suck gas, evildoers!" Darkwing also often employs alliteration in his speech, e.g. "Clearly the crafty criminals committing the crime wave!"

[edit] Origins

There are several completely different accounts given throughout the series regarding Darkwing's origins and a story some people believe is another origin story called "Darkwing Doubloon"— all these stories contradict each other.

Perhaps the most outrageous of Darkwing's purported origins is "The Secret Origins of Darkwing Duck," in which we learn that both Darkwing Duck and Negaduck both came from a doomed planet in a tale paralleling the origin of Superman. Darkwing acquired his mask, gas gun, and combat training from a variety of sources who figured that they "could come in handy some day." Among numerous other pop culture references in the episode, he receives martial arts training in a monastery inspired by David Carradine's Kung Fu. This episode takes place in the future and is told in a series of flashbacks by a museum janitor, who looks suspiciously like an aged Darkwing Duck, relating the story to two children who look like descendants of Honker and Gosalyn. Given the nature of the story, and the fact that Negaduck was revealed as hailing from a parallel dimension a few episodes later, this episode is more than likely a tongue in cheek parody not meant to be taken seriously. Even the title is a comic book reference, nodding towards the DC magazine "Secret Origins", which chronicled the beginnings of DC heroes.

"Darkwing Doubloon" is a period episode taking place several centuries in the past (Darkwing himself says 300 years) and featuring the entire Fearsome Five and the Justice Ducks as pirates. The continuity problem posed by such an episode is rather glaring and absurd (for example, how did Bud Flood's ancestor come to be made of water, or Stegmutt's become a dinosaur). However, the episode does not actually claim to be a telling of the origins of Darkwing, but rather is simply Darkwing telling the tale of "another masked mallard who fought for justice 300 years ago", which indicates that Darkwing was either weaving a tale as a narrator for the sake of telling a story to the fans of the show, or was a recounting of one of his possible ancestors. Three of Darkwing's ancestors have appeared in the present day of the series, so the idea that Darkwing Doubloon is related to Darkwing Duck by blood is not impossible. This story of a remarkably similar ancestor fighting for justice in the days of the pirates parallels that of The Phantom.

The story which is most likely Darkwing's true origin is revealed in the episode "Clash Reunion," in which a young Drake Mallard disguises himself as Darkwing at his high school prom in order to stop a classmate turned villain (Elmo Sputterspark, later known as Megavolt), which is, in itself, a parody of the pre-Crisis Batman.

The episode "Kung Fooled" revealed that Darkwing received martial arts training from the sensei Goose Lee, indicating at least part of the "Secret Origins" episode was based on truth. It is unclear whether Darkwing received his training before or after defeating Elmo Sputterspark. In various episodes, Darkwing makes passing references to skills he has learned from others around the world, giving his origin an additional Batman-like quality.

Several episodes show that Darkwing may have been inspired to become a hero before his battle in high school. In the episode "Paraducks," Darkwing and Gosalyn go back in time and meet the nerdy young Drake Mallard, who is a complete coward. He is about to be involved with a criminal gang, but Darkwing trains him to stand up to them, and in the end the young Drake dons a mask and helps Darkwing defeat the bad guys. In this episode, Darkwing actually becomes an inspiration to himself, creating a time paradox

Some of these accounts seem intentionally over the top, and given Darkwing's ego problem, it is not hard to imagine that perhaps he exaggerates his true origins. As there is no one true story depicting how he came to be, most just shrug it off, saying that it adds to his character's mystique and charm. On the other hand, it has been argued that the unsure and convoluted origins of the character is a further nod to the superhero genre that the show repeatedly satirizes.

One episode which has Darkwing Duck almost being replaced by Dr. Reginald Bushroot as the hero, shows that Darkwing Duck and all characters are in fact actors employed by Walt Disney studio, which might be in fact the real origin of Darkwing Duck.

Darkwing Duck
Characters
Main Characters	Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard | Gosalyn Mallard | Launchpad McQuack | Honker Muddlefoot
Villains	NegaDuck | Megavolt | Bushroot | Quackerjack | The Liquidator | F.O.W.L. | Splatter Phoenix | Taurus Bulba | Hammerhead, Hoof and Mouth | Dr. Fossil
Minor Characters	Herb, Binkie and Tank Muddlefoot | J. Gander Hooter | Vladimir Goudenov Grizzlikof | Gizmoduck | Morgana Macawber | Stegmutt | Dr. Sarah Bellum | DarkWarrior Duck
Other
Misc	St. Canard | Calisota | Darkly Dawns the Duck | List of Darkwing Duck characters | Tad Stones
Media	List of Darkwing Duck episodes | Darkwing Duck DVD releases | Darkwing Duck video game