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") |
| Also known as | Drake Mallard |
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.
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[edit] Darkwing Duck
Darkwing's main weapon of choice in his crime-fighting escapades is his gas gun, which functions much like a grenade launcher. It fires grenades with a variety of different gases (smoke bombs, laughing gas, tear gas, etc.), as well as some more direct offensive weapons (including boxing gloves and cartoon bombs). It also has a retractable line and grappling hook for transportation purposes, and can fire other random objects that are loaded in its barrel. 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.).
While he is known (to an extent) as a hero in St. Canard, he frequently deals with citizens misunderstanding him. Numerous episodes bring up the fact that he's very unpopular, due to his intimidating tactics and dark appearance, to the point where the episode "Let's Get Respectable" was devoted to making him over as a more likable hero with nicer language, a brighter costume, and flower petals instead of smoke and gas. Once it interfered with the episode's case, however, the makeover quickly ended. In some episodes, people fail to recognize Darkwing, and at times, do not even know who 'Darkwing Duck' is. This lack of popularity and recognition often clashes with his inflated ego.
Even though he is referred to as a "superhero" (by himself and other citizens), Darkwing has no true superpower. Instead, he relies on his weapons, finesse, and intellect to solve crimes and stop villains, much like Batman.
[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 period 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. Drake and Gosalyn Mallard, along with Launchpad McQuack, live at 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] 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--as well as similar to an aspect of Batman, in that instead of being a citizen who dresses in a costume to fight crime, the costumed hero is the 'real' person who disguises himself as a citizen.
Despite this, Darkwing has been seen going out of his way to protect his secret identity from being discovered. 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. He has even dressed up as Darkwing Duck while attending a Halloween party, with many patrons stating he was too short to pull off being Darkwing Duck convincingly. However, Launchpad, Gosalyn, and Honker, who have no alter egos, are all often seen with both Darkwing and Drake, yet no one questions this. Megavolt once claimed to know that Gosalyn and Launchpad are "the Darkwing Duck fan club", while holding them captive. Since Gosalyn actually does run a Darkwing Duck fan club, it seems many villains simply see her and Launchpad as normal people who frequently follow Darkwing around and do not make the connection between Drake and Darkwing. Gosalyn also makes an effort not to refer to Darkwing as "Dad" when she follows him around crimefighting, although she occasionally does. Launchpad almost always calls both Darkwing and Drake "DW". It is also worth stating that NegaDuck, being the Darkwing of an alternate dimension, would know of Darkwing's true identity and relationship to Gosalyn but never seems to use this information against him.
[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] (Alternately, "I am the [noun] in/on the [noun] of Justice"),
- 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", "I am the special news bulletin that interrupts your favorite show" 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 don't know DW, that sounds dangerous!"
- DW: "Yeah? Well then, let's get dangerous!"
The phrase is usually used whenever 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- particularly since the narrator often seems to be uncertain of the story himself-, 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 Flud'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. It is most likely an homage to alternate-version stories like DC's Elseworlds or Marvel's What If. 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. This story is actually made plausible by two former students at Drake's reunion who want to watch Darkwing in action again.
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 {"A Star is Scorned"} 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 "Dizzy" {i.e.Walt Disney} studio, which might be in fact the real origin of Darkwing Duck. However, this episode ends with a short framing scene showing Drake and Gosalyn turning off the TV, indicating that all of the episode's events were, in fact, a TV show and did not really take place.
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