List of Darkwing Duck characters explained

This article includes a list of characters from the Disney series Darkwing Duck.

Main characters

• Drake Mallard / Darkwing Duck (voiced by Jim Cummings, Chris Diamantopoulos in the 2017 DuckTales reboot) is an average citizen by day and St. Canard's resident superhero by night.^[1] He possesses a mix of genuine altruism and gigantic narcissism – two drives that constantly clash during his adventures.^[2] Darkwing's origins are rather fuzzy. During his childhood and teenage years, Drake was a complete dork,^{[3] [4]} but by his high school days, he had already developed an obsession with crime-fighting.^[4] However, he frequently claims to have become a superhero after his teenage years and has operated as Darkwing Duck for an unspecified amount of time. Furthermore, he was at least partially inspired by S.H.U.S.H. agent Derek Blunt and trained in martial arts by Goose Lee. In his earliest days of crime fighting, he was more focused on the headlines from his career, to the point where he laments having no life outside his showboating and no friends to turn to outside of Launchpad McQuack and Gosalyn, and Honker, who help keep him grounded.^[5] The latter in particular proves to be vital to him, as Gosalyn being hurt or worse is one of his biggest fears and he became a ruthless dictator in an alternate timeline where he lost her.^[6] His two recurring catchphrases are "I am the terror that flaps in the night" (followed by an improvised metaphor before he gives his name), and the battle cry "let's get dangerous". Darkwing Duck's costume, gas gun, and flashy introductions are reminiscent of pulp heroes like The Shadow, Batman, and The Green Hornet, as well as Zorro. Because of loose continuity in the show, as well as Darkwing's self-aggrandizing habits, he has multiple origin stories as to how and why he became Darkwing Duck – including the following:
  • "Paraducks", in which the young Drake is inspired by his own time-travelling future self.^[3]
  • "Clash Reunion", in which he wears a random disguise to defend his high school prom from Megavolt.^[4]
  • "The Secret Origins of Darkwing Duck", a Superman parody that is not meant to be taken as his true origin. Throughout the episode, it is even suggested that it is just nonsense being spouted by a future version of Drake to make his origin seem cooler, though it is later stated that the "myth" has "some basis in reality".^[7]
  • "A Star is Scorned", a "what if" episode portraying Darkwing's life as an act for a TV show.^[8]

In the 2017 DuckTales series, Drake Mallard is an upcoming actor set to star in a Darkwing Duck movie who grew up watching the TV show of the same name and views Jim Starling, the original Darkwing (voiced by Cummings, Darkwing's original voice actor), as his hero. When Starling goes crazy after finding out the movie was not going to star him, Mallard takes it upon himself to be the hero and save the day. After the movie is cancelled, Mallard is encouraged by Launchpad to become Darkwing Duck in real life.^[9]

• Launchpad McQuack (voiced by Terry McGovern, Beck Bennett in the 2017 DuckTales reboot) is Darkwing Duck's sidekick and pilot who originally appeared as a main character in the original 1987 DuckTales. He refers to Darkwing as "DW" and Drake as "Mallardman", to which Darkwing sometimes refers to him as "LP" in return. He is Darkwing's self-proclaimed biggest fan,^[10] even spending a year designing and building the Thunderquack aircraft out of fanboy urges.^[5]
  • His evil Negaverse counterpart appears in the episode "Life, the Negaverse and Everything", serving Negaduck in subjugating his version of St. Canard until he is defeated by Darkwing Duck and the Friendly Four.^[11]
• Gosalyn Mallard (birth name Waddlemeyer) (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh, Stephanie Beatriz in the 2017 DuckTales reboot) is Drake Mallard's 9-year-old adoptive daughter and an unstoppable bundle of energy and spunk.^[12] Her grandfather, Professor Waddlemeyer, was a famous scientist who was murdered by Taurus Bulba's underlings.^[10] She is an occasional crime fighter, having gone by codenames such as the "Crimson Quackette",^[13] "Yucky Duck",^[14] the "Quiverwing Quack",^{[15] [16]} and "Gosmoduck" in the Boom! Studios comics, though she often gets involved in Darkwing's affairs as herself.
  • Her Negaverse counterpart appears in the episode "Life, the Negaverse and Everything" as an extremely sweet, sentimental, and compliant little girl with similar morality as her "prime" counterpart. Despite being an alternate reality version of his adopted daughter, Drake became protective of the Negaverse Gosalyn upon learning her guardian is Negaduck and ensured the Friendly Four could take care of her before returning to his own reality.^[11]

She also appears in the DuckTales reboot, re-imagined as a young duck with Latin American roots.^[17] She makes her first appearance in the one-hour special "Let's Get Dangerous!",^[18] which incorporates the origin story of her original counterpart.^[19]

The Muddlefoots

The Muddlefoots are Drake, Launchpad, and Gosalyn's next-door neighbors, Drake finding them irritating due to their intrusive ways. The Mallards and Launchpad usually manage to tolerate them and even grudgingly like them, though not nearly as much as the Muddlefoots imagine. In the episode "Life, the Negaverse and Everything", their evil Negaverse counterparts serve Negaduck in subjugating their version of St. Canard until they are defeated by Darkwing Duck and the Friendly Four.^[11]

• Herbert "Herb" Muddlefoot, Sr. (voiced by Jim Cummings impersonating Andy Devine) is the father of Tank and Honker Muddlefoot and the husband of Binkie Muddlefoot. He is a brash, loudmouthed, overweight duck who is often clueless about events around him and works as a "Quackerware" salesman. Despite his views on the Muddlefoots and impatience with Herb in particular, Drake has worked well with the latter on occasion, though due to his oblivious nature, Herb views Drake as his best friend.^{[20] [21]} In the episode "A Star is Scorned", Herb and Binkie Muddlefoot are revealed to be actors who have to act out of character as ruthless business tycoons due to a hidden clause in their acting contracts that says "The Studio is always right"!^[8]
• Binkie Muddlefoot (voiced by Susan Tolsky) is a yellow canary and parody of 1950s housewives who is invariably overbearing yet ditzy. Competent in housework, she often serves as a foil to Herb's fun. Throughout the series, it is suggested she and Herb are destined souls, since there have been many incarnations of them seen in various timelines and dimensions and they almost always find each other and fall in love.^{[11] [22] [23]}
• Tankard "Tank" H. Muddlefoot (voiced by Dana Hill) is the eldest Muddlefoot son and a bully who often makes life difficult for his younger brother, Honker. Despite being the son of a duck and a canary, Tank takes after his father.^[11]
  • His Negaverse counterpart appears in the episode "Life, the Negaverse and Everything" with a personality similar to the "prime" Honker, albeit with more confidence, and the only member of the Negaverse Muddlefoots who does not serve Negaduck.^[11]
• Herbert "Honker" Muddlefoot, Jr. (voiced by Katie Leigh) is the youngest Muddlefoot son and Gosalyn's best friend.^[24] In contrast to his brother, Honker takes after his mother. Unlike the rest of his family, Honker is an intelligent individual who demonstrates a mastery of sciences more akin to a laboratory professor than an elementary school student. He is also one of the few characters to know Darkwing's secret identity, though it is unknown how long he has known or how the discovery was made. Unlike Launchpad, who refers to Drake as DW in public, Honker makes sure to address him as "Mr. Mallard". He also calls Darkwing "sir" to make sure he does not slip up. He is also the only member of the Muddlefoots who Darkwing genuinely likes and tolerates most of the time, though he has been annoyed by the youth's stuttering.

Allies

The Justice Ducks

The Justice Ducks are a team of superheroes formed in the two-part episode "Just Us Justice Ducks" to help Darkwing fend off the Fearsome Five.^{[2] [25]}

• Fenton Crackshell / Gizmoduck (voiced by Hamilton Camp, Lin-Manuel Miranda in the 2017 DuckTales reboot) is Launchpad's old friend and Darkwing's former rival superhero who originally appeared as a recurring character in the original DuckTales. While Gizmoduck overshadows him in fame and attention whenever the former is in St. Canard, Darkwing comes to appreciate him following their first encounter in the episode "Up, Up and Awry".^[26]
• Morgana Macawber (voiced by Kath Soucie) is a sorceress duck who was originally a supervillain, but later reforms and becomes Darkwing's girlfriend. While she is very powerful, Morgana has trouble using her magic. Introduced in the episode "Fungus Amongus", Darkwing first meets her while she is serving as the president and chairperson of a mushroom-producing company that steals pizza toppings in a plot to take control of the pizza industry before she eventually defects and helps Darkwing foil the plot.^[27] In "Ghoul of My Dreams", she joins forces with Nodoff to put St. Canard's citizens to sleep and rob them to pay off her student loans, but she reforms in the end and helps Darkwing defeat Nodoff.^[28] In the Boom! Studios comics, she sacrifices herself to save Darkwing from the monstrous Duckthulu. However, Darkwing believes she is still alive and lost in another reality, but is unable to find her.
  • Eek and Squeak (voiced by Frank Welker) are Morgana's pet bats who usually accompany her wherever she goes.
  • Archie (voiced by Frank Welker) is Morgana's pet spider who also usually accompanies her wherever she goes.
• Neptunia (voiced by Susan Silo) is a mutated anthropomorphic fish and self-appointed protector of the sea. She uses a shell as a horn to command the non-anthropomorphic creatures of the ocean to do her bidding and is often seen with a giant octopus named Hal.^{[29] [2]} Introduced in the episode "Something Fishy", she was once a normal fish until radioactive waste mutated her into her current form. She becomes fed up with sea pollution and attempts to flood St. Canard until it becomes part of her ocean domain. However, she eventually has a change of heart and reverses the flooding after Launchpad convinces her that not all land-dwellers are polluters. ^[29] Like Morgana, she reforms and becomes a hero. ^{[2] [25]}
• Stegmutt (voiced by Joey Camen) is a dimwitted janitor duck who the mad scientist Dr. Fossil transformed into a humanoid Stegosaurus to serve as his minion in the episode "Jurassic Jumble". He initially battles Darkwing, but with Gosalyn and Honker's help, Stegmutt learns of Dr. Fossil's evil intentions and turns against him. While Fossil's other victims are returned to normal, Stegmutt chooses to remain a dinosaur for unknown reasons and goes on to join the Justice Ducks. ^{[24] [2] [25]}

S.H.U.S.H.

S.H.U.S.H. (expanded name unknown) is an intelligence agency that deals with international affairs that regular authorities cannot. Darkwing Duck often works freelance for them, though he is not an official employee. The organization is a parody of Marvel Comics' S.H.I.E.L.D.

• J. Gander Hooter (voiced by Danny Mann) is an elderly goose and the head director of S.H.U.S.H. who regards Darkwing very highly and often calls him in on cases where he feels that a certain element of surprise that only Darkwing is able to create is needed.^{[30] [31] [32] [33]}
  The character's name is a play on J. Edgar Hoover and was reworked and redesigned from an earlier DuckTales character named J. Gander Hoover, who appeared in the episode "Double-O-Duck" and worked for a different intelligence agency.^[34]
• Vladimir Goudenov Grizzlikof (voiced by Ron Feinberg) is a Russian grizzly bear and S.H.U.S.H.'s top agent. He is depicted as very strong and adheres to S.H.U.S.H. standard procedure closely. He and Darkwing have a longstanding rivalry which stems from Grizzlikof's by-the-book procedure compared to Darkwing's instinctual and spontaneous fighting style, though their relationship slowly becomes a mutual one.^{[30] [33]}
• Dr. Sara Bellum (voiced by Jodi Carlisle) is a S.H.U.S.H. scientist who is unnervingly enthusiastic about her projects, to the extent that she will risk endangering herself and others in the course of her experiments. Her name is a pun on cerebellum.^{[3] [31]}
• Derek Blunt (voiced by Peter Renaday) is a British bald eagle reputed to be the greatest agent in the history of S.H.U.S.H. and the only person to ever bring down master criminal Phineas Sharp. However, the latter resurfaces, forcing J. Gander to bring the former out of retirement and pair him with Darkwing to stop Sharp once more. Despite initially being annoyed by the superhero, who admires and claims to have been inspired by him, Blunt begrudgingly admits to being impressed by Darkwing and parts on good terms with him following the mission's end.^[32]
  His name is a reference to fictional adventurer and James Bond parody character Derek Flint.
• The Darkwing Squad are a group of four S.H.U.S.H. agents who Darkwing trained to become a team, only for them to follow in his example too closely.^[33]
  • Professor Darkwing Deer (voiced by Sara Partridge) is a S.H.U.S.H. agent and member of the Darkwing Squad who picked up on Darkwing's vanity.^[33]
  • Professor Darkwing Dodo is a S.H.U.S.H. agent and member of the Darkwing Squad who literally does not look where he leaps, on the grounds that "a daring do-gooder never plans".^[33]
  • Professor Darkwing Dog is a S.H.U.S.H. agent and member of the Darkwing Squad who practices how to best flatten his head with an anvil.^[33]
  • Professor Darkwing Donkey (voiced by Jeff Rawluk) is a S.H.U.S.H. agent and member of the Darkwing Squad who also picked up on Darkwing's vanity.^[33]
• Femme Appeal is a statuesque fox who first appears in the Boom! Studios comic story "F.O.W.L. Disposition". She initially appears as an agent of F.O.W.L. who operates with Steelbeak. However, she is later revealed to be a double-agent sent by S.H.U.S.H. to investigate F.O.W.L. and stop them from summoning Duckthulhu.
  Her name is a reference to fictional spy Emma Peel.
• Dr. Desiree Bell is a duck scientist who appears in the Joe Books comic story "Orange is the New Purple", where she is introduced as Darkwing's new S.H.U.S.H. liaison. She is also in charge of overseeing S.H.U.S.H.'s new first response defense satellite, reclaimed from Taurus Bulba and Quackwerks. She also coordinates the reunion of the Justice Ducks (sans Morgana) in the comic story "Dawn of the Day of the Return of the Living Spud".

In the 2017 DuckTales series, a new version of S.H.U.S.H. appears in flashbacks. The organization was led by Ludwig Von Drake and included Bentina Beakley / Agent 22, Scrooge McDuck as a freelance agent, and Bradford Buzzard as an accountant.

Other heroes

• Comet Guy (voiced by William Callaway) is an alien superhero from the planet Mertz who resembles a physically exaggerated human being. Comet Guy possesses numerous superpowers including throwing fireballs, freeze vision, flight, super strength, and super speed. However, he has a dimwitted personality and his primary weakness is that the sound of a bell will cause him to dance to the exclusion of all else until he hears a whistle. Initially considered a failure on his planet, Darkwing trains him to turn his weaknesses into strengths.^{[35] [36]}
• The Friendly Four are fairly inept, superheroic versions of the Fearsome Four native to the Negaverse. Because of their pacifistic nature, they are retrained by Darkwing Duck into Darkwing's Ducks so they can defeat Negaduck, restore order to their version of St. Canard, and become the Negaverse Gosalyn's new guardian after Darkwing returns to his reality.^[11]
• Posiduck (voiced by Jim Cummings) is the embodiment of Darkwing Duck's positive traits made entirely of positrons who was created after Megavolt's tron-splitter device split Darkwing into positrons and negatrons. In keeping with his component particles, Posiduck is exceedingly kind, gentle, lenient, and generally pacifistic. He later becomes galvanized into a powerful being of positive energy, gaining the ability to undo negatronic damage and walk on air, to battle his similarly galvanized negatron counterpart.^[37]

Villains

The Fearsome Five

The Fearsome Five are Darkwing Duck's five greatest enemies who often work independently, but also work as a team on occasion.

Negaduck

Negaduck (voiced by Jim Cummings) is Darkwing Duck's evil doppelgänger and arch-nemesis.^[38] Hailing from a nightmarish parallel reality called the "Negaverse", Negaduck is physically identical to Darkwing, except for his yellow, red, and black costume. Like Darkwing, Negaduck is narcissistic and normally has no special powers or abilities, instead relying on his intellect, physical prowess, intimidation, and gadgets. However, he can also disguise himself as Darkwing.^{[2] [39]} Unlike Darkwing, Negaduck is cruel, ruthless, and has no qualms about hurting others to get what he wants, which is primarily great wealth and authority over the world. As such, he serves as the Fearsome Five's leader as he intimidates them into agreeing with what he says.^[2] Despite viewing them as weaklings,^[2] he would later use a magical gem to steal their powers and transform himself into Mega Negaduck.^[40] In the episode "Life, the Negaverse and Everything", Darkwing discovers his evil counterpart rules over the Negaverse's version of St. Canard.^[11] In the comic story "The Duck Knight Returns", he discovers Darkwing's secret identity and attacks him at his home, an event that causes the superhero to retire for a year. Negaduck would later join forces with Magica De Spell to ruin Darkwing's reputation using brainwashed alternate reality versions of both himself and Darkwing. In the comic story "Crisis on Infinite Darkwings", Megavolt's tron-splitter is used to reduce Negaduck to several microscopic particles of good and evil, though by the story "Orange is the New Purple", he manages to reconstitute himself, take over St. Canard Penitentiary, and trap Darkwing inside with every supervillain he helped imprison. One source of rage for Negaduck is that on a Public Enemies list he is Public Enemy No 2

Notes and References

1. News: Disney's 'Darkwing Duck' enlists a super fowl in fight against crime; ABC telecasts Easter Parade. The Los Angeles Times. March 31, 1991. June 8, 2014. Lauren. Lipton.
2. Just Us Justice Ducks (Part 1). Darkwing Duck. October 2, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 20.
3. Paraducks. Darkwing Duck. September 19, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 11.
4. Clash Reunion. Darkwing Duck. November 14, 1992. 2 (ABC). 88.
5. Darkly Dawns the Duck (Part 2). Darkwing Duck. September 6, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 2.
6. Time and Punishment. Darkwing Duck. February 27, 1992. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 52.
7. The Secret Origins of Darkwing Duck. Darkwing Duck. November 13, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 33.
8. A Star is Scorned. Darkwing Duck. May 1992. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 60.
9. The Duck Knight Returns!. DuckTales. 2019-05-17. 2. 39.
10. Darkly Dawns the Duck (Part 1). Darkwing Duck. September 6, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 1.
11. Life, the Negaverse and Everything. Darkwing Duck. November 18, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 35.
12. Getting Antsy. Darkwing Duck. September 10, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 4.
13. Dances with Bigfoot. Darkwing Duck. February 6, 1992. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 43.
14. Slime Okay, You're Okay. Darkwing Duck. May 1992. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 57.
15. The Quiverwing Quack. Darkwing Duck. May 1992. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 61.
16. Paint Misbehavin' . Darkwing Duck. October 24, 1992. 2 (ABC). 85.
17. Web site: Frank Angones and the Suspenders of Disbelief. Frank Angones and the Suspenders of Disbelief. October 2019 .
18. Web site: Stephanie Beatriz and James Monroe Iglehart Drop by 'DuckTales' Darkwing Episode: First Look (Exclusive). Entertainment Tonight Online.
19. Let's Get Dangerous!. DuckTales. 2020-10-19. 3. 59.
20. You Sweat Your Life. Darkwing Duck. September 30, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 18.
21. The Merchant of Menace. Darkwing Duck. November 30, 1991. 1 (ABC). 78.
22. Darkwing Doubloon. Darkwing Duck. December 16, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 40.
23. Quack of Ages. Darkwing Duck. February 26, 1992. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 51.
24. Jurassic Jumble. Darkwing Duck. October 10, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 25.
25. Just Us Justice Ducks (Part 2). Darkwing Duck. October 3, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 21.
26. Up, Up and Awry. Darkwing Duck. November 14, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 34.
27. Fungus Amongus. Darkwing Duck. September 28, 1991. 1 (ABC). 69.
28. Ghoul of My Dreams. Darkwing Duck. October 31, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 30.
29. Something Fishy. Darkwing Duck. October 12, 1991. 1 (ABC). 71.
30. Dirty Money. Darkwing Duck. September 13, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 7.
31. Heavy Mental. Darkwing Duck. November 21, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 37.
32. In Like Blunt. Darkwing Duck. February 24, 1992. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 50.
33. The Darkwing Squad. Darkwing Duck. April 1992. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 54.
34. Double-O-Duck. DuckTales. November 25, 1987. 1. 48.
35. Smarter Than a Speeding Bullet. Darkwing Duck. October 17, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 27.
36. Planet of the Capes. Darkwing Duck. November 27, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 39.
37. Negaduck. Darkwing Duck. September 21, 1991. 1 (ABC). 68.
38. Web site: Darkwing Duck's 10 Best Villains, Ranked. June 30, 2019. CBR.
39. Disguise the Limit. Darkwing Duck. November 26, 1991. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 38.
40. Jail Bird. Darkwing Duck. May 1992. 1 (Disney Afternoon). 62.