“Let's get dangerous!”
—Darkwing Duck
Drake Mallard is the not-so-mild-mannered alter-ego of St. Canard's resident superhero Darkwing Duck, and the protagonist of Disney's 1991-92 animated television program of the same name. He is also the adoptive father to the orphaned Gosalyn Waddlemeyer. He has been described as a cross between Batman and Donald Duck, but his costume and gas gun seems to be a reference to pulp fiction character the Shadow. He made his debut along with Gosalyn in the The Disney Afternoon title sequence in 1990.
Background
Drake, in his youth, was a Junior Woodchuck, as he still makes use of his "Junior Woodchuck Guidebook." At least three episodes of Darkwing Duck attempt to tell the origin of D.W.: the first "The Secret Origins of Darkwing Duck" relates a pseudo-Superman tale which is basically just hyperbole. The second, "Paraducks" relates how Darkwing, himself, traveling back in time, was the inspiration for young Drakey Mallard to dream of becoming a superhero one day. Thirdly, in "Clash Reunion," a teenaged Drake saves his school from his classmate Elmo Sputterspark (the person who eventually became the villainous "Megavolt"), and makes his debut as St. Canard's Defender of the Night, Darkwing Duck.
Physical appearance
Darkwing is a short mallard duck with white feathers, a large forehead, and orange beak and feet. When in civilian attire, he wears a salmon-collared shirt and a green sweater over it.
Darkwing's costume consists of a gray fedora with an oversized brim and black band, a mask, a cape, and a long sleeved coat over a turtleneck. The vast majority of his outfit is in shades of purple, with the exception of the turtleneck which is a teal color.
Abilities
As a non-powered superhero, Darkwing utilizes a variety of gadgets in his fight against crime. His most used weapon is his gas gun, which not only fires gas, but a variety of weapons. It is also designed to function as a grappling hook. For transportation, he will either use the Thunderquack, a duck- head shaped plane built and piloted by Launchpad, or the Ratcatcher, his motorcycle.
While having no superpowers, Darkwing is still a toon, and seems virtually indestructible: he often gets defeated in a painful way, get crushed, flattened, even blown away by explosions, but always rises back. He isn't unstoppable however, as he sometimes needs to wear bandages after being seriously injured. Darkwing suffers several injuries in a slapstick manner throughout the episodes.
Darkwing is an expert in martial arts, despite a large degree of clumsiness. It is mentioned that he was trained in Quack Fu by Goose Lee.
In "Going Nowhere Fast", due to the effects of Negaduck's Particle Accelerator, Darkwing Duck temporarily gained the power of super speed, which caused him to age rapidly the more he used it, which could be reversed by running in reverse.
Appearances
Darkwing Duck
- Main article: Darkwing Duck
Darkwing is known for his rather large ego and pride, and can initially be mistaken for a bumbling superhero. Rather than be a hero for justice or just helping others, he does it for fame and glory. However, when pushed, as symbolized by the utterance of his catchphrase, "Let's get dangerous," he can become very competent, proving his skill. He usually works alongside his sidekick, Launchpad McQuack. He typically works at night, appearing with smoke effects and a unique introductory statement. As a hero, Darkwing is often forced to balance his desire for fame with his desire to be a father to Gosalyn and do good in St. Canard.
As a civilian, he is known as Drake Mallard, and he lives in the suburbs with his adopted daughter, Gosalyn Mallard, and his sidekick Launchpad McQuack. His next door neighbors are the dimwitted Muddlefoot family, who, except for their younger son, Honker, Gosalyn's best friend, who also knows of his identity, ignorant of his double life as a superhero. The sorceress Morgana Macawber is a reformed criminal who has become the object of Darkwing's affection.
Interestingly, the pilot shows that Darkwing had given up his civilian identity in favor of full-time crime-fighting. At that point, he lived in a secret lair at the top of a bridge. Darkwing's return to a civilian alter-ego was fueled by his adoption of Gosalyn.
DuckTales (2017)
- Main article: DuckTales (2017 TV series)
Darkwing Duck is to make an appearance in the reboot series of DuckTales. Aside from the comic book crossovers, this will mark the first time Darkwing has officially existed in the DuckTales universe alongside Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and their nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
Comics
Darkwing appeared in various comics bearing his name. Around the time of the show's premiere, a four-issue miniseries, based on "Darkly Dawns the Duck", was published by Disney Comics. Like the TaleSpin comic book before it, the mini-series was intended to spin off into a regular publication, but the implosion of Disney Comics prevented that. After that, Darkwing stories were regularly featured in the magazine Disney Adventures from November 1991 to January 1996, as well as Marvel's Disney Afternoon comic book.
In 2010, Darkwing appeared in a new comic series, which opened with a 4-issue arc titled "The Duck Knight Returns". In the series, Drake has apparently quit the superhero business, for a cubicle job at the Quackwerks company which produces robotic police enforcers, and he is no longer speaking to Launchpad, ever since an incident where he accidentally lead Negaduck to discover his identity. But then returns to hero work when finding that things aren't as they seem at Quackwerks and some of his old enemies start working together again. After defeating Taurus Bulba again, who was revealed to be behind Quackwerks all along in a scheme to control the city, Darkwing returns to the public spotlight again. As the comic progressed, he finds himself confronting numerous versions of himself from alternate universes and running for mayor of St. Canard. The comic was then continued by Joe Books, but only lasted for eight issues.
Disney Infinity
- Main article: Disney Infinity
Darkwing's costume can be worn by a townsperson in the second game. His motorcycle and gas gun appear as power discs.
A developer for Disney Infinity at E3 stated that Darkwing was very close to getting into the game, and was scrapped. He was one of many characters who were able to be voted into its sequel in a poll on the the official Oh My Disney blog. He was the second highest-ranked choice on the poll, second only to Mabel Pines. Unfortunately, since Disney has announced the cancellation of the Disney Infinity series after the release of 3.0 Darkwing will not be a playable character.
Disney Parks
Following the premiere of his series, Darkwing made semi-regular appearances at the Disney theme parks. He was most prominently featured in the Disney Afternoon-themed stage show at Mickey's Starland from 1991 through 1996.
Darkwing also made a guest star appearance in the Disney On Ice show Double Feature... Live!, in which he rescues Daisy Duck from a gangster named Ice-Head Harry.
Disneyland Resort
In September 2014, Darkwing and Launchpad appeared in Disney's California Adventure for meet and greets.
Walt Disney World
Darkwing still makes occasional rare appearances at Disney's Animal Kingdom and, when it was still open, Mickey's Toontown Fair. Darkwing and Launchpad served as "training characters" for cast members in the walk-around character departments.
Today, he mostly appears for exclusive, special events such as the runDisney marathons meet-and-greet breaks. In 2016, Darkwing was available to meet in the Magic Kingdom for the Disney Vacation Club's 25th anniversary party.
Disneyland Paris
In 2013, Darkwing resurfaced at Disneyland Paris, for the Disney Dreamers Everywhere! event.
Relationships
Allies
Though generally a lone hero, Darkwing occasionally works with other heroes. He sometimes serves as the leader of a network of superheroes called the Justice Ducks comprised of Launchpad McQuack, Stegmutt, Neptunia, Morgana Macawber, and Duckburg's own defender, Gizmoduck. Occasionally, Darkwing serves as a secret agent for the government agency known as S.H.U.S.H. Director J. Gander Hooter, Agents Double-O-Duck (Launchpad McQuack), Feathers Galore (double agent), Vladimir Goudenov Grizzlikof, Dr. Sara Bellum, and "Dr. G." (Gyro Gearloose) are all members of this secret organization, where Darkwing even serves as the leader of the Darkwing Squad (Darkwing Deer, Darkwing Dodo, Darkwing Donkey, and Darkwing Dog).
Enemies
Darkwing's most famous arch-nemeses are Megavolt, Bushroot, Quackerjack, and the Liquidator, as well as the villainous alternate-reality incarnation of D.W., Negaduck. They usually work separately, but the first four along with Negaduck are known to group together in a group known as "The Fearsome Five" with Negaduck serving as a leader. In the Darkwing Duck comics, Negaduck would not included in the group and Quackerjack would take over as leader as the group of villains would be known as "The Fearsome Four".
Steelbeak, Ammonia Pine, Ample Grime, and the henchmen known as Eggmen all serve as agents of the nefarious F.O.W.L. (Fiendish Organization for World Larceny), an organization headed by Dr. Nogood. Taurus Bulba was even resurrected by F.O.W.L. to become a cyborg. Other notable adversaries of Darkwing include Splatter Phoenix, Tuskernini, Jambalaya Jake, Lilliput Gooney, Fluffy, Anna Matronic, and Professor Moliarty. In the Boom! Studios comic book series, Darkwing would also face off against classic Disney villains Magica De Spell, the Beagle Boys, and the Phantom Blot.
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