Fridge / Darkwing Duck

As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

---

Fridge Brilliance

• One of the running themes of the show is that Dark Is Not Evil. Darkwing being the prime example, but Morgana is also a "night person". It might not occur to the viewer how much they wanted to drive that theme home until he/she realizes that some of the villains are the other half of the analogy: Megavolt, one of the most dangerous criminals in St. Canard, is constantly surrounded by light and Negaduck's costume is bright yellow and red. (His cape is black, but it's lined with bright red.)
  • Quackerjack is a clown who makes lethal toys. Steelbeak wears a black and white suit while presenting himself as suave, charming. The Frequency Fiends were all manifestations of some part of Gosalyn's personality who were associated with some form of energy (heat, light, radio). The original Negaduck transformed into a monster of crackling electricity. Of the heroes or associated friends/family/allies, Neptunia and Stegmutt are both reformed mutants, Morgana's family are hostile but become friendly to "normals." The Dark Is Not Evil and Light/Bright Is Not Good motifs do recur across the series.
  • The color schemes of the villains also enforce this, almost consistently averting Primary-Color Champion. In addition to the aforementioned Negaduck, Megavolt's color scheme is red, yellow and blue, Quackerjack is half-red, Liquidator is blue, Ammonia Pine is red and blue, and Taurus Bulba predominantly red. Ironically, the straightest example of a Secondary Color Nemesis, Bushroot, is also the least evil.
• Darkwing's Hero with Bad Publicity status. In the pilot, he botches his attempt to stop Taurus Bulba's henchmen from stealing the Ramrod weapon and is blamed by the police for theft. Bulba rolls with this to get DW arrested by said police and out of his hair. Most superheroes would try to clear their names after this. But Launchpad inadvertently busts through the prison wall before he can bail DW out legally, and Bulba and the Ramrod explode before DW can turn them in and exonerate himself. So as far as the police and St. Canard populace know, Darkwing masterminded the theft of a top-secret military weapon and is a fugitive at large.
• Another running theme of the show is that Surprisingly Realistic Outcome at crucial times. By no means has Darkwing ever been painted as a classically good crimefighter; in fact, he's had to address sensory deprivation (which isn't fun at the start) and juggling his crimefighting with being a single adoptive parent. Oh, and Gosalyn's motivations for following in his webbed footsteps aren't entirely a case of Hero Worship.
• The Objectivist themes surrounding Scrooge McDuck spilled over into his show's Spiritual Successor - it's all about a protagonist with "an ego the size of a small planet" whose motive power is not altruism but personal pride and a pathological need for action.
  • Also a strong theme with Gosalyn: in addition to sharing her adopted father's massive ego, she's got quite the beak for money; in several episodes, she tries to cash in on whatever the current situation is, whether by hawking "official" merchandise to Darkwing's fan club, or discreetly trying to scoop up the bribe money Darkwing just refused to take from Bushroot. She's not very altruistic, but she does have an admirable profit motive.
• When this troper discovered that Magica Despell was going to be a antagonist in the 2011 comic book this just hit him... throughout her appearances in comic and animation history, she not only targeted Scrooge but Donald, Daisy, the Nephews, even Gizmoduck. But there was one Duck protagonist she NEVER antagonized at the time... DARKWING! now that she fought Darkwing then that should be crossed off the list.
• Launchpad is a much better pilot in this series and doesn't crash-land nearly as often as he did in DuckTales (1987). However, if you recall the last episode of DuckTales, "The Golden Goose," he managed to make a perfect landing while attempting to crash on purpose. It would appear that by the time Darkwing Duck began, Launchpad's finally learned how to land.
• Take the hilariously absurd concept of everything in Darkwing's universe being made up of "posi-trons" and "nega-trons" as seen in the episode "Negaduck" and you come to realize that even if NegaDuck is not exactly the same character as the Negaduck from that episode, of course he would act nearly the same: the properly integrated Darkwing Duck is a good guy, so he has more posi-trons than nega-trons. In the Negaverse, the ratio of posi-trons and nega-trons in every single inhabitant is flipped, and therefore all of the nasty traits we see in Negaduck are predominant in NegaDuck as well.
  • Gosalyn and Nega-Gosalyn also present another interesting aspect of this cosmology: while the ratio of posi-trons to nega-trons determines a lot of your behavior, it doesn't necessarily determine your morality. Prime Gosalyn actually has slightly more nega-trons than posi-trons, which is why she's such a Bratty Half-Pint, whereas Nega-Gosalyn has the exact opposite ratio, which is why she's such a well-mannered Girly Girl. Both are good girls because it's possible to turn both positive and negative traits to good purposes, in keeping with the Light Is Not Good and Dark Is Not Evil lesson this cartoon is teaching us.
• The reason why Drake Mallard's money tree had withered and died in "Easy Come, Easy Grow" by the time the police came around to arrest him for counterfeiting? As Bushroot and any other competent gardener or farmer could tell you, too much fertilizer at a time can be deadly to plants; and he dumped a whole bag of it on that poor tree!
• One of the greatest problem in superheroes stories is Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him?, but the very first episode of the show justifies why nobody tries to do so here: Darkwing is shot at many times, while distracted, and once even point-blank for good measure, and he just easily dodges each of them. This shows that nothing that simple would actually work due to Darkwing's reflexes, and over-the-top schemes actually are necessary to deal with him.
• By narrating the plot of "Night of the Living Spud" to a group of Boy Scouts (or are they Junior Woodchucks?), Darkwing revealed his Secret Identity as Drake Mallard, didn't he? Actually, no — at no point in Darkwing's story do we see Drake Mallard changing into Darkwing Duck. In the story as told, Drake's merely the neighbor of the Muddlefoots, who sees them leave to go camping (establishing why they're there when the monster catches them), and then sees the strange news report that segues into Bushroot's latest crime spree and Darkwing Duck first getting involved. After that, he's never seen again, nor does Gosalyn ever address him as "Dad." In Darkwing's version, Drake is merely an innocent bystander used to provide exposition via what he observes, not an important character like Darkwing, and an in-universe listener who knew nothing about either of them would never make the connection.
• A seemingly minor plot point in "Water Way to Go" actually plays into the episode's Aesop. Launchpad shows the ability to ride a surfboard, something never seen before. However, watchers who came to Darkwing Duck from DuckTales (1987) will remember Launchpad occasionally showing that ability there.^note Of course, this requires ignoring Tad Stones' statement that they're alternate universes. It's not that Launchpad has spontaneously developed a new ability; it's that Darkwing has never thought that inventorying his abilities would be worthwhile. What was the episode's moral? That Darkwing needs to have faith in his sidekick and not disrespect him just because of his role.
• The members of the Fearsome Five are all foils to Darkwing and his main family/team.
  • Negaduck = Darkwing (Duh — The Leader of the group; Large Ham; annoyed over their reputations^note Darkwing because he's not Public Defender #1 and Negaduck because he's not Public Enemy #1)
  • Megavolt = Honker (genius; scientist; socially awkward geeks prior to heroic deeds; somewhat down-to-earth; often works with…)
  • Quackerjack = Gosalyn (energetic, practical jokers; childish mentality; have codenames starting with Q^note Quiverwing Quack and Quackerjack (which probably isn't his real name); like playing games)
  • Bushroot = Launchpad (The Woobie; generally defensive rather than offensive; nice guys on both teams)
  • Liquidator = Morgana (originally a corrupt businessman/woman; extremely powerful; became a superhero/supervillain due to interactions with Darkwing)
    • Also, the same could apply to the Justice Ducks, with Megavolt being Gizmoduck (Gadgeteer Geniuses), Bushroot being Stegmutt (products of experiments gone wrong), and Quackerjack being Neptunia (defenders of toys/sea beasts).
• Launchpad's Big Eater characteristics were probably intended more as a joke, but think about his height and musculature. How much food would it take just to maintain that build, in addition to any calories he burns crimefighting?
• The Devolution Device used by Dr. Fossil which turns people into dinosaurs makes sense to a certain extent: in this universe, most people are anthropomorphic birds, and birds evolved from dinosaurs (although not the species seen in this show).
• In "All's Fahrenheit in Love and War", Darkwing makes many more yelps of pain while in the super-heated gold vault than Launchpad does. Of course — Launchpad is wearing boots, while Darkwing's feet are in direct contact with the hot floor!
• When "Star Crossed Circuits" has a Job-Stealing Robot being preferred over Launchpad, it throws him into a deep funk. Of course it does; it's Armstrong all over again!
• Morgana lumping Honker with the rest of the Muddlefoots and casting him aside during the climax of "F.O.W.L. Disposition" seems rather harsh, especially to anyone who sees Honker as just as much a member of Darkwing's family as the rest, but it's perhaps understandable that Morgana wouldn't see it that way. Since Honker and Morgana never appeared in any episode together in the animated series, Morgana wouldn't have had the chance to witness Honker's contributions to the team's cases and overall what he brings to the team's dynamic. She hasn't had the chance to learn anything about Honker other than that he's a Muddlefoot who happens to be Gosalyn's friend.
• Why would Negaduck choose Quackerjack, Megavolt, Bushroot, and Liquidator as members of his team? Those four villains are dimwitted and have obsessions to exploit (e.g. Quackerjack's hatred of videogames), which makes them easy to control and manipulate. Steelbeak and Taurus Bulba are far too dangerous to work with, and have no need to rely on Negaduck at all. With this team lineup, Negs would have control over the city's plants, water, and electricity, all of which are potent avenues for crime. As for Quackerjack, he's is as chaotic and crazy as Negaduck is, so why not recruit him?
• In Just Us Justice Ducks, the heroes all lose when trying to tackle the villains one on one, and only win once the entire teams square off against each other. This isn't just the usual once-per-episode turnaround - we see that the villains get in each other's way even when they try to cooperate (which isn't always), whereas the heroes assist each other and combine their strengths to great effect. Heroes are at their best when looking out for others, while villains are at their best when they only have to care about themselves.

Fridge Horror

• In one episode it's mentioned that they've tried and failed to give Megavolt the chair. This is just meant to be a little joke, but in order for him to get the chair wouldn't he have had to commit murder?
  • Considering how this show has no qualms about directly referencing death, that was probably intentional.
  • Treason is also punishable by death, so maybe Megavolt was a double agent for an enemy government.
    • There are some implications that the justice system in that universe applies the chair willy nilly...which isn't so comforting either, when you think about it.
    • Also (though your area's laws may vary) in many states the insane or mentally handicapped cannot receive the death penalty. Megavolt's memory lapses certainly qualify as impairment. His power over electricity may slowly be killing him.
  • Another example: in one episode, it's revealed that a certain video game's main character is created by having a person actually teleported into the game. Of course, later in that episode, Darkwing is accidentally teleported in, and promptly discovers that even if it is a game, he can be injured and feel pain. What does the poor main character go through whenever the player loses?
• "Extinct Possibility": Darkwing is encased in amber after being sent to the age of Dinosaurs, encased with his eyes wide open.
  • Worse, the dinosaurs often mention hairy ape creatures taking the first steps in evolution. They often brag about how they "put a stop to that nonsense".
• Splatter Phoenix has the ability to bring paintings to life. When she dies, she melts just like her other paintings. Maybe this isn't the real Splatter Phoenix, the original was actually murdered by the painting of herself and she took her place...
• Whatever Bud Flood was putting in his competitors' water supplies was also what made him the Liquidator. Drinking that Grimy Water he was making might've had far worse consequences than just getting a bad taste.
  • Which is very obvious considering that the bottle of this substance had a skull and crossbones painted on it.
• The fact that Negaduck is the guardian of his universe's Gosalyn. In-universe as well, just considering that idea was more than enough to convince Darkwing to stay and free that world. It's honestly Fridge Horror imagining what Darkwing was thinking!
• If Paddywhack did pull Gosalyn into his box and try and teach her to be a prankster like him, does anybody want to imagine what the Monster Clown would have done to her?
• In the Bad Future of "Time and Punishment" (and the Alternate Universe of the comics), where did Negaduck go? Where did the other heroes of St. Canard, including Morgana, go? Why did the democratic government allow one man to have totalitarian control of a city inside their borders, Josef Stalin style, without trying to take him out? Just how much power did he amass?
• As if all this weren't horrific enough, the "Campaign Carnage" arc from the comics has Darkwing imagine creating a police force wearing Darkwarrior-style outfits to keep anyone from losing someone the way he lost Morgana. Gosalyn isn't Darkwing's only trigger. There may be universes where Gosalyn had to watch her dad descend into He Who Fights Monsters territory after something happened to Morgana or Launchpad.
• Also about "Time and Punishment", after Gosalyn disappears, Darkwing lapses into catatonia, becoming completely unresponsive and only "doing" anything when Launchpad physically manipulates him. If Launchpad hadn't been there, Darkwing might have died of self-inflicted dehydration and starvation. (Of course, given what happened, some people might say that would have been the better option...)
• Furthermore, the appearance of Darkwarrior in the comics proves that that world did not get fixed when Gosalyn got back to the present. One has to wonder what kind of rampage Darkwarrior might have gone on when he woke up from being knocked out and discovered Gosalyn was gone again...
• In the second arc of the Boom Studios comic book, an unknown presence that later turns out to be Paddywhack eats people that are near the ocean alive. Paddywhack gets defeated, but it is never explained what happened to his victims. This is made worse because nobody expresses concern for their whereabouts at the end of the arc.
• Ordinary Guy's life. Is it any wonder he snapped and became villainous? He is the only one without superpowers living on a planet where everyone has superpowers, and they constantly save him from everything, not allowing him to do his life freely. Now that Darkwing Duck taught them about villainy and that Ordinary Guy was defeated, there's a possibility he's going to become their punching bag.
• The Brainteasers love to eat metal or rather force their hosts to eat metal. All the metal in their bodies will poison and kill them, and that's assuming that the host didn't puncture his/her stomach by eating nails or something. One can only hope that being controlled by these aliens somehow makes the host immune from the harmful effects of ingesting metal.
  • Since there was no mention of any ill-effects on any of the characters it can be speculated that they absorb the metal immediately.
• It is implied in "You Sweat Your Life" that Tank Muddlefoot cut off his grandfather's leg when he was an infant. Considering how often he picks on his brother Honker without being reprimanded by his parents, one must wonder what other despicable things Tank might have gotten away with.
• Doctor Slug is Public Enemy Number 1, in front of Negaduck, since we've never seen him as any form of recurring villain, who knows what horrible things he has done to be able to surpass Negaduck in criminality?
  • In the one episode that he appeared for a few seconds he was shown as bloodthirsty enough to try to use a buzzsaw on DW and LP.
• In "Disguise the Limit", Darkwing turns himself into Negaduck to figure out where he is and goes after Launchpad and Gosalyn with a burner. Everyone involved was very lucky that he didn't catch them before the transformation was undone, or the psychological results could have been catastrophic...
• In "My Valentine Ghoul", Negaduck states that he was gonna use the money he would get from the diamond scheme for a thermonuclear warhead. Just what was he going to use it for?
• The idea that Stegmutt was turned into a dinosaur and apparently now is unable to return to his original duck form (though he seems to have calmly accepted his fate). Also it has been speculated that his low intelligence is due to his transformation into a stegosaurus (a species known for having a brain the size of a walnut). That makes it all the more horrifying when you really think about it.
• Negaduck has his own Gosalyn who is sweet and nice. How is she still alive?! Negaduck HATES sweetness.
• In one episode Negaduck dresses up as Darkwing and commits crimes in order to make it seem like Darkwing had become a criminal. One of those crimes is "stealing someone's girl" as in he literally kidnaps somebody's girlfriend. While it was, of course, just done for the pun, you gotta consider that this is Negaduck, and that Darkwing Duck sometimes avoided "never say die"...what did he do to that girl afterwards?

Fridge Sadness

• In "Crash Reunion", it's established that Megavolt's real identity, Elmo Sputterspark, hasn't been seen ever since around his senior prom. One just has to imagine just what his loved ones have been going through all this time...