Launchpad’s Association With Della Duck: Ballads of Dangerous Chemistry
Part 1 | Part 2 || Part 3 | Part 4| Part 5 || Continued from Part 6
One of the many things I've noticed in DuckTales is that certain elements from earlier episodes tend to return in the later portion of the season. Sometimes as a running gag or an Easter egg, but other times, they end up revealing to be an important concept that's extremely relevant to the story.
The Season 1 finale was a good example of this: The boys hijacking Donald's Houseboat in the pilot to go to Cape Suzette comes back as Donald wanting to move there when the boys no longer want anything to do with Scrooge. The bag of marbles Scrooge gave the boys when they first arrive to the mansion comes back as a way for Scrooge to reminisce about having them around. The silly cutout of Gyro from "Beware of The B.U.D.D.Y System!" is seen floating around in the underwater lab after the area was destroyed by the shadows.
Sometimes it doesn't even take that long for the early elements to reappear; they can be contained within the episode itself by giving us hints in the very beginning of it and later come into play towards the ending. Scrooge was right from the start when he blamed Glomgold in "The 87 Cent Solution!" and the ending of the Darkwing Duck series finale basically foreshadowed the entirety of "The Duck Knight Returns!". If Della paid attention as she was attempting to fix the rocket on her own, she would have known about Gold Tech way ahead of time.
Two years ago at the D23 Expo, it was announced during the DuckTales panel that Duckworth was already shown, but no one had found him yet. Many of us searched around for the butler dog and every character we guessed was rejected by the showrunners. It wasn't until "McMystery at McDuck McManor" that Duckworth was revealed to be the ram-headed spirit we've been seeing in the intro! The answer to the mystery was right there in front of our faces! But we didn't realize it because the appearance of the person we were looking for was altered.
Strangely enough, Launchpad wasn't present in "McManor" at all despite living in a section of the mansion's garage...
This proves that we don't always have to look too far to figure things out, so, after thinking about amnesia, I had to take another look at "The Ballad of Duke Baloney!". It features a confirmed case of the condition and a good example of applying one similar character to another.
The episode begins with a flashback to the happenings of "The Shadow War!", a pretty significant event. Glomgold fails to prevent his shadow from flying off and ends up falling into the marina. He loses consciousness and is eventually found by two fishers, trapped in their fisher net. He can no longer remember the whole ordeal that caused him to take on his false Scottish persona and reverts back to who he used to be: Duke Baloney.
The name Duke Balony, derives from a completely different character named The Duke of Baloni. He comes from an old Carl Barks story that predates Glomgold's character and was the first to be titled "Second-Richest Duck in the World". The show-runners used this similarity as a part of giving an in-universe explanation to why Flintheart Glomgold went from South African like he was in the earlier Scrooge McDuck comics, to Scottish like he was in the original DuckTales series.
Four months later, after Flintheart is reported to have gone missing, Webby and Louie stop by Bait 'N' Such to find him as a completely different person: His demeanor is much kinder, he talks with a different accent, he sports a real beard and now wears a fisherman outfit.
Speaking of which, Duke and LP share a lot of similar colors. Even Young Duke wears teal and green; something that was mainly exclusive to both Launchpad and Della.
The kids aren't exactly sure what to think. Was this really Glomgold? Or were they mistaking a random stranger for him? Was he genuinely suffering from amnesia? Or was this another one of his crazy schemes? As they try to figure out his true intentions, they discover Duke has a suspicious, gold money clip in his possession. This causes Webby and Louie to start an investigation where they discover Duke Baloney's records are non-existent and Flintheart Glomgold's records do not extend past his arrival to Duckburg in the 80's.
Meanwhile, Duke's evil persona slowly starts to re-emerge after one of Scrooge's fishing boats roll into the dock. He can't remember Scrooge's name, he can't even remember his face when they meet, but he suddenly grows negative feelings towards the boat and he's not exactly sure why. He starts coming up with elaborate plans to outrank it and he ends up having a dream full of subliminal messages about his past.
As Duke starts to question who he really is, he notices that Webby and Louie are out at sea as a thunderstorm is approaching. He plans to go out and rescue them but a boat crane hits him on the head, causing him to fall into the marina much like he did before. It's in his second time of unconsciousness where he remembers why he started his Scottish persona in the first place: When Duke was a child, Scrooge failed at teaching him a sense of self reliance by only paying partially for his shoe shining services. Feeling cheated, he secretly stole Scrooge's money clip and vowed to do whatever it takes to out-best him at everything and steal his title of "Richest Duck in the World".
When Duke comes to at the surface, he reverts back to his evil ways. He displays this as he tricks Webby into giving him her hand only for him throw her out of the boat to make room for himself. The other fishers are very shocked to see their friend act like this.
Glomgold makes his way back to his office to reclaim his company from Zan Owlson and to challenge Scrooge with the fiscal year bet. Scrooge refuses until Glomgold taunts him with the money clip he had stolen from him. McDuck becomes surprised, and angry, that his greatest rival has a significant connection to his past.
So, if Launchpad has amnesia, what could Glomgold's situation be telling us about his?
- Glomgold's amnesia was tied to a big event as well as LP's could be if he was involved with the cosmic storm.
- Glomgold goes missing in the sea, an environment that is very similar to outer-space.
- Following his disappearance, Glomgold ended up looking like a different person with a new profession. Launchpad is completely unrecognizable to Della in spite of many signs that they could have something to do with each other's backgrounds and there are also possible signs that he might not be a legitimate airplane pilot.
- Glomgold had Scrooge's money clip on him. Maybe LP has some sort of mysterious item or something like a scar or a birthmark that could help prove that he's the father.
- Information on both Duke and Glomgold is extremely limited. Launchpad's records probably don't go very far either.
- Duke's sudden hatred for Scrooge's boat reminds me of Launchpad's sudden attachment to Dewey. The triplet hasn't done much to or for Launchpad prior "Terror of The Terrafimians!”; he caused a trap to dump a pile of snakes onto Launchpad without apologizing. Dewey doesn't show any concern towards him until he comes back from his search in "Gander"...and yet, Launchpad established him as his best friend. He may not even be sure why he does. I've been theorizing for the longest time that Dewey could be reminding him of Della.
- In the Theme Song Takeover, Launchpad sings about being on the Houseboat with Dewey specifically without acknowledging that Scrooge, Donald, Huey and Louie are there too. He did a similar thing in “Jaw$!” when he simplified Huey and Louie as “Dewey’s Brothers”. Aside from giving us potential clues about Della, Issue 18 highlighted Launchpad’s friendship with Dewey as well. When he realizes the severity of the tsunami alert, he immediately grabs Dewey and wants to head to safety instead of thinking to grab both Dewey and Webby at the same time. The retail incentive cover for this issue features a bunch of Dewey photos with Launchpad facing them.
- Duke has a dream full of symbolism revolving around his Scottish persona. Launchpad’s line in “The 87 Cent Solution!” when Scrooge causes Gizmoduck to accidentally shoot the Sunchaser with a torpedo, reminds me a bit of this. He said the situation reminded him of every nightmare he’s ever had....why is he having dreams of accidentally hitting Dewey with the plane? What does this mean? Is he afraid that there will be a day where he hurts someone he cares about? Has this already happened in the past?
- Was the mishap reminiscent of what happened during the cosmic storm? Scrooge accidentally causes Gizmoduck to fire his torpedoes (lightning?), they hit the plane (spacecraft?), smoke fills the vehicle (radiation clouds?) and he comes close to hitting someone he cares about (Della?)
- After seeing the boat, Glomgold's old ways start to creep back into his mind. I think after being exposed to Della's presence for the first time in years, Launchpad will start to act a bit like his older self and do things that Della will recognize.
- Glomgold had to get knocked back into the sea to return to how he normally is. Will Launchpad have to have another stressful incident or head injury to help him remember who he was?
- There's a line from "The Impossible Summit of Mt. Neverrest!" where he says "NO! This is not the end of Launchpad McQuack! It WILL be by plane crash, or not at all!" Was that possibly hinting towards this?
- Duke actually says a line a bit similar to this where he says “All I need to know, is that I came from the sea...and I’ll die buy it...”
- A thunderstorm was involved and a rescue was underway, just like how Della could have been trying to rescue the father while she was caught up in the cosmic storm.
- Glomgold's beard gets zapped with lightning from the storm, burning it into nothing. Launchpad possibly implied that he himself survived a lightning strike of some sort.
- This episode was about a villain turning back into a good guy after losing his memory. Did Launchpad use to be a bad person? Or someone who was generally good, but made a bad decision? Or just unknowingly caused a bunch of bad things to happen? If Launchpad was the reason behind Della taking the Spear, then it’s partially his fault for Della getting stuck on the moon, losing her leg, Donald and Scrooge's separation, the boys growing up financially unstable without a mother, the depletion of the Money Bin, almost making Scrooge go bankrupt, Scrooge's retirement and depression, the family splitting up for a second time, Donald being sent to jail and the upcoming invasion. Even if the incident was beyond his control, he'll still feel horrible about causing such a chain reaction.
- Not really counting on this, but if amnesia caused Glomgold to revert back to his original accent, could breaking out of amnesia cause Launchpad to revert back to his? In the original DuckTales series, Launchpad had more of a Northeastern accent. There are certain points in the cadence of Della's voice that reminds me of how Launchpad speaks in the reboot; more notably when she slips into a lower register
"Iiiit's fiiiine, I'm sure the flavor will wear off soon…"
"I've activated my distress beacon, so you can pinpoint my location and COME GET ME."
"I bet the boys have hatched by now... I'm not even sure what they look like…"
"I was gone for a decade and everyone was just fine…"
- Glomgold's change in voice was brought on by copying off of Scrooge. Perhaps Launchpad is emulating Della in that way as well.
There are a few other lines in this episode that reminded me of some lines Launchpad has said in the previous season:
When Duke shares his crazy plans to outdo Scrooge's boat by over-fishing, Mann makes a comment.
"...But it's like you always say, 'sharing is caring'."
Duke takes a moment to think about this.
"That does sound like me...or does it?"
This reminds me of the scene in "The Spear of Selene!" where Scrooge orders Launchpad to get the plane back in the air after crash landing on Ithaquack. Launchpad responds.
"Sorry, Mr. McDee, gotta figure out what this flashing red light means. I always say: Better to be safe than... whatever the opposite of safe is!"
He then looks off to the side with uncertainty afterwards, like he's not exactly sure where this phrase came from, but he could have sworn he said it at some point.
"Yeah, I do say that.”
But then Scrooge fires back.
"WHEN HAVE YOU EVER SAID THAT?!"
Could this little break in character be implying that Launchpad was a safer person at some point in his life?
When Duke notices Webby and Louie out at sea when the storm is about to start, he begins to speak.
“I'll save ya! Or my name isn't--”
But then he gets hit with a crane and falls into the water. This reminds me of LP's quote in “The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!” when he's trying to help Scrooge win his parents’ approval. In disguise, he says
“He's a real family man or my name isn't Launchpad Mc...Donald Duck.”
We all know he isn't Donald and he was close to saying Launchpad McQuack wasn't his real name.
This may not count, but When Duke reached out to Webby and said “Give me your hand!”, it reminded me of when LP said the same thing to Dewey in “B.U.D.D.Y” as well as Scrooge in "Last Crash" when he's going after Dewey outside of the plane. Duke pulls Webby into the water and the limo rides over a rock causing Dewey to come out of the self-driving car and fly out of LP's grip.
After developing my new theory about Della and Launchpad's connection, I later realized how the two episodes I’ve been zeroing in on the most, are next to each other in order of production. One dealt with the ideas of genetic mutation in a space-like environment, combined with the concept of going on a secret trip to meet up with a family member and a lover. Then right after that, there's the idea of someone having amnesia after a big event causes their long absence and then struggling to figure out who they really are when elements from their past start to seep back into their life. A connection between the two is looking very likely. Both stories were set in aquatic places and may have even occurred around the same time. I came across a theory that Huey, Dewey and Launchpad visited the Mid-Atlantic ridge while Webby and Louie went fishing, which would explain why they weren't present in the other's episode.
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If Launchpad was affected by the cosmic storm, what else could it have done to him aside from changing the way he looks?
I've put together a list of abilities he may have gained from this:
Immortality
In "The Most Dangerous Game...Night!" Louie tells Huey that he's convinced Launchpad is immortal due to the amount of plane crashes he's survived. LP doesn't respond to this comment and later refuses to answer Huey about how he survived the Tower of Infinity when it collapsed.
I think there's enough weight to Louie's remark for it to be more than simply a one-off joke because there are multiple times where he's shown to be pretty resilient. Launchpad can get sick or hurt, but he recovers incredibly well to injuries and has, as Fisher said when he was describing Duke, "a freakishly high tolerance for pain".
After the snakes from the Atlantean trap bit him, he brushes the situation off like it's not a big deal. He's hindered by the venom, but he's still conscious enough to climb down the bridge when it breaks (for the most part) and helps Webby to lie to her grandmother by posing as a Swedish person. When Glomgold announced that he's about to blow up the city, Launchpad’s facial swelling suddenly goes down and he’s well enough to quickly drive the sub to safety. Also, when Launchpad returns to the Sunchaser after looking for Ziyi, a bunch of arrows are pierced through his armor, and he has an eye-patch over his eye. He’s winded by having to run to the to the plane in time and escape the danger he went though, but he isn’t wincing from his injuries. He isn’t really fazed by them at all.
Strength
“The Missing Links of Moorshire!” is a good example of Launchpad’s strength. Towards the end of the episode, he’s shown to lift Huey, Dewey, Louie, Webby and Scrooge with ease. Even earlier in the episode, he’s able to push a water-logged golf cart out of a lake, which on average is somewhere between 900 to 1100 lbs when it’s dry.
The cosmic storm may have increased his strength, but the workout equipment in his room would indicate that he needs to maintain it to a degree. Maybe it's a Hercules-type situation; even during his weaker points, he’s still pretty strong, but working out just makes him even more abnormally strong.
Agility
As seen in “Shadow War” and “Duck Knight”, LP is a very capable fighter. He has good reflexes, allowing him to dodge most attacks. Even though the venom from the snakes impaired him, he was still able to defend himself from Glomgold’s henchmen. In “Last Crash”, he ran on top of falling items to keep himself from falling out of the plane. And when he was fighting off the shadows on top of the plane, he never lost his balance.
Speed
I'm not really sure with this one, but in "Game Night" Launchpad was able to make it over to Louie and Huey after getting struck with the shrink ray. Perhaps this was ignored for convince, but running fast would explain how he was able to survive the collapse of the Jenga tower.
Aquatic Respiration
I think this is starting to become more apparent. After "Whatever Happened to Della Duck?!" aired, I started to wonder if Launchpad may have used Oxy-Chew when he went to visit Oceanika. But after "Friendship Hates Magic!"....I don't think this is the case. In the scene where he's drinking pea soup through a silly straw, one of the peas gets stuck and he struggles with it until his face starts to turn blue. He faints and all the air in his lungs exits his body before face-planting into his bowl. Then he makes a muffled inhaling noise without choking…
In “Neverrest”, Launchpad keeps his mouth open as he falls into the hot spring and doesn’t gasp for air when he bursts out of it. When he comes back to the lighthouse in "Depths", he simply resurfaces with no problem. He isn't panting for air until he has to climb up onto the platform, which can be a bit tiring after staying in the water for so long. So, uh...I guess Launchpad has gills somewhere on his beak...? Granted, if he did have Oxy-Chew at some point, he could have ended up swallowing it; I mean, that stuff is pretty powerful when you chew it alone, but I'm leaning on mutation with this one.
Electrical Powers
After getting caught in a cloud full of radiation and lightning, it would make a ton of sense for Launchpad to have some sort of connection to electricity. But what kind of connection exactly? Can he generate his own? Can he bend and levitate metal objects to his will? Does he serve as a special conductor? It's really hard to tell since there aren't any on obviously examples, but perhaps there could be something with the latter option.
The ending to “The Spear of Selene!” was very baffling. During my first viewing, I thought Launchpad was scared to leave the plane for some reason, but he ends up disassembling the plane; preventing the family from leaving and bringing him out in the open. Then, during my latest viewing, I realized that the plane isn’t simply taken apart, it looks like it was ripped apart. The pieces are damaged...one of the engines are chipped and dented, one of the propeller blades are also chipped, the tail of the plane has a cracked wing, the control board is all dented with the yoke snapped off...was he really that obsessed with figuring out the problem that he couldn’t just use tools to separate the plane properly? This made me wonder if there could have been an explosion from inside of the Sunchaser. Could another lightning bolt have hit the plane and it was strong enough for Launchpad to react to it? The first time the plane was struck, he’s quickly able to engage a control to stop it from affecting the plane.
The plane parts don’t seem to have any burn marks on them and Launchpad’s clothes aren’t singed or anything, so perhaps there was a different kind of electrical mishap or something that resulted from another side effect of the cosmic storm.
Sixth Sense
Maybe this is purely for meta humor, but LP seems to have this underlying fourth wall-y awareness. At the end of “Moonshire”, the camera is gone, but he still faces the audience and addresses the lesson to be learned. He then undercuts himself as if he didn't want us to know how insightful he is.
In "Terror of The Terrafimians!", he questions if Huey, Webby and Lena were the only three missing from the group when Magica technically counts as a fourth person.
Good Hearing
You would think that after constantly hearing the sound of breaking glass and denting metal on a daily basis, it would take a toll on Launchpad's hearing, but he seems to be a good listener.
Even though we weren't able to see his reaction to Scrooge's story about the Spear of Selene, he must have heard it in spite of being all the way on the other side of the plane and being sorta barricaded by a bunch of stuff to help balance the weight. If the boys informed him about what happened, he would have taken their word for it when he was talking over the intercom in "Shadow War", not point out how they’re the ones who blame Scrooge.
After "Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!" aired, I've been trying to figure out how Launchpad knew that Della was in the houseboat. She wasn't being very loud and he said "Thought I'd come over to introduce myself," implying that he knew about her being in there and stalled afterwards. He could have seen her as she was walking to the other side of the pool to board the houseboat, but it would have to have been somewhere where she wouldn’t have been able to notice him. Maybe looking out the window from inside the house. If not, he could have heard her in the boat as he was passing by. She didn’t start talking until around the time he came over, so if this were the case, he would have already known whose voice it was coming out of the houseboat. If he knew about Della being in the mansion this whole time, why did it take him so long to talk to her?
Weight Manipulation?
Part of me sorta wonders if LP has the ability to make himself lighter when he needs to be; holding back so he won't hurt anyone. This would explain things like how Scrooge was able to save LP from falling out of the plane in “Last Crash” without dislocating his shoulder and how Webby was able to knock LP down in “Shadow War”.
But then again, determination, anger and stubbornness act a bit like super powers to some of the characters. It gives them a boost of strength when the stakes are high and allows them to do things they wouldn’t normally be able to do or shouldn't be able to do based on their body type. Scrooge was able to throw everyone off of him in “87 Cent Solution”, and enjoys swimming around in one of the most heavy metals in existence. Huey dragged LP back to the log in “Only Child” even after he wasn’t able to lift any part of that log. He was also able to lift three kids along with his uncle in “Moorshire” and was strong enough to keep the demon dog at bay in “McManor”. Then there's both Drake and Jim who can go through a bunch of injuries and still get back up after them.
This guess, along with the others I've discussed in this list, might just be part of cartoon logic and isn't meant to be an indication of anything outside of humor or convenience.
The Ability to Be Manipulated?
As I was putting this list together, I suddenly thought: If there's a Greek connection to the cosmic storm, what if Zeus is able to manipulate LP similarly to how he was able to manipulate Storkules with the siren? If Launchpad does have good hearing, what if he heard the siren and that's what caused him to destroy the Sunchaser? Launchpad loves music and, as seen in "Sky Pirates", gets easily distracted by it. The plane was fine when Donald was trying to leave the lightning barrier, but then after the singing and fighting continued, it's in shambles.
Zeus used the siren because he knew it would affect Storkules directly. Scrooge, Huey and Louie were not affected by the singing after later taking their hands from over their ear...holes. Dewey, Webby and Selene couldn't be affected because the temple was way up high on the island. The Sunchaser, however, was located right around the corner. Since Zeus wasn't affected by the siren either, perhaps there's something in the lyrics that affects immortals who rank lower than himself.
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Back in April, I observed the Spear manual scenes in “Whatever Happened” and noticed that “DT-87” and “DT-18” were mentioned. These are abbreviations for “DuckTales 1987”, the year the original series came out and “DuckTales 2018”, the year Season 2 premiered. The numbers “7-15”, “7-16”, “7-18” and “207” were also featured.
“207” as well as the other 7’s refer to “Whatever Happened”’s production code, so I figured 15, 16 and 18 were also referring to other Season 2 episodes that might relate to 7. So far, Episode 15, "The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee!" and Episode 16, "The Duck Knight Returns!", have provided things that could be leading up to why Della took the Spear and how it could have to do with the father. Launchpad was present in both episodes, and both shared some similar themes.
Episode 15 opens up with a thunderstorm storm. Gizmoduck is facing off against an evil scientist named Dr. Atmoz Fear, who's taking advantage of the storm by using one of his devices to manipulate the lightning. When he tries to zap Gizmoduck with it, it reminds me a bit of Gyro and his shrink ray in "Game Night".
After the villain is defeated, Fenton meets Gandra, someone else who also works in the scientific fields. Unlike Fenton, who's more professional with his work, she's more on the rebellious side. A similar thing can be said about Della and Launchpad when it comes to aviation.
Fenton schedules a science date with Gandra, but he's very hesitant to call it such. If Della took the Spear because she was trying to save the father and failed, I can see her being very hesitant about getting back into a romantic relationship.
On their way to pick up Gandra in the limo, Launchpad conversates with Fenton by going down a list of special someone’s he’s previously dated. A couple of mentions in this list caught my attention; the first being how Launchpad claims to have dated a clone of himself. I think this is a meta thing we aren't supposed to take seriously. Because...why would this be suggested if a legitimate clone of yourself is basically your twin sibling, your child or somewhere in-between that...? Maybe it’s just me, but he blinks rather oddly right after he says this. There's also a pause as he stops the limo and begins to furrow his brow. Either he’s thinking really hard about everyone he's dated or he's a bit confused to where these more weirder memories are coming from.
What makes it even harder to take this clone claim seriously is that this is the same character who thinks Fenton is an actual robot because of the Gizmo suit and who also confused someone for a yeti in “Neverrest”. The word "clone" does have a non-literal meaning, so if we consider this and break it down...LP previously dated another goofy pilot who tends to wear teal and green, has a positive outlook on life in spite of all the hardships they face, never gives up, loves adventure, loves family, and doesn't like the idea of being replaced...?
I’ve joked to myself in the past about Della sort of being a female version of Launchpad due to their colors and how they have a similar way about themselves. Della's character pre-dates Launchpad but she was never described as a fearless pilot until the "Family Ties" comic was released in 2014, twenty-seven years after DuckTales debuted. (This comic is where the reboot got its inspiration for Della's character and story arc.)
If LP really does have amnesia, he can’t remember Della as a person, so it would be easy for him to consider her as a copy of himself. Scrooge made it extremely difficult to get information about Della after she went missing so anything that Launchpad is emulating from her had to be based on knowledge prior to that point.
Another reason why this could be a sly reference to Della is because every time we get information about Launchpad’s love-life, we’re always given something that can be traced back to Della: Della isn’t a deadly ninja, but Ziyi’s situation in “Gander” involved her disappearing and possibly leaving her offspring behind. (I’m assuming Ziyi was being referred to due to the order of the list and being the only previously mentioned lover with an Asian background. Perhaps she has some Japanese origins as well as Chinese.) Della isn’t a forbidden mermaid, but Oceanika’s situation in “Depths” involved her calling out to Launchpad in a sing-song manner, wearing similar colors to both Launchpad and Della, and ended with Launchpad returning with a golden spear and trio of color-coded sea creatures that come from eggs. One of Launchpad’s lines in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” involved his true love giving him “eleven planes a-flying”. Regardless of how strange that statement was, it still planted the idea that there are two Launchpads, which technically, may be true persona-wise.
This may not count, but in the Theme Song Takeover, after Launchpad hits his head in the logo crash, he sees a larger version of himself outside of the window. Not only could this be referring to Launchpad being two people, but how the storm made him grow bigger than he was in the past.
The second mention in Launchpad’s list of lovers that caught my attention was the talking cloud of energy. Similarly to the pause after talking about a clone, he gets cut off right after he says this. A cloud of energy is basically a cloud full of lightning and that reminds me a lot of the cosmic storm. Since the cloud had the ability to talk, could this claim be based on a memory of Della trying to contact him while he was in the cosmic storm?
Fenton and Gandra’s date takes place at night in Gyro’s underwater lab. The moon is mentioned and it’s likeness is sort of shown through the string of lights used to decorate the room. Outside of the lab’s window is a starfish that is colored with a shade very close to Fenton’s purple shirt. He sits on the side of the table where the creature is located. The scenery is reminding me of the sea-space connections the show has been making. The starfish not only reminds me of stars in general but how the blue starfish attached to Launchpad at the end of “Depths” was a similar color to Della’s teal scarf. I’ve noted in another post that the starfish could have to do with Della because it also shares traits with Dewey and he’s constantly being compared to her, but what makes Della even more like the starfish is her ability to adapt. She lost her leg, but she was able to make a new one. Starfish can regenerate their limbs when they lose them.
When Fenton shows Gandra his Fentonium project, he described the invention as "An innovative generator from a mild-mannered source." If Launchpad has any electrical powers, this makes me wonder if they'll eventually be put to scientific use.
It’s later revealed that Gandra is a spy working for Waddle. Her main objective for going on a date with Fenton was to get him to say his Gizmoduck passcode to activate the nanite serum she made for Mark Beaks. For Gandra, the nanites gave her the power to deliver electrical shocks. For Mark, the nanites enhanced his body by giving him a muscular physique, a more prominent chin and gruffer voice to go with it.
After the secret plan unfurls, Fenton turns into Gizmoduck. He responds to Mark's mutation:
This reminds me a lot of the monster stuff in "Terror". I always feel weird when I try to make sense of that portion of the plot because I feel like I haven't figured it out yet, but something is definitely going on. Since that episode has aired, there have been multiple cases where a character is considered a physical or figurative monster and whether that makes them a good person or a bad person. And there's always an "M" alliteration tied to it:
- Mole Monster and McQuack in “Terror of The Terrafirmians!”
- "I can't believe my best friend is a mole monster..."
- "Wait...am I a mole monster? But I'm a good guy! Then that means...mole monster can also be good guys."
- Magica and Monster in “The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!”
- "They'll turn on you; call you a monster!
- “You’re the monster here!
And I know just the hunter to take you down...”
- Monstro and M’Ma in "Who Is Gizmoduck?!"
- "Eres un monstro, Diego!"
- Monster and Mitzi in "The Depths of Cousin Fethry!"
- "She's not a monster, she's a Mitzi!"
- Moon Mite and Mother in "Whatever Happened to Della Duck?!"
- “The mite isn't a monster, it's a mother!"
In an earlier post, I began to wonder if it would end up circling back to Launchpad since he's the one who started it. I thought maybe he'd feel like a monster in a figurative sense for accidentally abandoning his kids, but now it could also be something involving his genetic mutations. Maybe even a betrayal or theft of some sort since those concepts seem to be lingering in the background.
With all these M's going on and the high possibility of Launchpad's foreign names being used for Huey and Dewey, perhaps Launchpad's real name is Maxwell as in his Danish name, Max Motor. Joseph as in his Spanish name, Joe McQuack could also be another possibility. Since HDL went from more outlandish names to more plausible names, it's likely Launchpad's real name is something more standard.
When Fenton and Gandra make amends and try to come up with a way to stop Mega Beaks from wreaking any more havoc, Fenton points out that in spite of Mark's body being altered, he's still the same weak, ego-fuel person underneath those alterations. A similar thing can be said for Duke; even after he forgot about his Scottish persona, he was still Flintheart Glomgold and this became evident as he began to revert back into him.
When Mega Beaks is able to catch the Fentonium-laced paddle ball Fenton throws at him, he's amazed.
This is the second time someone's father was mentioned in the episode. Before the date, M'ma mentions Fenton's father when she gives her son his suit to wear. Perhaps Della has one of the father's belongings that she'll pass down to her sons too.
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Episode 16 was about two different people sharing the same alternative persona: Jim Starling as the original Darkwing Duck and Drake Mallard as the new one. Jim is outraged that he’s being replaced on a new Darkwing production after years of trying to make a comeback. Being disappointed by the gritty direction of the reboot, Launchpad sees Drake in a negative light and agrees to help Jim sabotage the movie. It was supposed to be for the greater good, but when Launchpad tries to go with the plan and lock Drake in his own trailer, his heroism is questioned. Drake isn’t a bad person and it turns out that he’s a huge Darkwing fan much like Launchpad himself. Was crushing the dreams of playing his childhood hero the right thing to do?
Once they find common ground, Launchpad devises a new plan where all three of them work together to help make a Darkwing Duck movie that new and old fans can enjoy. Unfortunately, Jim is too full of obsession and desperation to finally give the show a proper conclusion, that he becomes selfish. He ignores Drake when he tries to propose LP’s new idea to him and locks him away. He then refuses to follow the script and ends up destroying the movie set with his defiance. Drake soon breaks free and challenges Jim, leading Darkwing into fighting with himself. Launchpad tries to snap Jim out of it and remind him of the hero he’s supposed to be. While it does cause Jim to literally reflect on what he was becoming and helped him to save both Drake and Launchpad from the surging lightning tower before it exploded, it ultimately wasn’t enough. The one who was presumed to be bad turned out to be good, and the one who was presumed to be good, became bad, leaving Darkwing as both the hero and villain of his own story.
Ok, so, there’s a lot of identity struggle going on along with frustration over getting replaced after years of trying to get back into the spotlight. This seems like more supporting evidence that Launchpad will be faced with a situation where he’ll be confused about who he really is, but could this also be hinting that Della might go a little too far with her rivalry against Launchpad?
A lot of DW episodes so far seem to contain LP’s fear of being fired...but he’s considered honorary family; it’s hard to imagine Launchpad getting kicked out to take a permanent leave to St. Canard in this continuity. Launchpad wasn’t working for Scrooge in the original Darkwing Duck series because it took place in an alternate universe. Even with DW’s world integrated into the reboot, it’s still DuckTales at it’s base. It wouldn’t feel right for Launchpad to suddenly get removed from the main cast. I think similarly to Drake, Della will find some common ground with LP before anything is able to get out of hand.
When Dewey expresses his ideas to make the Darkwing film better, he mentions aliens, Megavolt and lightning towers. When Jim threatens to zap Alistair Boorswan with Megavolt's lightning ray, Launchpad steps in between them; willing to get hit to protect the director. Drake displays a high tolerance for pain as he survives a box of explosives going off, getting a piano dropped on him and getting zapped several times.
An artificial thunderstorm is created when Launchpad turns on the rain machine to stop the movie set from being on fire. When he delivers his speech about how heroic and important Darkwing Duck is as a character, he stands in front of one of the lightning towers. At the mention of the word "light", there's an upsurge of power as the camera pans from Launchpad to the top of the tower. The structure sends sparks everywhere, but Launchpad is completely unfazed by this and continues his speech.
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A tattered image of the moon and a starry sky hangs in the background as this is going on... could this scene be proving that Launchpad has some degree of electrical manipulation? Is it only evident when he's extremely passionate about something? If this was purely the result of the rain machine being activated, wouldn't it have taken a much shorter time for the lightning tower to react?
When Jim and Drake notice the lightning tower is growing unstable, they both run towards Launchpad to save him. In a hassle to be heroic again, Jim pushes both of his fans out of the way and suffers from the explosion. The rescuer is believed to be dead but he's alive and takes on a new persona: Negaduck. The event figuratively turns him into a monster.
So, there's a rescue, an electrical based event, survival from that event, a re-branding of oneself and someone is considered a monster. If Launchpad truly is responsible for blowing up the tower, he's the one who "killed" Jim. Drake blames himself, kinda like how everyone blames Della for the Spear incident when it could have been due to her going after Launchpad.
This episode made me realize a loose pattern that seems to be going on with two similar character that rival each other. One pretty much stays consistent (Scrooge, Lena, Drake), while the other goes through a major change that emulates the other (Glomgold, Violet, Jim). There’s usually an event and or a disappearance tied to their change (Scrooge’s Africa visit, the Shadow War, the tower explosion). The changed character is seen negatively and could be considered a monster. And at some point, one of the rivaling characters realize that the other has a significant connection to their past (The money clip, the amulet, the table signing).
I think Della and Launchpad could be following this pattern too. As noted by Scrooge in “Nothing Can” and “Raiders of The Doomsday Vault!”, Della’s hasn’t really changed at her base. Thus, making Launchpad the one who has most likely gone through a major change. Launchpad was established as Della’s double when she considered him to be her replacement and views him negatively. We know for sure that one of them went missing during an event and there’s enough potential hinting to suggest that they have a significant connection in their past.
Another number featured in the Spear’s manual was “800”. I couldn't figure out what it could mean at the time, but it could stand for "Friendship Hates Magic!". WDTV press has it listed as Episode 8 in order of production. This episode featured concepts of taking a dangerous risk to bringing someone back from the unknown, Launchpad bonding with a co-worker, possibly displaying one of his special abilities, hinting towards “Duck Knight” and the idea of someone who was thought of as being gone but they’ve actually been hanging around this whole time. When Lena is back to her solid form, Launchpad appears soon after the magical clouds of smoke begin to clear.
The number 17 is missing in the sequence that was highlighted in the manual. Perhaps there's something secretive about Episode 17. Or maybe the plot could be dealing with something or someone that’s missing. It could be when the family realizes Donald is missing or how his jail time is going on the Moon. It could also be something regarding the father; like Della opening up to the boys about him. I guess it could mean that this episode isn’t relevant to Episode 7, but that feels a bit less likely.
In my next post, I'm going to discuss how the arrangement of a scene can give us subtle hints about the future; starting with a closer look at Donald's family photo wall.
Are you up for even more reading? Continue here.
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