Launchpad’s Association with Della Duck: Possible Hints?
I think the show could be indirectly hinting on their relationship. The show is already indirectly hinting at other relationships through other characters. An example of this is how Huey and Dewey are being used to subtly say things about Donald and Della’s siblinghood. Another being how Webby and Lena’s friendship is hinting that Magica may have played a part in Della’s disappearance. This show if full of symbolism and loves to make you second guess things. If something very peculiar takes place in a story or when a character says/does something that really stands out to you, chances are, there’s some importance behind it that will become meaningful later. Here are some things that stood out to me. A lot of them could easily be passed off as humor or just LP being eccentric, but I think they might be worth paying attention to:
- I'm pretty sure all of us were completely caught off guard by Launchpad's side quest in “House of The Lucky Gander!” A lot of us were starting to think that the reboot made him too dumb after the way he acted in “Terror of The Terra-firmians!” and were worried about how he was going to be handled in the future. This episode showed us that Launchpad isn't entirely meant to be comic relief. It showed us that there's a different side to him that no one knows about. (And when Dewey asked him about it, he just brushed it off as “tourist stuff”) We learned that he can be serious and determined. We also learned he was previously in a romantic relationship with a mysterious woman named Ziyi.
- When Launchpad returned to the Sunchaser, it seemed to be implied that he wasn't able to find her in time or that she went off somewhere before he could say goodbye. So, basically...his (ex)girlfriend went missing? A female character with a (possible) connection to Launchpad went missing? Was Ziyi and her fate alluding to Della and her disappearance? And could the local crime family he was fighting against represent the De Spells? F.O.W.L? Perhaps some form of “unicorn Illuminati” like Dewey mentioned in “The Great Dime Chase”?
- Thinking about the possible symbolism going on, I wondered what the baby panda could possibly mean. At first glance, it seems to suggest that Ziyi was a panda or that she came from a community with pandas in it, but maybe it could be saying something about Launchpad. He was carrying it on his back. It was something that he had to...well, bear. So, I did some research and tried to see how this information could apply to the situation. The articles I looked through highlighted the panda’s strong, fierce, yet gentle, nature. They symbolize qualities such as having a powerful sense of determination, having a positive outlook on life, being comfortable with oneself and tending to get lost in a world of their own happiness. One of the webpages I looked at heightened how pandas appear to seem harmless, but in reality, are very dangerous creatures. This tells us that the panda can also symbolize how you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
- Something else the baby panda could represent is an impairment. A common quality that showed up is how pandas represent slowing down, conserving energy, waiting patiently; just putting a pause on things. Since the panda was on his back, along with many arrows piercing his armor, this could be alluding to something preventing him from reaching Della in time before she disappeared.
- Since the panda was a baby, another possible thing this could symbolize is Launchpad being HDL’s father. One of the first things I think of when I think of pandas is how difficult it for them to reproduce in captivity and how ecstatic zoos are when they’re able to successfully breed them. Pandas often give birth to twins, a type of multiple birth. One of the sources in my research about panda symbolism mentioned bears being an important element of feng shui, a Chinese philosophy about harmonizing oneself with their environment. The bear represents masculinity, protection and displaying its image in the home serves as an aid in helping parents to produce male children.
- Dewey is a major key in finding out any information about Della. The variant cover for Issue 3 of the new DT comics confirmed that Dewey reminds Scrooge and Donald of Della. If LP had any sort of anything with Della, there's no doubt he reminds him of her too. So far, we haven't seen much Launchpad and Dewey interaction, but LP already considers him as his best friend. The fact that Dewey echos LP’s statement about being his best friend in “Terror of The Terra-firmians!”, emphasizes that this is important. They share similarities in their personalities with each other and with Della: They’re impulsive, daring, adventurous, fun-loving, kind of oblivious, determined, hard-working and they all have this undying love for aerospace.
- In “The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks!” Dewey introduces himself as “future astronaut-president”. Also, the plot for the second story in Issue #5 of the new DT comics involves Dewey becoming Scrooge’s next pilot after LP makes a mistake.
- There are actually multiple depictions of Dewey showing an appreciation for aerospace outside of the reboot. Not sure if this was done on purpose as a running gag/inside joke sort of thing (or if it was something that was always part of his character) but I think the DT crew picked up on that and tied it into the show.
- Both LP and Dewey want to prove themselves. Dewey suffers from middle-child syndrome; he doesn't want to simply be clumped with his brothers. He wants to be recognized; he wants to stand out. (Dewey even goes through this is the old episode “The Duck In The Iron Mask”. I’m pretty sure that’s where a lot of Reboot!Dewey’s personality stemmed from.) In the original series, Launchpad left home as a teenager because he felt like a disappointment to his family. He wants to prove that there’s more to him than constantly messing up all the time. This makes me wonder if Della may have been the stand-out twin of the pair. She kind of was based on how Scrooge seemed to favor her more in comparison to Donald, but I wonder if she may have suffered from something similar to Dewey and LP that motivated her to take action.
- In the beginning of “Woo-oo!” we learn that Dewey has the ability to hijack a boat. We find out later that Della and LP are mechanics. In the episode “Terror of the Terri-firmians!” Launchpad repairs a broken subway train and in the third issue of IDW's DuckTales comics, there's a story called "Beware of the Phenomenal Pumpkin People!" where Della has to make repairs to The Sunchaser.
- Like Della and Dewey, Launchpad has space connections too. It’s in his name alone: a launching pad is a platform in which rockets and missiles can be shot into the atmosphere. He has even been involved in a few space-related episodes in the old DT series and DWD. Dewey and LP are more than likely going to work together to bring Della back. They may use their mechanical skills to steal or create a spacecraft or something. (And speaking of which, “Launchpad” might not even be his real name, seems a lot more like a nickname. Like, why would you actually name your child after that? That’s like giving Donald a son named “Anchor”. wat
- Adding on to the similar traits Launchpad shares with Della and Dewey, he also shares a couple traits in his design with the other triplets:
- Huey→ Wears a baseball cap
- Louie→ Wears green
Two things that were never a part of his design until the reboot.
- Della and LP have other shared traits with HDL that seem to be split in half from Dewey. Della is more on the Huey-Dewey side; she loves to read and has a deep appreciation for cultures, geology and astronomy. Launchpad is more on the Dewey-Louie side; Louie and him both have an easygoingness about themselves. Louie was deeply influenced by Gladstone, but who’s to say that quality didn't stem from LP? As the show persists, could we find out that LP is a bit of a smooth talker himself? He would have to be to maintain a job as a spy. Could he also be shown to be a good liar? He did help Louie and Webby convince Mrs. Beakley about Uncle Hampus.
- Something extremely interesting I've realized is that Della not only seems like the missing link between Dewey and LP personality-wise, but color-wise as well. The shade of blue-green Della wears is more on the blue side, the dominant shade of blue-green LP wears is closer to the green side. And of course, Dewey is a solid blue. When put in order, there’s a slow transition with Della in the center of it.
- The more Dewey hangs out with Launchpad, the more we’ll find out about his mysterious past and the more we could find out about Della.
- When Donald & Mrs.Beakley are arguing over house rules in “Daytrip of Doom!”, they angrily get up in each other’s faces and Louie says “Wait, are they gonna kiss?” and the kids get grossed out. Not only was this unexpected and hilarious, it was really...really...weird to even joke about shipping the two. So I observed the situation some more and came to the conclusion: What if Donald and Mrs. Beakley paralleled their co-workers...in reverse? That in itself seemed like a weird thing to theorize, but there seems to be a pattern going on with their groups:
Donald and Mrs. Beakley → Della and Launchpad
- One short male, one tall female → One short female, one tall male
- The short male is related to Scrooge, the tall female isn't→ The short female is related to Scrooge, the tall male isn't
- These two are strict → These two are lenient
- These two are the most grounded literally and figuratively → These two are more out there literally and figuratively
- These two have different occupations → These two work in the same field
- These two possibly lost someone close to them (outside of the pair) → These two possibly lost each other (inside of the pair)
- These two wear completely different colors → These two wear similar colors
- These two have clashing personalities → These two have mashing personalities
- These two are farther in age → These two are closer in age
- See where I’m going with this? Certain elements for Donald and Mrs. B seem to match up with Della and Launchpad in a reversed type of way. I think it’s pretty safe to say Donald and Mrs. B will never kiss. (She IS Mrs. Beakley and Disney would never allow Donald to officially date anyone else but Daisy. She’s been confirmed for the reboot. Plus, that age gap? oh deer.) So, according to the pattern...could we expect a similar scene where Della and Launchpad kiss…? I mean, if Launchpad truly has been trying to get back to Della this whole time, they're gonna do more than just hug.
- This one had me shook: In the beginning of “The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra!”, Dewey hopes that they’ll find mummies in the pyramid. This could definitely be an allusion to how he wants to find his mother and everything pertaining to her. A little bit later, Launchpad jokes “Hey, if those are mummies, I’d hate to see daddies; am I right?”
- ...I know he’s supposed to be a humorous character ‘n’ all, but considering the possible allusion being made with Dewey and the high chance of Launchpad being the father...that sounded really questionable! He even tries to say it again, to emphasize it, and Scrooge shuts him up! This is very reminiscent of how Scrooge dismisses LP every time he tries to talk to him about his personal life. In the episodes we've seen so far, everything LP tries to say before he gets interrupted has always meant something important later on. Dewey could have easily been chosen to say this joke, but it was Launchpad who made it. Something’s gotta be there...
- I was hesitating to mention this one, but no, I have to now: Something interesting I've noticed about The Sunchaser is that there's a hula girl bobble figure on the dashboard. In the comic, "Beware of the Phenomenal Pumpkin People!", it gives us a panel of Della piloting from inside of the plane. The bobble figure is nowhere to be seen on the dashboard. But in the "Happy, Happy Valley!" comic of the fourth issue, a story that takes place within the time frame of the show, the bobble figure is present. Scrooge had The Sunchaser (or Sunchasers? Louie claims Scrooge has a fleet of them in the second story.) in storage for a decade. So how did the bobble figure get there? Did that comic book artist just forget to draw it in the earlier story? ...Or did Launchpad put it there? If it's his, did he place it there in honor of Della? Is he using it as a motivator? To remind him why he's involved with the McDuck family in the first place? If the hula girl wasn't there prior to him accessing the plane, LP added it during the time Scrooge was trying to stop Pixiu from destroying his Money Bin. Why did he feel like it was so important to place the figure there during such an urgent moment? (AND decide to have a wardrobe change?!)
- While on the subject about the plane, here’s one I found by accident: I was doing a Google Images search for a picture of Della’s dedication room on my phone, but I couldn't get one. I decided to settle on a screenshot of her portrait from the room instead. When I selected it, this is what showed up in the Related Images:
Never before have I realized how similar these two scenes looked! Two bird pilots, wearing similar colors, with a plane, smiling at the viewer, in front of a sunset sky? I can’t help but believe these were meant to parallel each other.
- Here’s a quick one: In “Woo-oo!”, when Huey directed Launchpad to nosedive towards the money bin, he responds “Yes, sir, random kid I just met!”. This was funny to me right of the bat because of how complicated it sounded and how fast it was delivered. But thinking about it a bit more, it sounded like he was trying really hard to stress that hasn't met Huey before. It feels like a line that will become important later; like the “Dewey will be the death of you!” line from the second half of the special. To be fair, LP’s response could have just been a reference to the fact that they've already met in the previous show.
- After further inspection, I’m kinda doubting the latter half of this one but I’ll mention it anyway because I thought what I came up with was interesting. Skip if you want: The whole point of “Terror of the Terrifirmians!” was to question Lena’s motives and for her to question them herself. Is she really all that bad? Does what she want to accomplish truly make her a monster? It also displays tragic irony. Everyone was suspicious of the other; Beakley to Lena, the Terrifirmians to the ducks and Launchpad to Dewey. Two of those groups find out in the end that there was no need to be afraid of each other, but the true threat was still in their midst.
- Launchpad’s suspicions were the most ridiculous of the bunch, but could there actually end up being something deeper to his fear? While trying to figure that out, I suddenly thought: what if there’s something meta going on? What if this was a way of showing LP kinda senses Dewey’s relation to Della and he’s afraid that he might be his father? Could the mole monsters be a metaphor for relatedness? (Mole monsters can be anyone. Anyone can be related to anyone.)
- Why moles of all things? I tried to see if I could find some sort of match to the situation and I found that female mole are the only ones who show parental behavior to their young. Della was the only parent present in HDL’s lives. Moles also can have a litter of 2-7 babies. The amount of children Della had fit within that range. Female moles separate themselves from their children before they’re fully grown. Della was separated from HDL when they were babies.
- Launchpad later reflects on whether he, himself is a mole monster and whether it’s a bad thing or not. He then comes to acceptance and proudly calls Dewey a part of his family. Towards the end of the episode, Mrs. Beakley dismisses Launchpad’s foolishness and tells him he’s not a mole monster, but Beakley is very literal. Would she really know if LP wasn’t HDL’s father? They just started working together not so long ago.
- Eh, like I said, I’m still a bit unsure about that one. I guess it was just the fact that LP accused Dewey of something. (What possible reason could LP be wary about Dewey at this point that could actually have weight to it?) Maybe I sensed some importance, but I interpreted it wrong. Perhaps a more likely factor that could have caused Launchpad to react the way he did, could be because he had a bad encounter with something similar to mole monsters during one of his past adventures. He might have a hard time distinguishing fantasy from reality because he’s experienced a lot of crazy things.
- This one’s from outside of the show. It’s hard for me to place, but it raises a lot of questions: At Tokyo Disneyland Resort, there’s a home shop called Villa Donaldo that is decorated with a lot of duck-related artwork. Behind the cash register hangs one of the best Disney Duck paintings of all time.
I’ll give you a moment.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
- Isn't it gorgeous? So many Duckverse characters in one spot! I couldn't believe my eyes when I first stumbled upon a picture of it while browsing through Instagram. But what I really got me, was the very left part of the painting: Launchpad...and Della...sitting next to each other? In OFFICIAL artwork?! With HDL in front of their table?! What’s this all about?! Out of all the seating combinations, what made the artist(s) want them next to each other in the painting? Did they know LP and Della are both pilots? Did they just look nice next to each other? Did someone legitimately think they were a couple? Whatever the deal is behind this decision, it’s likely that the showrunners are aware of this painting and drew inspiration from it. (Delpad stuff aside, why is Gosalyn there? Ha, did someone think she was their kid too? And why did they color LP and Gyro’s hair white??)
That’s enough analyzing for now. If you've made it this far, thank you for caring about what I have to say about this theory; I’m really passionate about this one. (Would you believe me if I told you I was very reluctant to consider Delpad being a thing when the show started?) A lot of people are saying that Della and Launchpad don’t have any sort of connection. That they just have the same occupation and nothing else. And people are also arguing that since the two haven’t been on screen together, they haven’t met. But there’s way too much potential here! The fact that they’re both pilots should be a reason why they could have a connection! If you were rebooting DuckTales and wanted to incorporate Della in it, wouldn't Launchpad be the first thing to come to mind when you find out what her profession is? Why wouldn't the show runners realize this and not want to do something with it? This show is too deep to gloss over a huge opportunity like this.
LP is constantly getting downplayed inside and outside of the show. Have you ever noticed how official descriptions don’t elaborate much aside him being Scrooge’s dim-witted pilot? They’re concealing information! They’re building him up for something great and this could be it. The idea of Launchpad being a father is not only extremely amusing to me, but also adds a lot of interesting layers to his character and increases his relevance ten-fold. It would be pretty neat to see him, the funny guy that no one expects much from, to get that kind of development. Ha, the idea of the dad being there the whole time would be crazy...None of the characters are looking or asking about dad but there he is: hidden in plain sight! Dewey and Launchpad...being on the same mission...and not even knowing it! Can you imagine?!
Another reason why this theory usually gets such a negative reaction among fans is because of Launchpad not delivering on his end. (And fear that the “Dadnald” concept will be threatened. I want to discuss that in dept sometime in the future.) He seems too childish and reckless, but as the show goes on, I think we might be able to expect LP becoming more and more capable of becoming HDL’s father. We've seen one secret side to him, there could be many more we still haven’t seen yet.
TL:DR: Don’t sleep on Launchpad McQuack. He’s important.
Additional Sources:
Panda Symbolism
Mole Info
___________________________________________________________________________________
Comments
Post a Comment