A Disney character in a regular cartoon series by the same name. Darkwing Duck was something of an amalgam of The Scarlet Pimpernel and Batman. He had a secret base in a bridge tower above the city of St. Canard. He fought all manner of evil doers. He was rather egotistical and had many overly dramatic entrances.

On a personal note: despite the fact that I am in my early twenties the Paddywhack episode, The Haunting of Mr. Banana Brain, still gives me nightmares now and again.

i loved this series incredibly... it was one of those that would consistently make fun of itself.

to be honest, darkwing duck was mostly batman. he had a ton of self-made gadgets, he basically worked solo, he made camp in a spooky, impressive gothic tower in a spooky, impressive gothic city... and he was pretty moody. but he had a lot of inspector gadget in him too. because of his huge ego he wasn't terribly good at fighting crime, and had to rely on his sidekicks, launchpad mcquack from ducktales and adopted daughter goslin.

like batman, the best part about this show was the constant influx of misunderstood villains with tortured souls and really cool superpowers.

I am the terror that flaps in the night...

Darkwing Duck's trademark saying is of course "I am the terror that flaps in the night". This is then followed by an equally pithy and generally humorous followup, which tends to be somehow applicable to the episode. A number of them betray the show's intellectual side, such as the one about the supernova at the center of the universe. A (possibly partial) list follows.

• I am the auditor who wants to look at your books
• I am the batteries that aren't included
• I am the blown fuse that blacks you out
• I am the bubble gum that sticks in your hair
• I am the bubble gum that sticks to your shoe
• I am the burned out bulb you can not reach
• I am the butter that burns in your pan
• I am the cat that should be let out of the bag
• I am the check that overdraws your account
• I am the check writer in the cash only lane
• I am the chill that runs up your spine
• I am the clock cleaner who will ring your chimes
• I am the cloud that rains on your hit parade
• I am the cold sore that stings your lips
• I am the combination lock on the vault of justice
• I am the current of vengeance gurgling through your sewer
• I am the editor that cuts your scene
• I am the editor that leaves you on the cutting room floor
• I am the fast food that comes back to haunt you
• I am the feathery phantom that haunts your nightmares
• I am the fingernail that scrapes the chalkboard of your soul
• I am the flea you cannot flick
• I am the ghost of a chance that you don't have
• I am the grade curve that gives you an 'F'
• I am the hairball that clogs your drain
• I am the hair in the lens of your projector
• I am the ham radio operator that scrambles your reception
• I am the headache in the criminal mind
• I am the Heimlich maneuver for the choking victims of crime
• I am the hero that every culture needs
• I am the icky bug that crawls up your trouser leg
• I am the ingrown toenail in your paddy pumps
• I am the ingrown toenail on the foot of crime
• I am the itch you can not reach
• I am the jackal that gnaws at your bones
• I am the jailer who throws away the key
• I am the limestone that petrifies your bones
• I am the little mouse that eats your cheese
• I am the lollipop that sticks in your hair
• I am the low point in your sine wave
• I am the low rating that cancels your program
• I am the metal key on the sardine can of justice
• I am the meter on the taxicab of justice
• I am the moth that seeks your porch light
• I am the muddy shoes that track the linoleum of crime
• I am the neurosis that requires a $500 an hour shrink
• I am the number ninety sunblock that'll stop your burn
• I am the onion that stings in your eyes
• I am the original Mr. Fix-it
• I am the paper cut that ruins your morning
• I am the parking meter that expires while you shop
• I am the pebble in the shoe of ignominy
• I am the pencil that breaks from signing too many autographs
• I am the pimple that forms before a really big date
• I am the pin that will burst your bubble
• I am the pit bull that bites the ankle of crime
• I am the plot twist in the second reel
• I am the principal you are sent to see
• I am the pustulus blister that bursts in your boot
• I am the quality time that ruins your play time
• I am the raspberry seed you can't floss out
• I am the repairman who tells you your warranty just ran out
• I am the rhinestones on the jump suit of justice
• I am the rust in the pipes of crime
• I am the sandtrap on the fairway of evil
• I am the schnauzer that digs up your petunias
• I am the scrubbing bubble to criminal scum
• I am the single career man all women want to date
• I am the slug that slimes your begonias
• I am the smoke that smokes smoked oysters
• I am the soap scum that lines your bathtub
• I am the special news bulletin that interrupts your favorite show
• I am the spinach that sticks in your teeth
• I am the squeaky stair that gives away your presence
• I am the squashed bug on your flying saucer windshield
• I am the stain that can't be rubbed out
• I am the substantial and inescapable penalty for early withdrawal
• I am the supernova at the center of the universe
• I am the surprise in your cereal box
• I am the switch that derails your train
• I am the $10 service charge on all returned checks
• I am the termite that devours your floor boards
• I am the thing that goes bump in the night
• I am the tube of cadmium yellow that's impossible to open
• I am the water balloon that lands right on your head
• I am the weedwhacker in the garden of evil
• I am the weirdo that sits next to you on the bus
• I am the widget missing from the easy to assemble swing set
• I am the winged scourge that pecks at your nightmares
• I am the wrong number that wakes you at 3:00 a.m.
• I am the zit that forms when you got a really big date
• mcc says re darkwing duck: the one i always liked was "I am.. out of my signature blue smokebombs :(" (said while stepping out of a pink cloud)

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References:

Webpage: I am the terror that flaps in the night.... (http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/1191/terror.html)

History and Synopsis:

Drake Mallard (aka: Darkwing Duck) was a typical duck in the metropolis of St. Canard. During the day he lived a normal life with no job or seemingly accountable source of income, but at night he was Darkwing Duck, protector of all that is good and just. Then one day through a series of unlikely circumstances, a precocious 9 year-old orphan named Gossalyn, and a hard-to-lose oddball named Launchpad McQuack crossed his path. Shortly there after Drake became the adoptive father of Gosalyn, and Launchpad would become his bungling sidekick. Darkwing kept his crime-fighting alter ego secret from everyone but Launchpad, even to his own daughter, which would provide for many thorny instances as he routinely had to save her from danger.

The show was a spin off of the popular Duck Tales (Launchpad’s original home). It premiered on The Disney Channel in April of 1991, then moved to ABC and syndication concurrently. Within a year the show was made exclusively for The Disney Afternoon, replacing the Adventures of the Gummi Bears. It proved to be a huge hit and supplied a much-needed fresh anchor for The Disney Afternoon, because Duck Tales was losing steam. An impressive 91 episodes were created, and the show ran until 1995.

Voices:
Darkwing Duck (Drake Mallard)/Negaduck – Jim Cummings
Launchpad McQuack – Terry McGovern
Gosalyn – Cathy Cavadini, Christine Cavanaugh

Lenberg, Jeff. All from The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. 2nd ed.
New York, NY: Checkmark Books, 1999.

Darkwing Duck is the title of a video game developed by Capcom for the NES in 1991. Released at the height of DW's popularity, the game was a standard platformer for its day and followed in the footsteps of other Capcom games based on Disney licenses, such as Duck Tales and Rescue Rangers. In fact, I would not be surprised if the engine from this game was reused for Duck Tales 2. The game opens with a menu screen where Launchpad McQuack briefs Darkwing on the various levels available. Three are available from the start of the game: QuackerJack at the bridge, Liquidator in the sewer, and Wolfduck in the city. Choosing a level flies DW in the Thunderquack jet to his destination. After defeating QuackerJack, Liquidator, and Wolfduck, the next three levels become available: MegaVolt at the dock, Moliarty in the tower, and Bushroot in the forest. Defeating these three opens up the final level, F.O.W.L headquarters where Steelbeak awaits.

The controls are fairly basic: A button jumps, the B button fires a shot from the gas gun, the control pad moves Darkwing around (including Down for a ducking motion, no pun intended), while Up on the pad raises DW's cape to act as a shield. The gas gun can fire unlimited normal shots, but by collecting special gas canisters the gun can shoot special shots, such as two diagonal lightning bolts, an rock-type shot that fires in an arc, or an arrow that can act as a stepping stone (such as the Super Arrow item in Mega Man 5). Pressing Select swaps between the normal shot and the special shot. Each level has two hidden bonus rounds that are found by shooting a special place with a normal shot. Hitting this hidden target reveals a "GO" icon, and touching it whisks DW into the secret level. The items found in these levels include diamonds and gold bars (for points), gas canisters, health, and 1-ups. These items are obtained by opening up falling containers without falling into the pit in the center of the screen.

The graphics and audio are standard for an early-1990s NES Capcom game, although each character from the TV show has their special animations included, such as Darkwing's "I am the terror..." entrance into a level. Aside from the main theme song, no music from the cartoon has been included and the music is somewhat memorable but repetitive. Overall Darkwing Duck is an enjoyable yet by-the-numbers game. There are no surprises and the replay value is minimal. The game did spawn a Game Boy port in 1992, although today both are rare finds. Check your favorite local video game store or Internet auctions for a copy if you are so inclined.