Since launching nearly two years ago in August 2017 fans were quick to speculate if the reboot of Ducktales would lead to the reboot of some of it’s spinoff shows such as Talespin & Darkwing Duck. Evidence was very heavy for at least one such reboot being a realistic possibility and that was of course Darkwing Duck. After the recent episode “The Duck Knight Returns!” (named after the comic arc of the same name) it’s now more clear than ever that Disney has big plans for the purple & black clad superhero.

Ducktales is a 2017 reboot of the 1987 serious of the same name, it is developed & produced by Disney Television Animation and second 2 is currently airing with new episodes on weekdays at Disney Channel.

Editor’s Note: Major spoilers for “The Duck Knight Returns” and minor spoilers for Darkwing Duck’s previous appearances in Ducktales are present within this article. 

Since really season one of the Ducktales reboot the creative team were quick to sprinkle about references to previous series connected to the McDuck family and their many adventures. But one prominent reference that always stuck out and felt more long-term was all the nods to Darkwing Duck. Initially starting off as a bit of a wink and a “hey remember this!?” here and there the references began to slowly evolve into something much bigger. It all started when the new Ducktales universe revealed that Darkwing Duck is actually a classic kids cartoon show that faithful McDuck pilot/driver/crash artist Launchpad McQuack is a huge fan of. The show is of course cancelled, but it’s so old now that reruns don’t even air on TV. Instead Launchpad has to resort to VHS tapes of the series for his viewing pleasure. After introducing it to the Duck kids they all fell in love with it (even Mrs. Beakley eventually), all except Dewey of course. Several scenes featuring classic Darkwing Duck villains were included throughout Ducktales run and one episode even hosts the ending theme song in nearly it’s TV size entirety. 

But what makes “The Duck Knight Returns!” so different from previous efforts which reintroduced Darkwing Duck is the fact that the episode is 100% dedicated to the character. So much so that most of the focus relies on heavily on Launchpad (of course) and the two actors portraying Darkwing Duck; the classic TV actor named Jim Starling (who may or not not be a tribute to Darkwing voice actor Jim Cummings and comic book creator Jim Starlin), and Drake Mallard the up and coming movie star who plays Darkwing in a more dark and gritty film remake being produced within the series. Dewey and Scrooge (who owns the film studio making the movie) are the only members of the McDuck clan present in the episode. Initially the episode has Starling and Launchpad teaming up to stop production of the movie as both dislike the less than tasteful take the director has on the character. Starling’s obsession with returning to stardom eventually leads him a dark road where he’s willing to do anything to play the role in front of a camera again. Meanwhile, Launchpad comes to realize that Mallard the film’s lead actor is almost as big of a Darkwing Duck fan as he is and they ultimately bond. With Mallard agreeing that the film should be changed after remembering how much the Duck Knight touched his heart as a kid. 

Starling’s ever quickening descent into darkness leads him to invade the set during shooting while masquerading as Mallard after knocking out a couple of guards. This ends up causing a huge fire on set and Mallard (in costume) and Launchpad team up to save everyone in the studio. Starling’s obsession with stardom blinds him from the danger surrounding him and he attacks Mallard in very “show must go on” fashion”. Mallard refuses to back down and tries to talk some sense into Starling, he seemingly gets through to him after a speech from Launchpad about true heroism (which was mostly ignored) and a hard look at himself. One of the set props near Launchpad is about to explode which would likely result in his death and Mallard & Starling race to his aide with Starling making the sacrificial leap to save him. After commending Starling’s seeming final heroic act Launchpad convinces Mallard to dawn the Duck Knight persona for real after displaying his talents as a real hero, which Mallard agrees. Things take a turn when we pan to a shot of the sewers and a surviving Starling muttering to himself about everything being a set up for Mallard to hog all the glory at the risk of his number one fan. He ends his dialogue with “they want dark and gritty? happy to play the part!” as he laughs maniacally when his costume reveals a yellow and black color scheme (hello Negaduck!) to end the episode.  

So the way I see it “The Duck Knight Returns” ultimately had one of two purposes to serve; 1. Negaduck is the main villain of season 3 (which was recently ordered), 2. this was a backdoor pilot to see how strong support of a reboot of Darkwing Duck is. When you consider the lack of McDuck characters the latter seems like a stronger bet, but it’s entirely possible they could use season 3 to further grow support of a Darkwing reboot. Usually when studios are gearing up for spinoffs they have a single episode or arc dedicated to the character or characters they want spun off, but what makes the Ducktales handling of Darkwing Duck so fantastic is the fact that the team went with the slow burn appeal with getting the con crowds hyped with trailers and what not featuring the character’s upcoming appearances. Each reference got longer and more detailed & articulate over time, so someone on the Ducktales writing staff or at Disney is a huge fan of the character. And I mean come on, obviously they know people want a reboot after how well the Ducktales reboot was handled creatively. Time will tell what the future holds for Darkwing Duck, but if “The Duck Knight Returns” is any indication it’s looking bright for the purple hero.