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Launchpad McQuack (2017)

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2017


“ Whoo-crashed it! ”

– Launchpad

Launchpad McQuack is one of the nine protagonists in DuckTales 2017. He is based on his original version from DuckTales 1987 and Darkwing Duck.

Description

Launchpad is a fearless and big-hearted guy who works for Scrooge McDuck, initially as his limo driver and later as his air and submarine pilot. Launchpad may not be a Carl Barks original character, but he is still an endearing friend to the McDuck family as well as the show.

Personality

A loyal employee of McDuck Enterprises, Launchpad also serves as a loyal friend to the McDuck family. He is fearless and always up for anything which suits well as Scrooge's drivers. Launchpad isn't the brightest; he acts on instinct and learns on the go. Though even through some misadventures and mistakes, he always keeps a positive attitude, and this is shown in "Woo-oo!" when he was bitten by snakes and remained calm and positive throughout the ordeal. And even when things are going wrong he is determined to make things right and be there some others as seen in "Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!". Launchpad is very kind and friendly he always there to help others like in "Woo-oo!" when Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby need to help Scrooge defeat a flying golden dragon. Launchpad offers himself as a pilot the Sunchaser, to rescue Scrooge even though he didn't know them well at the time, he still wished to help. In "Day of the Only Child!", Launchpad is shown to be oblivious when he could see past the Beagle Boys' disguises. And he shows to get easily distracted, this often interferes with his driving, which is shown in many occasions like in "Sky Pirates...in the Sky!" where Launchpad is intrigued by Don Karnage and his musical performance. Even though he is not smart, he has a pure heart and is a true hero.

Skills and Abilities

  • Driving Skills: Without truly getting the training Launchpad is an "okay" driver. He often crashes but besides being a "driver" Launchpad is a team player.
  • Tolerance for injuries: He can crash airplanes and not get injured.
  • He apparently speaks Swedish, as shown in Woo-oo!
  • Resourceful Repairment Skills: Although his experiences with flying appear extremely crash-centric, in "The Golden Armory of Cornelius Coot!" he proves to Della his out-of-the-box maintenance methods actually work.
  • Musical Abilities: He is shown to be good at playing the piano in the episode "Last Christmas!", where he played the 12 days of Christmas, with the rest of the family. He can also play the saxophone, as seen in Quack Pack! (although, that may have been under the influence of Gene's magic)

Relationships

Scrooge McDuck

Launchpad is a devoted employee of McDuck Enterprises and prides his job as Scrooge's chauffeur. He not only views Scrooge as his boss but also somewhat of a father figure as shown in "Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!".

Donald Duck

Even though Donald and Launchpad never really hang out, Launchpad is very friendly towards him, even though he took his boat without asking in "Jaw$!". But still treats him kindly, Launchpad as shares that he likes his fashion sense in "The Shadow War!".

Huey Duck

Launchpad has serves Huey as his friends and his Junior Woodchuck trooper as shown in "Day of the Only Child!". Huey has shown to judge Launchpad because he is dim behavior this is seen in "Sky Pirates...in the Sky!" where Huey assists Launchpad to return home in one piece.

Dewey Duck

Launchpad considers Dewey as his best friend, shown favoritism towards Dewey that on an occasion he refers to Huey and Louie as "Dewey's brothers." In "Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!", the two of them hang out together, and Launchpad introduces Dewey to his favorite TV show, Darkwing Duck. Launchpad also asks fashion advice from Dewey. In "Jaw$!", it's shown that Launchpad is protective of him. When Dewey gets eaten by Tiffany, Launchpad wakes up in the middle of the night because he senses his best friend is in danger and takes Donald's houseboat to the Money Bin to rescue Dewey. In "Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!" Launchpad with his smart persona manages to save Dewey from getting hit by an Intelli-Ray gun F.O.W.L. agent Steelbeak was planning to use on him and the entire city of Duckburg. However, once the Sate-lighthouse is equipped with the ray gun and prepared to blast, Launchpad realizes the only way to save Dewey and the city is to sacrifice the intelligence he had just attained. Originally, Launchpad feels conflicted because he believes he could only be good enough for Dewey with his new abilities, but when Dewey states he's already good enough for him and his best friend, Launchpad willingly hangs in front of the ray and reverts back to his normal self.

Webby Vanderquack

Even though they don't interact or hang out much, they make a great team in "The Shadow War!" where they work together to prevent Donald and the triplets from permanently moving to Cape Suzette.

Bentina Beakley

Mrs. Beakley rarely seen with Launchpad but does seem to tolerate his accident-prone nature, especially during the Shadow War. When she tried to bond with him one night, Launchpad was afraid she was going to fire him for damaging Mr. McDuck's gate. But what he notices she was reading “The Scarlett Pimpabill”, it reminded him of Darkwing Duck and showed her his video series. Beakley liked the series so much that she even teamed up with him to make a fan film after he told her the show was cancelled before the show’s finale.

Della Duck

After Della Duck returns to Earth after spending a decade on the Moon, she is shocked when she realized that Scrooge replaced her with Launchpad as a pilot. And even though Launchpad tried to befriend her, she was infuriated with him and didn’t give him a chance. He later tries to show his own skills as a pilot to Della during an anniversary being held for Cornelius Coot, but instead it shows Della how inexperienced Launchpad is when it comes to the mechanics and proper procedure of flying a plane. Nevertheless, he later proves to her that his way of controlling the plane is also effective, as they managed to escape from the Beagle Boys and a hoard of spiders using Launchpad's plane tactics.

Drake Mallard

Launchpad became acquainted with Drake during the events of "The Duck Knight Returns!", where originally Launchpad attempted to help Jim Starling by trapping the new actor for the Darkwing Duck film. But instead, they ended up bonding over their loving interest for the original Darkwing Duck TV show. Eventually, when Jim begins to get out of hand on the movie set, Launchpad and Drake work together to convince him that his obsession was getting too out of control. After the explosion incident with Jim having seemingly disappeared, Launchpad encouraged Drake to step in Jim's shoes as both the role of Darkwing Duck and a hero. This gave Drake enough belief in himself to take on the roles, with Launchpad claiming he had now gained his first fan.

Gosalyn Waddlemeyer

Launchpad had encouraged Drake to look into Gosalyn's accusation after she breaks into the layer. He also protects her from Taurus Bulba when he tries to attack her, and catches her and Drake when they fall off the side of the building. He informs her later on Drake trying to find ways to save her grandfather, and encourages her to be a hero when she gets scared. He eventually decides to join her and Drake on their superhero adventures at night in St. Canard.

Old flames

Unused art of the Viking Shieldmaiden and The Wereduck drawn by storyboarder Sam King.

In several episodes, including "The House of the Lucky Gander!", "The Depths of Cousin Fethry!" and others, Launchpad reconnects with old flames. His relationships with these individuals, who are almost never actually shown, often lead him into his own adventures separate from those of Scrooge and his family.

Videos

Promos

Shorts

Best Moments

Gallery

Click here to view the image gallery for Launchpad McQuack (2017).
Click here to view this page's gallery.

Appearances

Shorts

Season 1 (74%)

Season 2 (67%)

Season 3 (45%)

Trivia

Launchpad's driver's license.

  • His driver's license in "Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!" states his birthdate as September 18, 1987.
    • September 18, 1987, is when the first few episodes of the original DuckTales show aired.
    • Launchpad is an organ and tissue donor, and he signs his signature with a drawing of an airplane propeller.
  • Launchpad is able to play the piano in "Last Christmas!" when the family sings their version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas".
  • It is revealed in "Last Christmas!" that Launchpad is Jewish.
  • Though he has the likeness of a pelican, Launchpad is actually a duck, as stated in Frank Angone's Tumblr.
  • Launchpad is the last character to speak in the series.

References

  1. ↑ This Duckburg Life
v • e • dCharacters
1987
Scrooge McDuck • Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck • Webby Vanderquack • Launchpad McQuack • Bentina Beakley • Donald Duck • Duckworth • Gyro Gearloose • Fenton Crackshell • Doofus Drake • Flintheart Glomgold • Magica De Spell • Beagle Boys • Bubba Duck • Glittering Goldie
2017
Scrooge McDuck • Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck • Webby Vanderquack • Donald Duck • Launchpad McQuack • Bentina Beakley • Della Duck • Gyro Gearloose • Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera • Darkwing Duck • Duckworth • Flintheart Glomgold • Magica De Spell • Beagle Boys • Lena Sabrewing • Violet Sabrewing • FOWL
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