Darkwing Duck #5 Review

We return yet again to the adventures of Darkwing Duck, where this time around, our hero has enlisted the help of Honker to convert the files on all the crimes he’s foiled into digital format. That doesn’t sound too daunting a task, until you learn that Darkwing’s files are so extensive that the comically long file drawer actually pushes poor Honker out of a three story window. However, while sorting through his files, Darkwing a certain file catches his eye, and since Gosalyn and Honker are now a captive audience, Darkwing opts to recount the tale.

Our tale starts with a scientist from S.H.U.S.H. (a government organization in the television show that was meant as a parody of S.H.I.E.L.D. that Darkwing would often work with) enlists Darkwing to find his lost cat. Ordinarily, a missing pet is a bit small time for our hero, but the fact that there is a ransom note (filled with typos I might add) as well as an hint that the cat may have been part of some S.H.U.S.H. experiments prompts Darkwing to take the case.

After Darkwing and Launchpad go on a stakeout disguised as hot dog vendors (and getting beat up by angry patrons for their trouble) Darkwing comes across an address listing for a group of his worst enemies apparently sharing an apartment. However, when our hero busts down the door, he’s surprised to find his enemies, not hatching a nefarious scheme, but watching a beauty pageant on pay per view. Darkwing, taken aback by this unexpected sight, actually decides to give Bushroot the ten dollar buy in and watch the beauty pageant as well. After the beauty pageant ends however, the villains all seem to remember that they hate Darkwing Duck and a huge action-packed fight scene ensues. The fight goes on for a while, until Gosalyn interrupts reminding Darkwing that this story was originally supposed to be about a lost cat.

Getting back on track, DW and LP have finally tracked down the mastermind behind this caper and are shocked to learn that there no one actually captured the cat, but rather, the cat himself, Fluffy, having been given super intelligence by the S.H.U.S.H. experiment, escaped and now plans to rule the world by making cats the new dominant species. At first, Darkwing doesn’t take the threat of Fluffy seriously and instead gushes over how adorable he is, but Fluffy soon turns the tables by revealing the army of cats at his command. Fortunately, our hero is able to keep the frightening felines at bay with a super soaker and dispatches Fluffy by tricking him into getting run over by a street sweeper.

Back in the present, Gosalyn asks if he thinks he’ll ever face Fluffy again, and Darkwing thinks that even though Fluffy has escaped many times in the past, now that he’s locked up in St. Canard’s new super-prison, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever be seeing Fluffy again. Little does Darkwing know that Fluffy actually has escaped with the help of Mortimer and the two are currently hatching an evil scheme as we speak.

What Works: Out of the issues of Darkwing Duck we’ve covered thus far, this one is probably the funniest. The scene where Darkwing watches pay per view with the villains is especially hilarious. Also, I’m very happy to see the return of Fluffy. When I was a kid, I had a subscription to Disney Adventures Magazine, which would regularly feature Darkwing Duck comics. It was here where Fluffy was first introduced and he was a great villain. He served as both a serious threat and a hilarious foil to our hero and to see this character come back fills my heart with nostalgic joy.

Finally, it’s really nice to see Darkwing wearing a turtleneck again. The collared shirt and tie has admittedly grown on me, but I still prefer the classic look.

What Doesn’t: For some odd reason, they’ve opted to give Fluffy a lisp in this series. It’s strange because Fluffy didn’t talk like that in the Disney Adventures comics and I’m fairly certain when we saw him in shadow in the earlier issues, he didn’t talk like that either. The only explanation I can think of is that this is Disney giving an F.U. to a certain Warner Bros. character, but in any case, it doesn’t read well. Overall: 5/5

This issue was just nonstop laughs from top to bottom and I enjoyed it a great deal. I look forward to seeing more of Fluffy as time goes on.