Recap / Darkwing Duck S 1 E 19 Just Us Justice Ducks

Darkwing and Morgana are about to go on a date, but then work calls Darkwing away...as it does. Unfortunately, there seems to be an unexpected event as Megavolt and Quackerjack have teamed up to plant a device at the power plant. And worst, this is only the prelude to one of Darkwing's greatest challenges: 5 of his greatest enemies joining forces to take over Saint Canard. The only way he might save the day now is if he swallows his pride and forms a Super Team from all his other fellow heroes. The Justice Ducks!

This episode includes examples of the following tropes:

• Anachronic Order: See Remember the New Guy?.
• Bad Boss: Despite being a competent planner, Negaduck is no friend to his team, giving them control of the city, but holding onto all their earnings himself.
• Big "NO!": The Justice Ducks do this when Negaduck threatens to destroy Saint Canard For the Evulz.
• Damsel in Distress: Neptunia and Morgana Macawbre fall under the category
• Even Evil Has Standards: Quackerjack doesn't think it is fair that Negs gets the loot while he and his co-horts do all the work
• Evil Counterpart: Each Justice Duck initially fights (and is defeated by) a member of the Fearsome Five that is thematically similar in some way.
  • Water-dwelling Neptunia fights the Liquidator, who is made of water.
  • Morgana fights Bushroot, who like her is physically weak and relies on allies and indirect attacks.
  • Child-like Stegmutt fights Psychotic Man Child Quackerjack.
  • High-tech hero Gizmoduck fights Psycho Electro Megavolt.
  • And of course Darkwing has Negaduck, who is effectively his Evil Twin.
• Hoarding the Profits: After the Fearsome Five take over St. Canard, Negaduck allows the other four to rule the city while keeping all of the loot for himself. When they protest, Negaduck pulls out his chainsaw to get them to shut up.
• Humble Goal: The only reason Stegmutt gets involved in the events of the episode is because Darkwing bought a hot dog from him and ran off before Stegmutt could give him his change. He finally manages to give it back to him at the end of the story. Darkwing lets him keep it.
• Humiliation Conga: Darkwing suffers this in the first part, most notably when a sarcastic remark by Darkwing inspires the Liquidator and Bushroot to trick Stegmutt into thinking they are pretending Darkwing is on fire, prompting him to bash Darkwing against the ground repeatedly while exclaiming, "Put out the Darkwing! Put out the Darkwing!"
  • At the end of the second part Negaduck suffers one as well. After literally getting yelled off the top of a skyscraper when he threatens to contract the electric wall around St. Canard, he lands on electricity cables and bounces up again, where Darkwing hits him with a pie, then a flowerpot, then an anvil, then a safe, then a 100-ton weight. As Negaduck falls to the ground, Darkwing pulls up to catch him in a garbage truck... then reverses out of the way at the last second so that Negaduck forms an Impact Silhouette in the road. The final insult: the remote control for the electric wall lands on Negaduck's head and shatters.
• I Take Offense to That Last One: When Darkwing, mid-Heroic BSoD, calls himself a number of insults, Launchpad only objects to him calling himself a slug.
• I Work Alone: Darkwing, driven by pride, actively refuses help so he can defeat the Fearsome Five alone. He eventually overcomes this attitude.
• Just Between You and Me: Negaduck plans to put an end to the heroes in typical cartoon supervillain fashion as soon as he throws... ''THE SWITCH!''.
• Legion of Doom: the first appearance of the Fearsome Five: Bushroot, Liquidator, Megavolt, Quackerjack and Negaduck.
• Misfit Mobilization Moment: Darkwing overcoming his solo glory greed to join the force of the Justice Ducks ("Justice Ducks, assemble!") to beat the Fearsome Five ("get over here!").
  • Also, Negaduck declaring the Fearsome Five a team to take down St. Canard. It triggers a two-part episode cliffhanger.
    Negaduck: (as he stomps Darkwing repeatedly) This is for BUSHROOT! MEGAVOLT! QUACKER JACK! LIQUIDATOR! And NEGADUCK makes five. The Fearsome Five.
• Karmic Injury: Invoked by Darkwing. While he's confronting Bushroot and Liquidator, Stegmutt turns up, and Liquidator convinces him they're playing "let's pretend" and Darkwing is on fire. Bushroot enthusiastically goes along with it, telling Stegmutt to "put out the Darkwing", which leads to Darkwing being smashed vigorously into the ground several times. During the final confrontation with the Fearsome Five, Stegmutt grabs Bushroot, but is at a loss about what to do next, given that he's never fought a supervillain before. Three guesses what Darkwing suggests he do, and the first two don't count.
  Darkwing: It's easy, Stegmutt. Let's pretend Mr. Bushroot is on fire!
  Bushroot [eyes widening]: Uh oh!
• My God, What Have I Done?: Darkwing himself, along with It's All My Fault. Followed by Heroic BSoD
• Non-Indicative Name: Despite the team being called the Justice Ducks, two members are not even avian, though Stegmutt was a duck before he was transformed, making Neptunia, a fish, the only non-duck. Both of them point this out at the end.
• Oh, Crap!: Bushroot's reaction to Darkwing telling Stegmutt, "Let's pretend Mr. Bushroot is on fire."
• Overly Long Gag: Darkwing keeps bringing out items for Negaduck to hit his head on, including flowers, a safe, and anvil, a 100 ton weight and a pie pan.
• Remember the New Guy?: Morgana, Liquidator, Neptunia, Stegmutt and Negaduck debut in this episode yet the other characters already know them. While the other four get their own origin episodes later, Negaduck never gets a proper one.
• Super Team: The Justice Ducks are quite the collection. A magician, a Badass Normal, a mutated fish person, a transformed dinosaur duck, and a robot suited cape.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: With the Fearsome Five having dispatched the police and S.H.U.S.H., Darkwing is excited at the idea of taking them down by himself. The St. Canard government, naturally, has other ideas and deploys the National Guard (led by Gizmoduck) to restore order.
• Taking Over the Town: The Fearsome Five take out the police, S.H.U.S.H. and rewired the electric company with a unbreakable force field. This isolates St. Canard from the rest of world while they take over the city unchallenged.
• This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: Or Neptunia as the case would be, who has similar powers. Her aquatic abilities wouldn't normally come in useful for the final showdown, which took place at the top of a skyscraper. However, her natural amphibious abilities end up making her the perfect match against the Liquidator, as she ends up swimming into his body and spinning him straight into Megavolt, shorting the electric rat out in record time.
• Timmy in a Well:

  (Neptunia runs into her octopus friend)
  Neptunia: Hey Hal! What, what is is?
  (Hal motions with his tentacles)
  Neptunia: Someone fell into Devil's Gorge and has a compound fracture of the lower mandible?

  • Becomes a Brick Joke late:
    Launchpad: What is it, Archie? Someone fell into Devil's Gorge and has a compound fracture of the lower mandible?
• Tragic Mistake: By rejecting the other heroes' support out of sheer arrogance, Darkwing is effortlessly curbstomped when he confronts the Fearsome Five alone, giving them the opportunity to take over the city without resistance.