When buildings start mysteriously disappearing underground, Darkwing's investigations lead to the discovery of the evil mole Professor Moliarty planning an invasion of the surface world.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Ask a Stupid Question...: Moliarty treats a mole question of why would they need sunglasses and tanning butters if he was going to make things go dark via dropping an anchor on him.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Averted, Moliarty order two of his guards to stay and keep a watch on the execution and orders if something goes wrong, shoot them. (Luckily he doesn't realize he's talking to Gosalyn and Honker in disguise.)
- Cassandra Truth: At first, Darkwing thought Launchpad was seeing things when he claimed to have seen an oil tanker and radio tower being swallowed up by the ground. After seeing a news report of an electric building having disappeared underground, Darkwing realized it was actually happening and apologized to Launchpad for not believing him.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: As this was the first completed episode in the series, the running gag of Darkwing's Mad Libs Catchphrase from his "I am the terror" boast had yet to be established; here he consistently uses the line "I am the winged scourge that pecks at your nightmares!" instead.
- The episode originally aired as a "sneak preview" on The Disney Channel, and overall has an odd feeling to it. It's rather weak story-wise, and seems more like it's about introducing the characters and how they relate and interact with one another, which is jarring to watch, especially if you saw "Darkly Dawns The Duck" first.
- Evil Gloating: Moliarty lampshades by saying he hasn't done it yet while Darkwing and Launchpad are tied up and are soon to be eaten by slugs.
- Fire-Breathing Diner: Disguised as a waitress, Gosalyn offered spicy hot sauce to some moles that were eating burgers. The result?One of the Moles: (With a squeaky voice) I'm sorry, but we have to go now.
(The burning moles launch into the air like rockets)
Gosalyn: Does this mean no tip? - I Know Madden Kombat: The group weaponizing baseball to take down Moliarty
- I Meant to Do That: Said by Darkwing after crashing into the radio tower.
- Last Villain Stand: After his Kineto-Beam is disabled and his army is forced to retreat back underground, Moliarty confronts Darkwing and the others with a rocket launching bazooka.
- Laughing Gas: When Moliarty is shooting at them, Darkwing tells Gosalyn to use his gas gun. She fires a cartridge of this at him, causing him to go into a giggle fit and lose control of his missile firing.Darkwing: Laughing gas? You shoot a madman with laughing gas?!
Gosalyn: Well, it wasn't labelled.
Launchpad: Well, at least now, he's a happy madman. - Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: As much as large structures disappearing underground is "minor", but it's just the prelude to an invasion from underground.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Gosalyn and Honker who tried to help the heroes by launching a trash can at the mole man. All it did was crash into both Darkwing and Launchpad.
- Oh, Crap!: Darkwing and the others have this reaction when they realize they're hiding from a missile-firing Moliarty behind a bunch of barrels of petroleum.
- Pinball Projectile: After doing some calculation, Honker uses a ricocheting bullet to knock over stalagmite (To hit the carnivorous slugs) and stalactite (To form a bridge to where Darkwing and Launchpad were tied up).
- Punny Name: Moliarty.
- Shout-Out: Darkwing states it just like the chicken said 'He knew the job was dangerous when he took it', a reference to the theme song from the "Super Chicken" segments of George of the Jungle.
- Tempting Fate: Happened to Darkwing twice. When he asks for adventure, Launchpad sees a huge hole swallowing an oil tanker and later when asking what could be strong enough to move an entire power plant, he sees an incredibly large insect.
- Total Eclipse of the Plot: Moliarty's plan. By using his Kineto-beam to create a permanent eclipse, his army was able to operate on the surface 24/7.
- We Will Meet Again: Said word-for-word by Moliarty when Darkwing and the others force him to retreat back underground.
