The shape-changing villainess known as the Chameleon plots to take control of the Howl publishing empire so she can print her own money. Honker undergoes a personality transformation when he is bullied at school.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Chained to a Railway: Camille does this to Darkwing and Launchpad.Darkwing: Tying us down to a railroad track, excuse me? Not very original! [Sound of incoming train] Effective, yes, but not original.
- Counterfeit Cash: Camille's Evil Plan was to use stolen $100 plates to become rich by making all the money she wanted. Unfortunately, due to working out of a cave, she had inferior ink and a makeshift printing press. She solved this problem by impersonating a millionairess who owned a newspaper.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Honker.
- Extended Disarming: Parodied. Darkwing is forced by Camille (disguised as Launchpad) to surrender his gas gun, then, under coaxing, a bow and arrow... then, to further insistence, he rapidly produces a pile of weapons half as tall as himself. After tossing down things like a cutlass, a rocket launcher and a chainsaw, he ends by carefully placing a rubber chicken on top of the pile.Camille: I understand everything else... but why the rubber chicken?Darkwing: Eh, gets a laugh at parties.
- Freudian Excuse: Lampshaded.Camille Chameleon: I didn't always look like this. In high school I was a beautiful girl, but... I wasn't popular...Darkwing: Oh boy, this is it, the "How I became a villain" story.
- Furry Confusion: At the end of her Shapeshifter Swan Song, Camille transforms into a non-anthropomorphic chameleon.Darkwing: (Grabbing her up) You're going to spend the next ten years in a maximum security terrarium.
- Gone Horribly Right: To help Honker be more assertive, Darkwing gave him a copy of his assertiveness training course. It helped Honker become more assertive alright...by turning him into a bad boy biker.
- Morphic Resonance: No matter which form Camille takes, she always has her yellow eyes and hissing speech impediment.
- Motive Misidentification: Deliberately invoked by Camille who, while impersonating a print company millionairess as part of her actual scheme to counterfeit, had a news story broadcast that made Darkwing believe she was going to steal a valuable jewel in order to lure him into a trap with a Time Bomb.
- Not Himself: After standing up for himself, Honker starts acting like a Badass Biker, complete with leather jacket.
- Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The title alludes Culture Club's song "Karma Chameleon".
- Shapeshifter Swan Song: Camille Chameleon gets a spectacular one when Honker realizes that chameleons are very sensitive to temperature changes.
- Shout-Out: In addition to the song quotes under Waxing Lyrical, Honker quotes The Wild One:Gosalyn: Honker, what are you rebelling against?Honker: Whaddaya got?
- Waxing Lyrical: In a single scene, Honker says that he's "b-b-b-bad to the b-b-b-bone", (George Thorogood's "Bad To The Bone"), that he's "a rebel and he'll never be any good", ("He's A Rebel" by The Crystals), and that he's "born to be wild" ("Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf).
