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Either airplane designs are getting uglier, or it's that duck!
Taurus Bulba seeing the Thunderquack flying around his ship


The Thunderquack is Darkwing Duck's second major mode of transportation. Anywhere he can't get in the Ratcatcher motorcycle, he gets in the Thunderquack. It's often used for airborne patrols of St. Canard as well as a means of global transport.

Overview[]

The Thunderquack was originally built by Launchpad McQuack, as an homage to Darkwing Duck before he'd ever met the mighty masked mallard. It first appeared in the second half of "Darkly Dawns the Duck", though it is referenced in the first half when Launchpad tries to convince Darkwing not to take the biplane, because he has something much better in the next hangar over. And is it ever resilient! Despite being crashed by Launchpad on virtually every landing, the Thunderquack just keeps coming back for more.

Befitting Launchpad's unique skillset, the Thunderquack has some truly unique features. Its in-flight maneuverability is unparalleled, able even to outfly living birds of prey such as Tantalus the condor. The TQ can also hover motionless and accelerate vertically like a helicopter or harrier jet. The Thunderquack is also notable for its incredibly quiet ride, as people can have conversations within feet of its running engines with little difficulty.

In addition, it has a generous interior, with two front seats for pilot and observer (usually Launchpad and Darkwing) and a rear bench which seems to be capable of seating up to six. The canopy can be opened in flight without apparent risk of structural damage as well, making it an ideal vehicle for mid-air rescue.

The TQ is also unique in having a powerful onboard computer. At one point it was so powerful that Darkwing Duck attempted to back up his entire crime database to it, to be accessed on the go. While this may technically have been possible, a malfunction resulted in Launchpad swapping personalities with Gosalyn and Honker.

While the Thunderquack lacks any true offensive weaponry such as guns or missiles, it is not without teeth. Literally, the beak-like nose of the TQ can open up to bite a target, or to reveal an internal bay from which heavy items like a grappling hook or the Hoverquack assault chair can be deployed. It is also outfitted with search lights and tricycle landing gear. (even though Launchpad rarely finds a use for the latter)

Alternates[]

  • Negaduck has his own version of the Thunderquack, schemed in his usual black, yellow, and red paint scheme. Its wing fairings, canopy, and grimacing jet intakes are more aggressively angled. It's not clear if thus Thunderquack comes from the Negaverse (Negaduck is also seen to drive a massive Nega-Ratcatcher and own a Nega-Yacht) or if it is something he purchased/stole in the regular universe.
  • In an alternate future, Dark Warrior Duck still needs to get around by air. However his craft is far more fearsome than the stealthy Thunderquack. Featuring four massive jet engines, a top-mounted canon, numerous external antennae for surveillance of the citizens of St. Canard, as well as a massive internal bay for missiles and machine guns, the Thunderscud is often escorted by Darkwarrior Drones.
  • Seen only in "When Aliens Collide", a space version of the Thunderquack had the same general configuration as the standard Thunderquack, but was much larger, with severely raked wings and tail, and bulging "eyes" over its cockpit, as well as an airlock in the front of the beak.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Just as Batman's Batwing (or Batplane) is generally designed to reflect his insignia or motif, so the Thunderquack is designed to resemble Darkwing and his many gadgets.
  • A notable exception is in its color scheme. While the Ratcatcher, the Darkwing sub, and the Gasgun; as well as many parts on the inside of Darkwing Tower are cast in purples, The TQ and the Spacequack are painted in shades of red. It might be that these vessels were built by Launchpad, where as the bike and sub were built by Darkwing himself.
  • D-2000, or Didi, once was installed into the Thunderquack, making it fully autonomous. This was also the only time the TQ was said to have an offensive weapon, a powerful laser in the beak-bay.
  • Darkwing Duck never learned to fly (pilot) himself; and so without Launchpad, or the massive automation of Darkwarrior or the D-2000, Darkwing's Thunderquack would sit unused.
  • Honker and Gosalyn once tried to command the Thunderquack to rescue Darkwing Duck from the Bigfoots, only to succeed in launching it without them on board when the ejector seats fired.
  • Gosalyn once recycled the jet engines of the Thunderquack, leading to the short lived creation of the Nutquacker.


v - e - d
Darkwing Duck Logo
Media
Darkwing Duck (Videography) • RebootWalt Disney's World on Ice: Double Feature... Live!

Video Games: NES gameTurboGrafx-16 gameDisney Heroes: Battle Mode
Books: High Wave RobberyThe Silly Canine CaperThe Darkest NightBoom! Studios comicJoe Books comic

Characters
Heroes and Allies: Darkwing DuckLaunchpad McQuackGosalyn MallardHonker MuddlefootTank MuddlefootHerb and Binkie MuddlefootGizmoduckMorgana MacawberNeptuniaStegmuttJ. Gander HooterDerek BluntVladimir GryzlikoffSara BellumRhoda DendronGloria SwansongPrincess of OilrabiaGoose LeeComet Guy

Villains: Negaduck/NegatronBushrootMegavoltLiquidatorQuackerjackSteelbeakTaurus BulbaHammerhead HanniganHoof and MouthTantalusClovisTuskerniniDr. FossilPhineas SharpProfessor MoliartyAmmonia PineAmple GrimePaddywhackLilliputJambalaya JakeGumboBug MasterHigh CommandMajor SynapseHotshot and FlygirlDr. SlugSplatter PhoenixCamille ChameleonAnna MatronicIsis VanderchillJohnny T. RexFluffyDark Warrior DuckNodoffBrainteasers

Episodes
Syndication: "Darkly Dawns the Duck" • "Beauty and the Beet" • "Getting Antsy" • "Night of the Living Spud" • "Apes of Wrath" • "Dirty Money" • "Duck Blind" • "Comic Book Capers" • "Water Way to Go" • "Paraducks" • "Easy Come, Easy Grows" • "A Revolution in Home Appliances" • "Trading Faces" • "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlatan" • "Can't Bayou Love" • "Bearskin Thug" • "You Sweat Your Life" • "Days of Blunder" • "Just Us Justice Ducks" • "Double Darkwings" • "Aduckyphobia" • "When Aliens Collide" • "Jurassic Jumble" • "Cleanliness is Next to Badliness" • "Smarter Than a Speeding Bullet" • "All's Fahrenheit in Love and War" • "Whiffle While You Work" • "Ghoul of My Dreams" • "Adopt-a-Con" • "Toys Czar Us" • "The Secret Origins of Darkwing Duck" • "Up, Up and Awry" • "Life, the Negaverse, and Everything" • "Dry Hard" • "Heavy Mental" • "Disguise the Limit" • "Planet of the Capes" • "Darkwing Doubloon" • "It's a Wonderful Leaf" • "Twitching Channels" • "Dances with Bigfoot" • "Twin Beaks" • "The Incredible Bulk" • "My Valentine Ghoul" • "Dead Duck" • "A Duck By Any Other Name" • "Let's Get Respectable" • "In Like Blunt" • "Quack of Ages" • "Time and Punishment" • "Stressed to Kill" • "The Darkwing Squad" • "Inside Binkie's Brain" • "The Haunting of Mr. Banana Brain" • "Slime Okay, You're Okay" • "Whirled History" • "U.F.Foe" • "A Star is Scorned" • "The Quiverwing Quack" • "Jail Bird" • "Dirtysomething" • "Kung Fooled" • "Bad Luck Duck"

ABC Season One: "That Sinking Feeling" • "Film Flam" • "Negaduck" • "Fungus Amongus" • "Slaves to Fashion" • "Something Fishy" • "Tiff of the Titans" • "Calm a Chameleon" • "Battle of the Brainteasers" • "Bad Tidings" • "Going Nowhere Fast" • "A Brush with Oblivion" • "The Merchant of Menace"
ABC Season Two: "Monsters R Us" • "Inherit the Wimp" • "The Revenge of the Return of the Brainteasers, Too!" • "Star Crossed Circuits" • "Steerminator" • "The Frequency Fiends" • "Paint Misbehavin'" • "Hot Spells" • "Fraudcast News" • "Clash Reunion" • "Mutantcy on the Bouncy" • "Malice's Restaurant" • "Extinct Possibility"

Vehicles and Gadgets
RatcatcherThunderquackDarkwing Duck's gas gunRamrodSuper Sensitive Darkwing Duck-tectorTronsplitter
Songs
Darkwing Duck ThemeLittle Girl BlueKickin' in the GrooveI'm the KingI'm Darkwing Duck
See also
DuckTalesThe Disney AfternoonDisney XD (Netherlands)Justice DucksFearsome FiveF.O.W.L.S.H.U.S.H.St. CanardNegaverse
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