Husbands Sharing A Braincell: The Series

the divorce arc in the comics was so real

Credit to @ducks-at-sunset for nudging the song piece and idea gently beside me and waiting for the results 😆

Thanks for the ask! This is a spectacular point that made me want to organize my thoughts. ♡

DT17 skewed nearly all the characters by making so many unnecessary changes and switcheroos.

Fenton in DT '87 was a poor man who had an amazing knack for counting and a wholly unmatched weird zest for life. His mom was a single mother who was depressed and left by a verbally (at least) abusive man. Fenton accidentally steals the suit, and then proceeds to roll with this opportunity to be somebody! He learns to be a hero on the go. He makes believable mistakes, like accidentally dropping the manual in a villain's car and forgetting about it because he outsmarted them at the moment.

Fenton '17 is none of the above. He's someone who wants to make a change for the greater good and calmly does things the proper way, like reading the Gizmo suit instructions and practicing them in secret. This cautious sensibility is then forgotten and he posts vital details about the suit online, because plot needs to happen.

While a reboot pretty much guarantees that characters will be different since writers, artists and the time period is different, the extent to which DT17 swapped backstories and generally made characters interchangeable is... pretty infuriating, lol.

Fenton is a hero who vies for change but is unsure on how to do so and was inspired by Launchpad.

Drake is a hero who vies for change but is unsure on how to do so and was inspired by Launchpad.

Mrs. Beakley used to be a feminine civilian character who's now a spy in this rendition.

Gandra Dee used to be a feminine civilian character who's now a spy in this rendition.

The variety of characters in the slice of life duck show with magical elements is gone!

They tried to sprinkle in dustings of the old personalities, but it's just not believable. Drake Mallard is completely smoothed out (metaphorically and literally), but then they insert his self-absorbed tendencies at random times.

OG Fenton and Drake's bond was impeccable. The writers really played around with the hilarities of having alter-egos and having to deal with each other civilly and heroically. They weren't really 'friends' in either stage. It makes sense, because at their core, Darkwing can't get along with a big-name hero because of his jealousy, and Drake can't get along with a loud, uncouth guy who was suddenly invited by Launchpad to stay over.

DT17 has the awkward "friends as civvies, one-sided rivalry as heroes." It's so weird to see Drake be positive with Fenton and then be either oblivious or delusional (depending on your interpretation) about Gizmo for no reason.

What they should have done is keep the stories separated. (This now brings up another flaw-- the kids being included in everybody else's story arc.)

Fenton becomes Gizmo on his own, and deals with his obstacles that lead to the heroic lugnut we all know and love.

Launchpad's interest in Darkwing should have been unique, and not just regarding an old fictional show. We should have been able to see LP's process of building the Thunderquack, and the gradual process of him moving to St. Canard.

Then you can have Gizmo and Darkwing meet later, and gradually show us how they fall into the role of heroic rivals! The fact that this series wasn't episodic like the old one was an edge it did not take advantage of.

Ducktales 2017 had the bad habit of including an element and not elaborating on how it began except for pointing over to the original series. Being Meta =/= Storytelling. Listing tropes and describing them in-universe is not being clever.

A well-written relationship has complexities and flaws and mutual growth by learning from each other.

Darkwing has consistently been shown to hold Launchpad’s opinion in such high regard. Whether it’s simply trying to impress him in a setting where it’s just the both of them, to asking desperately if he’s going too far in his self-confidence, to trusting him with stories about his life.

He did struggle with that at first. There was a whole episode where Launchpad has to make a point to remind him that while he is a sidekick, they’re both still heroes risking their lives. Drake does still struggle at times, but all Launchpad needs to do is remind him verbally now.

He loves complaining and criticizing people, but never at Launchpad’s expense or discomfort.

That, in return, shows Launchpad’s patience for him. His loyalty, his respect, his love for him!

Ever since he became his sidekick, Launchpad has been shown to love getting to know Drake. His quirks, his mannerisms, his flaws. He accepts all of him without a second thought. He has said that every day with him is an adventure!

He’s his number one fan. He loves what Darkwing stands for. No matter what Drake chooses to do in his life, Launchpad wants to be by his side.

2017 Drakepad lacks all of this. They got along from the start. There’s no conflict, no depth, nothing! Even individually, it’s a disservice to both of their characters.

The fact that the Darkwing persona isn’t even Drake’s original concept, making him a glorified cosplayer.

Launchpad’s compliments isn’t even about Drake himself. He’s gushing over the show and comparing him to it.

The only scene we see them is a self-sacrificial one. Granted, it's a reference to Superman, and that episode is more in tune to an abstract interpretation of his past in any case.

But still. I don't see how giving up the chance to live so Drake can prosper gives explanation to bad parents! His father had so much faith that Drake would grow up to be famous and important. His mother was gentle and hopeful.

(He apparently inherited his clumsiness from his dad too. :3)

They see him off with an inherited gas gun and tearful hope that he'll be sound and successful.

Launchpad has outright said that Drake makes for a lousy housekeeper. 😆 He's also had to remind him about a Parent-Teacher Conference.

And in one of the comics, there was a scene where the fridge was just chock-full of nasty, spoiled food!

This even spreads over to the Negaverse, since they can be described as the "worst and guilt-free versions of Darkwing and Launchpad."

Negawing and Launcher's house is dirty, because it isn't on their priority list. There's still a fruit bowl out though, funnily enough.

But I would not touch that, lmao.

Out of everyone in the house, I can see Negawing being the one to set out the assorted fruits. He likes apples, after all.

So that means he just picks it up, eats the whole thing and puts it back.