“ | I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the pebble in the penny-loafer of depravity! I am... (Supervillain: Darkwing Duck!) Oh, so you've heard of me? Let's get dangerous! | „ |
~ Jim Starling in his final episode. |
“ | It was all a setup. That hack put my fan in danger to steal the glory and humiliate me! They want grim and gritty, huh? Happy to play the part! (maniacal laughter) | „ |
~ Jim Starling becoming NegaDuck. |
James "Jim" Starling, later known as NegaDuck, is a minor antagonist in the 2017 seriesles reboot series and one of the main antagonist of the upcoming Disney Plus reboot spinoof Darkwing Duck. He is the former star of the in-universe Darkwing Duck television series, who later goes insane and begins to seek vengeance on Drake Mallard for taking his role.
Like the original NegaDuck, he is voiced by Jim Cummings, who also played Steele in Balto, Fuzzy Lumpkins in The Powerpuff Girls, Pete in Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoons, Nessus in Disney's Hercules, Long John Silver in the Pagemaster, Ed in Disney's The Lion King, Hernán Cortés in El Dorado, the Medicine Man in Young Pocahontas, Razoul in Disney's Aladdin, Dr. Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog SatAM, Lord Boxman in OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Sierra in The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire, the Bears in Sing and Hadrian in Minecraft: Story Mode.
Personality
In the DuckTales reboot episode The Duck Knight Returns!, Jim Starling starts out as Darkwing Dark originally did: egotistic and glory seeking, but well meaning. Unlike his heroic persona, Jim was a down on his luck actor who simply wanted to be remembered again for the very thing that brought him fame, even desiring for newer, younger fans to sign his autographs instead of his older ones (especially Launchpad, who kept fainting at the sight of him). He showed small signs of being bitter and mean, and genuinely depressed about his life situation. Upon hearing about a Darkwing Duck movie, he saw this as a chance to earn his stardom again and was overjoyed, until he learned that he would be replaced by the younger Drake Mallard.
His bruised ego and sheer jealousy refused to let him accept this and he attempted to get rid of Drake so that he would be the star. This resulted in his morality slipping and signs of mental illness cracking though the surface as he had minor psychotic episodes and then a full mental breakdown, even threatening to kill the entire studio staff so he could be in the film.
Despite all of this, he remained good deep down as both Launchpad and Drake reminded him of the hero they looked up to as kids. However, after nearly being killed on the film set, his deteriorating mental state caused him to believe he was purposely made a fool of by Drake and the accident was Drake's doing and not his own fault, finally driving him to the point of no return and transforming him into one of the most fiendish villains in cartoon history: NegaDuck.
History
Many years before the series began, Jim Starling starred as Darkwing Duck in a superhero television show of the same name. He was known for performing his own stunts. He was especially beloved by Launchpad McQuack and Drake Mallard, both of whom attempted to model themselves after him.
In "The Duck Knight Returns!" Jim hears that there was a Darkwing Duck movie being made, and much to his dismay that character he used to play would be done by an actor named Drake Mallard. Jim tried to steal the spotlight, which resulted in a fight against Drake in costume and setting the stage on fire. He was on the verge of killing Drake with a chainsaw until Launchpad stopped him, reminding him that he was not a villain. When the stage set is about to blow up, Jim gives his life to save Drake and Launchpad.
Everyone assumes that Jim was killed when the set explodes on him. With some encouragement from Launchpad, Drake decides to honor Jim's memory by becoming an actual superhero. Little do they know that Jim did survive the explosion and was hiding in the sewers. However, his costume becomes discolored and is now driven completely insane, becoming NegaDuck.
Quotes
“ | Look, I'm the one and only Darkwing Duck! I need a real gig! I'm bigger than... sofa store openings! (...) I DON'T CARE THAT THEY SELL RECLINERS TOO!! | „ |
~ Jim Starling down on his luck. |
“ | Wait... A fresh-faced new fan! I knew the kids still loved me! Haha! Who do I make this out to? (Dewey lifts up Launchpad unto table) Aww, the fainter's back! | „ |
~ Jim upon meeting Dewey and seeing Launchpad again. |
“ | They are!? We am!? DARKWING DUCK IS BACK, BABY!!! | „ |
~ Jim learning about the new Darkwing Duck movie. |
“ | Hey! Fragile cargo, huh!? Hoo-hoo, back on top, arriving on set for a big-shot movie in style. Thanks for the ride, fans! | „ |
~ Jim being escorted to McDuck studios by Launchpad and Dewey. |
“ | I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the comeback the audience demands! I am... a HUGE fan, Alister Borswan! I mean, I've never actually seen your work, but your British, so I'm sure that its... very classy and... yeah. (Alister: Eh, yes, and you are?) HAHA!! British and funny! Woah, this feels like the beginning of a great, creative partnership! | „ |
~ Jim meeting the director. |
“ | Well, I kinda like it! Grim. Gritty. Shows off my dark, smoldering side! Hoo! Ha! | „ |
~ Jim approving the new direction his character's going. |
“ | Don't listen to these yahoos! We're making ART! When do we start? (Alister: Oh, we're almost to finish, actually.) Ah! So, we're shooting the Darkwing scenes last? (Alister: No.) Of course, I'll be put in with... CGI, heh-heh. (Alister: *sigh* You are not playing Darkwing Duck; he is.) | „ |
~ Jim being introduced to Drake Mallard. |
“ | (Launchpad: That is not the Darkwing Duck I know and love.) YEAH! IT'S NOT ME! (Launchpad: I wish there was some way we could show them how great the old-) Original! (Launchpad: ...original Darkwing is!) Hey, maybe there is... | „ |
~ Jim showcasing his frustration and plotting to get rid of of Drake. |
“ | Are you with me... Sidekick? | „ |
~ Jim enlisting Launchpad's aid to get rid of Drake. |
“ | It was all a setup. That hack put my fan in danger to steal the glory and humiliate me! They want “grim and gritty”, huh? Happy to play the part… | „ |
~ Jim gloating as he fully transforms into Negaduck. |
Gallery
Trivia
- His name is either a reference to his voice actor, Jim Cummings, the Marvel comic artist, Jim Starlin, or the online media critic, Jim Sterling. It could also be the combination of all three.
- Negaduck is similar to Ragnarok and Aggregor from Ben 10 franchise, both antagonists attack enemies of Darkwing Duck.
- Negaduck has similarities to Albedo and Nega Ben, a negative version of Ben Tennyson from Ben 10 franchise.
- Negaduck is similar to Zak Monday, a negative version of Zak Saturday from the Secret Saturdays, and to Scourge the Hedgehog from the Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comics.
- Unlike his original incarnation, this NegaDuck has both a different secret identity from Drake Mallard (rather than being an alternate version of him, he's a washed out actor looking for revenge against Darkwing for stealing his role) and a somewhat sympathetic motivation for becoming evil.
- In an old draft of the two parter "Let's Get Dangerous", Negaduck meant to return in disguise as Taurus Bulba's assistant, a cow woman named Calfka. Originally, Bulba was meant to get arrested at the end of the first part, while Negaduck unmasks himself and takes over as main antagonist of the second part by being the one to bring the Fearsome Four into their dimension.
Villains | ||
Glomgold Industries De Spell Family Rockerduck Family Beagle Boys FOWL Air Pirates Fearsome Four New Quackmore Institute Others See Also |