The Liquidator (real name Bud Flud) is a recurring antagonist of the Darkwing Duck franchise. He was a crooked bottled water salesman that fell into a reservoir he had contaminated, turning him into a mutant dog-like creature with the power to assume a viscous form and control water who constantly talks in advertising-style lingo. He's also a member of Negaduck's Fearsome Five.
Background
Originally a crooked businessman who owned Sparkling Crystal Pure Flud Water, a bottled water company based in St. Canard, Bud Flud contaminated the water supply of his competitors during a heat wave in order to corner the market. During an attempt to sabotage his final competitor, Koo Koo Fizzy Water, he was caught by Darkwing Duck and seemingly died when he fell into one of the tainted vats. In actuality, the volatile chemicals Flud had poured into the vat ended up altering his molecular structure, transforming him into a being made entirely of living water. With his new powers, Liquidator first sought revenge against Darkwing for causing his mutation and then used his hydrokinesis to turn all the water in St. Canard into a resin-like substance, granting him an absolute stranglehold on the city's water business. Darkwing was finally able to defeat the Liquidator by pouring powdered cement into him, trapping him in a statue like form and restoring the city's water to normal.
Because he was once a businessman, much of the Liquidator’s dialogue was based on advertising slogans. He later formed part of the Fearsome Five as a henchman, which included the villains Megavolt, Bushroot, and Quackerjack, and whose leader was the evil incarnation of Darkwing Duck, Negaduck. It is believed that the Liquidator only had one 'episode to himself' because the writers found his catch-phrase centric dialogue too hard to write.
Powers
Because he's living water, the Liquidator's liquid physiology allows him to alter his form however he sees fit, as well as making him immune to physical damage. He also has total control over water, able to raise its temperature to scalding levels or even alter its molecular structure into a solid resin-like substance.
Despite his durability, the Liquidator is far from invincible. Cold temperatures can freeze him solid while solidifying agents like cement mix can trap him in an immobile state. He can also be contained in sponges and other absorbent materials.
Personality
Liquidator is overly ambitious. He loves to use advertising slogans when he talks about anything. However, he also very much regards those who like sales or advertising as much as he does, or at least those whom he so perceives. He also has a sort of mentoring quality, as he seems to want to mold anyone he thinks has potential at being as good at sales, marketing, or advertising as he is. This explains why, upon first meeting Gosalyn, he tries to kidnap her. He wants what he perceives as her salesmanship on his side, and he wants to nurture what he believes are her potential abilities in marketing.
Appearances
Dry Hard
- “Nevertheless, I became the new and improved master of all liquids: the Liquidator!”
- ―Bud Flood reintroducing himself to Darkwing Duck and Launchpad as the Liquidator.
A heatwave hit St. Canard, and Bud Flood, owner of the Sparkling Crystal Pure Flood Water company, began sabotaging his competitors so that his water would be the only drinkable liquids left on the market. While sabotaging his last competitor, Koo Koo Fizzy Water, he was confronted by Darkwing Duck, at which point Bud said that sabotage was the ultimate form of advertising. However, as Darkwing moved in to apprehend Flood, he fell over a railing and into the contaminated vat of water, melting him away. Largely due to believing that the water wasn't that harmful, Darkwing took his time saving him, which ultimately caused him to fail to do so. Horrified at his wrong assumption, he left Flood for dead.
Several days later, Bud snatched Darkwing off the Ratcatcher and pulled him underground, revealing that the contaminated water had turned him into a living liquid and Flood, who had renamed himself the Liquidator, blamed Darkwing for it. The Liquidator attempted to kill Darkwing by surrounding him with a ring of boiling-hot water. This plan was foiled when Launchpad slammed a door on the Liquidator, causing him to lose control of the water ring. The Liquidator tried to escape through the pipes of the St. Canard Waterworks, but Darkwing tightened every pipe in the place.
- “Once I thaw, you're aqua, duck!”
- ―The Liquidator threatening Darkwing Duck after being frozen by him.
A comment by Darkwing then inspired the Liquidator to turn all the water in St. Canard hard and force the public to buy his water. Darkwing confronted the Liquidator at his hideout, the headquarters of Sparkling Crystal Pure Flood Water, and scared the Liquidator into fleeing into a furnace. Darkwing and Launchpad then evaporated the Liquidator, but he was able to precipitate back to normal. He tried to escape again, but ended up in a freezer. However, he created water minions who were able to get him out. Darkwing smashed the near-frozen Liquidator and threatened to make him into snow cones, but he rejuvenated himself with water from a burst pipe and attempted to drown Darkwing and Launchpad with a huge wave of water. However, the duo escaped through an escape hatch in the floor and began a daring chase through the sewers.
- “Take her back to the factory! I could use another enterprising individual in my organization!”
- ―The Liquidator ordering his water minions to snatch Gosalyn after seeing her potential in marketing.
The Liquidator chased Darkwing and Launchpad through the sewers, but they escaped back to the surface when Darkwing eventually realized that they were below the street on which his home sat. While trying to seal the sewer with a manhole cover, the Liquidator caused a waterspout that launched the two of them into the air, causing them to crash down onto, and destroy, Gosalyn's water stand, from which she was haggling glasses of water for two dollars. Gosalyn gathered a glass of water from the waterspout, only to be surprised by the Liquidator, who was impressed to hear that she was also selling water, emerging from said glass. Seeing that she was just as "enterprising" of a salesperson as he was, thus making her, in his mind, perfect for his organization, the Liquidator tried to kidnap Gosalyn using his water minions. But Darkwing, determined to stop him from abducting his daughter, dumped a bag of cement on him, freezing him solid, destroying his minions, and returning all of the hardened water in St. Canard to normal. Darkwing then turned the solidified Liquidator into a fountain and put him in his yard.
Just Us Justice Ducks-Part I
- “Yeah, let's pretend! Let's pretend he's on fire!”
- ―The Liquidator.
At some point in time, the Liquidator escaped from his cement confines, though exactly how and when he did so are both unknown.
At Negaduck's command, Liquidator and Bushroot went to the police station where, Bushroot planted seeds and Liquidator washed away the cops. Bushroot's seeds created a beanstalk that lifted the police station into the sky when Darkwing arrived on the scene. However, Stegmutt came to give Darkwing his change and misinterpreted his sarcasm that they were playing pretend. Liquidator told Stegmutt to pretend that Darkwing was on fire, causing Stegmutt to beat Darkwing on the ground repeatedly while the two crooks fled. Liquidator then met with the other crooks, where Negaduck said he'd take out S.H.U.S.H. central, Liquidator pointing out that they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and Darkwing. At S.H.U.S.H., Negaduck hit Darkwing for the Liquidator. Later at the Audobon Bay Bridge, while Darkwing was arguing with Gizmoduck, Liquidator and the rest arrived as Megavolt activated his forcefield and Negaduck declared the city theirs. Liquidator and the rest of the Fearsome Five hopped into Negaduck's Negacopter and moved on to terrorize St. Canard. When Darkwing went to their hideout, Liquidator and the rest beat him up while Negaduck watched, Liquidator taking the shape of a golf club and whacking Darkwing across the room, where he eventually went down a trapdoor.
Just Us Justice Ducks-Part II
- “High and dry with nowhere left to go? A Liquidator brand rubber raft may be just the thing you need to save your life! A steal at one million dollars!”
- ―Liquidator.
When the Fearsome Five took over St. Canard, the Liquidator flooded his part of it and forced the people that lived there to give him unbeliavble amounts of money for a rubber raft. Neptunia, who had been brought over by her octopus friend Hal, decided to do something and confronted the Liquidator. She dove into his body and spun him around, a plan that worked until the two crashed into some telephone wires, zapping them both and knocking Neptunia out. The Liquidator took her back to the hideout where Negaduck attempted to kill her by frying her with nuclear fusion sunlamps. However, Liquidator's arguing with the rest of the Fearsome Five interrupted Negaduck before he could kill the Justice Ducks, Megavolt complaining that Liquidator's water was shorting out the power company. Negaduck threatened the group into accepting their own parts of St. Canard while he kept the loot. However, Liquidator complained about Negaduck's double cross and the group planned to kill Negaduck. They attacked Darkwing who was disguised as Negaduck, when the real Negaduck came back and had them capture him and force him to watch as the Justice Ducks were killed. However, the Justice Ducks freed themselves and fought the Fearsome Five, Liquidator grabbing Neptunia, who was chasing Bushroot, he hypnotize her to sleep with a song called "Please Go To Sleep" (sings this as tuned from "Rock-a-Bye Baby") and "My Lullaby." Darkwing managed to dive back into him to stop him and sent him spinning into Megavolt, shorting the latter out. Liquidator was the last of the four to be defeated, avoiding Morgana's attempts to turn him into pudding until Darkwing gave her pudding mix to dump into him. The Liquidator was then mixed by Darkwing and Gizmoduck, putting him out of commission.
Crisis on Infinite Darkwings
In an attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of the public following the attacks by several alternate Darkwings, Darkwing Duck attempted to reveal who was the culprit that was making St. Canard's water act funny. Morgana pulled something out: the Liquidator, whom Darkwing believed was responsible. Liquidator revealed it wasn't him, that he was forced into the water by the true culprit, which was worse than anything the city had ever seen and warned to flee for their lives. He then left when Darkwarrior Duck announced the start of the War of Darkwings.
Gallery
Trivia
- His name is a play on "liquidation", which is what happens when a business goes under and all its assets get divested.
- Of all the Fearsome Five members, Liquidator seems to be the most mentally stable. However, considering the characteristics of his teammates (a sadistic egomaniac, a dangerously irreverent toymaker, a cowardly plant/duck hybrid, and a super-charged delinquent who believes light bulbs are alive), that's not saying very much.
- A kinder, gentler version of the Liquidator was part of the Friendly Four in the Negaverse.
- In "Jail Bird", when Negaduck steals all of his powers, Liquidator kept his altered appearance, similarly to Bushroot. It is unknown why he didn't revert to his original form.
- His powers and origin are identical to those of Spider-Man's villain Hydro-Man.
- "Dry Hard" is the only episode where Liquidator appears solo. All his other appearances were as part of the Fearsome Five. Tad Stones once said this was because his dialogue was very difficult to write because of its dependence on cliché ad slogans and catchphrases.
- Perhaps because of this, in the comic story "Fluffy's Reign of Terror!", most of Liquidator's dialogue was instead references to classic songs.
- In "Dry Hard", Liquidator was accompanied by two girls who sang and danced wearing big mascot-like costumes that were relevant to the situation. This was a reference to the Old Gold cigarette girls from the 1950s.
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