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"Hero for Hire" is the nineteenth episode of DuckTales.

Synopsis[]

WebbedWonder

Scrooge is giving an opening speech at the new McDuck Bank of Duckburg. When questioned about the bank’s safety measures, Scrooge explains that Gyro has built a special Anti-Beagle Boy alarm for the bank, which can detect any Beagle Boy’s presence. Scrooge gives a demonstration of the alarm by showing it a picture of Bankjob, which sets it off, although he doesn’t know how to turn it off. In spite of the alarm, Bankjob, Babyface and Bugle are at the back of the crowd, hidng and wearing detective each to disguise them from Scrooge McDuck.

Launchpad is flying above in his helicopter with Doofus, when he hears the alarm, and heads down towards the bank. However, a banner is hanging from his helicopter, which gets caught on an antenna on the bank’s roof, and as a result, the copter crashes into the bank, causing the building to collapse. Nobody gets hurt from the crash, but Scrooge gets furious with Launchpad and fires him.

Later on, Doofus heads over to Launchpad’s house, and encourages Launchpad to become a public hero if he can’t work for Scrooge anymore. To start, Launchpad attempts to rescue a cat stuck in a tree, although he ends up falling in a Dumpster. Afterwards, Doofus sees a window washer outside a window of an office building, and tells Launchpad to save him. Unable to use the crowded elevator, Launchpad runs up the stairs to the top floor, only to learn that the window washer never needed help in the first place, and is accidentally flung down the garbage chute.

After Launchpad has gotten himself some business cards, Ma Beagle, who’s just stolen a bag full of money from a licorice store, runs past Launchpad, and convinces him to help her cross the street in order for her to hide from the police. Launchpad gives her a card, and she kindly retreats to her hideout, where the Beagle Boys tell her about the alarm, and how they’ll be unable to rob banks if one spots them. Ma shows her sons the card she got, and they get an idea. Soon Launchpad receives a call from the Beagles, who are posing as a production company, and want him to star in their next movie.

Launchpad meets up with the Beagles, and since he can’t figure out who they really are, changes into a superhero-esque costume that they’ve provided him with, titled "The Webbed Wonder." Bankjob, who’s posing as movie director Mr. Spielbig, suggests that the first scene that should be shot is the bank scene. Scrooge, who’s already had his bank rebuilt somehow, sends for Launchpad to pick up some gold, but Mrs. Featherby reminds Scrooge that he fired Launchpad, which makes him wonder how his ex-pilot is doing.

The Beagles, Launchpad, and Doofus arrive outside the bank in a van, where Bankjob convinces Launchpad that the bank’s safe isn’t safe, and that he needs to retrieve money from it. Launchpad starts his scene, and after forgetting his lines, manages to heist several bags of money for the Beagles, and they all drive off with Launchpad none the wiser. After tricking Launchpad into robbing a second bank, Launchpad, thinking he really is a movie hero, robs a third bank with his own style.

Launchpad, or rather, the Webbed Wonder, is in a lot of trouble, and the next day, Scrooge can’t help but feel responsible for the whole ordeal, so he sets out to set Launchpad straight. While eating breakfast with Doofus that morning, Launchpad learns the truth about his robberies from the newspaper, and he sets out to tell the police. At the station, Launchpad receives a call from his house. Apparently, Doofus spilled the beans about Launchpad’s plan, and Bankjob demands that Launchpad return to them to film the next scene without telling the police. When Launchpad leaves the station, Ma calls in, telling where they can find out where the Webbed Wonder will be next.

When Launchpad shows up at the Beagle Boys’ studio hideout, the police show up, and Scrooge and Duckworth follow them there. While Scrooge convinces the police not to hurt Launchpad, the Webbed Wonder fakes his own death by crashing the 'copter into a bridge. With everyone thinking Launchpad is dead now, he sets out to rescue Doofus. Although Doofus is not at his house, Launchpad does spot a message that the chubby boy left in his maple syrup that reads “Beagle Boys."

Launchpad steals an alarm from a bank and flies around in his biplane to find the Beagle Boys. The alarm leads him to Ma’s cabin in the woods, where the Beagles spot him coming, and hide Doofus under a lampshade. Since the Beagles aren’t in their studio disguises, Launchpad doesn’t recognize them, and he remembers Ma as the kind lady he helped across the street. When Launchpad sees a family portrait of the Beagles and discovers Doofus under the lampshade, he realizes the truth, and the two ducks flee from the cabin when a huckleberry hand-grenade cake blows up in the Beagles' faces.

Launchpad and Doofus get away in the Beagle’s van, which is full of the stolen money, but the Beagles follow them back to Duckburg in Ma’s car. The car ends up crashing into a police station, and because they weren’t wearing seatbelts, Bankjob, Babyface, and Bugle go flying into the back of a police van, while Ma makes her getaway. Scrooge learns that Launchpad was never dead, but is still mad at him. Doofus, however, congratulates Launchpad for rescuing him and retrieving the stolen money and convinces Scrooge to rehire him. Launchpad asks for a raise, and since Scrooge proclaims that he’s already been paying Launchpad twice what he’s worth, Launchpad foolishly agrees to work for half of his original salary.

Cast[]

Trivia[]

  • Bankjobs number changes throughout this episode, first 617-167, then to 614-167 (as Spielbig) and again back to 617-167.
  • Mr. Spielbig (Bankjob) is a reference to Steven Spielberg from Amblin Entertainment.
  • Gyro Gearloose appears in this episode, but he doesn't have a single line of dialogue.
  • This is the first episode not to feature Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Video releases[]

VHS

  • DuckTales: High-Flying Hero

Laserdisc

  • DuckTales: Daredevil Ducks / High-Flying Hero

DVD

  • DuckTales: Volume 1

Gallery[]

External links[]


v - e - d
DuckTales logo
Media
Shows/Movies: 1987 series (videography) • 2017 seriesWalt Disney's World on Ice: Double Feature... Live!Raw ToonageDuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost LampChibi Tiny TalesThis Duckburg Life

Video Games: Video game (HD remake/Soundtrack) • DuckTales 2The Quest for GoldScrooge's LootDisney Heroes: Battle ModeDisney All-Star RacersDisney All-Star Party
Comics: Comic Books (IDW)
Books: The Secret City Under the SeaSphinx for the Memories and Sir Gyro GearlooseScrooge's Treasure HuntChristmas at the North PoleWebby Saves the Day

Disney Parks
DuckTales World Showcase AdventurePLAY!Donald's Duck Pond
Characters
1987 series: Scrooge McDuckHuey, Dewey, and LouieLaunchpad McQuackWebby VanderquackBentina BeakleyDuckworthChief O'HaraShedlock JonesGyro GearlooseLittle HelperYardarmDoofus DrakeFenton CrackshellDonald DuckLudwig Von DrakeGladstone GanderBubba the Cave DuckAbominable SnowwomanTootsie the TriceratopsSkittlesBlackjackPouponGene the GenieGlittering GoldieMad Dog McGurkFeathers GaloreBurt QuackarachMajor CourageMicro DucksAdmiral GrimmitzKing HomerQueen ArielShawebizadGandra DeeMcPapaMcMamaRoboticaBeagle BoysMa BeaglePeteFlintheart GlomgoldPhantom BlotDijonArgus McSwineMagica De SpellMinima De SpellPoe De SpellEl CapitanJoaquin SlowlyMerlock the MagicianCinnamon TealDracula DuckDr. NoGoodMillionara VanderbucksFritter O'WayLawrence LoudmouthBruno Von BeakArmstrongThe SirensCirceHarpiesYuckalindaQueen GriseldaDjinniTerra-Firmie KingOverlord BulovanSolegoGICU-2Magica's ShadowThe Fear DemonsVacation Van Honk

2017 series: Della DuckLenaBradford BuzzardBentley and Buford BuzzardCaptain PeghookManny the Headless Man-HorsePixiuGabby McStabbersonHack and Slash SmashnikovRoxanne FeatherlyToad Liu HaiMark BeaksFalcon GravesAmunetSabafToth-RaZeusSeleneStorkulesCharybdisBriar and BrambleDarkwing DuckGosalyn MallardMegavoltDon KarnageQuackerjackLiquidatorBlack HeronZan OwlsonFisherMannDrosera occidendumJosé CariocaPanchito PistolesFethry DuckJohn D. RockerduckJeevesGavinGrandpappy BeagleViolet SabrewingUnicornPercival P. PeppingtonNightmare BeastPaddywhackBushrootNegaduckDaisy DuckGoofyChip and Dale Monterey JackZipperGadget HackwrenchKit CloudkickerTaurus BulbaMolly CunninghamLieutenant PenumbraGeneral LunarisMoonlandersMoon MitesGilded ManNeighbor JonesSteelbeakIsabella FinchIndy and Ty SabrewingTri-Crested TittertwillAletheiaVeroKing HonestusEmma GlamourInspector TezukaAkitaStrongbeardHeckaJormungandrPonce de LeonMatilda McDuckEmutilda

Episodes
1987 series

Season One: "The Treasure of the Golden Suns" • "Send in the Clones" • "Sphinx for the Memories" • "Where No Duck Has Gone Before" • "Armstrong" • "Robot Robbers" • "Magica's Shadow War" • "Master of the Djinni" • "Hotel Strangeduck" • "Lost Crown of Genghis Khan" • "Duckman of Aquatraz" • "The Money Vanishes" • "Sir Gyro de Gearloose" • "Dinosaur Ducks" • "Hero for Hire" • "Superdoo!" • "Maid of the Myth" • "Down and Out in Duckburg" • "Much Ado About Scrooge" • "Top Duck" • "Pearl of Wisdom" • "The Curse of Castle McDuck" • "Launchpad's Civil War" • "Sweet Duck of Youth" • "Earth Quack" • "Home Sweet Homer" • "Bermuda Triangle Tangle" • "Micro Ducks from Outer Space" • "Back to the Klondike" • "Horse Scents" • "Scrooge's Pet" • "Catch as Cash Can" • "Merit-Time Adventure" • "The Golden Fleecing" • "Ducks of the West" • "Time Teasers" • "Back Out in the Outback" • "Raiders of the Lost Harp" • "The Right Duck" • "Scroogerello" • "Double-O-Duck" • "Luck o' the Ducks" • "Duckworth's Revolt" • "Magica's Magic Mirror"/"Take Me Out of the Ballgame" • "Duck to the Future" • "Jungle Duck" • "Launchpad's First Crash" • "Dime Enough for Luck" • "Duck in the Iron Mask" • "The Uncrashable Hindentanic" • "The Status Seekers" • "Nothing to Fear" • "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. McDuck" • "Once Upon a Dime" • "Spies in Their Eyes" • "All Ducks on Deck" • "Ducky Horror Picture Show" • "Till Nephews Do Us Part"
Season Two: "Time is Money" • "Super DuckTales"
Season Three: "The Land of Trala La" • "Allowance Day" • "Bubbeo & Juliet" • "The Good Muddahs" • "My Mother the Psychic" • "Metal Attraction" • "Dough Ray Me" • "Bubba's Big Brainstorm" • "The Big Flub" • "A Case of Mistaken Secret Identity" • "Blue Collar Scrooge" • "Beaglemania" • "Yuppy Ducks" • "The Bride Wore Stripes" • "The Unbreakable Bin" • "Attack of the Fifty-Foot Webby" • "The Masked Mallard" • "A DuckTales Valentine"
Season Four: "Ducky Mountain High" • "Attack of the Metal Mites" • "The Duck Who Knew Too Much" • "New Gizmo-Kids on the Block" • "Scrooge's Last Adventure" • "The Golden Goose"

2017 series
Season One: "Woo-oo!" • "Daytrip of Doom!" • "The Great Dime Chase!" • "The Beagle Birthday Massacre!" • "Terror of the Terra-firmians!" • "The House of the Lucky Gander!" • "The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks!" • "The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra!" • "The Impossible Summit of Mt. Neverrest!" • "The Spear of Selene!" • "Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!" • "The Missing Links of Moorshire!" • "McMystery at McDuck McManor!" • "JAW$!" • "The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!" • "Day of the Only Child!" • "From the Confidential Casefiles of Agent 22!" • "Who is Gizmoduck?!" • "The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!" • "Sky Pirates...in the Sky!" • "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!" • "The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!" • "The Shadow War!"
Season Two: "The Most Dangerous Game...Night!" • "The Depths of Cousin Fethry!" • "The Ballad of Duke Baloney!" • "The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!" • "Storkules in Duckburg!" • "Last Christmas!" • "What Ever Happened to Della Duck?!" • "Treasure of the Found Lamp!" • "The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck!" • "The 87 Cent Solution!" • "The Golden Spear!" • "Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!" • "Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!" • "Friendship Hates Magic!" • "The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee!" • "The Duck Knight Returns!" • "What Ever Happened to Donald Duck?!" • "Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake!" • "A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!" • "The Golden Armory of Cornelius Coot!" • "Timephoon!" • "GlomTales!" • "The Richest Duck in the World!" • "Moonvasion!"
Season Three "Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!" • "Quack Pack!" • "Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!" • "The Lost Harp of Mervana!" • "Louie's Eleven!" • "Astro B.O.Y.D.!" • "The Rumble for Ragnarok!" • "The Phantom and the Sorceress!" • "They Put a Moonlander on the Earth!" • "The Trickening!" • "The Forbidden Fountain of the Foreverglades!" • "Let's Get Dangerous!" • "Escape from the ImpossiBin!" • "The Split Sword of Swanstantine!" • "New Gods on the Block!" • "The First Adventure!" • "The Fight for Castle McDuck!" • "How Santa Stole Christmas!" • "Beaks in the Shell!" • "The Lost Cargo of Kit Cloudkicker!" • "The Life And Crimes of Scrooge McDuck!" • "The Last Adventure!"

Locations
DuckburgAtlantisThe Money BinMcDuck ManorCastle McDuckFountain of YouthScotlandNotre DuckValley of the Golden SunsSt. CanardCape Suzette
Organizations
Air PiratesF.O.W.L.Junior WoodchucksS.H.U.S.H.
Objects
Number One DimeJunior Woodchucks GuidebookGizmosuitGene's LampMerlock's TalismanSun CoinSun ChaserHarp of TroyMillennium ShortcutGyro's HelicopterMolecular ManipulatorGolden GooseWebby's Quacky Patch DollHindentanicMagic MedallionRatcatcherJewel of AtlantisPep!Gummiberry JuiceIron VulturePirate FightersSpear of SeleneSea DuckRanger Plane
Songs
DuckTales ThemeThree Cheers for Bubba DuckBoogie Beagle BluesMoon Stage ThemeSky PiratesThe Three CaballerosHear My Voice
See also
Carl BarksThe Disney AfternoonDarkwing DuckQuack PackDisney XD (Netherlands)Let's Go to Disneyland Paris
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