Liquidator

The Liquidator
Publication information
Publisher	Disney Boom! Studios
First appearance	"Dry Hard"
Created by	Tad Stones
In-story information
Alter ego	Bud Fludd
Species	Dog
Team affiliations	Fearsome Five/Four
Abilities	- Water manipulation - Superhuman strength and durability

Bud Fludd, better known as the Liquidator, is a fictional character, a supervillain in the animated Disney television series Darkwing Duck. He was an anthropomorphic dog turned into a being made entirely of water, who had the ability to control and alter liquids. Liquidator was voiced by Jack Angel.

Although a relatively popular Darkwing Duck villain, the Liquidator only makes major appearances in six episodes, with five of them alongside the Fearsome Five. In fact, his origin episode and the only he appears solo and only aired after the character appeared in the two "Justice Ducks" episodes and "Life, the Negaverse and Everything", leaving many first-time viewers of "Justice Ducks" wondering where exactly he came from. He also makes a cameo appearance in "Time and Punishment".

Background

Bud Fludd was a crooked businessman who owned the Sparkling Crystal Pure Flud Water, a bottled water company based in St. Canard. During a heatwave, Fludd contaminated the water of competing drinks, leaving only his own brand (Sparkling Crystal Pure Flud Water) and Koo Koo Fizzy Water. He was assisted by two women early on, as well. He acquired his powers trying to poison his competitors’ supply of water in an effort to monopolize the market during the heat wave. When Fludd was caught in the act by Darkwing Duck he took a tumble into one of the tainted vats and seemed to melt away and die. The volatile chemicals Fludd had used instead altered his molecular structure, transforming him into a being made entirely of living water. Now rather deranged, the Liquidator blamed Darkwing for throwing him into the vat. Since he could now control all liquids, he turned all the water in St. Canard into a rubbery substance, and now had an absolute stranglehold on the water business in the city. Darkwing was able to defeat the Liquidator by pouring powdered cement on him, restoring the city's water to normal.

The Liquidator is possibly based on the Marvel Comics character Hydro-Man, and his accident is reminiscent of the Joker's.

Because he was once a businessman, much of the Liquidator’s dialogue was based on advertising slogans. He formed part of the Fearsome Five, which included the villains Megavolt, Bushroot, and Quackerjack, and whose leader was 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.