In several episodes there are references to cartoonist 'Larson, Gary', creator of the comic strip "The Far Side". On one episode, Dr. Reginald Bushroot is teased by two fellow scientists, a Dr. Gary and a Dr. Larson. In another cartoon, aliens identify themselves as being from "the far side of the planet Larson".
The occupation of Drake Mallard, the real-life identity of Darkwing Duck, is never mentioned, nor do his neighbors, the Muddlefoots, ever suspect he is doing anything suspicious.
The stautette that Drake Mallard/Darkwing Duck pushes down to enter his secret lab is of Basil of Baker Street from the Disney feature Great Mouse Detective, The (1986).
Launchpad McQuack is the first Disney television cartoon character to appear in two seperate cartoon shows (he first appeared in "DuckTales" (1987)).
This show not only spoofs elements of the Batman films and comics and the Shadow, but the intelligence organization, SHUSH, also parodies Marvel Comics' SHIELD, a super spy organization that often requests the aid of superheroes, especially Captain America, on missions.
The first season and syndicated version were released at the same time. Because of this, the nefarious five archenemies appeared in the daily stripped shows before their origin stories appeared in the weekly show. It was several years before the first season was integrated into the syndication schedule.
F.O.W.L (the Fiendish Organization for World Larceny) originally appeared in an episode of "DuckTales" (1987).
Much of Liquidator's dialogue is based on advertising slogans.
In addition to mocking the Shadow, Darkwing Duck's outfit was also influenced by the Scarlet Pimpernel.
According to an interview with the show's creator, Tad Stones, Gosalyn was partly based on what he believed his then two-year-old daughter would be like when she grew older.
An earlier version of the show was originally going to be called "Double-O-Ducks". This idea was scrapped, as it turned out that "Double-O" was a copyrighted name, created by Ian Fleming (I), and owned by Albert R. Broccoli, producer of the James Bond films.
Darkwing Duck's nemesis, Steelbeak, was made with voice actor Rob Paulsen in mind.
Megavolt's original name was going to be "Dim Bulb".
A few episodes of Darkwing Duck were banned. The most infamous was season 3's "Hot Spells" which only aired once on ABC. The plot line was involved Gosalyn trying to gain magic powers like Morgana, and in the process, sells Darkwings soul to the devil. Another banned episode was "Aduckaphobia", which was believed to be banned because it parodied Spider-Man.
