Jambalaya Jake is a recurring antagonist of the Darkwing Duck franchise. He is a short Cajun criminal from the bayou who came to St. Canard after hearing it was easy pickings. He also has a pet alligator named Gumbo who acts as his henchman and seems to be much smarter than him.
Role in the series[]
Jambalaya Jake lived in the bayou along with his pet alligator Gumbo, but the two decide to move to the big city after hearing it was easy pickings. The two make their hideout in the sewers of St. Canard, where they plot their crimes.
Jake and Gumbo first appear in the episode "Can't Bayou Love". The episode begins with a charity for the bayou. Jake and Gumbo bust in and steal the donated money. Darkwing Duck comes in and stops him. Jake and Gumbo get away, but Darkwing is able to get the money back. Jake and Gumbo go to their hideout in the sewer, and Jake threatens to get rid of Darkwing. Later in the episode, Jake and Gumbo capture Launchpad McQuack. It turns out that Gumbo has a sweet tooth for Launchpad's brownies. Darkwing hears the commotion and comes in to find Launchpad gone. He figures out that Jake took him and goes after them.
Jake and Gumbo take Launchpad to a reptile zoo and tie him up to a tree. Jake ties some of Granny's Tonic (a very explosive concoction) to Launchpad and strings a wire to a plunger. He tells Gumbo to jump on the plunger if Launchpad tries to get away. Jake leaves to ambush Darkwing. Launchpad starts to wiggle out of his ropes when Gumbo starts growling at him. Launchpad gives him a brownie and learns that Gumbo loves them. Jake gets back to Gumbo and Launchpad and stops Gumbo from attacking Launchpad because he wants to blow Launchpad up. Darkwing shows up to stop Jake and they start to fight. Jake and Gumbo are able to sneak off and Darkwing accidentally sets off the explosives.
Darkwing and Launchpad take off after Jake and Gumbo. Darkwing knows that Jake has gone to the sewer to get away. Launchpad accidentally steps on Gumbo's tail and Gumbo starts to chase him. Darkwing tries to come to his rescue but is stopped by Jake who wants to fight some more. Darkwing is able to get the upper hand and puts one of Launchpad's brownies down Jake's overalls and calls for Gumbo. Gumbo takes off after Jake to get the brownie. Jake and Gumbo fall down the sewer drain and are washed out of the city. Jake vows revenge.
Jake and Gumbo reappear in the episode "Double Darkwings" in an attempt to get even with Darkwing. Jake also seeks help from his grandmother, an old witch who makes potions for him to use in exchange for money. She then threatens to turn Gumbo into a handbag if she didn't get her money. At the end of the second episode, the two end up getting arrested for trying to frame Darkwing Duck and Launchpad for their crimes.
Jake didn't appear in any of the comics produced when the show was running, instead only showing up in the revival comics produced two decades later, though all of his roles there were fairly minor. He appears in "Campaign Carnage", "Orange is the New Purple", and "The Kitty Cat Caper!" Interestingly, his appearance in the latter story, which was a remake of one of the comics from Disney Adventures, had him appearing in place of Steelbeak, who had appeared in the original version.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Similar to Gumbo, his name comes from that of a Cajun cuisine; in his case, jambalaya.
- Launchpad dressed up as Jambalaya Jake in the 2017 DuckTales episode "Let's Get Dangerous!"