Bud Flud (better known as The Liquidator) is 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. He later became one of the Fearsome Five.
Background
Bud Flud was a crooked businessman who owned the Sparkling Crystal Pure Flud Water, a bottled water company based in St. Canard. During a heatwave in St. Canard, Flud 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 Flud 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 Flud 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 (when he actually fell in). 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.
Because he was once a businessman, much of the Liquidator’s dialogue was based on advertising slogans. He 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.
After escaping (how is left a mystery but it is possible he escaped by making his water molecules move through the solidification materials downwards until he became a puddle under them and thus escaped), the Liquidator joined Negaduck's Fearsome Five, taking over St. Canard until they were defeated by the Justice Ducks. The Liquidator remained with that team thereafter in their various schemes.
Although a relatively popular Darkwing Duck villain, the Liquidator only made major appearances in six episodes, with five of them alongside the Fearsome Five. In fact, his origin episode, and the only episode where he appears solo ("Dry Hard", the 23rd episode in production order) only aired after the character appeared in the two "Just Us 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 made cameo appearances in "Ghoul of My Dreams" and "Time and Punishment".
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 transformation into the Liquidator is similar to the Joker's transformation when he falls into a vat of contaminated water.
It also resembles Tombstone's origin from the 1990s Spider-Man series that aired on Fox Kids.
