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Taurus Bulba is an antagonist from Disney's 1991-1993 television series Darkwing Duck, debuting as the main antagonist in the hour-long pilot episode "Darkly Dawns the Duck". An evil, anthropomorphic, Russian-accented bull, he is introduced as a criminal mastermind serving a 99-year jail sentence. Although Bulba only appeared in three episodes of the original series and a few print materials, he is considered one of Darkwing Duck's deadliest enemies.

Background[]

Appearance[]

Taurus is a blue bull with a muscular build. He wears a red jacket with gold buttons, a white shirt with a yellow tie, gray pants and black shoes. As a cyborg, his horns have been replaced by a missile launcher and laser, his face covered by a mask, his shoulders, right eye and lower half are now mechanical and all parts are red. His left arm converts into a laser cannon. At the end of the episode, his body can transform into a jet, his arms turn into wings and his lower half becomes an engine before he flies away.

Personality[]

Apart from a few wry comedic moments, Taurus Bulba is considered to be a dark and menacing character, and probably the most malicious villain ever to appear in the series aside from the psychotic Negaduck. He possessed incredible cunning as well as prodigious physical strength. In "Darkly Dawns the Duck", it is shown that his henchmen murdered Gosalyn's grandfather Professor Waddlemeyer, on his order (though apparently, they did so in reverse order, killing him before getting the machine's codes from him), and his men and pet condor Tantalus also nearly kill Gosalyn as well. Gosalyn is afraid of him in both of his cartoon appearances, though she overcomes her fear during "The Steerminator" while caged alongside Honker.

After being rebuilt as the Steerminator, Bulba retained his original personally but also become completely unhinged, with a single-minded obsession to destroy Darkwing Duck. Had the series continued, there would have been a concluding episode to the cliffhanger which showed Darkwing confronting Taurus Bulba in Africa ― along with an African version of Darkwing Duck. This obsession is also born out in the Boom! comics where Bulba actually uses Darkwing's silhouette as the insignia for Quackwerks.

Powers and Abilities[]

Being a bull, Taurus Bulba is quite strong and has the intelligence to match his strength. He also has access to a vast amount of wealth and resources, like he was able to run his criminal operations while being in jail and with control of the Ramrod, he can manipulate gravitational fields and disrupts gravitational bonds to allows manipulation on a micro scale and makes both objects and people float.

As the Steerminator, Bulba has various cybernetic enhancements which he can manipulate at will such as shifting his arm into a laser cannon or transforming his body into a jet. His strength has been enhanced to superhuman levels and he is much more durable as he was able to withstand an attack from the assault vehicle, Darkwing designed to specifically take him down. His one weakness is that he suffers from an overheating problem, causing his mind and body to temporarily "lock up" like an overworked computer until he cools down.

Appearances[]

Darkwing Duck[]

Not much is known about Taurus Bulba's background. In the series' hour-length pilot episode, "Darkly Dawns the Duck", Taurus is shown serving a 99-year jail sentence yet still involved in criminal affairs from the prison. In fact, he seems to find being incarcerated to only be a minor inconvenience, seeing his prison cell as the perfect hideout and cover for his activities.

After his henchmen stole the Waddlemeyer Ramrod (an experimental weapon that seems to envelop its targets in an anti-gravity field, destroying buildings and the most heavily-guarded banks) Bulba escaped and gave orders to kidnap Gosalyn because he believed, as she was Professor Waddlemeyer's only living relative, that she knew the secret code to active the Ramrod. At the climax of "Darkly Dawns the Duck", Bulba forced Darkwing to give him the arming code by threatening to drop Gosalyn to her death ("...or she'll make quite an ugly stain on the street!"). After Launchpad caught Gosalyn after Bulba dropped her anyway, Darkwing fought Bulba and managed to overload the Ramrod into self-destructing, exploding both it and Canard Tower. Though heavily injured, Darkwing survived while Taurus was presumed killed in the explosion.

Steerminator

Taurus Bulba as a cyborg.

Years later in "Steerminator", it was revealed that F.O.W.L. had recovered Bulba's body and kept him in stasis until they were able to fully revive him as an unstoppable cyborg. Though F.O.W.L. assumed that Bulba would accept their offer of employment following their restoration of him, Bulba declined the offer, destroying the F.O.W.L. laboratory and terrorizing Steelbeak and his men in the process, opting instead to seek revenge on Darkwing and Gosalyn upon discovering that his foe had managed to survive their prior encounter. After being once again defeated by Darkwing and Gosalyn, he managed to flee into the sky thanks to his cyborg enhancements, swearing that he would return to get his revenge.

DuckTales (2017)[]

ET - Let's Get Dangerous! photo 2

Taurus Bulba in Ducktales reboot

Taurus Bulba appears in "Let's Get Dangerous!", where he starts out working for McDuck Enterprises as a scientist. Bulba is then revealed to be a member of F.O.W.L., though he later revolts against them. He has an American accent in this version.

Taurus Bulba kindly encounters Scrooge McDuck along with Huey and Louie just as he plans on hiring two of the nephews to work at the lab, just as he explains to the two about Bradford Buzzard's plan to change the world to which during the conversation, he plans to take the most powerful source in the world from the McDucks. Bulba then takes the McDucks and introduces them to the Ramrod, a large machine that makes anything to which Bulba takes Darkwing to a ceremony where Zan Owlson presents Darkwing as St. Canard's hero who would help protect the city from crime with heroism.

Encountering Bulba, Huey questions him about the Ramrod being able to make something from nothing, to which he explains that Huey has asked more than one question to him. As Scrooge approaches him, he then takes the McDucks to find the Ramrod plans. As Bulba enters his office, he hands out the index to Huey while explaining that the map will take the McDucks to the Ramrod area where all their questions will be answered. Darkwing then hands him a photo featuring Bulba's relationship with Thaddeus Waddlemeyer and Gosalyn Mallard, explaining to Darkwing about his tragic flashback between him and Waddlemeyer, much to Gosalyn's worry. As Darkwing asks Bulba about the Ramrod being stable, he then inserts the key on the Ramrod much to his chagrin. Bulba later chases Gosalyn out of McDuck Enterprises to which Darkwing does a surprise attack on him to which while fighting him, Darkwing notices Gosalyn falling off the building just as Darkwing's attempt to save Gosalyn was successful the two land at the spot where Launchpad is standing at.

Meanwhile as the McDucks arrive at the Ramrod area, Taurus Bulba then plans to take revenge against Gosalyn and Darkwing by summoning all the villains from a universe aligning with the original Darkwing Duck TV show. After Bulba locks up the nephews, he encounters Director Bradford Buzzard in his office at who is explaining to him that he is supposed to crack the Solego Circuit for F.O.W.L.'s evil plans, much to Bradford explaining about his betrayal to the evil organization just as Bulba summons Liquidator, Bushroot, and Megavolt to stabilize Bradford, much to his harsh orders just as he devises a plan to find Darkwing Duck and destroy him. Later as Darkwing and Gosalyn overhear a warning from W.A.N.D.A. about the Ramrod, Darkwing then plans to face Taurus Bulba and stop him from destroying St. Canard.

During the battle, Taurus Bulba notices the villains defeated and notices what Gosalyn has done to the Ramrod as she is unable to find her grandfather. She then manages to stop the rift from destroying everything by firing an arrow at the core just as the explosion from the rift knocks Bulba unconscious, due to Gosalyn's attempt to save St. Canard.

Printed Media[]

Steerminator3

In the Boom! Studios Darkwing Duck comic, Taurus Bulba returns in the first story arc, "The Duck Knight Returns", as the CEO and mastermind behind the mega-corporation Quackwerks, in an attempt to get revenge on Darkwing Duck and his companions, but more importantly, to give St. Canard a new kind of villain, as he considers the other villains unprofessional. It is stated that, between the events of "Steerminator" and the comic, Bulba went to war against F.O.W.L. for turning him into a cyborg and was destroyed in battle, but he was able to control his consciousness so that he could travel through and possess electronics, eventually reforming his cyborg body after possessing Gyro Gearloose's blender. He then demanded Gyro to give him the Gizmoduck suit, threatening to have Little Helper self-destruct if he didn't give him the password. Gyro reluctantly gave him the password, but the suit did not recognize Bulba as a person due to being a cyborg. So Bulba took over St. Canard in order to net him the Gizmosuit and have all his prisoners say the entire English language to get the password, which Gyro had now changed to avoid chances of that happening. Later, Gosalyn defeated Bulba once and for all after saving St. Canard and registering the Gizmosuit.

Bulba appears in Dynamite Entertainment's Negaduck mini-series, having apparently reunited with his henchmen following the events of "Steerminator". This obviously conflicts with the above-mentioned detail of him waging war against F.O.W.L., likely due to Disney firing the previous comic's writer Aaron Sparrow from working on the new series, and as a result is not considered canon.

Gallery[]

Wiki
The Disney Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Taurus Bulba.

Trivia[]

  • Bulba in his original form seems to be modeled after the Kingpin from Marvel Comics.
  • Bulba in terms of role in the story is similar to Lex Luthor from DC Comics. They are both very intelligent and both were upgraded into more powerful forms, as while Bulba was upgraded into a cyborg, Luthor first possessed a Kryptonite-powered battlesuit, and later became a human-martian hybrid known as "Apex Lex" in 2018. Another similarity is that they were both known criminals in their original incarnation, while in their rebooted incarnation (which for Luthor was after the 1985-1986 Crisis on Infinite Earths event) they were both portrayed as businessmen who were secretly criminals.
  • Bulba is mistakenly said to be the leader of F.O.W.L. in the book, Darkwing Duck: The Darkest Night, although this is not part of the cartoon canon or the licensed comics. He is a member of F.O.W.L. in DuckTales reboot, but he revolts against them in the end.
  • Taurus Bulba's name is a play on Taras Bulba, a character from the Nikolai Gogol novel of the same name.
  • Taurus Bulba is the only villain who Gosalyn is afraid of.


v - e - d
Darkwing Duck Logo
Media
Darkwing Duck (Videography) • RebootWalt Disney's World on Ice: Double Feature... Live!

Video Games: NES gameTurboGrafx-16 gameDisney Heroes: Battle Mode
Books: High Wave RobberyThe Silly Canine CaperThe Darkest NightBoom! Studios comicJoe Books comic

Characters
Heroes and Allies: Darkwing DuckLaunchpad McQuackGosalyn MallardHonker MuddlefootTank MuddlefootHerb and Binkie MuddlefootGizmoduckMorgana MacawberNeptuniaStegmuttJ. Gander HooterDerek BluntVladimir GryzlikoffSara BellumRhoda DendronGloria SwansongPrincess of OilrabiaGoose LeeComet Guy

Villains: Negaduck/NegatronBushrootMegavoltLiquidatorQuackerjackSteelbeakTaurus BulbaHammerhead HanniganHoof and MouthTantalusClovisTuskerniniDr. FossilPhineas SharpProfessor MoliartyAmmonia PineAmple GrimePaddywhackLilliputJambalaya JakeGumboBug MasterHigh CommandMajor SynapseHotshot and FlygirlDr. SlugSplatter PhoenixCamille ChameleonAnna MatronicIsis VanderchillJohnny T. RexFluffyDark Warrior DuckNodoffBrainteasers

Episodes
Syndication: "Darkly Dawns the Duck" • "Beauty and the Beet" • "Getting Antsy" • "Night of the Living Spud" • "Apes of Wrath" • "Dirty Money" • "Duck Blind" • "Comic Book Capers" • "Water Way to Go" • "Paraducks" • "Easy Come, Easy Grows" • "A Revolution in Home Appliances" • "Trading Faces" • "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlatan" • "Can't Bayou Love" • "Bearskin Thug" • "You Sweat Your Life" • "Days of Blunder" • "Just Us Justice Ducks" • "Double Darkwings" • "Aduckyphobia" • "When Aliens Collide" • "Jurassic Jumble" • "Cleanliness is Next to Badliness" • "Smarter Than a Speeding Bullet" • "All's Fahrenheit in Love and War" • "Whiffle While You Work" • "Ghoul of My Dreams" • "Adopt-a-Con" • "Toys Czar Us" • "The Secret Origins of Darkwing Duck" • "Up, Up and Awry" • "Life, the Negaverse, and Everything" • "Dry Hard" • "Heavy Mental" • "Disguise the Limit" • "Planet of the Capes" • "Darkwing Doubloon" • "It's a Wonderful Leaf" • "Twitching Channels" • "Dances with Bigfoot" • "Twin Beaks" • "The Incredible Bulk" • "My Valentine Ghoul" • "Dead Duck" • "A Duck By Any Other Name" • "Let's Get Respectable" • "In Like Blunt" • "Quack of Ages" • "Time and Punishment" • "Stressed to Kill" • "The Darkwing Squad" • "Inside Binkie's Brain" • "The Haunting of Mr. Banana Brain" • "Slime Okay, You're Okay" • "Whirled History" • "U.F.Foe" • "A Star is Scorned" • "The Quiverwing Quack" • "Jail Bird" • "Dirtysomething" • "Kung Fooled" • "Bad Luck Duck"

ABC Season One: "That Sinking Feeling" • "Film Flam" • "Negaduck" • "Fungus Amongus" • "Slaves to Fashion" • "Something Fishy" • "Tiff of the Titans" • "Calm a Chameleon" • "Battle of the Brainteasers" • "Bad Tidings" • "Going Nowhere Fast" • "A Brush with Oblivion" • "The Merchant of Menace"
ABC Season Two: "Monsters R Us" • "Inherit the Wimp" • "The Revenge of the Return of the Brainteasers, Too!" • "Star Crossed Circuits" • "Steerminator" • "The Frequency Fiends" • "Paint Misbehavin'" • "Hot Spells" • "Fraudcast News" • "Clash Reunion" • "Mutantcy on the Bouncy" • "Malice's Restaurant" • "Extinct Possibility"

Vehicles and Gadgets
RatcatcherThunderquackDarkwing Duck's gas gunRamrodSuper Sensitive Darkwing Duck-tectorTronsplitter
Songs
Darkwing Duck ThemeLittle Girl BlueKickin' in the GrooveI'm the KingI'm Darkwing Duck
See also
DuckTalesThe Disney AfternoonDisney XD (Netherlands)Justice DucksFearsome FiveF.O.W.L.S.H.U.S.H.St. CanardNegaverse


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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