Bushroot
Bushroot (full name Dr. Reginald Bushroot) was a botanist formerly employed at St. Canard University whose well-meaning but underfunded experiments to end world hunger went terribly wrong. His passion for plants led him to develop a theory that if ducks and other people could get their nutrients through photosynthesis as plants do then all the world's hunger problems would be fixed. But the shortsighted Dr. Gary and Dr. Larson endlessly mocked Bushroot's ideas. In fact, the only person at the university who was nice to Bushroot in any way was Dr. Rhoda Dendron. Rhoda was another scientist who, despite working in another lab at the university, often visited Bushroot because she felt sorry for him, little knowing that he harbored a secret crush on her.
When Dean Tightbill paid a visit to the lab one day to check up on the progress of Bushroot and his colleagues, the treacherous Gary and Larson sabotaged Bushroot's experiment to literally blow up in the Dean's face. As a result, Tightbill cut Bushroot's funding, a sad development indeed for the botanist, who was so very close to completing his experimental plant transformation process. Undaunted, Bushroot was determined to prove to the world that his theory was correct. He hastily threw together his equipment in his greenhouse outside of the city, and, on a dark and stormy night, subjected himself to the plant transformation process.
Initially the experiment seemed like a complete failure, but as a dejected Bushroot ventured outside into the early morning sun, he began to feel rejuvenated by the sunlight the following morning! Then his feathers turned green. He figured that it must be a side effect of the plant transformation process and that it was something people could live with. He rushed back to the university, but by the time he got there his mutation had developed far beyond green feathers. As he entered the lab he was shocked to discover that, aside from being green, his hair had also turned purple, he had leafy fronds for hands, and roots for feet! Rhoda was shocked, but Gary and Larson taunted the mutated botanist as they always did, forcing Bushroot to flee the campus grounds in shame and despair. Seeking refuge in the park, Bushroot quickly discovered that there was another side effect to the plant transformation process: he found that he could communicate with plantlife and dictate its actions!
Deciding that this would be the best way to get revenge on those who had tormented him, Bushroot's first action was to take his first step towards true villainy by plotting and finally carrying out the deaths of his two bullying former colleagues, as hundreds of smothering, choking vines invaded the lab that night and made short work of Gary and Larson. With them out of the way for good, Bushroot felt that he could now return to the university with confidence and dignity in order to see Rhoda. But he didn't count on Darkwing Duck becoming involved in the affair. The police and the federal investigators were baffled by the strange nature of the deaths of Dr. Gary and Dr. Larson, and so it wasn't long before they requested the assistance of Darkwing, who had previously proven himself worthy of their trust by besting the criminal mastermind Bulba, Taurus. After examining the grisly, ivy-covered bodies (unusually morbid for this series) Darkwing was quick to pin the blame on Bushroot. But Rhoda refused to believe that Bushroot would resort to murder.
Regardless, Darkwing then theorized that Bushroot would come after Dean Tightbill next since he cut the botanist's funding, and took extreme measures to barricade the Dean in his office. This didn't do much to deter Bushroot, who sent an enormous tree to break into the office and abduct Tightbill. But his murderous efforts were foiled when Darkwing distracted the tree long enough for Tightbill to escape, and an enraged Bushroot ordered the tree to kill him and Launchpad instead. After some near-death experiences with the deadly ivy and the tree, which Darkwing defeated using his trusty buzz-saw cufflinks, and a high-speed pursuit up a giant beanstalk on the Ratcatcher, Bushroot managed to give them the slip. As they returned to the lab, battered and bruised, Bushroot spied on them through the window as they spoke to Rhoda.
In spite of the preceding battle, Rhoda still refused to believe that Bushroot could have turned into such a monster and expressed to Darkwing and Launchpad her concern for her colleague. Overhearing this, Bushroot got the wrong idea. Thinking that Rhoda was in love with him, he immediately turned from "vengeance-crazed vegetable" to "passion fruit" (as Darkwing put it) and made plans to abduct her and take her back to his greenhouse. His newest creation, a giant venus flytrap named Spike, held Darkwing and Launchpad at bay while he nabbed Rhoda and escaped. Once back at the greenhouse, Bushroot strapped Rhoda down to the table and explained that once the transformation process was complete, she would be the "new cover girl of Lawn and Garden!"
But Darkwing and Launchpad, after getting rid of Spike by tricking him into going to fetch a bone, followed Bushroot's unique footprints (well, rootprints anyway) to the isolated greenhouse. Crashing through the skylight, Darkwing demanded that Bushroot release her, and the botanist responded by siccing the various and sundry plantlife in the greenhouse on him. After a furious battle in which Launchpad ended up with a pumpkin stuck on his head, Darkwing tried to use a weed-whacker on Bushroot, only to have it run out of gas. Bushroot then had one of his trees seize Darkwing and "pot" him, planning to have a tractor with a sunflower at the wheel run him over. Darkwing dug his way free of the pot using his bill, kicked the sunflower of the driver's seat, and then used the tractor to run Bushroot over, turning him into mulch.
Bushroot survived however, in the form of a head of lettuce. He later became entangled in other troubles with Darkwing Duck, often after being troubled himself in some way or as a result of his attempts to create new companions. Bushroot also allied himself a number of times with the Fearsome Five.
Alternate Universes
In the Negaverse, Bushroot's counterpart was a member of the Friendly Four.Categories:Scientists
