| “ | We are F.O.W.L. We have to be smarter than that. We're not trying to destroy the world, we're going to steal it. Out from underneath McDuck's nose. | ” |
– Bradford Buzzard about F.O.W.L. goals | ||
F.O.W.L, short for The Fiendish Organization for World Larceny is an international criminal organization in the DuckTales 2017 TV series.
History[]
Woo-oo![]
F.O.W.L. is first alluded to on Webby's conspiracy theory board, showing she is aware of the organization, though like most others, she's unaware of the organization's personnel or leaders. But leadership of F.O.W.L. already appeared in this episode (hiding in plain sight) in the form of Bradford Buzzard and the Board of Directors of McDuck Enterprises.
From the Confidential Casefiles of Agent 22![]
In the 1960s, F.O.W.L. sent their agent Black Heron to London, to get her hands on an ancient recipe for a potion they wanted to utilize for building an army of super-soldiers. S.H.U.S.H.'s then-director Ludwig von Drake sent Agent 22 and Scrooge McDuck to thwart F.O.W.L.'s plans.
Moonvasion![]
After Lunaris' defeat, the F.O.W.L. organization held a meeting with all of their members present. Scrooge's Board of Directors and its leader, Bradford Buzzard, stated how too close of a call it was for Scrooge and his family almost having destroyed the world, knowing that if that occurred they couldn't proceed with their criminal actions. But after claiming "The pieces are finally in place", he announced it was time for them to come out of the shadows and end Clan McDuck. Then Bradford concluded that if the McDuck family wants an adventure, he intended to offer them their last.
Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks![]
After Clan McDuck discover the lost journal of Isabella Finch, an insect lands on Donald which he later hits, the insect flies off but it is revealed to be a robot with a camera which looks on the McDuck family.
It is revealed that the insect robot was being controlled by F.O.W.L. Gandra Dee appears and states that the McDuck family have found the hidden journal with Black Heron briefly explaining what the artifacts there are in the journal. The head of the Board of Directors, Bradford Buzzard, then calls on the plan to stop the Duck family, by getting to the lost artifacts first before they can.
Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice![]
Black Heron, Steelbeak and some Eggheads (workers) are stationed in a F.O.W.L. lair located beneath the Funso's Fun Zone. Black Heron has been working on the Intelli-Ray which uses The Third Eye Diamond as its main power source. The ray was tested on lab animals who inadvertently became the Rescue Rangers. She plans to use it on Scrooge to significantly reduce his intelligence. But when Scrooge arrives at Funso's to pick up Launchpad, Dewey and Webby, F.O.W.L. sees this as a threat to their plans and decides to forcibly remove them from the establishment.
When Dewey and Launchpad are playing the Double-O-Duck augmented reality game, Steelbeak captures them without their knowledge as they believe that he was a part of the game. After Stealbeak imprisons Dewey and Launchpad in the F.O.W.L. lair, he is scolded by Black Heron for his stupidity and for not thinking that the missing Ducks will draw the attention of Scrooge to the lair. Stealbeak gets upset because of this and fires the Intelli-Ray at Black Heron causing her to lose her intelligence. He decides to replace Black Heron’s plan with his more ambitious plan to turn Duckburg’s population imbecilic.
Dewey and Launchpad, who had previously escaped with the help of the Rescue Rangers, engages in a struggle with Steelbeak and the Eggheads which ends with Launchpad inadvertently being turned intelligent and Dewey being re-captured. Launchpad uncovers F.O.W.L.’s conspiracy, but decides to rescue Dewey and stop Steelbeak first.
Launchpad, with the aid of the Rescue Rangers, foils Steelbeak’s plan. However, he is forced to give up his intelligence and therefore his knowledgeable of the conspiracy. Director Bradford Buzzard is forced to clean the mess caused by the two agents, he scrutinizes their use of rays and reminds them of their overarching plans.
Let's Get Dangerous![]
Bradford attempts to dissuade Scrooge from visiting the lab of Taurus Bulba, a member of F.O.W.L. operating out of St. Canard. Bulba’s work involves Solego's Circuit, a means of accessing parallel universes. When Bulba uses the Ramrod, operated by the Circuit, to unleash several otherworldly supervillains on the city, Bradford arrives to confront him. His arguments go unheeded, and he is thrown into a cell.
After contacting Black Heron for an extraction, Bradford is released by the suspicious Duck triplets, from whom he attempts to conceal his true intentions. His efforts are highly ineffective, particularly after he explodes into a rant against the family’s adventuring lifestyle. He later throws the boys into another dimension, only for them to be rescued. Between a radio transmission from Black Heron and her arrival in a helicopter bearing F.O.W.L.’s logo, Bradford is revealed to all as the organization’s director. As Heron flies him back to Duckburg, he calls back a warning to Scrooge.
Escape from the ImpossiBin![]
The Duck family and their allies prepare for F.O.W.L.’s expected assault. Mrs. Beakley informs the children that F.O.W.L. was thought to have been destroyed decades previously by S.H.U.S.H. Several possible F.O.W.L. agents are discussed, but none are identified as actual operatives. Gandra Dee, on Bradford’s orders, hacks into the Money Bin’s new security systems and turns them against Scrooge, Della, and Louie. However, Louie figures out how to beat the hijacked Scrooge Robot.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, this attack proves to be intended as a distraction, as various operatives steal Missing Mysteries previously located by them. Immediately after awareness of this Scrooge decides not to play in defence but to direct attacking against F.O.W.L. and continuing for serch of the remaining Missing Mysteries. The Ducks, feeling empowered by their recent adventure, know that they will do everything they can to beat F.O.W.L.
The First Adventure![]
In the prequel episode, It's revealed that Bradford was once a accountant working at S.H.U.S.H. who disliked the how much money the organization wasted. He thus proposed they just take over the world to reign in its chaos while making a profit in the process, but was laughed off by leadership. This prompted him to co-found F.O.W.L. alongside Black Heron. Noteworthy was that Bradford originally intended to make the organization's name O.W.L (the Organization of World Larceny) but Heron added the F (for Fiendish), which she thought sounded cooler.
The Last Adventure![]
In a final confrontation, Bradford blackmails Scrooge McDuck into signing a magical contract to give up adventures to save Donald Duck's life. Nevertheless, Bradford then sends Donald into a Solego Vortex, but the device is shut down by Ludwig Von Drake just before Donald can make contact. However, the contract dissolves when it is found that having a family is an adventure. Bradford is defeated by Scrooge and is called to account from the void by Magica DeSpell, Ma Beagle and her boys, and Flintheart Glomgold and is turned into a ordinary buzzard.
Trivia[]
- Webby's board includes a slip of paper marked "Friend or F.O.W.L."
- F.O.W.L., which was inspired by the terrorist organizations S.P.E.C.T.R.E. from Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and HYDRA from Marvel Comics, first appeared in the DuckTales 1987 episode Double-O-Duck and later reworked for the Darkwing Duck animated series as recurring antagonists opposed by Darkwing himself and the spy agency S.H.U.S.H. before appearing in DuckTales 2017 reboot.
- The Double-O-Duck augmentecters featured in the VR game at Funzo's Fun Zone, Odduck and Red Feather, are based on the characters, Odduck and Feathers Galore which were F.O.W.L. members in the DuckTales 1987 episode Double-O-Duck.
- When F.O.W.L. was founded, Bradford wanted it to be just O.W.L. (the Organization for World Larceny), but Black Heron convinced him to add the "F" (Fiendish).