The Shadow War, whose two halves are also known as The Night of De Spell and Day of the Ducks, is a cartoon story written by Colleen Evanson, Madison Bateman, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow and Francisco Angones, and directed by Tanner Johnson and Matthew Humphreys. Taking place in the 2017 Continuum, it features Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck, Webby Vanderquack, Launchpad McQuack, Bentina Beakley, Lena De Spell, Magica De Spell, Donald Duck, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera, the Headless Man-Horse, Li'l Bulb, Gyro Gearloose. It also features brief appearances by Roxanne Featherly, Gladstone Gander, Flintheart Glomgold, M'ma Crackshell-Cabrera, Gabby McStabberson, Della Duck, and a bobblehead-puppet version of Darkwing Duck, and the shadows of some Beagle Boys and Falcon Graves can even be spotted.
Plot[]
While Webby does her best to reconcile Donald and the Triplets with Scrooge McDuck following the revelation of their mother Della's fate, Magica De Spell's plan reaches fruition. Soon the Ducks must band together once again to battle the shadow army raised by the sorceress — and uncover secrets about the true nature of Magica's reluctant helper and "niece", Lena.
References[]
- Magica De Spell begins to explain that her powers are heightened by the eclipse because she “channels her power through—” before interrupted. She also mentions that she has studied all schools of magic, including Gaelic, Sumerian and Demogorgan.
- Magica's Amulet being cracked leads to her being painfully stripped of her magical powers, which also makes her loose the greenish coloration of her feathers.
Continuity[]
- The consequences of the titular Shadow War would be seen in Season 2 episodes The Ballad of Duke Baloney (2019) and Friendship Hates Magic (2019).
- Friendship Hates Magic (2019) also reveals that Lena De Spell wasn't killed outright by her Aunt Magica, but rather banished to the Shadow Realm.
- Magica De Spell's storyline throughout Season 1, here coming to an end, shares several traits with that of Solego in the notorious crossover comic story The Legend of the Chaos God (1994): Solego and this Magica were both powerful sorcerous entities, trapped in an amulet for a long time and requiring contact with some sort of object to escape, who used possession as a means to access said object. One of the enchanted shadows given life by Magica also takes control of the Gizmosuit, much as Solego himself had done in Legend of the Chaos God.
Behind the scenes[]
The finale of Season 1 of DuckTales 2017, The Shadow War was released mid-August, 2018. Its two halves would later be split as individual episodes Night of De Spell and Day of the Ducks.
The title and plot bear much similarity to the episode of the original DuckTales, Magica's Shadow War. The appearance of the Shadow Army and the wide montage of its effect on Duckburg can also be likened to the Slime from Dangerous Currency. (The titles of the individual halves, meanwhile, seem to be a reference to the Doctor Who episodes Night of the Doctor and Day of the Doctor.)
As the finale to Season 1, The Shadow War wraps up many of its plotlines and features appearances by most recurring characters.
The episode features a reference to the Kingdom Hearts series, when Mrs. Beakley mentions that Scrooge's favorite ice cream flavor is sea-salt, which is also the favorite of his Heart Kingdoms counterpart.