What is your opinion about Launchpad? Speaking of the character himself... Both in the old series in which he appears and in his version from DT 17.
(I'm sorry if the question for you is too personal or if it irritates you, I was really curious when you gave your opinion about Drake and Gosalyn earlier...)
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Launchpad is complicated. The reason he's complicated is because I love him so much, and yet I cannot wrap my head around him.
The OG Launchpad was just wonderful. He was faithful, all heart, occasionally petty, endlessly optimistic, a scaredy cat, and never ever wanted to hurt anyone's feelings. He was incredibly emotionally intelligent while sometimes being kinda clueless, he was logical, he was baffled, and he cared about everyone so freaking much. Launchpad was, without a doubt, the heart of the family. He soothed hurt feelings, looked out for the over looked, tried to steer people in the right direction, and was always ready with a comforting word or a little encouragement. He called Drake out on his nonsense, tried to talk some logic into Gosalyn, and made sure Honker knew he was loved. I can't imagine the back pain the big lug had from carrying all of the emotional maturity in the show. I'm even okay with Launchpad being a terrible pilot, because at the same time he's a Remarkable pilot, and again, being intelligent isn't his strength. But that doesn't stand in his way of being a rounded, well written character.
AND THEN DUCKTALES WENT AND MADE HIM A FREAKING IDIOT. Seriously I can Not STAND DT Launchpad. OG Launchpad (yes, I realize that there was Another Launchpad before DWD Launchpad, but I've never seen the Original DuckTales so it doesn't count) was never the brightest bulb in the box, but he was Grounded. While Drake, Gosalyn, Honker, and pretty much everyone else had their personalities blown out of proportion for comedic effect, Launchpad was the stable, consistent one. He wasn't out there putting clues together to solve the weekly mystery - though he did help! - but good Lord he wasn't licking his hands to make sure they weren't waffles. Again, I haven't seen every DT episode, but I have seen the first season and the finale (which I have opinions on, to no one's surprise) and I know they "tried" to give Launchpad some sort of arc where he, IDK, proves he's a still worth something even tho he's a useless moron, but it just didn't stick. Maybe they shouldn't have made him a stupid lump from the beginning. In order to make all of their other main characters shine, they took a big dump onto poor Launchpad. The original beating heart of the family got reduced to being Dumb for a few cheap gags that weren't even funny. This version of LP suffers all the more for being a terrible pilot bc he has no other redeeming traits. Sure, they tried to keep him optimistic and caring, but it's totally over shadowed to me by how SIMPLE he is, both mentally and as a character. It's terrible writing.
Anyway, the reason Launchpad is so hard for me to write is because on one hand, I get him. But on the other hand, he emphasizes the parts of writing that I'm not good at: the emotionally empathetic characters. I myself am a puzzle solver, so I like writing characters who are solving puzzles, and Launchpad isn't the one really doing that all that often. He's the emotionally smart one and I am... not that.
So in the end, I love Launchpad. I think Darkwing balanced him extremely well, and never had to pull gimmicks with him in order to avoid sidelining him behind their "main characters." In fact, he was a main character. I adore Launchpad for who he was, not what DT did to him, but I still struggle to write him, through no fault of his own. He's just very unlike me. But that's why I love him.