Bushroot Headcanons

1) He's part monster. Most ducks are around Darkwing's height, but Bushroot was closer to Launchpad (a pelican) even before his mutation. If he is truly a duck, and not another bird, that makes him unusually tall — just like almost all the Monster ducks we've seen (Morgana and her father, Magica, Paddywhack, etc).

2) He is not done mutating. He will continue to change as time goes on and he keeps getting shredded/regrown. He will get better control of his powers, eventually going into the realm of urban legend/mythical figure.

3) He didn't kill Doctors Gary and Larson. He badly injured and traumatized them, but did not kill them. Aswell, they were two cows or something because the show overused ducks.

4) He wasn't thinking straight in his first appearance. Both he and Liquidator went to extremes never seen again just after they mutated, leading me to believe that neither was capable of clear thinking. His just-mutated brain was still settling itself, leading to faulty logic, extreme twists of emotion, and lack of empathy (which led him to kidnap and attempt to mutate Rhoda).

5) Bushroot is not straight. He is bi or pan, and had a crush on Gary and/or Larson before they started bullying him. He seeks out women because he doesn't fully realize he's attracted to both, and thinks he can only have a romantic relationship with a female.

6) Even if given the chance, he wouldn't unmutate. He hates being an outcast, but he actually loves his powers, despite his complaints. He finally has friends/family in the form of his plants and teammates. Even if he's scared, he can defend himself easily, and can't die. Giving up his mutation would mean being vulnerable and alone once more, while still being an outcast.

7) He's been disowned. He faced a lot of neglect, ridicule, and pressure as a child. His family was always disappointed in him, disapproving of everything from his career choice to his hobbies. Plus he was rejected by both the Normie and Monster sides. After he became a supervillain they cut off all ties. He misses them, but would rather not deal with all of that again.

8) He'd defend the F5, if it was serious. If they were attacked, he'd hide behind his teammates and plants to avoid pain. If someone tried to kill them, he'd take the brunt of the damage because he's much more likely to survive than most of the others. Basically, he'll avoid pain unless someone he cares about will die otherwise.

9) He isn't just a Botanist. He has a great deal of knowledge in Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, and Microbiology aswell. Whether he holds multiple PHDs or not is unknown.

10) He will eventually (sorta) reform. Quackerjack and him will get into an argument, and QJ will use his psychology skills to hold up a mirror to Bushroot. Bushroot will realize that he's selfish, violent, bitter, hypocritical, lashes out, and doesn't always do what's best for his plants. He will start to improve himself, ceasing his more violent crimes, but will never stop being a thief. He will as well never abandon the F4. He might become a neutral party, or an antihero/antivillain. Or something like that.

11) His eyes bring him comfort. His eyes were the only thing to stay the same after he mutated, and they ground him because they remind him that he's still himself, rather than a creature in place of Reginald Bushroot.

12) He really likes being called by his first name. When he overheard Dr Rhoda Dendron call him Reginald, he freaked out and took it as part of the proof for her liking him. When Darkwing calls him by his first name in the comics, he gets surprised and happy. This is part of the reason why he loathes the mocking name 'Reggie The Veggie', since it uses his first name to insult him.

13) He has two forms. When stressed/angry/scared, his body goes a bit more Monster. This happened before he mutated, and got more extreme afterwards.

14) He makes plants smarter. The more a plant is exposed to his powers, the more intelligent/capable it becomes. This is part of why Spike is, well, Spike. He can sense very basic emotions from plants, which get more complex as they get more mutated from his presence. The plants in his Greenhouse are mostly very intelligent and can at least partially move on their own.

15) He's not against people eating plants... or at least not every part of plants. Some plants have to be eaten in order to spread their seeds, others use nectar or fruit to lure in animals to protect them. So, really, he's only against hurting a plant by eating it. At first he was a bit more strict/insane when it came to others eating plants, but he chilled out over time.