#ducktheory

Kane is what Scrooge becomes in Don Rosa’s Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck prior to reconciling with his family. Don Rosa wanted obvious parallels.

Kane and Scrooge came from poor families but rose to success through different means. Kane inherited his wealth, then squandered it while alienating himself from those who loved him. He used and abused them.

Scrooge’s family previously had wealth but had fallen on hard times. He left home to send money to his family while accruing his own wealth through hard work. He stuck to his morals throughout his life, but consequently, let his hardened heart and pride get the best of him. He crossed a moral line and alienated himself from his family, the people who loved him.

Scrooge avoided Kane’s sad fate. Don Rosa’s commentary in his archives reveal he killed Hortense McDuck off after being told he couldn’t use her in his stories. Again, Hortense is Donald’s mother and Scrooge’s baby sister.

In a Letter From Home, Scrooge admits to Matilda McDuck he got too lonely and desperate for someone in his family. He was lonely. He missed his family, and the closest family around was Donald and the boys. It’s very likely Hortense’s death was the catalyst for Scrooge seeking them out.

About Rosebud...as you can tell in the images above, Don Rosa traded “Rosebud” for Goldie. This is significant.

Rosebud was Kane’s childhood sled. This was the time before he was taken from his family, a time of innocence. Although he may not have admitted it aloud, he cherished that time and mourned its loss. 

Goldie...I don’t want to spend too much time on Goldie, because I can and probably will, but Goldie in Don Rosa’s stories is the road not traveled. She represents the life Scrooge could’ve had. She’s the treasure he left behind and regrets bitterly, though he denies it in public.

Goldie was restricted to a period of time before Scrooge’s wealth took root and stuck. In the past, he’d get some money, then lose it for reasons of moral character and nefarious ones outside of his control. The Klondike Gold Rush was pivotal in Scrooge’s development in how he interacted with the world and people, including his family.

He fell in love. Although he chose to leave Goldie, leaving her love confession in the snow, he never fell out of love with her. 

Like Kane, Scrooge mourned his past in the Klondike as well as what could’ve been with Goldie. He mourned her. 

The parallel was so prevalent to Scrooge’s character that Tuomas Holopainen name drops Rosebud in the song “A Lifetime of Adventure.” This is included in the album adaptation of Life$Times. Yes, he composed it. 

Crossroads the letters from home The cooling embers of yuletide hearth All the sounds of wilderness The truth in which you roamed Now your lost Rosebud has brought you back home

Yes, I am listening to Cold Hearts of the Klondike as I type this. It’s my OTP song. I love it.

What does this mean for DuckTales?

Hard to say? Comparing Don Rosa’s Scrooge and DuckTales 2017 Scrooge, I’m not certain the parallels work as well as they did previously. 

Don Rosa’s Scrooge is much harder and meaner than DT17′s Scrooge. You could say he’s an entirely new character, and I wouldn’t disagree. Scrooge’s moral code has always been pretty consistent, especially since the show rewrote the Bombie story, which was the reason Matilda and Hortense broke off from Scrooge.

Unless there’s a new story where Scrooge’s moral code has been put into question, I don’t think he’s going to have that moral conundrum Rosa’s Scrooge did, and thus, the parallels aren’t satisfactory. 

However, there’s someone who could fill in.

John D. Rockerduck.

I don’t know enough about his European comic presence. He appeared in one Barks story. He made a cameo appearance in Don Rosa’s Life$Times, but it was his father who had influenced Scrooge.

John Rockerduck, John’s father, was a hard working man who earned his wealth fairly. He married a snobbish, mean woman, who John took after, and he also taught Scrooge a hard lesson about what happens when you become wealthy. Sometimes, your friends turn against you.

John D. Rockerduck is classist, elitist and overall, a horrible person, but he’s a fun character. It’d be interesting to see if the show would try to spin this parallel onto him instead of Scrooge.

He really fits the political aspirations Kane’s character had in the film. I can see it happening with him. I’m down for it if it is true. Not saying John’s going to die. This could’ve very well happened right before getting frozen in a glacier. 

Who knows?

Conclusion

DT17 takes inspiration from multiple sources and uses them to make something new. There’s no telling whether John D.’s father is going to make an appearance, or if John going to be written with this context in mind.