Post by Hector on Dec 3, 2019 23:14:53 GMT
I think that, in modern stories that obviously take place in the 21st century (with inventions such as the Internet being part of those stories), it is ludicrous for Scrooge to talk about his youth in a gold rush that took place in the pre last century.
I believe it's time to accept that the Scrooge in the modern era is a different one, in a different universe from the one Barks/Rosa dealt with.
So, how should a modern remake of his 'The Life and Times' story be written?
I think we could keep Rosa's 12 episode structure, changing each episode so that it suits a later era life story. For starters, I place the birth of this newer version of Scrooge McDuck in the early 30s.
EPISODE 1-THE LAST OF THE CLAN MCDUCK: Takes place in the beginning of the Second World War. Little Scrooge polishes shoes on Glasgow's streets until he decides to leave Scotland.
EPISODE 2-THE MASTER OF THE MISSISSIPI: The first major change. Instead of departing for America (where no WW2 battles took place), Scrooge goes to another country, preferably one in Europe. Alongside his uncle, Pothole McDuck, and his submarine, they participate in the Resistance. The Beagle Boys, on the other hand, can be allies of Germans.
EPISODE 3-THE BUCKAROO OF THE BADLANDS: When the WW2 is over, Scrooge finally goes to America. He can be a cowboy as in canon, since there were still cowboys in the late 40s, though their golden era was over.
EPISODE 4-RAIDER OF THE COOPER HILL: One more major change. Since the canon fourth episode was based on a real cooper rush, which had long since ended by the late 40s-early 50s, I will send Scrooge to Japan in this episode. The post WW2/atomic bomb devastated country could be a good place/opportunity for Scrooge to discover some fictional vein that could make him rich. However, he has to abandon it and return to Scotland, for the same reasons he did so in canon in this episode.
EPISODE 5-THE NEW LAIRD OF THE CASTLE MCDUCK: Scrooge returns to Scotland and saves his family property in about the same way he did in canon. No major changes in this episode.
EPISODE 6-THE TERROR OF THE TRANSVAAL: I'd place this episode in Africa, as in canon, but would change Scrooge's objective, considering I don't think there was still a gold rush there in the 50s. Perhaps he could be in search of some treasure/lost city and encounter Glomgold during that journey.
EPISODE 7-DREAMTIME DUCK OF THE NEVER NEVER: Though this episode can fit as it is in a more modern biography with no problems, I'd prefer to make the plot a little more interesting. Scrooge is exploring an Australian jungle (I think that, even nowadays, there are some unexplored areas in that continent).
EPISODE 8-KING OF THE KLODIKE: Now here comes the most major change. I guess that, by this point, we have reached the 60s, when America's/Russia's space programs had started being set in motion. Scrooge somehow becomes part of an America's space program and finds himself in a lunar gold rush (like in that Barkses story!) Soapy Slick could be a Russian spy (Cold War, honeys!) Goldie is also there, her love story with Scrooge being told in that space enviroment with no serious changes.
EPISODE 9-THE BILLIONAIRE OF DISMAL DAWNS: Scrooge returns to Scotland and decides to move with his sisters to America. No major changes.
EPISODE 10-THE INVADER OF FORT DUCKBURG: No changes here either, except Grandma Duck is a more distant descendant of Cornelius Coot, since this story takes place 70 years later than in canon.
EPISODE 11-THE EMPIRE BUILDER FROM CALISOTA: Lotsa major changes here. I never liked what Rosa did with Scrooge in that episode, him acting as a villain, albeit temporarily, and then treating his family the way he did in the end. So this episode is rather focused on the events AFTER Scrooge returns from his empire building journeys. His sisters have died by some irrelevant cause and Scrooge raises Donald/Della himself. For the record, there is a story where Donald was indeed raised by Scrooge (link below), so I figured, why not treating that as canon in a more modern biography?
EPISODE 12-THE RICHEST DUCK IN THE WORLD: Instead of trying to connect this chapter to the obsolete 'Bear Mountain' story, I'd use it to show what happened to Della. I've heard some stuff about her is told in the new 'Ducktales 2' series, so perhaps someone who has watched this series could help me here.
Anyway, all in all, how would you like all the above? Is it worth turning into a brand new, 12 episode long story?