Post by Scrooge MacDuck on Jul 5, 2017 12:56:37 GMT
Drakeborough suggested a thread about Donald's alter-egos (most of them from Italian series). For starters, here's a list:
But now those that everyone thinks of when mentioning the Italian alter-egos:
- The oldest, most Barks-like one is surely "Agent QQ7" of the MIA ("McDuck Intelligence Agency"), in a series of James Bond parodies where Scrooge sends Donald, Daisy and (later) Fethry out to fight evil-doers such as Dog Finger/Moldfinger, armed with Gyro Gearloose gadgetry. It takes itself far less seriously than the later DoubleDuck stories.
- Very similar is the TNT series, where Donald and Fethry have a part-time job as part of a Men-in-Black-style organization of "tamers of supernatural things". Interestingly, though the organization nominally handles "non-terrestrial" threats (this is reflected in some of its foreign names as well), most of the monsters are quite earthly, such as underground demons and ghosts.
But now those that everyone thinks of when mentioning the Italian alter-egos:
- The original Paperinik/Duck Avenger: Donald, having found the wardrobe and lair of early 20th century gentleman-thief Fantomius/Phantom Duck/Phantomallard, uses it (and later additional gadgets built by Gyro Gearloose) to become a Zorro-style "avenger of the night", who rights wrongs but is still clearly Donald under the mask, also using his identity for petty revenge against Scrooge, Gladstone or Rockerduck.
- The heroic Paperinik/Duck Avenger: a "mellowing" of the above, the modern-day Paperinik is much closer to a Batman-style figure, acting as a superhero vigilante for Duckburg, though he retains some of Donald's clumsiness and hot temper.
- The PKNA Duck Avenger (and Superduck): though the former is in continuity with the previous Paperinik unlike the latter, both are essentially similar in style. Either through finding a supercomputer in the Ducklair Tower or becoming part of an organization known as the "Keepers of the Galaxy", Paperinik gets an upgrade to galactic superhero, battling aliens called Evronians (and, in Superduck's case, other supervillains as well) in a superhero series played straight rather than as a spoof — and fans of superhero and sci-fi all agree that, for all that it clashes with the usual Disney comics tone, it's a damn good superhero series.
- Q-Galaxy: Huey, Dewey and Louie are recruited as "Keepers of the Galaxy". Much goofier in tone than Superduck, with which it is not actually in continuity (it's just a similar concept); did not last for very long.
- DoubleDuck: Like PKNA, basically "Donald as James Bond, played straight". Donald is recruited into "the Agency", a worldwide intelligence network, by accident, and surprisingly becomes one of their best agents. He is usually partnered with ambiguous agent Kay K.
- Paperino Paperotto: Flashbacks to Donald's youth on Grandma's farm. While some of the stories are done in a style similar to "regular" stories, most have a more modern, vaguely manga-like, over-the-top style owed to Alessandro Barbucci. A subseries features the kids in a "modern" setting, while the others are supposed to be in continuity with the present-day stories (one even showed how Scrooge hired Albert Quackmore).