The "ultimate" Duck family tree

[mkr]

Jun 26, 2024 21:00:14 GMT LP said:

Hi. I’ve been re-reading the stories featuring Scrooge’s cousin Douglas, and I think we need to change his placement. However, I don’t know where exactly he fits. This ended up being a rather long post about me desperately trying to figure out where to place Douglas… and then giving up. Enjoy! (and please help!)

A few years ago, I came to the conclusion that Douglas' surname must be Duck. The reasoning behind this was that his introduction story, Uncle Scrooge Visits Cousin (not published in English), has Scrooge sending a package addressed to “K. Anka” (Konrad Anka, Douglas’ Swedish name in this story). Donald assumes the package is addressed to him (his Swedish name is Kalle Anka). Therefore, it seems like this story requires that Douglas shares both the first letter of his first name as well as all of his surname with Donald. Douglas’ surname being Duck fits this requirement. Thus, we currently have Douglas' father being named Duck and his mother being a Duck.

However, in subsequent Douglas-stories, being a McDuck and living up to the McDuck-ideals are core character trait for Douglas. Every subsequent Douglas-story translated into Swedish renames the character “Dunstan von Anka” (McDuck rather than Duck) and in English he is consistently named McDuck. In A McDuck by Any Other Name, he specifically says that his “old father nagged for seven years about how a real McDuck should act”, which cements his father as a McDuck. (Worth noting is that this story also suggests that Douglas was in fact adopted, but this is irrelevant to my point.)
Okay, so I guess the evidence for him being “Douglas McDuck” very much outweighs him being “Douglas Duck”. That’s fine. Now the question is who his parents (or adoptive parents (whatever)) are. I’d prefer if it were either Angus or Jake, since I’d like to mainly stick to Barks and Rosa. But both of them have problems.

My original favorite Douglas-father-option was Angus. In 1877, Scrooge was said by Fergus, Jake, and Sir Quackly’s ghost to be the last male McDuck. However, they seem to have lost contact with Angus, who had moved to Mississippi at least 20 years before. The Scottish McDucks not knowing about Douglas’ existence would explain them claiming that Scrooge was the last. It seemed to me that all we knew about Douglas’ youth was that he dug gold with Scrooge in Klondike. If he were the son of Angus, he would have been born in Mississippi and then traveled to Klondike, rather than originating from Scotland. Also, Douglas said that his “old father nagged for seven years about how a real McDuck should act”. I interpreted this as his mother divorcing Angus when Douglas was seven (circa 1874), as otherwise this nagging would go on into adulthood. Also, a divorce would explain why Angus is without a family when Scrooge meets him in 1880. It all seemed to fit very neatly.

Then I realized that, according to A McDuck by Any Other Name, grandpa Titus/Dingus McDuck talked to both Scrooge and Douglas when they were little. This means that Douglas grew up in Scotland and pretty much eliminates Angus as the father. Could Jake be the father then? Well, Douglas growing up in Scotland means that there is no reason for Fergus, Jake, and Sir Quackly’s ghost to say that Scrooge is the last male McDuck. And if Jake were Douglas’ father, he certainly wouldn’t say that Scrooge was the last.

Of course, the concept of contradictions is not a new one in the Duck universe. I’m just stuck on this one. How do you guys suggest we solve this?

Oh, and also I should mention that I have not yet had the opportunity to read Son of the Klondike and There's Gold in That Thar Forest. Those could either give us answers or muddy the waters even more.

I agree that based on 'A McDuck by Any Other Name'  it would make most sense if Douglas' (adoptive) father is a McDuck. You could maybe argue that if Jake is not the biological father, but the adoptive father of Douglas, that he therefore not really considers Douglas as a real McDuck and thus not as someone who can be the "last of the Clan McDuck". The same could be said for Fergus and Quackly, why they don't consider Douglas to be the last of the clan McDuck. Moreover, if Jake was divorced and did not have any contact anymore with his (adopted) son, there could be an additional reason to not consider Douglas. Of course, this is only relevant if it's important for you to keep to the "Last of the Clan McDuck" statement, which is by itself problematic and doesn't hold anyway for the tree. Even if you would make Scrooge's McDuck cousins more distantly related (and thus of another McDuck branch) there is still Gideon McDuck and Scrooge's twin brother Mani buche. So, Jake being the father of Douglas isn't anything more problematic. Anyways, what would you then want to do with Whitewater? Make him the son of a daughter of Jake?

[sim]

I know that "The Last of Clan McDuck" line originates from Barks' "The Old Castle's Secret" and was never actually contradicted by Barks himself, but I think it becomes quite problematic if we decide to take into account all of Scrooge's cousins and nephews and various relatives...

[LP]

Jun 27, 2024 6:10:07 GMT mkr said:

I agree that based on 'A McDuck by Any Other Name'  it would make most sense if Douglas' (adoptive) father is a McDuck. You could maybe argue that if Jake is not the biological father, but the adoptive father of Douglas, that he therefore not really considers Douglas as a real McDuck and thus not as someone who can be the "last of the Clan McDuck". The same could be said for Fergus and Quackly, why they don't consider Douglas to be the last of the clan McDuck. Moreover, if Jake was divorced and did not have any contact anymore with his (adopted) son, there could be an additional reason to not consider Douglas. Of course, this is only relevant if it's important for you to keep to the "Last of the Clan McDuck" statement, which is by itself problematic and doesn't hold anyway for the tree. Even if you would make Scrooge's McDuck cousins more distantly related (and thus of another McDuck branch) there is still Gideon McDuck and Scrooge's twin brother Mani buche. So, Jake being the father of Douglas isn't anything more problematic. Anyways, what would you then want to do with Whitewater? Make him the son of a daughter of Jake?

We see the "origin" of the phrase "the last of the clan McDuck" in The Last of the Clan McDuck. Rather than being the literal last, it seems to be more about the ability to make the name respectable. Presumably, Hortense and Matilda will marry and take their future husbands' surnames, leaving Scrooge as the last McDuck. But even as an adopted son, Douglas could make the name McDuck respectable. It's difficult to read this passage with him in mind:



Like, even if Douglas were the adopted son of Jake, this would be a huge insult to both of them. I can't imagine this scene taking place in a universe where Jake is the father (adoptive or otherwise) of Douglas. If one were to try and cram Douglas into a "Barks & Rosa universe" wherein Scrooge is thought to be "the last" McDuck by Fergus, Jake, and Sir Quackly's ghost, Douglas would have to be the son of Angus - the idea that Douglas grew up in Scotland with Grandpa Titus/Dingus is simply incompatible with what has been established in Barks & Rosa stories.

But that's just me publicly thinking about my own head-canon, I guess. As has been stated, this ultimate tree project already contradicts Barks and Rosa, so lore contradictions shouldn't be considered a problem. But Jake has so few lines in all of his appearances, that this "Scrooge is the last" sentiment is one of his few defining characteristics. Thus, I think Douglas (and all of Jake's other sons) should be placed elsewhere. Maybe as the son of Bhaltair, Catfish, or Donald McDuck instead? (Sorry for giving you more tree editing-job to do, mkr!)

Finally - Whitewater's surname was established as Duck in Log Jockey, so his mother should be Douglas' sister.

[danoduck]

in inducks.org/story.php?c=D+2016-185 there are two portraits of two unnamed Rockerduck's relatives

[sim]

Jun 28, 2024 15:28:41 GMT danoduck said:

in inducks.org/story.php?c=D+2016-185 there are two portraits of two unnamed Rockerduck's relatives

According to what he is saying, it seems natural to me that they are his parents, though one could argue they are some uncle and aunt. I reported the specific panel on my blog in 2021, by the way, and I have seen that Panini published the story in Italy right today.

In a more recent blog post, I also put this panel side-by-side with a Cavazzano re-interpretation of Rockerduck's parents and they look quite similar to me. Evidence below.

[alquackskey]

Interesting one coming up -it seems that I TL 188-AP is getting an English translation.

We won't be able to verify until the book comes out, but supposedly 'il dottor Paperus' is named 'Dr. Donaldus Faustus' in the English translation.
Interestingly, it has the Scrooge from the story as his uncle, Duke Scrooge MacDuich.

I know we've ignored translations like this in the past (Plus, we need the story itself before we can hard-confirm these details) but worth noting.

[LP]

Yo yo, I think I found a new relative from the distant future - the year 2001.
In Paperino... Anno 2001 we meet Paperin de' Paperoni. From what I can tell, he is Scrooge's nephew. However, I would need confirmation of this, since I can't read Italian. Since he shares his surname with Scrooge and appears to have inherited his wealth, he would probably be the son of either Gideon or Mani Buche. 



edit: After reading the INDUCKS descriptions, it seems like this guy is actually Donald himself in the future. Whoopsie doodle.

[sim]

Jul 7, 2024 9:42:46 GMT LP said:

Yo yo, I think I found a new relative from the distant future - the year 2001.
In Paperino... Anno 2001 we meet Paperin de' Paperoni. From what I can tell, he is Scrooge's nephew. However, I would need confirmation of this, since I can't read Italian. Since he shares his surname with Scrooge and appears to have inherited his wealth, he would probably be the son of either Gideon or Mani Buche. 



edit: After reading the INDUCKS descriptions, it seems like this guy is actually Donald himself in the future. Whoopsie doodle.

Yes, he is just Donald.

[danoduck]

I read in this story inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+3483-4P that Cornelius Coot have a second name, Ermogene.

[alquackskey]

Still ticking away, and I've been doing some research into my evolution theory. Definitely too speculative to add to the main theory with how much I've branched out working on it.

However, the reason I bring it up is because there are some interesting details in Donald's Dino-Bash, a location/event in the parks.
Basically, the backstory is that Donald found out that birds are descended from dinosaurs, so he got Scrooge to finance some dino research.
This gives us some interesting points - both for evolution in general and perhaps for Donald specifically.

Ludwig has done some research, and puts some signs up

I feel vindicated having archaeopteryx on there 
Probably nothing worth adding, but it does directly mention them being early cousins of Donald (Even if in a more colloquial sense).
There are implications referring to other dinos as well, but since this may be veering too far into evolution specifically, I won't bring those up unless necessary.

A large chunk of the 'lore' comes from the Dinoland Gazette in Scrooge's area.
Getting a clear picture online is a nightmare, but this is the closest I have:

It basically explains that Scrooge funded the project, mainly because Glomgold claimed that his family descended from the earliest dinosaurs in Scotland and Scrooge wanted to prove him wrong.
There's no confirmation of whether or not this is true - though if Scrooge legitimately felt threatened, I'd imagine it is.
Of note, it's hard to gauge a specific continuity - the writing is more in-line with Ducktales '17, but there's a lot of imagery of the original. I don't know whether there's enough difference between our Flinty and 'Duke Baloney' to consider them as separate characters, but if we don't, it might be a relevant note for Glomgold on the tree.
Also, a stupid side-note while we're on the subject - if we are considering both versions as our Glomgold on the tree, I would like to support the addition of Sharkbomb Glomgold. I initially stated that as a joke, but honestly, I'm starting to consider it.
Obviously, he's a puppet, but given how much personality Glomgold gives him - to the point that he ruins his own plan and then endangers his life - I'd love to see him as an adoptive son, even if we do consider it a gag addition. (Please comment on this even if you're just denying it, but also please, please consider it)

The main reason I bring Dino-Bash up, however, is Donald's discovery - Daryl the Dinosaur.
Daryl is the dinosaur pictured with Donald on the logo - and I believe he's intended to be a relative of Donald's.
The reason I say believe is because it's hard to find any clear information about him online.
There is a Wiki Page that claims they're related, but I can't find a solid source on that. However, there's a board in Scrooge's with more of Ludwig's research:

The picture on the left seemingly has Ludwig settle on a species that's an ancestor of ducks, looking remarkably like Daryl - and the yellow post it note says 'McDuck origins?'
It's not concrete, but I think it's worth putting Daryl on there as a relative - though that begs another question.

There's no indication on Daryl's backstory at all - so how he's alive is anyone's guess. He could have been born in the modern day, or brought back through time travel, or who knows what. 
I'll also give as a side-note, I haven't been able to confirm the actual name 'Daryl' for him, but it does seem to be commonly used by resellers and such, as well as bloggers who were at the event.

[danoduck]

in this story inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+1880-B is mentioned a Gus Goose's Great uncle, "Ocone"

[mkr]

Some more relatives:

H 2019-127. Donald's ancestor Donaldt Duckzoon and his nephews Kwick, Kweck and Kwack. 

B 810293. Mim's grandmother.  

D 98073. mentions Mim's cousin Mille (Danish name). 

According to B 810124, Dugan was raised by porcupines. The porcupines reappear in B 840158, in which two are also mentioned by name (and also considered family by Dugan himself), so I think they should be on the tree as his adoptive family. 


Scans here. 

[alquackskey]

Jul 18, 2024 14:55:38 GMT mkr said:

Some more relatives:

H 2019-127. Donald's ancestor Donaldt Duckzoon and his nephews Kwick, Kweck and Kwack. 

B 810293. Mim's grandmother.  

D 98073. mentions Mim's cousin Mille (Danish name). 

According to B 810124, Dugan was raised by porcupines. The porcupines reappear in B 840158, in which two are also mentioned by name (and also considered family by Dugan himself), so I think they should be on the tree as his adoptive family. 


Scans here. 

Yup, as bizarre as they are, I agree those porcupines warrant inclusion 

Good finds all around - I'm still ticking away at my part, but I have to say that this next update is gonna be a monster

[LP]

What's up, gang. LP here.
I've noticed that Cornelius, il giorno nel cuore features a character named Mandy Mallard. However, I can't read Italian so I don't understand the story. Is she meant to be Cornelius' love interest and future wife? I can see visual similarities between her and Cornelius' wife from Paperino e la corsa al best-seller.

[sim]

Jul 18, 2024 21:37:57 GMT LP said:

What's up, gang. LP here.
I've noticed that Cornelius, il giorno nel cuore features a character named Mandy Mallard. However, I can't read Italian so I don't understand the story. Is she meant to be Cornelius' love interest and future wife? I can see visual similarities between her and Cornelius' wife from Paperino e la corsa al best-seller.

She possibly is Cornelius' love interest in THAT story, which is not canon as it is a "what if" story being part of the big Missing Christmas event that took place last December. I had the chance to ask Sisti about this and he confirmed that none of what happens in this story actually occurred to the Cornelius Coot in the official timeline. He didn't meet the Mallards and didn't stay there. In fact, as we all know, he kept moving and founded Duckburg, while Jase Mallard didn't. It's possible that the Mallard family doesn't exist at all, but, on the other hand, it's also possible that they actually exist and maybe Cornelius will meet Mandy later on his path. Who can tell? Let's wait to read new episodes of this series.