Duck Avenger stories: Gyro knows vs Gyro does not know

[Hector]

Which kind of canon do you like better? I think it's nice for
the secret to be known by at least one person, for Donald
to feel there is someone he can trust.

[Hyaroo]

I definitely prefer it when Gyro knows. it gives Donald someone to talk to, and it feels less like he's just taking advantage of Gyro if he's also trusting him with his secret.

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Agreed. Why wouldn't he trust Gyro with a secret? And having the "Donald reexplains the whole DA thing to Gyro" bit play every damn time Donald-as-DA visits him in a story would just get boring and repetitive really quick.

As I said before in the other thread, I could accept a system where every time the Duck Avenger's mission is complete Gyro takes an Amnesia Toffee, but he has an antidote to restore all his DA-related memories the very next time. That could work. There's slapstick potential in getting Gyro to take the restorative candy in miscellaneous Wile-E-Coyotish ways, and it neatly ties the stories that do use the memory-wipe thing back into the main canon.

Oh, and HDL MUST NOT KNOW. These Hong-Kong-Phooey knockoffs mentioned in the other thread could be fun in their own right, but I simply can't imagine that as a set fact. 

[Hyaroo]

Yeah, the Duck Avenger of those stories was not so much Duck Avenger as he was "Donald the Klutz in a Duck Avenger suit."

Gyro taking the Amnesia Toffee so that he only remembers Donald's secret identity during the missions is an idea that could work, and even be used for some comedy and story potential... that said, I still like it better when he knows the entire time. Perhaps because some of the first Duck Avenger stories I read pretty heavily featured Gyro as a confidante, whom Donald talked freely to about his secret identities even outside the missions -- which meant he got to provide moral support and even get involved in some of the adventures. Donald doesn't really have a lot of friends in his regular comics; most of the others seem to tolerate him rather than genuinely enjoying his company.

The most consistent exception is Fethry, who's one of the few characters who consistently likes and appreciates Donald as a friend... but Fethry isn't much of a confidante and is just as likely to drive Donald insane with his constant weird ideas. So I really liked the confidentiality between Donald and Gyro in those Duck Avenger stories; it gave a new dimension to their relationship and gave Donald someone he could talk to as an equal.  

I will accept that in the PKNA-verse (which I firmly place an "Alternate Universe" tag on) Gyro took the Amnesia Toffee and no longer remembers, because Duck Avenger decided to distance himself from his old life. I remember there was a backup story where this happened, and I was all "fair enough, for this incarnation of the Avenger, I can buy that."

[Matilda]

Nov 4, 2017 0:16:18 GMT Hyaroo said:

Gyro taking the Amnesia Toffee so that he only remembers Donald's secret identity during the missions is an idea that could work, and even be used for some comedy and story potential... that said, I still like it better when he knows the entire time. Perhaps because some of the first Duck Avenger stories I read pretty heavily featured Gyro as a confidante, whom Donald talked freely to about his secret identities even outside the missions -- which meant he got to provide moral support and even get involved in some of the adventures. Donald doesn't really have a lot of friends in his regular comics; most of the others seem to tolerate him rather than genuinely enjoying his company.

The most consistent exception is Fethry, who's one of the few characters who consistently likes and appreciates Donald as a friend... but Fethry isn't much of a confidante and is just as likely to drive Donald insane with his constant weird ideas. So I really liked the confidentiality between Donald and Gyro in those Duck Avenger stories; it gave a new dimension to their relationship and gave Donald someone he could talk to as an equal.  

I agree that it's good for Donald to have Gyro as a friend and confidante, for the reasons you state. Fethry considers Donald a friend, but Donald is too annoyed by Fethry to make that reciprocal. This is why Rosa brought in Panchito and José, of course. The writer who has strengthened the friendship between Donald and Gyro in the everyday (non-Duck Avenger) Duckburg is Korhonen. In "Mr. Gearloose Leaves Town," Gyro assesses his life, decides eventually to stay in Duckburg, and realizes he's been too work-obsessed and needs to go fishing with Donald more (they're heading off together in the last panel). For me, that story explains why we haven't seen all that much of their friendship, but allows for the possibility of a more developed friendship. In "Another One for the Album," there's a flashback to a birthday of Donald's where Gyro occupies him all day (to keep him from discovering a surprise party) and attempts to talk him out of his birthday depression by reminding him of all the cool things he's done, in a way analogous to how Panchito and José interact with Donald in Rosa's stories.

[Hyaroo]

I did think about Panchito and José, whose friendship with Donald was one of the highlights of Don Rosa's Caballeros stories... but they're more like special guest stars/occasional crossover characters, more on the level of Mickey and Goofy. They get along with Donald as well, but they don't interact all that often in the comics.

I tend to think Donald does appreciate Fethry... after a fashion. There are too many stories where he willingly hangs out with him and even seems to have fun doing it for it to be a fluke, so in my mind at least, Donald's attitude to Fethry is more on the level of "great guy in small doses, but a little of him goes such an awfully long way." 

Haven't read "Another One for the Album," but I heartily approve of any story that gives a little more volume and substance to the friendship between Gyro and Donald.