What other family member would you like to become recurrent

[marco996]

We will not see Scrooge's chilld because it's a story that's too big and changes too much stakes.

Imagine for example if Della finally comes back to Duckburg, she'll take HDL with her and Donald can't have Barks-style adventures with HDL again.

[Baar Baar Jinx]

Nov 28, 2017 0:10:28 GMT Minotaur said:

Nov 27, 2017 4:43:07 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

In "Some Heir Over the Rainbow", Barks identifies Donald, HD&L and Gladstone as Scrooge's only surviving heirs (and it's a bit odd that Scrooge considers Gladstone an heir, as I would think that Gladstone would not be entitled to any of Scrooge's money when there are direct blood descendants, which Gladstone is not, unless Barks was still going with the theory that Matilda adopted Gladstone, in which case Scrooge wouldn't call him a "distant nephew" ). Rosa having Matilda McDuck be alive seems to run contrary to this statement. Was it hinted in "A Letter from Home"  that Scrooge thought Matilda was dead? That'd be the only way to reconcile the two.  

I think "heir" means someone who can take over Scrooge's financial empire after his death. It's hard to say whether Matilda would live longer than Scrooge, even if she does, her age will not allow her to manage the business. So Scrooge needs to find someone who's significantly younger than himself.

Actually, re-reading "Some Heir Over the Rainbow", Scrooge's exact words are "My only relatives are my nephew Donald, and his nephews, HD&L, and my distant nephew Gladstone Gander!" But of course, I suppose you could argue that they're the only relevant relatives when he's thinking about a heir.

[Scroogerello]

Nov 29, 2017 14:08:30 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Nov 28, 2017 0:10:28 GMT Minotaur said:

I think "heir" means someone who can take over Scrooge's financial empire after his death. It's hard to say whether Matilda would live longer than Scrooge, even if she does, her age will not allow her to manage the business. So Scrooge needs to find someone who's significantly younger than himself.

Actually, re-reading "Some Heir Over the Rainbow", Scrooge's exact words are "My only relatives are my nephew Donald, and his nephews, HD&L, and my distant nephew Gladstone Gander!" But of course, I suppose you could argue that they're the only relevant relatives when he's thinking about a heir.

Now that I think of it, there's a number of other examples where Scrooge/Donald make similar statements in Barks's stories. (Then again, I highly doubt that Barks tried to establish any sort of continuity with these.)

[Baar Baar Jinx]

Nov 29, 2017 16:08:37 GMT Scroogerello said:

Nov 29, 2017 14:08:30 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Actually, re-reading "Some Heir Over the Rainbow", Scrooge's exact words are "My only relatives are my nephew Donald, and his nephews, HD&L, and my distant nephew Gladstone Gander!" But of course, I suppose you could argue that they're the only relevant relatives when he's thinking about a heir.

Now that I think of it, there's a number of other examples where Scrooge/Donald make similar statements in Barks's stories. (Then again, I highly doubt that Barks tried to establish any sort of continuity with these.)

"My ONLY uncle"? So Eider is dead too.  (Gideon and Rumpus don't exist in Barks/Rosa continuity.) And Barks forgot about Ludwig. 

[marco996]

Nov 29, 2017 18:22:42 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Nov 29, 2017 16:08:37 GMT Scroogerello said:

Now that I think of it, there's a number of other examples where Scrooge/Donald make similar statements in Barks's stories. (Then again, I highly doubt that Barks tried to establish any sort of continuity with these.)

"My ONLY uncle"? So Eider is dead too. 

I don't think Carl Barks would remember about one character he name dropped to change the speeches according to this character.
Scrooge might say his only relatives are HDL, Donald, Gladstone, but there's also Gus who is alive, and at the same status as Gladstone in relation to Scrooge (nephew by marriage)

[Baar Baar Jinx]

Nov 29, 2017 18:25:04 GMT marco996 said:

(A)I don't think Carl Barks would remember about one character he name dropped to change the speeches according to this character.
(B) Scrooge might say his only relatives are HDL, Donald, Gladstone, but there's also Gus who is alive, and at the same status as Gladstone in relation to Scrooge (nephew by marriage)

(A) I agree, but many of us, not least Rosa, and including me, wish to contradict Barks' work as little as possible, even throwaway lines. In fact, Rosa has challenged readers of "Life of Scrooge" to point out where he has deviated from Barks-established canon even in the slightest. The only way to reconcile Donald's "only uncle" statement is that Eider dies after sending Farragut to Donald, which is disappointing as I would have liked him to be alive.
(B) One could argue that Fethry, Whitewater and Gus are not related to Scrooge except through marriage, as so he wouldn't consider them his "relatives". His inclusion of Gladstone as a potential heir in "Some Heir Over the Rainbow" is therefore somewhat out-of-place in-universe (although it's easy to see why Barks did so; Gladstone's presence in the story makes it more interesting).

[lw97]

Lemme tell ya, I love Abner. Damn underrated. Bit tough but at the same time a counterfeit to the imperialist city life.

[Daniel Maline]

Nov 29, 2017 18:38:13 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

Nov 29, 2017 18:25:04 GMT marco996 said:

(A)I don't think Carl Barks would remember about one character he name dropped to change the speeches according to this character.
(B) Scrooge might say his only relatives are HDL, Donald, Gladstone, but there's also Gus who is alive, and at the same status as Gladstone in relation to Scrooge (nephew by marriage)

(A) I agree, but many of us, not least Rosa, and including me, wish to contradict Barks' work as little as possible, even throwaway lines. In fact, Rosa has challenged readers of "Life of Scrooge" to point out where he has deviated from Barks-established canon even in the slightest. The only way to reconcile Donald's "only uncle" statement is that Eider dies after sending Farragut to Donald, which is disappointing as I would have liked him to be alive.
(B) One could argue that Fethry, Whitewater and Gus are not related to Scrooge except through marriage, as so he wouldn't consider them his "relatives". His inclusion of Gladstone as a potential heir in "Some Heir Over the Rainbow" is therefore somewhat out-of-place in-universe (although it's easy to see why Barks did so; Gladstone's presence in the story makes it more interesting).

Wasn't Uncle Eider's falcon, Farragut, a bequeathed heirloom? Or is this an invention of Finnish publisher and translators?

[RobbK1]

Nov 26, 2017 15:36:38 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

I'm with you on Uncle Eider. There's no reason why he shouldn't still be around in present-day Duckburg. I've always imagined him stationed overseas for some reason (military?); this comes from the fact that when Fethry made his first appearance in American comics during the Gladstone II era ("Snacking Sleuths" in Walt Disney Giant #5, 1996), he was introduced as "Donald's cousin from overseas" (an idea that was promptly dropped), and I had already accepted from Rosa's family tree that Fethry was the son of Eider and therefore the entire family was likely living overseas, with Fethry visiting on occasion (it was never made clear where "overseas" was). In an early ten-pager Barks had Uncle Eider send Donald a falcon, but it isn't made clear in that story where Eider actually lives, so the idea does not contradict Barks. Eider living overseas explains why he doesn't appear at Duck family events like Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners; maybe Grandma could at least receive letters or telegrams from him, or talk to him on the phone in future stories like these?

As for showing Matilda/Ludwig married, is there still a ban by European publishers on using Ludwig? Even if not, I'm not sure the idea of Ludwig and Matilda being married is necessarily accepted as official, as it contradicts much of previously established canon, as we've discussed on other threads. Ludwig has been stated on many occasions in the past to be related to Donald on his father's side (either as a brother of Donald's father, which is of course problematic, or as a maternal cousin of Grandma Duck, which I personally prefer) and as an actively dating bachelor. Rosa's violation of that canon was unnecessary, IMHO, and in any case, never actually published, so still speculative. It's one of only two aspects of Rosa's version of the Duck family tree (both official and unofficial) with which I disagree. The other being ... Fethry and Whitewater being brothers. Or, more precisely, Whitewater and Donald being first cousins. Barks clearly stated that Whitewater was a "distant" cousin, but Rosa felt constrained to include every Barks-created relative on his tree while creating as few new characters as possible. I think this was an unnecessary self-imposed limitation that created inaccuracies such as Whitewater's place on the tree (Rosa's reasoning for having Ludwig be Donald's uncle through marriage with Matilda was similar, but again, that's been discussed on other threads). In any case, Rosa does not truly believe that Fethry exists, and states that he included the character under duress, and that we are "free to pencil him out, if we like, and make Whitewater an only child". I'd pencil Whitewater out from his current spot on the Rosa tree instead (Fethry does exist in my headcanon, and so does Whitewater, but not as brothers; Fethry being where he is, as Eider's son, makes sense to me). Whitewater has appeared in other non-Barks stories, though never depicted as Fethry's brother (and again, I'm not sure if the Fethry-Whitewater relationship is accepted as official, although unlike the Ludwig-Matilda one, it appeared in a published tree by Rosa). As to Matilda appearing in present-day Duckburg, that was clearly Rosa's intention and would undoubtedly have happened if he had not retired as early as he did, but you're right, I can't see anyone else doing it. 

 

Fethry could (potentially) be Uncle Eider's son, AND he could possibly be from "Overseas, as Eider could). However, as Barks never implied Eider was from overseas, and never used Fethry, I don't assume that either one was from overseas.  Ludwig was from overseas (Austria), and had a Viennese accent when speaking English (even used a bit in his text balloons).  However, Fethry has never had any mention of being from overseas in a story, and never has had a hint of any accent, other than perhaps a slight Beatnik accent first, and maybe later it changed to a slight "Hippie" accent, IF he was ever made to use non-standard Disney Duck speech in the US-produced comics for The US market.  

As to his residing "Overseas", and only visiting Duckburg in the stories, I think that is only possible for his introduction first story by Hubbard and Kinney. And even in THAT one, it seems not very possible, as he doesn't arrive at Donald's house carrying any luggage (if I remember correctly).  He has been an always broke flake, and moocher off of Donald.  And so, he wouldn't likely make a lot of expensive trans-oceanic flights to U.S.A., and stay in hotels.  So, he must be living in a house, apartment, flat, or flop-house, when he telephones Donald and arrives at Donald's house almost before Donald can hang up the telephone. If one reads ALL the Fethry stories, it is clear that he resides in Duckburg from many, if not most of them.  And for those that don't hint at him living locally, NONE of those hint at his living abroad, or even outside of Duckburg's county.  Certainly, he lives no more than an hour's car or bus ride away, and sometimes within a street or two's footrace.  

Fans, including fairly recent creator fans (including Don Rosa) have no real reason to assume that Fethry and Whitewater Duck are brothers.  That choice was made only for family tree purposes, and few other choices are available to be their parents, as no evidence has been provided in actual stories.  So, I assume they are NOT brothers.  If I had a gun to my head, which would be fired if I didn't accept Eider to be living (Overseas), AND Fethry to be his son, I would accept that grudgingly, but assume that Fethry moved to USA as a late teen, and he picked up the local language quickly, after having studied English in school in his country of origin, and spoken with English-speaking relatives on their visits, and, possibly, the telephone.  Furthermore, I would guess that Grandma Duck's family came mostly from England, as her family has an English name, AND her family had ancestors in what later became The US (former British and English colonies, most of whose immigrants came from The British Isles before theatre-mid 19th Century).

Regarding even Eider residing overseas, I find NO evidence, whatsoever to assume that.  Clearly, it is an excuse to rationalise his never being at Duckburg Duck family gatherings.  However, from the evidence of his sending a gift through the mails, instead of presenting it in person, I think it is reasonable to assume that he resides in USA, East of The Mississippi River, or in Canada (other than in the Vancouver area, which wouldn't be all that far a train, bus or car ride from The Oregon/California border (which is, in turn, at least a few hundred miles past Duckburg, if we assume (as most fans and creators do) that Calisota lies between Oregon and California, along The Pacific Coast).  IF we assume that Eider resides in an overseas country, then why didn't Huey, Dewey, or Louie, or Donald, for that matter, make a big deal about a package arriving for Donald from a foreign country?  Barks should no evidence of such an attitude.  Communications and shipping costs were not even remotely as low in comparison to other costs back in the mid 1940s.  It was NOT a normal occurrence in most American households to receive packages from overseas, especially unexpected ones.  On top of that, when Barks wrote and drew that story, in early 1944, it was during the height of the fighting of World War II, when it was unlikely to receive non-essential packages from many countries, as all-out war was raging in North Africa, Italy, The Balkans, Greece, Russia and Eastern Europe, Finland, The Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, China, and Canada, Australia, South Africa, and India, as well as the remainder of The British Commonwealth and Empire's colonies were also at war.  Donald was so blasé upon reading the box's delivery notice.  I knew Carl Barks and his way of working and thinking.  If he had wanted Eider to have resided overseas, he would have had HD&L have noticed the packing slip before getting Donald, and then coming racing to him yelling, "Unca Donald! Unca Donald! The postman left a big box for you FROM OVERSEAS!"  "OPEN IT!  OPEN IT!"   "We can't wait to see what's inside!"

In actuality.  Barks would NOT have had Eider residing overseas, as he didn't in ANY way, need him to be living there for this story, because the story works perfectly wherever Eider lives.  Even we fans don't need him to be living overseas.  Having him live overseas and Fethry being his son makes more problems than it solves. Eider could easily live in the eastern US or Canada and NEVER attend any of the family get-togethers in Duckburg.  He could be old, sickly and feeble.  He could have come to several of the more important family events, such as weddings and funerals, which are never shown in the comics' stories.  I can't remember any duck family gatherings depicted in the comics that were so important that an old person would have flown to Duckburg to attend. Were any milestone birthdays of Grandma or Grandpa Duck shown?  any graduations from University of his favourite niece or nephew?  He wouldn't have attended a milestone birthday or money-related celebration for Scrooge, because he is a "Duck", NOT a "McDuck".  Had he resided in Duckburg for many years, and Knew Scrooge, he might have attended events for him.  But, perhaps not even then, given Scrooge's character.  So, I go with Barks and lack of ANY solid evidence in stories.  Don Rosa's assumptions have no more validity than mine.

[RobbK1]

Aug 2, 2022 15:43:55 GMT Daniel Maline said:

Nov 29, 2017 18:38:13 GMT Baar Baar Jinx said:

(A) I agree, but many of us, not least Rosa, and including me, wish to contradict Barks' work as little as possible, even throwaway lines. In fact, Rosa has challenged readers of "Life of Scrooge" to point out where he has deviated from Barks-established canon even in the slightest. The only way to reconcile Donald's "only uncle" statement is that Eider dies after sending Farragut to Donald, which is disappointing as I would have liked him to be alive.
(B) One could argue that Fethry, Whitewater and Gus are not related to Scrooge except through marriage, as so he wouldn't consider them his "relatives". His inclusion of Gladstone as a potential heir in "Some Heir Over the Rainbow" is therefore somewhat out-of-place in-universe (although it's easy to see why Barks did so; Gladstone's presence in the story makes it more interesting).

Wasn't Uncle Eider's falcon, Farragut, a bequeathed heirloom? Or is this an invention of Finnish publisher and translators?

No. In the original US printing, Donald reads the shipping packing slip and says:  "It's from Uncle Eider Duck. Must be a present of some kind."  Uncle Eider Duck is still alive, or Donald would inform us that he died, and bequeathed the bird to him.  Then, Donald reads the card around the bird's neck, and says: "This card says his name is Farragut!"  After that, there is no narrative or text balloon stating ANYTHING about Farragut's status with Eider, or reason for his being gifted to Donald.

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Given the information presented in the Falcon story, and the topic of this thread, the amusing thought occurs of Eider's gimmick (if we wanted to make him a recurring character) being that he owns lots of strange animals — perhaps he runs some kind of animal rescue operation? —, and he keeps sending some off to his distant relatives without warning. Blam, Grandma Duck story that opens with someone delivering a live leopard to the farm. “It's from Eider!” Etc. etc.

[juicymcduck]

Aug 3, 2022 20:18:35 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

Given the information presented in the Falcon story, and the topic of this thread, the amusing thought occurs of Eider's gimmick (if we wanted to make him a recurring character) being that he owns lots of strange animals — perhaps he runs some kind of animal rescue operation? —, and he keeps sending some off to his distant relatives without warning. Blam, Grandma Duck story that opens with someone delivering a live leopard to the farm. “It's from Eider!” Etc. etc.

That might also explain where all those one-time pets of the Duck household go after their only appearance! :-p

[TheMidgetMoose]

I'd like to echo some of the suggestions put here. Here's what I personally would do with these Duck relatives as recurring characters in new stories:

• Matilda McDuck - Personally, I'm not a big fan of the idea of a Ludwig von Drake/Matilda McDuck relationship, so that's not something that I would necessarily want to see. Instead, I would expand Matilda's role as McDuck Clan historian. I believe it's implied that The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck is really centered around Matilda's scrapbook. She could have a multitude of scrapbooks about the family that serve as framing devices to go on adventures with other members of the McDuck Clan. We could also see her spend time with Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie for the purpose of making memories with them to go into her brand new scrapbook that chronicles her time with her precious nephews. She could be shown with a much greater knowledge of the McDuck Clan and of Scottish culture in general than Scrooge, as I believe that Scrooge has grown somewhat out of touch with his roots as per The Billionaire of Dismal Downs and his not remembering his own clan's tartan or any ancestors past his grandfather in Hound of the Whiskervilles. I can imagine Scrooge running around wearing a kilt and poorly playing the bagpipies. Donald asks, "Uncle Scrooge?!? What has gotten into you?" Scrooge, now caught up in a petty feud to prove to Matilda that he's still a true McDuck, responds, "Ha! I'll show Matilda that I'm still a pure-blooded Scot through and through!" Donald laughs, "Heh. By wearing a dress!" "It's not a dress! It's a KILT!" I think Matilda and Grandma's relationship might be worth exploring, since it's implied in A Letter From Home that Matilda had a hand in raising Donald, as is also implied or outright stated of Grandma in multiple other comics. Surely the two were close. Not sure what potential there is for a good story from their interactions, but at least Grandma could be given a recurring friend roughly around her age.
  
• April, May, and June's parents - Definitely going to second this one! Not only would this make the whole "everyone's nephews and nieces live with them" thing less prominent, but I think there's some genuine potential with having Daisy's sister become a somewhat recurring character. I like xanderares 's theory that their mother is one of the Chickadees leaders seen in this one-pager, so their mother could potentially be used in Chickadees stories alongside her daughters. I also think it would be interesting to see a story where this duck lady and her husband decide to take Donald and Daisy out on a double date. Could be fun to give Donald and Daisy another young couple around their age to interact with. Could see Daisy's sister telling Daisy that Donald is too short-tempered to be with Daisy, perhaps even suggesting that Daisy give Gladstone a chance instead, giving Donald incentive to transform himself into the perfect gentlemen to meet Daisy's sister's standards. Of course, the moral of the story will be that Daisy realizes that she really doesn't like Donald being the perfect gentleman and wants him to just be himself, whether her sister likes it or not. There's several other stories that can be done where we play around with Daisy's sister's relationship with both her sister and her eternal fiance. I don't have quite as many ideas for April, May, and June's father. Of course, they don't necessarily have to have a present father. They could be raised by a single mom, an interesting parallel to Huey, Dewey, and Louie essentially being raised by a single dad in the form of Unca Donald.
  
• Lulubelle Loon - There's been discussion of Uncle Eider Duck here already, but allow me to give some ideas for possible appearances of his wife, Aunt Lulubelle. Lulubelle is a character that we know basically nothing about. She's pretty much a blank slate just full of potential! She's just waiting to be used in stories as Donald's kooky aunt or Fethry's mom and (besides Donald and Kildare) best friend and number one supporter. I actually saw a background character in an old story (I think Strobl-drawn) one time that I thought looked strikingly like an older version of Lulubelle. I'll post it if I can find it again. Speaking of which, do we already have a thread for documenting instances where a fan retroactively identifies as character as someone else? For example, the old woman clearly meant to be Grandma Duck in this strip whom some fans prefer to retroactively identify as Matilda McDuck would be included in such a thread. Anyhow, Lulubelle can't look like she did in Rosa's family tree. She should now have greyer hair and perhaps even glasses. I imagine her being as sweet as can be, but with her head in the clouds. She's a great seamstress, crocheter, etc., though. This love of making clothes was inherited by her daughter (well, it's her daughter in my headcanon at least) Dora who of course wanted that dummy from Donald so she could use it to design a fabulous dress in this strip. Lulubelle probably makes all of Fethry's signature hats (or maybe it's just one hat... not sure) and clothes. I also imagine her as being rather hyperactive like her son. In his appearance in Invader of Fort Duckburg, Eider seems rather relaxed and quiet. Fethry must have inherited his energy from his mother. Maybe we could have a story where she plans a surprise party for her mother-in-law, Grandma Duck. Not because it's Grandma's birthday, but just because! Surprise parties for no particular reason was a tradition in the Loon family!
• Ludwig von Drake's mother - My final suggestion for today. Ludwig von Drake's mother fussed at her son from offscreen at least a few times in the House of Mouse television show, I believe, and I kind of love the idea of his mother's still being alive and kind of putting his ego in check. That said, if she were to appear, I wouldn't want her to be as youthful and strong as Grandma or Scrooge. I think she should be depicted as nearly a generation older than them. Visually very elderly but still more than willing to give Ludwig an earful about his behavior. To me, Ludwig is mostly a comical and humorous character. I'm really more familiar with his cartoon persona from the old Walt Disney specials than I am his comics incarnation. To me, his mother should likewise be a mostly comical character, a source of laughs for those who find a duck as arrogant as Ludwig getting verbally dressed down or embarrassed by his mother in public to be funny (if it's handled the right way, of course). Someone to tell Ludwig to stop his endless lecturing and listen to a lecture for once.
  

Regarding the discussion of Eider, I love the concept that he is or was in the military and lived overseas! Donald states in the cartoon Donald Gets Drafted that his uncle was a pilot, and I like to think that this was (in-universe) a reference to Eider. Plus, Fethry is a part-time pilot in Lockman's Donald's Buzzin' Cousin, which purports to depict Donald and Fethry's first meeting since Fethry was a child, and appears to be very well-traveled, taking Donald across the globe just to eat. I thus envision Eider as a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps/Air Force stationed overseas at various points in his children's childhoods. Eider and Lulubelle may live back in the States by the time of Farragut the Falcon, explaining why the package does not seem to be from overseas. I also love this new (to me) idea that Eider rescuing animals now. What hidden depths from a guy that Rosa made look so tough! That sounds like a wonderful job for him to do after his retirement from the Air Force in my headcanon. I love Clan McDuck MacDuck 's idea of using Eider as an excuse to bring exotic animals into stories. Would be awesome to see Huey, Dewey, and Louie get to spend a week helping out with the animals at Uncle Eider's.

Whitewater/Abner is a character that I'm not a huge fan of, to be honest. I like him enough, but I don't know that I see any use for him becoming a recurring character. It would be nice to see him at family gatherings, though. I just wouldn't make him a regular face in Duckburg or even a frequent visitor. Let the man stay with his trees, far away from his pestering relatives.

[Spectrus]

Aug 10, 2022 6:19:49 GMT TheMidgetMoose said:

• For example, the old woman clearly meant to be Grandma Duck in this strip whom some fans prefer to retroactively identify as Matilda McDuck would be included in such a thread.

That strip also claims Scrooge has a brother! 

[sim]

Aug 10, 2022 18:33:58 GMT Spectrus said:

Aug 10, 2022 6:19:49 GMT TheMidgetMoose said:

• For example, the old woman clearly meant to be Grandma Duck in this strip whom some fans prefer to retroactively identify as Matilda McDuck would be included in such a thread.

That strip also claims Scrooge has a brother!      

Most likely Gideon. Rumpus should be ruled out because he didn't grow up as Scrooge's brother... it could also be Scrooge's twin brother from Paperino e l'uomo del west, but is that story canon for anyone?