Plot
The Witwatersrand Gold Rush of 1886 takes Scrooge to Transvaal, South Africa. His cart is passed by a galloping Cape Buffalo with a Boer duck lashed to its back, screaming for help. Scrooge rescues the Boer and befriends him, not knowing that he was sent into the veld by diamond miners he was trying to steal from. Scrooge happily accepts his new friend's offer to keep watch when they camp for the night, but when he wakes up, his wagon, horse, and gear have all been stolen, and he has been left alone surrounded by wild animals.
Just as the animals are about to pounce, Scrooge's hurt gives way to fury and he makes a lifetime vow: "Nobody double-crosses Scrooge McDuck!" He tames the animals with his bare hands, then bridles a lion and rides it into the nearest town. Finding his cart, Scrooge retrieves his pistols and confronts the young Boer in a bar, then humiliates his rival by shooting jars of molasses and a pillow over him, producing the local equivalent of being tarred and feathered. Furious, the Boer runs back to the cart to grab Scrooge's rifle, but doesn't notice the lion in the stable until it's too late. Scrooge is forced to save the Boer from a severe mauling, before dragging him into the nearest jail. As Scrooge is leaving town, the young Boer yells from his cell that one day he'll be rich enough to take revenge on Scrooge and people like him. Scrooge dismisses this, but concedes that the young duck, whose name he still doesn't know, has taught him a valuable lesson: never trust anyone completely.
The story's closing narration reveals the young Boer to be Flintheart Glomgold, who will grow up to be the world's second richest duck, and Scrooge's nemesis.
Keno Don Hugo Rosa, known simply as Don Rosa, is an American comic book writer and illustrator known for his Disney comics stories about Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and other characters which Carl Barks created for Disney-licensed comic books, first published in America by Dell Comics. Many of his stories are built on characters and locations created by Barks; among these was his first Duck story, "The Son of the Sun" (1987), which was nominated for a Harvey Award in the "Best Story of the Year" category.
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 for The Walt Disney Company by Carl Barks. Appearing in Disney comics, Scrooge is a Scottish-born, American, anthropomorphic Pekin duck. Like his nephew, Donald Duck, he has a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue frock coat, top hat, pince-nez glasses, and spats varying in color. He is portrayed in animation as speaking with a Scottish accent. Originally intended to be used only once, Scrooge became one of the most popular characters in Disney comics and Barks' signature work. Scrooge lives in the city of Duckburg in the fictional US state of Calisota, whose claimed location is in California in the real-world United States.
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck (Lo$) is a serial of 12 comic book stories written and drawn by Don Rosa, lettered by Todd Klein, first published by the Danish publisher Egmont in the magazine Anders And & Co. from 1992–94 and later in English in Uncle Scrooge #285 through #296 (1994–96). The stories chronicle the in-universe biography of Scrooge McDuck before his introduction in 1947. The stories were later collected and published together in a single volume. Rosa later published additional stories which expanded on Scrooge's biography. These were released as The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion.
Magica De Spell is a cartoon character created in 1961 by Carl Barks for the Duck universe. An Italian sorceress, she constantly attempts to steal Scrooge McDuck's Number One Dime, which she believes will play a vital role in magically obtaining the same fabulous wealth of its owner.
Flintheart Glomgold is a cartoon character created in 1956 by Carl Barks. He is a South African American Pekin Duck and the business rival of Scrooge McDuck, usually portrayed as an ambitious, ruthless, and manipulative businessman who shares many of the same qualities as Scrooge—the drive for massive wealth, and the cunning and creativity to obtain the same—but he lacks any of Scrooge's tendencies towards generosity and compassion. In Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, he is said to be a Boer.
The Donald Duck universe is a fictional shared universe which is the setting of stories involving Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, as well as Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Scrooge McDuck, and many other characters. Life in the Donald Duck universe centers on the city of Duckburg and is a part of the larger Mickey Mouse universe. In addition to the original comic book stories by Carl Barks, the Duckburg cast was featured in Little Golden Books, television series such as DuckTales (1987–1991), Darkwing Duck (1991–1992), and the DuckTales reboot (2017–2021), and video games such as DuckTales (1989), QuackShot (1991), Goin' Quackers (2000), and DuckTales: Remastered (2013).
The Beagle Boys are a group of cartoon characters created in 1951 by Carl Barks for the Donald Duck universe. They are a family clan of organized criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first appearance was in "Terror of the Beagle Boys", although in this story they only appear in the last frame and have no lines. They appear again in the next issue in a similar fashion, in The Big Bin on Killmotor Hill.
The Duck family is a fictional family of cartoon ducks related to Disney character Donald Duck. The family is also related to the Coot, Goose, and Gander families, as well as the Scottish Clan McDuck. Besides Donald, the best-known members of the Duck family are Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Donald's three triplet nephews.
John D. Rockerduck is a cartoon character created in 1961 by The Walt Disney Company for the Duck universe. He is one of Scrooge McDuck's main rivals in Disney comics. His name is a play on that of John D. Rockefeller, the American capitalist and philanthropist. Though a relatively obscure character in the United States, Rockerduck is an example of a character who has become notable in the foreign market, particularly in stories produced for the Italian market. He made his first animated appearance in 2019, in the second season of the DuckTales reboot.
"Christmas on Bear Mountain" (1947) is a Donald Duck story by Carl Barks, first published in Dell Comics Four Color Comics #178. It was the first appearance of Scrooge McDuck, a character who became a comic-book icon throughout the world.
DuckTales: The Quest for Gold is a platform game developed by Incredible Technologies for the Amiga, Commodore 64, Atari ST and MS-DOS. It was published in 1990 by Walt Disney Computer Software. The game bears little resemblance to the Capcom game known simply as DuckTales that was released for the NES and Game Boy.
"Return to Plain Awful" is a Donald Duck story that was originally printed during the Gladstone Publishing run of Donald Duck Adventures, issue #12 in May 1989. It was written by Don Rosa as a sequel to "Lost in the Andes!" by Carl Barks, to commemorate that story's 40th anniversary.
"The Son of the Sun" is the first Scrooge McDuck comic by Don Rosa, first published in Uncle Scrooge #219 in July 1987. It is a well-known comic book story that features Disney's Scrooge McDuck, Donald Duck, and his three nephews. This story is most notable for establishing Don Rosa as a major talent in the Disney comic book industry, as well as fulfilling Rosa's childhood dream of becoming a writer/illustrator of stories featuring Scrooge McDuck.
"The Second-Richest Duck" is an Uncle Scrooge comic book story written and illustrated by Carl Barks in February 1956. It features the first appearance of Flintheart Glomgold.
"A Little Something Special" is a 1997 Disney comics story created by Don Rosa to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Scrooge McDuck's first appearance in Carl Barks's "Christmas on Bear Mountain" in 1947.
"The Money Champ" was originally published in Uncle Scrooge #27 in September, 1959 and is the second of three stories written and drawn by Carl Barks in which Scrooge's rival Flintheart Glomgold appears. Glomgold first appeared in "The Second-Richest Duck" in Uncle Scrooge #15.
Scrooge's Quest is a seven-part DuckTales comics story written by Marv Wolfman and published in 1990. The story was originally printed in the first seven issues of the comics series by Gladstone Publishing, and later reprinted in a graphic novel by Gemstone Publishing.
"The Last Lord of Eldorado" is a 1998 Donald Duck comic story by Don Rosa.
"The Duck Who Never Was" is a 1994 Disney comics story written and drawn by Don Rosa. It was written to celebrate Donald Duck's sixtieth anniversary. The story was first published in the Danish Anders And & Co. #1994-23; the first American publication was in Donald Duck #286, in September 1994.
