Scrooge's Last Adventure part three: "The Quest..."

Well, here we go again.  Let's get right into it.

You know how I'd react if I were a creature beyond mortal comprehension and I was just chilling, when some loudmouth duck came pounding at my door?  I'll tell you: I wouldn't.  Let them just open up the door and find themselves in a featureless, empty room.  It's meaningless to talk about me "wasting" my time, since time isn't a factor for me, but there's just no reason to bother messing around with this guy.

...of course, they react otherwise.  In the last part Magica claimed that they were "beyond [Scrooge's] comprehension," but that's really not remotely true, is it?  I keep talking about them as though they're actual transcendental, alien creatures, but as is usually the case with things like this, they're just regular people, only with more hit points and special attacks.  Probably a better THAC0.

Yeah, you just want the money back to save your hometown.  You are so full of shit, Scrooge.  Which would be one thing except that I sort of feel like the story wants us to take him at face value here.  "A Little Something Special" also tried to trot out this idea of Scrooge as a civic figure, and it didn't work any better there.  Okay, sure, as a secondary concern, he may be indignant on Duckburg's behalf.  But that is VERY much not his main issue here.

Also, they just appeared to yell at you.  There is no reason you should assume they have anything like empathy for you.

...oh.  That's the reason?  I kind of assumed that the dime had power (if it does) because of, like, the accumulated spirit of stick-to-it-iveness and acquisition.  And that, therefore, the money being taken away wouldn't have any effect on it, since that spirit remains.  But perhaps, as I think about it, they're just assuming--they don't know.  And as we all know, assuming makes an ass out of u and ming.  In any event, this makes them seem ever-less all-powerful.

I really can't EVEN with this stuff.  It's one of these things: it's inevitably not going to be wholly realistic, but if it can talk a good enough game, you'll accept it anyway.  But this isn't that.  What's this "rightfully mine" business?  I will refrain from making a jaundiced comment about capitalism and note that, if words actually mean things, then yes, your stuff that was stolen is still rightfully yours.  But in that case, if rightful ownership is the only point of contention here, then the question of whether it "counts" as stolen is meaningless--it's still rightfully yours either way!

And this part, argh.  On the one hand nitpicking semantics is probably a good choice, really.  It may not work, but when you're dealing with a more powerful opponent, it may be your only chance.  The problem, though, is that this is just bad semantics.  I'm trying to even figure out what he's going on about here.  Is the argument really that if you go into a bank and, uh, forcibly take (I'm trying not to say "steal")  a big money bag with a dollar sign on the side, but you're only taking it to give to your friend, and you accidentally drop it in a well before you can do that...it doesn't count as stealing?  Yeah, good luck getting that to hold up in court.  I'm not sure even Rudy Giuliani would be willing to try.

He extremely doesn't have a point.  Fyi.  I kind of doubt beings like them NEED a "power base," but, well...maybe they do.  Maybe I'm wrong about everything!

OH NO!  I mean, I guess it's bad that the hill will be flattened, but really, how many malls do you think Scrooge owned?  And how many natural features do you think he demolished for space?  This really, really just seems like extremely average plutocrat stuff.

So...okay, Glomgold definitely wants to be known as the world's richest duck.  That's non-negotiable.  But--as he's portrayed in this story, at least--do you really think he would have an ego investment in having his name come first?  He really seems more like a dead-eyed pragmatist who would be perfectly content to operate from the shadows as long as he has the power.  I dunno.

OH MY GOODNESS.  Yes, I got that reference.  To my chagrin.

Restitution spells can't be cancelled?  Why not?  Plot reasons?  Okay.  Well, forget "cancelling;" can you just move the money somewhere else?  Although actually, if we assumed she was just capable of whisking it around willy nilly, there wouldn't be much she couldn't do, would there?  She'd definitely have gotten the dern dime by now.

"Those spells are set to send things to the place you currently call home!  Please disregard that really odd phrasing; it will not be relevant later!"  Really, given how finely Scrooge was slicing meaning earlier, you'd think he'd take note of this.  I guess he's just too shocked, but the problem is that I think we the readers are not meant to immediately get what happened, which seems...unlikely.

Is it pretty weird that the alien beings beyond space and time are apparently scared to visit the terrifying depths where dwell...well, you know.  It's pretty funny, but I don't know if it's an intentional joke or not.

And here they are.  Yeehaw!  That narration box is pretty weird: I daresay that anyone who reacts to this scene by thinking "what manner of bizarre creatures are these?  I've never seen the like in all my born days!" probably doesn't have a sixty-four-year-old issue of Uncle Scrooge just lying around.  Is IDW implicitly encouraging piracy?  And even beyond that, this could be confusing, as it could be taken to refer to the "new" numbers in the IDW line.  #13 is where the first installment of this story was published, and it features no terries OR fermies.

Anyway, I do like seeing these guys.  I enjoy the story's maximalist approach.  Although as I was reading, I have to admit, I did kind of feel like this subplot was taking up an excessive amount of space.  It's not that fascinating, so I'll mostly gloss over it.

So the underground is being polluted by Glomgold.  That's the long and short of it.  At first you think it has some relationship to the coup in Duckburg, but as you think about it, you realize, no...this would just be happening anyway.  Which does seem to make its inclusion here feel a little more questionable.

I mean...yes, it is the symbol for the South African pound...and also the symbol for the pound in the UK and the handful of other countries that use pounds as currency.  I mean, other contextual clues would also lead you to realize you were in South Africa, but I dunno about that.  Also, don't you think the trucks would have the rand symbol--just a big ol' R--on them?  I can buy that Glomgold's bin would still have the pound sign, what with it costing money to change, but surely those trucks are not that ancient?

Boy, imagine what would have if this guy met that Scrooge person from those Barks Junior Woodchuck stories.  It wouldn't be a pretty sight, I'll tell you that!

So this is the sort-of relevance of him having lost his hat in the first part.  Now he has a different hat!  Which is older, yet looks the same!  Victory.

Actually, fair's fair, it is sort of cool.  I don't know how much relevance it has to anything, though.

Rare full-page splash panel!  And not a bad one at that.

Yes, okay.  I just feel like if there's a reveal like this, it needs to earn its keep: you thought one way before, but now you see things from a totally different perspective, and you think, well played, story--ya got me!  That doesn't happen here, though.  We all knew the punchline well in advance!

Well, here's the first explicit reveal of that evil/spoiled dichotomy, which, as I've said, I think works pretty well here.  And that is all!

What will happen?!?  Will that pig and those chickens help out?!?  Find out in the grand finale!