The Life and Times of Donald Duck

Well, I'm a huge hsitory buff, and really enjoyed Don Rosa's "Life and Times of Scrooge Mc Duck". So I figured, I could try that with Donald! Except there'd be more history involved and less obsessing over the very messy Duck-Canon.

Here's the basic timeline:

1920- Donald Duck is born outside Duckburg, CS (Calisota), to Hortensia and Aaron Duck.

1922- Donald's little sister is born. Donald still not doing much at age 2.

1925- Donald is zapped by lightning while attempting to prank his cousin on the latter's birthday.

1930- Donald kicks his Uncle in the rear, and proceeds to not see Scrooge again until 1947.

1934- Donald moves out of the house after a heated argument with his mother and father (Good old Duck temper), and spends the next two years lounging on a boat, doing random jobs, one of which grants him the iconic sailor suit as pay. (Cue the damn hen story).

1936- Donald gets a job in the city, and moves to Duckburg. He meets Daisy around this time, and reconnects with his cousin Gladstone. The two don't hit it off, and Daisy's not helping.

1939- With war heating up in Europe, Della arrives to live with Donald for a while in the city.

1940- Della meets Francis Duck, who Donald doesn't approve of.

1942- In the aftrmath of Pearl Harbor, Donald, short on cash, joins the marines as a way of getting by.

1943- Donald comes home for a short leave, to find out Della had triplets with Francis while her brother was at Guadalcanal. Donald moves out of his own apartment permanently, leaving it to Della in a fit of rage. He ends up spending the rest of his leave with Daisy, despite phone calls from Della, which he ignores.

1944- Donald, back in the Pacific, is introduced to a new squad mate: Francis Duck. Apparently, once Donald stopped sending part of his pay to them, Francis was gripped by patriotic fervor. Donald, squad leader by now, is not happy about this, and treats Francis with disdain. At Peleliu, Donald's attitude changes when Francis saves him from a Japanese soldier, at the cost of his own life.

1945- After slogging through Okinawa, Donald returns home, depressed by his experience. After Francis' death, his pay has resumed its passage to Della, but contact is still out of the question. With his savings, Donald buys the house we all love, and of course, that car. He resumes his wooing of Daisy.

1946- On the anniversary of Francis' death, Donald (who still feels guilt over it) goes South of the Border to get his mind off it. While there, he meets Panchito Pistoles and Jose Carioca. One week after his return, the boys are dropped off on his doorstep. He takes care of them for the week, and takes them in again when they are dropped off for the second time. This time, he's stuck with them.

1947- Hortense Mc Duck dies. Scrooge contacts Donald soon after. Cue adventure, derring-do and fun into the 50s. Donald softens up in this period.

c. 1957- Present continuity.

Whaddaya think? Ideas, improvements, refinements?

PS. If you think there's a better section for this, tell me where.

Actually, I don't know if this is a good idea. Scrooge was in many ways defined by his past, while Donald... Well, can you imagine Donald as an ex-marine, war veteran, squad leader who has seen members of his squad getting killed? Obviously you do, but that doesn't sound like Donald to me.

(Also, if Donald knows about Francis, then why hasn't he told his newphews, who, as far as I know, don't know anything about him?)

I don't think Donald's nephews' father has actually ever been officially named. The family tree made by Rosa (and the original by Barks he based it on) don't have his first name (or a picture in the Rosa version eighter). He's supposed to be alive, tho, as in the first newspaper strips featuring Donald's nephews the reason they were sent to live with Donald was that they had placed some fireworks under his chair, earning him a trip to the hospital.

My personal theory (which really isn't backed off by anything, mind you) is that he isn't their real father, tho. Perhaps Doanld's siter had a relationship with someone, but he left her after she had kids (or perhaps it was just a one night stand), and later she got married to another man. That would explain both why the name of Donald's nephews' father is unknown (she would probably got rid of any mentions of him, or perhaps she never knew his name) and why the kids were dumped on Donald (her new husband probably didn't like them, especially after the whole firework incident, so they sent the kids off to live with their uncle).

The thing with Donald Duck is that, unlike with his uncle, his past is much less defined; Carl Barks didn't establish his life the way he did with Uncle Scrooge, giving a chance to every writer to do his own take on Don's existence. Since Donald is an incredibly versatile character, it's unlikely we'll ever get an official version of his life. Which, of course, means wonders by enthusiasts fans such as you who are willing to give it a go.

I believe this to be a wonderful idea and I encourage you to go further with it. Are you gonna try to reconcile some aspects from both the Classic Disney Shorts and the Scrooge Mc Duck Universe? No easy task, and in some parts it's impossible for them to coexist, but Broad Strokes is your friend.

Donald is no stranger to the concept of war, not in the cartoon nor in the comics. Look up "Commando Duck" on Youtube. I can totally picture Donald as a war veteran...'Cause he already is.

edited 31st Jul '11 8:45:47 PM by Richie