"Christmas on Bear Mountain" is a 1947 Donald Duck comic, written and drawn by Carl Barks for Dell's Four Color Comics #178. It's known today for being the first appearance of Scrooge McDuck in any medium. Scrooge was originally something of a one-off character, and his appearance and attitude here are very different from the Scrooge readers would come to know later.
Donald and the kids are in for a grim Christmas — there's no money for Donald to afford presents, a tree, or much else to celebrate. However, a surprise is coming their way: rich old Uncle Scrooge McDuck has decided to give them access to his cabin on Bear Mountain, and a huge collection of foods and presents. It looks like the perfect Christmas has just fallen into their lap... but Scrooge has other plans. He intends to see if Donald is courageous enough to be worth his time, dismissing the modern world as full of cowards. To that end, he intends to dress up in a bear costume and terrorize Donald at the cabin. However, when Donald and the kids cut down the top of a tall old pine for their Christmas tree, they accidentally abduct a very real bear cub who was hibernating with his mother in the hollow tree. When mother bear finds out, she tracks the ducks back to the cabin shortly before Scrooge plans to arrive.
Tropes to be found include:
- Barrier-Busting Blow: How the mother bear gets into the ducks' cabin; she knocks the front door clean off the hinges.
- Bears Are Bad News: The bear cub in the cabin is only a minor annoyance, and the kids end up chasing him around on roller skates. His mother, on the other hand, is big and mean enough to chase the ducks out of the house.
- Christmas Episode: Indeed.
- Don't You Like It?: Scrooge's Christmas gift to Donald after he was terrorized by a bear all night in his mountain cabin?... a Siberian silvertip bearskin. Donald promptly passes out again, much to Scrooge's confusion. (It probably didn't help that Scrooge basically shoved its head right in Donald's face.)
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Scrooge is very different from the character he would become; he spends most of his time hunched over double (as if he has problems with his back), his trademark broadcloth coat and top hat are nowhere to be seen, and his sideburns look more like a parted beard. He also seems to have an odd obsession with the concept of courage, and testing other peoples' fear.
- Expy: Scrooge is a rather blatant one of Ebenezer Scrooge, including hating Christmas, having a cheery nephew and being a greedy old coot.
- Fainting: Of the "Girly Man Faint" variety. When the mother bear gorges herself into back into hibernation on the ducks' food, Donald approaches her to tie her up. The bear sighs heavily, and Donald passes out in terror. It lasts long enough for Scrooge to show up, and believe Donald’s fallen asleep next to the bear.
- The Grinch: Scrooge seems to hate Christmas more than most, and spends most years completely ignoring it. Appropriate, considering his namesake.
- Hypocritical Humor: Scrooge spends most of the story grousing about the world being full of cowards, and dresses up like a bear to scare his nephew. When he sees Donald asleep next to the mother bear, he's visibly astonished, and sprints out of the cabin in terror when the bear lets out a loud snore.
- I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: Bear Mountain isn't as frightening as some, but it's enough to make Donald very nervous.
- Mama Bear: A literal example; the moment she discovers her cub has been (accidentally) abducted, she pursues the duck tracks to the cabin, tears her way inside, and chases all the ducks out.
- Mistaken for Badass: Scrooge is astounded at Donald's "courage" at falling asleep next to a live bear. In reality, Donald had just fainted in sheer terror while trying to tie her up in her sleep.
- Pleasure Island: Scrooge intends to create a less-dangerous one of these in his mountain cabin -– give Donald and the boys an offer of a wonderful Christmas vacation, then terrorize them in a bear costume.
- Properly Paranoid: Donald spends much of the first night at the cabin worried about bears. The kids point out that any bears around will be hibernating this time of year, but he's still nervous about leaving the cabin the next morning. The next night, a bear does show up.
- Running Gag: Donald hiding in a light fixture on the ceiling whenever he sees (or thinks he sees) evidence of bears snooping around.
- Secret Test of Character: Scrooge intends to put Donald and the kids through one. He doesn't expect them to pass it, but when they do, he’s utterly delighted.
- Snowed-In: Scrooge has to delay terrorizing Donald and the boys for a day after a huge blizzard hits, burying the mountain roads. The next morning, much of the surrounding forest has been buried in snow, save for one huge old tree.
