The Think Box Bollix, also known as Ray’s A Riot and The Brainy Wolf, is a 1952 Donald Duck comic book written and drawn by Carl Barks. It was first printed in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #141. It is the first story to focus on Gyro Gearloose and his inventions.
Donald Duck is forever amused by the works of Gyro Gearloose, whom he sees as a crackpot. However, he isn’t happy to see his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie spending time with the inventor, believing Gyro to be a bad influence. The triplets insist on acting as Gyro’s assistants, citing past inventors like Edison or Marconi who were also seen as crackpots before proven right. Gyro’s latest project are Think Boxes; They emit waves that can improve an animal’s ability to think. Gyro leaves two of these boxes in the field and plans on checking the next day if any animals were affected.
Donald decides to play a prank, hoping the experience will convince his nephews to stop working with Gyro. Purchasing a wolf costume, Donald pretends to be a predator affected by the Think Box and scare Gyro and the triplets. However, while doing so, he runs into an actual intelligent wolf! The wolf captures Donald, planning to cook him for dinner.
The nephews learn of what’s happening from a talking rabbit also affected by the Think Box, and have Gyro reverse the Think Box’s power and drain the wolf of his new intelligence, causing him to forget about cooking Donald and leave. Once more, the nephews admonish Donald about seeing inventors as crackpots, leaving their uncle humiliated and angry.
Tropes
- Awesome, but Impractical: The story starts with Gyro showing off his "Jet-powered Baggage Buggy". It's moved by a pair of rockets attached to the wheels, but can only go at full-speed, and Gyro didn't include brakes, so the only way to stop is by crashing. Donald considers it one of Gyro's more normal inventions.
- Ascended Extra: Gyro first appeared as a one-off character in "Gladstone's Terrible Secret".
- Actually, I Am Him: While scaring his nephews dressed as a wolf, Donald runs into a dogface who admonishes him, then reveals he's an actual wolf!
- Big "SHUT UP!": At the end, Donald shouts this at a talking rabbit asking for a dime for some carrots.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: This was Gyro's first major appearance, so there's no Little Helper yet.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Gyro is much fatter in this story than his more familiar design.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Donald acts as this, not wanting his nephews to spend time with someone he sees as a crackpot.
- Uplifted Animal: The purpose of the Think Boxes is to cause this.
- Watch Out for That Tree!: Because he never put in brakes, the only way Gyro can stop his Jet-powered Baggage Buggy is to run it into a tree.
