Recap / DuckTales S1E36 "Robot Robbers"

Scrooge is chagrined to find that Glomgold's construction company, with the help of some of Gyro's inventions, has snatched a job right out from under him. But things go south when the Beagle Boys get a hold of the inventions.

This episode contains examples of the following tropes:

• Adaptation Distillation: In the comic story this episode was loosely based on, it was Duckburg's robots that the Beagle Boys hijacked, not Glomgold's.
• Ban on A.I.: Scrooge apparently forbade Gyro from making any more robots for him.
• Benevolent Boss: Launchpad accepts a job from Flintheart Glomgold, only to get fired after a few minutes for crashing the plane; Launchpad muses how Mr. McD "never fired him that fast" and is eager to go back to presumably the one boss in the world patient enough and tough enough to hire such a pilot.
• Big "WHAT?!": Glomgold gives one at the end when the Chief of Police informs him that his robots are to be permanently dismantled.
• Chekhov's Gun: The quick-drying cement that trapped Scrooge is later used to stop the last robot.
• Continuity Nod: Scrooge is outraged that Gyro built more robots, reminding him that his last robot nearly took over the world, which was the plot of the previous episode, "Armstrong".
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Not only are the Beagle Boys and Glomgold enemies here compared to all future appearances together where they were his flunkies, but Burger has a drastically different voice despite still being voiced by Chuck McCann.
• Enemies Equals Greatness: Scrooge learns that he'll never become some complacent, passive, Idle Rich as long as he has enemies like Glomgold to challenge him and keep him sharp. "[Flintheart,] you bring out the best in me."
• Enemy Mine: Scrooge and Glomgold have to work together to stop the Beagle Boys and Ma from destroying the city with the giant construction robots.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Ma Beagle calls Glomgold "rotten to the core".
• Exact Words: Gyro employs exact words to explain to Scrooge why he made the titular robots.
  Scrooge: Gyro, I thought I told you never to build another robot!
  Gyro: You said never to build another robot for you. So I made these for Mr. Glomgold.
• Going to Give It More Energy: When the Beagle Boys are recharging their robots at the power plant, Scrooge and the others send a power surge that overloads their fuses.
• Good is Not Nice or Soft: Scrooge proves this — after Glomgold accused him of "going soft" and being "too careful," in fact — when he ends the episode by turning Glomgold's mistake into a huge profit for himself.
  Glomgold: I have to rebuild half the city, and I can't use my robots!
  Scrooge: (grinning) McDuck Construction Co. will be glad to do it for you.
  Glomgold: (with a glare that says he knows exactly what Scrooge is getting at) How much will that cost?!
  Scrooge: (smugly) How much ya' got? (later walks off screen giving what can only be described as an Evil Laugh)
• Here We Go Again!: As soon as Scrooge freaks out over the headline about Glomgold, Duckworth stops his dusting, retrieves his boss's cane and hat, and opens the front door... all before Scrooge has even left his chair or given any indication he planned to leave. Clearly, Duckworth's familiar with this routine.
• Hero Insurance: Averted when it looked like Scrooge and the others successfully shorted out the robots with water and Glomgold fully expected Scrooge to pay for them, to Scrooge's fury.
• Humongous Mecha: The titular robots are as big as skyscrapers.
• Hurt Foot Hop: Angry about his robots being hijacked to destroy the city, Glomgold stomps up to the one Ma Beagle is controlling and kicks it. He ends up hurting himself instead of the robot.
• Impact Silhouette: When Ma and the Beagle Boys hijack the robots, they emerge from their storage building by busting through the wall.
• Instant Expert: Ma Beagle is unable to figure out Gyro's manual, so she decides to drive the first robot by the seat of her dress. She's able to instantly figure out the controls. The Beagle Boys have no difficulty either.
• Insult Backfire:
  Glomgold: Scrooge McDuck, you're a low-down, ruthless rat!
  Scrooge: What can I say, Flintheart? You bring out the best in me.
• It Only Works Once: See No Waterproofing in the Future.
• Literal Metaphor: When Ma Beagle says she intends to do some "window-shopping", she does so by breaking the windows in stores and stealing what's in the display.
• No Waterproofing in the Future: Defied — "Armstrong" involved the titular robot going on a berserk rampage, and only being stopped by being soaked in water. Now, the cast tries to destroy the robots using the same method, only for Gyro to inform them he had learned from his mistake and waterproofed the new models.
• The Perils of Being the Best: The theme of the episode — Glomgold makes Scrooge wonder if being used to being the best has made him complacent and overly cautious.
  Scrooge: I'm warning you, Glomgold, building these robots was a mistake.
  Glomgold: Who are you fooling? Passing up the chance to build them was the mistake, and you made it. You've gone soft, Scrooge, ol' boy. You've been on top so long, you've become too careful — afraid to take chances.
  Later
  Scrooge: Is it true...? Has being on top made me too careful? Afraid to take chances...?
  • The moral at the end? No, because, since Scrooge was right about the robots all along, Good Is Not Dumb.
• Properly Paranoid: Scrooge's claim that building the giant robots was a bad idea is proven to be justified when the Beagle Boys get a hold of them.
• Spoonerism: At one point, Launchpad says to Scrooge "Will dee, Mr. McDoo".
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The law orders Glomgold, as the owner of the robots, to cease using them and repair all the damage they caused to the city.
• This Billboard Needs Some Salt: At one point, Burger has his robot grab the giant burger sign off a burger stand and bite into it, calling it a "light snack".
• This Is Reality: When Burger is using a robot to eat a burger stand sign, Ma Beagle stops him saying "What do you think this is, a cartoon show?!".
• Throwing the Distraction: While sneaking into the building housing the robots, Ma Beagle throws a hairpin to make the guard look away.
• Title Drop: When walking up to the robot operated by Ma Beagle, Glomgold kicks it while saying "Take that, you robot robber!".
• Wet Cement Gag: After the last robot is trapped in cement, the Beagle Boys jump out and try to make a run for it. Unfortunately, the cement is still wet and they sink in it.
  Babyface Beagle: Hey! I thought this was supposed to be quick-drying cement!
  (The cement hardens and the Beagle Boys are trapped)
  Glomgold: Was that quick enough for ya'?!
• Who's Laughing Now?: Scrooge is, at the end. In the beginning, Glomgold brags to Scrooge about how his robots are guaranteed to get him all the construction jobs Scrooge used to get... only to ultimately be forced to hire McDuck Construction Co. to repair all the damage the robots caused.
• Your Mom: To lead the Beagle Boys and their robots into the reservoir, Scrooge, Glomgold, and Launchpad use Launchpad's helicopter to tote a banner that says "MA BEAGLE HAS FLEAS!". Being Mommas Boys, the Beagle Boys react accordingly.