Flintheart Glomgold. What an ingenious name! Before even knowing him we know a lot about his character because his name suggests a somewhat shady personage. Carl Barks was quite happy with the name, too. He actually played with it in U$27 The Money Champ in which he was also called Goldflint Heartglom, Flintgold Glomheart, and Heartflint Goldglom! But a name is not enough to make a successful character...
But
although he liked the name, Barks never really liked the South-African
plutocrat Glomgold. He was developed to be a totally villainous
opponent to humiliate and frustrate Scrooge - just as Barks
created Gladstone to have a character to torment Donald. As such
he does not have the same appeal and redeeming features that his
other characters possess. Barks' frustration over having invented
Glomgold becomes apparent by the simple fact that he only used
him in 3 stories, and never in either one-pagers or front covers.
However, Glomgold has since been used frequently by other comic
book artists, and he was also a recurring character in the
popular Disney TV-series Ducktales. So it is safe to say that he
is here to stay...
THE APPEARANCE | |||
Glomgold's appearance did not change at all in the 3 stories, although they were drawn in a timespan of 10 years. Barks portrayed him as a duck not unlike Scrooge with pince-nez, walking stick, and clearly uninterested in fashion. However, he differs greatly from Scrooge in character; Glomgold is a much darker version of Scrooge. | |||
THE CONTESTANTS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrooge has to deal
with many adversaries. But Glomgold can be considered
Scrooges arch-nemesis. He proved a worthy, though
unscrupulous, opponent who sought the title of the
world's richest duck. |
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THE STORIES | |||
1956 U$15 The Second Richest Duck Synopsis: Scrooge gets into a fierce contest with Glomgold to see who is the world's richest duck. At the end it all comes down to two balls of string. Analysis: The story concentrates on comparing and contrasting the two rivals. They are extremely competitive and cannot accept that the opponent might be superior. |
1959 U$27 The Money Champ Synopsis: Glomgold challenges Scrooge to a competition - who is the richest duck in the world? Most of their valuables will have to be cashed and counted. Analysis: The plot is the same as in the first story, but now Barks portrays Glomgold as a much darker and sinister opponent who is endlessly cheating and playing dirty. |
1966 U$61 So Far No Safari Synopsis: Scrooge hires Donald and the nephews to accompany him to Africa in order to buy a gold mine at an auction. Glomgold is also very interested. Analysis: The basic story is about the use of the nephews' animal call whistles while travelling through Africa. Glomgold is reduced to being a supporting - but still villainous - character. |
http://www.cbarks.dk/THEOPPONENT.htm | Date 2004-03-02 |