Flintheart Glomgold
Encyclopedia
Flintheart Glomgold is a fictional character
in Disney
comic books. Glomgold is one of Scrooge McDuck
's main rivals, and also holds the title of being The Second Richest Duck in the World. His appearance is similar to that of Scrooge, and he is sometimes characterized as being of Scottish
descent as well (speaking with a Scottish burr in most animated features, though he is generally accepted as being from South Africa
in the continuity
of the comic books), but he is drawn with a full beard
and sideburns
as opposed to simple side-whiskers, and a dark tam o'shanter
with a red pom pom and black coat instead of Scrooge's red one. It can be assumed that he actually is of Scottish descent as it was stated that both he and Scrooge are distantly related to Bogey McDivot in John Lustig
and Vicar's comic book story "Family of Fore."
He is portrayed as an ambitious, ruthless, and manipulative
businessman who shares many of the same qualities as Scrooge - the drive for massive wealth
, and the cunning and creativity
to obtain the same - but he lacks any of Scrooge's tendencies towards generosity
and compassion
. He rarely has issues breaking the law, cheating and using other unfair tactics in order to fulfill his goal of becoming the world's richest duck, distinguishing him from Scrooge McDuck.
In Lars Jensen and Vicar's comic book story "Happy Birthday, Flintheart Glomgold", Glomgold's nephew Slackjaw Snorehead is introduced. This character has been characterized as friendly and extremely laid-back but also secretly gifted in business. In the 1988 DuckTales
comic book story "The Smart Nephew" by Bob Gregory
, Cosme Quartieri and Jorge Sanchez, another nephew of Glomgold appears: the smart and brave Junior. And in Werner Wejp-Olsen and Daniel Branca
's comic book story "The Top Treasure In Town" Flintheart's grandfather, who in 1870 worked as a hansom cab driver in London, is introduced.
and first appeared in The Second-Richest Duck
, first published in September, 1956. In this story, Scrooge, who holds the title of the Richest Duck in the World, learns that a businessman from South Africa
has also claimed this title. Scrooge decides to confront this claimant to his title and travels to South Africa along with his nephew Donald
and his great-nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie
Duck. The rest of the story concentrates on comparing and contrasting the two rivals during a race through "The Heart of Africa" (a recurring phrase in the story). The race is supposed to determine which one of them deserves the title. The two characters resemble each other both in appearance and behavior though their main common point seems to be that they are extremely competitive and neither of them can accept the idea of someone else being superior or equal to them. Flintheart, like Scrooge, keeps a percentage of his fortune in his own Money Bin, identical to that of Scrooge (with the exception of the external logo: a Dollar sign
on McDuck's and a Pound sign
on Glomgold's), while the rest of his fortune is invested in a worldwide financial empire of his own that equals that of Scrooge (though Scrooge's main sources of wealth are his industries while Flintheart's are his diamond mines). Their main difference seems to be their way of life. Scrooge's Money Bin is at the center of Duckburg, Calisota, United States, a constantly expanding industrial city, while Flintheart's is in the center of a valley, located somewhere in the lands around Limpopo
, surrounded by wildlife and away from human activities. While Scrooge finds himself surrounded by an extended family (see The Clan McDuck, Duck family and Coot Kin) and a large number of allies and rivals (see Scrooge McDuck Universe
), Flintheart lives a life of solitude and seems to have no family, friends or for that matter rivals except Scrooge himself. While Scrooge has his nephews helping him or advising him, Flintheart faces every situation alone. This appears to have hardened him - he is considerably more ruthless than Scrooge - but also leaves him vulnerable to being simply outnumbered by his rivals. Even at the end of the story when Scrooge has won and Flintheart passes out after finding he is only second best, he has to be carried home by Huey, Louie and Dewey since he has no one else there to help him.
The solitary South African re-appeared to challenge Scrooge to a rematch in The Money Champ
, first published in September 1959. This time the confrontation takes place in Scrooge's grounds in Duckburg with the city's population witnessing the event. This time they only count their wealth in cash and not their investments and have to liquidate much of their fortunes. Flintheart uses a number of dirty plots against Scrooge but his plans backfire when their cost in money also costs Flintheart his chance at victory. The story adds little to what was established in the previous one but for the first time some panels concentrate on Flintheart's thoughts, revealing that his insecurities about his own worth are the driving force behind both his efforts to best Scrooge and his dishonest tactics (since he doubts his ability to win in a direct confrontation).
Barks would use Flintheart for a third and last time in So Far and no Safari, first published in January, 1966. This was one of the last stories Barks created before his retirement. The themes of this story are considerably darker than the two previous ones. Flintheart's intentions towards Scrooge are clearly depicted as murderous. The story starts with Scrooge planning to participate in an auction for an old South African gold mine. It is considered exhausted but Scrooge's mechanics believe that the main vein of gold hasn't even been reached. While Scrooge is piloting his private plane over South Africa, with Donald, Huey, Dewey and Louie as passengers, Flintheart appears piloting his own private plane. It is equipped with machine guns and he proceeds to shoot down Scrooge. While Scrooge is still trying to reach the auction Flintheart repeatedly tries to get rid of him. When Scrooge manages to reach the Kalahari Desert
, Flintheart's plane is revealed to be a bomber as well. Flintheart proceeds to bombard the area where Scrooge and his nephews are, but misses. When he returns for a second bomb run, the Ducks have dressed some rocks with their clothing and have taken cover elsewhere. Flintheart mistakes the rocks for his targets and proceeds to destroy them. As he comments, his rivals are now dinner for the jackals. His victory is short-lived. He was flying low and the bomb explosions damaged his plane's fuel tank. He crash-lands the plane and finds himself in no better condition than Scrooge. The rest of the story presents Scrooge's and Flintheart's rival efforts to cross the Kalahari and reach the auction. The end of the story finds them at the auction, tired from their hard trails but still rivaling each other, while an exhausted Donald has fallen asleep. It is considered Flintheart's darkest appearance and among his strongest and most memorable ones.
editors Lars Bergström and Stefan Printz-Påhlson
decided to revive the character. Since then Flintheart Glomgold has appeared in more than 100 Egmont stories, some of which depict him as an influential member of Duckburg's Billionaires Club (which also includes Scrooge and John D. Rockerduck
).
, who was the legendary founder of the Inca dynasty. The temple is hidden somewhere in the tops of the Andes and according to inscriptions earlier found by Scrooge supposed to contain a great treasure. In the course of the story Flintheart is shown to be one of Scrooge's most charismatic, resourceful and ruthless rivals.
Rosa, who admits to have a soft spot for the character, has used Flintheart in a growing number of stories and has offered him a sort of origin. In his stories Flintheart is a Boer
from the province of Transvaal
. He was born around the same time as Scrooge and first met him during the Gold Rush of 1886 (the main effect of this Rush was the foundation of Johannesburg
). Like Scrooge, Flintheart was born in poverty and was working his way up the financial ladder. While unsuccessfully searching for diamonds, he attempted to steal the findings of more successful fellow miners. As a result he was tied to the horns of a water buffalo and the animal was then sent running. Flintheart was found and saved by Scrooge. Flintheart offered to be the guide of the recently arrived gold miner from Scotland
, since he knew the territory. Scrooge accepted him as a needed companion and friend. But at night while Scrooge was sleeping, Flintheart stole his ox-cart along with all his equipment and supplies and left him alone in the wilderness. Having underestimated Scrooge, he was surprised when Scrooge caught up to him, furious and vengeful. When Scrooge finished with him, Flintheart was publicly humiliated, thoroughly embittered and imprisoned for theft. The two rivals made vows to themselves that helped shape some of their character traits. Scrooge vowed to never trust anybody ever again, in order not to be betrayed again. Apparently this is the source of Scrooge's distrust towards others whether they are allies, rivals or complete strangers and the reason he is secretive about his thoughts and emotions. On the other hand a completely defeated Flintheart vowed that he will work to become so rich that nobody can humiliate him again (see Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck - Part VI:The Terror of Transvaal). Because Scrooge officially meets Glomgold for the first time in 'The second richest Duck' in 1956, Don Rosa makes sure Glomgold's name is never mentioned in his tale. Since Glomgold gets Scrooge's name, some fans could think he's more interested in defeating and humiliating Scrooge as a revenge for getting imprisoned rather than becoming the world's richest duck. According to Rosa's unofficial timelines it would take him twenty years of hard work as a diamond miner till finally he became rich in 1906 by his profits. He would spend the next fifty years working his way up the financial ladder both by hard efforts and dishonest methods when needed.
Don Rosa also revealed in at least two stories another thing that makes Flintheart a counterpart to Scrooge: the Number One Rand, the first coin Flintheart Glomgold ever earned (or stole). In Return to Plain Awful
, this rand
makes his first appearance, a cameo, and has nothing to do with the story. In A Little Something Special
, the Rand makes an equally small but of more relevance
role. Magica De Spell
teamed up with him and the Beagle Boys to get the Number One Dime. Scrooge reminds Magica he will no longer be the richest duck in the world after they steal his fortune and the Dime will be worthless to her. Based on the advice Scrooge gives her in exchange for his dime back, Magica steals Flintheart's first rand.
Notable is the fact that Flintheart Glomgold's first coin could never be a rand because the South Africa
ns utilized the South African pound
from 1825 to 1961, when the South African Rand
was introduced. Adding it to the fact that Don Rosa's stories usually take place in the 1950s, it means it would be impossible for anyone to own a rand in such stories.
To make things worse for Glomgold, Magica takes the Beagle Boys
with her the Valley of Limpopo
and they carry all they can of Flintheart's cash. Despite the fact he teamed up against them in that story against Scrooge, he still dares to ask what did he do to deserve that.
An animated version of the character appeared in the TV series DuckTales
, which started airing on September 18, 1987. The Second Richest Duck was among the series' most prominent characters, and this helped his introduction to a wider audience. But some drastic changes came to the character. To avoid connections to South African issues that were then a cause of worldwide attention and concern (see apartheid) his origin was changed from South African to Scottish to match that of Scrooge, which led Glomgold to have Scotland-style
names in other countries (see below). He was depicted as wearing a traditional Scottish kilt
and his voice actor Hal Smith
(Harold John Smith, August 24, 1916 – January 28, 1994) known for his old role as Otis Campbell on The Andy Griffith Show
gave him a thick Scottish accent. His place of residence was also changed to Duckburg. The previously unaffiliated Beagle Boys
were now depicted as working for him on an occasional basis. In a two part episode "The Golden Goose" Glomgold almost beats Scrooge at being the world's richest duck with the help of the Golden Goose-until he gets turned into gold himself; in the series finale, Glomgold makes one last attempt to get richer than Scrooge by sending the metal mites to eat whole money from Scrooge's bin. Glomgold almost succeeds when Fenton Crackshell stopped the metal mites and the last ones retrieved by Dijon spread in Glomgold's office. The biggest humiliation of all this is the fact Scrooge finds a way to earn honest money with the metal mites captured by Fenton.
In the Disney
series Darkwing Duck
episode "In Like Blunt", Glomgold makes a cameo appearance-along with the Beagle Boys
and Magica DeSpell-as a bidder for the secret S.H.U.S.H. agent list.
Flintheart also appears in the 1989 Ducktales video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System
(NES). After Scrooge completes all the regular levels, Flintheart challenges him to a race in which the winner will take all of the treasure Scrooge has acquired.
found himself unable to afford a Christmas
dinner and decided to trick Scrooge McDuck
into paying dinner for him. To do so, Donald posed as a South-American
businessman named Petrolio de Vaselino and had Scrooge take him to the Ritz. While eating dessert, Donald accidentally ate his phony moustache
, making him look like the Duke of Baloni, described by Scrooge as the World's Second-Richest Duck. By coincidence, Scrooge had a newspaper article talking about the Duke visiting Duckburg. The fact Scrooge remained willing to make business with him suggests the Duke never claimed to be richer than him. Not much else is known about the real Duke since he just made a cameo at the beginning of the last page and his only purpose in the story was cluing (via his presence) Scrooge to the fact he was dealing with an imposter. After removing Donald's wig, Scrooge was determined to make Donald pay. He asked the waiter if the restaurant was for sale and was told it's for sale for one million dollars. In a surprising (since he had spent the whole last night trying to make sure Donald wouldn't leave and force him to pay the bill) move, Scrooge quickly pulled the required amount from his pockets and bought the restaurant. Donald then was forced to wash the dishes to pay the bill. It's never said when Flintheart became richer than the Duke or if the two ever met.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
comic books. Glomgold is one of Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Scrooge is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue frock coat, top hat, pince-nez glasses, and spats...
's main rivals, and also holds the title of being The Second Richest Duck in the World. His appearance is similar to that of Scrooge, and he is sometimes characterized as being of Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
descent as well (speaking with a Scottish burr in most animated features, though he is generally accepted as being from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in the continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
of the comic books), but he is drawn with a full beard
Beard
A beard is the collection of hair that grows on the chin, cheeks and neck of human beings. Usually, only pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards. However, women with hirsutism may develop a beard...
and sideburns
Sideburns
Sideburns or sideboards are patches of facial hair grown on the sides of the face, extending from the hairline to below the ears and worn with an unbearded chin...
as opposed to simple side-whiskers, and a dark tam o'shanter
Tam o'shanter (hat)
A Tam o' Shanter is a Scottish style hat originally worn by men. The hat is named after a character in a poem written by Robert Burns in 1790...
with a red pom pom and black coat instead of Scrooge's red one. It can be assumed that he actually is of Scottish descent as it was stated that both he and Scrooge are distantly related to Bogey McDivot in John Lustig
John Lustig
John Lustig is an American comics writer principally known for his comic book scripts featuring Donald Duck and other members of Disney's Duck family. Lustig's scripts have been illustrated by William Van Horn and other artists...
and Vicar's comic book story "Family of Fore."
He is portrayed as an ambitious, ruthless, and manipulative
Psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
businessman who shares many of the same qualities as Scrooge - the drive for massive wealth
Wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem...
, and the cunning and creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
to obtain the same - but he lacks any of Scrooge's tendencies towards generosity
Generosity
Generosity is the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return. It can involve offering time, assets or talents to aid someone in need...
and compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
. He rarely has issues breaking the law, cheating and using other unfair tactics in order to fulfill his goal of becoming the world's richest duck, distinguishing him from Scrooge McDuck.
In Lars Jensen and Vicar's comic book story "Happy Birthday, Flintheart Glomgold", Glomgold's nephew Slackjaw Snorehead is introduced. This character has been characterized as friendly and extremely laid-back but also secretly gifted in business. In the 1988 DuckTales
DuckTales
DuckTales is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge comic book series, it premiered on September 18, 1987 and ended on November 28, 1990 with a total of four seasons and 100 episodes...
comic book story "The Smart Nephew" by Bob Gregory
Bob Gregory
Robert P. Gregory was an American comics artist and writer best known for writing and/or drawing hundreds of Gold Key comics starring the Walt Disney Pictures character Donald Duck.-Biography:...
, Cosme Quartieri and Jorge Sanchez, another nephew of Glomgold appears: the smart and brave Junior. And in Werner Wejp-Olsen and Daniel Branca
Daniel Branca
Daniel Branca was an Argentine comic artist.Born in Buenos Aires, Branca got interested in comics and arts at an early age, and started his career working for a children's magazine at 14. At 16, Branca found employment as assistant animator for an advertising company...
's comic book story "The Top Treasure In Town" Flintheart's grandfather, who in 1870 worked as a hansom cab driver in London, is introduced.
Under Carl Barks
Glomgold was created by Carl BarksCarl Barks
Carl Barks was an American Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck , Gladstone Gander , the Beagle Boys , The Junior Woodchucks , Gyro Gearloose , Cornelius Coot , Flintheart Glomgold , John D...
and first appeared in The Second-Richest Duck
The Second-Richest Duck
The Second-Richest Duck is an Uncle Scrooge comic book story written and illustrated by Carl Barks in February 1956. It features the first appearance of Flintheart Glomgold.-Plot:...
, first published in September, 1956. In this story, Scrooge, who holds the title of the Richest Duck in the World, learns that a businessman from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
has also claimed this title. Scrooge decides to confront this claimant to his title and travels to South Africa along with his nephew Donald
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
and his great-nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey and Louie
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are a trio of fictional, anthropomorphic ducks who appear in animated cartoons and comic books published by the Walt Disney Company. Identical triplets, the three are Donald Duck's nephews. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were created by Ted Osborne and Al Taliaferro, and first...
Duck. The rest of the story concentrates on comparing and contrasting the two rivals during a race through "The Heart of Africa" (a recurring phrase in the story). The race is supposed to determine which one of them deserves the title. The two characters resemble each other both in appearance and behavior though their main common point seems to be that they are extremely competitive and neither of them can accept the idea of someone else being superior or equal to them. Flintheart, like Scrooge, keeps a percentage of his fortune in his own Money Bin, identical to that of Scrooge (with the exception of the external logo: a Dollar sign
Dollar sign
The dollar or peso sign is a symbol primarily used to indicate the various peso and dollar units of currency around the world.- Origin :...
on McDuck's and a Pound sign
Pound sign
The pound sign is the symbol for the pound sterling—the currency of the United Kingdom . The same symbol is used for similarly named currencies in some other countries and territories, such as the Irish pound, Gibraltar pound, Australian pound and the Italian lira...
on Glomgold's), while the rest of his fortune is invested in a worldwide financial empire of his own that equals that of Scrooge (though Scrooge's main sources of wealth are his industries while Flintheart's are his diamond mines). Their main difference seems to be their way of life. Scrooge's Money Bin is at the center of Duckburg, Calisota, United States, a constantly expanding industrial city, while Flintheart's is in the center of a valley, located somewhere in the lands around Limpopo
Limpopo River
The Limpopo River rises in central southern Africa, and flows generally eastwards to the Indian Ocean. It is around long, with a drainage basin in size. Its mean annual discharge is 170 m³/s at its mouth...
, surrounded by wildlife and away from human activities. While Scrooge finds himself surrounded by an extended family (see The Clan McDuck, Duck family and Coot Kin) and a large number of allies and rivals (see Scrooge McDuck Universe
Scrooge McDuck universe
The Duck universe is a fictional universe where Disney cartoon characters Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck live. It is a spin off of the older Mickey Mouse universe, yet has become much more extensive...
), Flintheart lives a life of solitude and seems to have no family, friends or for that matter rivals except Scrooge himself. While Scrooge has his nephews helping him or advising him, Flintheart faces every situation alone. This appears to have hardened him - he is considerably more ruthless than Scrooge - but also leaves him vulnerable to being simply outnumbered by his rivals. Even at the end of the story when Scrooge has won and Flintheart passes out after finding he is only second best, he has to be carried home by Huey, Louie and Dewey since he has no one else there to help him.
The solitary South African re-appeared to challenge Scrooge to a rematch in The Money Champ
The Money Champ
The Money Champ was originally published in Uncle Scrooge #27 in September, 1959 and is the second of three stories of Carl Barks where Flintheart Glomgold appears.-Plot:...
, first published in September 1959. This time the confrontation takes place in Scrooge's grounds in Duckburg with the city's population witnessing the event. This time they only count their wealth in cash and not their investments and have to liquidate much of their fortunes. Flintheart uses a number of dirty plots against Scrooge but his plans backfire when their cost in money also costs Flintheart his chance at victory. The story adds little to what was established in the previous one but for the first time some panels concentrate on Flintheart's thoughts, revealing that his insecurities about his own worth are the driving force behind both his efforts to best Scrooge and his dishonest tactics (since he doubts his ability to win in a direct confrontation).
Barks would use Flintheart for a third and last time in So Far and no Safari, first published in January, 1966. This was one of the last stories Barks created before his retirement. The themes of this story are considerably darker than the two previous ones. Flintheart's intentions towards Scrooge are clearly depicted as murderous. The story starts with Scrooge planning to participate in an auction for an old South African gold mine. It is considered exhausted but Scrooge's mechanics believe that the main vein of gold hasn't even been reached. While Scrooge is piloting his private plane over South Africa, with Donald, Huey, Dewey and Louie as passengers, Flintheart appears piloting his own private plane. It is equipped with machine guns and he proceeds to shoot down Scrooge. While Scrooge is still trying to reach the auction Flintheart repeatedly tries to get rid of him. When Scrooge manages to reach the Kalahari Desert
Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savannah in Southern Africa extending , covering much of Botswana and parts of Namibia and South Africa, as semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains. The Kalahari supports more animals and plants than a true desert...
, Flintheart's plane is revealed to be a bomber as well. Flintheart proceeds to bombard the area where Scrooge and his nephews are, but misses. When he returns for a second bomb run, the Ducks have dressed some rocks with their clothing and have taken cover elsewhere. Flintheart mistakes the rocks for his targets and proceeds to destroy them. As he comments, his rivals are now dinner for the jackals. His victory is short-lived. He was flying low and the bomb explosions damaged his plane's fuel tank. He crash-lands the plane and finds himself in no better condition than Scrooge. The rest of the story presents Scrooge's and Flintheart's rival efforts to cross the Kalahari and reach the auction. The end of the story finds them at the auction, tired from their hard trails but still rivaling each other, while an exhausted Donald has fallen asleep. It is considered Flintheart's darkest appearance and among his strongest and most memorable ones.
After Barks
During the ten years that followed his creator's retirement the character made infrequent appearances, appearing only in four comic book stories. He wasn't nearly as recognizable as other rivals of Scrooge, like Italian sorceress Magica DeSpell, who appeared far more often. Flintheart returned to prominence in 1979, when EgmontEgmont Group
The Egmont Group is a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishing but has over the years evolved to comprise media generally....
editors Lars Bergström and Stefan Printz-Påhlson
Stefan Printz-Påhlson
Stefan Printz-Påhlson is a writer/editor at Egmont Creative in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 1994 he created the Walt Disney character Princess Oona together with his wife Unn Printz-Påhlson, and Chilean artist Victor Arriagada Rios...
decided to revive the character. Since then Flintheart Glomgold has appeared in more than 100 Egmont stories, some of which depict him as an influential member of Duckburg's Billionaires Club (which also includes Scrooge and John D. Rockerduck
John D. Rockerduck
John D. Rockerduck is a fictional character from the Duck universe. He is one of Scrooge McDuck's main rivals. His name is a play on that of John D. Rockefeller, the American capitalist and philanthropist...
).
Under Don Rosa
In 1987 Keno Don Rosa created his first Scrooge McDuck story, "Son of the Sun", first published in July, 1987. Rosa's detailed style of drawing, references to Barks stories (by then considered classic) like Lost in the Andes!, detailed references to often obscure historical figures and events and strong characterization would later make Rosa fans consider him one of Barks' most popular "successors". Those themes are all evident in his first story. It begins with Flintheart questioning Scrooge's many successes as a treasure-hunter. He claims that discovering riches that are already concentrated by others is not that hard and that he could do it better than Scrooge if he decided to try. Pretty soon he is following Scrooge and his nephews in their latest treasure hunt - locating a hidden temple of Manco CápacManco Capac
Manco Cápac was the legendary first Sapa Inca of the Kingdom of Cusco and a figure of Inca mythology. There are several versions of his origin story, which connect him to the foundation of Cusco.- Inti legend :In one myth, Manco Cápac was a son of the sun god Inti and Mama Quilla, and brother of...
, who was the legendary founder of the Inca dynasty. The temple is hidden somewhere in the tops of the Andes and according to inscriptions earlier found by Scrooge supposed to contain a great treasure. In the course of the story Flintheart is shown to be one of Scrooge's most charismatic, resourceful and ruthless rivals.
Rosa, who admits to have a soft spot for the character, has used Flintheart in a growing number of stories and has offered him a sort of origin. In his stories Flintheart is a Boer
Boer
Boer is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for farmer, which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking settlers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 18th century, as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 19th century to settle in the Orange Free State,...
from the province of Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
. He was born around the same time as Scrooge and first met him during the Gold Rush of 1886 (the main effect of this Rush was the foundation of Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
). Like Scrooge, Flintheart was born in poverty and was working his way up the financial ladder. While unsuccessfully searching for diamonds, he attempted to steal the findings of more successful fellow miners. As a result he was tied to the horns of a water buffalo and the animal was then sent running. Flintheart was found and saved by Scrooge. Flintheart offered to be the guide of the recently arrived gold miner from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, since he knew the territory. Scrooge accepted him as a needed companion and friend. But at night while Scrooge was sleeping, Flintheart stole his ox-cart along with all his equipment and supplies and left him alone in the wilderness. Having underestimated Scrooge, he was surprised when Scrooge caught up to him, furious and vengeful. When Scrooge finished with him, Flintheart was publicly humiliated, thoroughly embittered and imprisoned for theft. The two rivals made vows to themselves that helped shape some of their character traits. Scrooge vowed to never trust anybody ever again, in order not to be betrayed again. Apparently this is the source of Scrooge's distrust towards others whether they are allies, rivals or complete strangers and the reason he is secretive about his thoughts and emotions. On the other hand a completely defeated Flintheart vowed that he will work to become so rich that nobody can humiliate him again (see Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck - Part VI:The Terror of Transvaal). Because Scrooge officially meets Glomgold for the first time in 'The second richest Duck' in 1956, Don Rosa makes sure Glomgold's name is never mentioned in his tale. Since Glomgold gets Scrooge's name, some fans could think he's more interested in defeating and humiliating Scrooge as a revenge for getting imprisoned rather than becoming the world's richest duck. According to Rosa's unofficial timelines it would take him twenty years of hard work as a diamond miner till finally he became rich in 1906 by his profits. He would spend the next fifty years working his way up the financial ladder both by hard efforts and dishonest methods when needed.
Don Rosa also revealed in at least two stories another thing that makes Flintheart a counterpart to Scrooge: the Number One Rand, the first coin Flintheart Glomgold ever earned (or stole). In Return to Plain Awful
Return to Plain Awful
Return to Plain Awful is a Donald Duck storyline that was originally printed in Donald Duck Adventures Gladstone Series #12. It was written by Don Rosa as a sequel to Lost in the Andes! by Carl Barks.-Plot:...
, this rand
South African rand
The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...
makes his first appearance, a cameo, and has nothing to do with the story. In A Little Something Special
A Little Something Special
A Little Something Special is a comic book story created by Don Rosa to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Scrooge McDuck's first appearance in Carl Barks's Christmas on Bear Mountain in 1947.-Synopsis:...
, the Rand makes an equally small but of more relevance
Relevance
-Introduction:The concept of relevance is studied in many different fields, including cognitive sciences, logic and library and information science. Most fundamentally, however, it is studied in epistemology...
role. Magica De Spell
Magica De Spell
Magica De Spell is a fictional character of the Scrooge McDuck universe, a sorceress created by Carl Barks. She constantly steals or attempts to steal Scrooge McDuck's Number One Dime, which she believes will play a vital role in magically obtaining the same fabulous wealth of its...
teamed up with him and the Beagle Boys to get the Number One Dime. Scrooge reminds Magica he will no longer be the richest duck in the world after they steal his fortune and the Dime will be worthless to her. Based on the advice Scrooge gives her in exchange for his dime back, Magica steals Flintheart's first rand.
Notable is the fact that Flintheart Glomgold's first coin could never be a rand because the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
ns utilized the South African pound
South African pound
In 1825, an imperial order-in-council made sterling coinage legal tender in all the British colonies. At that time, the only British colony in Southern Africa was the Cape of Good Hope Colony. As time went on, the British pound sterling and its associated subsidiary coinage became the currency of...
from 1825 to 1961, when the South African Rand
South African rand
The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...
was introduced. Adding it to the fact that Don Rosa's stories usually take place in the 1950s, it means it would be impossible for anyone to own a rand in such stories.
To make things worse for Glomgold, Magica takes the Beagle Boys
Beagle Boys
The Beagle Boys are a group of fictional characters from the Scrooge McDuck universe. Created by Carl Barks, they are a gang of criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first appearance was in Terror of the Beagle Boys, in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #134,...
with her the Valley of Limpopo
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. The capital is Polokwane, formerly named Pietersburg. The province was formed from the northern region of Transvaal Province in 1994, and initially named Northern Transvaal...
and they carry all they can of Flintheart's cash. Despite the fact he teamed up against them in that story against Scrooge, he still dares to ask what did he do to deserve that.
Animation and other appearances
DuckTales
DuckTales is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge comic book series, it premiered on September 18, 1987 and ended on November 28, 1990 with a total of four seasons and 100 episodes...
, which started airing on September 18, 1987. The Second Richest Duck was among the series' most prominent characters, and this helped his introduction to a wider audience. But some drastic changes came to the character. To avoid connections to South African issues that were then a cause of worldwide attention and concern (see apartheid) his origin was changed from South African to Scottish to match that of Scrooge, which led Glomgold to have Scotland-style
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
names in other countries (see below). He was depicted as wearing a traditional Scottish kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
and his voice actor Hal Smith
Hal Smith (actor)
Harold John "Hal" Smith was an American character actor and voice actor. Smith is best known as Otis Campbell, the town drunk on The Andy Griffith Show, and was the voice of many characters on various animated cartoon shorts...
(Harold John Smith, August 24, 1916 – January 28, 1994) known for his old role as Otis Campbell on The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised by CBS between October 3, 1960, and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays a widowed sheriff in the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
gave him a thick Scottish accent. His place of residence was also changed to Duckburg. The previously unaffiliated Beagle Boys
Beagle Boys
The Beagle Boys are a group of fictional characters from the Scrooge McDuck universe. Created by Carl Barks, they are a gang of criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first appearance was in Terror of the Beagle Boys, in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #134,...
were now depicted as working for him on an occasional basis. In a two part episode "The Golden Goose" Glomgold almost beats Scrooge at being the world's richest duck with the help of the Golden Goose-until he gets turned into gold himself; in the series finale, Glomgold makes one last attempt to get richer than Scrooge by sending the metal mites to eat whole money from Scrooge's bin. Glomgold almost succeeds when Fenton Crackshell stopped the metal mites and the last ones retrieved by Dijon spread in Glomgold's office. The biggest humiliation of all this is the fact Scrooge finds a way to earn honest money with the metal mites captured by Fenton.
In the Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
series Darkwing Duck
Darkwing Duck
DarkWing Duck is an American animated television series produced by The Walt Disney Company that ran from 1991–1992 on both the syndicated programming block The Disney Afternoon and Saturday mornings on ABC. It featured the eponymous anthropomorphic duck superhero whose alter ego is mild-mannered...
episode "In Like Blunt", Glomgold makes a cameo appearance-along with the Beagle Boys
Beagle Boys
The Beagle Boys are a group of fictional characters from the Scrooge McDuck universe. Created by Carl Barks, they are a gang of criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first appearance was in Terror of the Beagle Boys, in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #134,...
and Magica DeSpell-as a bidder for the secret S.H.U.S.H. agent list.
Flintheart also appears in the 1989 Ducktales video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
(NES). After Scrooge completes all the regular levels, Flintheart challenges him to a race in which the winner will take all of the treasure Scrooge has acquired.
Predecessor
A few years prior to Flintheart's debut, another character was described as the World's Second-Richest Duck. His only appearance took place in Carl Barks' story "Turkey With All the Schemings". In that story, Donald DuckDonald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
found himself unable to afford a Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
dinner and decided to trick Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck is a cartoon character created in 1947 by Carl Barks and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Scrooge is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a red or blue frock coat, top hat, pince-nez glasses, and spats...
into paying dinner for him. To do so, Donald posed as a South-American
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
businessman named Petrolio de Vaselino and had Scrooge take him to the Ritz. While eating dessert, Donald accidentally ate his phony moustache
Moustache
A moustache is facial hair grown on the outer surface of the upper lip. It may or may not be accompanied by a type of beard, a facial hair style grown and cropped to cover most of the lower half of the face.-Etymology:...
, making him look like the Duke of Baloni, described by Scrooge as the World's Second-Richest Duck. By coincidence, Scrooge had a newspaper article talking about the Duke visiting Duckburg. The fact Scrooge remained willing to make business with him suggests the Duke never claimed to be richer than him. Not much else is known about the real Duke since he just made a cameo at the beginning of the last page and his only purpose in the story was cluing (via his presence) Scrooge to the fact he was dealing with an imposter. After removing Donald's wig, Scrooge was determined to make Donald pay. He asked the waiter if the restaurant was for sale and was told it's for sale for one million dollars. In a surprising (since he had spent the whole last night trying to make sure Donald wouldn't leave and force him to pay the bill) move, Scrooge quickly pulled the required amount from his pockets and bought the restaurant. Donald then was forced to wash the dishes to pay the bill. It's never said when Flintheart became richer than the Duke or if the two ever met.
External links
- Flintheart's profile in a Who is Who in Duckburg
- Flintheart's profile in the Disney HooZoo - Flintheart's voice actor