DuckTales, Season 2 Episode 23: "The Richest Duck in the World!"

Episode: 223 "The Richest Duck in the World!" 9/11/19
Starring: Louie Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Della Duck, Dewey Duck, Zan Owlson, Launchpad McQuack, Manny the Headless Man-Horse, Huey Duck, and Webby Vanderquack
Costarring: Bradley Buzzard, Bentley Buzzard, Captain Penumbra (voice only), Johnny Ottoman, Randy Ottoman, and Gavin
Featuring: The Bombie
Introducing: Mr Zee
Setting: Mozambeak, Africa; Duckburg (McDuck Manor and the Money Bin), and Falcon Island

PlotTales
Louie’s reign as Richest Duck in the World only lasts one day but he still accomplishes something Scrooge never did during his fifty-nine years on top: figure out the Bombie.  In the penultimate episode of Season Two, we close the book on the Louie Inc./Richest Duck in the World arc while Penny sets the stage for the Finale by warning Della that General Lunaris’ is on his way to invade Earth and coming after the McDuck family specifically.  But it’s Louie’s understanding and application of humility that leads Scrooge to proudly concede that he was “a better billionaire than I was today - in every sense of the word.”  

But Louie doesn’t just arrive at this enlightenment omelette without cracking a few eggs along the way.  To begin with, he has no sense for or interest in the complexities of “international conglomeration.”  Then he recklessly cuts essential funding elsewhere while wantonly throwing money at luxury items such as $100m ottomans and emerald bedazzled swim trunks.  The Reappropriation of the Magical Defense budget allows for the Bombie to escape.  While slashing the McDuck Satellite fund clears the way for Lunaris and his army to enter Earth’s atmosphere.  Lastly, his lack of leadership skills leaves his staff completely exasperated.  Zan Owlson blows a gasket, quitting her post entirely and even the normally mild mannered Manny expresses his frustration.

It’s when things are bleakest that Louie finally comes through. While Scrooge doesn’t intend for it, his humbling himself by reopening his Glasgow Shoe Shine business sparks something inside Louie and snaps him out of his self-centered carelessness.  Louie finally admits that he’s “not ready to be a businessman,” coming to the realization that wealth and power are something you “have to earn.”  This leads to him solving the riddle of the Bombie and relinquishing Scrooge’s business back to him.  All is right in the McDuck family and Duckburg proper until it’s not… in the Finale… when Lunaris moonvades the Earth.

Quacking Points

Scrooge first earns the title of Richest Duck in the World in 1960 after selling off his Haveyouseenium-producing-mine to Mr. Zee, an African businessman and former Richest Person in the World.

Mr. Zee appears to be a Brown-Headed Parrot which is native to southeastern African countries like Mozambeak.  

This episode marks two “firsts” for Dewey Tonight: Della’s first time as a guest and first ever “intergalactic episode… in space… in space…”

One of Louie’s first purchases is to spend $100m to reunite Johnny and Randy Ottoman so they can film an episode of Ottoman Empire in his office.  It turns out their rift was because “Randy thought he was too handsome to build ottomans on their reality show and Johnny never got over his brother’s betrayal.”  Their detente marks the end of another season-long-arc with their split first mentioned in "The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck!" (S2, E9).

Scrooge’s advisors are all too ready to cut the Magical Defense Budget since they’ve been questioning the $15m allocated to it all the way back in “The Great Dime Chase” (S1, E2).

Along with Mozambeak, Africa, a few other geographical locales are introduced in Falcon Island of the Heron Sea as well as Henmark.

Along with replacing his Scrooge head with a solid gold bust of himself, Louie also insists on calling Manny “Mannington.”

The riddle of the Bombie is: “He cannot be bought. He cannot be fought.  Though riches you’ve got, your life will be fraught until you have earned the one thing you have not.”

A version of the Bombie first appears in the Carl Barks’ Donald Duck comic “Donald Duck in Voodoo Hoodoo” (1947) and was primarily known as “Bombie the Zombie.”  He is a creature bewitched by African witch doctor, Foola Zoola, to target Scrooge McDuck specifically.  However, this incarnation evokes the visage of the Minotaur from the DuckTales ‘87 episode “Raiders of the Lost Harp.”  The Bombie even has a septum piercing and rises from the water to destroy Duckburg just like the Minotaur.

Louie’s only been in charge for one day but he’s still managed to pepper the streets of Duckburg with billboards in his likeness, advertising McDuck Enterprises being under “New Management.”

DuckTales has been on a streak of referencing Disney Animated Feature as of late and the raccoon’s resemblance to Meeko from Pocohontas (1995) adds to it.

After working with “reckless thrill-seekers” like Scrooge, or “madmen with the minds of children” like Glomgold, and “actual children” like Louie, Owlson has finally snapped.  She’s tired of everyone caring only about “money” and “power” and vows to “become a better billionaire myself” after quitting Louie Inc.  Now this is interesting.  Are the seeds being planted for a heel turn or will the path of professionalism and legitimacy be enough to truly compete with the likes of Scrooge?

While getting his shoes shined, Gavin the Sasquatch mentions Trader Sam’s which, in the real world, is a tiki themed bar located at the Disneyland Hotel and named for the “head salesman” from Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise attraction.