Donald in Ducktales and Mickey Villains

[Daniel J. Neyer]

I thought the DUCKTALES episode "All Ducks on Deck" portrayed Donald in a
very Barksian way--Don desperately wanting to impress the nephews with
his stories of Navy heroism, and the nephews then finding out his true
position in the Navy and trying to help him become a hero. That episode
was also unusual in that it utilized a Gottfredson villain--the Phantom
Blot himself. He was more of a cackling "mad scientist" type in the
episode, and the characterization was in keeping with the comics Blot,
but it was interesting to see him appear. 

Mentioning the Blot brings up the Mickey villains again. Jonathan asks if
Ecks, Doublecks, and Triplex have been used in any other stories--as far
as I know, David Gerstein has used them twice, in BATS IN THE BELFRY and
the Mickey birthday story THE PAST IMPERFECT. A question--are these three
scientists the only Disney villains with world conquest in mind? That
would make them probably the most grandiose villains Mickey or the Ducks
ever faced. Of course, Pete wanted to take over the world in WORLD OF
TOMORROW, and--oh yes, I'm forgetting Dr. Vultur. I've always been
fascinated by THE PIRATE SUBMARINE--maybe because it was one of Mickey's
"biggest" cases, with the stakes being the entire world. I was glad to
see Gerstein use Dr. Vultur in PAST IMPERFECT, and it would be
interesting to see him in another story, with a new plan for world
conquest. His character, a combination scientist/military despot, had
some real possibilities.

I like both Shyster and Squinch, but I haven't had many chances to see
Shyster--I only know him from the Abbeville translations of DEATH VALLEY
and THE SACRED JEWEL. I understand Gottfredson brought him back for
MYSTERY AT HIDDEN RIVER in the 1940's--is that another of the
"disallowed" Mickey stories? I believe there's at least one Pete and
Squinch story (JUNGLE TREASURE?) that is also "disallowed."

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