In the wake of
The Scarlet Pimpernel, countless figures have flamboyantly stalked the night. Among them were the scofflaw
Arsene Lupin and his more violent contemporary,
Fantomas. So influential was the latter that imitators soon arose, plying their merciless wiles on others. Among them were
Fu Manchu, the nefarious
Dr. Mabuse, the
hooded Diabolik, and Matt Wagoner's
Grendel. Not even
Donald Duck was immune from the seductive lure of crime.
In the late 1960s, Italian comic creators Elisa Penna, Guido Martina, and Giovan Battista Carpi were commissioned by the Walt Disney Company to produce overseas versions of Mickey Mouse's adventures. In seeking ideas for new storylines, the trio conceived of an ode to the Fantomas legend; in their tale, the bumbling, short-tempered Donald Duck was transformed into the sinister, cooly-scheming
Paperinik. From his
secret lair, Donald's twisted alter ego sowed the seeds of distrust upon his Uncle $crooge and cousin Gladstone, as a humiliating punishment for perceived slights. The comic quickly developed a cult following, as PK (or
Phantom Duck), displayed a more anarchic side to the more progressively staid actions of the Disney menagerie.
Alas, in a fate which similarly affected Diabolik, Paperinik was considered too anti-social a character, and was subsequently softened. Instead of using others as pawns for their disposal, both figures instead were recast as protectors of the innocent. It was in this
incarnation that Donald would be remembered as a webbed parody of Batman. With Disney's success in licensing the duck as
a mascot for the University of Oregon, as well as a brand of
orange juice, the last thing the corporate giant wanted was for their windfall to be associated with
roughhousing, or even
cold-blooded murder.
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Those Frenchies seek him everywhere.
Is he in heaven? Is he in hell?
Thad damned, elusive Pimpernel.
*swoon*
Nice post, Smart Dalek. I'd forgotten all about the Disney take-off.
posted by onlyconnect at 8:06 AM on August 8, 2008