Indiana Joneshas many inspirations, butperhaps the most unlikely is none other than Scrooge McDuck.Unlikely to everyone, that is, aside from comics fans who know the true importance of Carl Barks’ unforgettable Disney character. If all you know of Scrooge McDuck is swimming in a vault of gold coins, you’ve got a lot to learn about what many consider the greatest adventure comics of all time.
As explored by InsidetheMagic.com, Scrooge McDuck actually set a precedent for Harrison Ford’s iconic adventurer. McDuk first appeared in the 1947 story “Christmas on Bear Mountain,” theDonald Duckfeature story that appeared inFour Color#178. The character soon became popular enough to star in his own comic,Uncle Scrooge, which ran from 1952-1984.
Writer/artist Carl Barks took Donald Duck’s penny-pinching uncle and eventually developed Scrooge into a globe-trotting adventurer, often going on treasure hunts with his nephews Hughie, Dewey and Louie in tow.
Believe It Or Not, Indiana Jones Wouldn’t Exist Without Scrooge McDuck
The Cartoon’s Influence On The ’80s Adventure Epic
Given that the creators weren’t listed by Disney at the time, many readers didn’t yet know the name of Carl Barks. Known for years only by fanscalling him “the Good Duck Artist,” Barks’ contributionswould be uncovered by intrepid fans in the late 1950’s. The artist would retire from writing and drawingUncle Scroogein 1966, but his stories still served as inspiration for George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.Both filmmakers have openly acknowledged the influence of Barks’ Scrooge McDuck stories in the creation of Indiana Jones, with Lucas even contributing the forward to a 1982 collection of Barks’ stories.
While the elderly Scrooge wasn’t constantly getting into fisticuffs and gunfights like Indy, he would often run afoul of no shortage of pirates and bandits on his treasure hunts.
Booby-trapped, ancient tombs were a common occurrence in Scrooge McDuck’s comic book adventures, with Lucas and Spielberg acknowledging thegiant boulder in the opening ofRaiders of the Lost Arkas being directly inspired byUncle Scrooge#7, “The Seven Cities of Cibola.” Indiana Jones’ various skills would also be shared by Scrooge McDuck, such as an expertise on historical artifacts and the ability to speak several different languages. And while the elderly Scrooge wasn’t constantly getting into fisticuffs and gunfights like Indy, he would often run afoul of no shortage of pirates and bandits on his treasure hunts.
Indiana Jones' Creators Grew Up Reading Scrooge McDuck, Shaping Their Sense Of Storytelling
The Comic’s Unexpected Influence
The shared influence between the two characters went both ways, as the success of theIndiana Jonesfilms in the 1980s wouldeventually lead to theDucktalescartoon, which pulled many stories directly from the Carl Barks comics. In perhaps the most notable “tip of the cap” to Indy,Ducktaleswould utilize a similar, retro-styled font for its own logo. Carl Barks’ work on Scrooge McDuck remains highly regarded to this day, andit’s fascinating to consider thatIndiana Jonesowes a debt to those classic Disney comics.
