John D. Rockerduck, or simply Rockerduck, is one of Scrooge McDuck's main business rivals as well as a member of F.O.W.L. He was created by Carl Barks in the comic "Boat Buster".
Background[]
Rockerduck, created by Carl Barks as a one-shot character, was picked up by foreign writers and made into their version of Scrooge's arch-nemesis and business rival, and thus said to be the "second-richest duck in the world".
Some old comics even had Scrooge and Rockerduck born on the same day. However, in Rosa's "Raider of the Copper Hill", Rockerduck is at least ten years younger than Scrooge and, by extension, Glomgold.
Personality[]
Rockerduck is an entitled scamming and ruthless businessman. Unlike Scrooge and Glomgold, he is not a tightwad but much more a liberal spender, preoccupied with showing his wealth to other people by buying expensive items and living an extremely luxurious lifestyle.
History[]
In "The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck!", Rockerduck makes his debut as a wealthy businessman who in public presents himself as honorable and charitable. But in actuality, he is a con artist who swindles small towns into giving their town deeds over to him with a false hope of saving their town's low awareness and bringing in better profits. In most cases his schemes have not only brought him personal wealth but have also brought the downfall of numerous small towns, leading them all to become ghost towns.
After the events of "Moonvasion!", Rockerduck is revealed to still be alive and a member of the nefarious F.O.W.L Organization. His body is cryogenically frozen in an ice cube which is moved around by his reanimated servant Jeeves, who is also revealed to be alive with enhancements attached to him for unknown reasons.
Rockerduck and his frankenbutler would return in "The Forbidden Fountain of the Foreverglades!", his iced state serving as his own means of retaining his vitality in a similar yet flawed manner as opposed to Scrooge and Goldie's longevity through effort. The process had failed since the old world tycoon aged rather rapidly after coming out of stasis. Seeking a means of regaining his youth, John D. would instead tail his two business rivals to the The Fountain of the Foreverglades in hopes of beating them to a first drink from its life rejuvenating waters, a plan geared towards revenge for the gold heist the two pulled on him a hundred years ago.
In "The Last Adventure!", Rockerduck is present with the other F.O.W.L. members when the Duck Family raids F.O.W.L. H.Q. Rockerduck and his fellow team members retreat to their other base: the Great Library of Alexandria. There, he is seen looking after baby Jeeves while conversing with Phantom Blot and the others. When the heroes storm the Library to rescue the kidnapped Webby and Huey (and all of the other hostages, including Gandra Dee), Rockerduck restores Jeeves to his fully-grown state and sends him into battle against Scrooge, Donald and Della, at the height of his power and strength. FrankenJeeves defeats Donald and Della, but is beaten by a disguised Beakley before he can eliminate Scrooge. Horrified by his minion's defeat, Rockerduck flees.
Appearances[]
Season 2[]
- 9. The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck!
- 24. Moonvasion! (non-speaking cameo)
Season 3 []
- 11. The Forbidden Fountain of the Foreverglades!
- 14. The Split Sword of Swanstantine!
- 22. The Last Adventure!
Gallery
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Trivia[]
- DuckTales 2017 is the first animated appearance of John D. Rockerduck.
- He is one of the few characters in the reboot to have been created by Carl Barks and appeared in his comics, but not previously appear in the original 1987 DuckTales series, although he did appear in at least one comic story based on the 1987 series.
- John D. Rockerduck's name is a play-on of American philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, who was considered a "Robber Baron" for buying out all the other oil rivalries in North America.
- His taste buds were singed because of his cryogenic frozen state.