"Scrooge had been a perfect foil for Donald Duck and his three nephews. The question now was how to put him into a leading role without fatally diluting what had made him attractive as a supporting player. In "Only a Poor Old Man," the 32-page story that filled the first issue of Uncle Scrooge, Barks softened his character a bit, by taming his greed. Most important, though, he gave Scrooge's attachment to his fortune an emotional basis, by emphasizing how he'd acquired it. In doing so, Barks made Scrooge more complex and interesting than before, without sacrificing what had made him funny and appealing."
—Historian Michael Barrier in a rejected entry to the Wall Street Journal's "Masterpiece" series
"Only a Poor Old Man" is a 1951 Scrooge McDuck comic, written and drawn by Carl Barks for Dell's "Four Color" anthology #386, which functioned as the first issue of "Uncle Scrooge". It's best known for being Barks' first work with his creation Scrooge McDuck as the protagonist, rather than a supporting character.
After the Beagle Boys buy an empty lot next to Scrooge's Money Bin, Scrooge immediately figures out their true intentions: to create a large "basement" for their building, then break into the wall of his bin through there and siphon out his cash. Scrooge figures out a way to sneak the contents into the bottom of a nearby lake, using the Beagles' own dump trucks. Unfortunately, while he succeeds in emptying his bin and hoodwinking the Beagles, Scrooge discovers there's a lot of problems with this set-up, and the Beagles soon discover the new hiding place anyway. They purchase all the land downriver from the lake, which is held back from flooding by a massive wooden dam. The result is a struggle between the Beagles and the Ducks over the fate of the dam that holds the lake back. If it breaks, it will flood the Beagles' land with Scrooge's money, allowing them to legally claim it as "silt" deposited on their land by the flood...
Tropes:
- Arc Words: The title, appropriately. Scrooge fears becoming a poor old man, and he tends to wail about the possibility of losing his money. At the very end, Donald complains that as far as he's concerned, Scrooge is already this, because ultimately, his money's proven to be "nothing but a pain in the neck". Scrooge seems to consider this for a moment, before dismissing it, adding that nobody is truly poor who can do what they like to once in a while — and what Scrooge likes doing is playing in his money.
- Big Dam Plot: The second half of the story.
- Book Ends: The comic begins and ends with Scrooge playing in a pile of his money.
- Calling the Old Man Out: After spending several days working hard to keep Scrooge's fortune safe from the Beagle Boys, Scrooge tries telling Donald that fantastic wealth will bring him peace of mind and comfort. Donald snaps back that as far as he's concerned, it's nothing but a pain in the neck.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The money bin seems to be sitting on a regular city block, when later stories would establish it as being in an isolated patch of land atop Killmotor Hill.
- Eidetic Memory: Scrooge's ability to remember where he got every single coin in his bin is first revealed here. Some references to past events would later be extended in Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck series.
- Gambit Pileup: Scrooge quietly builds a small hatch in the side of his money bin, allowing him to dump some of his money into the Beagles' dump trucks whenever they go past. The Beagles immediately and unwittingly cover the money up with dirt, then haul it out to their dumpsite at the reservoir — meaning they're unwittingly moving Scrooge's money for him while trying to carry out their own plan.
- Handwave: How can Scrooge swim through money, when the Beagle Boys break their heads trying? All Scrooge says when the nephews ask this is, "I'll admit- it's a trick!"
- Hypocritical Humor: Scrooge invites Donald to his money bin in the beginning to tell him about the virtues of being rich and working hard for one's wealth, claiming it brings peace of mind. He's interrupted every few seconds to destroy moths and rats that wander in, for fear of them eating his money. When he hears that the Beagle Boys are nearby, he springs into a terrified frenzy and soon collapses in exhaustion.
- Ignored Epiphany: At the end, after Scrooge have paid his nephews their wages and they leave, Donald remarks to Scrooge that his money is nothing but a pain in the neck, with how much time and effort it takes to protect, telling him that for all his riches, he is "only a poor old man." Now alone, Scrooge stands in silence for moment with a forlorn expression on his face as he considers Donald's words. His Internal Monologue then kicks back in, and declares "Bah! Kid talk! No man is poor who can do what he likes to do once in a while!"
- Indy Ploy: The second half of the comic is basically Scrooge coming up with one of these after another when the Beagle Boys start an all-out assault on the dam, using ploys that would be difficult to trace directly back to them. The only thing keeping it from being a full Xanatos Speed Chess match is that both sides tend to use extremely simple (but effective) plans.
- Manipulative Bastard: A heroic example. Scrooge ultimately comes out on top by convincing the Beagle Boys to leap headfirst into a pile of coinage.
- Noodle Incident: Scrooge makes a reference to "That time in Baghdad" before tricking the Beagle Boys into jumping headfirst into his money and knocking themselves cold. Don Rosa's "Life and Times" eventually revealed what happened.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: The Beagles employ dark glasses and long false beards to trick Donald into buying their custom-bred super-termites.
- Police Are Useless: Downplayed. Donald suggests sending the law after the Beagles, but Scrooge dismisses it because the Beagles aren't actually doing anything illegal initially, and they have no proof of their intentions. Later, the Beagles tend to use tactics that would be difficult to directly trace their attacks back to them (using trained animals, a giant lens to set fire to the dam's timbers, etc).
- Properly Paranoid: When Scrooge learns of a new office building being erected next to his money bin, he immediately worries that the construction workers plan on stealing his fortune. Donald initially dismisses this as Scrooge being paranoid... but changes his tune when he sees that they're the Beagle Boys.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Scrooge reveals he can talk to cormorants here, as he trained thousands of them years ago.
- Termite Trouble: What eventually takes down the wooden dam: a breed of fast-eating, fast-breeding "super termites" bred by the Beagle Boys.
- Villainous Breakdown: The Beagle Boys are utterly dumbfounded as to how Scrooge smuggled his money out of the bin under their noses, and spend several days holed up, sulking in utter defeat. They snap out of it when one of them discovers where the money is hidden by pure chance.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Scrooge finally wins by showing off how he swims in his money to the Beagles. The Beagles think it looks like fun, and dive in — only to knock themselves cold when they slam headfirst into the coins.
