Dewey tries to prove himself by exploring a frozen fortress in search of a money tree seed, but Glomgold has kidnapped Scrooge in order to find it first.
Tropes:
- Air-Vent Passageway: Dewey uses an air vent to get past the first locked door in the vault. Della points out that it was too small for her to have used.
- All There in the Script: Ludwig's children are named Corvus, Anya and Klara, despite never being referred to by name.
- Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: Della lists yetis among the potential threats they may encounter in the Doomsday Vault.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: According to Scrooge the Doomsday Vault has all the provisions necessary for post apocalyptic survival. This includes food, water, shelter, tranquilizers and vampire antitoxin.
- Brutal Honesty: Glomgold flat-out tells Ludwig's children that he's going to steal the money tree from them regardless. This gets him kicked out.
- Canon Foreigner: Ludwig Von Drake's son and daughters appear, even though the Professor has no mention of descendants in any other work.
- Chained Heat: Glomgold handcuffs Scrooge and himself together, thinking it will force Scrooge to take him to the vault. All that happens is Scrooge being inconvenienced by Glomgold's knack for Amusing Injuries.
- Continuity Nod:
- Dewey reveals his middle name is Dingus, after his great-great-grandfather, Dirty Dingus McDuck.
- Della is able to use her skill of welding gold to repair the vault.
- Convection, Schmonvection: When a large fire activates the vault's sprinklers, they are shown to be frozen solid and cannot put out the fire. Scrooge has to create a makeshift torch out of Glomgold's jacket and hold it up to the ceiling to thaw the sprinklers, as if the roaring flames around them weren't heating the room at all.
- Crazy-Prepared: Von Drake's security system was made not only to allow ordinary people into it, but to keep whatever is ending the world (like werewolves and zombies and "hyper-intelligent hairless apes") out. Curiously, the only thing he did not account for was climate change.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Scrooge's big complaint is that Della and Dewey just rushed into a place they knew very little about all for the sake of an adventure.
- Della had previously talked about how much she wanted to go adventuring with her boys. The idea that they could be hurt never occurred to her until Dewey started climbing very high up.
- Of course as it turned out Della DID think it through, to the point of planning an emergency escape if things went wrong via paying attention to Scrooge's explanation of the vault's layout and taking note of where the emergency exit was. The only thing she wasn't prepared for was Dewey going out of way to try to impress her, and her own maternal instincts of him getting hurt.
- Von Drake's growth formula makes it so that the seeds grow at incredible rates when planted. The only problem? They eventually grow into Botanical Abominations and he advises not to plant them within a mile of one another. How this would be in any way useful to people locked in an underground bunker after The End of the World as We Know It (many of the apocalyptic situations he had prepared for being monster infestations) is anyone's guess.
- Disappointed in You:
- Scrooge is disappointed that Della is still reckless and puts her family in dangerous situations.Scrooge: Can you ever think anything through, Della?! It's been over a decade and she's still the same headstrong kid jumping into danger or space or any other disaster without a thought of the damage she leaves behind!
- After Glomgold ruins another potential business deal with his crazy evil schemes, Owlson just abandons him and flies back to Duckburg.
- Scrooge is disappointed that Della is still reckless and puts her family in dangerous situations.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The Von Drake's parking sign warns that "all others will be vaporized".
- Don't Think, Feel: How Della teaches Dewey how to fly, to close his eyes and then feel the sky, but subverted because Dewey crashes seconds after he thought he got it.
- Drives Like Crazy: In stark contrast to Launchpad, Della can land the plane safely, but tends to zigzag in the air, giving Scrooge airsickness. She also gives Dewey a lesson in flying by telling him to close his eyes.
- The Easy Way or the Hard Way: When Della and Dewey enter a cave on their way to the vault.Della: Do we do this the easy way, or the fun way?
Dewey: I am offended you had to ask. - Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!Scrooge: Uh, where is my plane? And Dewey? And Dell - oh, no.
- Fallout Shelter Fail: Professor Ludwig Von Drake built the titular doomsday vault to house every type of seed and plant imaginable, so they could be used to restart the world in the event of the end of civilisation by disaster. However, despite preparing for a variety of fantastic doomsday scenarios (including Werewolves and "hyper intelligent hairless apes") he didn't take global warming into account, thus in the present the Vault is in serious danger of breaking down due to the ice melting.
- Fantastic Flora: The vault also contains the seeds of mythical plants. The money tree is an example used.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: The parking sign outside the vault says, "Von Drake Parking (All others will be vaporized)"
- Green Thumb: Ludwig has a serum to make plants grow at super speed. It's so potent he advises that crops be planted a mile apart for safety reasons.
- Grows on Trees: There are seeds for an actual money tree in the vault. As to be expected it has dollar bills for leaves but also both its seed and wood are made of gold.
- Humans Are Cthulhu: In his video for the Doomsday Vault, Prof. Von Drake's list of potential apocalyptic abominations includes "hyper-intelligent hairless apes". Strangely, Scrooge refers to the world of anthropomorphic animals as "humanity".
- Humiliation Conga: In the end of the episode, Glomgold not only loses the money he stole but falls into freezing water due to the ice he's standing on shattering under his weight. And then his camera drone falls into the water and shortens out, electrocuting him.
- Insistent Terminology: Glomgold takes issue with Owlson berating him for his latest "cockamamie ploy." "That was clearly a 'maniacal scheme.'" When she later describes herself as the only one who keeps him from ruining his company with "brainless plots", he once again insists they're "schemes".
- Laser-Guided Karma: After all the trouble that Glomgold causes throughout the episode, he ends up suffering multiple injuries in the vault. He then ends the episode gloating maniacally that he has all the money from the Money Tree which flies away in the breeze, then he ends up falling through the ice along with his drone.
- Literal Metaphor: When a handcuffed Scrooge and Glomgold have a fight and end up on a frozen lake.Scrooge: You're on thin ice, Glomgold!
Glomgold: I don't have to listen to you, McDuck!
Scrooge: No, you are literally on—
(the ice under their feet gives away and they both fall into the water) - Magic Countdown: The ceiling trap in the first room had Ludwig counting down until it crushes everyone in there. It makes such cheats as going "one-quarter, one-eighth".
- "Metaphor" Is My Middle Name: When Dewey climbs to the locker with the money tree seed.Della: Wait, is this crazy?
Dewey: Crazy is my middle name!
Della: Are you sure?
Dewey: No, it's actually Dingus. - The Millstone: Glomgold, in typical Glomgold-fashion, causes every problem he and Scrooge suffer from due to his complete lack of forethought. He blatantly tells the scientists that he intends on stealing their money-tree seed, costing the company another contract and leading to Zan taking off without him. He shackles himself to Scrooge to make him give him a ride, but Scrooge's plane is already gone. He then proceeds to get them both stuck on a thin-ice covered lake (which breaks under them). He pours gasoline over the broken control-panel to get warm, causing the room to catch fire and get them both trapped in it by the security system. Right as the room seals off, he tries to make a break for it and leave him in there (complete with an Evil Laugh) before the leash he is tied to makes him slip and the other door slams onto his leg.
- Mythology Gag:
- Prof. Von Drake's code to the vault is the first lines of "The Spectrum Song" from the Walt Disney Presents episode "An Adventure in Color", which was Von Drake's first appearance. Also, Ludwig's absent-mindedness from his original incarnation, something that was rarely brought up in current incarnations, is alluded to when he forgets where he put the code to the vault.
- Della and Dewey sing Powerline's "Stand Out" while flying to the Doomsday Vault, complete with chair-choreography.
- Never My Fault: Glomgold blames Scrooge for all the mishaps he causes in the vault. Scrooge calls him out on it.Scrooge: What was I supposed to do?
Glomgold: Make me... not do that? - Not So Stoic: Zan Owlson's patience with having to act like Glomgold's babysitter is clearly wearing a tad thin at this point.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: As opposed to his usual, greedy self, Scrooge highly prioritizes the future of mankind and the security of the vault over potential monetary gain, especially notable considering his on-going bet with Glomgold. This despite the existence of a tree that literally grows money as opposed to leaves and has gold for wood, which he actively outlines as the main example of his assurance that nothing in the vault will exit it until it's time for post-apocalypse society to rise again. The only mention of his wealth throughout the episode is noting that Della using the Money Tree's gold to secure the vault will save him the millions of dollars his own company would have to spend on the vault.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: According to Von Drake, werewolves are good with numbers but extremely color-blind (based on the misconception that wolves and dogs can only see in black and white).
- Posthumous Character: Since Ludwig von Drake had already been established as an old man in "From the Confidential Casefiles of Agent 22," he's passed away by the time of the modern series. He still appears by means of video recordings.
- Ragnarök Proofing: Zigzagged; The Doomsday Vault is secured against all sorts of fantastic apocalyptic scenarios, generally involving hordes of supernatural creatures destroying civilization, but is breaking down due to entirely mundane climate change. This necessitates refurbishing and reconstruction so it can continue functioning, a contract for which Scrooge and Glomgold are competing over.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Owlson gives one to Glomgold for costing them a contract with yet another zany scheme.Owlson: I don't work for you! I'm the only one who keeps you from ruining this company with your BRAINLESS PLOTS!!
- Ripped from the Headlines: By the writer's own admission
, the premise of the episode was based on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and its current struggles with climate change. - Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Owlson leaves Glomgold behind when he once again botches up a business deal for a plot against Scrooge, flying back to Duckburg without him.
- Shout-Out:
- The title is a reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- The airfield they land in has the same power generators used by the Rebel Alliance in their base on Hoth.
- Skewed Priorities: Von Drake designed the Doomsday Vault for all kinds of supernatural catastrophes like zombies, but didn't consider how a mundane climate change would affect the building's foundation.
- So Proud of You: Della expresses this about Dewey. Particularly his thirst for adventure and his plane-landing.
- Son of an Ape: Von Drake makes a reference to humans by mentioning "hyper-intelligent hairless apes".
- The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Ludwig's recordings in the vault are surprisingly interactive with viewers, even flinching when Della punches the panel in frustration over the controls being frozen, and it watches her as she walks over to try to open the door manually. This is most evident during its countdown to a death trap's completion, which it seems to be deliberately drawing out.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Twice in rapid succession; Scrooge gives a resigned expression right before he and Glomgold fall through thin ice, and then when Glomgold falls through again right after they climb out, Scrooge can only give an irritated expression right before he's dragged down with him.
- Too Dumb to Live: Glomgold put gasoline into the fire he started, to which Scrooge scolds him for having no sense of consequence.
- Ungrateful Bastard: After Scrooge sets off the sprinklers to put out the fire Glomgold started, the latter complains that now he's cold again.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Dewey tries to prove to his mother that he can be a great adventurer like she is. Upon realizing at the end that he's been doing this, Della assures him he doesn't have to.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Scrooge really gives it to Della the end. He'd hope that ten years on the Moon would force her to mature and stop being reckless, so he's naturally furious when she puts herself and Dewey in danger without thinking of the damage she left behind.
- Zombie Apocalypse: This is one of the possible doomsday scenarios Von Drake mentions.
