Everyone knows who this is: it’s Donald Duck, of course. This particular version of him stands in a local restaurant, and from this position, he looks over his surroundings with his usual arrogance and disdain.
Donald Duck was invented by Walter Disney in 1934. Disney had created Mickey Mouse some years earlier, but he felt that Mickey was a little too goody-goody. Disney needed an antagonist to Mickey, who was the opposite of him in character.
Mickey Mouse was kind and good natured; Donald Duck, the new character, was irritable and arrogant. Mickey had a smooth, pleasant voice; Donald had an abrasive squawk.
Donald Duck found a place in the public’s heart immediately — he quickly became as popular as his rival, Mickey Mouse, and Disney went on to develop a family of Ducks: his delinquent nephews Huie, Dewey, and Louie; and his rich uncle, the miser “Scrooge” McDuck.
But the real opposite to Donald Duck was not Mickey Mouse. This character did not appear until 1938, in Cleveland, Ohio when Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster created “Superman”.
Superman is the paragon of patriotic virtues: He fights for “Truth, Justice, and the American Way”.
Donald Duck, on the other hand, cares little for truth or justice, and if he fights for anything, he fights for Donald Duck.
But Donald would rather run and hide than fight when faced with danger; he is a total coward.
Superman, on the other hand, will face any world-shattering catastrophe, any cosmic villain armed with Kryptonite, fearlessly, with a mild, self effacing smile.
There is nothing self-effacing about Donald Duck. He is an arrogant braggart, constantly puffing himself up, claiming credit where none is due, and then back-pedaling shamelessly when challenged.
Superman is tall and handsome, powerful and rippling with muscle.
Donald Duck is just… a duck.
Given all this, why is this cowardly, arrogant little bird regarded with much affection by his countrymen as is Superman, the “Man of Steel”?
I think it’s because they realize that they are both of these characters at the same time, and they love them both.
Americans like to present themselves from time to time in the image of “Superman”, forming the rest of the world into “The American Way”. It’s an appealing way to see yourself, and it’s easy to succumb to it. But Donald Duck still remains — to remind them that they are also Donald Duck.
