Why Scrooge McDuck's Exploits Didn't Age Very Well

It's fun to look at characters like Scrooge McDuck as simply over-the-top cartoons created purely for entertainment. After all, that's why they came to be in the first place, but it's important to remember that they don't exist in a vacuum. 

As for McDuck, he draws real-world inspiration from a handful of sources, first and foremost through his impressive bank account. His mountains of coins evoke images of 19th-century capitalists, like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, whose massive oil and steel empires made them some of the world's richest people in their day. Much like them, Scrooge is characterized as a savvy businessman who used his skills to amass his fortune — stepping on others along the way and going to horrendous lengths to keep the cash flow going.

Of course, Scrooge McDuck isn't all work and no play since he enjoys engaging in amateur archaeology in his free time. This hobby derives from the antiquarian movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during which the super-wealthy set out across the globe to uncover ancient objects. However, as opposed to doing so in the name of historical research and preservation, many sought fame and fortune for themselves alone — completely disregarding the cultural significance of their discoveries. In that sense, McDuck is a grave robber who egged on the harmful practice of illegal artifact collecting.

At the end of the day, Scrooge McDuck is just a 2D anthropomorphic animal who goes out to have fun with his nephews. At the same time, exploiting one's workers for profits and pillaging foreign countries for trinkets is incredibly immoral, no matter the medium.