Uncle Scrooge and the Infinity Dime #1 Review: An Ode to Adventure
A splendid celebration for one of the greatest adventurers in comic books.
You may not think of Scrooge McDuck as one of the greatest adventurers in all of comics, but Jason Aaron is hoping that his newest effort will begin proving you wrong on that front. Uncle Scrooge and the Infinity Dime #1 begins with a lengthy, touching letter from Aaron, talking about his personal history reading Scrooge comics and why the character has always stood out as one of the best in the medium. After reading the comic that comes after, you can see that he's got a point.
Uncle Scrooge and the Infinity Dime is a one-shot that serves as the rich Mr. McDuck's first time leading a Marvel comic book of his own. It also puts him in the middle of a classic Marvel Comics story, with one version of Scrooge being done wrong, and channeling his anger into waging a war on the entire multiverse. This Scrooge, without the love of his nephew and grand-nephews, embarks out a journey to take all the fortunes from all the other gold-swimming Scrooges from different universes.
As he gains fortunes, and the "Number One Dimes" from each of the different Scrooges, he gains more and more power. Much like Thanos and the Infinity Gems, this Scrooge Above-All reigns supreme with absolute authority, taking the treasures from every world and keeping them in his All-Bin. This compels all of the other versions of Scrooge to team up and take him down, once and for all.
Aaron is right about Scrooge's uniqueness as a hero, in that he's ultra-rich and makes no effort to hide that, but it doesn't ever take away from the heart of who he is. Scrooge is driven by love of his family and friends, and the gold he loves to dive into becomes an accessory, rather than a driving force of his character. It allows him access to the technology or wisdom required for great adventures, though.
What this comic book does so well is put every aspect of Scrooge's personality at the forefront, allowing it to manifest in different iterations of the character. There is an element of greed to Scrooge that he's overcome to become the incredible adventurer he is, and the Scrooge-Above-All allows us to see just how the duck conquers that side of himself. The multiverse of Scrooges also shows each some of his different funny and rowdy variations, reminding readers just how much this one character contains.
To top it all off, Infinity Dime is simply a well-executed version of a story that we've seen a number of times in the past featuring other Marvel characters. Aaron knows which beats need to be absolutely nailed in order for the story to hold a good pace and keep you engaged around every turn, even if you know where things are going. Yes, the story ends exactly how you expect, but by the time you reach that conclusion, you're glad for its arrival. This is an all-time entry in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" canon.
Uncle Scrooge and the Infinity Dime is, at its core, a love letter to a character that hasn't received the appreciation he deserves over decades of starring in fantastic adventures. If you're a longtime fan of Scrooge McDuck, this will affirm your love and make you proud of that fandom. If you're a newcomer, there's a good chance this is just the start of your journey in becoming a part of that fandom. It's tough to close this issue and not immediately look for one of the character's many past adventures.
Published by Marvel Comics
On June 19, 2024
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Paolo Mottura, Francesco D'Ippolito, Vitale Mangiatordi, Alessandro Pastrovicchio, and Giada Perissinotto
Colors by Arianna Consonni
Letters by Joe Caramagna
Cover by Lorenzo Pastrovicchio and Francesca Vivaldi
