Soapy Slick

Soapy Slick is an enemy of Scrooge McDuck, loosely based on Jefferson Randolf "Soapy" Smith (1860-1898). Like his historical counterpart, Soapy is a gang leader active in the Klondike Gold Rush. He first appeared in "North of the Yukon" (September, 1965).

Soapy was a loan shark that offered Scrooge the funds necessary to buy his equipment during the Gold Rush. When Scrooge discover gold and started earning his fortune, he was able to repay Soapy. However Soapy soon claimed to have lost the receipt while keeping the initial contract of debt. He demanded the debt to be paid for a second time. This time Scrooge payed but a fist to the stomach convinced Soapy to sign his client a receipt. They had no more encounters for decades. In the modern age, Soapy read a rare interview of Scrooge to the press and discovered his client had went on to become the Richest Duck in the World. He used that same old contract to demand payment for a debt for a third time, decades of interest raising the sum of money to a considerable part of Scrooge's fortune.

Scrooge was able to find the receipt but both rivals ended up in a sleigh-race towards the Alaskan court which had authority over their case. Soapy tried several tricks to eliminate Scrooge but was dismayed to find out reporters were following them throughout the trail. Not only they have managed to get copies of the receipt but had photographic proof of his acts, enough to get a conviction in any court.

Slick has went on to appear both in flashback tales to Scrooge's Klondike days and modern stories. In the former he has been made to resemble Soapy Smith even more, adding to Slick the ownership of casinos, riverboats, his own gang of enforcers and enough connections to be able to "legally" claim other people's goldmines for his own. In the latter, he is considerably aged and his resources diminished but still maintains some businesses in the Klondike area. According to Don Rosa, Slick is the person who announced to Scrooge the death of Dawny O'Drake, Scrooge's mother, as a way to taunt his opponent. He was intimately introduced to one of Scrooge's berserk rages as a result.

Slick's main abilities are his intelligence and wealth. However he has some skills in disguises, sleigh-riding races and markmanship with gunpowder weapons. He seems to have little to no skills in unarmed combat, a particular disadvantage since Scrooge was a skilled brawler in his younger days.