Magica De Spell

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Magica De Spell first appeared in "The Midas Touch", first published in Uncle Scrooge #36 (December 1961). According to creator Carl Barks, he intended to create her as another recurring antagonist for Scrooge in addition to the Beagle Boys and Flintheart Glomgold. In contrast to Witch Hazel from Trick or Treat — first released on October 10, 1952 — or Madam Mim, she would not be in the image of the ugly old hag usually associated with witches. Barks instead decided to create a witch who was young and beautiful, so he took inspiration for her look from Italian actresses Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren. He also wanted her to be seductive, amoral, and somewhat threatening. In a later interview, Barks identified Morticia Addams of The Addams Family as another source of inspiration. All in all, Barks drew nine stories with Magica between 1961 and 1964. According to Barks and his successors, Magica lives on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, next to Naples, Italy. Her primary motivation is to steal Scrooge's Number One Dime and melt it in the fires of the volcano, so she can turn it into a powerful magical amulet capable of granting the Midas Touch.

In Their Own Story

In the 1987 DuckTales episode "Till Nephews Do Us Part", Magica and Poe are invited to and attend Scrooge's wedding. In the 2017 reboot, Magica speaks with an English accent as she is voiced by Catherine Tate. Within the reboot's storyline, Magica has a history with Clan McDuck and a vendetta against Scrooge; he caused her to accidentally turn Poe into a non-anthropomorphic raven and refused to stop him from flying away prior to the start of the series. During a climactic battle atop Mount Vesuvius 15 years prior, Scrooge trapped her physical body within his Number One Dime, though she was able to turn her own shadow into her "niece", Lena De Spell. Throughout the first season, Magica manifests herself as a shadowy specter through Lena and uses her to gain the Duck family's trust to acquire Scrooge's Dime and free herself from imprisonment. Magica eventually regains her corporeal form during an eclipse that occurred in the season one finale, and proceeded to terrorize Duckburg with her dark magical powers. However, she is defeated and forced to flee after being stripped of her powers by the combined efforts of Scrooge and his family in destroying her staff. In the series finale, Magica and every villain the Duck family have faced were brainwashed by F.O.W.L. to fight the heroes. Upon his defeat, Magica is enraged by him using her and the other villains, turns him into a non-sapient buzzard in revenge, and then teleports away.

Reader's Guide

Magica De Spell appears as a recurring villain on the animated television show DuckTales, where she was voiced by June Foray (using a similar Eastern European accent to that of Natasha Fatale from Rocky & Bullwinkle; in the Italian version, Magica's voice actress, Sonia Scotti, depicted her with a heavy Neapolitan accent). Magica appears mostly in first-season episodes of the show. Although she appears as one of the series' major villains, she is frequently a source of comic relief; for example, in Magica's final scene in the series, she attempts to send Scrooge's "tin man back to Oz", but instead sent herself elsewhere in a whirlwind when a Quackenyeeken Yeeker bird yeeks in fear, causing her jar of magic dust to break open and carry her away. On more than one occasion, her plan to obtain Scrooge's dime backfires so spectacularly that she is forced to work with Scrooge to prevent a greater disaster. According to the show, her brother is Poe De Spell, who was transformed into a raven and serves as her magical familiar – in reference to Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" – replacing Ratface from the comics. Magica makes a cameo appearance in the Darkwing Duck episode "In Like Blunt" along with the Beagle Boys and Flintheart Glomgold, among the bidders for the secret S.H.U.S.H. agent list.

Did You Know?

• Magica De Spell first appeared in 'The Midas Touch', published in Uncle Scrooge #36 (December 1961).
• Carl Barks took inspiration for Magica's look from Italian actresses Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren, as well as Morticia Addams.
• Barks drew only nine stories with Magica, from 1961 to 1964.
• In the 2017 DuckTales reboot, Magica is voiced by Catherine Tate, who previously co-starred with David Tennant (the voice of Scrooge McDuck) on Doctor Who.
• Magica's brother Poe De Spell was transformed into a raven, a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's poem 'The Raven'.