Duncan McSmurf (Empath stories)



"You can't smurf yourself a true Smurfsman until you've smurfed like one!"

Duncan Ross "Gutsy" McSmurf is a Smurf character who is part of the Empath: The Luckiest Smurf story series.

History
He is the son of Angus and Bonnie McSmurf, born the older brother of Miner Smurf who is different from his fellow Smurfs in that he has managed to grow sideburns at the very young age of 150, something that he attributes mostly to the genes within his Smurf family line where most if not all males are able to grow facial hair at early ages. He speaks with a very rough Scottish accent and is very proud of his "Smurfish heritage", preferring to be called McSmurf over the last name of Smurf. Around 50 years of age, Duncan lost both his parents to an unknown disease and was mostly raised by Papa Smurf, who adopted him as one of his sons.

Personality
"I am Duncan McSmurf of the clan McSmurf. You may not call me anything but by that name only. Otherwise, I am pleased to smurf your acquaintance."

- His original greeting to Empath

Duncan is generally friendly toward his fellow Smurfs, but is very particular about his proper name being used. He hates being called Gutsy, which is Hefty's nickname for him that is used mostly just to annoy Duncan. According to Duncan, the origin of the nickname stems from his willingness to stand up to Hefty whenever he needs to be called out on his behavior. (Narrator, apparently having knowledge of himself and the other Smurfs being fictional creations, believes Hefty's dislike for Duncan is based on his character in a completely different story being upstaged by Duncan's counterpart.) Being about a year younger than Hefty, Duncan tends to call most of his fellow Smurfs "laddies" (even Hefty gets called this) and the female Smurfs "lassies", which is his general term of affection as is Papa Smurf's "little Smurfs" for his adopted children.

He likes to fight and enjoys training himself with Empath and some of his fellow Smurfs in a bit of sparring with quarterstaffs to see how much fight they have in them. When working together with Hefty and Tuffy, Duncan acts in the role of Hefty's superego, offering counsel and advice when needed and occasionally calling Hefty out on his decisions and his behavior. He also at times works alongside his friend Tapper, whom they share an affinity for their unique Smurf cultural backgrounds.

When not fighting, Duncan loves to challenge Hefty Smurf in arm wrestling and caber tossing. His favorite musical instrument is the bagpipes, which he plays in the Village Smurphony Orchestra.

Although Duncan enjoys drinking sarsaparilla ale even to levels beyond what a normal Smurf can tolerate, he hates smoking and doesn't even like to get himself intoxicated with smurfnip or any other mood-altering substances, preferring to live clean. However, in the alternate timeline of "Papa Smurf & Mama Smurfette", Duncan ended up smoking lots of smurfnip after witnessing Papa Smurf and Smurfette's wedding.

Like his friend Tapper and like all the other Smurfs in the village, Duncan is heterosexual and strongly believes that only males and females should be united together in marriage, although he holds no hostility towards those of other sexual orientations unless they pose a problem toward him or others. Sometime after his return from the Smurfs' time-traveling adventures in The Lost Year, Duncan was disgusted to hear from Empath that his Mirror Universe counterpart actually has a dating relationship with its Tapper.

Role
Duncan is a trainer in various forms of Smurf martial arts, usually with quarterstaffs and swords. He had trained Century in swordfighting and learned that he had a natural talent for it which Vanity altogether lacked, despite Century being a clone of Vanity. He is also quite acrobatic, as he would use the Smurfs' natural jumping ability to his advantage when fighting.

Duncan was given the usher position along with Hefty and Handy at Empath and Smurfette's wedding. In the alternate timeline story "Hefty, The Luckiest Smurf", he, Century, and Tuffy were given the position of ushers at Hefty and Smurfette's wedding.

Relationships

 * Empath is considered a close friend whom Duncan remembers as an infant, though his heart was saddened to think that his friend had "died" in Psychelia when they had met again during Empath's first visit to the Smurf Village. His life's goal was to help Empath regain the self he had lost, believing that someday he would be reunited with that "friend".
 * Papa Smurf is his adopted father, whom he seeks to please in everything he does.
 * Smurfette is his love interest, although he respectfully declines pursuing her as he sees that Empath has captured her attention.
 * Polaris Psyche is a sparring partner that he admires for his ability to remain calm and focused even in the middle of a fight.
 * Brainy is the Smurf he plays chess with, believing the sport helps him with fighting strategy. He dislikes how panicky Brainy can get at times when it comes to dealing with dire situations.
 * Baby Smurf is treated like a little baby brother. He hopes that someday Baby Smurf will become a powerful fighter like him.
 * Hefty is considered a rival that he constantly looks out for.
 * Tuffy is a friend, but like Hefty, Duncan sees Tuffy as reckless and has to constantly look out for him. Tuffy tends to call him "Dunk".
 * Tapper is considered a close friend and a complementary equal.
 * Grouchy is a close friend whom he respects and will look out for, never pushing him into doing things that he doesn't like doing.
 * Miner is the young brother that Duncan loves and cares for despite his rejection of his "Smurfish heritage", not caring to be called McSmurf.
 * Marco is his sailing partner on board the S.S. Smurf II, who along with Empath and Tapper sing sea chanties together.
 * Vanity is derisively referred to as a peacock by Duncan, for whom he has less respect than his "brother" Century, who is not afraid of swords or fighting. Like Hefty, Duncan suspects that Vanity may be homosexual.
 * Brenda McSmurfette is his counterpart from Smurfette Island, who is just as skilled at fighting as he is and isn't afraid to show it with anyone, including Duncan.
 * Malcolm and Gillian are his two children through his wife Brenda McSmurfette.

Abilities

 * Master Swordsman
 * Master Quarterstaff Fighter
 * Master Shield Fighter
 * Master Hand-To-Hand Combatant
 * Master Strategist
 * Great Physical Strength, on the same level as Hefty and Tuffy Smurf.
 * Great Agility, combining acrobatics with his natural leaping ability.
 * Unique Sense Of Smell, mostly detecting when a creature or a fellow Smurf has mated, which was first used when he and his fellow Smurfs started having the "Smurfette dream".
 * Greater Resistance To Alcoholic Intoxication: it would take an entire gallon (3.84 liters) of fermented sarsaparilla ale to make him fully drunk.

Clothing And Appearance
Duncan wears a green plaid kilt over his Smurf pants, although sometimes he may just wear the kilt by itself. He also wears a Smurf hat with a fluffy green tip and has brown sideburns that cover the sides of his face. Because of this, he is the only male Smurf in his generation that Barber ever gets any business from. During winter, Duncan may also wear a pale green sweater.

Voice Actor
Duncan would most likely be voiced by Alan Cumming, who also provides the voice of Gutsy Smurf in the 2011 movie, its 2013 sequel, and The Smurfs: The Legend Of Smurfy Hollow. Another likely candidate would be Chris Cox, who voiced Gutsy in The Smurfs 2: The Video Game.

Trivia

 * His signature song is "Smurfland The Brave", the Smurf version of "Scotland The Brave".
 * His birthday is October 3, the same as the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf author Vic George.
 * He as a member of the McSmurf clan is a believer in the legend of "the Loch monster", which his friend Hefty gets to personally see evidence of firsthand.