In Defense of Warbucks

Long before I read any of the original Little Orphan Annie strips, I had an inkling that its creator, Harold Gray, was something of a right-winger, and even though I was already well past the stage where such an accusation would diminish (rather than pique) my interest, I nevertheless avoided Annie for years. And I think it was the "Warbucks" that kept me away.

I mean, who cheerily marks one of their main protagonists as a war profiteer?  Where's the decency there?  Where's the charm?  And what's the point?

Well, for one thing, Warbucks wasn't originally conceived as a long-term main character (it seems to me).  In his first appearance, he's a heavy, and his good nature is the punchline:

As the strip developed over the years, Warbucks gradually got fleshed out, until ultimately the name didn't really fit at all.  In the epic "Eonite" saga, Warbucks explicitly rejects the concept of using his new alloy for war:  It's to be used for peaceful purposes only!  And if that's not enough, look how Warbucks handles a riot at the Eonite plant, deliberately stirred up and sent there by his enemies in the hopes of capturing the secret formula...

Now, by this time, Warbucks had been part of the Annie continuity for a decade.  One could hardly expect him to be re-named, or written out and replaced.  But still...  Something could have been done.  Various parts of the Warbucks story would be altered from time to time, including pretending the wife mentioned above never happened!  Why stick with the name "Warbucks," when it so poorly fit?

As far as I can tell, it was only to tweak his audience, and particularly the liberal portion, who would bristle at it unendingly.  (That is, until WWII had come and gone, leaving American prosperity in its wake.  Certainly no one could argue against the war itself (in hindsight), and since the whole country seemed to prosper by it, no one could argue against "war profiteering," as that's just what every man, woman and child in the nation had done!)  It seems like a long way to go for the sake of teasing people, but that's cartoonists for you.