Difference between revisions of "Homer the Whopper/References"

Revision as of 19:26, July 2, 2025

Cultural references

• The title is a play on an old slogan of Burger King: "Home of the Whopper".
• In the Android's Dungeon, there is a poster of Swatchmen, a parody of Watchmen.
• Bart asks Comic Book Guy if it was possible that before Spider-Man was a movie, it was a comic book. When Bart asks this, Comic Book Guy responds with "Suffering Steve Ditko". Steve Ditko is one of the co-creators of Spider-Man. Comic Book Guy then goes on to say that Spider-Man was introduced in 1962's Amazing Fantasy #15.
• Comic Book Guy lies down on an unsold pile of left Hulk hands.
• Comic Book Guy has a poster of The Flash in his back room.
• Everyman absorbs powers from the first issue of The Invincible Iron Man. He then absorbs powers from an issue of Plastic Man.
• Online users that Comic Book Guy mentions include: SonofSonofSpock, a reference to Star Trek, TheDorkKnight, a reference to "Dark Knight", a nickname of Batman, and IkilledKenny6475, a reference to Kenny McCormick from South Park.
• Issue #289 of Everyman features the death of Marmaduke, a character from the comic strip of the same name.
• The mural that Nelson is painting in the school yard resembles Guernica by Pablo Picasso.
• "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart plays during the comic distribution sequence.
• Mylar Baggins Comic Book Shop is a reference to Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings.
  • Things seen in the window of the shop include a statue of Wonder Woman from DC Comics, a copy of Harry Potter, and the helmets of Boba Fett and Darth Vader from Star Wars.
  • The shop employee has a picture of a Jawa from Star Wars on his shirt.
• The Maltese Vulcan is a reference to the detective novel The Maltese Falcon and Vulcans from Star Trek.
  • The store has copies of Star Trek comics and a Stargate comic on display.
• Comic Book Guy mentions a Stratego movie that Ginormous Pictures created. Film director Brett Ratner had final cut on the film.
• Krusty the Clown owns an Amiga fax machine.
• Some of the posters in the movie theater were references to real life movies.
  • Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Gettin' Rabies is a reference to the Alvin and the Chipmunks.
  • Star Wars Episode VII: The Apology is a reference to Star Wars. The episode was released years before Star Wars: The Force Awakens was made.
• Lyle McCarthy got Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie into shape.
• Lyle McCarthy plays the song "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor. Homer then wants him to play "Heroes" by David Bowie.
• Everyman thanks Captain America for giving him the patriotism to want to save the president's life. He also thanked Wonder Woman for giving him the boobs to distract the guard.
• After Lyle McCarthy jumps off the building, he uses his shirt to as wings to fly like Rocky the Flying Squirrel from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
• The home town of Everyman is Gothamopolis, a combination of Gotham City and Metropolis, the home towns of Batman and Superman respectively.
• Sir Ben Kingsley is eaten by the grasshopperaptor.
• When talking about the expired milk from 1961, Apu says "Everyone was twisting again like they did the previous summer.", a reference to the song "Let's Twist Again" by Chubby Checker.
• Everyman has a parody of the Batmobile. Everyman was also seen in Batman's costume.
• Comic Book Guy attempts to use a Vulcan deathgrip on the Ginormous Pictures security guard, a reference to Star Trek.
• A former studio head says that his only sin was believing in George Clooney.
• The villain in the Everyman film, Dr. Reptilicus, resembles Lizard from Marvel Comics.
• When the Everyman film is played in the cinema and Homer's physical appearance changes throughout the viewing, it is a reference to Bela Lugosi's role in Plan 9 from Outer Space. Lugosi died before Plan 9 began production, and director Ed Wood included Lugosi in the film via footage he had recorded for other projects. In some scenes, Lugosi's character was portrayed by a stand-in who was taller than Lugosi and bore no resemblance to him, resulting in Lugosi's character changing appearance from scene to scene, similar to Homer in the Everyman film.
• Posters seen in the Aztec Theater include:
  • Fat Suit starring Eddie Murphy, a reference to his role as The Nutty Professor in the 1966 film of the same name.
  • Welcome Back, Potter, a Harry Potter film. The name of the movie is a reference to the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter.
• Lyle McCarthy left Homer to work with Turtle from Entourage.
• Lyle McCarthy calls Homer "Home Alone".
• Comic Book Guy has a poster for the 1957 horror film I Was a Teenage Werewolf in his room.
• When Homer is introduced to Lyle McCarthy, he shows Homer a picture if what Brad and Angelina looked like before meeting him. This picture depicts the duo being extremely overweight, while also riding a motorcycle. This photo is a parody of a real photo taken of the McCrary twins, best known for holding the Guinness World Record for World’s Heaviest Twins.
  • A similar reference appears in The Day the Violence Died.

Trivia

• This is the second episode in which Matt Groening, creator of the show, has guest starred as himself. He is seen loading his truck with Bongo Comics, his own line of comic books, while saying how rich he is.
  • When Groening is loading the comics into his truck, a picture of the Simpson family is visible on the back of his jacket.

Goofs

• When Comic Book Guy is thrown in the "Former Studio Heads" Trash Can, the can is hardly full. Then, in an above shot, the can is full with people, and Comic Book Guy is on the top of them.
• When Homer says, "I need change for a dollar. I also need a dollar", his mouth doesn't match.
• When Matt Groening "steals" the Everyman comics, he says "I'm so rich", but his mouth doesn't move.