History Recap / TheSimpsonsS27E5TreehouseOfHorrorXXVI

* ReferenceOverdosed: Hoo boy! There's a lot of [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs]] in this segment. They are: ''Franchise/{{American Girl|s Collection}}'' (which Bob references as Milhouse's wallpaper); Vaslav Nijinsky (ballet dancer and choreographer also referenced by Bob); the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' and ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' franchises (when Bob murders Bart with a HarpoonGun in a gruesome way... and [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX takes a selfie with the corpse and uploads it on social media]]); ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' ("[[FamousLastWords Tell my father... he's... fat...]]"); Website/{{Facebook}} (here known as [[BlandNameProduct Fiendbook]]); WesternAnimation/BugsBunny and Elmer Fudd in ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc'' (also referenced by Bob); ''Film/WeekendAtBernies'' (when Bob carries Bart's corpse to his house where he plays and drinks with it); ''WesternAnimation/TheItchyAndScratchyShow'' (Bob has Bart's corpse watch the show); ''[[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker: Going Sane]]'' (when Bob tries living a normal life by taking up poetry class after killing Bart, only to realize that [[VictoryIsBoring life just isn't the same without Bart around]]); ''The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'' by Creator/TSEliot (lines are recited by Bob); Website/{{Google}}, Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}, and Website/{{Twitter}} (which the social media-obsessed students use); ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' (which Bob claims Eliot is the author of); ''Series/GameOfThrones'' (which said students reference); Snapchat; White Zinfandel (a dry-to-sweet, pink-colored blush wine, which Bob compares Bart to); ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' (when Bob goes to Springfield's University's Black Arts Building for the ingredients for the Reanimator); ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'' (which Bob references as a frog); ''Film/ReAnimator'' (when he creates the aptly named machine used to resurrect Bart); Lucky Charms (in which its leprechaun mascot is one of the ingredients used for the machine); ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' (when Bob makes a whack at Bart with a sledgehammer, and Bart keeps replying that he's still not dead, forcing Bob to bludgeon him in fury until his (Bart's) guts spill out); and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''[='=]s AnimatedAdaptation of ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'' (Bart's DeathMontage).

* TakeThat: To the two American remakes of ''Godzilla'' (mostly the [[Film/{{Godzilla1998}} 1998 version directed by]] RolandEmmerich [[note]]which also featured ''Simpsons'' cast members Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer and Nancy Cartwright[[/note]], down to the shortening of the title to "[[Film/GodzillaFinalWars Zilla]]"), and to the upcoming ''Franchise/StarWars'' film ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', which Comic Book Guy says he wanted to get a good seat for, and which he believes "will stink to high heaven!" Oh, and PETA for the lizard burgers.

* TakeThat: To the two American remakes of ''Godzilla'' (mostly the [[Film/{{Godzilla1998}} 1998 version directed by]] RolandEmmerich [[note]]which also featured ''Simpsons'' cast members Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer and Nancy Cartwright[[/note]], down to the shortening of the title to "[[Film/GodzillaFinalWars Zilla]]", and to the upcoming ''Franchise/StarWars'' film ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', which Comic Book Guy says he wanted to get a good seat for, and which he believes "will stink to high heaven!" Oh, and PETA for the lizard burgers.

Milhouse then fills the Simpsons' yard with moai statues of him and brings many citizens of Springfield into a giant ball, before the ball and statues are zapped away, and Milhouse is brought low with another zap. Bart congratulates Lisa on doing that, but she didn't. Turns out, it was Maggie, who'd sucked on a nuclear rod instead of a pacifier and now has powers of her own.

* WholePlotReference: To ''Film/{{Chronicle}}''

Cut to a montage of Lisa and Milhouse using their powers. Lisa uses hers to cheat at a gym examination by flying up the rope she was supposed to climb, Milhouse drops Dolph into a volcano after Dolph bullies him, Lisa turns Bart's 'Skinhead is a wiener' graffiti into 'Skinhead is a winner' (only for Skinhead to change it back as he thinks someone misspelled wiener), [[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn plays the background music on all her instruments]], and Milhouse plays Whack-A-Mole with his bullies, merges his parents into TwoBeingsOneBody, and gives Apu and Snake multiple arms. Yup, he's gone mad with power.

* '''Wanted: Dead, then Alive''': Bart is killed by Sideshow Bob, who then goes on to become a professor at Springfield University. However, he is disappointed by his lazy students, and misses the thrill of killing Bart, so he decides to revive him so he can kill him again.
* '''Homerzilla''': A parody of ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}''; the grandfather of the Simp-san family frequently sacrifices a doughnut to a giant sea monster to keep it at bay. When he dies and no more donuts are sent, the monster comes to shore and wrecks the city.
* '''Telepaths of Glory''': Lisa and Milhouse get superpowers in a parody of ''{{Film/Chronicle}}''. Milhouse quickly goes mad with power.

!! Tropes associated with ''Wanted: Dead, then Alive''

!! Tropes associated with ''Homerzilla''

!! Tropes associated with ''Telepaths of Glory''

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Milhouse goes mad with power, using it to literally force his parents back together (by fusing them into a TwoBeingsOneBody), taking revenge on his bullies and making giant statues of himself.

** The title spoofs the BonJovi song "Wanted: Dead or Alive", from their 1986 album ''Slippery When Wet''.

* ForeignRemake: An in-universe example; an American movie studio decides to make a big budget remake of the old Japanese Homerzilla movie. It bombs at the box office.

* TakeThat: To the two American remakes of ''Godzilla'' (mostly the [[Film/{{Godzilla1998}} 1998 version]], down to the shortening of the title to "[[Film/GodzillaFinalWars Zilla]]"), and to the upcoming ''Franchise/StarWars'' film ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', which Comic Book Guy says he wanted to get a good seat for, and which he believes "will stink to high heaven!" Oh, and PETA for the lizard burgers.

* ShoutOut: When Milhouse falls into the hole, [[WesternAnimation/IceAge Scrat]] is seen running after his acorn in the background. Also, Milhouse shouts, "Everything's coming up Milhouse!", which is a parody of the song title "Everything's Coming up Roses" from ''Theatre/{{Gypsy}}'', and the way he summons moai statues of himself is a reference to the Tartaros Arc of ''Manga/FairyTail''.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Milhouse ends up losing his powers by being [[spoiler:struck by Maggie with a nuclear rod mistaken for a pacifier]].

* CassandraTruth: Grampa sent out a donut offering every year to appease Homerzilla, while everyone else disbelieved him. After he passed away and the donut offerings stopped, Homerzilla attacked Japan. [[ImplausibleDeniability Despite this]], [[DefiantToTheEnd Moe refused to admit that Grandpa was right]]...at least until Homerzilla killed him.

* TheCameo: At the end of the segment, Kang and Kodos appear to complain about this trope.

* ReferenceOverdosed: Hoo boy! There's a lot of [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs]] in this segment. They are: ''Franchise/{{American Girl|s Collection}}'' (which Bob references as Milhouse's wallpaper); Vaslav Nijinsky (ballet dancer and choreographer also referenced by Bob); the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' and ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' franchises (when Bob murders Bart with a HarpoonGun in a gruesome way); ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' ("[[FamousLastWords Tell my father... he's... fat...]]"); Website/{{Facebook}} (here known as [[BlandNameProduct Fiendbook]]); WesternAnimation/BugsBunny and Elmer Fudd in ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc'' (also referenced by Bob); ''Film/WeekendAtBernies'' (when Bob carries Bart's corpse to his house where he plays and drinks with it); ''WesternAnimation/TheItchyAndScratchyShow'' (Bob has Bart's corpse watch the show); ''[[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker: Going Sane]]'' (when Bob tries living a normal life by taking up poetry class after killing Bart, only to realize that [[VictoryIsBoring life just isn't the same without Bart around]]); ''The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'' by Creator/TSEliot (lines are recited by Bob); Website/{{Google}}, Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}, and Website/{{Twitter}} (which the social media-obsessed students use); ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' (which Bob claims Eliot is the author of); ''Series/GameOfThrones'' (which said students reference); Snapchat; White Zinfandel (a dry-to-sweet, pink-colored blush wine, which Bob compares Bart to); ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' (when Bob goes to Springfield's University's Black Arts Building for the ingredients for the Reanimator); ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'' (which Bob references as a frog); ''Film/ReAnimator'' (when he creates the aptly named machine used to resurrect Bart); Lucky Charms (in which its leprechaun mascot is one of the ingredients used for the machine); ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' (when Bob makes a whack at Bart with a sledgehammer, and Bart keeps replying that he's still not dead, forcing Bob to bludgeon him in fury until his (Bart's) guts spill out); and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''[='=]s AnimatedAdaptation of ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'' (Bart's DeathMontage).

* PhoneaholicTeenagers: Sideshow Bob attempts to teach a classroom full of these. Plus their papers keep making Series/GameOfThrones references.

* BewitchedAmphibians: Bob grabs the potions needed for the Reanimator machine and says, "Those bastards sure know how to ''[[SpeakingLikeTotallyTeen par-tay]]!''", then drinks one and turns into a frog. He's back to human form in the next scene, though.

* ContinuityNod: Bob's "Die Bart Die" tattoo, first seen in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E2CapeFeare Cape Feare]]", appears again along with the rake. Bob's violin-playing, first appearing in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E21BlackWidower Black Widower]]", returns in the music room at Springfield Elementary.

* TakeThat: To the two American remakes of ''Godzilla'' (mostly the [[Film/{{Godzilla1998}} 1998 version]], down to the shortening of the title to "[[Fil/GodzillaFinalWars Zilla]]"), and to the upcoming ''Franchise/StarWars'' film ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', which Comic Book Guy says he wanted to get a good seat for, and which he believes "will stink to high heaven!" Oh, and PETA for the lizard burgers.

* SquareCubeLaw: Invoked by Prof. Frink, who claims that Homerzilla will collapse under his own weight once he leaves the water. [[GiantFootOfStomping He is immediately proven wrong.]]
* TakeThat: To the two American remakes of ''Godzilla'' (mostly the [[Film/{{Godzilla1998}} 1998 version]], down to the shortening of the title to "Zilla" and the monster's horizontal tyrannosaur-like posture), and to the upcoming ''Franchise/StarWars'' film ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', which Comic Book Guy says he wanted to get a good seat for, and which he believes "will stink to high heaven!" Oh, and PETA for the lizard burgers.

* WrongGenreSavvy: In a normal episode Bart WOULD get away with mocking a harpoon gun wielding Sideshow Bob. But given this is the start of a Halloween episode... He is not so lucky.

* WouldHurtAChild: Bob definitely has this in spades. And yet he loves Bart so much, he brings him BackFromTheDead so that Bob can kill his ArchEnemy again and again.

* WrongGenreSavvy: In a normal episode Bart WOULD get away with mocking a harpoon gun holding Sideshow Bob. But given this is the start of a Halloween episode... He is not so lucky.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Milhouse goes mad with power, using it to literally force his parents back together (by fusing them into a TwoBeingsOneBody), taking revenge on his bullies and making giant statues of himself.

* ReferenceOverdosed: Hoo boy! There's a lot of [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs]] in this segment. They are: ''Franchise/{{American Girl|s Collection}}'' (which Bob references as Milhouse's wallpaper); Vaslav Nijinsky (ballet dancer and choreographer also referenced by Bob); the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' franchise (when Bob murders Bart with a HarpoonGun); ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' ("[[FamousLastWords Tell my father... he's... fat...]]"); Website/{{Facebook}} (here known as [[BlandNameProduct Fiendbook]]); WesternAnimation/BugsBunny and Elmer Fudd in ''WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc'' (also referenced by Bob); ''Film/WeekendAtBernies'' (when Bob carries Bart's corpse to his house where he plays and drinks with it); ''WesternAnimation/TheItchyAndScratchyShow'' (Bob has Bart's corpse watch the show); ''[[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker Joker: Going Sane]]'' (when Bob tries living a normal life by taking up poetry class after killing Bart, only to realize that [[VictoryIsBoring life just isn't the same without Bart around]]); ''The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'' by Creator/TSEliot (lines are recited by Bob); Website/{{Google}}, Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}, and Website/{{Twitter}} (which the social media-obsessed students use); ''Theatre/{{Cats}}'' (which Bob claims Eliot is the author of); ''Series/GameOfThrones'' (which said students reference); Snapchat; White Zinfandel (a dry-to-sweet, pink-colored blush wine, which Bob compares Bart to); ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' (when Bob goes to Springfield's University's Black Arts Building for the ingredients for the Reanimator); ''Magazine/TheNewYorker'' (which Bob references as a frog); ''Film/ReAnimator'' (when he creates the aptly named machine used to resurrect Bart); Lucky Charms (in which its leprechaun mascot is one of the ingredients used for the machine); ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' (when Bob makes a whack at Bart with a sledgehammer, and Bart keeps replying that he's still not dead, forcing Bob to bludgeon him in fury until his (Bart's) guts spill out); and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold''[='=]s AnimatedAdaptation of ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'' (Bart's DeathMontage).