History YMMV / TheSimpsonsS7E2RadioactiveMan

* HarsherInHindsight: The ''Radioactive Man'' movie got canned due to its TroubledProduction. 20 years later and pretty much several superhero movies have faced similar issues, most notably a ''Batgirl'' movie getting canned in the middle of post-production.

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: When director Susie Dietter read through his first script, she did not find it very funny because of all the visual gags. Once the animatic was finished, her opinion changed, and she thought to herself: "Hey, this is really funny!"

* MemeticMutation: "MY EYES! THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING!" ([[BeamMeUpScotty often misquoted]] as "My eyes! The goggles, they do nothing!") It's said to be one of Creator/MattGroening's all-time favorite quotes from the series.

** At one point in the episode, an ancient-looking executive starts talking about bringing back "the original Radioactive Man", Dirk Richter (suggested to be a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed blend of Creator/AdamWest and Creator/GeorgeReeves), only to be denied by a producer pointing out that Dirk Richter is 73 years old and also dead. Years later, ''Film/TheFlash2023'' would feature not only a 71-year-old Creator/MichaelKeaton playing Batman, but rather controversially, CGI-crafted cameos of Adam West and George Reeves (both of whom were dead at that time, the latter for over sixty years). It seems that executive got the last laugh.

** At one point in the episode, an ancient-looking executive starts talking about bringing back "the original Radioactive Man", Dirk Richter (suggested to be a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed blend of Creator/AdamWest and Creator/GeorgeReeves), only to be denied by a producer pointing out that Dirk Richter is 74 years old and also dead. Years later, ''Film/TheFlash2023'' would feature, rather controversially, CGI-crafted cameos of Adam West and George Reeves (both of whom were dead at that time, the latter for over sixty years), so it seems that executive got the last laugh.

** At one point in the episode, an ancient-looking executive starts talking about bringing back "the original Radioactive Man", Dirk Richter (suggested to be a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed blend of Creator/AdamWest and Creator/GeorgeReeves), only to be denied by a producer pointing out that Dirk Richter is 74 years old and also dead. Years later, ''Film/TheFlash2023'' would feature, rather controversially, CGI-crafted cameos of Adam West and George Reeves (both of whom were dead, the latter for over sixty years), so it seems that executive got the last laugh.

** At one point in the episode, an ancient-looking executive starts talking about bringing back "the original Radioactive Man", Dirk Richter (suggested to be a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed blend of Creator/AdamWest and Creator/GeorgeReeves), only to be denied by a producer pointing out that Dirk Richter is 74 years old and also dead. Years later, ''Film/TheFlash2023'' would feature, rather controversially, CGI-crafted cameos of Adam West and George Reeves (the latter of whom had been dead for over sixty years), so it seems that executive got the last laugh.

** Bart's claim that real-world heroes are losers because the problems they try to fight haven't been solved, necessitating fictional heroes played by Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Van Damme. Given how their films have mutated into FranchiseZombie status over the years, they likley wouldn't meet Bart's criteria for heroism either.

** Bart's claim that real-world heroes are losers because the problems they try to fight haven't been solved, necessitating fictional heroes played by Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Van Damme. Given how their films have mutated into FranchiseZombie status over the years, they likley wouldn't meet Bart criteria for heroism either.

** When Comic Book Guy and Otto are racing miniature electric vehicles, Otto exclaims "Alright!" when the bus hits the wall and explodes. Does this mean Otto the bus driver was ironically not controlling the bus, or does he just think it's cool to see his vehicle explode?

* HarsherInHindsight: The ''Radioactive Man'' movie got canned due to its TroubledProduction. 20 years later and pretty much any superhero movie not handled by Disney has faced similar issues, most notably a ''Batgirl'' movie getting canned in the middle of post=production.

* HilariousInHindsight: The producers are clear that they want the Radioactive Man movie to "stay as far away from the campy '70s version as possible". This is a reference to how the 1966 Batman show was seen in the 1990s. In today's world, the 1960s series is much more fondly remembered (though film adaptations of Batman continue to get DarkerAndEdgier).

* HilariousInHindsight: The producers are clear that they want the Radioactive Man movie to "stay as far away from the campy '70s version as possible". This is a reference to how the 1966 Batman show was seen in the 1990s. In today's world, the 1960s series is much more fondly remembered.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: One of the contributors on [[http://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodes/2F17.html The Simpsons Archive's complaints of the episode]] is based on the writers choosing to follow Milhouse as the new Fallout Boy rather than have Bart be a star and learn firsthand that CelebrityIsOverrated ([[FailedASpotCheck granted,]] [[ItsBeenDone it was already done]] [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E12BartGetsFamous in a previous episode]]).
-->'''Tony Hill:''' Whoever conceived of an episode based around ''Milhouse''?!? This would have been a scream had Bart gotten the part. Instead, we got a bunch of gags edited together not much more seamlessly than [[StockFootageFailure the work for which the film editor was fired]]. This gets a D, and with good cause.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Did the director foolishly get Bart's hopes up, or was he so impressed by Bart's acting that he was willing to cast him only to immediately see that he's an inch too short and backtrack?

* WhatAnIdiot: There are some spectacularly poor decision-making from the makers of the eponymous film, but nothing can top the stupidity of the climactic scene, in which Rainier Wolfcastle (in the title role) is tied up as a wall of acid approaches.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' They'd use special effects for the acid, and also use a stuntman while only using Wolfcastle for closeups.\\
'''Instead:''' They use a real, highly corrosive acid. Through an ''active nuclear power plant''. Oh, and they don't inform their star of this fact in advance.\\
'''To Make Matters Worse:''' This highly expensive, highly dangerous scene requires Milhouse (as Fallout Boy) to untie Wolfcastle before the acid hits.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' (1) There'd be a way for Wolfcastle to free himself if something goes wrong; and (2) they'd make sure Milhouse was ''actually on set'' and ready to do the take ''before'' they started filming.\\
'''Instead:''' Milhouse is nowhere to be found, and Wolfcastle is left to look helplessly at the oncoming acid. He tries putting on safety goggles, but "[[Memes/TheSimpsons the goggles do nothing!]]"

* HilariousInHindsight: The producers are clear that they want the Radioactive Man movie to "stay as far away from the campy '70s version as possible". This is a reference to how the 1966 Batman show was seen in the 1990s. In today's world, the 1960s series is much more beloved.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Did the director foolishy get Bart's hopes up, or was he so impressed by Bart's acting that he was willing to cast him only to immediately see that he's an inch too short and backtrack?

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Did the director foolishy get Bart's hopes up, or was he so impressed by Bart's acting that he was willing to cast him only to immediately see that he's an inch too tall and backtrack?