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"BOW DOWN BEFORE ME, EVERYONE! FOR I AM YOUR KING!"

With The Simpsons being the longest-running scripted primetime television series on television, you can expect a whole lot of awesome moments to be showcased in all its glory.

Moments pages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned.

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    Homer Simpson 
  • Homer's first Moment of Awesome was in "Homer's Odyssey", the third episode of the series. Depressed and believing himself a failure in life after getting fired from the nuclear power plant, Homer decides to end it and commit suicide after he realizes that he can't provide for his family and they'd be better off without him. When his family comes looking for him and are in the line of a speeding truck, Homer runs to get them out of the way, all while still tied to a boulder he was struggling to lift earlier. Then as the sun raises behind he realizes what it is he's put on Earth for and begins a crusade about safety that winds up with him getting his job back as well as a promotion.
    • It gets better: Mr. Burns offers to hire Homer back after he decides to take on the power plant as a neighborhood safety hazard. The re-hiring—in a new role as safety inspector, at a higher rate than before—comes on the condition that Homer assure all the protesters he's summoned that the power plant is completely safe. Though Homer's tempted, he sticks to his guns—and gets the job and the raise anyway by reminding Burns that he'll have plenty of free time to keep protesting if he remains unemployed.
      Burns: You're not as stupid as you look, or sound, or our best testing indicates.
  • Homer getting fed up with his father in "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy"
    Grampa: If I hadn't taken that stupid tonic 38 years ago, you'd have never been born and I'd have been happy. You were an accident!
    Homer: (stomps on brake) Get out.
    Abe: (Genuinely concerned) I'm sorry I said that.
    Homer: Out.
    Abe: (nervously gets out) I'm going to get out now, and I hope you'll find it in your heart not to drive aw—
    (The car peels away, leaving Grandpa alone)
  • Homer driving up the side of a steam turbine in an ice cream truck in "King Size Homer".
  • Homer's epic fight against General Sherman, the legendary catfish at Catfish Lake, in "The War of the Simpsons". After hours of trying to reel it in, where the fish was dragging his boat all around the lake, he finally gets it in by beating the crap out of it, and breaking an oar over its head. Then, as he's about to bring it on land, he runs into Marge at the docks, who is mad at him for going fishing while they were supposed to be on a marriage retreat. To prove that his marriage means more to him than a fish, he dumps it overboard, reconciling with Marge at the expense of becoming a legend himself to the bait shop weirdos. Then he still becomes a legend to those weirdos.
    Bait shop owner: If you ask me, and most people do, he's 100 if he's a day.
    Man: Has anyone ever caught him?
    Bait shop owner: Well, one fella came close. Went by the name of Homer. Seven feet tall he was... with arms like tree trunks. And his eyes were like steel, cold and hard. Had a shock of hair, red, like the fires of Hell.
  • Homer strangling Bart in "Father Knows Worst". Homer mistakenly swallows a flaming stick believing it was a shish kebab, prompting Bart to trick him into drinking lighter fluid. Homer then proceeds to choke Bart and breathe fire at the same time.
    Homer: BURN, BARTY!! BURN!!!
  • In "Homer Badman", when everyone at the Candy Convention chases after Homer and Marge, who has trouble running with her stuffed trenchcoat. Homer stops at the exit, kicks a Buzz Cola machine to get a can of pop, rips the tab off with his teeth, rips open a packet of Pop Rocks, and puts the packet over the can and shakes it. "See you in hell, candy boys!" Homer calls as the lobs the Buzz Cola/Pop Rocks combo like a grenade into the crowd. They all stop to watch as Homer continues to run in slow motion, the glass of the doors shattering behind him with the force of the fiery blast.
  • Anytime Homer actually buckles down and acts like a true father.
    • "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie": His moratorium for Bart to see the Itchy and Scratchy movie lasts until 2032 (it was 1992 when this episode first aired) when Bart is now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the two finally get to see the movie together
    • "Father Knows Worst": Homer has to be the strong parent since Marge is too absorbed in the basement sauna she found.
    • "There's No Disgrace Like Home": Homer pawns the TV to put the family in therapy. When the therapy doesn't work, he forces Dr. Monroe to refund him double what he paid and the family goes out and buys another TV.
    • "Halloween of Horror": Homer doing everything he can to protect Lisa, who is suffering from PTSD causing her to become terrified of Halloween, from three seasonal temps trying to kill him (and possibly Lisa too) as revenge.
    • In "We're On The Road To Dohwhere", Homer puts his foot down hard with Bart. When Bart has to go to a behavioral camp, but is found to be on the no-fly list, Homer willingly drives Bart there, even if it meant missing a trip to Vegas with his friends.
    • In "Smoke On The Daughter" he catches Lisa trying to smoke, pulls the cigarette away from her, furiously scolds Lisa for smoking, comes close to pulling Lisa out of the ballet class, and uses a family of raccoons to confiscate the cigarettes of the other ballerinas when he finds out Lisa broke her promise not to smoke again.
  • "Bart the Daredevil" is mostly remembered for its CMoF ending (Homer falling down the cliff — twice — then telling daredevil Lance Murdock that raising his kids is more dangerous than jumping over things on a motorcycle), but the moment preceding it is pure CMOA and Tear Jerker combined as Homer shows that he's willing to die to stop Bart from throwing his life away.
    Homer: Bart, I tried ordering you, I tried punishing you, and God help me, I even tried reasoning with you, and now the only thing left to do is to jump the gorge myself.
    Bart: But why?
    Homer: Because then you'll know what it's like to see a family member stupidly risking his life for no good reason!
    Bart: But you'll never make it!
    Homer: Don't you think I know that? Goodbye, son.
  • In "Radio Bart", where Bart pulls a prank on the whole town by making them think a little boy named Timmy was trapped in the town well, the townsfolk come up with all kinds of ridiculous schemes to get him out. When Bart himself falls down the well, and the townsfolk refuse to help him out of anger at being tricked, Homer decides that enough is enough when Bart starts to cry at his predicament.
    Homer: That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more! I'm going to get you out of there myself!
    (As he starts digging, Groundskeeper Willie sees what he's doing)
    Willie: Now why didn't I think of that?! (retrieves his own shovel) Agnes... we've got work to do! (rips his shirt and overalls off)
    • Eventually, more and more people come out to help, including Sting, until Bart is finally rescued.
    • Speaking of Papa Wolf moments and Popeye references, there was also "Jaws Wired Shut", when Homer had to rescue Marge from a demolition derby, using beer instead of spinach. Too bad the donkey couldn't hold its liquor.
      • The same episode also has a hindsight example for Homer, since it's revealed that Marge, while more responsible than Homer, is reliant on some recklessness for a buzz in her life. When Homer acts like a normal husband, she begins to lose it and tries to pull stupid antics herself. This whole time it's Homer's wackiness that actually keeps Marge sane.
  • In "Dial Z for Zombies", we get to see Homer taking on zombies with a shotgun, and turns out he's pretty damn good at it!
  • In the "Treehouse of Horror IV" story "The Devil and Homer Simpson", when condemned to a day in Hell until his trial, Homer's punishment is to eat all the donuts in the world. He's still hungry as he's finishing them off, leaving the demon torturer flabbergasted.
    Demon: I don't understand it! James Coco went mad in 15 minutes!
  • In "Dark Knight Court", Homer conducting the Springfield Elementary School band in playing Stars and Stripes Forever with more energy and passion than Mr. Largo has ever done. Even Flanders came out to give him roses.
  • In "Marge vs. the Monorail", as the malfunctioning monorail rockets through Springfield, Homer realizes that it needs to be anchored with something to stop. He briefly considers using Bart for the tasknote , but he soon settles for the bolted letter M from the monorail's side. After removing it and tying it to a strong rope, he tosses the M outside of the train until it catches something. The makeshift anchor causes some structural damage, even tearing into the already ravaged Main Street, but it finally hooks onto a giant donut statue atop a restaurant, successfully stopping the train. It's a rare moment where Homer uses his quick wits to save the day, resolving one of the series' most intense climaxes with clumsy, but effective style.
    Homer: Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?
  • In "I Married Marge", the flashback episode about Bart's birth, Homer arrives at the hospital flush from getting a job against all odds, and finally tells off Patty and Selma, to which by the next scene leaves them visibly shocked.
    Homer: (Arriving at the hospital in a rush) Marge! Marge! Where's the baby?
    Patty: Right where you left it.
    Homer: Shut up.
    Patty: Hey, listen, fat boy-
    Homer: No, YOU listen! This is my wife, and this is my kid, and I'm paying for this delivery, so if you're going to stay, you'd better show me some respect!
  • When Marge doesn't help Lisa with her state costume for a school contest because of her gambling addiction in "$pringfield", Homer goes all Papa Wolf for his daughter and bursts into the casino, scolds Marge (on the third attempt, as he's too angry to speak coherently at first), and gets her to admit she has a problem. Don't worry. Lisa's costume still won the contest.
  • Homer using every Emmy The Simpsons has ever won as weapons during the Family Guy crossover episode.
    • Heck, just the entire fight scene of Homer Simpson vs. Peter Griffin was nothing short of awesome.
  • In "Treehouse of Horror XIV," Homer ends up being forced to be the Grim Reaper, and does alright at it... until Marge is slated to die next. This being Homer, he finds a way out, by killing Patty, taping Marge's beehive hair to her, and escaping God's wrath in a motorcycle chase.
    • Also Homer killing Death.
  • In "Treehouse of Horror XX", in the 28 Days Later parody, it has been shown that those that have been bitten by the Munchers turn in a matter of seconds. However, Homer gets bitten by an infected Mr. Burns, and he manages to mostly keep himself under control even after becoming infected.
  • Homer's fistfight with former President Bush (George Herbert Walker, not Dubya, even though Dubya was mentioned en passant back before his notorious stint as U.S. President) in the sewer in "Two Bad Neighbors". The high point of Homer's offense: after blinding Bush with sludge, he runs up the wall of the (circular) sewer to the top and lets gravity drop him on his target.
  • In "The Crepes of Wrath", while Skinner suggests deporting Bart and exchanging him with another student, Homer shows suspicion and asks whether another school is pulling the same scam. This is impressive considering his very low intelligence.
  • In "King of the Hill", after exhausting and embarrassing himself physically in front of his son at a church picnic, Homer makes a promise to get healthier and ends up attending the gym at nights. He has a fair to middling success (at least for Homer's standards) but then tops it off by hiking to the top of the Murderhorn, the tallest mountain in Springfield. Although he had help, Homer has never shown as much mental and physical perseverance and only surrendered when he couldn't resist the hunger and the cold. Made even better when, as seen in the above picture, he STILL gets to the top through a technicality made possible by sheer dumb luck, and earns the respect and admiration of his family and the town's citizens as a result.
  • In "Moe Baby Blues", Homer has two moments. The first is when he gets his head caught in a Venus flytrap (It used a hotdog to lure him in), he just eats his way out of it and retorts "Flower power, my ass.".
    • The second is effortlessly running across the roofs of all of the cars in a traffic jam to try and save Maggie after she flew out of the car through the sunroof. He fails to catch her in time, but points for trying.
  • Homer has one in "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind". After being saved by a party boat with a bouncy castle from a suicide attempt, Homer recovers all of his memories: The reason why Homer drank the Forget-Me-Shot and erased all of his memories in the last 24 hours was that Marge was planning a surprise party for Homer finishing his community service, and he didn't want to spoil all of her efforts by seeing the surprise coming. The real awesome moment was when Homer anticipated himself attempting suicide after drinking the shot, so he warns Lenny to put a bouncy castle on the party boat before drinking it. Homer saved himself from committing suicide for all the wrong reasons!
  • Homer's Big Damn Heroes moment in "Mayored To The Mob". Unwilling to let Mark Hamill and Mayor Quimby get mobbed in the riot, he yells, "NERDS!", effortlessly fights his way through to them and, despite Hamill complaining of a twisted ankle, Homer decides No One Gets Left Behind and carries him out, with Quimby following. Quimby is impressed enough to fire his own bodyguards (who were outside looking at the clouds) and replace them with Homer who, for the most part, turns out to be quite good at it.
    • Homer gets another one later on in the episode when he saves Quimby from Louie by using "the forks".
  • Way back in "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder", Homer had trouble finding Waldo, to the point where he was so engrossed in searching for him that he didn't see the man himself walk past his window. Jump to "Hardly Kirking", where Homer has become so skilled at "find the hidden object" puzzles that he manages to effortlessly find Waldo within a moment on each page.
    • In "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder", Homer bowls a perfect 300.
  • In "The Haw-Hawed Couple" Homer is reading a fantasy novel to Lisa: a Harry Potter parody called Angelica Button. Homer reads ahead while Lisa's at a sleepover finding out that one of the main characters gets killed off.note  So to avoid scarring Lisa for life, he makes up his own ending for the next time he reads the book to her, one which "is freaking hilarious/awesome in its absurdity." Lisa, who knows it's made up, pretends to believe him. She reads ahead to confirm, and she concludes that "His ending was much better."
  • The season 15 episode "Simple Simpson" note . Homer's various battle cries ("It's cobblerin' time!" being the most prominent), Lisa's nonchalant proof, and most of all the final dramatic pose on the roof, when Bart joins him with the most perfect in-context sidekick name there could have been (The Cupcake Kid).
    • Homer's superhero kick starts when he pies the Rich Texan in the face when he insults Lisa. The only reason he's masked is a visual reminder from Chief Wiggum against committing another assault felony. That's right - Homer was willing to beat the crap out of a man for making his little girl cry.
  • In "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot", Homer, after various unsuccessful attempts, finally builds a functioning robot for Bart to compete in a Robot Wars-style tournament. "Functioning", as in "himself in a costume pretending to be a battle robot". And he reaches the finals. Especially awesome because most of the opponent robots have deadly sawblades and massive hammers and the like, and Homer takes all that punishment just to make Bart feel better. And when he's found out, he's been paranoid his son will hate him for bullshitting his alleged robot-building prowess, but Bart's only reaction is an extremely impressed "You mean YOU fought all of those robots!?"
  • In "The Kids Are All Fight", after losing 4 year old Bart and 2 year old Lisa he goes to Moe's to get help to look for them. After the regulars tell him to help them eat a pizza they just ordered, he SHOOTS the pizza. His love for his kids is enough for him to overcome his gluttony.
  • The end of "Lisa's Substitute" was specifically designed as one for Homer. After his insensitivity makes Lisa hate him more, Homer goes upstairs to make amends (and bungles it a few times, until he turns on Lisa's music box and Homer tells Lisa — in dead earnestness — that he does care that Lisa lost someone who cared about her intellect and talent and that he doesn't have to worry about losing those he loves because he has his familynote ). Then Homer goes to Bart's room and cheers him up about not winning the class election by telling him that being class president is just a meaningless job with no perks and more work. After giving a fussy Maggie her pacifier, Homer comes downstairs and tells Marge that he's on the roll of his life.
  • "Bart's Inner Child" gives him an early one against Marge. After his incident with the trampoline fails miserably, Marge starts giving him the I Warned You cold shoulders as usual. Homer however snaps back, his fun doesn't always work, but at least he tries new things and knows to enjoy himself, unlike her who regiments and nags at the family constantly and has hardly had an impulsive moment in her life. The kids (with reluctance) make clear they agree with him and even set off a "nagging montage". For anyone who thought Marge was too Rightly Self-Righteous in the early episodes, this is somewhat cathartic.
  • In "Lisa Gets an "A"", Homer defending his ownership of his lobster Pinchy from the family, who wanted to eat him, even giving him a seat at the dinner table in defiance. He also calls out the hypocrisy of Lisa's complaints since she's a passionate vegetarian.
  • Homer's uncharacteristically cunning plan in "C.E. D'oh", where after Burns tells him the plant's on-paper owner is actually a canary that Burns uses as a scapegoat in case anything goes wrong, Homer and Bart break into Burns' office and release the canary, then convince Burns that Homer would be the perfect replacement to be the company's designated patsy. When Burns agrees and names Homer the new owner, Homer's first act is to fire Burns from his own company. Even Burns can't help but be impressed.
  • "Hungry, Hungry Homer" gives Homer several moments of awesome. Homer managed to survive a hunger strike for over ten days, just to get the owner of the Isotopes to admit they were moving to Albuquerque. Unfortunately, the owner turned Homer into a mascot against his will. When Homer ends his hunger strike, Duff decides to publicly feed him a fancy new hot dog, but Homer realizes that the spices on it are found in Albuquerque, proving he was right to everyone. The episode ends with Duffman tossing Mr. Howard Duff, and Homer triumphantly eating the hot dog to cheers of everyone in the stadium.
    Homer: The truth never tasted so good!
  • In "Bart vs. Australia", Homer quickly coming to Bart's aid when he's about to get kicked by a giant boot as additional punishment (something that wasn't mentioned during the deal), to the point where he threatens to kick the Australian Prime Minister with said boot. He also briefly shames the government for still enforcing corporal punishment...right before he and Bart escape by breaking the window with the boot.
  • Seeing him outwit Cooder in order to get back the family house in "Bart Carny" was pretty sweet, too.
    Cooder: We were beaten by the best, boy.
  • In "Homer at the Bat", Homer wins the city championship for the Nuclear Plant softball team after having his skills demeaned by Mr Burns bringing in professional baseball players to win a bet. When Mr Burns benches Darryl Strawberry, Homer gets his chance, and, true to form, wins by complete accident when he gets distracted by Mr Burns signals (to which he naturally payed very little attention), and gets beaned in the head by the pitch, giving them the point they needed to win. The team even carries the now unconscious Homer around on their shoulders in victory.
  • "See Homer Run" has Homer, while dressed as the Safety Salamander, helping to rescue people (including Dredrick Tatum, Mr. Largo, Smithers, and Nelson) from a massive pile-up (unknowingly caused by Bart on a dare from the bullies). Mayor Quimby then bestows upon him the "Keycard to the City".
  • While he might have ended up on the losing end (partly thanks to a hydrant), his fight with Tom in "Brother from the same Planet" was all kinds of epic.
  • "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment": When alcohol is banned from Springfield, Homer not only refuses to give up beer by order of the women who fiercely supported the passage of the prohibition law, he successfully outwits the ladies, the Springfield Police, and even Rex Banner, running a beer smuggling operation from his basement. Not to mention successfully managing to brew forty-eight different kinds of alcoholic beverage in bathtubs (at least until the stills explode). A point of note: Homer is never actually caught by the police, he turns himself in so Wiggum can get his job back.
    • He gets an awesome bootlegger nickname, the Beer Baron. He even taunts Rex Banner, the man turning Springfield upside-down and shaking it out in order to find him!
    Rex Banner: [On a hill overlooking Springfield] I know you're out there somewhere, Beer Baron! And I'm going to find you!
    Homer: [From far away] No, you won't.
    Rex Banner: ...Yes, I will!
    Homer: Won't!
    • Also, Homer's smuggling scheme involving a complex system of pipes running from the bowling alley all the way to Moe's. That takes some impressive engineering.
    • It also leads to a great "Take That, Scrappy!" moment towards Lisa when she tries to get on her high horse after she and Marge find out about it;
      Lisa: Moooom! Prohibition may be unpopular, but it's the law! And we still have t-
      Homer, Marge and Bart: (all pointing upward) GO TO YOUR ROOM, LISA!
  • The entire second half of "Poppa's Got A Brand New Badge" is a montage of awesome for Homer. After triggering yet another law & order calamity, Homer decides to clean up his act & opens a private security company. And does a really good job for a change! In fact, he is so much better than Wiggum that the Town appoints him the Head of Law Enforcement. And at the end, even though he knows that the Mob's gunning for him, Homer decides not to flee & makes a stand against the whole of Springfield Mafia, alone.
  • In "Smart and Smarter" he beats up Simon Cowell when he insults Maggie.
    Homer: That's my baby, jerk!!!
  • In "Fat Man and Little Boy" after Goose Gladwell cons Bart out of any future earnings for his novelty shirts by signing over the rights to Disney, Homer gets his revenge by bringing his miniature nuclear reactor into Goose's store and threatens to blow everything up unless Bart gets his money, which he does.
    • Plus the fact that Homer was able to create a working nuclear reactor.
  • Though it turns out to be only an Imagine Spot, Homer taking down a professional team of terrorists who've taken over the Nuclear Plant in a way that would make John Mcclane proud in "And Maggie Makes Three" was pretty awesome.
    Terrorist Leader: [over plant P.A.] Attention American workers. Your plant has been taken over by an all-star team of freelance terrorists.
  • But his biggest moment (well, second biggest after saving Springfield in the movie) has to be the time he used a motorcycle as a freaking SWORD when fighting Meathook in "Take My Wife, Sleaze!" Who knew Homer was strong enough to do that?
  • In "Marge on the Lam", Marge leaves Homer a card that says "Always do opposite of what Bart says." Bart tries to reverse psychology and tells Homer not to give him the card. Homer is about to do so but catches on.
  • "Marge Gets A Job" has Marge fired from her job at the Power Plant after she rejects Burns' advances and reveals she is married. After unsuccessfully trying to threaten legal action with Lionel Hutz's (lack of) help, she loses hope. She urges that Homer, who joined her in the confrontation, leave with her in case he faces consequences himself. Instead of leaving, Homer, the man who fears Burns' bad side more than anyone else, stands his ground and firmly demands an apology from Burns. It's also a Heartwarming Moment; Homer's only displaying this resolve when a loved one is facing Burns' abuse. It also forces a Pet the Dog moment out of Burns with the realization that Marge is with someone who truly loves her.
  • At the Cold Opening to "Treehouse of Horror XXIX", Homer challenges Cthulu to an eating contest and WON! To add even more awesome, he wishes for him and his family to eat the Eldritch Abomination.
  • In "Homer's Phobia," when Homer and Bart are surrounded by charging reindeer, Homer's immediate reaction is to hoist Bart over his head so that the deer have nothing to hit but him—and hit him they do. Were it not for a Big Damn Heroes moment from the episode's One-Shot Character, it's clear that this might have killed him, but Bart urges him to protect himself to no avail.
  • In "All About Lisa," Homer and Bart bond over trying to complete a coin album together and wind up with every coin except one rare penny, which Burns easily outbids them for at a coin auction. After his attempts to negotiate with Burns for the penny fall through, Homer asks him to change a nickel so that he can make it up to Bart by buying him a gumball, tricking him into handing the penny over.

    Marge Simpson 
  • Marge single-handedly destroying Mr. Burns' gubernatorial campaign in "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish":
    Marge: Lisa, you're learning many valuable lessons tonight. and one of them is to always give your mother the benefit of the doubt.
  • In "Treehouse of Horror", during the "Bad Dream House" segment, the haunted house begins listing all the horrible things that will happen to the Simpsons until Marge finally snaps:
    House: You will die! You will all die! Your stomach will swell! Your intestines will writhe and boil! Your eyes will burst! And some horrible stuff! Possibly your brains will start coming out through your nose-!
    Marge: SHUSH! SHUT UP! QUIT TRYING TO PUSH US AROUND! STOP SAYING THOSE HORRIBLE THINGS AND SHOW SOME MANNERS!!!
  • In "Whacking Day", Marge manages to do something that basically none of the teachers at Springfield Elementary have ever managed: Get Bart to start taking schoolwork seriously! Her homeschooling him and getting him interested in learning more on his own is what leads him to inform Lisa how to save the snakes.
  • In "The Joy of Sect", Marge is the only member of her family to resist the cult's brainwashing. To escape, she had to pass guard dogs, crocodiles, and Rover.
  • In "Strong Arms of the Ma", Marge getting buff, finding the strength to leave her house, and beating up the guy who mugged her. Yeah she lost her mind with steroid abuse later on, but it was still awesome.
    • Hell, even after she begins taking steroids, after the school bus wheeled off without taking Bart and Lisa, what does she do? Does she drive her kids to school instead? No. She chases after the bus, catches the bumper, and lifts the bus so that they can get on!
    • And then Homer stepping up and calming her down after she finally goes berserk from steroids, keeping in mind she's just knocked out every single gent in Moe's Tavern.
  • In "She Used to be My Girl", when Lisa is stuck on top of a car that is about to melt in magma, Marge declares that she's ready to save her and skips on stones very fast, grabbing Lisa and then proceeding to pass by another bunch of stones like it's no big deal.
  • While "The Boys of Bummer" will forever be branded as the episode that shows just how mean-spirited the show's humor can be (making Family Guy look like The Brady Bunch) and hated by most still watching the show, there is one ray of light in all of this: Marge calling everyone out who pushed Bart into nearly killing himself, and rallying them together to help Bart regain his self-esteem.
    • To a lesser degree, Abe Simpson heckling Joe LaBoot is rather satisfying after the latter remorselessly drove Bart to tears.
      Abe: You stink, LaBoot!
  • In "Life on the Fast Lane", Marge is tempted into an affair with the suave French bowling instructor Jacques, but on her way to the instructor's house, she decides to blow off the affair and visit Homernote , to the tune of "Up Where We Belong." Homer then picks her up and carries her outside, announcing to the whole plant in so many words that he's walking out on his job to have sex. You could also make this one for the people behind the show, with the way the episode brazenly challenged the kinds of stories an American cartoon series could have, while still being reasonably family friendly.
  • In "Sky Police", when Reverend Lovejoy deduces that the casino management capturing Homer was all part of God's plan, Marge calls him and the other churchfolk out explaining that it was her fault Homer's in trouble and they must take responsibility for their actions.
    Marge: God's plan? God isn't some video gamer up there controlling us like we were Pac-Men and Dig Dugs. God isn't Sky Police. God didn't do this. I lied to my husband, and made my kids lie, too. We did this.
  • In "GI D'oh", Marge comes up with a plan to take on the American army. The army surrenders.
  • When you actually think about it, Marge is the true hero of "Trilogy of Error". While the episode shows the events of Homer, Bart and Lisa’s day, it's Marge that holds everything together and makes everything happen. She kicks off everything with breakfast, cuts off Homer's thumb (by accident), starts up the 123 Fake Street which leads to Bart's undercover storyline, does all the driving for both Homer and Lisa, and it’s her fault that Homer has to hitchhike and then walk. And it’s ultimately her who saves the day by tossing Linguo into the fire. The episode is a testament to how devoted Marge is to her family.
  • In "There Will Be Buds", Helen Lovejoy makes a snide comment about Homer's faithfulness to Marge, and Marge responds by smacking Helen in the face, promptly shutting her up.
  • In "Moaning Lisa", she drops a depressed Lisa off at school with the advice of smiling no matter what, based off her experiences with her own mother. Then she sees her classmates take advantage of her, and then U-turns the car, pulls Lisa inside and speeds off. The speech she gives Lisa afterward doubles as a Heartwarming Moment.
    Marge: Lisa, I apologize to you, I was wrong, I take it all back. Always be yourself. If you want to be sad, honey, be sad. We'll ride it out with you. And when you get finished feeling sad, we'll still be there. From now on, let me do the smiling for both of us.
    Lisa smiles and embraces her.
    Lisa (smiling): Okay, Mom.
    Marge: I said you could stop smiling, Lisa.
    Lisa: I feel like smiling.
  • In "Sideshow Bob Roberts", she fends off a fleet of bulldozers by waving her rolling pin.
  • In "Werking Mom", Marge becomes more confident after pretending to be a drag queen. When Helen Lovejoy tries to upset her, Marge has a devastating comeback.
    Marge: Why so angry, Helen? Is it maybe because your husband would rather play with his toy train than with you?
  • Marge running home with Maggie from her sisters' apartment within ten minutes at the beginning of "You Kent Always Say What You Want".
  • Marge calling out her sister for always insulting her husband, when her new girlfriend is exactly the same in "Livin La Pura Vida":
    Marge: Patricia Maleficent Bouvier, I have put up with you bad mouthing my husband for years, and I've had it! Evelyn's the one who got Homer drunk! She's the one who ruined my vacation photo! She's the bad influence! She may be southern, she may be a woman, But you're dating a Homer!
  • "Marge Simpson in: 'Screaming Yellow Honkers'": Marge helping the police round up rhinos that escaped from the zoo, saving her family in the process.
  • "Sleeping with the Enemy": Marge calling out the ungrateful and shameless Mrs. Muntz for throwing her "charity" towards his son back at her face, when Marge was really teaching Nelson some support and self-respect that he don't get at home.
    Mrs. Muntz: Self-respect, huh? No wonder he came home with his vest all buttoned, like he was somebody!
    (Mrs. Muntz underwear then falls to her ankles, and she doesn't care)
    Marge: (disapproving) Go home to your son, Mrs. Muntz. (shouts) And try not to have intercourse on the way! (angrily slams door)
    Homer, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie: (stunned silence)
  • A brief scene from "Bart's Girlfriend", after Lisa proves that Jessica Lovejoy was the culprit of the collection box robbery, Marge looks angrily toward the church congregation (who had Bart bound in a Hannibal Lecter-type straitjacket and harness) and says "I think you owe my son an apology", followed by everyone sheepishly saying sorry to him on their way out.
  • "The Springfield Connection" takes Marge's Action Mom potential to its fullest, opening when she chases down a criminal who swindled Homer and ends up knocking him out with a trash can lid. From there she joins Springfield's police force and learns to shoot and fight, cumulating in effortlessly saving Homer from a hostage situation in Bart's treehouse using knowledge she's picked up as a mom (her awareness of the secret entrance and her "sixth sense" for shoddy fabric). AND ordering Bart and Lisa to go to bed when they try to cheer her out the window!
    Marge: Go back to bed. Don't make me come up there.
    (Bart and Lisa groan in disappointment and Bart turns the light off)

    Bart Simpson 
  • Bart in "Cape Feare" managing to stay alive by goading Bob into singing the entire H.M.S. Pinafore until they got to Springfield. Every single role, including the female ones, of a 2-plus-hour play, at the bequest of his most hated enemy, just so he can be handed over to the police yet again. Also, Bob actually managing to do that.
    • Bart also joins Bob for the chorus of "My Gallant Crew, Good Morning".
  • Bart being the first to realize that Jebediah Springfield couldn't have participated in the titular "Whacking Day" because that would have left him in two places at once during the Battle of Ticonderoga. He later uncovers the actual origins and reports them to the town. Principal Skinner is so impressed that he re-admits Bart to Springfield Elementary after expelling him in the first act.
  • This exchange from "Boy-Scoutz 'N The Hood" when Bart leaves the classroom for a Junior Campers meeting during a test.
    Nelson: (looking at Bart's Junior Campers uniform) Hey, look! It's Sergeant Dork! Ha-ha!
    Bart: Enjoy your test.
    Nelson: Ha-ha— (cue Oh, Crap! face)
    • Bart and Milhouse's truly epic bender while they're rushing on the all-syrup Slushie, which includes adventures such as both of them playing TWO arcade games at once in the VIP section of the Noiseland Arcade while a butler serves them drinks, chewing a ton of bubblegum and blowing a huge bubble that covers them when it pops, visiting a late-night skateboard park where Milhouse tears it up at the ramps while Bart marvels over a deluxe skateboard, getting a huge assortment of temporary tattoos, and going to a showing of Cats where Bart takes the opportunity to shoot a spitwad at the actors. All to the tune of Springfield, Springfield, a parody of the iconic New York, New York from On the Town.
  • In "The Wreck of the Relationship", Bart manages to guide the ship to safety after the captain gets drunk and eats the broccoli. Also, Martin beats up Nelson.
  • Bart figuring out Sideshow Bob's plan in "Black Widower". Bob freaked out about not having a fireplace, which Bart found strange. He then realized that Selma wouldn't smell the gas because of a childhood accident that killed off her sense of taste and smell. She would then blow herself up due to her smoking habit [which she saved for after meals and after watching MacGyver] when Bob would be out of the room. Bart then convinced his family to rescue Selma. When Bob returns to his room after an explosion occurred, he looks where Selma is sitting only to see Bart who calls the police in to arrest Bob.
    Bart: Sideshow Bob, I'm afraid the only victims here are the good people at Best Western Hotels.
  • Bart figuring out that Sideshow Bob framed Krusty in "Krusty Gets Busted". When Sideshow Bob replaces Krusty on his show, he calls down Bart and tells him he has "big shoes to fill". Upon hearing that, Bart remembers one incriminating detail that everybody else missed: Homer stepped on the robber's foot which Krusty wouldn't have been able to feel because he wears big floppy shoes. Bart immediately accuses Bob of robbing the Kwik-E-Mart and makes his point by whacking Bob's huge feet with a hammer. Bob inadvertently yells in the same tone as he did on the tape, allowing the police to arrest him. A freed Krusty thanks Bart for proving his innocence.
  • And this line from "Lemon of Troy".
    Bart: That lemon tree's a part of our town, and as kids, the backbone of our economy, we'll get it back, or choke their rivers with our dead!
    • Then there was his plan at the end to get the tree back. He has Flanders park his RV in front of a hospital so it will be taken to the impound lot where the tree is being kept. The dads then sneak out of the RV at night to tie the tree to the roof while Bart opens up the gate so they can drive out. They manage to escape despite the Shelbyvillians catching them in the act and trying to stop them.
      Homer: Woo hoo!
      Bart: Eat my shorts, Shelbyville!
      Both: Eat my shorts!
  • The Raiders of the Lost Ark parody from "Bart's Best Friend Falls In Love", with Bart as Indy stealing Homer's change jar, and Homer as both an angry native and a big fat boulder. Here's a Link.
  • In season 22's "How Munched is That Birdie in the Window?" Bart manages to subdue an ostrich all by himself by making like his father and strangling it with his bare hands.
  • In "Black Eyed, Please" Bart is called in to deal with the teacher bullying Lisa. She takes a two-minute bathroom break. In that time, Bart has not only thrown the classroom into complete chaos, but recorded her bathroom break and uploaded it online.
    • Also in that episode, even if it was probably just a joke about the nuclear plant's terrible security, there's just something pretty cool about Homer saying it wouldn't take him longer than 20 minutes to get them some plutonium.
      • Homer actually DID pull it off in an earlier episode, undetected even!
  • "The Heartbroke Kid" has Bart managing to fight his junk food addiction by breaking into the school and draining the vending machines of their money so he can help his family pay his Fat Camp bill, allowing them to chase out the jerkass German tourists they've been housing and give them "Das Boot".
  • The Lego-themed episode "Brick Like Me" has Bart building a giant robot to rescue Homer and send him back to the real world.
  • In "A Test Before Trying", Bart scores well enough on a standardized test to raise the entire school's average, allowing it to remain open. May not be a lot, but in light of Bart's Flanderization as an idiot and a loser, it's a really awesome moment to see the writers bring him back to being a Book Dumb, underachieving student who has his moments of doing extremely well if given the proper motivation (as seen in "Bart Gets an F," "The Itchy and Scratchy Movie," and "Separate Vocations").
  • A short but very cool scene in "Friend With Benefit". Homer, while on a boat in the Caribbean, gets mad at Bart for insulting him, so he throws shark chum into the ocean where Bart is swimming. Bart rides the shark up onto the deck of the ship.
  • In "Bart Vs. Lisa Vs. The Third Grade", where Lisa moves up a grade and Bart gets moved down, ending up in the same class. The kicker is that Bart does better than Lisa. No, that's not a typo. It's nice to see that after so many episodes of living in his sister's shadow, Bart gets to shine for once.
    Teacher: A rooster sits on a roof facing north. It lays an egg. Which way does it row?
    Lisa: Okay, the sun rises in the east, so the rooster would probably want to lay it on the cool side...
    Bart: Roosters don't lay eggs. They're boys.
    Teacher: Very good, Bart.
    Bart: Mm-hmm!
  • In "Kamp Krusty", when they try to pass off Barney as Krusty, Bart goes on a rant based on the various injustices he's suffered at Krusty-brand merchandise, rekindles the other campers' spirits and leads them in open revolt.
  • At the end of "Bart's Girlfriend", Bart tells Jessica how much he's learned about not being naive, but then is manipulated by Jessica into finishing her punishment chores... or so it seems.
    Bart: Poor sucker. It's amazing what some guys will do for a pretty face! Not me, though. (slyly) Wait till she sees the second-rate job I do on these stairs.
    • Delivering a delightful burn to Helen Lovejoy:
      Bart: Numbers don't have much use in my future career: Olympic gold medal rocket sled champion!
      Helen: Hmm. I didn't know the rocket sled was an Olympic event.
      Bart: Well, no offense, lady, but what you don't know could fill a warehouse.
  • In "Bart the General", he rallies together every kid who has ever been bullied by Nelson and his cronies and (with help from Grampa and Herman) forms an army that successfully takes him down. Seeing the formerly terrifying, untouchable bully reduced to fleeing from and then ineffectually cowering from a barrage of hundreds of water balloons — and in the case of the Weasels, outright begging for mercy — is something that's bound to strike a chord in anyone who's ever been a bullying victim.
    Bart: Nelson, I'm afraid I'm going to have to teach you a lesson.
    Bart: This one.
    (Bart's troops emerge from their hiding places, water balloons poised)
    • Earlier, he attacks one of Nelson's goons when he steals Lisa's cupcakes. This is the first instance of his Big Brother Instinct kicking in.
  • "Das Bus":
    Bart: (angrily) Hey, man, leave my sister alone!
    • He dives down to the sunken bus to retrieve the cooler full of snacks, using Milhouse's inhaler as a makeshift oxygen bottle. All without breaking a sweat.
  • Just when it looks like he's about to be kicked by the Prime Minister of Australia in "Bart vs. Australia", Bart has an ace up his sleeve:
    Andy: That's it, lad: this is for the Commonwealth of Australia.
    (winds up; Bart moves out of the way just in time)
    Bart: And this is for the United States of America!
    • He then moons the country, revealing "Don't tread on me" written on his butt, all the while humming "The Star-Spangled Banner".
      Lisa: I'm impressed you were able to write so legibly on your own butt.
  • At the end of "Let's Go Fly a Coot", Bart rushes to the airport to tell Annika something important. Contrary to belief, he doesn’t go there to tell her that he loves her, but that he doesn’t like her at all and is relieved that she's leaving.
  • In "Bart Sells His Soul", the prank he set up with the church. One commenter notes that he had to transcribe In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida for Organ, be the one to hand out the sheet music at the front of the church, and somehow convince Lovejoy to have the song be the first Hymn to be played that day. It was a well-done prank for him.
  • Pretty much anytime Bart fights back against his father's strangling Running Gag:
    • In "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", he is shown strangling Homer back.
    • In "Barting Over" after finding out Homer put him into commercials as a baby and subsequently blown all the money he made, Bart strangles him in a rage. When Homer mocks he can't even choke him with his little kid's hands, Bart instead wraps Homer's belt around his neck, which proves much more effective.
    • In "The Italian Bob", when Homer strangles Bart at an automobile manufacturing plant, Bart manages to use the machines to both strangle Homer and whack him over the head with a detached car hood.
    • In "The Kids Are All Fight", Homer is shown strangling Bart as an infant, Bart in turn smashes a nearby lamp on his head.
  • In "Dude, Where's My Ranch?" Homer and Bart getting rid of the Beaver Dam and saving the Native Americans land.
    • Later on Bart helping Lisa save Clara by taunting the Beavers into chewing a tree down so that Lisa can save Clara from the river.
  • In "The Girl On The Bus", Bart renovates his room into a successful bar/nightclub without mentioning a word to his family until near the end of the episode. How a 10-year-old managed to get a liquor license is anyone's guess.
  • In "Bart of Darkness," getting as far as humanly possible with various pieces of junk tangled up in the cast on his broken leg trying to get next door and stop (what he believes to be) Lisa's murder-in-progress. He actually makes it all the way to the Flanders' house and up to the attic!
  • His easy mastery of ballet over the course of "Homer vs. Patty and Selma" ("See that? I started to do, like, a little arabesque, but then I just fully went for it and pulled off the demi-entrechat. Not that I'm into that kind of thing") which cumulates in being forced to appear in a recital in front of the whole school, where he understandably decides to wear a balaclava rather than have the bullies recognize him. Everyone loves his performance, including the bullies, to the point where he unmasks to receive the accolades—but is not the least bit bothered when, inevitably, they all turn around and try to make fun of him, maintaining his confidence in doing something he enjoys until they have to resort to sticks and stones. (Keeping in mind that he'd stated earlier that his fear was of being beaten up rather than being laughed at, at this point he knows he's probably got a beating coming and keeps his composure anyway.)
  • Even in what's explicitly presented as the worst possible adult outcome for his character in "Bart to the Future," a Future Loser version of Bart manages to bail Lisa's Ridiculously Successful Future Self out of international trouble when he handily tricks a number of foreign diplomats into delaying an attempt to collect on the country's debts with one Seamless Spontaneous Lie after another until they all head home.
    Bart: You're meeting with debt collectors and you don't want my help—do you know how crazy that is?!
  • Learning ninja skills to deliver Thai menus in "Lisa the Tree Hugger." When he hits the Burns mansion, Burns realizes someone's on his property and presses his "The Hounds" button. The hounds dash out in pursuit only to be baffled to find a menu dangling from each of their collars.
  • In "The Crepes of Wrath" he unwittingly becomes fluent in French through immersion after spending several months in France and doesn't realize it until he accidentally switches languages while berating himself for his failure to do just that. He's then able to report the abusive winemakers who have been using him as slave labor to the police. It's even better because it's a Brick Joke: Principal Skinner didn't think he'd be able to do better at language-learning than "enough to get by" due to his supposed below-average intelligence.
  • Most of his screentime in "24 Minutes," a Serious Business spoof of 24 in which he plays a prominent role due to Skinner Recruiting the Criminal, qualifies. Special mention should go to him pulling a successful Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique on Nelson.
  • In "Clown vs. Board of Education," he becomes star student of the clown school. At one point, he steals the last porkchop from Homer, and not only does he successfully distract his father with miming before tricking Homer into getting punch by a boxing glove, he gets his dad to laugh at it.

    Lisa Simpson 
  • In "Sideshow Bob Roberts", Lisa grows tired of listening to right-wing talk show host Birch Barlow on the radio, which Homer informs her that when she gets a car of her own, then she can pick whatever station she wants. A second later, we see Lisa, an 8-year-old, driving all while "St. Elmo's Fire" by John Parr plays.
  • Calling out Jessica in front of the entire congregation in "Bart's Girlfriend" was a thing of beauty.
    Rev. Lovejoy: Now, for our offertory reading, Lisa Simpson, who we'll all be keeping an eye on.
    Lisa: I know most of you have already judged my brother guilty without any proof, but doesn't the Bible teach us "Judge not lest ye be judged," Reverend?
    Rev. Lovejoy: I think it may be somewhere towards the back.
    Lisa: There is someone among us with a guilty conscience. After much soul-searching, I decided it would be wrong of me to name names, but I urge that guilty person here, under the eyes of God, to come forward to confess and save yourself from the torment of your own personal hell!
    Principal Skinner: I smelled some marijuana smoke in Vietnam!
    Grampa: I was the one who cancelled "Star Trek."
    Dr. Hibbert: I left my Porsche keys inside Mrs. Glick!
    Lisa: I'm talking about the collection money thief: only you can come forward and end this injustice!
    (complete silence while Jessica sits there smirking)
    Lisa: Oh, what the heck, it was Jessica Lovejoy!
    (entire congregation gasps)
    Lisa: If you search her room I am certain you will find the money!
    Homer: To the little girl's room!
  • Lisa taking a stand in "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy"; after finding out that the new talking version says some very sexist things, she decides to create her own doll with the creator of Malibu Stacy.
  • In "The Old Man and the Lisa", Lisa turning down 12 million dollars from Burns' slurry factory. It takes serious conviction to refuse that sum, even if it did give Homer four consecutive heart attacks.
  • Lisa gets a sweet one in "Lisa on Ice", even though it's played for laughs. After joining the ice hockey team, Lisa becomes so agile that she manages to protect Bart from Jimbo Jones by beating him up the way hockey players beat each other up: pulling his shirt over his head and pummeling him.
  • Lisa helping to write the code for an A.I. program in "The Girl Code".
  • "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" gets one, with Lisa politely but firmly telling Patty and Selma to stop insulting Homer constantly. Her eloquence completely silences the two. WHILE WATCHING CARTOONS.
    Lisa: Aside from the fact that he has the same frailties as all human beings, he's the only father I have. Therefore, he is my model of manhood, and my estimation of him will govern the prospects of my adult relationships. So I hope you bear in mind that any knock at him is a knock at me, and I am far too young to defend myself against such onslaughts.
    Selma (cowed): ...Go watch your cartoon, dear.
  • In "Last Exit to Springfield", Burns shuts off Springfield's power to extort his striking employees into giving up. They indeed look doubtful for a minute, until Lisa starts strumming her guitar.
    Lisa: (singing) So we'll march day and night, by the big cooling tower-
    All: They have the plant, but we have the power.
    Burns: They're not sad at all; they're actually singing! (...) Tell Simpson I'm ready to deal.
  • In "She of Little Faith", Lisa is the only one who criticizes the church's transition to a place of materialism and peer pressure.
  • In "The Dad Who Knew Too Little", Lisa takes out the detective holding her dad at gunpoint using a laser pointer and a room full of mirrors.
  • After Bart humiliated Lisa in front of her new friends during "Summer of 4 Ft. 2" he followed up by trying to mock her with the Be Yourself trope. The second Marge leaves the room, Lisa grabs him and viciously spat his words back in his face and was prepared to do something unspeakable to him with a bottle of honey. As soon as Marge returns, Lisa zipped back to eating her breakfast as if nothing happened, while Bart is deservedly terrified for his life.
    Bart: [Snidely] Hey Lis. I guess my little yearbook stunt was pretty rough. But it did teach you a lesson. It's important to be yourself.
    [Marge leaves; instantly, Lisa grabs Bart]
    Lisa: [In a cold, vicious hiss] I know exactly who I am. I am the sister of a rotten, jealous, MEAN little sneak! You cost me my only friends! You've ruined my life.
  • In "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington", Lisa calling out her own congressman by name after she witnesses him taking a bribe to level Springfield National Forest. This gets the FBI to set up a sting operation to get him removed from office.
  • In "Fraudcast News," Lisa starts her own newspaper, the "Red Dress Press," at first mainly to publish a poem she wrote, hiring a full staff from among the kids at school after it proves popular enough that people want more issues. Her paper winds up becoming the last bastion of the free press in Springfield after Burns buys out all the local news sources and Lisa refuses to crack.

    Maggie Simpson 
  • In "A Streetcar Named Marge", Maggie leading the other babies stuck in a hellish Ayn Rand inspired daycare center into a rebellion to get their pacifiers back, all to the theme from The Great Escape.
  • There's also the time when Mr. Burns tries to rob her and she shoots him with his own gun ("Who Shot Mr. Burns, Part Two")note 
    • In "Who Shot Mr. Burns (Part 1)", Burns gloats that blotting out the sun over Springfield is something he did, knowing everyone will hate him, but no one will stand up to him about. When he dares someone to step up, everyone just glares away in defeat. Except for Maggie. She stares right back at him. She knows this man is nothing but bad news, and this plus the ending imply that the gun falling in her lap was an accident, but her shooting him was fully intended.
    • Mr. Burns' sheer terror when he sees Maggie again after regaining consciousness.
  • In "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder", Maggie saves Homer from drowning when he gets caught in a riptide. Yes, really. Artistic License – Biology in play, of course, but awesome nonetheless.
  • In "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge", she effortlessly takes out the mafiosi who were about to kill Homer.
  • In "Midnight Towboy", she teams up with Santa's Little Helper to rescue Homer when he goes missing.
  • In "Money BART", Lisa is trying to practice fencing against Maggie for her college application. When she promises not to hurt her "widdle sister," Maggie easily overpowers her before carving an M into Lisa's clothes a la Zorro.
  • In "Puffless", Maggie leading an army of animals (including Spider-Pig) to save an opossum from becoming dinner for Cletus and his family.
  • She has a brief moment in "Lisa on Ice" by leaping into the air and catching a beer bottle aimed at Homer's head without anyone noticing. The episode guide even says that very likely saved his life.
  • Her semgent in "Four Great Women and a Manicure" where she rails against a daycare centre inspired by The Fountainhead. This culminates with her giving a speech voiced by Jodie Foster.

    Grampa Abe Simpson 
  • In "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"", Grandpa saving Bart from drowning, water-skiing to Mr. Burns's boat, and then royally beating the crap out of Mr. Burns himself for trying to kill them. He then follows up by putting him in his place with an epic speech and dismissing Burns from the Flying Hellfish, proving that he's very much still a Badass despite his age and senility—
    Grandpa: I ain't gonna kill you. That'd be cowardly — Monty Burns cowardly. I just wanna watch you squirm!
    Burns: ...yes, sir. (squirms) Is this to your liking?
    Grandpa: (in full Tranquil Fury mode) Now, Burnsie— there's one thing we don't stand for in the Hellfish, and that's trying to kill your commanding officer. So consider this your dishonorable discharge! You're out of my unit! You're out of the tontine! And that means the paintings are mine! Private, You. Are. DISMISSED!
  • In "The War of the Simpsons", Homer and Marge go on a couples retreat, leaving Grandpa in charge of the kids. Bart decides to throw a party, which results in the house getting destroyed. When Bart and Lisa see Grandpa crying because Homer and Marge will never trust him again, they quickly fix all the damage. When they return, Marge asks how Grandpa was able to keep the kids under control, to which Grandpa says he was only pretending to cry ("I can turn it on and off like a faucet!") then runs out the door, leaving a stunned family in his wake.
  • "The Boys of Bummer" has Grampa making fun of Joe La Boot for missing an easy catch, even though this happened decades ago. How is this a CMOA? It's good karma for La Boot after what he did to poor Bart earlier in the episode. It's also a Brick Joke done right.
  • "Gorgeous Grandpa", after realizing his Pro Wrestling persona, "Gorgeous Godfrey", is a bad influence on Bart. In the ring, he undergoes a Heel–Face Turn to "Honest Abe". Mr. Burns, a long-time fan of his old persona, disapproves; and cruelly insults Bart for being the catalyst behind Abe's change of heart. The furious Abe grabs Burns and gives the old jerkass one hell of a beating in the ring — including flawlessly nailing complicated moves such as the Airplane Spin, Powerbomb and a top turnbuckle Frog Splash on him, all at the age of at least eighty — before letting Bart be the one to pin him. It's both heart-warming and awesome to see Abe standing up for his grandson, and Bart finally getting some well-earned revenge on Burns for trying to kill him in "Curse Of the Flying Hellfish" is another great payoff.
    Grandpa: So, they only want a good guy to fight a bad guy, eh? (seizes Burns and hoists him over his head)
  • In "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken", Abe leads the rest of the seniors into passing a town-wide curfew for all Springfieldians under seventy years of age.
  • In "The Old Man and the Key" Abe drives all the way to Branson, Missouri to find Zelda, it looks like he's going to ask her back but instead says they're through and calls her a "Hoochie" for only caring about him when he could drive and dumping him the minute he couldn't anymore.
  • "Midnight Rx" has Grampa and Homer smuggling drugs from Canada into Springfield because Mr. Burns and other companies have terminated their prescription plan. Grampa decided he needed to do this because his retirement home had their medication cancelled, so he felt the need to do this for his fellow residence, which led to everyone in town. When he is arrested by Chief Wiggum, everyone came to his defense for risking a lot for them.
  • In "Old Money" Grampa struggles to figure out what to do with the money he inherited from Bea, since he wants it to do some good in the world. He ultimately uses it to have the dumpy Retirement Castle renovated.
    Grampa: Welcome, friends. Dignity's on me!

    The Simpson Family 
  • The absolutely EPIC battle between the kids (Bart, Lisa, and Nelson) and the A.S.S. (American Shipping Services) in "Rome-old and Juli-eh". It's absolutely over the top and ridiculous, invoking a Mundane Made Awesome reaction. And for whatever reason, one of the A.S.S. members rode on a Fell Beast and nothing is mentioned of it, but it's so awesome, the loose grip on reality can be forgiven.
    • Nelson's Big Damn Heroes moment deserves a special mention, as he gives both a Diving Save for Lisa from arrows and this awesome exchange:
      Lisa: Nelson, you came to help in our hour of need!
      Nelson: (draws two cardboard tubes like swords and leaps off the tower at the delivery people) HAW HAW!
  • The Simpson family collectively gets one in "Itchy and Scratchy Land" when they destroy the army of rampaging robots on the island using disposable souvenir cameras.
  • In "Maximum Homerdrive", Homer and Bart are surrounded by a group of angry truck drivers. How do they make it out of there? By making the truck flip over the convoy!
  • In "Some Enchanted Evening", the kids join forces to defeat "The Babysitter Bandit" Ms. Botz. Extra points for Maggie for untying her sister and brother.
    Marge: The way I see it, if you raise three children who can knock out and hogtie a perfect stranger, you must be doing something right.

    Ned Flanders and his family 
  • Flanders has a handful of candidate moments, like when he rips off his shirt to reveal an Adonis-like physique, or when God personally and immediately answers his prayers (especially when he gets God to save his son from being drifted down a river and when he gets God to cheat for him and shock Homer during a bowling game).
    • During one of his dates with Edna, he splits a river Moses style so they can cross.
  • In "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily", when Flanders finally finds the strength to carry on and his faith in God in the wake of his wife's death
    Ned: "...My name's Ned Flanders, and I'm here every week — rain or shine!"
  • Anytime Flanders stops being a doormat and starts standing up for himself, it's awesome.
    • Particularly in "Bart Star" when Homer is being a total Jerkass while Flanders is trying to coach. After a few games worth of taunting, Ned walks up to him, tells him off, and forces him to become the coach.
    • The first instance of Flanders losing patience with Homer is "Dead Putting Society" first he firmly but calmly orders him out of his premises after he admonishes his family. When he tries to make amends and instead is goaded by Homer over a golfing tournament, he snaps back gloriously, angering Homer on purpose for the first time.
      Homer: How about this Henny Penny? If Bart wins, you have to mow my lawn.
      Flanders: And if Todd wins, you have to mow my lawn, and do a decent job of it for a change!
      • Also in "Dead Putting Society", the bets escalate until they each have to wear their wife's Sunday dresses while mowing, and they have to use hand-mowers not riding mowers. When the boys reach a tie in the last hole and call a truce, both Homer and Flanders have to fulfill their side of the bet. Homer expects Flanders to be humiliated by wearing a dress, but Homer is humiliated while Flanders is able to claim victory by not complaining at all, apparently being reminded of his college frat days.
    • When Homer is getting rewarded for not bullying anymore Ned decides to tell Homer that simply off-handedly apologizing is not enough for all the "stupid Flanders" said not only in Ned's face but in front of his children as well, only after Homer clearly show remorse (even kneeling in front of Ned's house for a whole night ) does Flanders accepts the apology and turn the page as usual.
    • Ned's "Reason You Suck" Speech to the entire town in Hurricane Neddy.
    • In 'The Squirt and the Whale', when Ned immediately kneecaps Homer's plans to use fans that're plugged into HIS grid to get the wind turbine flowing. "Homer, this meeting of your 'fan club' is ADJOURNED."
    • "Feels like I'm wearin' nothin' at all. Nothin' at all. NOTHIN' AT ALL!" That and the resulting effects it has on Homer's skiing technique.
  • Even when he stops taking crap for Homer and even after Flanderization, Ned will always be there to save the Simpsons from trouble, he even saved Homer from getting shot by putting a bulletproof window in between Homer and the bullet in the nick of time.
  • Flanders risking his own life to save Homer from his burning house in "Homer the Heretic".
  • In "Bart Star" in season 9, Lisa demands a place in the football team. Ned welcomes her and points out that they already have several girls on the team. Lisa loses interest and tries to get the moral high ground by shaming them for using balls she assumes are made of pigskin. Ned points out that the balls are synthetic and Janey adds that some of the money paid for the balls is going to charity, Lisa is then left in tears. While Lisa is generally well-meaning, she can be Holier Than Thou at times, so it's delicious when she gets put in her place.
  • A blink-and-you'll-miss-it one in "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace", when everyone ransacks the Simpsons' house. Flanders doesn't resort to stealing, but he is seen finally taking back some of the stuff Homer "borrowed" and never returned.
  • Ned punching Homer after Homer gets high with Ned's parents. It's probably supposed to pin Ned as the bad guy. But it can feel very satisfying after all Homer did to him over the years.
  • One for the Flanders boys. In "Bart Has Two Mommies". Ned fires Marge as Rod and Todd's babysitter and later childproofs his house and tells them they can have fun by looking at bread. The boys finally stand up to their overprotective daddy, yell "NO!" and defend Marge as their babysitter.
  • Todd telling off Lisa for trying to convert him to Buddhism in "Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?":
    Todd: Maybe I'll reconsider your stupid beliefs when I come back as a worm!
  • Ned's rap song during the "Ned N Ednas Blend" end credits!

    Principal Skinner 
  • Skinner gets one in "Lisa the Beauty Queen". The Springfield Elementary school carnival ("The Happiest Place On Earth") is in full swing, when Seymour is confronted by the Blue Haired Lawyer, representing Disneyland and flanked by two large goons. The lawyer threatens to sue Skinner for illegal use of the phrase "The Happiest Place On Earth" (trademarked by Disneyland). Skinner proceeds to inform them that it is a VERY bad idea to make a ex-Green Beret angry. Then he proceeds to take down the BHL and one of the goons with a well-timed finger jab and kick to the chest. As the second goon flees in terror, Skinner picks up the BHL's briefcase and tosses it at the thug, knocking him out. And to top it off...
  • Skinner got another one in "Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part One" First of all, he gives Mr. Burns a "Reason You Suck" Speech when Mr. Burns attempts to trick him into giving the oil well ownership over to him. Needless to say, Mr. Burns' Paper-Thin Disguise was discovered immediately.
  • "The Boy Who Knew Too Much". The finest point being: Bart saws through the rope support of a bridge after crossing it, and it falls into the water. Bart thinks that Skinner can no longer track him. Cue Skinner walking underwater to the other side, without breaking stride, the music restarting as his head rises from the water.
  • In "22 Short Films About Springfield" (or if you prefer, “Steamed Hams but it’s the full episode”), successfully convincing Chalmers of some of the most outrageous lies in fiction, such as that the fire in the kitchen is actually Aurora Borealis. Not to mention running to Krusty Burger and back in record time before Chalmers noticed he was gone.
    Chalmers: Well Seymour, you are an odd fellow, but I must say: You steam a good ham.
  • In "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts", Skinner standing up for himself to Chalmers. After all the crap Skinner has gone through from Chalmers, it felt good to see him grow a big, brass pair.
    Chalmers: I'd say you're dumb as a post, but at least you can put a sign on a post that says "fresh strawberries—one mile." You are a nitwit in an ill-fitting suit.
    Skinner: I'll have you know I'm lop-shouldered.
    Chalmers: I'm sorry, what did you say?
    Skinner: (yelling) I said I'm lop-shouldered! And I have been since I was hung by my armpits in a North Vietnamese prison!
    Chalmers: (genuinely shocked) I...I didn't know that.
    Skinner: Oh, the list of things you don't know could fill a week's worth of morning announcements with enough left over for a send-home flyer!
    Chalmers: (meekly) There's no need for hyperbole, Seymour.
    Largo: (amid cheers from everyone else present) You tell him, Seymour!
  • In "Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em", Bart discovers Skinner has a terrible peanut allergy and uses it to his advantage by torturing Skinner with a peanut on a stick. Skinner eventually discovers that Bart is just as allergic to shrimp, and an epic battle begins.

    Mr. Burns 
  • In "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk", from the moment Burns stops begging the Germans for his plant back until the end of the episode, practically everything he does is a moment of awesome, but in particular after they threaten him that "Germans aren't all smiles and sunshine":
    Mr. Burns: (sarcastic): Ooh, the Germans are mad at me. I'm so scared, oooh, the Germans! The Germans are going to get me, don't let the Germans come after me, they're so big and strong! Protect me from the Germans!
  • From "Dark Knight Court": Mr. Burns living out his dream as a superhero (Fruit Bat-Man), even though Smithers pays off most of the town to pose as supervillains.
    • ...Followed by him actually doing something super-heroic when Smithers tells him the truth, and he ends up helping to clear Bart Simpson's name.
  • In "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield", Homer and Mr. Burns play a round of golf together. On hole 8, Burns manages to hit the green from 500 yards away.
  • In "Monty Can't Buy Me Love", Mr Burns managing to subdue the freaking Loch Ness Monster.
  • In an understated way, perhaps his most awesome moment is in "Blood Feud", when he gets his blood transfusion and very rapidly recovers from being on the brink of death. He's an octogenarian literally on his deathbed, and then this exchange happens:
    Mr. Burns: Smithers... I'm not going to... make it... I want to dictate... my epitaph.
    Smithers: *in tears* Go ahead...
    Mr. Burns: Charles Montgomery Burns... *inhales, closes eyes* American... patriot... American patriot... *louder* Master of the atom...!
    Smithers: *smiles tearfully as the blood makes its way through the IV and into Burns' arm*
    Mr. Burns: Scourge of the despot! ... OHHH, tyrant, hear his mighty name AND QUAKE! *he yanks the IV out of his arm and practically leaps out of the hospital bed* Smithers! I'm BACK!
    • And mere minutes after this happens, he's shown effortlessly doing a backflip to show up some younger co-workers, seemingly just to revel in how good he's now feeling.
  • Burns gets a surprisingly badass moment near the beginning of "Fraudcast News", in which he survives a massive rock avalanche. How? Turns out, it was his frail, emaciated physique that saved him- he was able to squeeze his way through some narrow air pockets in the rocks. Then, he survived being Buried Alive for several days by eating insects and suckling on the teat of a mother mole for sustenance. He survived the ordeal with only a couple of minor scrapes and brushed the whole thing off as no big deal.
  • Burns risking his life to save Lisa from a volatile wild goat that's been chasing the both of them in "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story". After he and Lisa are cornered against a wall, Mr. Burns stands in front of Lisa, his arms outstretched, fully prepared to die to protect the child. He doesn't die; the goat merely knocks the wind out of him and he passes out for a minute or two, but Lisa is quick to show her gratitude for, in her words, "the hero who risked his life to save her."
    Mr. Burns: Take me, a barren old thistle, and spare this sweet, young flower.
  • Burns, a sickly, frail, elderly man, somehow surviving getting shot in the chest in "Who Shot Mr. Burns: Part One". And in part two, his completely unperturbed reaction to Homer holding a gun to his head as he's bedridden in the hospital:
  • Mr. Burns smugly stealing the affections of Jacqueline Bouvier away from Abe with some seriously impressive and physically demanding dance moves as a crowd of onlookers watch them in amazement; he and Jacqueline absolutely slay everyone else in the dance competition, and they're shown leaving the gala with a trophy in "Lady Bouvier's Lover".

    Waylon Smithers 
  • In "Who Shot Mr. Burns: Part One", Smithers, usually an ever-loyal yes man, finally draws the line at his boss's scheming and cruelty, even refusing by First-Name Basis to take part in his madness. After Burns fires him for it, he gives him quite a Death Glare before storming out.
  • Smithers finally getting the courage to stand up for himself in "The Burns Cage." Not only does he quit his job (until the end of the episode, of course), he manages to outwit Burns's trapdoor manipulation.
  • Smithers holding his own in a fist-fight against Homer in "Homer the Smithers". Notable because Homer is much larger and stronger than him; (we saw Homer, a few scenes prior, nearly kill Mr. Burns just by punching him.)
  • In "Flaming Moe", Smithers is incensed when Mr. Burns tells him to his face that he does not respect him for, among other reasons, being a mere lackey who hasn't achieved anything on his own merits. What does Smithers eventually do? Work with Moe to turn Moe's Tavern into a massively successful gay bar, bringing in dozens of new customers and a great deal of money. Mr. Burns eventually visits the bar, (though he doesn't know it's a gay bar,) sees it packed with customers, and then warmly tells Smithers, "You've earned my respect."
  • In The Stinger of "Portrait of a Lackey on Fire", Smithers manages to prevent Mr Burns from further "crushing unions, fouling the air and garbaging the pacific", by getting him distracted by a jigsaw puzzle, then walks off with a contented smile on his face.

    Nelson Muntz 
  • Nelson's essay for the "Patriots of Tomorrow" contest in "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" is pretty awesome. Yes, he's a bully, but don't ever call him unpatriotic.
    Nelson (end of the essay):...So burn the flag if you must, but before you do, you better burn a few other things! You better burn your shirt and your pants! Be sure to burn your TV and car! Oh yes, and don't forget to burn your house! Because none of those things could exist without six white stripes, seven red stripes, and a hell of a lot of stars! (cue applause)
  • "Dial 'N' for Nerder" sees Nelson be Columbo in the process of solving Martin's supposed murder. It's both weird and fascinating to see him pull that off. He even manages to use And Another Thing... decently, the trademark trait of said Columbo!
  • Saving Bart from drowning in "The Haw-Hawed Couple".

    Groundskeeper Willie 

    Other Characters 
  • Apu calling out Principal Skinner on his plans to plagiarize Jurassic Park for a lame novel of his own in "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song":
    Skinner: I finally have time to do what I've always wanted: write the great American novel. Mine is about a futuristic amusement park where dinosaurs are brought to life through advanced cloning techniques. I call it Billy and the Cloneasaurus.
    Apu: Oh, you have got to be kidding sir. First you think of an idea that has already been done. Then you give it a title that nobody could possibly like. Didn't you think this through... [later] ...was on the bestseller list for eighteen months! Every magazine cover had... [later] ...most popular movies of all time, sir! What were you thinking?! I mean, thank you, come again.
  • "Homer the Whopper": when it becomes clear that the botched movie adaptation of Comic Book Guy's comic book, Everyman, is going to (deservedly) bomb at the box office, the executives try to persuade him to use his online fan-following to make it successful. In defiance of not only a lucrative movie deal, but the obligatory cynical "punchline" itself, Comic Book Guy responds on his blog:
    Comic Book Guy: Everyman: The Motion Picture is the culmination of a life-long dream, and I was one of the few who saw that dream realized on screen last night. If there is one fault to find with this $200 million production, it is that this is the WORST - MOVIE - EVER!
  • In "The Otto Show", after Bart gets a guitar and he believes it isn't working right, he gives it to Otto who does one an extremely badass guitar riff which impresses all the kids on the bus as they cheer and applaud him.
  • In "Dog Of Death", after Burns straps Bart's gentle pet dog to a chair, sets up a machine that holds the dog's eyes open, and forces the dog to watch several images of animal abuse to, as Burns himself put it, turn the dog into "a vicious, soulless killer..." and after Burns sends said dog after Bart, the dog's memories of good times with Bart prompt him to lick Bart's face instead of attacking him. When the other dogs come after Bart, said pet dog growls at the other dogs and scares them off, only to proceed to lick Bart's face AGAIN. Burns' attempt at breaking the dog's spirit yields, if any change in the dog at all, a result of the dog taking a level in badass, while still no longer being on Burns' side in the long run.
  • In "Homer the Heretic", Apu has to leave his nephew in charge of Kwik-E-Mart to put out a fire at the Simpsons house, with Dolph, Jimbo, and Kearney saying they won't do anything while Apu's gone. The nephew, who has to be at least three or four, pulls out a shotgun and cocks it. The bullies are left slack-jawed.
  • In "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish", Mr. Burns sends an assassin to try and kill Abe at the retirement castle. Abe goes and asks the nurse for help. Initially, she assumes he's acting crazy and needs his meds doubled, but when the assassin bursts in, she pulls out a goddamn sawed-off shotgun from under the desk and fires it, while uttering one of the funniest and most badass lines in the Simpsons:
    Nurse: [BANG] OUR RESIDENTS [BANG] ARE TRYING [BANG] TO NAP! [BANG]
  • "Marge vs. the Monorail": the residents of North Haverbrook getting their revenge on Lyle Lanley when his plane lands in their town and later rebuilding their town into a vibrant community as seen in "Little Big Girl".
  • "The Homer They Fall" has a few awesome moments. Obviously, there's his amazing Made of Iron ability against practically every boxer, but a moment that fewer people seem to remember is when Homer gets beat up by three guys established to be Dolph's, Jimbo's, and Kearney's fathers. The guys are trying to beat Homer up (though can't do much other than make him flinch) and are finally chased away by Moe pulling a shotgun on them.
    • Towards the end, Moe flying Homer to safety before being KO-ed by Drederick Tatum.
    • Also on the same episode: Drederick Tatum shutting down an entire prison riot in an instant just by simply telling everyone to shut up while he eats Jello.
  • Milhouse and Bart get one in "Hardly Kirking", when Bart makes over Milhouse to look like his father and Milhouse goes on Skype to call Homer out on being a bad father, forcing him to let Milhouse date Lisa, let Bart get away with anything, and eat ice cream straight from the carton.
  • "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses", where a sober Barney rescues Bart and Lisa from a forest fire.
    • Let's not forget Homer's part. When Barney's stressed out due to the fire and sees a six pack of beer from a crashed beer truck slide towards him, Barney snaps and says that he needs a beer to cope, but Homer grabs the beer and drinks it himself, telling Barney to get a hold of himself and that he has to stay sober for this. When Barney says that Homer "Can't drink 'em all", Homer wrestles with him for the remaining five cans, wins the struggle, opens all five at once, and drinks them all, drinking himself into a ludicrous, barely-conscious stupor for the rest of the episode. Barney finally realizes that Homer's right.
      Barney: You brave man. You took six silver bullets for me.
      Homer: (extremely drunk) You stay away from my wife! (slumps over)
  • The opening to "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" directed by Guillermo del Toro. A loving homage to all things horror and science fiction that manages to include shout outs to Pan's Labyrinth, H. P. Lovecraft (including an appearance by Cthulhu and Lovecraft having tea with him), Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, Alfred Hitchcock, Pacific Rim, The Car, four different versions of The Phantom of the Opera (including the cult classic Phantom of the Paradise), Alice in Wonderland, the Universal monsters (Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, Dracula, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Mummy, etc), Blade, Stephen King, the Hypnotoad, and Plan 9 from Outer Space.
  • Sideshow Bob rigging an election in "Sideshow Bob Roberts". Singlehandedly. Hell, he may have been undone by his own ego, but his rant when discovered is also fantastic-
    Sideshow Bob: Because you need me, Springfield. Your guilty conscience may force you to vote Democratic, but deep down you secretly long for a cold-hearted Republican to lower taxes, brutalize criminals, and rule you like a king. That's why I did this - to protect you from yourselves. Now, if you don't mind, I have a city to run.
    • Bart and Lisa get theirs by appealing to his ego, claiming he was just an underling and pawn to the real mastermind and make him confess in rage that he did it and wind up him getting put back in jail.
    • Judge Snyder gets a moment, when immediately after Bob gives that rant, he tries to shrug off admitting he rigged the election and just go back to work. Snyder orders the baliffs to arrest him. And they do.
  • Walt Warren from "The Bob Next Door". After getting drugged unconscious and his face transplanted by Sideshow Bob, leaving him unable to talk properly, and after so many hours trying to warn the police (and Bart) of Walt!Bob's motives but getting shunned due to Poor Communication Kills, Walt decides he's had enough and has to bust out of Springfield Maximum Security Prison. He does so by swallowing the red marker that had been used to write warnings on the cell walls, making a choking gag as a warden goes in to investigate; then puts him out of commission before hightailing it out of prison, carefully avoiding the beacon lights and acting as a bush (before getting his Bob hair peed on by one guard dog), and quickly climbing out of the prison walls and making it all the way to Evergreen Terrace, keeping himself hidden from view; all while Sideshow Bob's leitmotif plays in the background. When he finally makes it to the Simpson household (as Bart is unknowingly kidnapped and being taken to Five Corners by the disguised Bob), Bob!Walt gets assaulted by Homer and Marge before regaining his ability to tell them who he actually is and what Bob's true motives are. Once the Simpson family finds out, they follow Bob on the trail before getting derailed by a waitress who claims that Bob is heading to Mexico. Walt, however, does not believe her and continues on to Five Corners all by himself in an effort to find Bart and Bob. Once he finally finds them, Walt demands that Bob surrender... before discovering that a bee had crawled into his not-completely-sewn face, and both Bob and Walt struggle for the gun. Just when Bob is about to finish off Walt and Bart, Chief Wiggum and his crew (whom the boy had called earlier and warned of "Walt's" possible motive before getting a tracker placed on Bob's car) arrive in the nick of time, followed by police teams from four other states preventing Bob from escaping jurisdiction, thus saving the day again. A true Moment of Awesome for Walt, Bart, and the rest of the police.
  • In "Bart Sells His Soul", Mrs. Feesh gets one for (evidently) playing all seventeen minutes of "I. Ron Butterfly's" "In The Garden of Eden" on a church organ.
  • In "Four Great Women and a Manicure", the Snow White Segment shows cute animals kicking and demolishing a wicked witch's ass. Plus, the rabbit seems the most thrilled.
    Witch/Queen: Ooh, Herbivores! I'm sooo scared... AAAAHHH!!!
  • Despite all the critical backlash and its rather floaty place in continuity, "The Principal and The Pauper" has several, most noticeably Agnes' speech at the end, when, at the absolute limit with Skinner and Tamzarian, just rails on the former for the crap she's had to put up with between the two of them. It's powerful enough that when she orders the rest back into the car (read: a car that's not hers nor did she drive), everyone present quietly and awkwardly exits the building.
  • In "In Marge We Trust", we find out, that among other things, Reverend Timothy Lovejoy has lost his zeal for preaching the Gospel due to constant, panicky calls from Ned Flanders and has practically shut himself from all of Springfield. So what, exactly, kick-starts the good Reverend's newfound passion for helping his flock? After getting a call from Marge, who's been filling in for Lovejoy as a counselor, that informs him that her advice had run Ned afoul of some local punks note  rushes to Ned's side, and combats a herd of fully-grown, adult, territoriality aggressive baboons unarmed and wins.
  • Another for Reverend Lovejoy is in "Pray Anything" where he returns in a helicopter to save the people of Springfield from a flood.
  • "Trash of the Titans". Roy Patterson's big middle finger to the fickle population of Springfield, as only Steve Martin could deliver.
  • In "22 Short Films About Springfield", Nelson finally haw-haws at the wrong man.
  • The couch gag for "Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus" which parodies Adventure Time, especially since it's sung by Pendleton Ward himself.
  • From the otherwise creepy couch gag in "Marge's Son Poisoning" and "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play"—the couches and other sitting furniture have come to life and are revolting against humanity. Everyone in Springfield is freaking the heck out...except Moe, who chugs down a beer and fearlessly guns down the stools and booths in his tavern.
  • Stephen Hawking is full of awesome in "They Saved Lisa's Brain". First, he calls out Springfield's MENSA members over becoming mad with power, even punching Principal Skinner using a spring-loaded boxing glove, and later, using a helicopter built into his wheelchair to save Lisa.
  • From "Stop or My Dog Will Shoot", Bart's new pet snake Strangles giving Homer a taste of his own medicine when the latter does his usual "strangling Bart" routine.
  • One-shot character and social worker Gabriel gets one in "Brawl in the Family" with his "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Jerkass Homer after telling him he's got multiple problems.
    Homer: Which is society's fault because-
    Gabriel: It's your fault!
  • In "From Russia Without Love", Moe manages to flip one of Bart's prank calls back at him.
  • Barney's short film on alcohol abuse. Who knew he had it in him to make an art-house clip that so brutally and squarely addresses his addiction?
  • Despite the insinuation he didn't do anything, Leonard Nimoy is portrayed as quite collected as things go haywire in "Marge vs the Monorail". The height of it comes when he stops Krusty, who is on the brink of a nervous breakdown, from making a mad jump out of the monorail to his likely death:
    Nimoy: No. The world needs laughter.
  • "I Love Lisa": Ralph Wiggum, after having his heart broken by Lisa, pulls himself together and gives a stirring performance as George Washington at the school's Presidents' Day pageant, with the whole community cheering for him by the end.
  • "Like Father Like Clown": Krusty's secretary gets one when she calls Krusty out over him constantly blowing Bart's dinner plans off and further guilt-trips him by pointing out that Bart saved Krusty from going to prison, this manages to convince Krusty into keeping his word.
  • The ending of "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson". Despite being heavily outnumbered and outgunned by the Yakuza, Fat Tony and his gang managed to hold their own against them. Special mention goes to Tony who not only beat up two Yakuza but also shrugs off an attack from another before angrily saying "Come here you little squirt".
  • Krusty and Homer share one at the end of "Homie the Clown," when the mafiosos order them to do the spin cycle fantastique trick simultaneously, on the same tiny bicycle. What starts as a fiasco turns into a series of improbable maneuvers thanks to a combination of luck and Krusty's clowning skills, and ends with them succeeding in a triple loop, both of them sticking their landing, and Homer being the one to catch the bicycle in his mouth.
  • "A Fish Called Selma": Troy McClure shows the world what happens when he really acts in the Planet of the Apes musical. Dr. Zaius! Dr. Zaius! Oh, Dr. Zaius!
  • In "Homerpalooza", Cypress Hill performing "Insane In The Brain" with the London Symphony Orchestra.
  • In "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)", a majority of the town (including Snake) team up to pull down Burns' sun-blocker machine, although they end up accidentally crushing Shelbyville in the process.
    Groundskeeper Willie: Pull, Duchess! PULL!
  • Cletus jumping to Homer's defense in "The Incredible Lightness Of Being A Baby" just as Mr. Burns, Smithers and the hired goons prepare to confront him over betraying them. Moments later, when Burns sends his goons to get him, the entire Spuckler family, including Cletus himself, pull out their shotguns and cow them into staying back and paying him what's right.
  • From "Mother Simpson", Chief Wiggum - Chief Wiggum of all people - managing to outsmart the FBI and Mr. Burns to save Mona.
  • 'Boyz N The Highlands' is both this for Martin AND Lisa with a touch of Author's Saving Throw for the latter. For Martin, it's an episode that basically could be retitled "How a nerd becomes a badass" and for Lisa because this shows her returning to her early season roots as wanting to be just a child, even going as far as to scarf down tons of ice cream (even if it leads to her barfing on Homer after an ill-timed piggyback ride.)
    • For that matter, Martin venting his frustrations and, in the process, revealing a more badass side he had never shown. Remember, this is the same Martin who enjoys boring trips to the Box Factory:
      Bart: Dial down the dork a little bit.
      Martin: You think it's that easy?! You don't know the hell I'm living in! My parents have me in a pressure cooker! Classical Greek club, waltzing lessons! I'm going to explode. And I have problems, Bart— SCARY PROBLEMS! I see two therapists! They email each other about me. And I'm on drugs— Focusyn to help me focus, Somnicrank to help me sleep!
      Bart: I hope you take those with food.
      Martin: And don't forget Intriginol to lift my spirts. Because they're low, Bart. EVER SO LOW.
      Bart: Dude, you're freaking us out!
      Martin: And I didn't volunteer for this juvie-jaunt! Like you, I was sentenced to it! Because of what I did.
      (flashback shows Martin breaking the pharmacy's window and stealing Focusyn from it)
      Martin: I broke into that pharmacy to steal more drugs, because I still wasn't focused enough to please my parents! Never enough focus for Gareth and Gloria.
    • He also ends his tirade by calling out Bart for cowardly following what the other bullies think when he's in public:
      Bart: You may not be cool, but your psycho, and that makes you kind of awesome.
      Martin: Your words of praise are but honey drizzled on bitter greens!
      Bart: Huh?
      Martin: You're only nice to me when no one's around, which makes you worse than a bully. It makes you a coward and a conformist. You're not a rebel or a bad boy. (laughs) You're nothing but a follower. Come on, Axel, let's go.
    • Extra points for Grey Delisle for giving such a performance that would make the late Russi Taylor proud.
  • In the "Treehouse of Horror X" sequence "Desperately Xeeking Xena," Lucy Lawless plays herself, and she's just as tough as Xena: Warrior Princess. When Comic Book Guy, stylized as the villainous "Collector," manages to defeat Bart and Lisa (as the superheroes Stretch Dude and Clobber Girl) and has them dropping toward a vat of Lucite, Lawless, who's trapped in a human-sized polyester film bag, successfully pulls a Show Some Leg on him by appealing to his vanity, then proceeds to kick his ass while still in the bag. And even when the Collector pulls out his secret weapon—a working lightsaber from The Phantom Menace—she gets the upper hand by immediately pointing out that he's removed it from its original packaging, thus destroying its worth as a collectible. After the day is saved, Lucy picks up the kids and starts flying them home; when Lisa points out that Xena's powers don't include flight, she's told that while Xena can't fly, Lucy Lawless can.
  • In "Bart Gets an F," Edna Krabappel gets an understated one. When Bart, who's just failed the history test preventing him from advancing to the next grade by one point, breaks down and compares the situation to George Washington's defeat at Fort Necessity, her eyes widen and she declares that Bart has demonstrated "applied knowledge" with the extremely esoteric reference. She proudly awards him an extra credit point on the test, allowing him to pass. It's a Heartwarming moment as well, but Edna goes above and beyond to both comfort Bart and reward him for his obvious hard work. That's the definition of an awesome teacher!
    • Edna's relationship with Bart in general is Awesome, as she's one of the only people in the entire world who is able to stand up to his Enfant Terrible ways. Babysitters, psychiatrists, and other teachers have broken within minutes of Bart's antics and pranks, but Edna not only puts up with every single trick, she gives as good as she gets and can even get through to him on occasion, as "Bart Gets an F" shows. It's clear that Bart views Edna as a Worthy Opponent, and the feeling is mutual (something confirmed by Mrs. Krabappel's voice actress Marcia Wallace, who once commented that she played Edna as being genuinely fond of Bart and actually enjoying his antagonism). In "Special Edna" Bart nominates her for a teaching award based on the fact that she's never given up on him, which she wins handily, Bart being a borderline urban legend in elementary school circles. "Left Behind" even gives her a posthumous moment of awesome with Bart encouraging Ned's attempts to teach by remarking in all sincerity that he has the potential to be almost as good a teacher as Edna—clearly the highest compliment he can pay.
  • From the comics, one of the early Treehouse of Horror issues has Reverend Lovejoy managing to successfully exorcise a possessed Lisa (possessed by Madonna. Yup.), simply by showing her a harsh review.
  • In "Pranksta Rap," after Bart has apparently been kidnapped (he faked the kidnapping to escape punishment after sneaking out), Wiggum has a crisis due to realizing that he's terrible at his job and manages to buckle down and trace Bart to his location at Kirk Van Houten's apartment based on an obscure, specific clue (the identifiable sound of a rarely-purchased brand of popcorn in the back of the "kidnapper"'s phone calls).

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