History Recap / TheSimpsonsS2E21ThreeMenAndAComicBook

* ParodyAssistance: ''Series/TheWonderYears'' moment even has Creator/DanielStern provide Bart's InnerMonologue.

* TakeThatMe: According to Creator/MattGroening, Comic Book Guy was originally designed and written to resemble all of his most negative traits.

* CharacterizationClickMoment: Milhouse in most early appearances was just an average friend of Bart. This episode however shows some facets of his comically clueless and wimpy persona, being an indecisive middle man between Bart and Martin when feuding over the comic and bawling terrified during Bart's FriendOrIdolDecision.

* {{Fanon}}: InUniverse, Bart theorizes WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost is the ghost of ComicBook/RichieRich due to similar body shapes.

* LazyArtist / LimitedAnimation: A pretty obvious instance of this is seen at the Krusty Burger the family eats out at after the comic convention. A cashier smoking a cigarette can be seen in the background in a couple of shots, but the only parts that move are his eyes blinking and the cigarette smoke; otherwise he's completely static for a prolonged time.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The episode of the ''Adventures of Radioactive Man'' TV show from the 1950s has an EnforcedPlug for Laramie Cigarettes, with Fission Boy asking for a smoke. The title character tells him to wait until he's sixteen.

** Comic Book Guy's voice clearly hasn't taken its defined form yet if one listens carefully in the episode. It sounds less exaggerated and more normal with a higher pitch compared to how it is later in-series.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In a flashback to her youth, Marge is shown as having a hairstyle that's shaped somewhat like a crown. In all other such flashbacks, young Marge's hair is sometimes free-flowing, though is more commonly a shorter version of her usual hairstyle.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Martin, the show's recurring bully magnet, mostly plays OnlySaneMan in the boys' feuding. After Bart starts violently threatening him however, he finally snaps, shoving him back and choking him.

** Martin points out if Bart hadn't tied him up for being so paranoid, he would have saved the comic while Bart saves Milhouse.
-->'''Bart:''' Shut up! ''[[BigShutUp Shut UP!]]''

* InflationNegation: Poor Bart was only paid 50 cents after busting his hump all week working for Mrs. Glick. Glick herself seems to think that's still considered large payment and is completely unaware of Bart's disappointment.

* WhenIWasYourDay: Homer tries to console Bart for just earning fifty cents by saying that fifty cents was a lot when he was a kid.
-->'''Bart:''' Really?\\
'''Homer:''' Nah.

'''Martin:''' ''(currently tied to a chair)'' I dunno! Is it worse than what you do to people who have to go to the bathroom?

* DidNotThinkThisThrough: Bart, Milhouse, and Martin pool their funds together to buy the comic book without considering what the terms of ownership will be.

[[caption-width-right:300:"Looks like you bought more than you bargained for." ''(EvilLaugh)'']]In this homage to the film ''Film/TheTreasureOfTheSierraMadre'', Bart (after only earning 50 cents from an old woman [voiced by Creator/ClorisLeachman] who hired him to do dangerous chores), Milhouse [who only wanted to buy a baseball card], and Martin pool their money together so they can buy the first issue of ''Radioactive Man'', but their greed, jealousy, and paranoia turn them against each other and turn the treasured comic book into shredded paper.

** Martin says that the comic is [[Film/TheMalteseFalcon "the stuff dreams are made of"]].

[[caption-width-right:300:Looks like you bought more than you bargained for. ''(EvilLaugh)'']]In this homage to the film ''Film/TheTreasureOfTheSierraMadre'', Bart (after only earning 50 cents from an old woman [voiced by Creator/ClorisLeachman] who hired him to do dangerous chores), Milhouse [who only wanted to buy a baseball card], and Martin pool their money together so they can buy the first issue of ''Radioactive Man'', but their greed, jealousy, and paranoia turn them against each other and turn the treasured comic book into shredded paper.

[[caption-width-right:300:Looks like you boys got more than you bargained for.]]In this homage to the film ''Film/TheTreasureOfTheSierraMadre'', Bart (after only earning 50 cents from an old woman [voiced by Creator/ClorisLeachman] who hired him to do dangerous chores), Milhouse [who only wanted to buy a baseball card], and Martin pool their money together so they can buy the first issue of ''Radioactive Man'', but their greed, jealousy, and paranoia turn them against each other and turn the treasured comic book into shredded paper.