History YMMV / FoxTrot

** The strip where Peter sees Jason fall off the roof, after making him climb it to get a football. Their mother had specifically forbidden them from climbing on the roof because it's dangerous. All Peter can do is tell a semiconscious Jason to not move, as he runs to get help, with a MyGodWhatHaveIDone look (fortunately, Jason just has a mild concussion and needs to stay the night for observation, but he's angry at Peter and keeps reminding him it's his fault he's in a medical ward). When Peter offers to spend the night with Jason in the hospital as a punishment to keep him company, Andy shoots him a DeathGlare for a good reason. She hints that it may be part of his punishment since Peter could have gotten Jason killed.

* SeasonalRot: How some feel about the strip's transition to the Sunday-only format, though others believe it had reached this point long beforehand.

** Several strips around 1999 have Jason showing enthusiasm for ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', which would [[HypeBacklash become unthinkable]] except for an ironic value after the film came out.

** In early strips, Roger's boss Pembrook is shown to have a [[MistakenForRacist miniature noose]] on his desk which these days would likely prompt an FBI visit.

** It's easy to tell which strips are from the 80's, as Peter listens to Music/BruceSpringsteen, and only Bruce Springsteen, the 49ers are the most dominant football team in the world and frequently have Roger and Peter namedropping players on their roster, Paige dresses like Diane Chambers did in the very first episode of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', Jason is constantly playing the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], and typewriters were still in wide use.

** The strip where Peter sees Jason fall off the roof, after making him climb it to get a football. Their mother had specifically forbidden them from climbing on the roof because it's dangerous. All Peter can do is tell a semiconscious Jason to not move, as he runs to get help, with a MyGodWhatHaveIDone look. (Fortunately, Jason just has a mild concussion and needs to stay the night for observation, but he's angry at Peter and keeps reminding him it's his fault he's in a medical ward.) When Peter offers to spend the night with Jason in the hospital as a punishment to keep him company, Andy shoots him a DeathGlare for a good reason. She hints that it may be part of his punishment since Peter could have gotten Jason killed.

** One arc saw Jason dream about getting chased and assaulted by an affectionate [[VideoGame/TombRaider Lara Croft]]. While it's PlayedForLaughs for the most part thanks to Jason's GirlsHaveCooties mentality (and the arc ends with the reveal that Peter has been ''wanting'' that dream), it's still a story about an adult woman essentially [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything forcing herself]] onto an unwilling boy (an ''underage'' one at that), and it's ''very'' unlikely that it would have been published if [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale the genders had been reversed.]]

** At the end of one arc, after Jason laments the idea that ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' will become "mainstream", he decides he can always go back to ''Franchise/StarWars'', prompting [[AppealToObscurity a confused reaction]] from Andy. While ''Star Wars'' was indeed at a low point in 2003 (the year the strip was published), it's since bounced back into the mainstream and then some thanks to the sequel trilogy.

** One strip has Jason and Quincy watching ''Series/CrocodileHunter'', with Creator/SteveIrwin getting attacked by crocs and Quincy rooting for his fellow reptiles by wagging his tail excitedly. This obviously became a lot less funny after Irwin was killed by a stingray.

** [[https://www.gocomics.com/foxtrotclassics/2014/12/19 This strip]] has Jason yelling at Paige for enjoying ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing Return of the King]]'' because she [[EstrogenBrigadeBait has a crush]] on Creator/OrlandoBloom, rather than Jason, who loves it because he's a long-time Tolkien geek. A lot of what Jason says would later become common rhetoric for toxic fandoms and gatekeepers who furiously try to keep women out of geek culture.
-->'''Jason:''' Stop gushing about the movie! You aren't allowed to!\\

** Eileen Jacobson has her moments as well. In one storyline, she sends mushy Valentine's Day cards to all of the boys in her class except Jason just to make him jealous, and then tricks him into admitting that he likes her. During the following weeks, he deliberately avoids being seen with her [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend so nobody thinks they're an item]] - which, understandably, hurts her feelings. What's ''less'' understandable is that [[EntitledToHaveYou she expects him to repeat his confession to the whole school and start dating her]]. She gets mad when he can't go through with it, and the strip frames it like ''Jason'' is the one in the wrong for not doing as she says. Granted, she eventually concedes that it wasn't right of her to try to force him into a relationship, but that's only after he spends several strips groveling and begging for forgiveness. Similarly, the aforementioned Poison Ivy prank that she and Phoebe played on Jason and Marcus - to many people, this is [[DudeNotFunny not funny]] since poison ivy rashes can actually be ''quite'' bad in real life.

** At the end of one arc, after Jason laments the idea that ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' will become "mainstream", he decides he can always go back to ''Franchise/StarWars'', prompting [[AppealToObscurity a confused reaction]] from Andy. While ''Star Wars'' was indeed at a low point in 2003 (The year the strip was published), it's since bounced back into the mainstream and then some thanks to the sequel trilogy.

** Eileen Jacobson has her moments as well. In one storyline, she sends mushy Valentine's Day cards to all of the boys in her class except Jason just to make him jealous, and then tricks him into admitting that he likes her. During the following weeks, he deliberately avoids being seen with her [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend so nobody thinks they're an item]] - which, understandably, hurts her feelings. What's ''less'' understandable is that [[EntitledToHaveYou she expects him to repeat his confession to the whole school and start dating her]]. She gets mad when he can't go through with it, and the strip frames it like ''Jason'' is the one in the wrong for not doing as she says. Granted, she eventually concedes that it wasn't right of her to try to force him into a relationship, but that's only after he spends several strips groveling and begging for forgiveness.

** The AdultFear when Peter sees Jason fall off the roof, after making him climb it to get a football. Their mother had specifically forbidden them from climbing on the roof because it's dangerous. All Peter can do is tell a semiconscious Jason to not move, as he runs to get help, with a MyGodWhatHaveIDone look. (Fortunately, Jason just has a mild concussion and needs to stay the night for observation, but he's angry at Peter and keeps reminding him it's his fault he's in a medical ward.) When Peter offers to spend the night with Jason in the hospital as a punishment to keep him company, Andy shoots him a DeathGlare for a good reason. She hints that it may be part of his punishment since Peter could have gotten Jason killed.

** Paige discovering exponential curves in [[https://www.gocomics.com/foxtrot/2020/10/11 the 10/11/2020 comic]] is accompanied by an uncharacteristically grisly visual of hellfire exploding out of her math book and Paige's face looking like it's starting to melt off. "Abandon all hope ye who enter here!" indeed.=

** A [[https://foxtrot.com/2010/03/21/sorry-flash/ March 2010 strip]] jokes about Apple excluding UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash from their devices by having Creator/SteveJobs give the same pitch about the iPad being "the future of comics" to ComicBook/{{Superman}}, ComicBook/SpiderMan, and ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk, only to then tell ComicBook/TheFlash he's out of luck. Backlash against Flash would quickly reach a head five years later, with Mozilla Firefox moving to actively block the plugin owing to Adobe's typical slow response time to exploits, and at the end of 2020 Flash would be discontinued entirely.
** At the start of another camping arc, Peter freaks out over how desolate the campsite is, saying "This is America! There has to at least be a Blockbuster here!" This was close to when Blockbuster was at its peak, having expanded to nearly 10,000 locations worldwide. As of 2021, only ''one'' Blockbuster is still in business.

** Notably prevented: The strip published July 22, 2012 was supposed to be showing Paige in the crosshairs of Jason's squirt gun. However, two days before it was supposed to run, a person named James Holmes wearing a gas mask entered a Colorado movie theater that was showing ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' and proceeded to wildly fire his gun at the audience, killing 12 people and injuring 59 others. Bill Amend then pulled the strip and replaced it with a repeat of a 2009 strip.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:

* GeniusBonus: If we listed them, we'd be here all day. Let's just say that Amend is a physics major and it shows.
* GrowingTheBeard: It was originally a fairly normal nuclear family sitcom type strip. Then in 1989, Jason dressed up as Batman to see [[Film/Batman1989 the movie]], introducing the pop culture and geek tones that would come to define the strip at its peak.
* HarsherInHindsight: [[https://www.gocomics.com/foxtrotclassics/2014/12/19 This strip]] has Jason yelling at Paige for enjoying ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing Return of the King]]'' because she [[EstrogenBrigadeBait has a crush]] on Creator/OrlandoBloom, rather than Jason, who loves it because he's a long-time Tolkien geek. A lot of what Jason says would later become common rhetoric for toxic fandoms and gatekeepers who furiously try to keep women out of geek culture.

** Paige gets detention in an early strip for forging a note, though nothing is mentioned of her punishment for calling her teacher a "power-hungry neo-Nazi Fascist tub of lard". In the present day, she could easily have gotten suspended for making such a remark.

** Eileen Jacobson has her moments as well. In one storyline, she sends mushy Valentine's Day cards to all of the boys in her class except Jason [[OperationJealousy just to make him jealous]], and then tricks him into admitting that he likes her. During the following weeks, he deliberately avoids being seen with her [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend so nobody thinks they're an item]] - which, understandably, hurts her feelings. What's ''less'' understandable is that [[EntitledToHaveYou she expects him to repeat his confession to the whole school and start dating her]]. She gets mad when he can't go through with it, and the strip frames it like ''Jason'' is the one in the wrong for not doing as she says. Granted, she eventually concedes that it wasn't right of her to try to force him into a relationship, but that's only after he spends several strips groveling and begging for forgiveness.

** This argument would also go on to be used as a broad brush to paint any fandom as toxic, even if the fans defending it have valid criticisms of anyone attempting to join with limited knowledge or a known agenda. Ironically, this results in a self-sustaining loop of the fanbase becoming more insular, leading to more decriment as being toxic, resulting in yet more insulation.

** A 1988 strip featured Paige fainting after Nicole told her that she thought Peter was cute. Years later, in 2005, Peter threw a fit when Paige told him that he thought Steve was cute.

** Paige may be a jerk to her brothers but Jason goes out of his way to mock her with his Paige-o-Tron comics and taunt her with Quincy, she has no friends outside from Nicole who is more popular with boys, her older brother tricked her into waiting in the rain for a fake boyfriend by writing phony love letters, all of Paige's attempts to get a hobby are treating like jokes (cooking, auditioning for a play, writing a short story), the kid she babysits for calls her "Pag" (which is also baby-talk for "pig"), she's not good at any of her classes in school (and Jason has actively tried to make her grades WORSE by giving her wrong answers when she asked for homework help) and Morton Goldthwait, the one boy who was willing to date her, is implied to have gotten over his crush.

** It's easy to tell which strips are from the 80's, as Peter listens to Music/BruceSpringsteen, and only Bruce Springsteen, the 49ers are the most dominate football team in the world and frequently have Roger and Peter namedropping players on their roster, Paige dresses like Diane Chambers did in the very first episode of Series/{{Cheers}}, Jason is constantly playing the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]], and typewriters were still in wide use.

** One early arc has Jason getting in trouble for drawing a Slug-Man comic on his desk at school with permanent marker (his justification being that Quincy kept chewing his comics when drawn on paper). For this, he merely gets reprimanded by the principal and ordered to stay after school hours to clean it off. Nowadays, he would be punished much more severely, both for defacing school property ''and'' drawing a superhero comic in which weapons are involved.

* ValuesResonance: One arc centered around Jason mocking Eileen for dressing up for the new ''Harry Potter'' film, constantly dismissing it and unfavorably comparing it to ''Lord of the Rings''. Eventually, Eileen hits him with a KirkSummation: ''Harry Potter'' and ''Lord of the Rings'' can coexist, because they are both fantasy stories that people enjoy. It's not the subject or age group that matters, but rather what you get out of it; if you have two different pies, you'll enjoy having more pie rather than complain about the flavors. [[spoiler:Eileen also gets the last laugh when she finds out from Andy that Jason has cosplayed as Harry and gone to see the movie several times]]. With many a FandomRivalry (and even [[BrokenBase rivalries within the same fandoms]]) getting more and more heated thanks to the internet, the arc is just as relevant today as it was then.

* WhatAnIdiot: Eugene, Phoebe's brother, didn't have a good time at camp, to put it mildly. [[spoiler:He lost to his little sister at the science fair, who ended up bonding with his roommates over an EscalatingPrankWar]]. A few summers later, he and Phoebe are visiting Eileen, Jason, and Marcus. [[spoiler:Eugene decides to sabotage their friendship by stealing Phoebe's summer-camp journal and planting fake evidence that each club member could have committed the theft. This would disband their secret friendship club]]. \\
'''You'd Expect''': He would let them all fall out.\\
'''Instead''': He insists on EvilGloating and revealing himself.\\
'''Predictably''': While the four could gang up on him for [[spoiler:the sabotage and beat him up, Phoebe decides to go with LoopholeAbuse; she forms a new friendship club that no rules can break, making Eugene suffer a MeaninglessVillainVictory. Jason wonders how that's supposed to be Eugene's punishment, but [[DidntSeeThatComing her brother's]] [[OhCrap face falls]]. For what it's worth, Jason is a master of revenge so he probably has something fun planned for Eugene]].

** One series of strips in TheEighties has Jason trying to buy Valentine's cards but the only brands available are ''{{ComicStrip/Garfield}}'', ''{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}}'', and ''[[WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984 Muppet Babies]]''. He later calls them "queer" to Peter, an off-color and archaic term for the LGBTQ+ community around that time that would probably see the strip in hot water if used today.[[note]]The term "queer" has since been reclaimed by the community, but it certainly should not be used to refer to all LBTQ+ people in general nowadays like it was back then.[[/note]]

** One series of strips in TheEighties had Jason trying to buy Valentine's cards but the only brands available are ''{{ComicStrip/Garfield}}'', ''{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}}'', and ''[[WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984 Muppet Babies]]''. He later calls them "queer" to Peter, a ''very'' off-color and archaic term for the LGBTQ+ community around that time that would probably see the strip in hot water if used today.