Historical Hilarity

Pen/Finn: What's going on? A-A-Abraham Lincoln?
Lincoln: Pen. Your mind has been transported back in time. And to Mars.
Pen/Finn: What?

— Adventure Time, "Pilot Episode"

A type of joke that goes "Hey, look! A historical figure!" Apparently, there's something inherently funny about dead famous people, so that a quick cameo/reference is all you need to get a laugh. Part of the humor may come from putting the figure in an unexpected location or silly situation. Abraham Lincoln may be funny on his own, but Abraham Lincoln on a spaceship is even funnier. Another variation is to have the figure take some other form. Zombie Theodore Roosevelt, Robot Oscar Wilde, Evil William Shakespeare and the Giant Head of Errol Flynn could all be completely hilarious.

As far as historical figures who can be the subject of this kind of joke go, there seem to be three categories: those that everyone knows like Lincoln, those only known for one thing, like Grover Cleveland, and those where they are only known for not being known, like Millard Fillmore.

Compare Historical In-Joke and Been There, Shaped History. Compare also Allohistorical Allusion when this appears in an Alternate History setting. Also also compare Historical Character Confusion when the person being referenced isn't actually the person present. For situations when this applies to Adolf Hitler, see Adolf Hitlarious.

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Examples:

Anime and Manga

• Flint the Time Detective, Flint is assigned as a Time Detective to travel back in time to retrieve creatures called Time Shifters who are partially responsible for several historic moments in history.
• Fritz Lang serves as Ed's mentor in Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa, as our world's counterpart to Fuhrer King Bradley. Ed has no idea who he even is until about halfway through the film and even then he's not particularly impressed with him.

Comic Books

• Asterix: There are many gags about the Roman Empire. One, for instance, is Brutus claiming: "I would never betray Caesar!"
• Benjamin Franklin encounters the Kool-Aid Man in this narmy Product as Superhero comic.
• Suske en Wiske: The cast uses Time Travel a lot, which allows for several gags about historical time periods and characters.
  • In Wattman the cast is in the 17th century and introduced to Louis XIV. When Lambik asks: "Louis the Fourteenth?" Jerom answers: "The other thirteen Louis are probably on vacation."
• Played for drama in the Baltimore comics, which are set in an Alternate History version of WWI. One story had the resurrected head of Edgar Allen Poe forced to write a play, but the real crowner was one story about a nameless Austrian-born corporal who was heavily implied to be a young Adolph Hitler. He ends up getting killed by a swarm of vampires, marking perhaps the only way that Baltimore's timeline is better than ours.

Film — Animated

• In The LEGO Movie, Abraham Lincoln, Cleopatra, and Michelangelo all appear in LEGO form at the Master Builders' meeting. The latter has another layer of hilarity added on, as the name Michelangelo is called twice: the first time it's the sculptor, and the second time, it's the Ninja Turtle.

Film — Live-Action

• Probably the most triumphant example for people of a certain age: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
• In The Dark Knight, the police station has a corkboard with pictures of people suspected to be Batman. Including Abraham Lincoln.^note The other two are Elvis Presley and Sasquatch (which is a bit of Fridge Brilliance, because Batman was also humorously compared to Bigfoot in the 1989 Tim Burton film).
• Abraham Lincoln makes a brief cameo at the end of Happy Gilmore in a manner parodying the end of Return of the Jedi
• There's a (mostly) gratuitous scene toward the end of A Million Ways to Die in the West that has the protagonist downing an entire ladle of hallucinogenic Indian liquor and seeing his entire life up to that point "flash before his eyes" in an increasingly surreal manner. One memory that sticks out is the time he was in grade school and Abraham Lincoln supposedly came to speak to his class...only the speaker is obviously not Lincoln, just an impostor in a stovepipe hat and a fake beard who doesn't know what the hell he's talking about (played by Gilbert Gottfried in his standard No Indoor Voice style)..
• The Nutcracker in 3D has no better excuse than this trope for converting the original story's Uncle Drosselmeyer into Albert Einstein.

Literature

• The children's book Benjamin Franklin Lives! supposes that the Revolutionary figure never died but was instead put into suspended animation by an Ancient Conspiracy called the Modern Order of Prometheus. He wakes up in modern times just in time to help the kid protagonist with his science fair project. Unfortunately something went wrong with the reanimation process (he is powered by electricity, somehow), and every time he either runs low on energy or gets overcharged, he becomes a zombie or he turns into a rampaging monster...
• The Complete World Knowledge series has a lot of fun combining this trope with Little Known Facts.
  • The Areas of My Expertise has a list of U.S. presidents to have hooks for hands, and Yale University was founded as an elaborate prank. Also, Thomas Edison kept thousands and thousands of crickets as pets and colonial Oregon (state motto: "In Oregon, where the shadows lie") was a cross between Mordor and The Nothing from The Neverending Story.
  • More Information Than You Require, which has a particular thematic emphasis on presidents, plays this trope for all its worth. Notably, Theodore Roosevelt is an internet Memetic Badass, George Washington was history's greatest drug addict, Thomas Jefferson was in league with the molemen (and Sally Hemmings was a transgender moleman), most of Abraham Lincoln's presidency was actually faked by Edwin Booth until the real Lincoln was tragically murdered by Booth's vengeful brother John Wilkes, Aaron Burr was an Evil Overlord chewbacca, and John Quincy Adams was the boogieman. And let's not forget Napoléon Bonaparte's lunar colonies or the picture of Sasquatch labelled J. D. Salinger.
  • Relatively rare in That is All, due to its emphasis on 2012 apocalypse fantasies and contemporary pop cultural figures, but we do get a history lesson on the evolution of sports mascots (the Hartford Whalers used to have an Eldritch Abomination) and the superpowers of historical robber barons.

Live-Action TV

• Doctor Who is probably the live-action TV king of this trope, as the Doctor namedrops historical figures only slightly more often than they actually appear on screen. Hell, other people are even doing it for him now:
  Liz Ten: The Doctor, old drinking buddy of Henry Twelve. Tea and scones with Liz Two... Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, wasn't she? Knighted and exiled you on the same day! And so much for Elizabeth I, you bad, bad boy!
  Rory: Right. Putting Hitler in the cupboard.
• Using this trope for educational purposes is essentially the premise of Horrible Histories.
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien employs this often. There was Gay Lincoln on a Swing for a while. Now there's S&M Lincoln who silently leers at Conan from afar even after the sketch is supposed to be over.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000's Soultaker Episode had Martin Van Buren as an image from the pod attached to the SOL to hide Joel's cameo appearance.
• Police Squad! had Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln in the opening credits of every episode, even though Lincoln would never appear in any episodes.
• The Red Dwarf episode "Lemons" has the Red Dwarf crew meet Jesus. But not the Jesus. They do, however, meet him at the end of the episode. Along with Judas.
• One really odd episode of Star Trek, "The Savage Curtain", had Kirk and Spock beamed down to a planet which contained alien replicas of Abraham Lincoln and the Vulcan philosopher Surak as well as four alien replicas of some of the most villainous people in galactic history as part of an alien experiment to see whether 'good' or 'evil' was stronger. This is not an example of this trope, in that it was played perfectly straight and was part of the central conceit of the episode. The bit where Lincoln's head pops up on the viewscreen in the middle of space is a better example, however.
• From the Torchwood episode "Dead Man Walking":
  Owen: You've read Proust?
  Jack: Yeah. Well, no. We dated for a while. He was really immature.
• Wizards of Waverly Place: Apparently wannabe badass Dean Moriarty likes having President one-six as his wingman when he's breaking up with Alex in his dreams. It Makes Sense in Context.
• Historical figures often appeared in Monty Python's Flying Circus, whether in a quick cutaway or as the subject of a sketch.
• Danger 5's first season applies this to World War II figures, with Hitler as the main villain, and comical takes on Those Wacky Nazis as supporting villains. Hirohito, Mussolini, and Stalin all show up in very funny scenes, too. Oddly, Roosevelt and Churchill are absent, with the series' apparent Big Good being the (wholly fictitious) Massimiliano Importante, President of the World.
  • The second series applies this to Cold War history. Juan Perron appears in the premiere, and both Otto Skorzeny (who, for some reason, has the head of a wolf) and Nikita Kruschev (depicted as some kind of disco viking warlord) appear as ongoing villains. Plus, of course, Hitler is back, having faked his death at the end of the War.

Music

• They Might Be Giants
  • Kansas politician William Allen White's face appears frequently during concerts. This might make sense if the band was from Kansas and not Brooklyn. But they chose his face at random out of an encyclopedia.
  • The band occasionally write tributes to historical figures such as American president James K. Polk and Belgian artist James Ensor.
• Propaganda,◊ an A&M Records sampler featuring The Police and Joe Jackson, depicts Mao Zedong and some cronies playing a concert in front of a gigantic crowd.
  • Maybe Chairman Mao got the hint and wanted to work with John Lennon?

Video Games

• Age of Empires III features a cheat unit known as "George Crushington", a giant bust of George Washington that headbutts enemies to death with visible comic book sound effects.
  "CHECK IN YOUR WALLET. THAT'S ME ON THE DOLLAR BILL."
• Conduit 2 ends with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington stepping out of a portal wearing Power Armor, announcing they're "here to help," with the alien invasion.
• The Sam & Max games also love Lincoln. Not only is the Giant Head of Abraham Lincoln a recurring character, but Zombie Lincoln shows up in Night of the Raving Dead.
• Scribblenauts features George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as summonable characters, despite its statement that proper names are not valid words.
  • Historical figures are also available as avatars, including William Shakespeare and Cleopatra VII.
• Shadow Hearts does this on occasion, but a little more subtly (that is, when it doesn't just apply In the Past, Everyone Will Be Famous). You'll meet a character under one name, and then discover who they actually were in the Library - at which point you get a Late to the Punchline moment.

Webcomics

• In The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, Benjamin Franklin's clone was a major character for several early arcs, and quite foul-mouthed, until he ran afoul of Mentor Occupational Hazard. When the Zombie Apocalypse happens, McNinja can't bring himself to kill the Zombie Ben Franklin he runs into, until he realizes it's the original Franklin, not his deceased mentor the clone.
  • Dr McNinja goes to Dracula's moon base at one point as well, and there runs into Bruce Lee, Elvis Presley, and Hitler, among others. Turns out Dracula has been abducting "outstanding flavors" over the years.
• Casey and Andy had a Running Gag involving Andy's causality-defying feud with Grover Cleveland.
  • Which eventually proved central to the grand finale.
• Half the point of Hark! A Vagrant.
• In Monster Commute the land of Monstru is ruled over by Abe Lincolnstein, the reassembled, reanimated and quite unsane (yes, unsane) form of the former president,who resides in Lincoln City, a massive complex from which he rules with an tyrannical iron fist.
• MS Paint Masterpieces, during a filler explaining Time Travel, shows a destroyed alternate timeline labeled only as "Lincoln Went Super Saiyan", and then references it again in a later filler.
• Thinkin Lincoln (Guess who is the main protagonist...)
• The xkcd strip "Windows 7" is a Hitler example.

Web Original

• The steampunk Fauxtivational Poster featuring Abe Lincoln with a Gatling gun in place of a right forearm.
• Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog has Fake Thomas Jefferson as a member of the Evil League of Evil.
• Cats That Look Like Hitler
• The Cloak's sidekick is The Disembodied Head of Film Noir Legend, Robert Mitchum.
• George Washington He threw a knife into heaven and could kill with a stare.
• "Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny" has a zombified Abe Lincoln wielding a machete and an AK-47.
• Epic Rap Battles of History: The entire point of this series is poking fun at historical characters.

Western Animation

• Futurama loved Abraham Lincoln jokes, to the point that a slightly exasperated Matt Groening brought it up in one commentary. The most famous appearance of Lincoln in Futurama is probably "real holographic simulated Evil Lincoln" who is, apparently "back" baaaaaaaaack!.
  • Futurama also features a plethora of heads preserved in jars, some of dead celebrities or politicians.
    • In the head museum, there are 2 separate Grover Cleveland heads with the head of Benjamin Harrison in between them.
  • The head of Richard Nixon becomes a recurring character after being reelected President of Earth.
• Two examples from The Simpsons- Mr. Burns never forgave his mother for her affair with President William Howard Taft ("Taft, you old dog, you!") and in another episode, Grandpa Simpson said that as a kid he got spanked by Grover Cleveland on two non consecutive occasions.
  • One of the writers on both The Simpsons and Futurama finds Grover Cleveland's nonconsecutive terms absolutely hilarious for no reason anybody understands.
  • A further example: During one of Bart's daydreams, he imagines himself riding down the river on a raft with Huckleberry Finn. Cue the zoom out showing the whole raft:
  Bart: Hey Huck, what's L-I-N-C-O-N doing here?
  Huck: I don't know, it's your fantasy.
  Bart: Hey Abe.
  Lincoln: Hi, Bart.
  • Speaking of Daydreams, "Mountain of Madness" sees Homer and Mr. Burns at each other's throat in the avalanche-buried cabin. After building snowmen, Homer hallucinates a cohort of snowmen behind Burns, dressed as German soldiers from World War I. Then this exchange:
  Homer: (Taken aback by Burns' Hun Snowmen) Uh,...I have powers! Political Powers!
  (Shot from Burns' POV, he hallucinates Homer backed up by a Pharaoh, Mahatma Gandhi, Mao Zedong, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, each brandishing a weapon. Burns recoils in fear)
  Lincoln: (Swinging pocket watch) It's SHOWTIME!
  • While serving aboard PT-109, Abe Simpson learned John F. Kennedy's terrible secret...
  Kennedy: "Ich bin ein Berliner!"
  Abe: "He's a Nazi! Get'im!" (pummeling ensues)
  • A classic Halloween episode about a Zombie Apocalypse had Homer killing zombie versions of historical figures.
  Homer: Eat lead, Einstein! Show's over, Shakespeare!
  
  Zombie Shakespeare: Is this the end of Zombie Shakespeare?
• In an episode of Dexter's Laboratory, Mandark uses his science to turn the head of George Washington from Mt. Rushmore into a stone Humongous Mecha so he can smash Dexter's lab. Dexter retaliates by likewise animating the Lincoln head and they clash...until the two Presidents find common ground in their legendary honesty, stop fighting, and walk off together chatting amicably.
• Historical Hilarity is the entire premise of Clone High. Nothing better than a Love Triangle of Abe Lincoln, Joan of Arc, and Cleopatra VII.
• Adventure Time:
  • In the pilot, Penn's mind gets transported back in time. And to Mars. Where an Abe Lincoln with a classical halo tells him to believe in himself. It's just that kind of cartoon.
  • Lincoln later appears in an episode of the cartoon proper, where he is revealed to be God-Emperor of the Martian people and sacrifices his life to save Jake. He turns (back?) into the Lincoln Memorial statue when he dies.
• Meatwad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force can transform into a shape described as Samurai Lincoln (though he claims it's Wayne Gretzky\Richard Nixon)
  • In the movie, Lincoln plays a part in the ATHF's backstory.
• Girl Hitler From The Venture Brothers.
  • And Ghost Lincoln from the episode Guess Who's Coming to State Dinner.
  • And, recently, the reincarnation/ghost/clone of actual Hitler in a dog's body.
  • In the episode Escape from the House of Mummies, Part 2 there is a B-story going on that the audience only gets to see parts of, making the appearances of Sigmund Freud, Emperor Caligula, and Edgar Allan Poe come of as very random bits of humor. This trope would also seem to cover flashbacks to earlier events surrounding the ORB and the creation of the Guild of Calamitous Intent which was appartently put together by old rock musicians and is now run by David Bowie.
• Family Guy:
  • In one of the show's many cutaway gags:
    Peter Griffin: Oh yeah? Well everyone said the same thing about Benjamin Disraeli!
    [Cut to Benjamin Disraeli writing at his desk. He then turns to the audience.]
    Benjamin Disraeli: You don't even know who I am!
  • The conclusion of the episode North by North Quahog takes place atop Mt. Rushmore, and the heads have the following exchange at the end-
    George Washington Head: Hey Jefferson, check it out. Chick getting nailed on my head.
    Thomas Jefferson Head: Sweet. Hey Teddy, pass the word down to Frankenstein over there.
    Abraham Lincoln Head: [sarcastically] Oh ha ha.
• Giant Stone Abe Lincoln. Who has to be stopped by Giant Stone John Wilkes Booth.
  • Lincoln also appeared in South Park when Kyle was voted the ugliest boy in his class, to explain that even ugly people can achieve great things.
• Robot Chicken featured a lightsaber duel between George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln.
• An episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy has the ghost of Lord Byron following Billy around. Abraham Lincoln also seems to still be alive in this universe too.
• In an episode of The Weekenders, Tino keeps having dreams about the guys his mom is dating. Invariably, the dreams will end with Captain Dreadnaught about to fight an alien slugbeast, until he notices Martin Van Buren riding a model train through the living room chanting "Down with the cotton gin! Down with the cotton gin!"
• In the Ralph Bakshi Mighty Mouse episode "Mundane Voyage," Mighty Mouse and Pearl enter the body of the president—who is Abe Lincoln—and rid it of a rogue germ. When Lincoln awakes, he suddenly becomes the host of a Soul Train-type show.
• In Ugly Americans, Zombie Lincoln is seen dating Jessica Alba, giving origin to the Portmanteau Couple Name "Albaham".
• In Phineas and Ferb, not one, but two of Doofenshmirtz's schemes involve Abe Lincoln robots.

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