The Simpsons has been experimenting quite a bit with its longtime characters in recent years, and the newest episode takes it further with the reveal one of fan favorite’s hilarious backstory as one surprising Marvel film put them on their future path. The Simpsons Season 37 is only a few episodes into its run with FOX, but it’s already been apparent that the animated series is still finding new ways to explore the characters who have been onscreen for so many decades. Including finding new ways to highlight their past that could still make for some really funny jokes that help to explain some things.
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The Simpsons‘ newest episode gathers each of the men in town and has their significant others send them to a special camp to help get their lives back on track (and stop being so careless when it comes to others). This also includes Comic Book Guy, which reveals that there was one particular George Lucas film (which adapts an infamous Marvel property) that ended up making him the hateful kind of nerd that fans enjoy in the present day of the series. And it just makes so much sense.
The Simpsons Shares New Look Into Comic Book Guy’s Origin
The Simpsons Season 37 Episode 4, “Men Behaving Manly” challenges each of the men in Springfield to shine a new look on their lives and change their currently terrible personalities. One scene sees all of the characters looking into each other’s eyes, and fans can see a brief look into the past that helped make them the kind of person they are today. The most notable of these flashbacks, however, is for Comic Book Guy as it turns out that he used to be a child filled with optimism compared to the sour nature he has as an adult.
The young Comic Book Guy excitedly says he’s ready to see the newest George Lucas film, only for it to be revealed to be Howard the Duck. It turns out that he hates it so much that he vows from that point on to “tear down everything” he loves. It’s such a small moment, but it explains so much about what makes him tick after all this time. While we’ve gotten to see Comic Book Guy’s past in the series before, it is hilarious to see that it was this movie that turned him into cede “comic book guy.”
What’s Wrong With Howard the Duck?
The joke works on multiple levels because Comic Book Guy himself mistook it for a George Lucas film because it was executive produced by the famous creator and was all over the marketing for Howard the Duck when it was released. The film was one of the most notoriously received films in Marvel’s history, and really kept the character from another major pop culture event from years to come. It wasn’t until the Marvel Cinematic Universe rose to such an undeniable level that Howard the Duck came back into prominence too.
The character himself has been showing up in more recent projects like What If? (where he’s voiced by Seth Green), and is currently one of the cameos fans are hoping to see in the next Avengers movies. But as Comic Book Guy correctly points out, it really wasn’t a good film at all. It’s no wonder it turned him into who he is.
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