The Simpsons, an animated sitcom since 1989, is notorious for its social satire. The show sets its premise in a town named Springfield, primarily focusing on the Simpsons family namely Bart, Lisa, Homer, Marge, and Maggie. The Simpsons is one of the oldest and most commercially successful animated sitcoms out there. Now, you cannot have outstandingly executed satire without referencing other franchises, sometimes even real-life characters. Marvel and DC are no exception as we’ve witnessed multiple episodes in which characters from the mentioned franchises have been referenced. In this article, we’ll cover the crossover of the Simpsons franchise with the superheroes and supervillains from Marvel and DC.
Marvel, DC And Simpsons Crossover: Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Airing in 1989, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire (S01E01) takes viewers on a roasting journey. With a theme centred around Christmas, characters take part in a plethora of on-stage performances. One such performance includes a medley by fourth graders to bring out the essence of the Christmas holiday. As Bart and the other choir members start singing, the audience appreciates how well-rehearsed the performance is. As the rest of the choir members sing Jingle Bells, Bart bursts out an altered version that playfully ridicules Batman and his fandom. The lyrics go
“Jingle Bells, Batman smells,
Robin lays an egg,
The Batmobile broke its wheel,
The Joker got away”
Mr. Plow
In S04E09, the scene opens with Homer admiring the beauty of the Batmobile. Suddenly, he catches a glimpse of Adam West, the original Batman actor (1966). As he shows Adam to his children Lisa and Bart, they fail to recognize him as Batman. Adam shows them a picture of him and Robin. Bart asks who Robin is, to which Adam sarcastically mocks him and says that he understands that people these days only watch the new Batman movies. Adam continues to poke fun at the new Batman movies, which use moulded plastic to tighten the physique of the actor.
El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)
Season 8 Episode 9 presents fans with another Batman crossover. Bart and Lisa are in the room when they notice a Bat Signal in the sky. Bart asks Lisa whether it’s Batman, and Lisa replies that it’s either Batman or Homer. The scene transitions into Homer at the Lighthouse howling, where he is alone while standing in front of the light with his arms stretched out. How sad!
Marvel, DC and Simpsons Crossover: Large Marge
In Large Marge (S14E04), Bart and Milhouse are having a sleepover when Bart turns on the T.V. They watch an episode of a fabricated version of the 1960s Batman movie. The movie features Batman (voiced by Adam West), Robin (voiced by Burt Ward), and Krusty the Klown. Batman and Robin are tied to a horse in a carousel of death, set up by Krusty the Clown. But all’s well that ends because the heroes later manage to escape the carousel, capture Krusty, and hand him over to the cops. Bart and Milhouse, liking the concept of the carousel of death, imitate the stunt in the merry-go-round of their school.
Husband And Knives
Airing in 2007 as the 7th episode of Season 19, Husbands and Knives opens with Bart Simpson at the comic book store browsing through a stack of comics. Most of the comics are generic with similar titles and formulaic covers. Here are some uninspired titles of such comics – Death of Superman, Death of Aquaman, Death of Casper, Death of Caveman Robin, and Death of Black Robin. Finally, a comic book piques Bart’s interest. It is a comic book on Wolverine.
As the episode progresses, Comic Book Guy brings up a hypothetical scenario of Superman moving to Gotham City. Martin Prince acknowledges the hypothesis as a fact and continues that Superman did move to Gotham City in a comic titled “World’s Finest Comics Number 94”. The front cover of the poster depicts Superman flying with his bags packed, leaving Batman tensed, hinting at him fearing his relevance. Comic Book Guy corrects Martin that such an incident never happened. It is an imaginary story by Jimmy Olsen, Superman’s friend. He made up the story out of mental imbalance after Supergirl’s Comet kicked on his head.
The episode also features Wonder Woman in a later part of the episode. Marge Simpson encounters a cardboard cutout of Wonder Woman in the street, comparing herself to the Amazon superhero. Her gaze lands on the well-maintained figure of Wonder Woman, triggering her insecurity about losing her “perfect 26-26-26 figure”. This makes her motivated enough to join a gym.
Marvel, DC And Simpsons Crossover: The Good, the Bart, and the Loki
The Good, The Bart, and The Loki is the fourth animated short film in the Simpsons franchise that celebrates the Loki TV series. The story unfolds with Odin banishing Loki from Asgard. As Loki ends up in Springfield, he crosses paths with the Simpsons family. Mischievous as ever, he casts Lisa out to Asgard. However, Lisa does not give up as she tries to figure out ways to get back home. She comes across the Mjolnir, thereby granting her the powers of Thor.
Furthermore, she returns to Springfield and riles up a few citizens to fight for her. She calls her team “Springfield Avengers”. Loki, sensing the potential danger, switches character with Bart. Now when Lisa (and the rest of the Springfield Avengers) confront Loki, she inadvertently banishes Bart to Asgard. Since his plan was executed successfully, Loki, as happy as he ever could, offers free drinks to the patrons at Moe’s Tavern, disguised as Moe Szyslak. In the post-credit of the short film, Ralph Wiggum Hulk-smashes Loki for his wrongdoing. The Hulk smash is similar to a scene in The Avengers(2012). Finally, the Simpsons hand Loki over to the Ravonna Renslayer of the Time Variance Authority.
Marvel, DC And Simpsons Crossover: Bart the Bad Guy
To conclude this article on the Simpsons crossover with Marvel and DC, we highlight the episode “Bart, The Bad Guy”. Bart the Bad Guy (S31E14) released on March 1, 2020, featured a wide array of MCU characters. Released as a parody of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the episode critiques the overwhelming hype among the fans surrounding the mentioned movies.
Spoilers As A Weapon
The narrative develops with Springfield citizens enjoying a movie titled Vindicators Crystal War, which happens to be a parody of Avengers: Infinity War. Just as with Infinity War, Vindicators Crystal War ends in a cliffhanger, making everyone impatient for the sequel. Fast forward to a month before the release of the sequel, titled Vindicators Crystal War 2: Resurgence. Milhouse is injured and is admitted to the hospital. In the meantime, Glen Tangier, the actor of the superhero named Airshot, happens to be in the same hospital. As he passes out drunk, Bart hijacks Glen’s laptop containing the unreleased final cut of the upcoming movie. Next, Bart uses the spoilers as a tool to blackmail Comic Book Guy in exchange for a pricey comic. Comic Book Guy falls for the trap and gives him all the comic books in his store.
Bart does not stop here. He takes things to the next level by blackmailing the Springfield citizens of the spoilers. He also realizes that the power he has now will be gone once the film premieres in theatres, causing him to escalate the blackmail even more.
Need to Stop Bart At Any Cost
The plot takes an interesting turn when The Marble Cinematic Universe (yes it’s Marble, nor Marvel) kidnaps Bart for his wicked blackmail game. The Marble team uses VR technology to convince Bart that the superheroes will die if he leaks the entire plot of the upcoming movie. Bart falls for the trick and promises not to blackmail or reveal the story before the premiere for the sake of his favourite superheroes. What a happy ending! Except it isn’t. When the movie was finally released, the first-day-first-show fans leaked everything on social media, spoiling the sequel for everyone.
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