Repetition remains an important component
of popular culture. And so it is with specific pop-culture vehicles,
such as The Simpsons, now in its 21st season. Last week’s
premiere, penned by Seth Rogen (him again?!), tells the story of Comic
Book Guy and his superhero creation, Everyman, who absorbs the powers
of every established hero he touches. The obscure hero leaps from a few
private pages, pen-and-inked by the rotund retailer, to the big screen
faster than a falling star to the most ill-thought reality show. This
episode basically repeats the gags and themes from 1995’s classic
Radioactive Man movie episode—this time Homer stumbles into the
hero’s costume as Everyman (naturally), while it was Millhouse playing
Fallout Boy, Radioactive Man’s sidekick, in season seven. It’s telling
to compare the two shows: it used to be only kids sucked into this part
of the celebrity machine, now it’s adults too. Both installments point
out—point and laugh at—how fast and foolishly we construct heroes,
only to watch ’em crash. And that bears repeating.
This article appears in Oct 1-7, 2009.