Three Men and a Comic Book
"Three Men and a Comic Book" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the second season (and the de facto season finale) of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 9, 1991. In the episode, Bart sees the rare first issue of Radioactive Man for sale at a comic book convention. Unable to afford it, he convinces Martin and Milhouse to pool their money to buy the valuable comic, only to see it destroyed by their selfishness and inability to share. This episode contains the first appearance of the Android's Dungeon and its owner, Comic Book Guy, voiced by Hank Azaria. The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Wes Archer. It features cultural references to comic book characters such as Richie Rich and Casper the Friendly Ghost. Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews from television critics for its use of parodies and cultural references. It acquired a Nielsen rating of 12.9, and was the highest-rated show on Fox the week it aired. Plot While attending a comic book convention dressed as his superhero alter ego Bartman, Bart sees the first issue of Radioactive Man for $100 at Comic Book Guy's Android's Dungeon. Since he does not have enough money to buy it, he decides to get a job. Bart performs back-breaking labor for Mrs. Glick, who gives him only fifty cents for all of his hard work, including weeding carnivorous plants, feeding Mrs Glick's cat, and scrubbing sludge off her roof. When Bart sees Martin and Milhouse at the Android's Dungeon, attempting to buy the comic book and a Carl Yastremski baseball card respectively, he persuades them to pool their money and buy the comic book. Since none of them is willing to let the comic book out of his sight, they spend the night together in Bart's tree house. They get progressively more paranoid, and Bart grows convinced Martin and Milhouse are conspiring against him as a thunderstorm approaches. When Martin gets up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, Bart thinks he plans to steal the comic and ties him up. Milhouse tries to alert Marge that Bart has gone crazy, but Bart thinks he is making a move for the comic and tackles him. Milhouse falls over the side of the treehouse, but Bart catches him precariously by his sleeve. Milhouse admits to Bart he only wanted the Yastrzemski card to begin with, not the comic. When a gale of wind takes hold of the comic, Bart is forced to decide between grabbing it and rescuing Milhouse. After Bart pulls Milhouse to safety, the comic blows out the door and onto the ground, where it is shredded by Santa's Little Helper and struck by lightning. The next morning, the three boys reflect on how their inability to share the comic led to its destruction, while a bird lines its nest with a scrap from the