superhero name
From Homestar Runner Wiki
Strong Bad Email #29
Stiny asks why Strong Bad's name doesn't end in "man."
Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Strong Badman, The Cheat
Places: Computer Room
Date: May 27, 2002
Running Time: 1:07
Contents |
Transcript
STRONG BAD: All these...emails...I don't understand.
Dear Strong bad: Why is it that your superhero name does not end in "man" just like Superman, Spiderman. etc, etc... Your friend Stiny
STRONG BAD: Umm... {typing} I don't think you're in a very good position to be criticizing people's names, STINY!! I mean, what kind of a name is Stiny anyways? It sounds like some supervillain's little sidekick that he's always ordering around you know. {stops typing} Like, "STINY! GET ME A DANISH!!" {An image with Strong Bad drawn as Strong Badman accompanies this} or "STINY! WHO SPILLED COFFEE ALL OVER THE PLANS FOR MY DEATH RAY?!" {Another image of Strong Badman accompanies this} Stiny... {clears screen, resumes typing} Naw, you know what? I'll change my name to Strong Badman if you agree to be my sidekick: Li'l Stiny. And you can wear a little mask and a little cape...
{The camera zooms back and we see The Cheat appear wearing a mask covering his eyes and a little cape.}
STRONG BAD: Hey The Cheat... Er, just doing an email.
THE CHEAT: Hrinun.
STRONG BAD: What? No! Of course you're still my sidekick!
THE CHEAT: Uhuynidah.
STRONG BAD: Yeah, that cape looks great on you. Look, I was speaking hypothetically.
THE CHEAT: Uhuysuwituwa!
STRONG BAD: Oh come on, don't give me that!
THE CHEAT: Ptawoh!!!
{The Cheat walks away angrily.}
STRONG BAD: Ah, The Cheat!
{A "Strong Badman" comic book appears on the screen with a picture of Strong Badman drawn on it (see above). On the bottom of the page, there's a blurb that reads "CLICK HERE TO EMAIL STRONG BAD!!" Click on the text to email him.}
Fun Facts
Trivia
- For the first time, The Paper doesn't come down at the end of this email. Instead, the "Click here to Email StrongBad" is on the comic.
Remarks
- Strong Bad's floppies don't have a name.
- Even though Strong Bad says that Strong Badman is a "supervillain," he gets his name on the comic. This is probably due to the fact that when Strong Bad E-mails first started, Strong Bad was still considered the villain of the Homestar universe.
- The sound played at the end of the e-mail, when the comic book appears onscreen, is the same one that is used whenever Strong Bad kicks the Trogdor Arcade Game.
Goofs
- The "No Loafing" sign is in the wrong place.
Real-World References
- Unbeknownst to viewers of this email, Stiny is the name of Homestar creator Craig Zobel's little brother.
- Cheap as Free Comics has the same logo style as most early '90s Marvel comics, including a character in the top left corner, price and issue number, and Comics Code Authority symbol. The black and white logo at the bottom left closely resembles comics featuring Spiderman.
- "All these...emails...I don't understand.", is a reference to the Elton John classic "Rocketman" (another "-man" name), as performed by William Shatner at the 1981 Science Fiction Awards (as mentioned in the DVD commentary). One line of the song is, "All this science I don't understand..." The intonation is dead on. Footage of the performance is available on the Net; it's classic Shatner cheesiness.
- The Cheat's sidekick costume bears a striking resemblance to Robin, Batman's sidekick (Robin and The Cheat both have a black stripe around the head with eye holes and a red cape).
Fast Forward
- Cheap as Free Comics also appears in haircut with "The Total Adventures of Strong Badman." It seems Strong Bad finally added -man to his superhero persona.
DVD Version
- The DVD version has a hidden creators' commentary. Just switch your DVD's audio language selection during this email.
Commentary Transcript
(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Matt Chapman)
MATT: That's a reference to Shatner performing Rocketman—
MIKE: That's true
MATT: —at the 1981 Science Fiction...
MIKE: Science Fiction Awards, yes.
MATT: Video Awards or whatever. Um, so this one, it was great. We, um... I remember, we finished this, we worked on it some at my Uncle John's house in Winnemac, Indiana
MIKE: Some at grandpa's.
MATT: And we finished it up.
MIKE: Aunt Dean's old room.
MATT: In Aunt Dean's old room, and there was nothing there. We could wax the floor that day. So it's this room with this old, that old, like, 2 inch thick wallpaper. And, uh, with some pink print.
MIKE: Pink flowers, yeah.
MATT: Yeah. And, just, we brought a TV tray and finished it on this laptop that kept crashing Flash 5. It took us forever to finish it. And, uh, did we, I wonder if you have that picture somewhere, 'cause I remember you took a picture—
MIKE: Yeah, I think I do.
MATT: —'cause we were going to make it look like, the uh, say this is our office. Just this giant, empty old—old lady's room with me and Mike. The laptop. How about those white circles The Cheat has for eyes?
MIKE: Is that the first No Loafing sign?
MATT: Uhh, maybe.
MIKE: I dunno.
MATT: I don't know if processing—was processing around yet?
MIKE: Uh, yeah.
MATT: 'Cause I think that's where it first appeared.
Fun Facts
- Matt's talk of processing is a reference to the Email Processing Room (where, incidentally, the No Loafing sign does NOT make an appearance). It also appeared after this e-mail.
