Static Media
The idea of a multiverse has seeped its way into popular culture in recent times, largely due to the efforts of Marvel to incorporate multiversal storytelling in their superhero films. This concept, though not a new one, gained traction with Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” in 2018, followed by 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, and eventually Marvel Studios took the reins with “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” in 2022. This film attempted to differentiate various timelines by unique designs but fell short of the mark.
DC, Marvel’s competitor, also endeavored to familiarize audiences with the multiverse through some unsuccessful projects like “The Flash.” However, by the time “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” premiered in 2023, the idea of intersecting universes was well entrenched.
In the case of Sony’s “Spider-Verse” sequel, they achieved what “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” could not. “Across the Spider-Verse” depicted the multiverse with multiple vivid images. Along with 3D modeling, watercolor, collage, and Italian Renaissance-inspired aesthetics were used to illustrate timelines, creating unique visual identities for each.
Interestingly, long before Spider-Man’s multiversal adventures, “The Simpsons” nearly accomplished a similar feat with a “Treehouse of Horror” episode in 1997.
The Instance When The Simpsons Turned Homer into a 3D Character
20th Television
“The Simpsons” has a reputation for predicting real-world events that have indeed occurred and has essentially covered every conceivable storyline. In 2002, “South Park” humorously highlighted this fact with its “Simpsons Already Did It” episode. Although the long-standing series did not surpass Marvel in portraying the multiverse as a kaleidoscopic tapestry of visual design history, it certainly made a noteworthy attempt.
“Treehouse of Horror VI”, a standout episode from the “Simpsons” Halloween series, was the first one to utilize 3D modeling and live-action footage in the iconic segment “Homer³.” It also triggered a real-life welfare check. This episode, a spoof of the 1962 “Twilight Zone” episode “Little Girl Lost,” where a girl accidentally enters another dimension, sees Homer doing the same, turning into a 3D digital version of himself in a different dimension. The segment was originally meant to introduce the concept of a multiverse composed of various design languages in 1997.
Homer³ Nearly Initiated the Multiverse
20th Television
Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, season 7 showrunners of “The Simpsons,” discussed “Treehouse of Horror VI” with Cracked. During the conversation about “Homer³,” they revealed that the original plan was for Homer to traverse multiple dimensions with varied aesthetics, similar to “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” or “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
Oakley stated, “The initial idea was that Homer was going to go through more dimensions. They’d have different styles, like a cutout paper dimension and a claymation dimension. But then we were like, ‘Let’s just parody the Twilight Zone episode beat-for-beat.'”
The cutout paper dimension bears a resemblance to the style used in “Across the Spider-Verse” to depict Spider Punk’s universe. The character in Sony’s film took three years to animate, partially due to the detailed hand-cut collage style that mimicked the appearance of punk zines and flyers. While it’s unlikely that “The Simpsons” had this in mind, it seems like another instance where the show could have been ahead of its time had Oakley, Weinstein, and the writers continued with their multi-universe approach.
Credit: www.slashfilm.com
