The iconic pop culture animates series The Simpsons has spawned countless spin-offs, toys, games, and comic books over the years, and the beloved superhero character “Radioactive Man” has remained a staple of the show since his debut in the 1990s. Starting in 1994 the comic publisher Bongo Comics began releasing the Radioactive Man comic, a brilliant parody of modern superhero comics that would have been incredibly popular if it was released today.

Radioactive Man, or Claude Kane III, is the quintessential Silver Age Hero archetype, with a 1950s personality, a firm square jaw, and an atomic-based origin story, which made him relatable as well as ridiculous when he debuted on The Simpsons.

Famous for being played by the Schwarzenegger-like Rainier Wolfcastle, Radioactive Man is also known for his sidekick Fallout Boy, whose name actually inspired the American rock band of the same name. Bongo Comics’ Radioactive Man original 6-issue limited series was written by Steve Vance, with art from Bill Morrison and Cindy Vance, and was a hilarious parody of iconic Marvel and DC stories, emulating the growth of comics from the 50s through the 90s, with a meta-commentary that would be more appreciated now than it ever was 30 years ago.

Radioactive Man Hilariously Spoofs Major Marvel And DC Comics

Bongo Comics’ Radioactive Man series brilliantly spoofs countless aspects of the superhero genre, from characters’ ridiculous origins to their overdramatized personal relationships. Matt Groening and the other amazing minds behind The Simpsons intended the Radioactive Man comics to parody a Marvel-style “shared universe,” centered around Radioactive Man but featuring many other heroes and villains, many of whom hilariously mock various Marvel and DC characters. The original run of Radioactive Man was impressively styled as if each issue was from a different era of superhero comics, with Radioactive Man #1 being a 1950s origin story, that established Radioactive Man and Claude’s secret life.

The Radioactive Man comic was meant to be a comic-within-a-show, designed to appear as if they were the actual comics that Bart and Milhouse read in The Simpsons, even having a “letter” from a young Marge Simpson in the letters column of the 1970s-styled issue. Radioactive Man #4 – labeled as issue #412 and published in “October 1980” – was an amazing parody of the X-Men’s beloved Dark Phoenix Saga, with the cover perfectly spoofing Cyclops holding a tragically deceased Jean Grey. The next issue of Radioactive Man spoofed several iconic DC Comics stories, making fun of the ridiculousness of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and the dark, serious tone of both Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.

Radioactive Man’s Superior Squad Is A Perfect Parody Of The Avengers

One of the funniest spoofs on Marvel and DC Comics in Radioactive Man was the introduction of the “Superior Squad,” a hilarious parody of both the Avengers and the Justice League. The Superior Squad features countless characters that mock classic heroes, like Weasel Woman as a Wolverine-like hero, Plasmo the Mystic as a Doctor Strange lookalike, and Captain Squid as Radioactive Man’s version of Aquaman. The Superior Squad stories even feature a villainous organization called ECZEMA, an obvious spin on Marvel’s HYDRA.

While the Radioactive Man comic did get a second series that ended in 2007, it never became a very popular comic, despite it being a truly amusing parody of many beloved comics. Now, when society and media are so saturated with superhero content, a sharp and witty spoof on iconic comics would probably be a lot more popular. While The Simpsons spinoff comic Radioactive Man did not become a critical success when it debuted in 1994, a revamped Radioactive Man animated series could be as beloved as a show like Futurama if it debuted next year.