Over the years, The Simpsons has used Rainier Wolfcastle’s McBain movies to parody a slew of famous action, thriller, and cop movies. Since The Simpsons has been around for so long and has such a deep appreciation for pop culture, there are few famous franchises that the show hasn’t parodied. Over the years, The Simpsons has taken satirical aim at everything from the Harry Potter movies to A Nightmare on Elm Street. As such, it is no surprise that the character Rainier Wolfcastle is often used to mock action stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in The Simpsons.
Wolfcastle is a fictional movie star who has been a mainstay on the show since its early seasons. Only time will tell whether The Simpsons season 35 will bring back the hilarious supporting character, but Wolfcastle’s appearances to date have already gifted the show with one of its most inspired in-universe franchises. The McBain movies are a series of overblown action extravaganzas that allowed The Simpsons to mock the tropes of countless cop movies and thriller franchises. From Lethal Weapon and Beverly Hills Cop to the ‘80s output of both Stallone and Schwarzenegger, McBain’s many real-life inspirations run the gamut of classic action cinema.
9 The James Bond Series
The closing credits of McBain’s movies are clearly a spoof of 007’s iconic opening sequences, complete with the gun barrel transition shot and the dramatic theme song. Interestingly, most of McBain’s earlier appearances skewed closer to the ultra-violent, R-rated thrills of ‘80s action cinema rather than the relatively more family-friendly antics of James Bond. However, McBain is such an inherently silly character that it is pretty easy for The Simpsons to temporarily turn him into a 007 stand-in, and his inspiration Arnold Schwarzenegger did effectively try his hand at playing Bond in James Cameron’s True Lies.
8 Die Hard
One of McBain’s most obvious inspirations is the Die Hard franchise, a series of action movies starring Bruce Willis as a luckless New York City cop. McBain’s name is even a play on Willis’s John McClane, while the scene of him standing on a conference table and shooting villains is an inversion of one Die Hard set-piece where McClane takes cover under a table as a villain shoots through it. Funnily enough, the original Die Hard was praised upon its release for depicting McClane as a more grounded, realistic action hero than the Stallone and Schwarzenegger characters that gave McBain his physical appearance.
7 Arnold Schwarzenegger & Sylvester Stallone’s Action Movies
McBain’s Teutonic accent is based on Arnold Schwarzenegger, as is his muscular build, the high body counts of his movies, and their sneering, campy villains. Specifically, Mendoza’s death recreates one henchman’s fate in Commando. However, there is another ‘80s icon with a famously funny accent who can claim some responsibility for McBain’s demeanor. Sylvester Stallone’s cartoonishly tough action hero Rambo shaped some of McBain’s gun-toting adventures, while Schwarzenegger’s gory ‘80s action movies informed the rest of the character’s persona. Although Schwarzenegger is the Simpsons character’s main inspiration, both actors supplied some elements of his career and personality.
6 The Rambo Franchise
Like Rambo, McBain wears a bandolier and combat fatigues. Like Rambo, he also has a tendency to open fire on rooms full of villains, indiscriminately wiping out his enemies with ludicrously excessive gunfire. However, it is McBain’s fight against “Commie Nazis” that highlights the historical inaccuracy of the Rambo franchise’s antics most pointedly. Viewers who know the Communists and Nazis were sworn enemies and not allies will appreciate that McBain shares Rambo’s talent for inventive historical revisionism.
5 Dirty Harry
McBain’s gigantic handgun in The Simpsons is a nod to Dirty Harry’s infamous .44 Magnum, and his contentious relationship with his superior also mirrors Clint Eastwood’s character’s disdain for his boss. The Simpsons parodied Dirty Harry earlier in the series with McGarnagle, another antihero cop who refused to play by the rules. However, perhaps because Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and Willis turned down cameos in The Simpsons, the show soon took satirical aim at them instead.
4 Kindergarten Cop & 21 Jump Street
Although viewers don’t see much of it, McBain’s movie Undercover Nerd’s premise parodies both Arnold Schwarzenegger’s hit action comedy Kindergarten Cop and the earlier TV show 21 Jump Street. The latter saw two cops go undercover in high school while Kindergarten Cop saw Schwarzenegger try the same gambit when his cop hero pretended to be a preschool teacher. 21 Jump Street eventually received a self-aware comedic movie reboot in the 2010s, but the original show was a much more earnest affair that was ripe for parody when The Simpsons introduced Undercover Nerd.
3 To Live And Die In L.A.
Many movies have offered viewers some variation on the old “Cop who dies days before retirement” routine, but the 1985 action thriller To Live and Die in L.A. is one of the best-known instances of this cliché. Since this is one of director William Friedkin’s most underrated movies, To Live and Die in L.A. gets a pass for this goofy convention. However, The Simpsons mercilessly spoofed the trope when McBain’s partner was gruesomely killed seconds after announcing his retirement plans to the world.
2 Beverly Hills Cop
The fuming police chief who is constantly threatening to suspend or fire McBain for his antics is very reminiscent of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise’s Inspector Todd, although even the rebellious Axel Foley never shot the rule book out of his boss’s hand. McBain takes the loose cannon cop cliché a step further than any of the movies that inspired his character, even tossing his superior out a window at one point. Unfortunately, viewers have yet to see Eddie Murphy’s antihero do the same.
1 The Lethal Weapon Movies
While The Simpsons is usually softer than South Park, the scene where McBain’s partner is killed in a hail of gunfire is atypically violent for the series. However, this might be because the original Lethal Weapon is a lot nastier than many viewers remember. The moment before the shooting wherein McBain tells his strait-laced family man partner to live a little mirrors Riggs and Murtaugh’s dynamic, with Mel Gibson’s reckless Riggs constantly convincing Danny Glover’s stoic Murtaugh to take more risks. The Simpsons perfectly parodies this relationship, although McBain’s partner suffers a far nastier fate than Murtaugh ever went through in the Lethal Weapon movies.
