Three Men and A Comic Book - Plot

Plot

When Bart attends a comic book convention dressed as his superhero alter ego Bartman, he finds the first issue of Radioactive Man for $100 at the Android's Dungeon sale table. However, he does not have enough money to buy it, and his parents refuse to give him extra money, so he decides to get a job. Bart turns to his neighbor Mrs. Glick, who has some rather unsavory chores around the house that he can do. When she only gives him fifty cents for his hard work, Bart protests, but is unsuccessful as Mrs. Glick thinks he is thanking her. Bart goes to the Android's Dungeon, with only a few cents extra, where he runs into Milhouse and Martin. He talks them into pooling their money and buying the comic from the store's owner, Comic Book Guy. Since none of them want to let the comic out of their sights, they decide to spend the night together in Bart's treehouse. The three get progressively more paranoid and Bart becomes convinced that the other two are conspiring against him.

Eventually, the tension is at a breaking point. When Martin gets up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, Bart thinks he plans on stealing the comic and subsequently ties him up. Meanwhile, a storm approaches. 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 rolls over the side of the treehouse, almost falling down to the ground, but Bart catches him precariously by his sleeve. When a gust of wind takes hold of the comic so that it flies towards the treehouse's entrance, Bart is forced to decide between it and Milhouse. After mulling over his options, Bart chooses Milhouse and pulls him up into the treehouse. The comic flies out the entrance and is shredded by Santa's Little Helper on the ground, hit by lightning, and completely destroyed. The next morning, the three boys reflect on how their inability to share led to the destruction of the comic, although Bart, at least, has learned nothing from the experience.