Skynet
by Jeff
Image text: 'YOUR CLOTHES. GIVE THEM TO ME.' 'Shit, uh ... you are now breathing manually!' 'I AM ALWAYS BREATHING MANUALLY.'
This comic's use of Skynet is a reference to the main antagonist in the Terminator franchise, Skynet is a fictional artificial intelligence system which becomes self-aware and decides to terminate humanity, its creators. Skynet is rarely seen onscreen, with its actions often performed via robots, cyborgs (usually a Terminator), and other computer systems.
The final frame is a reference to that strange time when you say or think about a word too much, it stops sounding like a real word and instead starts sounding like nonsense. As it continues Skynet appears to come to self-aware realizations that usually are the result of drug usage.
Romney Quiz
by Jeff
Image text: Charlie actually delivered the Medicare line almost verbatim in the 1971 movie's Fizzy Lifting Drink scene, but it was ultimately cut from the final release.
So, Mitt Romney is the Republican candidate for President of the United States and as it says above, the former Governor of Massachusetts. Charlie Bucket is the main character of the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".
The absurdity and joke here is that each different quote is very not very similar and easy to tell apart.
(via wikipedia) "In 1965, Congress created Medicare under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide health insurance to people age 65 and older, regardless of income or medical history." So, the quote being used in a movie in 1971 (which is obviously not true) is still feasible.
Baby Names
by Jeff
Image text: I've been trying for a couple years now but I haven't been able to come up with a name dumber than 'Renesmee'.
Ok, the punchline for this one is in the image text as Renesmee is the name of Renesmee Cullen, who is the baby born in the book and movie, Twilight to parents Edward and Bella (spoiler alert if you have been living under a rock and don't turn on the internet or TV). Edward and Bella get Renesmee from an amalgamation of the names of Bella's mother, Renée, and Edward's adoptive mother, Esme.
Randall's point above stands. All those names are terrible, but not nearly as terrible as the name Renesmee.
Sloppier Than Fiction
by Jeff
Image text: Roger Ebert once called you directionless and unwatchable.
This comic is basically about a terrible person that Cueball is somehow talking to, possibly at a bar or party as Goatee Guy is carrying a drink.
The title of this comic is a play on the phrase "Stranger than Fiction", which means that sometimes real life can lead to some unexpected ups and downs that would not even make sense in a fictional representation in a book or a movie. Goatee Guy unfortunately for him, is "Sloppier than Fiction".
In the image text, Roger Ebert is a well-known US-based movie critic.
Oh and FYI, if anyone ever says "It wasn't technically cheating"... it was cheating.
Batman
by Jeff
Image text: I'm really worried Christopher Nolan will kill a man dressed like a bat in his next movie. (The man will be dressed like a bat, I mean. Christopher Nolan won't be, probably.)
This comic is a reference to the comic book and movie character 'Batman', who actually rich businessman Bruce Wayne as we see on the left being referenced as "Master Wayne" by his butler Alfred. In the middle is the stick figure representation of Batman and on the right is the Joker as played by the late Heath Ledger.
If we translate the image text, Randall is afraid that Christopher Nolan (the director of the last two Batman movies) will kill Batman in the next movie.
MTV Generation
by Jeff
Image text: If you identified with the kids from The Breakfast Club when it came out, you're now much closer to the age of Principal Vernon.
This one is pretty straightfoward, so let's just do some definitions.
MTV is Music Television, it is a TV channel is the US and elsewhere that when it started in the 1980s used to show music videos. Now it only shows crappy reality TV.
The Breakfast Club is an iconic movie from 1985 in which 5 very different teenagers spend a Saturday detention together at the school. Principal Vernon was obviously, the principal in the movie and was the overseer of the detention.
This comic is one of the rare appearances of the White Hat character, who is seen much less than the Black Hat character.
Elements
by Jeff
Image text: Of all the nations, the armies of the ununoctium-benders are probably the least intimidating. The xenon-benders come close, but their flickery signs are at least effective for propoganda.
The character on the left is a reference to the TV cartoon and live action movie by the name of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The character in question is named Aang. He is master of the four elements, earth, water, fire and air.
On the right is Dmitri Mendeleev, who is credited with the creation of the periodic table of elements, which is why he is the master of all 118 plus elements. Polonium is the radioactive element discovered by Marie Curie (as referenced in previous xkcds). Just as Marie Curie died of radiation poisoning, that is the attack that Dmitri uses with polonium.
In the image text, ununoctium is the element with atomic number 118 and it has no other use besides basic scientific research.
Xenon is a colorless gas, that emits a blue or lavenderish glow when the gas is excited by electrical discharge
Fight Club
by Jeff
Image text: I'm not saying it's all bad, but that movie has not aged as well as my teenage self in 2000 was confident it would.
Fight Club is a movie starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton that was released in 1999. It included this oft-quoted and parodied line: "The first rule about Fight Club is do not talk about Fight Club.".
Honestly, I haven't seen the movie since seeing it for the first time circa 1999-2001, so I'm not sure how well it has aged. But, there is certainly a greater meaning aimed for in the movie rather than being just about a Fight Club.
Movie Ages
by Jeff
Image text: If you're 15 or younger, then just remember that it's nevertheless probably too late to be a child prodigy.
This one is very straight forward. Based on the person you are talking to, take their age on the far left, add "Did you realize that..." add the corresponding movie that is across from their age then "...came out..." add the phrase at the end of row.
E.g. - If a person is 30, then it would go a little something like this "Did you realize that Home Alone came out more than 20 years ago?"
And since this chart is designed to make someone feel old, anyone over 35 gets lumped in with "older people" which no one likes.
1999
by Jeff
Image text: 'Whoa, twenty-two in two hours!' 'Your site got twenty-two hundred hits in two hours?' 'No. Twenty-two. But still, that's like half the people on the internet!'
If you have seen the Social Network, this comic is a parody of that movie. If you haven't seen it, you should it's highly recommended from explainxkcd.com. For whatever that's worth. Probably nothing.
The website referenced is Zombo.com also known as Zombocom which is a website that only has movie colors and a voice that says "This is Zombocom, welcome to zombocom" and then moves on to other strange phrases. Turn on your speakers and check it out for yourself. Zombo.com