One Of Zapp Brannigan's Signature Futurama Moves Came From Matt Groening's Kid
In the "Futurama" episode "When Aliens Attack" (November 7, 1999), Earth is invaded by the brutish — and TV-obsessed — Omicronians. It seems that their planet, Omicron Persei 8, was still receiving Earth TV signals broadcast from a millennium before, and they had become very involved in the hottest TV shows of 1999. The leader of the Omicronians, Lrrr (Maurice LaMarche), became incensed when a signal from his favorite show, "Single Female Lawyer," was unexpectedly interrupted, and he led a fleet of warships to Earth in response. How did the season finale of "Single Female Lawyer" turn out? Lrrr needed to know, or else he'd destroy the planet.
As is often the case when Earth is invaded, the President dispatched Zapp Brannigan (Billy West) to take care of the threat. "Futurama" fans will be able to tell you that this is always a bad idea, as Zapp Brannigan is a dumb, over-confident blowhard with no discernible talents for either diplomacy or combat. He insists on velour miniskirts, repeatedly abuses his first officer Kif (LaMarche), and says the most horribly lascivious things to any female that passes into his field of vision. His only redeemable feature is that he is ... actually, he has no redeemable features.
Zapp possesses a lot of bluster, anyway. In "When Aliens Attack," Zapp confidently gives an elaborate salute wherein he pounds a fist to his chest, touches his fist to his forehead, and then opens his palm and waves it into the air, miming a small starship. Heart, head, and away.
According to "Futurama" co-creator Matt Groening on the DVD commentary for "When Aliens Attack," that cute little salute was invented by his son, Will.
Heart, head, and away.
Zapp's salute came after an inappropriate flirtation with Leela (Katey Sagal). He proposed they copulate before a dangerous military maneuver "in case one of us doesn't come back." Leela suggests they wait until after, in case neither of them comes back. Not really hearing her, Zapp suggestively replies with a, "Here's hoping," and then gives his "heart, head, and away" salute before blowing a kiss. Groening suggested Zapp's gesture after talking to Will.
Those following Matt Groening's "Life in Hell" comic will likely have seen the cartoonist's strips about his sons, Will and Abe, and their adorable precociousness. Will, the elder, was often drawn as being violently imaginative, inventing monsters with names like Ghoul Dieclops, while Abe, gentler, invented monsters named Tina. In the mid-1990s, Groening interviewed a three-year-old Abe about his vampire cape, and Abe joyously explained that all vampires "suck byud!" It's rather cute. One can see from these strips that Will and Abe were raised well.
Will contributed the Zapp Brannigan salute as it was seen in "When Aliens Attack." As Groening said on the commentary track:
"Oh! That was my son, Will. I said, 'How do they salute in the future?' And he did that: Head, to heart, and away."
The salute looks like it may be a reference to an old sci-fi movie or TV series, and it's possible Will extrapolated the salute from something he caught on TV late at night, but I was unable to find a similar salute referenced elsewhere.
By the end of "When Aliens Attack" Leela, Fry (West), and the rest of the Planet Express crew have to "Swede" the final episode of "Single Female Lawyer" to appease Lrrr's bloodlust. It all works out in the end. Heart, head, and away. Though that one joke about Lrrr and Ndnd is still waiting in the wings.