In 1987, Opus the Penguin decided to marry girlfriend Lola Granola, and it might have happened if not for one major fluke.
From here, Opus fell into a comatose state dreaming about his married life in the year 2007. Hey, it's 2007 now! Let's see how his predictions measured up...
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OPUS 1987 PREDICTION: In the flashback Opus looks the same, minus a few Jetsons-inspired fashion choices. 2007 REALITY: One of Opus's traits is naivete; naturally he wouldn't assume his nose was going to get bigger. He has also gained a line down the middle of his forehead separating his eyeballs, a cosmetic change deemed necessary for a CGI Opus movie that was never made. |
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LOLA 1987 PREDICTION: Married to Opus. 2007 REALITY: Now dating Steve Dallas -- which isn't much of a step up from a penguin. In a controversial lifestyle change that resulted in censorship from about three newspapers, she now calls herself "Fatima" and is into radical Islam. Oddly, Opus doesn't seem to mind any of this. |
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STEVE DALLAS 1987 PREDICTION: Still a chain-smoking bachelor, only balding. 2007 REALITY: Still a chain-smoking bachelor, only balding. Wow, he got one right! Even freakier, Steve is the only one who seems to have aged in both the flashback and the "Opus" strip. |
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PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
1987 PREDICTION: Lee Iacocca, which as fate would determine, was way
off. Still, even this isn't as inaccurate as the mention of
a "President Springsteen" in another strip.
2007 REALITY: You-Know-Who. America isn't the world police; just of Iraq.
PRIME-TIME VIEWING OPTIONS
1987 PREDICTION: Either Opus is watching Nick-At-Nite or The
Cosby Show actually stayed on for over twenty years,
toppling The Simpsons' record before it could even set
it. Longevity like this would have taken a lot of sudden new
children. How many Ravens would be roaming about on the Disney
Channel now?
2007 REALITY: Opus should be complaining that Lee Iacocca's apology is ruining the latest episode of Flavor of Love.
THE OZONE LAYER
1987 PREDICTION: It's completely gone, and everyone has to walk
around with dishes on their heads to avoid being fried.
2007 REALITY: Despite all the current enviromental woes, the ozone layer is not currently among them. Believe it or not, it's healing nicely. The chief cause of the hole was the use of CFCs, which were globally outlawed in 1989. If the ban sticks around, the ozone will return to its original virgin state by the end of this century.
You might have not heard about this. Al Gore doesn't care about mentioning environmental crises that are going WELL.
THE CURRENT POLITICAL CLIMATE
1987 PREDICTION: Apparently the liberals have completely taken
over. Opus meets Steve in a "substance bar" where any
narcotic can be smoked over-the-counter, yet cigarettes are so
illegal you are blasted into charred dust if you get caught in
public with one. Makes perfect sense, right?
2007 REALITY: Split down the middle, with a few heavily-populated blue states surrounding a sea of red states. Drugs are still bad, m'kay, but as far as smoking goes we're 90% close to what the strip depicts.
HALF-PENGUIN-HALF-HUMAN HYBRIDS: None yet, but I'm sure they're working on this.