Fictional Corporations Trivia Quiz

Answer: Office Space

Software company Initech is the corporation name in the 1999 movie "Office Space". The film was written and directed by Mike Judge of "Beavis and Butthead" fame. We view the mind-numbing workaday world through the eyes of Peter Gibbons who hates his job so much he goes for treatment through hypnosis.

When his therapist dies before the treatment is completed, Peter's attitude toward work changes and he becomes the office rebel. The story is hysterical and anyone who has ever worked in an office can relate - from the cubicles to the post-it notes to Milton's stapler.

Answer: Spider-Man

Oscorp Industries is a worldwide company founded and run by Norman Osborn. It is located in a towering building in New York City and deals with chemical manufacturing and the latest technological advances, in addition to the development of "Neurogenetics".

As it turns out, Norman Osborn is also a Marvel Comics evil villain who can turn into the Green Goblin, a nemesis of Spider-Man. Norman Osborn first appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #14 in July 1964 and he was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

Answer: Futurama

MomCorp is a multinational corporation with subsidiaries in such diverse areas as robotics, baby food and weaponry. In fact, on the animated TV show "Futurama" (1999-2013), MomCorp is the largest company in the solar system. Its owner, Chairman and CEO is a character named (appropriately) Mom who owns almost everything.

The show was created by Matt Groening who is also responsible for "The Simpsons". It is set in the year 3000 in the city of New New York where the main characters work for Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery service which is in competition with MomCorp.

Answer: Breaking Bad

Gus Fring is the owner of a chain of fast-food chicken restaurants located in the southwestern United States. The restaurants, Los Pollos Hermanos, are actually a front for Fring's meth operations. Fring and his competitor, Walter White (aka Heisenberg), can be found in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the TV show "Breaking Bad" (2008-2013). Vince Gilligan is the creator of this wonderful show.

It is one of the best shows TV has ever offered and should not be missed!

Answer: Vacation

In the movie "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983), we find the Griswold family headed to a California amusement park called Walley World, known as "America's Family Fun Park". Harold Ramis directed this comedy which features Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold who winds up driving from Chicago to California in an ugly station wagon.

The family encounters a number of setbacks along the way, along with a beautiful blonde in a red Ferrari who keeps crossing their path.

Answer: Blade Runner

Based on Philip K. Dick's 1968 science fiction novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", "Blade Runner" was made into a 1982 film starring Harrison Ford as 'replicant hunter' Rick Deckard. Tyrell Corporation is the fictional company which is responsible for developing the replicants.

The setting is a dark, dystopian Los Angeles of the future (in 2019?!) where replicants have mutinied. Rick is called in to to hunt down and end these androids. The theme calls into question what it means to be human.

Answer: Arrested Development

The original television sitcom "Arrested Development" (2003-2006) was narrated by Ron Howard and focused on the previously wealthy and highly dysfunctional Bluth family. George Bluth was the head of the family and the founder and owner of the Bluth Company, a real estate development firm which began in 1953. George gave over the CEO reigns to his wife Lucille just before he was arrested for defrauding customers and using company money for 'personal expenses'.

The comedy centers around the wackos in the family, and son Michael's attempts to hold everything together.

Answer: Mad Men

First there was Sterling Cooper, a Madison Avenue (NYC) advertising firm started in 1923. Years later in the 1960s, with a takeover looming, the members of the agency were let out of their contracts and formed the new company called Sterling Cooper Draper Price.

This is the back story of the very popular television series "Mad Men" (2007-2015). Far from the comedy of the ad agency depicted in "Bewitched", the show gave us a look at both the stressful world of the 'ad man' to stay on top, and the contemporary values and morals of the 1960s.

Answer: Looney Tunes

Where would Wile E. Coyote go to get supplies? Why the Acme Corporation, of course. The fictional consortium seems to have any product an animated cartoon character could want, from 'rocket-powered roller skates to dehydrated boulders'. The company was often featured on both "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies". According to animator and writer Chuck Jones, the name Acme was used for the fictional company because the word acme, derived from the Greek, meant 'the best', and also because it was the first name you'd find in the phone book.

Answer: Superman

Like some real life businessmen, the fictional billionaire villain Lex Luthor liked to plant his name on everything. So it was no surprise that he named named his multinational corporation after himself, i.e., Lexcorp. The corporation was a 'digital industrial corporation' dealing in the fields of aerospace, defense, etc.

Its slogan was "Let's build a better tomorrow, today". Alexander 'Lex' Luthor made his first appearance in D.C. Comics in "Action Comics" #23 in April 1940, and went on to become one of Superman's greatest nemeses in comic books, movies and on TV shows.

Answer: The Terminator

Not to be confused with the real Japanese robotics company Cyberdyne Inc., Cyberdyne Systems is the fictional corporation which led to the development of 'Skynet', a 'neural net-based' artificial intelligence found in the "Terminator" movies. The "Terminator" franchise began in 1984 with the cyborg being played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He was, for those few who don't know the story, sent back in time to kill a waitress in order to prevent her from giving birth to a child who would lead in a future war against the machines.

Answer: The Office

Originating in the UK, "The Office" (2005-2013) came 'across the pond' to land in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The U.S. television show featured the workers at the paper and office supply company called Dunder Mifflin Inc. Sometimes 'breaking the fourth wall', the show and its characters reflected the monotony, silliness and petty arguments often found in the everyday work environment of a typical office.

Answer: Robocop

Omnicorp Consumer Products is the company responsible for turning wounded Detroit, Michigan police officer Alex Murphy into the mostly cyborg "Robocop". Omnicorp's slogan was "We've got the future under control". The first film in the "Robocop" franchise was shown in 1987, with Peter Weller in the title role.

Although it is primarily an action film, there are many serious underlying themes in the film regarding human nature, dishonesty and restoration.

Answer: Ghostbusters

So when you see a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow man strolling through the streets, 'who you gonna call'? The answer, of course, is "Ghostbusters". The original "Ghostbusters" was from the 1984 movie directed by Ivan Reitman. The film featured three 'former parapsychology professors' who take up the work of ridding New York City of its supernatural occurrences and malevolent ghosts...for a fee.

Answer: Iron Man

Last, but not least, we have Tony Stark, current owner of Stark Industries whose slogan is "Changing the world for a better future". Tony Stark's alter ego is "Iron Man", a superhero who first appeared in Marvel Comics "Tales of Suspense" #39 in March 1963. Our hero worked his way up to become a film star in the first "Iron Man" film in 2008, with billionaire genius Tony Stark played by Robert Downey Jr. Is that Iron Man suit not the coolest?!