Widely regarded as one of the greatest fictional characters of all time, he was named by Time as one of the most important people of the 20th century, Bart became one of television's most popular characters in 1990, sparking a cultural phenomenon known as "Bartmania". He became the most prominent Simpsons character on merchandise, particularly T-shirts; during the early 1990s, millions of Bart-themed T-shirts were sold.
