The feuding families of Peaceful Valley, Missouri, are the Hatfuls and the Floys, a spoof on the famous nineteenth-century feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families of West Virginia and Kentucky, respectively. ("Devil Dan" Hatful is a spoof on "Devil Anse" Hatfield.)
When Natasha notices that the man in the orbiting rocket is Fearless Leader, Boris says, "You were expecting Wernher von Braun?" (a reference to the famous Nazi-turned-American rocket scientist). Wernher von Braun was later parodied as Professor Wernher von Beige in the "Topsy Turvy World" storyline (first appearing in Topsy Turvy World: Parts 3-4 (1962)).