Atop the Fourth Wall/Fridge

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Fridge Brilliance

  • Doctor Insano is the resident Harmless Villain, doesn't have the same continuity as the other villains, and has gotten less important as the plot's progressed. However, all the major BigBads (Mechakara, Lord Vyce, The Entity, even Linksano if you wanna count him) have come to our world from alternate universes... something that only became possible due to Insano's interference with hypertime, which caused the boundaries between universes to weaken. Insano is not only a Not-So-Harmless Villain but really, indirectly responsible for every terrible thing in the plot to date.
  • "You've seen my bones before" suddenly makes a whole lot more sense once you know the Entity is Missingno, and it's explained in the Electric Tale of Pikachu. When Linkara was a kid, he didn't see the original form of Missingno, he saw the Skeletal form of Kabutops (because his player name was "Lewis", which can produce that outcome.) Literally, he HAS seen his bones before.
    • "Beneath the seas, beside the flame", The location where Missingno spawns, near Cinnabar Island, home of the Fire gym.
    • "Off the coast where the lost beast came", The lost beast in this case is either Missingno or Mewtwo, most likely Missingo due to one of it's end credits messages ("The lost beast has found a home.")
      • Also, in order to catch Missingno in the game you have to go up and down the coastline.
    • "To bring the world misery and shame" As a glitch Pokémon, finding Missingno is detrimental to your game.
    • "A piece of the world is missing" As Linkara pointed out, it's not missing as "a piece of the world is gone", it's missing as in "Missing, he is a piece of the world", which also points to the fact that He Was Right There All Along
    • "The path you should never crossed" As a glitch Pokémon, you're not supposed to find Missingno. You can only find him by actively seeking him out.
    • "The beast exacts a heavy cost" In his Eureka Moment Linkara said "Heaviest Po-". He was going to say "Heaviest Pokémon", which to most people is Missingno. There are glitch Pokémon still heavier, but the game actually has to be hacked to encounter them.
      • It could also refer to the fact that catching Missingno will result in your game to crash, thus you must start a new game. Hence, heavy cost.
    • "The number of the beast is lost" Missingno's number is 000, and zero is nothing. Also to say that the number is lost is the same as to say it is a Missing Number.
    • "You will know it by its hissing" Missingno's cry is unique in all series, a "blank" cry composed of a Nidoran♂'s cry with a pitch of 0 and no echo
    • "The bones of Hell you cannot tame" Two of the possible forms of Missingno are the skeletons of Kabutops and Aerodactyl, which in normal conditions are forms of Pokémon you cannot capture.
    • "Devour your life and all your fame" Missingno can corrupt your save file, as well as your Hall Of Fame entry
    • "That is the price to play its game" That is what happens if you really want to find Missingno in Pokémon
      • This is also an explicit hint that the Entity is a character in a video game.
    • "And all while you're reminiscing" The damage he causes is made permanent when you save, and he comes from something we recall from our childhoods
  • Also relating to The Entity: It had been disguising itself as '90s Kid. When did the games Missigno came from come out?
  • Also relating to The Entity: How does Linkara finally discover that '90s Kid is the Entity? Because he used the word 'heavy'... '80s slang
  • Also relating to The Entity: He figured out the entity is Missingno. because 90s!Entity used the word heavy. Missingno. is the heaviest Pokemon.
      • this could also explain the "I'm not that thin" message and why Linkara had been making jabs at his own weight in several consecutive episodes prior to the Silent Hill comic reviews in 2011- not only is Missingno the heaviest Pokemon, it's also taking 90's Kid's form, and since he looks identical to Linkara- who's a bit on the heavy side- he's "not that thin!.
  • At first the connection between Silent Hill and Pokémon seems tenuous at best but considering MissingNo is a glitch himself perhaps Silent Hill is represented in the Entity's universe is Glitch City.
    • Not to mention that Silent Hill and the Entity are video game data. It makes sense that the Entity contacts something made of the same structure as it before contacting physical reality.
  • Way back in Linkara's review of "Adamantium Rage", he wins the fight against Insano by using cheat codes. And what can cheat codes get you? A glitched up game and Missingno.
  • Why is Mirror-Universe Pollo Tom Servo? In this universe, Rob Liefeld is legitimately talented, so perhaps their equivalent of Mystery Science Theater 3000 used cheap props. This means that Linkara would use a good puppet to distinguish himself from them.

"As with the films that they riff on, Mystery Science Theater 3000 was economical. Everything, right down to the sets, props and robots are made from household items found at thrift shops."

    • In other words, the robots were ALREADY cheap props.
      • Besides, Rob Liefeld's talent wasn't brought up, just his delays. And since Mirror-Linkara is just nuts, it makes SENSE why he'd praise him.
  • Knowing that the Entity is Missingno explains why Linkara's IAAM Punch affected it when weapons didn't. The IAAM Punch is the equivalent of the Mega Punch, an attack from the Pokemon games, not the weapons. Seems Magic A Is Magic A with the Entity.
    • Plus it was a punch. Since the Bird typing is an empty value, the Entity/Missingno is functionally a Normal type. Meaning it's weak to Fighting types. This could also be why Linkara beat the Entity-it had a type disadvantage!
    • It also explains why the poem reminded people of something they couldn't place Linkara's played the actual games before, thus remembers learning about Missingno, but it was so long ago he only barely does.
  • Lord Vyce said he tried to warn other universes about the Entity, but they didn't believe him. Why? Who would believe that a glitch from a video game was eating people?
  • At first, the Entity's cry, "Huuuumaaaaan..." was freaking scary, but made little sense to me, I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a threat or not, and how it'd work if it was... then it hit me... The entity is Missingno. A Pokémon. What else would a Pokemon say if it took a human form?
  • Harvey knew what the poem meant. It was also shown he plays Pokemon in the Anita Blake review. He seems to have played it more recently, so of course he would remember Missingno.
  • Linkara has stated his arcs and his villains are meant to seem like nerdy things he enjoys. Mechakara was Power Rangers and Lord Vyce was Dr. Who. Now, remember what comics both of these arcs ended on?
  • That mysterious "Go back to the source" line makes a lot of sense with the reveal that the entity is Missingno, a glitch Pokemon. What to you do to get rid of glitches in a program? Go back to the source code and fix the bad strings.
  • Linkara's last tweet before the post of the Entity saga finale was a link to a William Shatner music video. This could actually be seen as a clever bit of foreshadowing to how Linkara beats the Entity in the end. He uses James T. Kirk's most-used method of defeating evil computer programs: confusing them into submission! Though, this may just be a coincidence, as the in-universe inspiration for the idea was Linkara remembering the events of the previous review.
  • It might seem weird that Pyramid Head can be caught by a Pokeball. But since we now know that the one that appeared in this comic was under the service of a Pokemon, it makes a bit more sense.
  • The reason the Silent Hill in the comics is so not Silent Hilly, is because it isn't the real Silent Hill, it's the one in Scott Ciencin's comics.
  • The way Linkara defeats The Entity is a major one. First off, he gives The Entity a flaw in his master plan, which caused it to go haywire. In other words, he gave a calculated error an error to it's calculations. Next, he kills him by giving it fridge logic, which is what he used through out the comic he reviewed. It's so ironic.
    • It also makes a lot of sense. Missingno isn't supposed to be part of the gameplay; you aren't supposed to train it. The only reason it's there is filler. Simply put, Missingno has no purpose beyond simply existing. This is why it had no plan beyond consuming all: it was never supposed to.
  • Linkara used confuse ray. Missingno. became confused. Missingno. hurt itself in its confusion.
    • Alternatively, Missingno. used self destruct!.
      • And the reason why everything returned to normal? Missingno used Heal Pulse!
    • An earlier example: Linkara used I am a Man punch. It's Super Effective!
  • Word of God says the other glitches are different forms of the Entity. This makes sense, considering they serve the same purpose: as filler data.
  • A lesser bit of Fridge Brilliance: shortly before the Vyce saga ended, Lewis was chatting via Skype on Lord Kat's stream. The guys on the stream were trying to guess how the ending of the story would play out; one of them joked, "90s Kid will defeat him!" Lewis became quiet for a moment, and then said, "Well...90s Kid plays a part in it." After the video was released, people in the chat assumed that he was just talking about 90s Kid's role in defeating Lord Vyce; now, however...
  • Fridge Funny regarding the viral side of the Entity's attacks - of course the Fourth Wall couldn't protect the viewers. This is ATOP The Fourth Wall.
  • Sort of Fridge Brilliance combined with Fridge Sadness on this one. I always wondered why Lewis never involved Liz in the show more. Linkara's a character who's incredibly prone to badass, heroic speeches, so it always seemed weird to me that he never did like a "THIS IS MY GIRLFRIEND, AND YOU WILL NOT HARM HER -- DO YOU HEAR ME!?" thing to any of the villains. It was always very underplayed compared to show's usual over-the-top approach to most things. But as their eventual breakup (and some fans' extremely inappropriate reactions toward her for it) went to show, it was probably a very good idea not to mix business with personal too much.
  • Vyce has the ability to become data. It may seem odd, but remember, he's from a Pokemon game. Meaning, technically, he's already data.
    • Technically that last part hasn't been confirmed, but it would make the whole thing even more awesome.
  • Speaking of Vyce's Bizzare Alien Biology, him not surviving in our universe makes a hell of a lot of sense during the Entity's reveal. Lord Vyce comes from a video game. How is a person made of data supposed to exist in our physical reality?

Fridge Horror

  • Knowing what the Entity is, there's a definite possibility that a pokemon universe, possibly even the original, totally unprepared or unaware of Missingno, was consumed by it.
    • This could be the reason they updated the games!
    • Not only that, but take it in fact that Missingno is, as far as glitches go, the weakest of the Glitch Pokémon. If Missingno is basically Poké-Chtullu in the Channel Awesome-verse, what about the others? I mean, if there is a Pokémon God, is it a stretch to say there are Pokémon Elder Gods?
      • Imagine what kind of damage M'Block, Female Symbol or the BAD EGG could do. Or Giratina for that matter...
      • According to Linkara, all the other glitches are just different forms of Missingno; extenstions of it, if you will, which actually does make alot of sense, or at least simplifies the whole "Glitch Pokémon" concept.
    • Come to think about it, if the Entity came from Lord Vyce's home dimension, could Vyce be a Pokemon character?
    • For some meta Fridge Horror, how many of you have actually caught Missingno in your game file? How many of you still have it?
  • If you recall, Linksano said he had fled to our dimension because he saw Lord Vyce coming. That means all of those characters from Spoony's "Party Mania" review are captured, or possibly dead.
    • Linksano hasn't tried to return home, despite the fact that (as far as we know) his brother is still there. Was he afraid of what he might find?
  • The Entity has addressed the viewers several times during the credits. Linkara's the only one left that the Entity didn't grab. The viewers, meaning us, have all been taken by the Entity.
    • No, AT 4 W takes place in the Channel Awesome universe, I.E. where all of the reviewers are. We live in our universe. The Entity hasn't attacked our universe, just the Channel Awesome universe.
      • The reviewers exist in a universe parallel to ours, complete with copies of ourselves. Therefore, we haven't been taken, but our AU!selves have.
  • There's something even more horrible here that I just thought of. Think about the last time you see Red in Gold and Silver, atop a mountain, training alone, having the strongest pokemon any trainer has (before newer generations came). He's training to be the best in that universe... Vyce is a broken Red.
  • So Linkara killed the Entity. Wouldn't that mean it would try to absorb the afterlife?
    • Made worse in that it happened almost right after a rant about ghost pokemon.
      • Then again, when pokemon die, they become a ghost type, with those specific abilities. So even if the Entity revives as a ghost, it'll be stuck with those powers as opposed to what it had.
        • Then again, keep in mind that since the Entity is Missing No., besides that famous "l-block" shape, another known form of it is a ghost.
  • When the Entity is defeated, everyone reappears. Obscuras Lupa mentions how odd it is that she released a video while being trapped. This could imply that everyone captured by the Entity was aware of the outside world, yet could do nothing. In the case of the 90s Kid, a year. Or in the case of Vyce's homeworld, years.
  • Listen Closely after Linkara asks if they want to go do something Pokemon related, and you can hear Linksano say he has A level 255 Mewtwo, which can be gotten by doing the Entity Glitch. Add That Dude in the Suede off to do the very same glitch, And you've got some pretty heavy Fridge Horror.
  • Invoked by Linkara in his review of Superman #701 by pointing out that having a child deliver a message from him to the drug dealers he'd just pissed off would get killed.
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