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The 1049th Contest of Champions Logo
At the end of the Sleepwalker Arc, Linkara receives an invitation to the prestigious inter-dimensional 1049th Contest of Champions, held by the mysterious Temlins in order to pacify their boredom after achieving true enlightenment. Linkara, despite feeling down on himself after the events of the Sleepwalker Arc, chooses to join after finding out the grand prize is the fabled Infinity Gauntlet, which he does not want to fall into far worse hands. However, he's not the only participant who has their eyes on the prize, and some are much more malicious and mysterious than others...
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The Temlins
A Temlin Messenger/Judge with the 1049th Contest Prize, A 5-gem variant of the Infinity Gauntlet.
The all-powerful hosts of the Contest of Champions.
- And Then What?: Pretty much the core reason why they decided to create the Contest of Champions; being god-like beings didn't keep them from getting bored. Given they're on the 1049th Contest now, it's clearly been fruitful for them.
- Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: They ascended to full power many eons ago, becoming god-like beings with matching (if not greater) levels of power. However, it also came with a healthy dose of boredom.
- Berserk Button: Do NOT be a Sore Loser when you lose a contest around them. And especially don't threaten them or other contestants when you do lose. If you do, expect a severe reminder as to who you are dealing with, and expulsion/banning from the Contest of Champions. And as it also turns out, do not cheat, no matter how much you think you can get away with it. The Bandit Chief found out the hard way.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: The Temlins tend to allow any contests that give a "reasonable chance" for either competitor to win. However, because they're god-like beings with a completely different perception of "reasonable" (or they just think it would be more interesting), this can result in some very odd and incredibly lopsided fights. For example, Jaeris' past contest pitted him against someone who had never used a pistol in their life in target shooting. Or more recently, the relatively sedentary Linkara being pitted against professional Wrestler Heavy Wrex.
- And frankly the fact that their prizes are potentially universe-destroying artifacts like the Infinity Gauntlet is a bit eyebrow-raising, if Linkara's reaction is any indicator. Then it turns out the prizes they give tend to be duds. The real deal yes, but with so many heavy restrictions they are useless outside of their home universe; hence why a previous Champion cannot compete again.
- Exact Words: The secret to why they're so willing to give out such an absurdly powerful prize like the Infinity Gauntlet - said Gauntlet is the real deal, and it does work... but only in its home dimension, i.e. the Temlin's home universe, which they've taken great measures to hide. This may also apply to any and all of the "prizes" the Temlins have given away; they may be all-powerful every practical sense of the term, but they're also not idiots. The reason for previous winners being unable to compete again in the Contest is to hide this fact.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: While we have seen the messengers and judges of the contest, little is known about what the Temlins actually look like.
- Not So Omniscient After All: While usually all-knowing beings, they do have blind spots; they cannot sense what occurs during Ion Storms, which allows Bandit Chief to discreetly attack Linkara with Confession.
- Not So Stoic: If the Temlin Judge's reaction to Linkara accidentally blowing up his house is any indication, they're not always The Stoic.
- Precursors: They are an ancient race that ascended eons ago, and can hand out god-tier levels of powerful items for a prize.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Within the context of the tournament they are this.
- Entry into the contest is entirely voluntary.
- They firmly believe in each contest being fought honorably, expecting grace in defeat and magnanimity in victory, and will punish those who choose to act otherwise.
- Additionally, they carefully space apart contests to allow combatants to recover from their fights before the next one.
- And have made sure that all battles, even with attacks that would normally be fatal, would be non-lethal due to keeping all contestants alive via their power.
- That being said, they don't seem to particularly care what happens to the prize or the winners of fights after or in-between rounds of the Contest, given that Jaeris was able to go and try to steal the prize of a previous contest from the winner back when he was still trying to save his home universe. To say nothing of the Bandit Chief's attacks on Linkara. Though it's later revealed that they legitimately didn't know; Bandit Chief snuck Confession in during an Ion Storm under their notice. It also turns out that the reason they hand out prizes the way they do is because those prizes are only usable in their original universes...which the Temlins deliberately keep a secret, thus making it very difficult, if not near impossible for any Champions to find them.
- The Stoic: Their messengers, Voiceof The Legion and Berserk Button aside, are extremely calm and professional, rarely emoting.
- Voice of the Legion: Their messengers' voices have a powerful, reverbating echo. Fitting for quite possibly the most powerful beings in the storyline.
Contest of Champions Correspondents
George Reece Portrayed by: Fard Muhammad
Danielle Dantari Portrayed by: Tamara Chambers
Miranda Vieira Portrayed by: Heather "Calluna" McDonald
Phil Tomarken Portrayed by: Dominic Noble
Robert Barker Portrayed by: The Game Show Reviewer
Left: Senior Contest Correspondent George Reece. Right: Senior Contest Correspondent Danielle Dantari.
Left: Contest Correspondent Miranda Vieira.
Right: Contest Correspondent Phil Tomarken.
Right: Contest Correspondent Phil Tomarken.
Contest Chief Meteorologist Robert Barker
The primary news source for the 1049th Contest of Champions, reaching out to 3 million parallel universes and 2 thousand associated sub-dimensions.
- The major coverage for contest updates and sponsors is by Danielle Dantari and George Reece.
- Actual contest rounds being handled by Phil Tomarken and Miranda Vieira.
- And interdimensional weather coverage by the Contest's Chief Meteorologist Robert Barker.
- Alliterative Name: Danielle Dantari.
- Butt-Monkey: Robert has the immense misfortune of being shifted between universes during an ion storm he was covering.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: Both Danielle and George have this while being held hostage by the Bandit Chief after he's caught cheating. As it turns out, given that the Temlins easily deal with the situation, they had good reason for not being afraid.
- Combat Commentator: Phil and Miranda fulfill this role in the battles between Bone Button (substituting for Linkara) and Heavy Wrex, and later in the final battle between the Bandit Chief and Linkara in a duel.
- Consummate Professional: George and Danielle tend to be this, remaining calm and courteous even in the face of the numerous eccentricities of the contestants, or promoting the various sponsors for the Contest. Robert tries to be this, but his misfortune means that he's often having to try to maintain his dignity unsuccessfully. And Phil and Miranda generally tend to let loose the most.
- Crawl: One is seen at the bottom, occasionally tossing in some funny tidbits in addition to whatever is being talked about right now. Like Linkara blowing up his house in an attempt to safeguard it being mentioned during Barker's report on the ion storm.
- Large Ham: Compared to the calm professionalism of George and Danielle, and the general misfortune that Robert is subjected to, Miranda and Phil tend to be the hammiest of the Contest Correspondents, primarily due to providing direct commentary in several of the actual Contest Rounds.
- Mr. Exposition: George and Danielle primarily provide up to date news coverage of the situation regarding the champions of the contest, the various rules and other important little details.
- Product Placement: They announce several of their sponsors at the end of some segments, including Kooba Kola and Nightmare Arsenal.
- Sophisticated as Hell: Danielle finishes her coverage by saying she hopes the audience will join them for the next contest, except Bandit Chief who can go die in a fire for all she cares.
- This Just In!: This occurs when it's revealed that Destrogalga has lost his contest in the 2nd round against Sphynx Yonder, much to the shock of Linkara.
Significant Contest Participants
These are the champions that Linkara has had the most interaction with, or has directly faced off against in the Contest. The Bandit Chief in particular is his most dangerous foe, due to his amoral nature and same interest in the powerful Infinity Gauntlet... Bandit Chief
Portrayed by: Fes Works
Voiced by: Martin Billany
A Champion who is both a notorious mercenary and a hardy survivalist. He's been in four previous Contests and made it to the semi-finals in two of them. Ruthless, cunning, and willing to do whatever it takes to get an edge over his competition, he is fiercely seeking to win the 1049th Contest of Champions by any means necessary...
- Above Good and Evil: Claims that he is this, that such notions are worthless in the face of pure conviction.
- The Ace: Is this according to Lewis
, though it's downplayed since many of his intended matches were offscreen; he's Strong and Skilled compared to his competitor Champions, and his boasts whilst talking with Linkara play up his wide range of skills. - Actor Allusion: He mentions "little kids opening trading card packs" in his first appearance, a clear reference to the fact that he's voiced by the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series. This becomes even stronger when, for the final matchup of the Contest of Champions, Linkara challenges him to a game of Duel Monsters.
- Arc Villain: The most outright antagonistic of the Contest's contenders, and is even responsible for the 2020 annual Halloween monster.
- Badass Normal: From what we can tell so far, he has no elaborate superpowers — he's just really cunning, skilled, resourceful, and ruthless.
- Berserk Button: Do NOT insinuate that he might get lucky, or he'll pull a knife out on you, no matter who you might be, friend or foe. It's all but said that the reason for this is because luck is the one factor that he can't control, and thus, the only way to defeat him.
- Break Them by Talking: Inflicts this upon Tyler, the Blue Knight of Titan, when they match-up against each other in the semi-finals. Tyler's chosen Contest was to utilize a set of scales to determine who was morally superior...which Bandit Chief used as an opportunity to completely deconstruct Tyler's actions ever since he split from the other Knights of Titan, unveiling the Blue Knight's guilt in taking up a cause more fitting for a Knight Templar, and suffering the consequences of it by turning away from his friends. By Bandit Chief's own recollection, Tyler was left a wallowing mess of guilt. He himself even lampshades it.Bandit Chief: I understand the power of words, just as much as I understand the power of a gun.
- Combat Pragmatist: Stated to be one by Jaeris, who fought him in his last Contest and lost. If he gets to pick the Contest, he will make sure it's one he can win. If the Contests allowed for killing, he'd do it in a heartbeat. It also applies in the opposite direction, as it's really the only way for him to be defeated. He defeats each of his opponents by leveraging a quality or resource, no matter what the Contest is, to put them at a disadvantage. As such, the only way to stand a chance against him is to be the one to set the terms of the fight to ensure a more level playing field.
- Crazy-Prepared: Sends Confession to torture Linkara for knowledge of his weaknesses, just on the off chance the two meet up in the Contest.
- Has some sort of relic that protects him from magical attacks. This enables him to defeat Empira despite lacking any apparent magical prowess himself.
- Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat: Despite his skills, he still attempts to cheat by sending the Confession Spirit after Linkara despite attacks on other Champions not being allowed and later on uses a magic ring to change the top card of his deck during his duel with Linkara despite being so far more up-to-date on the game's progression and strategies note regardless of the old-school format of the match.
- Didn't Think This Through: For all his cunning and careful planning, what ultimately bites the Bandit Chief in the ass is believing that he could legitimately threaten the Temlins into giving him the prize when his cheating is exposed. They quickly prove him wrong.
- Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Tries holding the Temlins and their stadium hostage when his cheating is uncovered. The Temlins banish his forces and disqualify him.
- The Dreaded: Jaeris does not talk of him lightly, and stresses how dangerous he is.
- Everyone Has Standards: Of Linkara's opponents, he rightfully considers Lavidian Scarn to be a pompous asshole.
- Fatal Flaw: His cynicism and willingness to do whatever it takes to win. They serve him well in his home universe, but in a tournament where fair play and good sportsmanship are not just encouraged, but enforced by beings far more powerful than him, they bite him in the ass when his attempt to use Confession to torture Linkara is uncovered by Linksano and exposed, as well as the magic ring he was using to cheat during his duel with Linkara.
- Foil: To Linkara. Both are pragmatic fighters who research their opponents if they can, frequently rely on deception and trickery to gain the upper hand against more powerful foes, and do whatever they can to ensure that they can succeed. However...
- Linkara is overall a much more noble person, only being pragmatic because he's severely outclassed in many of his fights, and thus cannot afford to alway fight fairly. And even then, he tends to prefer morally scrupulous methods of achieving his goals if he can help it. His relationship with his allies is as family and friends, being willing to accept their insight, and making sure they can keep him close to Earth whenever he starts becoming too arrogant or missing his blind spots.
- Bandit Chief by contrast is an extremely ruthless man, willing to resort to cruel methods such as sending a demonic spirit after his enemies to torture information out of them to get his way, and his relationship with his men is of a leader and subordinate, with intimidation and threats of violence being used to keep them in line, though he can be civil with them. In addition, Linkara's ultimate goal for the tournament is to keep the prize out of evil hands, while the Bandit Chief clearly wants it for much less savory reasons. It's this willingness to disregard the rules in the name of victory at any cost that ironically costs him the final bout, as his use of Confession was illegal under the rules and thus ensured his own disqualification, in stark contrast to Linkara doing everything he can within the rules to avoid getting his ass kicked, even if it meant people questioned his validity as a Champion.
- Jerkass: Not exactly the most pleasant person to be around. If you press his Berserk Button, expect him to pull a knife on you; if you lose to him in a Contest, don't expect him to be magnanimous in victory either.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Cruel as his Breaking Speech to the Blue Knight of Titan is implied to be, the Chief's not exactly wrong that regardless of your morality, one needs to have proper and true conviction to reach their goals, hence his current standing in the 1049th Contest and being Champion of his universe. Even Linkara admits that he's a worthy foe based on this...though still calls him an asshole since, y'know, Bandit Chief is still a jerk.
- Laser-Guided Karma: For sending Confession after Linkara and trying to force the Temlins to give him the Infinity Gauntlet, Bandit Chief is disqualified from the final Contest, getting banned forever like Scarn. To top it off, Linkara taunts him into finishing their duel, even though Bandit Chief still wouldn't qualify for the Gauntlet (and wouldn't even be able to use it since it only works in its home universe) and the Chief ultimately loses to the very first card Linkara set in the duel.
- Me's a Crowd: His advisors seem to be their own people, but the actual fighters of his personal militia are all clones of him.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Essentially how Linkara goads him into continuing their duel despite his cheating having been revealed and the grand prize subsequently being off the table for him - he wouldn't be able to stand the uncertainty of whether or not he could have actually legitimately won, or people thinking he was "just afraid of taking on some guy who reviews comic books on the internet."
- No Name Given: He doesn't have any other name besides his title.
- No-Nonsense Nemesis: He gets right to the cut of things. Even if he has a bit of an ego, once you put him in a mission or Contest, he'll use every means possible to win and will do it right off the bat. He doesn't screw around.
- Not So Above It All: He denies it, but as it turns out during his final match with Linkara, Bandit Chief is actually very familiar with Duel Monsters, to the point of being up-to-date on the most recent Extra Deck techniques and banlists, and yes, plays it as his hobby when not on missions. He even argues with Linkara about how Cyber Jar is still banned in 2023.
- Persona Non Grata: After his cheating is exposed, both by having Linkara tortured by sending The Confession after him, and using magic to change the cards he draws in his duel with Linkara, he is disqualified from the tournament, and due to his poorly thought out plan of trying to hold the stadium hostage to receive the Infinity Gauntlet, he is banned from ever participating in the Contest again. At the end of the tournament, the newscasters even say they hope all the other contestants will make a reappearance in the next tournament, except Bandit Chief who can "die in a fire".
- Pet the Dog: Though he pulls a knife on Wilfred for pressing his Berserk Button, he does at least confide in him about the direction of the Contest afterwards.
- Punny Name: Given that he's voiced by Martin Billany, his name is clearly a pun on Bandit Keith.
- Shout-Out: Not only does his name evoke Bandit Keith, but during his duel with Linkara, he also changes the cards he draws with a magic ring, cheating in a matter not unlike Keith himself. Likewise, being voiced by Martin Billany, he does, of course, summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon during his duel with Linkara.
- Smug Snake: Downplayed. He gloats about easily defeating a samurai, but he immediately recognizes Linkara as someone who won against Lord Vyce and spends his pre-match time gearing up and studying him. He also has a lot of experience from his mercenary career that he relies on to have honed his mind and body. However, his failed attempt to have the Confession extract information from Linkara comes back to bite him when Linksano is able to deduce his having done so and expose him as a cheater; he promptly tries to use his clone army to hold the stadium's occupants hostage and force the Temlins to give him the prize, but they negate the attempt in short order, after which Linkara goads him into finishing the match just to show that the Bandit Chief couldn't beat him without cheating after all. The last we see of the Bandit Chief is him screaming out a Big "NO!" as he's teleported away, never to participate in the Contest again, his arrogance and duplicity having led him to utter defeat.
- The Social Darwinist: Has some shades of this; most predominantly when he and Linkara exchange dialogue; he doesn't respect Linkara at all as a fighter, since Scarn was worthless and Heavy Wrex was fought with a proxy who could fight. Linkara's race with Sphinx Yonder was incredibly close, and Billy Tor was technically defeated by Linksano putting him nonviolently to rest. To the Chief, such victories are meaningless if you yourself do not do it, and this is why he is the one truly worthy of the Infinity Gauntlet.
- Strong and Skilled: To further contrast the Weak, but Skilled Linkara, Bandit Chief is an incredibly well-rounded character by the standards of Atop the Fourth Wall; he has incredible oratory skills and philosophic understanding to go with it, is good with just about whatever weapon he gets his hands on (though he prefers guns), understands means of negating the advantages and powers of his enemies, and possesses an incredible wealth of experience from his occupation. Linkara, being aware of this, ends up nullifying most of his advantages by challenging him to a game of Duel Monsters; more specifically, the oldest versions prior to the advent of more complex strategies like Synchro Summoning, since not only is it something that Linkara is reasonably familiar with, but the game has such a strong luck component to it that it levels out the playing field between him and the Chief. Not that the Chief doesn't try to cheat anyways, to his detriment.
- Übermensch: The first example of such a character in Atop the Fourth Wall; by his own admittance, it doesn't matter if your cause is considered moral or not, or if you are good or evil. What matters is your commitment to that cause.
- The Unfettered: His Contest against Tyler confirms him as this when he and Linkara meet for dialogue. To the Bandit Chief, it doesn't matter whether your cause is "moral" or "ethical", or neither of these, what matters is how righteous you believe your cause is, and how committed you are to it. It ultimately bites him in the ass, where his determination to win causes him to make the same mistake that Scarn did; trying to force the Temlins to give him the prize when his cheating disqualifies from the Contest. The Temlins just banish his forces and disqualify him from the Contest.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: While Linkara hasn't faced him yet, Jaeris has, and outright calls him someone to worry about. Given the Bandit Chief sent the Confession after Linkara, who suffered a horrific amount of pain before the mysterious figure intervened, Jaeris was right to be concerned.
Billy Tor
Portrayed by: Loren Lovhaug
A champion who's a serial killer straight out of a slasher movie. Linkara's opponent in the semifinals of the Contest after Billy defeats Pilo in the quarterfinals.
- An Arm and a Leg: Defeats a golem assembled by Professor Homonculus by ripping it apart limb from limb.
- Anti-Villain: He's not a malevolent force of his own free will. He's an ordinary hiker who was long ago possessed by vengeful spirits and made to kill until they've received justice.
- Captain Ersatz: Design-wise he's an obvious reference to Jason Voorhees, being a masked Serial Killer wielding a machete who doesn't speak.
- Evil Old Folks: His age isn't stated, but behind his mask, he's got white hair and is mostly bald. It turns out he's a hiker who was possessed by the souls of five hundred murdered prison inmates; when he's persuaded to forfeit the match, he unmasks to reveal he's just an ordinary-looking old man.
- Genre Savvy: One of the stipulations he makes in his fight against Linkara is to prohibit him from using any of the slasher villains that he has at his disposal, as crossovers between slasher villains tend to result in one's defeat, while also reducing Linkara's arsenal against him.
- Implacable Man: Nothing Linkara throws at him is able to do more than briefly slow him down. The match only ends when Billy forfeits it because Linksano is able to broadcast a message that lays the wronged souls driving him to rest.
- Justified by the source of his powers. Because he's possessed by the souls of five hundred unjustly executed prison inmates, he can take even lethal blows and all that will happen is that one soul possessing him is quieted, only for another to take its place. He would need to die five hundred times to be overcome by force.
- Machete Mayhem: In keeping with the slasher killer motif, he brandishes one when meeting Linkara.
- Malevolent Masked Man: Wears a menacing black metal mask that covers his entire face and sports a prominent bloodstain.
- Serial Killer: The only description the Temlins and Contest commentators have of Billy when discussing him. Linkara's research reveals his body count is in the hundreds and he's been operating for years, with authorities unable to stop him.
- The Stoic: In addition to not speaking, Billy's body language is completely impassive and expressionless. He wins a staring contest against Pilo. Who's a pile of rocks.
- The Voiceless: Never says a word aloud, instead telepathically conveying the terms of his contest. He finally speaks after removing his mask at the end of the round, but it's just incomprehensible squeaking.
Empira
Portrayed by: Julie Sydor
A champion sorceress who uses magic as her method of combat. According to her dossier, she's successfully fought off demons and other such threats to her universe, which makes her one of the more moral Champions competing in the Contest. Also according to her dossier, this is her first Contest.
- Action Girl: The first Champion that Linkara fights, though only for the preliminary round, and she's revealed to be a rather powerful sorceress in her world.
- Bad Powers, Good People: Empira's primary form of attack is to Mind Rape her opponents and she can also switch and use fire balls and other such dark magic if her opponents can stand her initial assault. However, she is a genuine hero in her reality and congratulates Linkara on a well fought battle after he survives her attack in the preliminaries.
- Creepy Good: Empira is a Lady of Black Magic whose primary tactic in battle is to Mind Rape her opponents into submission, and when she fought Linkara in the preliminaries, she didn't speak for the entire encounter. However, she is a genuine hero and sincerely congratulates Linkara after he manages to overcome her assault.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Wears a black robe and a black hood and mask over her face and gives off a threatening aura during her encounter with Linkara, but she is one of the most moral Champions competing in the Contest and is quite friendly outside of combat.
- Domino Mask: She wears a large black one.
- Friendly Enemy: Gives Linkara a complimentary handshake after their preliminary battle and wishes him good luck and a Happy Halloween.
- Lady of Black Magic: She gives off this vibe with her attire and powers.
- Mind Rape: Prefers to use this tactic on her opponents so that they'll destroy themselves.
- The Worf Effect: She's defeated by the Bandit Chief in Round Three offscreen, to show that the Chief is a serious threat in the Contest despite his lack of special powers or high-end technology.
Heavy Wrex
A champion and intergalactic pro-wrestler/construction foreman. He is Linkara's second opponent for the Contest of Champions.
- The Dreaded: A downplayed case, but Linkara does not look forward to attempting to fight him, by virtue of the fact that Heavy Wrex is a professional wrestler, while he's just an internet critic who spends most of his time sitting down. Combined with the disadvantageous terrain (a wrestling ring) ensuring that he can't try to be pragmatic like he did with Scarn, and Linkara very much admits he would have been flattened if he'd tried to fight on Wrex's terms. Fortunately he avoids the fight through a rule that allows for a substitute fighter that can be used once in every Contest.
- Face: Much more of a good guy wrestler, as his other shtick is that he's a construction foreman who builds charitable foundations and low-income housing.
- Foil: To Lavidian Scarn, Linkara's first opponent. While Scarn took his loss poorly, to the point of threatening Linkara if the fight results weren't overturned, Heavy Wrex is humbler in his defeat, and despite his grievence with Linkara using a substitute, declines going against the Temlin's decision over it.
- Graceful Loser: Though he thinks Linkara's a coward for using a substitute in their fight, Wrex still takes his loss well, sincerely praises Bone Button as a Worthy Opponent, and even challenges Linkara to a friendly rematch when the Tournament is over, only this time a construction competition instead of a wrestling match.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Claims to have T. Rex blood in his genealogy. Whether it's part of his wrestler persona or an actual fact has yet to be elaborated on.
- Large Ham: Wouldn't be a pro-wrestler without being a ham, with his challenge to Linkara being in the vein of an old-school wrestling promo.
Lavidian Scarn
A champion and deposed king of an interstellar empire. He is Linkara's first true opponent for the Contest of Champions.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: He believes he's inherently better than commoners and the rabble below him, and can’t stand how his brother kept showing them compassion.
- Blood Knight: In his Motive Rant, he mentions a great love of combat, crushing others underneath his heel as was their way.
- Cain and Abel: His brother led an uprising and deposed him back home, and he fully intends to use the Infinity Gauntlet to destroy the man for it.
- The Caligula: There are more than a few reasons he's a deposed king. Commenters have outright compared him to Joffrey Baratheon, and his backstory and design are inspired by the Graff Vynda-K from the Doctor Who serial The Ribos Operation.
- Close-Range Combatant: He favors using a sword and getting up close and personal with those he defeats. Linkara wins by denying him that chance.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He thinks his brother was weak for sympathizing with those the empire conquered and later leading them to depose him. He's also overseen massacres of innocent people and feels no remorse whatsoever; when Linkara calls him out on it, he thinks those people should have gladly bowed to him instead of resisting.
- Evil Wears Black: He wears a black cloak and robes with white lining, as well as some sort of medallion with a red ribbon.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen: To borrow his own words, he once commanded an empire, but after being overthrown, he now commands scraps. He resorts to fighting in the Contest in hopes of winning the Infinity Gauntlet and thus regaining his power and then some, and he views Linkara as beneath him.
- Hypocrite: He starts the round against Linkara by hiding in a closet and scoring a sneak attack, but when Linkara is able to take cover and start taunting him, Scarn demands that he "come out and fight me with honor". Linkara is quick to point out his flimsy idea of honor.
- Kick the Dog: He refuses to accept his defeat and threatens to slay Linkara in a vain attempt to get it overturned.
- Large Ham: Will Wolfgram is clearly having fun in the role.
- Never Bring a Knife to a Gun Fight: He brings an electrified saber and expects that to be enough against Linkara. He wasn't counting on the Magic Gun; though his sword is able to block its shots, it can't do much for sneak attacks.
- Parrying Bullets: His sword is able to block the Magic Gun's blasts.
- Persona Non Grata: Due to being a Sore Loser and threatening to kill Linkara in an attempt to be declared the winner of their battle, he is banned from ever participating in any future tournaments.
- Smug Snake: He's completely arrogant and dismissive of Linkara, having not even read the dossier on him and viewing him as easy prey rather than a Worthy Opponent. Given the foes Linkara has taken down by this point, you just know that's going to bite him in the ass — and indeed it does.
- Sore Loser: When Linkara defeats him and is declared the winner, Scarn tries threatening Linkara's life to force the Temlin overseer to declare him victorious; he's easily thwarted and banned from any future tournaments.
- Starter Villain: For the Contest, being Linkara's opponent for the first true round and most definitely a villain, not a fellow hero like Empira.
- Villainous Breakdown: Linkara drives him into one by overpowering his weapon and taking cover while he's blinded, then proceeding to taunt him about his failures, about how those he oppressed rose against him. Scarn takes it very poorly and flies into a ranting rage, unable to even block Linkara's three winning shots, and when the round ends, he tries threatening to murder Linkara in order to be declared the winner, which naturally backfires on him.
Sphinx Yonder
Portrayed by: Melissa Kaercher
A champion piloting a space fighter known as the Tempest Dancer. She faces Linkara in the quarterfinals of the Contest after defeating Destrogalga, the King of Creatures in the second round.
- Ace Pilot: Her primary skill as a champion.
- David Versus Goliath: Seems to be a regular human, and yet she took down a champion the size of a skyscraper. The Contest's betting boards favored her opponent by 2000 to 1, according to the post-match commentary.
- Dark Horse Victory: Nobody expected her to win against Destrogalga, with Linkara outright dismissing her chances of victory with her space fighter in his chat with the Blue Knight of Titan. Needless to say, everyone is utterly flabbergasted and caught off guard when she manages to win.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Brings down Destrogalga, a Nigh-Invulnerable champion that others expected to reach the finals of the Contest.
- Fangirl: Of spaceships and fighters. She's especially impressed by (the smaller scale model of) Comicron One, noting that despite being cobbled together with parts from completely different universes, it looks elegant and well put together.
- Space Plane: The Tempest Dancer.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Credits her victory to this in a post-match interview. She said she'd planned on beating Destrogalga by firing down his throat, but couldn't get a clean shot. She then had to dodge his magnetic back spines, noticed the holes in his back where the spines had fit, and decided to target those instead.
Tyler, the Blue Knight of Titan
A champion who was once part of a team known as the Knights of Titan, but split off from them in order to defeat a particularly dangerous Evil Sorcerer and has worked solo ever since.
- Break the Badass: His Contest against the Bandit Chief was designed to be a battle of words. Unfortunately, the Chief proved very capable of using his own words to completely deconstruct Tyler's mindset and defeat him in the process. A process that crushed the former Knight of Titan, who, according to the Chief, was left wallowing in guilt over taking up a Knight Templar-esque cause and abandoning his teammates.
- Color Motif: Blue. It is in his name, and in his clothes. He himself acts very friendly and calm. It also associates itself with a sadness and guilt that he feels deep down; as he broke away from his team, and by swearing to defeat evil at any price, has likewise cost him any true happiness in his life.
- Everyone Has Standards: Like pretty much everyone else in the multiverse, even he considered Lord Vyce to be a dangerous foe, with it being implied later on that as extreme as Tyler had become, even he considered Lord Vyce's means to be atrocious.
- Good Is Not Soft: He seems to believe that no matter what, evil has to be stopped, with the most prominent example being when he and his team fought an Evil Sorcerer. While the other Knights of Titan believed just driving him off would be good enough, he disagreed, and went after the sorcerer to destroy him for good. This attitude sadly cost him his friendships, and conflicts with his true morality.
- Hidden Depths: Despite his friendly conversation with Linkara painting him as a Nice Guy, there's still the fact that he split from his old team and he has the belief that evil must be dealt with permanently (which was also the root cause of his split from them), which shows that there's quite clearly a lot more to him than at first glance. And indeed, it's revealed by the Bandit Chief that deep down, Tyler regrets splitting from his team and pursuing evil at any cost, doubting himself and his morality. And sadly for the Blue Knight of Titan, it costs him his match against the Bandit Chief thanks to the nature of said match.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He thought that he could defeat the Bandit Chief in a match of words. Instead, the Bandit Chief proved to have incredible oratory skills and completely tore apart Tyler's motivations.
- Humongous Mecha: He owns one known as the 'Mech'. He's quite confident that it can defeat Destrogalga if they come to blows. He doesn't get to use it against Destrogalga, and picked a fight of words against the Bandit Chief instead. It doesn't go very well for him.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Not unlike Jaeris in a way, Tyler believes that evil, no matter the cost or obstacle, must be defeated; case-in-point, whereas most of his team was satisfied in driving off the forces of evil, the Blue Knight went a step further and dealt with the threat permanently. Similar to Jaeris, this attitude bites him hard; in truth, Tyler harbors immense guilt in splitting from the Knights of Titan and embracing this methodology, as it conflicts with his true ideals and morality.
- I Work Alone: He's a very friendly individual when speaking to Linkara, but his claims that his old team were 'cramping his style' brings out this vibe. Turns out he secretly hates being alone and driving his friends away.
- A Lighter Shade of Black: He is implied to be this to Lord Vyce after his Contest with the Bandit Chief. Like Vyce, Tyler is an individual whose belief in his ideals and goals justifies a required dogmatic approach, but whereas Vyce embraced being a conqueror, Tyler still acts like an actual hero, defending the weak and stopping true evil. Unfortunately for Tyler, this costs him his match against the Bandit Chief, who deconstructs this as an example of Tyler's convictions being weak, since whereas Vyce shoved down all of his guilt, Tyler greatly feels the weight of his actions, even if he hides this.
- Knight Templar: A Discussed Trope; In his Contest with the Bandit Chief, Tyler utilized a set of scales that would determine who would win based on the strength of one's heart in a fight of words. While Tyler likely intended to use this to defeat the Bandit Chief given the latter's ruthless and not-at-all heroic nature, the Chief unleashed a Breaking Speech that deconstructed this attitude for the Blue Knight, since Tyler's own heroic code and morals conflict heavily with his past actions, actions that he feels greatly guilty for.
- Nice Guy: Seems to be this, having a very friendly conversation with Linkara. However, given his split from his team, there may be more to him beneath the surface.
- Secretly Selfish: Lewis stated that this was in play in Tyler's original split from his team, wherein just driving off the Evil Sorcerer wasn't enough, but that he wanted the personal glory of defeating him, to the point where he was willing to kill the enemy forces, and this was the angle that the Chief used to verbally break him.
- Shadow Archetype: His conflict with the Bandit Chief (offscreen), reveals that he is this for both Linkara and Jaeris. Not unlike Linkara, he chose to stick to his morals to a dogmatic degree, an action which alienated him from his friends, and embraces the I Did What I Had to Do mindset to justify his actions, not unlike Jaeris, who adopted the attitude to save his world. But Linkara was able to be pulled back from the brink thanks to his friends and realizing he was going down a dark path, whilst Jaeris, in a sense, gained new companions after losing his old ones from Linkara's crew as well as the dissolution of the oppressors in his home dimension allowing him to reunite with his wife and reach a happier place. Tyler, however, became truly alone, his bonds with his friends implied to be permanently broken and he himself alone in the world with only his code to guide him. A code that the Bandit Chief tears to shreds by hitting at Tyler's guilt, leaving him wallowing in despair.
- We Used to Be Friends: Him and his old team, the Knights of Titan. They no longer wish to see him after he (permanently) dealt with the Evil Sorcerer they fought off, and the feeling is mutual on his part though he's later revealed to regret having broken ties with them.
The Other Contest Participants
These are the foes that Linkara has only heard of via the dossiers, or were faced off against by other Contestants.- Public Domain Character: Jenny Everywhere is this.
- The Unfought: Because Linkara doesn't face off against them for one reason or another, they are mostly known only by their names and hinted gimmicks, or seen primarily fighting against other Contestants.
Ace Corgi, Attorney at Paw
A champion who happens to be a canine lawyer. He is defeated by Jenny Everywhere in the first round of the Contest of Champions.
- The Ghost: He's only been talked about so far and, given his offscreen defeat, doesn't seem likely to show up again for a long time, if ever.
- Joke Character: Unlike Pilo, Linkara doesn't think he has to worry too much about Corgi. Unless, as Erin suggests, Corgi challenges Linkara to a lawyer off... or eating dog food.
- Shout-Out: He sounds like a dog version of Phoenix Wright.
- The Unfought: Despite Erin's concerns, Linkara never fights him, as he is defeated offscreen by another champion.
Destrogalga
Designed by Skutch
The local Kaiju champion, he's like Godzilla in that he's been on both sides of the moral spectrum. Like fellow Champions Linkara and Empira, this is his first Contest.
- Achilles' Heel: Although his hide is nearly invulnerable to harm, it turns out that when Destrogalga fires off the magnetic quills from his back, the holes where they used to be are far more susceptible to damage, which contributes to his early defeat.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: His specific height is 100 meters.
- Destructive Savior: Much like the actual Godzilla, Destrogalga firmly stands on the neutral side of the moral spectrum, and even when fighting on the side of good, he's caused much damage in his battles.
- The Dreaded: Almost everyone in the Contest fears him for his Kaiju status. The Bandit Chief outright admits that while he's on track for making a plan to counter Pilo, he has nothing that can defeat Destrogalga. Linkara believes that if Neutro isn't brought back up online, he won't be able to beat Destrogalga. The one exception is Tyler, the Blue Knight of Titan, who is quite confident that he'll be able to defeat the beast. As such, it comes as a big shock to everyone when Sphinx Yonder actually defeats him.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: According to his dossier, he has been both hero and villain, much like Godzilla.
- It Can Think: Linksano is incredulous that a Kaiju is in the Contest in the first place, but Jaeris notes that valid Champions have to understand, on some level, what the Contest is and how it operates. Given that Destrogalga is willingly competing in the first place...
- Kaiju: See his profile. In his case, he's 100 meters tall, he can shoot energy blasts from his mouth, and the spikes on his back can be shot at his opponents and magnetically return to him.
- Notzilla: He stands somewhere between this and an Expy of the King of the Monsters.
- Person of Mass Destruction: He's a Kaiju...kind of comes with the territory. Bandit Chief also mentions that he probably wouldn't even be able to slow him down if the two were to face off.
- Red Baron: He's known as the King of Creatures.
- The Unfought: Linkara doesn't end up facing Destrogalga at all, due to his surprise defeat in Round Two against Sphinx Yonder.
Lord Spherakill, Overlord of the Dark Dimension
A champion from a dark dimension that looks like a plasma globe. He is defeated by Pilo in the first round of the Contest of Champions.
- Intelligible Unintelligible: Spherakill speaks in incomprehensible noises instead of any typically known language. Despite this, George Reece seems to understand him perfectly well.
- Red Baron: Besides his title, described above, he is also known as the Destroyer of Dreams.
- Sore Loser: If the bleeps during his post-battle interview are any indication.
- Sound Effects Bleep: While he's utterly incomprehensible, Spherakill lets off a couple of these during his post-fight interview when asked for his thoughts on Pilo.
Pilo
Portrayed by: River rocks
A Champion who is ... a pile of rocks. No, we're not kidding. A constant crowd favorite, he's a five times veteran of the Contest.
- Animate Inanimate Object: Well, he has to be one, somehow.
- Hidden Depths: Linkara, after engaging in offscreen dialogue with Pilo, has stated that for a pile of rocks, he is very insightful, finally giving a hint to his personality. After his surprise defeat by Billy Tor in Round Three, Pilo releases a rather poetic statement assuring his fans that he will return.
- Inexplicably Awesome: A pile of rocks...that has competed in five contests and made it to second place in one of them. This notably bewilders everyone, who questions why, and Jaeris remarks that there has to be something that makes him so effective.
- Lethal Joke Character: Pilo is a pile of rocks that, somehow, has made it into the finals multiple times, getting second place in the previous Contest, and is considered the most likely player to win the 1049th Contest. That is, until his defeat by Billy Tor in a staring contest.
- Rock Monster: Harvey asks if he's one...which no one is exactly sure about.
Sharp Tusk
The only image of Sharp Tusk before his defeat.
A champion and bounty hunter. He is defeated by Empira in the first round of the Contest of Champions.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Empira is able to defeat Sharp Tusk by making him overload the systems of his invisibility device which knocked him out.
- Invisibility: Apparently his main shtick. Too bad Empira is able to turn it against him.
