We open with Doctor Linksano in his hideout playing the card game World's Greatest Villain. It's been two weeks since his and the other Insano's defeat, but with our Doctor Insano occupied with other matters, Linksano believes that now he could take the mantle of being a true science villain. A warning sound from one of his devices interrupts his musings though, and he horrifyingly exclaims that "HE is coming!"
After Linkara finishes reviewing Tandy Computer Whiz Kids: Fit to Win, Linksano beams in to say goodbye before he clears out of this dimension. Linkara at firsts mocks him, but the doctor laughs at his ignorance, and asked a good rhetorical question: Why did Doctor Linksano leave his dimension to begin with? Linksano talks about the various horrors of the multiverse, but also mentions one horror that is feared above all others, and all that he sees, he conquers: Lord Vyce. With one final cackle, Linksano teleports away, with Linkara similarly being teleported away as well, leaving his hat and coat behind.
All while this is going on, Doctor Insano interrupts Spoony's second part of his Final Fantasy X review, saying that Mechakara has escaped. With Linkara lost, Harvey Finevoice takes over the show by reviewing Anita Blake: The Laughing Corpse. Pollo in the meantime attempted to track down Linkara, realizing that he's being held in another universe somewhere. He also tells Harvey that he can take a break for the next review after finding a replacement.
The replacement turned out to be 90's Kid, who hijacked the show's theme song during his review of Freak Force #1. After watching footage of 90's Kid abandoning the review and instead play Justice League: Task Force on the Sega Genesis, Harvey is aghast and demands to take over again. Pollo isn't worried though, as he discovered a time-delayed message from Linkara in the event of him dying or going missing. The message details that Linkara already chose a successor: Iron Liz, who reviews Chain Gang War #1 with the help of the Ninja Style Dancer. After the review, Pollo tells Harvey and Liz that he finally made a breakthrough in getting Linkara and said that he'll get him back in a week.
While Liz and Harvey review Ewoks #9, Pollo managed to get a lock on Linkara and beam him back. However, he also brought along robotic, cloaked creatures called Shades. Linkara quickly morphed back into action to fight them off, while Liz held her own with her two swords and Harvey used his Tommy Gun. They emerge victorious, and it's revealed that in the universe he was held in, he was held captive for three days, in comparison to being gone for a month in our dimension. Pollo says that both are correct and that it's because time moves differently in other universes. Linkara and Liz eventually finish the review, with Liz offering to stay on as she does her own reviews of tabletop RPG's.
While Linkara revels in his victory and escape, Lord Vyce in his home dimension is displeased at "The Champion's" escape, and repeats his mantra: All that he sees, he conquers.
After reviewing Cable #2, Linkara and Pollo scanned the Shade debris and discovered a bit of their true nature: That they are magically powered with no internal power, and they are dependent on the power of Vyce's ship. The power of the Shades was also in flux, and Linkara hypothesized that it's because of the different physical laws of their own universe. And so our story ends with Linkara ordering Pollo to gather up the remaining Shade debris for studying, Linkara firmly stating that 90's Kid should never host the show again, and Pollo sending other guest hosts (Two of the Ghosts of Christmas and the Pokeball-caught Pyramid Head) away.
Tropes
- A Day in the Limelight: The storyline gave most of the show's supporting cast much larger roles compared to before, with Harvey and '90s Kid doing entire reviews by themselves while Linkara was gone. Pollo also takes charge trying to find Linkara while also running the show behind-the-scenes.
- Guest Host: Pollo arranges it so Harvey Finevoice and '90s Kid take over for Linkara after he's kidnapped by Lord Vyce. Upon his return, Linkara thanks Pollo before warning him to never let '90s Kid host the show again.
- Lipstick-and-Load Montage: Iron Liz is handpicked by Linkara to take over as the show's host in the case of his absence. We see her suiting up in a near shot-for-shot remake of Linkara's own Lock-and-Load Montage... save for one shot of her applying lipstick.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Linkara returns from his imprisonment, his first review back has him immediately quit in protest:
- True Companions: It is this arc that first showcased how close-knit Linkara and his allies are, from them taking over the show during is absence, to fighting alongside Linkara when he returns with the Shades.
