TGWTG Crossover Movies: TGWTG Year One Brawl | Kickassia | Suburban Knights | To Boldly Flee | The Uncanny Valley | | Atop The Fourth Wall: The Movie |The Devil's Jestersnote | A Voice from the Darknote
Atop the Fourth Wall: The Movie is the feature-length adaptation of the comic book review show Atop the Fourth Wall. It was written, directed, and stars Lewis Lovhaug, with Jessica Kitrick serving as a co-director. In terms of the show's continuity, it takes place some time before "The Sleepwalker" story-arc, and serves as a follow-up to To Boldly Flee.
The film follows Linkara, snarky comic book reviewer and a Champion of his universe, as he plans to celebrate his birthday by watching bad movies with his fellow Channel Awesome contributors. However, his birthday plans are interrupted by Allen Park, his liaison with the U.S. government. Allen reveals that government has lost contact with the crew of the Caelestis spaceship during a manned mission to Jupiter and requests Linkara's help to find out what happened. With the help of his fellow critics, Linkara uses Comicron-1 to launch a rescue mission, but soon discovers a foe from his past that threatens to destroy everything he cherishes.
The film was crowd-funded on Indiegogo and was released over the course of five parts on Youtube in November 2015. The playlist for the film can be found here
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Atop the Fourth Wall: The Movie provides examples of:
- Abnormal Ammo: The weapons that the Executor was developing on Europa all seem to have unconventional ammo, with guns that shoot swords, chainsaws, bees, and duct tape. Linkara and Allen end up using the latter two during the fight against Mechakara.
- Actor Allusion: Allen is played by Lanipator of Dragon Ball Z Abridged fame, so a few references are made to the show. Allen mentions at one point that he's a Dragon Ball fan, and a later scene has him come across a box labelled "Nappa", causing him to say "God damn it!".
- And Your Little Dog, Too!: Mechakara threatens to kill Linkara's friends after he's finished with him, mostly so he can ensure that absolutely no one can remind him that Linkara ever existed.
- Any Last Words?: Mechakara has Linkara by the throat and asks if he has anything to say before he kills him:Mechakara: Are there any final words before I promptly delete them from my memory?
Linkara: Yeah... bees.
Mechakara: Bees?
Linkara: [whips out the Deadly Bee Weapon] Bees. [shoots Mechakara] - Armor-Piercing Response: When Linkara and MarzGurl are arguing about how Linkara froze during the space battle with Mechakara and almost got them all killed, Linkara starts shouting over how they all put themselves in danger by coming with him and don't understand the kinds of dangers he has faced. MarzGurl snaps at him "AND THEN! YOU! FROZE!", getting Linkara to sit down and open up about how he has been feeling lately.
- Back from the Dead: Mechakara, yet again. He lampshades how many times he's been brought back.I always survive.
- Bad Boss: Mechakara treats the astronauts he roboticized as little more than tools. When Malachite's Hand runs out of energy to power the Caelestis, he resorts to draining the life-force of one of the crew members and only stops because draining the entire crew would not supply enough power for the rest of the ship.
- Bee-Bee Gun: One of the weapons Linkara finds on the surface of Europa is a "Deadly Bee Weapon", that shoots out swarms of bees at its target. He later uses this against Mechakara to temporarily chase him away.
- Better than a Bare Bulb: A good chunk of the film's humor comes from pointing out just how ridiculous the idea of a comic book reviewer having a spaceship and fighting interdimensional threats is. It even seeps into the film's dramatic moments too, with Pollo at point comforting MarzGurl by claiming that "storylines" are always going to interrupt their daily routines and having to deal with them is just a part of living.
- Big Bad: Mechakara, having survived the events of To Boldly Flee by remaining trapped inside Malachite's Hand, is freed by the crew of the Caelestis and quickly assimilates them so he can gain his revenge against Linkara.
- Bile Fascination: Linkara ultimately comes to an epiphany that despite all the crap he's gone through, the thing that gives him purpose in life is reviewing bad comics and learning about the creative decisions that led to them getting made.
- A Birthday, Not a Break: Linkara just wanted to spend his birthday watching bad movies with his friends, but is sent on a mission to Jupiter that puts everyone's lives at risk and gets Allen (temporarily) killed, and is forced to confront the trauma being a comic book reviewer who has to fight for his life on a constant basis.
- Boomerang Comeback: During the final fight against Mechakara, Linkara learns that Mechakara can only adapt to weaponfire if he can see it coming. After gathering his friends to help charge the Magic Gun, Linkara fires at Mechakara and appears to miss... only for the shot to lob around and strike Mechakara in the back.
- Brick Joke: The Cinema Snob wants to show everybody Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom during Linkara's birthday party, but is interrupted when Allen arrives and tells them the news about the Caeleistis. In The Stinger, the Snob finally gets around to showing the film to everybody, who are in near-catanoic silence from what they just saw.
- The Cameo:
- Noah Antwiler makes a brief appearance as Dr. Insano, speaking at a press report about lending his technology to assist in the Caelestis's mission to Jupiter. This, as of July 2023, has been Insano's final appearance in the series.
- Doug Walker makes a total of three separate cameos in the film, first as Lori Prince giving a news report about the Caelestis mission, then appearing as Dominic while acting as a bartender, then finally as The Nostalgia Critic during a scene describing why he wasn't at Linkara's birthday party.
- Cast from Lifespan: In a reference to how magic was revealed to work in Suburban Knights, Mechakara decides to drain the life-force of one of the crew members to power up Malachite's Hand when it runs out of energy to keep the Caelestis running.
- Continuity Nod: Linkara plans to review BloodGunn #1 at the beginning of the movie, a hypothetical superhero that '90s Kid often referred to during the course of the show.
- Credits Gag: Just like in the show, the closing credits include a couple of side comments about the film beforehand:
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The initial fight with the Caelestis goes very badly for the good guys.
- Deus ex Machina: Linkara directly references this after the team arrives on Europa and discovers it is surrounded by a healing field made of energy from the Plot Hole, and that they can use it to possibly bring Allen Back from the Dead. It took awhile but it turns out he was right.
- Disney Death: Allen is killed during Comicron-1's fight against the Caelestis. However, when Linkara learns that Europa's surface has a healing effect thanks to the Plot Hole, he brings Allen's corpse down to bring him back to life. It also works on the deceased astronauts later.
- Double Tap: After Mechakara is defeated, the Cinema Snob points out that the villain usually survives being killed in action movies in order to pave way for a sequel. Obscurus Lupa then grabs a shotgun and blows a few rounds at Mechakara's remains, which satisfies the Snob. However, The Stinger reveals that even that wasn't enough to finish Mechakara off.
- The End... Or Is It?: The Stinger shows energy coming off from Mechakara's hand after his destruction, revealing that the healing powers of Europa will eventually restore him back to life as well.
- Foreshadowing:
- While on their way to the Caelestis, '90s Kid briefly wonders if the astronauts were turned into "space-cyborgs" to explain why they can't pick up their bio-readings. It turns out that's exactly what happened, as Mechakara had turned the entire crew into cybernetic drones to aid him in his plan to kill Linkara.
- After defeating Mechakara, the Cinema Snob points out how villains in '80s action movies always tend to survive at the end of the movie to set up a sequel. The Stinger reveals that Mechakara still isn't dead, with the healing effects of the Plot Hole slowly restoring him back to life.
- Gilligan Cut: The opening scene of the movie is a flashback showing how Linkara and Allen met. Allen ends their conversation by hoping Linkara will eventually consider him a friend, but Linkara tells him that will never happen. The film then cuts ahead four years later, where Linkara is getting drunk in a bar with Allen and happily calling him his best friend ever.
- Given Name Reveal: '90s Kid's reveals that his name is actually Evelyn while talking with Obscurus Lupa, much to her surprise.
- Heroic BSoD: When Linkara learns that Mechakara is still alive, he completely freezes as Mechakara orders Comicron-1 to be destroyed, forcing MarzGurl to take over. She confronts Linkara about this later on and he admits that after all the trauma he's been through over the years, he was actually ready to die at that moment.
- Hidden Depths: '90's Kid, of all people, reveals that he isn't as stupid as he seems when he gives a very heartfelt speech to Lupa about how it's easy for people to underestimate him because of the way he acts and that his love of the '90s extends to how the era was defined by the endless and fun possibilities the decade brought, and he thinks people could use more fun these days.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Linkara starts to write up his review of BloodGunn #1 and can barely make it past the first page before taking a swig from his flask.
- Internal Deconstruction: Preceding A Voice from the Dark, the movie does a bit to deconstruct the formula of the past specials. While Linkara has a similar existential crisis as the Nostalgia Critic before him, we see that, rather than being embittered by his job, he's suffering from PTSD and the juxtaposition of his mundane life as a reviewer...and the weirdness he gets into. The stakes are also much lower and genuine; rather than luring everyone into a huge escapade, the impetus for the cast getting together is just celebrating Linkara's birthday, and they show no rancor or snark towards each other for it. Linkara is also willing to just investigate Allen's problem on his own, here, everyone else willingly volunteers rather than being forced. Unfortunately for everyone, the returning Mechakara is as much of a Knight of Cerebus as ever, fully planning to kill everyone and having no comedic sidekick or trait of his own, and the situation legitimately gets to them. Much of the juxtaposition Linkara faced is reflected in the rest of the cast as well, given how surreal and deadly their situation is, and much of the individual character arcs revolve around accepting this.
- Invulnerable Knuckles: Subverted during the climax, as Linkara pulls off his "I AM A MAN!" punch to decapitate Mechakara, only to (once again) clutch his knuckles in pain from punching a robot.
- Jerkass Realization: After Allen's death, Linkara is struck with guilt over his treatment of him ever since they met. He recalls how when the government wanted to assassinate him so they could take Comicron-1 for themselves, Allen spoke in his defense and essentially saved his life, but Linkara still acted like an asshole to him.
- Jumped at the Call: All of Linkara's friends immediately volunteer to help him rescue the crew of the Caelestis, with Nash in particular wanting to come along just so he can get the chance to go into space.
- Knight of Cerebus: Mechakara's presence darkens the tone of the film, just like in the show. Once it's revealed he's behind the disappearance of the crew of the Caelestis, the film goes from a comedy to a dramedy as his attack on Comicron-1 leaves Allen dead and forces the crew to scramble to keep themselves alive.
- Lock-and-Load Montage: As Mechakara slowly appraches them for the final battle in the climax, Linkara and all of his friends have one as they prepare themselves. They line up side by side all preparing their weapons of choice.
- My Greatest Failure: Harvey confides in Nash that he never forgave himself after he ran out on Linkara back when they first faced off against Mechakara and he's been afraid of Linkara getting killed ever since.
- No Dead Body Poops: Averted, as Linkara and Obscurus Lupa find that Allen's corpse smells so bad because he emptied his bowels when he died. When Allen is brought back to life, he admits that he needs a new pair of pants.
- Not So Above It All: Allen declares he's keeping the Duct Tape Gun for himself.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: According to '90s Kid, he intentionally acts as a Large Ham so that people will underestimate him.'90s Kid: That's the Nineties, really. Make a huge spectacle, and no one will see what's really going on.
- Off-the-Shelf FX: The weapons Linkara and friends use during the climax are multiple repainted Nerf guns.
- One-Winged Angel: During the climax, Mechakara upgrades himself using the experimental weaponry and armor littered around the Europa base. To complete the look, he peels off the flesh from his face, revealing a metallic skull underneath.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Linkara specifically assigns the role of "comic relief" to the Cinema Snob when he realizes that he has absolutely nothing for him to do onboard Comicron-1. The Snob takes to this quite well, spending most of the film getting into wacky antics and making light-hearted quips.
- The Power of Friendship: Linkara gathers his friends together to help him charge up the Magic Gun to deliver a finishing blow to Mechakara.
- Precision F-Strike: Linkara normally never uses harsher swears on his show. However, after hearing the Mechakara's latest rant during the climax he simply replies "Yeah, well, fuck you too" and opens fire.
- A Rare Sentence: Linkara muses to Allen's corpse that Mechakara has probably adapted to the Bee-Bee Gun they found. Quoth Linkara, "I can't believe I just said that".
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Allen is Linkara's liaison with the government and tries his best to ensure that neither party gets in each other's way. He reveals in his first meeting with Linkara that he convinced his higher-ups not to assassinate Linkara once he got his hands on Comicron-1 in exchange for his promise not to use it to influence political affairs, and eventually managed to talk them out of having professional snipers monitoring Linkara's apartment after he saved the world from the Entity.
- Shaped Like Itself: The Cinema Snob contacts the crew of the Caelestis and introduces himself:The Cinema Snob: Hi, I'm the Cinema Snob. You might remember me from... The Cinema Snob. And Black Angus!
- Sequel Hook: The first Stinger show mystical energy coming from Mechakara's hand, foreshadowing that healing effect of the Plot Hole will eventually bring him Back from the Dead again.
- SkeleBot 9000: Mechakara peels off his face before his final confrontation with Linkara, revealing a robotic skull hiding underneath. After being shot in the back by the Magic Gun, the resulting blast burns away Mechakara's flesh and clothes, revealing a metallic skeleton underneath.
- The Stinger: There are two in a row post-credits. The first shows Mechakara's remains back on Europa, with mystical energy coming from his hand, hinting that the healing effect of the Plot Hole will eventually restore him back to life. It's soon followed up by returning to Linkara's birthday party, where everyone is staring in silence after the Cinema Snob showed them Salò.
- Stunned Silence: The Stinger shows everybody sitting around Linkara's living room and staring in shocked silence after the Cinema Snob has finished showing them Salò.
- Suckiness Is Painful: A Cutaway Gag shows the Nostalgia Critic couldn't make it to Linkara's birthday party because he traumatized himself by watching The Garbage Pail Kids Movie again:Calluna: For the love of god, Critic! Why did you watch Garbage Pail Kids again? What were you thinking?!Critic: I don't know! I thought it would get better with age!Sage: Critic, open the door before you are permanently traumatized!Critic: I don't know what happiness is anymore! Joy is a lie! A LIIIEEE!!!
- Take That!:
- When Allen takes Linkara home from the bar, Linkara assures him he can pay off his tab since he regularly buys up half their supply whenever he reviews Marville.
- Angry Joe boasts he can keep using his Force Lightning powers by just thinking about things that really piss him off, like Sonic Free Riders or Ride to Hell: Retribution.
- Linkara at one point compares his life to a comic book and how it'll probably undergo some terrible reboot, such as him making a deal with the devil, getting his arm cut off by a "Mary-Sue'd up supervillain", or getting replaced by a bunch of kids because of an editor unfamiliar with his material took over the show.
- Talking to the Dead: While stranded on Europa, Linkara briefly talks with Allen's corpse, venting about his frustrations with his life, before finally admitting that he genuinely does enjoy talking about bad comics and realizing that's his ultimate purpose in life. Once he's finished, Allen comes back to life, having been restored by the healing effect of the Plot Hole.
- True Companions: The movie goes to great lengths showing that all of Linkara's friends are this to him. Not just his supporting cast from his show, but his fellow internet reviewers too. When they all hear about how the crew of the Caelestis might be in danger, they all immediately volunteer to help, not just because they want to save them but because Linkara is their friend and he's not forcing them to go along with him. They all also willing choose to stay once when they realize the danger they are in, despite knowing they can leave at anytime and nobody would hold it against them.
- Unwilling Roboticisation: Mechakara quickly assimilates the crew of the Caelestis and turns them into cybernetic drones loyal only to him. The astronauts are freed from Mechakara's control by the end of the movie, although their cybernetic components are said to still remain inside them.
- We Need a Distraction: The Cinema Snob contacts the Caelestis and starts talking about the various exploitation movies he's reviewed over the years. This distracts the crew long enough for Comicron-1 and the Vigilant to blast away at their shields and eventually destroy the ship.
- Wham Line: The message from the Caelestis. Not only does it reveal that Mechakara is the Big Bad, everyone's reaction also makes it very clear that the stakes are very high.
- Writing Around Trademarks: Linkara usually has a reserve of Cybermats to help maintain general operations around Comicron-1. However, because the name is trademarked by the BBC, Linkara refers to them as "the 'Mats" when talking about them with Harvey Finevoice.
- X Days Since: A whiteboard on the Caelestis has a "20 days without incident" marker on it. Once Mechakara takes over the ship, the "2" is crossed off, turning it into "0 days without incident".
