Captain Electron #1 - Atop the Fourth Wall

Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. In this episode, Linkara looks at a promotional comic for a defunct school with a terrifying mascot!
atopthefourthwall.com
Originally uploaded July 16th, 2012.
ORIGINAL INFO: The next generation of hero for the 1980s!
RUMINATIONS: Captain Electron is one of those very perfect comics that I don’t get to run into very often. Everything about it is just stupid enough - stilted dialogue, bad understanding of its topic, a lame superhero, a story behind the thing it’s advertising that makes for a good introduction, and of course something that makes it instantly memorable and easy to reference. And that thing to reference is, of course, the hellish demon that is Mr. Computer. He’s the kind of mascot that COULD have worked, could have been fun in his own right… but he’s JUST creepy enough to make him horrifying. The Kool-Aide Man’s anthropomorphic parts just seem kind of cartoony and fun. Mr. Computer’s anthropomorphism just makes you want to scream and run in terror.
It’s a good thing that the convention travelling stuff didn’t last beyond this episode, since honestly there’s not enough to it to make it terribly interesting for multiple episodes. Two was the limit, really, and I milked enough out of it to make it enjoyable enough.

[@sheepheadsez2229]

"Zongor" is a last name that really only gives you one career path, supervillain.

[@PeanutBuny27]

Same with "EvilNasty”

[@TPrower]

Amazing how they try to make mascots charming and whimsical, and only end up making them the stuff of nightmares. XD

[@ignacionadeo1306]

Unfortunately, Linkara's new outfit would not go on to have a top hat. Top hat when, Linkara?

[@keelanbarron928]

They did actually try......it didn't work.

[@nate567987]

also holo kara...

[@ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Moarte covered that

[@TheVeteranROB]

Mr. Computer looks like a horrifying fusion between M.O.D.O.K. and Thomas the Tank Engine

[@leeiif]

I haven't even seen him yet and this is one of the best comment's I've scene in a long time. (Watching right now)

[@user-kf6vv2qq1h]

Servbot Rambo In the AD&D there is a Planescape. In that setting, there is a plane, Mechanus, which represents pure law and logick. Inhabited by modrons. And, belive me, m8, they can be even creepier, than mr. Comp. You can find a Dragon magazine #354 in pdf(thats much faster) and take a look. Espechialy at pentadrones.

[@chazzwozzio]

+Servbot Rambo t.v.u.e.d.o.k.? The very Useful Engine Desinged for Only Killing

[@chazzwozzio]

+Александр Миранович the pentadrones look like elder things from hp love craft

[@user-kf6vv2qq1h]

Chad Busch But pentadrones more awersome, coz they are like cyber-upgraded elder things. It's mecha-starfish with FIVE faces and vintage robolegs. Awersome!

[@POLE7645]

Nowadays, Mr. Computer dresses like a coin and is promoting Cryptoland. Seriously. That bitcoin mascot gave me the exact same vibe as Mr. Computer.

[@daelen.cclark]

His evolution got worse.

[@AlexHarrison-zv4jj]

Oh god, you're right! Someone should edit in a Mr. Computer rig into the video.

[@matthewclark5612]

Electron looks like Superman dressed like Captain Marvel Jr.

[@TheMightyBattleSquid]

You neglected to mention the fact that Mr. Computer says the modern industrial world would come to a stand still if all the computers in the COUNTRY were shut down.

[@TheAllSeeingEye2468]

He's not wrong. If all the computers where to stop working the human race would just die

[@PosthumanHeresy]

Well yeah, it's the USA. Where's Wall Street located? What would happen to the entire world economy if every computer involved in that went down at once?

[@Persoon56]

To answer one of your questions, Mr. Computer runs on Windows 666

[@davidspring4003]

Or worse, Windows 9.

[@FooPanda]

Or 3.2

[@traxthetrashwizard]

Mr. Computer is one of my favorite Lovecraft monsters! Wait... Mr. Computer isn't a Lovecraft creature? ... are you sure?

[@queenmedusa934]

Crimson Trax Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Mr. Computer R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

[@chazzwozzio]

+Brandon Roberts he is scp-79's true form!

[@New3DSLuigi364]

I LOVE MR COMPUTER; BECAUSE I DON'T FIND HIM SCARY AT ALL; I FIND MURDEROUS ANIMATRONICS FROM A NIGHTMARISH FRANCHISE TAKING PLACE IN A PIZZERIA I-N-F-I-N-I-T-E-L-Y SCARIER THAN A GOOFY LOOKING COMPUTER FACE!!

[@TheDerpyderpyderp]

New3DSLUIGI364 no

[@15oClock]

A creature of unknowable motives, horrifying nature and uncaring of mortal lives? Yeah, he's Lovecraft's worst monstrosity.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

"You can place a worm within your code to make the program self-destruct?" For a given value of self-destruct, yes. I mean, you obviously can't make the program explode, as the program isn't a tangible object, just a series of instructions for a computer to follow, but you could design the program to uninstall itself as soon as it's done executing its function and erase the logs of its installation from the computer memory. Alternately, you could program it to system hog and overheat the machine, causing it to melt critical components of the machine.

[@StygianSkunk]

I find the ears to be the most baffling part of Mr. Computer.

[@jacksolo9082]

Lol

[@harrisonmissell1716]

@cynicalskunk8 I like your icon did you draw that yourself?

[@potatobombkyle]

It's a shame, "Captain Electron" sounds like it could be the name of a hero who can go sub-atomic, or has atomic-based powers. Nobody take my idea.

[@taylord5381]

Pointless Brickfilm Productions so radioactive man?

[@wolfmantheimpaler]

@@taylord5381 or Captain Atom

[@RabblesTheBinx]

@@wolfmantheimpaler or The Atom, or Firestorm, or Ant-Man, or...

[@Bobsheaux]

I really like this artwork. Apparently this artist is head-over-heels in love with Golden Age art, and dabbles primarily in that kind of style. It's like the minds behind this comic wanted to give Captain Electron as legitimate an origin story as possible, so why not go with an artist to make it look like the guy's been around as long as Batman and Superman? lol

[@POLE7645]

I checked out the artist (Jay Disbrow) and it turns out that the guy actually was around and drawing comics at the time of the Golden Age. Or at least at the tail end of it. His bio (at least the one I could find) stated that he started in the early 50s. I couldn't find his name on superhero stuff, but he worked on "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" and similar pulp titles and moved on to various horror comics during the Silver Age (might explain Mr. Computer). And apparently, he even had his own webcomic (called Aroc of Zenith) that ran from 2000 to 2004 (yes, a Golden and Silver Age artist with his own webcomic). And it was done with this style.

[@GabyGeorge1996]

Bobsheaux hello there Bobsheaux! Big fan!

[@Isaac-gh5ku]

The only problem with Captain Electron is the expression of the characters are almost emotionless.

[@Bobsheaux]

@@POLE7645 A Golden Age artist with his own web comic... That is all too awesome. lol

[@jeremyusreevu237]

Hey, Bob. I noticed that in some of your videos, you had this comic on your wall.

[@JoeRepp]

Theory: MST3K gets referenced so much in this episode because Holokara is only based on Linkara's personality, and as such has a more limited repertoire of things to reference than regular Linkara.

[@Nintendon85]

Probably not what he was thinking, but I'm calling this canon.

[@Trevin_Taylor]

Linkara said the opposite, but whatever.

[@digitaltailsmon4096]

How so? I mean not to be rude but isn't the idea of it being based on his personality that it would know everything he does and have the same repertoire as regular Linkara?

[@JaelinBezel]

14:37 I'm calling it now, those two students are Alec and Shanna.

[@foxymetroid]

Oh please. Their Tandy computers provide all the education they need. Why learn programming from some human when they have their electronic god?

[@supertransistor8762]

Maybe mr computer is their tandy leader? EVERYTHING IS COMING TOGETHER

[@dukespubber741]

I still can't believe you never had Mr. Computer as a reoccurring character on the show.

[@sethhancock40]

Linkara to Captain Electron: "Don't provoke the terrorists!" Q to Q Junior: "Don't provoke the borg!" All was the missing was John de Lancie's amazing facial expressions and it would be perfect~

[@ZoanBlade90]

Title Card: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! It looks like a proto version of Fallout's The Master. 6:46 It looks like some ungodly creation of the Enclave and the Institute. 10:22 "We decided to give you a history lesson INSTEAD of giving you an origin of the guy on the cover!" 23:50 ...Glory to Mankind.

[@rhymebeat1142]

You know it's amusing that Holokara is the one to review this comic. Considering he basically is a very advanced AI.

[@Merit2397]

Linkara: You know, superheroes are not salesmen! Faster than a speeding salesman! More powerful than a promoter! Able to fly higher than any advertising blimp! IT"S CAPTAIN ELECTRON!!!

[@1IbramGaunt]

Something tells me in the 'history of computer science' there wasn't much mention of the massive British contributions to it by Babbage, Flowers, Turing and Berners-Lee among many others 🙄

[@dragonempress8367]

A Mrs. Computer? PLEASE NO!

[@dragonempress8367]

***** NO!!!!

[@MTdaBlacking]

Ebbi the Tigress And Keen the Koala Someone was going to bring it up. I guess it had to be me...

[@OnDavidsBrain]

Behold Mr Computer AKA Mr Popo's IT department.

[@Tareltonlives]

"You know, you're even creeping me out"

[@dannyfenlon2476]

1TrulyMad so is snowflame mr popo's drug advisor?

[@gunsniper0018]

you know what, that would make too much sense. Seriously how does one get a gallon of LSD?

[@PostMelvz]

Mr. Computer is Spongebob's satanic cousin

[@joholloway8818]

the sheer horror that is Mr. Computer is so intense that it flip's part-way back around to pure comedy gold! every time I see this thing I'm damn near overwhelmed by the combo of seizure inducing laughter and pants crapping terror it brings in it's wake.

[@nerdsman567]

Mr. Computer looks like the demonic lovechild of BMO from "Adventure Time."

[@mitchfletcher2386]

Yeah, BMO and Thomas the Tank Engine.

[@noahmagana137]

10 years of the horror that is mr computer

[@skug9bob]

"Oh, great. Another costumed weirdo dropping out of the sky to pester us. What's this, the fifth one this week?"

[@harrisonmissell1716]

Mr: Computer makes me realize why people become Luddites

[@jeremyusreevu237]

Mr Computer looks like an illustrated version of a FoodFight character.

[@WinterSteele]

Maybe the comic is taking place in an alternate reality where a rift in time has caused various eras to bleed together, hence the weird, anachronistic vibe going on.

[@gennybaratta2460]

or they live in the same universe as A Series of Unfortunate Events

[@AvengerGreen]

I'm with Linkara; why do people insist on putting faces on things that shouldn't have faces?!

[@johnalogue9832]

It can work in cartoons, if you do it right. They didn't.

[@nerdsman567]

Am I the only one wondering what strange and perverted songs would be featured in "Rule 34: The Musical?" XD

[@KidSnivy69]

Sadly, no

[@thegayghost872]

Grease 2 had three songs about sex, so that's probably close.

[@New3DSLuigi364]

UNFORTUNATELY YES!!!!! I CAN ASSUME THEY'D PUT SOME DIRTY AVENUE Q SONGS IN THERE; SUCH AS THE INTERNET IS FOR 16-15-18-14

[@Alevamltd]

I got one "Luck Be a Labia"

[@DerangedAvenger]

It has the hit numbers "Your Cherished Childhood Memories Are Ruined", "Naruto Is a Sexual Bicycle", and "Care Bears in BDSM".

[@Tareltonlives]

So, if the hapless victim in A Case of Spring Fever tried to digitize everything, would he be haunted by Mr. Computer? "NOOOOOO Computers!"

[@vipertaja]

I didn't know Arnim Zola had a son...

[@dannyfenlon2476]

vipertaja with modok

[@mogan4534]

vipertaja and Baron Zemo had a son to in Manfred Zongor. ... huh... and Captain Electron has a Captain in his name... he also wears mostly blue with a small symbol on his chest... maybe this ISN'T a rip off of Superman. It's all pointing to Captain America.

[@UmbraeNacht]

“Mr. Computer Meets Colby” the crossover no one wanted, but too bad! It’s the comic the world deserves.

[@TerryFedora]

That Star Wars joke was clever as hell. And seriously....Mr.Computer is AHHHH.

[@ShadowWolfRising]

OH GOD THE HORROR! SAVE ME SLENDER MAN!

[@Firestar4041]

+ShadowWolfRising Slenderman: Na, you on your own. I am going nowhere near that thing! Na f*k it im out!

[@theponydalek7923]

We need a real hero SAVE US SATAN

[@lucasbell4831]

This whole comment section needs to be burned.

[@lucasbell4831]

Keelan Barron Because they're talking about fucking Slenderman and fucking Jeff the Killer years after either of them were relevant or scary.

[@ZoanBlade90]

"Bring me SCP 076-2. We need this to be dealt with this quick."

[@KingBronzeL]

Captain Electron, aka Superman rip off #666.

[@CaptainLunar1994]

+KingBronzeL Or Captain Marvel Jr if you take into the lightning bolt logo.

[@henryt3301]

+TheOmnitron12345 Without the Elvis hair? FOR SHAME!

[@Tareltonlives]

Where does Mr. Computer fit into God's plan for us?

[@rikacheer]

+Tareltonlives the part of the plan where we learn giving computers life is a TERRIBLE IDEA!!!!

[@XFlare17]

right next to give jackass superpowers and drain the justice League of powers to worship our lord and savior Batman

[@rikacheer]

or just drain superman of his powers, give him guns, have him use said guns, then preach that guns are evil and only evil people use them

[@DarsiPadilla]

Nowhere, because God did not create Mr. Computer.

[@superemoboi2050]

I thought of some insults for Dr. Zongor's outfits: 14:23 Hey Zongor! You steal that ascot from the Mystery Machine, or did you just need a bib? 18:55 Hey Zongor! Did you raid Robbie Rotten's closet, or was Willy Wanka having a yard sale?

[@TheGrayMysterious]

8:39 oh God... NOW YOU'RE PUTTING THE IMAGE OF A HUNG MR. COMPUTER IN MY MIND!!!! *EW EW EW EW EW EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW*

[@frick_____you]

i don't find Mr. Computer nearly as disturbing as...every character's face in this comic.

[@KidSnivy69]

5:32 It's stealing my soul

[@panbat2367]

6:08 gave the video a like.

[@jackmonaghan8477]

20:03 - Actually when Dr Z yelled that line, I actually read it in the voice of Tuco from 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'.

[@declansheehan1768]

So is Mr Computer the sort of character that can go somewhere in the Uncanny Valley?

[@thomasjenkins7506]

Captain Electron: a superhero so bland and forgettable that no one in his own universe knows who he is. and zongor, you have a death ray, why the hell do you need plutonium?

[@EHH246]

Jay Disbrow, the writer and artist, is actually respected enough to have a Lambiek profile. The problem was he was the wrong person to make this type of comic.

[@Gyarretto7]

"V-Thrust Drive" sounds so hilariously dirty.... wait a minute! NOW we know what makes Diehard's crotch such a powerful weapon!!

[@KyleRayner12]

Dr. Zongor looks astonishingly like Dr. Strange. Add Captain Electron's neck-thing, and I'm pretty sure where the writers ripped off all their fantastic elements.

[@jamesadamsfl]

I’ll say this for the comic: apart from the invader from the Uncanny Valley (A.K.A. Mr. Computer), the characters actually have pretty nice designs. Or maybe that’s just my love for decopunk talking.

[@PostMelvz]

Oh hercules if only you can throw mr. computer in space

[@iamaunicorn1232]

Now I really wanna see a superhero give one bad guy a noogie with another bad guy's head.

[@fearsomemanic]

16:16 ...containg a phoney plutonium deposit site... Containg? They didn't even proofread the comic!

[@Gojiragon]

Because poor literacy is... completely expected in this.

[@OdaSwifteye]

Mr. Computer: i'm a computer, i'm a computery guy.

[@LARKXHIN]

The frustration in "why is it that nobody knows about this guy??" Gets me every time.

[@FNGLHR]

It always amazes me how people don't consider how some of their mascots or characters may look. Mr. Computer is one such example. I mean seriously, did no one look at this and not think "This thing is true nightmare. Why did we create it?"

[@Inlelendri]

FNGLHR I'm not sure but I *think* it's the same logic that leads to people making teddy bear eyes with actual irises instead of just black (speaking as a hobby teddy bear maker) without considering how terrifying they are put on a stuffed toy. I might be wrong, of course.

[@marcjones4351]

I still say that Linkara deserves a medal for reading crappy comic books like this and not suffering from terminal softening of the brain.

[@harrisonmissell1716]

8:02 Like Undertale, Fallout 4, VR Chat, Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga on the Nintendo Wii, so much porn, all the memes of course, and the very You Tuber who’s reviewing my comic right now and thus allowing my Lovecraftian presence spread throughout the world

[@jeremyusreevu237]

Half the time I forget Linkara is reading the book and it's not the actual characters speaking.

[@genesismultiverse4896]

We can agree those 2 would come as cameos as a virtual guide in computers

[@FarNoGaming]

"Sir I'm gonna have to ask you to move." I lost it at that haha.

[@TheLowBrassDude]

As a New Jersey native, this is unintentionally hilarious. Mostly because Morristown is nowheresville.

[@MrGMoney1944]

See Iowa has stuff we have corn and are the origin of the first computer!

[@darkhero-3097]

I have to say, I like this artwork. Gives a classic vibe to it.

[@SpeedyEric1]

1:13- Yeah, I can never forget seeing this commercial when it was around during the release of Batman Forever.

[@gibbeynator]

He never did get that top hat for his new reviewer costume, did he? I guess that's just something Holo-Linkara said while he was malfunctioning.

[@AJSSPACEPLACE]

With captain electron being unused for so long, and no known trademark being filed...I wonder if he could end up in the public domain. Like, if someone tried using him in a comic, and no copyright was enforced

[@rodgerlang884]

Man, for a 1980s comic, this is certainly drawn and written so much more like a 30s comic

[@JadenTSlime]

"The day will soon come when technicians will be able to program a robot to make intelligent decisions from a knowledge pool created by the technicians." [Looks at the state KZbin's been in the past several months with the adpocalypse bot and laughs mournfully at the irony]

[@averagegamecritic]

Rule 34 The Musical? I sort of want to see that.

[@kai615k]

Brandon Foley ew

[@thornangel16]

I find myself coming back to this episode just to watch Linkara/Holokara screaming in fear of Mr. Computer. For some reason it brings me so much joy.

[@meowistforlife]

That awkward moment at 17:06 is just awful

[@jakebryant3445]

Most definitely awkward.

[@ramirezthesilvite]

6:31 I guess Linkara didn't agree with Holokara's assessment? Or he just forgot about it.

[@ZeldaTheSwordsman]

He says he couldn't find one of suitable quality at the time

[@UndeadHavoc1]

O' boi, I love Harvey :D "P-O-O-K-A. Pooka... from old Celtic Mythology. A fairy spirit in animal form, always very large. The pooka appears here and there, now and then, to this one and that one. A benign, but mischievous creature. Very fond of rum pots, crack pots, jack pots, and how are you, Mr. Wilson?" I swear I'm 24... Also, at 20:17 ... is Cap'n 'lectron being played by Bill Nye? Bill Nye as a superhero... damn, he just gets better n' better...

[@Cdr2002]

I can’t hear old computer ads without expecting the Entity to glitch in

[@thevideo-beast122]

BRICK Computer Science Institute: possibly the worst school that ever in modern history..

[@Otterino]

13:50 Doot doo doot doo doot Inspector Inspector.

[@thegayghost872]

I can't help but notice you gave the woman a deep, manly voice.

[@AT4W]

+Andrew Addams Can't remember the exact moment, but it's one of two possibilities - if it's a reporter... I give all reporters the same Tom Brokaw voice regardless of gender. If it was just a random character, that was just a mistake while I was reading the script since I don't usually put markers to indicate the gender of the person speaking since I can USUALLY remember fine.

[@BeigomaStudios053]

are you coming to conbrovo this year?

[@thegayghost872]

Makes sense. It was funny, anyways.

[@New3DSLuigi364]

Linkara, I don't see WHY or even HOW Mr.Computer is so Scary; I'm not Scared of him, I find the Animatronics from FNAF I-N-F-I-N-I-T-E-L-Y SCARIER THAN MR.COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@lucasbell4831]

New3DSLUIGI364 That's because you're a little ten-year-old bitch who still cries about goddamn Slenderman.

[@deadaccount7520]

If he jumps in the water does he get wet or does the water just get him instead. Particleman. particleman.

[@andreworders7305]

The thing on the thumbnail looks like that thing from that bad Shark Boy and Lava Girl movie.

[@Astolfo2001]

Hey! Don't diss The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl like that!

[@Bussani]

Do you think they should do a crossover with the Tandy Whiz Kids? Alex and Alec can team up! Captain Electron always seems to make the same pose when he flies. I mean, I guess Superman does too, but Electron's little leg-raise is pretty distinctive.

[@johndavidtibbetts7320]

where does mr computer fit into god's plan for us...?

[@Trevin_Taylor]

John David Tibbetts someone else already said that. Read the comments before commenting.

[@aarengabriel8106]

Not gonna lie, the title card version of Mr. Computer looks bearable or even cutesy compared to the original spawn of hell featured in the comic. Perhaps it's because he has no ears or bowtie, so it looks like some dork who is cosplaying as a giant computer with his face on it rather than the maligned hybrid of a human and a monitor.

[@buzzingsigndiner397]

So when you changed your reviewer outfit a couple of years back, you decided against the top hat?

[@ColtGColtG]

Buzzing Sign Diner I am assuming it was just because it was Holo-Kara who said it.

[@dracocrusher]

Colt Gustafson I'm legitimately not sure if Linkara was clever enough to look back and notice that or if he just mostly forgot about that joke and just didn't feel like going for that type of thing with the new outfit. Either way, personally, I think a tophat would look pretty great with the new outfit. It already has sort-of a more grand, gentleman-ish feel to it, if he could get a good tophat just for a scene or two, I think it could work.

[@AT4W]

dracocrusher Actually, it was more a matter of "Couldn't find a top hat that was as good as the regular hat."

[@dracocrusher]

Linkara-AtopTheFourthWall As much as a tophat would rule, I have to admit, it is a pretty great hat....

[@buzzingsigndiner397]

Linkara-AtopTheFourthWall [Imagines "Pretty Woman" montage of Linkara trying various hats. XD]

[@carlossilva6828]

me: what was the point of this comic again ?? Dr Insano: !! Computer Sciencee Of Course !! XD

[@Holykitsune]

Mr. Computer looks like something that belongs in Five Nights At Freddy's...

[@TheNumnutRandomness]

Mr. Computer has a certain _je ne sais_ AHHHHHH!

[@averagegamecritic]

It makes sense it would have to do with computer science. I mean, guy’s an expert, and not rich, so would be tied to what he’s an expert in. That line actually makes sense.

[@alexjewett7455]

8:22 like what is up with his freaky yellow eyes and why is he staring into my nightmares?

[@Ataru320]

5:58-6:08: Everything you need to know about this review.

[@tombeats7179]

Ngl, i laughed way too fuckin hard at the Chrysler building moment.

[@TheAllSeeingEye2468]

mr. computer: aka what happens when Brainiac downloads every computer virus that ever was and will ever will be along with all the rule 34 content

[@Tareltonlives]

Hey Mr Computer? Coily just called; says you're creeping him out

[@andreworders7305]

All hail TV Tropes

[@garganrose]

06:39 funny your reviewer outfit has changed sense this video and no top hat.

[@JadenTSlime]

Man the bit about AI making decisions from a knowledge pool would have provided such a good dig opportunity at the adbot's expense nowadays.

[@ThatManOverThere]

Okay, that C64 mouse commercial was actually cute.

[@andrewmihovich4252]

The art style on the humans makes me think, oddly specifically, of awkward 1. drawn pornography or 2. propaganda. EDIT: No, no, you don't go to Quick Stop for common plutonium, you get it at the... at... okay, I'm hesitating on if there's a big enough difference to go for the "Back to the Future" line.

[@Tareltonlives]

Mr Computer: More horrifying than Missigno

[@Tareltonlives]

Where does Mr. Computer fit into God's plan for us?