Flame Wars IV

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Flame Wars IV was a Classic LNH crossover that ran from July 2002 to February 2003, written by Jamie Rosen and Saxon Brenton in consultation with Martin Phipps. It concerned the LNH's battle with OMAR, Net.God of trolling, and celebrated the 10th anniversary of the LNH.

See also The Flame Wars, Flame Wars II, Flame Wars III, Flame Wars V, Flame Wars VI, Flame Wars Final, and the term flamewar.

Where to Read

It can be read on the Eyrie Archive here, or the Blue Light Productions page here.

It was also reposted as part of Arthur Spitzer's "Classic LNH Adventures":

History

In Limp-Asparagus Lad #40, the interstellar civilizations of the universe had fallen prey to a terrible scourge which they had unknowingly brought from Earth: the collectible trading card craze. A meeting was called on Webster's World to decide on whether or not Earth posed a threat and what to do about it. Splashpage appeared at the meeting and argued that its existence is necessary to the universe because the Writers are from Earth and none of the extraterrestrials could exist without it. She then showed her world was not to be trifled with by transforming all the delegates into their Official Handbook of the Looniverse entries. It was then that Flipseid, who was present at the meeting, decided something had to be done about that irritating little planet called Earth...

Plot

Captain Rat Creature arrives on Earth, warning Fearless Leader and the rest of the Legion about the recent galactic upheaval. But he is already too late, as Flipseid sends forth OMAR to spread hatred and anger on Earth. Soon, fights are breaking out all over Net.ropolis, and the people involved start turning into hideous green trolls! Anal-Retentive Archive Kid is attacked by a fundamentalist Christian fanatic, who punctures him with a needle; when he becomes enraged, he is turned into one of the trolls.

Before long many members of the Legion are trollified, and chaos has broken out in the LNHQ! (Again). Kid Kirby pummels OMAR with the Power Kirby, unleashing a battle sequence motivated by sheer sequential storytelling energy rather than anger, while Special Bonding Boy defeats OMAR with the Power of Love. This ticks off OMAR enough that he unleashes the Power of Hate on Net.ropolis, in the form of a nuclear explosion! Luckily, Retcon Lad is on hand to ensure it's not permanent.

But the battle is far from over. OMAR takes over the military base outside of Net.ropolis and gathers his power. He kills several LNHers who run across him, meanwhile, other LNHers who are recovering from trollification die of brain tumors. Ultimate Ninja tries to call in The Normalizer, who had previously reverted some of the trolls, for help, but he has been kidnapped by mysterious forces.

After taking care of an evil HR manager, Ultimate Ninja sends a group of LNHers led by Cannon Fodder on a last desparate attack on OMAR's base. Cannon Fodder will detonate a bomb designed by ARAK. They defeat OMAR, but at a heavy cost: most of the LNHers on the mission die, with Cannon Fodder as, apparently, the only survivor.

Flipseid appears on the outskirts of Net.ropolis and takes the shriveled black husk that had been OMAR's heart. He reflects on how he has taught this world to fear him, and may return OMAR to life if he can be useful...

Associated Issues

Casualties of Flame Wars IV

Each of these heroes (except, of course, Cheesecake-Eater Lad – see below) has an memorial in the Hall of Lost Heroes.

Awards

The series won RACCies:Favorite Miniseries and Accies:Favorite Miniseries in the 2002 awards.

Legacy

Miss Translation and her cohort were thrown out of the LNH by Ultimate Ninja for failing to bring back The Normalizer. They moved into a new base provided by Lamar Dunston. Anal-Retentive Archive Kid discovered that he had been infected with HIV by the enraged fundamentalist. During the funeral, Multi-Tasking Man discovered that Cheesecake-Eater Lad hadn't died, but handed over to a mysterious horse by Major Reason, who took his place.

The Discontinuous Adventures of Starlit Mansions followed up, in a bittersweet mysterious way, on the death of Girl/Boy.

In Ultimate Mercenary #6, it was revealed that the LNH sent a strike force to Topphorti after OMAR's attack, but Flipseid wiped them all out of existence with his Discomega Effect, destroying them as if they had never been and erasing all memory of the counteroffensive. One of them, Victoria Arden, later resurfaced.

In Legion of Net.Heroes Volume 2 #50, the heart of OMAR returned in the hands of General Jarrek, and brought with it a new transformative curse and new revelations.

The "kill off little-used characters" syndrome, while common in mainstream comics, is rare in the LNH, and FWIV represents one of the Legion's few stabs at it. Most of the characters have remained dead (other than Cheesecake-Eater Lad, as above), though Chinese Guy has been planned for a revival for years; Subplot Lad made an unexpected comeback as Plot Hook Lad in Flame Wars Final.