Sterling to the Rescue© — Comicbooks / Graphic Novel

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A beam of multi-colored light shoots out from a Rubicube and hits Sterling and Sai. A moment later, the boys stand beside action figures in the town square of the miniature city they were just looking at.  

As they get their bearings, a mischievous monkey rushes in, snatches the Rubicube, and runs out of the town square. Sai gives chase with two action figures.

Sterling sees his dad's multi-tool, takes it, and examines it. Other action figures join him in the town square to seek guidance, but Sterling isn't engaging. 

Adaptor asks Hawkeye what he found on the mission. Hawkeye, a team reconnaissance expert, whistles, and a hawk called Scout flies in to land on his outstretched arm—Scout caws, which snaps Sterling out of reverie.

Sterling looks at Zema and asks, "What happened to my friend? Where's the Cube?" She replies, "The monkey used it to open a portal, and the small human followed him. When we caught up, the portal had shrunk too much for us to enter. I'm afraid he's on his own now."

Sterling falls back into deep thought, and the action figures descend into discord. Adaptor turns to Sterling. "Commander?" "COMMANDER?!" The second urging gets him to return to reality. "Right! Sorry. Look, this tool was my dad's. Which means he was here. He never went anywhere without it, so he likely left it there for us to find—like a trail of breadcrumbs!" 

The villain, Darknel, and his Bobble Headsmen are in a large courtyard with various portals. Each has a customized entrance that connects to a specific realm. Most doors are translucent, indicating they don't fully connect to this plane of existence. The door that looks like the entry to a fantasy castle and one other are "solid" in appearance.

Meanwhile, in a vast mythical world where all the color is gone, the evil action figures move toward a door in a large plot of dead grass. Eva, Stone, and Raptor "beam" through the portal into the Courtyard. These action figures are the mirrored opposites of the good ones, with no color. 

Darknel asks about finding the Digi-key. Eva holds her head down, "Not yet, sir." Darknel instructs her to get a hold of Sterling while he and his Bobble Headsmen retrieve the Rubicube from "the monkey and that blasted kid." He turns to a portal that looks like a door in the Taj Mahal and uses a key shaped like a trident to enter what leads to Charna's mythical world. (Darknel and his Bobble Headsmen join in Yoga to the Rescue, already in progress.)

The action figures help Sterling search for his dad. Traveling through Miniature City near the Courtyard of Doors, Adaptor says, "This site reeks of evil." Hawkeye remarks that Scout has spied on Darknel and knows this place is essential.

They turn onto a road leading to Figure Nation proper. Sterling and his crew question the disparate inhabitants about his dad, who has not been seen.

Hawkeye guides the team to a giant comicbook shop. On top of the building, a flashing neon light reads, "COMICOPIA—A UNIVERSE OF POSSIBILITIES!" They enter the store with massive aisles filled with comicbooks, toys, and brand merchandise. At the back is a large roll-up door, presumably used for deliveries. But there's a flame glowing around the edges, which we've come to know as an indicator of a portal. Sterling opens the door and is bathed in blue light.

Meanwhile, the Evils are now in the town square. Raptor whistles and Wren lands on his outstretched arm, just as Scout does with Hawkeye. Eva wants to know where Sterling went, and after Raptor and Wren do some low whistling, he leads them deeper into the city to the comicbook shop.

Sterling and the action figures are in Comicopia, a 2D comicbook world with a distinctly different art technique—an old, dot matrix printed-looking comicbook style with mid-20th-century architecture, vehicles, and technology.

They observe four superheroes defeat bank robbers. The police arrive and put the bandits into a wagon. Sterling points to a book his dad was reading and wonders if the police took him to jail. As they drive away, Scout takes to the sky and relays directions to Hawkeye.

Adaptor prepares to search for leads, grabs some remnants from the alleyway to become a beat reporter, and follows after the superheroes.

Eva and Evils have arrived in Comicopia. She tells the other to stay put as she goes to track Adaptor.

On the way to the police station, Scout alerts the team of suspicious activity at an abandoned building. They change course and travel to an old paint factory. 

Adaptor comes to the same conclusion, which Eva relays to the Evils: "If we play our cards right, they'll take themselves into the building—then we just show up and close the door behind them!"

Sterling and the team arrive at the paint factory. Adaptor comes moments later and says the superheroes know of Darknel, and he's the mastermind behind the world's villains! 

They sneak in the back door and search the factory. A big tank of swirling black and grey paint splashes out, and the color disappears everywhere a drop lands. Sterling notices his dad's wallet on a window ledge, and they head down that path. 

Adaptor pulls out a cheesy Sherlock Holmes detective hat, uses a magnifying glass, and spots a trap door. They go through it down a spiral staircase.

They enter a dungeon full of jail cells; Sterling sees his dad, Anthony, who starts to tell Sterling about the key. However, the Evils pop out and surround them before he finishes.

In the ensuing battle, Sterling flees, and the good action figures are captured. The Evils pursue Sterling. He runs down a sidewalk, speeds on an old skateboard, and then rides a bike—the multi-tool glimmers for a second to "hint" that he already has the key. 

Sterling slides into an alley and watches the Evils rush past his hiding place. He turns to move toward the exit and comes face-to-face with Eva. She monologues about Darknel's plan to take over all domains and her hatred of Zema and alludes to Charna (whom Sterling has never heard of). 

Eva yanks Sterling by the collar and says Darknel wants him alive since his father hid the key, and he'll be leveraged. Eva notices a flash from the multi-tool. She pulls the tool from Sterling's shirt pocket as the Evils return. She triumphs it up. "The Digi-key! Well, well … maybe we don't need the whelp or his insolent father either." Eva turns back around to see that Sterling is gone.

Sterling frantically runs through superhero/villain fights, ducking and jumping over SFX (POW, SMACK, KABLAM) to escape Eva and the Evils.

The Evils appear from another passage and corner Sterling. Eva leaves and mentions taking the key to the Courtyard to wait for Darknel. 

Sterling has no way out, and just as all hope seems lost, the four superheroes from the bank robbery come behind the Evils and demand they leave the kid alone. There's another battle (1960s Batman visuals are inserted here) as Sterling slips away. 

Eva is back in Miniature City, heading for the Courtyard, where the various doors lead to other realms. She tightly clutches the multi-tool.

Sterling returns to the comicbook shop and rushes out the front door. The birds, Wren and Scout, fight in the air. Wren notices Sterling emerge onto the street. He runs for his life as a swarm of Monocronies begins to chase him while Wren dive-bombs.

During his time in the mythical realm, Sai embraced the name Yoga and met Charna. After their epic adventure, he takes her to Miniature City. Sterling rounds the corner to the town square. Yoga quickly twists the Rubicube, and a beam of light zaps all three kids into the map room, their regular size.

The kids and action figures start to leave the paint factory but see Eva and the Evils, plus an entire squad of Monocronies. Eva announces that it's over for them. Zema pushes through the door and accuses Eva of being hard-hearted. Here, we realize Eva, Zema, and Charna's earlier life together. 

Eva gets furious. The bad guys rush forward, and the good guys charge out of the factory to take the battle to the street.

The action figures fight their counterparts. During the one-on-one matches, we learn of their connection and the backstory of the Evils. Yoga and Charna teach Sterling how they fought the Monocronies in the mythical world.

Boxtrot, Hawkeye, and Zema are losing to their counterparts. Adaptor and the kids fight against the Monocronies. Sterling tries to reason with them as Darknel rides in on Ravenous, a black raven the size of a Clydesdale (introduced in Yoga to the Rescue). 

Eva and the Evils crowd Adaptor and Sterling up the steps to the paint factory while Yoga and Charna back up the steps away from Darknel and Ravenous, with no way out! 

The action figures are tied up and held captive by their evil counterparts. Adaptor breaks free, and Yoga, Sterling, and Charna move to an open area. A Monocronie lobs a black grenade at the kids but hits the wall of the paint factory—the colorless spot grows outward as the battle continues. The Monocronies throw more " no-color grenades."  

Sterling tells Adaptor a plan to free the figures. Adaptor disguises himself as a GI Joe to enter enemy territory. 

Yoga and Charna confront Darknel as they did in the mythical world. Darknel is ready this time and shoves a Monocronie between himself and the Rubicube, who takes the blast and disappears. Darknel seizes the Rubicube and captures Yoga and Charna. 

Adaptor pulls back his left sleeve, revealing a Batman-looking gauntlet with a pencil-thin light emitter. He aims it at the side of a tower, and a giant superhero symbol appears on the building. Moments later, Lass-O, Thadeus, Grunther, and Mehicle come onto the scene. 

A set of Monocronies drags Charna and Yoga into the factory and ties them to chairs. Charna kicks one, who staggers backward, hits a vat of chemicals, and knocks it over.

Sterling and the superheroes battle the Monocronies, the Evils, and Ravenous. Adaptor, almost getting captured, maneuvers to release his fellow figures. 

Adaptor describes Sterling's plan to Hawkeye. He whistles loudly, and Scout flies around the corner. Soon after, Wrecks comes barreling down the street, still chasing Scout. Wrecks crashes into the Monocronies like a bowling ball through pins.

Adaptor locates Charna and Yoga while the two Monocronies are flat against a wall, avoiding the ooze of chemicals. Adaptor climbs a ladder, ties the end of a cable to an anchor, and flings it across the room into the wall. He swings a pully over what is now a zipline, rides down at an accelerated pace, and scoops up Charna and Yoga.

Sterling crumbles under the weight of self-doubt. The superheroes begin to lose the battle, like an extension of Sterling's will; when he doubts, they fail. Sterling recalls the superheroes saying Darknel is like all villains—so full of ego that they can't imagine being wrong.

Sterling dramatically acts terrified of Darknel, cowering. Darknel leans into Sterling and hurls vile insults. At the height of egocentricity, Sterling nabs the Rubicube. He flips the key out of the multi-tool, and a magic keyhole appears in one of the gem faces of the Rubicube. 

Darknel demands Sterling not put the key into the Rubicube—"It will unlock the full power of the Cube, which he couldn't handle." Sterling pushes the key into the keyhole. The Rubicube clicks, and a blast of color erupts in all directions like an explosion of iridescence. The shockwave knocks down Darknel and the Evils. The Monocronies fade out, as does Ravenous. Wrecks lets out a whimper and scampers away. This onslaught of color reverses the black-and-white spots "leaking" off the building and stops the spread. 

Cut to Darknel inside a cell at the police station. The superheroes shove the Evils into another cell, but Eva is nowhere to be found.

Citizens from all territories gather on Main Street, the town square of Miniature City. The kids are on a stage, like a parade float. Sterling pins a medal on Boxtrot, Hawkeye, and Zema. Adaptor is introduced and announced as the nation's mayor.

Cut back to the dead, magical location we saw in Chapter One. But now the world is alive, with rainbows, unicorns, fairies, and all the stereotypical "girly" charm—like My Little Pony meets Chronicles of Narnia.

Over in a dark forest, deep into the woods, is a creepy old cabin like where Hansel and Gretel would get eaten by a witch—two kids are at the door. The girl says, "They say a witch lives here. We mustn't disturb her!" "Nonsense!" says the boy. "Don't you know there's no such thing as witches? They're just people who need love like the rest of us!" He opens the door and barges in. 

Eva is inside, holding the key to Darknel's cell. "It's not over, Charna!" she whispers, putting the key in her pocket. She turns to the kids and says, "Welcome, my pretties…"  

To be continued… in Charna to the Rescue