Issue 10 shows that Jack doesn't trust Lock, Shock, and Barrel to complete their task, and declares he'll bring Zero back himself. While Jack himself won't realize it until later, he'll end up stumbling upon the fix while he's there.
- I'm going to two birds, one stone this: the Mind Control staff needs to go by the end of the story. It can either be disposed of, or...that's exactly what Jack needs. Maybe whatever power it has to control minds, in the right hands, can be used to navigate, or "control" the portal.
- Jossed. This plot point never comes up again.
They're probably aware that they're being controlled, seeing as the factory elves were a) terrified of the head elf, and knew exactly what he was capable of (some of the elves still had their minds free, as evidenced by their eyes and disgruntled expressions), thus implying it wears off eventually, and b) it's gone on long enough for them to be terrified, so it's very likely that not only has nothing has been done about it, but they can't leave. Lock, Shock, and Barrel aren't going to be happy when they come out of it, and what's the one thing they're best at? Causing trouble, and lots of it, which means their prior antics may come back as a Chekovs Skill. They've also already built rapport with the factory elves, and the elves themselves have been shown to be troublesome in their own way, albeit more playfully than the trio. They just need someone to guide them. And we all know that Lock, Shock, and Barrel would be more than happy to show their new friends how to put the "trick" in "trick-or-treat".
- Mostly Jossed. They cause trouble for Santa, but the rapport they built with the elves does come into play in that the elves convince Santa to go easy on them. After a quick talk, he realizes they actually don't understand the difference between good and bad, and decides to help them learn how to be good.
There's no way he was introduced just to have his subplot wrapped up in two issues. I can see this going one of two ways:
- Zero isn't able to convince Santa to follow him (at first) and see what's going on. Who does he know who might help him? Myzer, because he helped Myzer before.
- Myzer (whether alone or accompanied by other characters) pulls a Big Damn Heroes moment.
- Partially confirmed. He appears in the end, but otherwise has no active role.
On the surface, Myzer has a Dark and Troubled Past, lives in an Old, Dark House, and even his overall look is gloomy and grey-toned, which makes his statement that, "the only holiday for me is Halloween" seem pretty fitting. However, as mentioned on the Fridge Brilliance page, Christmas Town is the Light Is Not Good to Halloween Town's Dark Is Not Evil. Of all the elves shown who aren't Jouelle or being Mind Controlled, Myzer's the only elf who's initially unpleasant, but changes. With his creepier design and Hidden Depths starting to show, he'll fit right in with the "that's our job, but we're not mean" crowd, because he actually isn't mean. He's just hurt from the loss of a loved one.
The head elf mentions "elf" and "elfen" a lot when he's chanting the Mind Control spell. Lock, Shock, and Barrel aren't elves, so it's possible the hats work with the staff. Further evidence comes from the fact Zero didn't try to take them off, and the head elf moves around the room to get more elves under his control. It could simply be movement to keep the story going, or it could be a hint that there's a range, since some elves aren't affected.
Jack picked a good time to come to Christmas Town, as the banquet hall/toy factory just caught on fire. This is the perfect kind of disaster to get the rest of Christmas Town's attention, which in turn gives Myzer a reason to meet Jack and the rest of the Halloween Town gang, as well as an in to get his wish to become a Halloween Town citizen.
- Jossed.
Tying into a prior WMG, Zero was pinned under the tree when it fell. This is a perfect opportunity for Myzer to repay the favor and get in a Big Damn Heroes moment.
- Jossed.
Why else (aside from Shout-Out) would there be an Ariel doll among the toys? The original film also had two of the children wearing Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck pajamas.
