Sadly, the series seems to have fallen by the wayside. Several new Mega Man games got cancelled, and poor ol' Rock Light hasn't gotten much action in recent years, except or a couple classic-style games (Mega Man 9 and 10), and appearing in Super Smash Bros. At least he still got better than some franchises have.
So, when Capcom decided to bring Mega Man to comics, who better than Archie? The company had been churning out comics based on Sonic the Hedgehog for over twenty years, and the two characters would even cross over a couple of times.
So, with that, let's dig into the first issue of Mega Man's Archie series!
The first issue's cover is a bit basic, but it's well-drawn, and it's rather bright and colorful. It depicts Mega Man striking a "Gonna Blast Ya!" pose, with a flash of light behind him, and it also shows his "Father" Dr. Thomas Light, his sister Roll, dog Rush, and the main villain Dr. Wily. It counts on the recognizability factor. Gamers know who these characters are, so the comic shows you'll see them here.
"Trouble Get!"
Writer: Ian Flynn
Penciller: Patrick Spaziante
Inker: Patrick Spaziante
Colorist: Matt Herms
Letterer: John Workman
Editor: Paul Kaminski
The comic begins with the Blue Bomber facing off against some robots in front of Wily's Skull Castle, the mad doctor's main headquarters.
Mega Man is able to get past the robots, and reach the castle, but discovers there's no door. Despite this, the Blue Bomber is undeterred. He uses Guts Man's Super Arm to make a door, and force his way in.
Mega Man switches back to his Mega Buster, and he notes that Wily's castle is rather gloomy place. Well, yeah. It's Dr. Wily's Castle, and it has a big ol' skull on the front of it. One would not expect it to be a place filled with sunshine and rainbows.
A door closes, and Mega Man finds himself face to face...with the infamous Yellow Devil.
The comic then flashes back to a few days earlier in the year 200X. A place called Titanium Park is hosting a big event. It's the unveiling of Light Labs, and Dr. Thomas Light is preparing a speech. His robotic "children", Rock and Roll, are fussing over him, helping him get ready.
Poor Thomas is struggling with the speech, as he feels he is no good at public speaking. The scientist then hears a cough, and Dr. Light is happy that his guest has arrived. Who is it? One Dr. Albert Wily. You know, with a name like Dr. Albert Wily, you'd think that Dr. Light would wonder why he befriended this guy? Rock and Roll offer to help him out, but Wily finds them rather annoying.
Wily wants to discuss something with Dr. Light. He feels that since he helped design and build the original Robot Master line, he should be on stage with Light during the announcement. Light reminds Wily that because of his past with unethical experimentation, it would be too risky to have him on stage, as his presence could give Light Labs a negative reputation it can't afford now.
Wily is angry about this, but Light reassures him that they're still equal partners in Light Labs. You see, Light hasn't forgotten the work they did in university (Yeah, this makes me think that in the comic, Dr. Light is British. If he were American, he'd say "the work he did in college". Light is using the British variant of the phrase), and he believes that Wily can make up for his mistakes. The thing is, Dr. Light...does Wily want to make up for his past? Wily shakes his hand and tells him not to flub his lines. Dr. Light then goes to speak to the crowd.
Dr. Light does a speech about how robotics have helped create a better world, but they can go further. As such, he announces a new line of Robot Masters designed to aid humanity.
Yup, they're the first six Robot Masters from the original Mega Man game. It's explained that these Robot Masters are called that because they have advanced AI that allows them to command other robots...how does that make their AI more "advanced"? Dr. Light takes some questions, and one of the reporters, a green helicopter-like robot, asks about Light's involvement in the Sniper Joe development for the military in his younger years. The robot reporter expresses concern that these Robot Masters have a more sinister purpose, mainly covet war operations. The question seems to fluster Dr. Light a bit, who answers that that part of his life is in the past, and he is only interested in building robots with constructive purposes nowadays.
That night, at Light Labs, Rock and Roll express concern about that question. Dr. Light confesses that he did work for the military back in his younger years, but he's not proud of it. He only did it because he really needed the money. As he gets ready for bed, Dr. Wily sneaks into the Labs and reprograms the Robot Masters, except for Rock and Roll.
The next morning, the two robots wake up Dr. Light, because something is wrong. The Robot Masters are gone. Rock tells Dr. Light to turn on the news.
Dr. Wily hacks the broadcast and announces himself as the true creator of the Robot Masters, and he demands that the world's governments surrender to him and acknowledge him as the greatest genius ever. Dr. Light falls into his chair, falling into depression. Roll tries to reassure him that Wily can be stopped, but Light says he can't be stopped. The Robot Masters are too powerful. What did they make the Robot Masters out of? It would make sense if Wily modified them after he reprogrammed and made off with them, but did Light intentionally build them to be nearly indestructible? Rock offers to take on the Robot Masters himself.
I love this sequence. Roll thinks Rock is crazy, and wonders if he is even scared that he will be destroyed by them. Rock admits that he is scared and doesn't really want to fight. However, someone has to stand up to Wily and stop the reprogrammed Robot Masters. He does get that Light has no desire to make combat robots anymore, but again, someone has to stand up to Wily, and Light has the knowledge to modify Rock to fight them.
Light agrees and makes the modifications, giving Rock his blue armor, Mega Buster, and a copy chip, allowing him to use the abilities of the six Robot Masters. Reading this montage makes me think that there needs to be an awesome 80s song backing this up. Inspired by the Mega Buster's name, Rock takes up the codename Mega Man.
I loved this comic. The Archie Mega Man series was really good. I was really sad when it ended. This first issue did a great job setting up the world of Mega Man, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the games. I would have liked a little more about Wily's turn to evil, but that can be expanded on in further issues. And honestly, I think this comic expanded on Wily's turn more than the original game did, anyway. The art is very well done as well. It's very nice to look at. It's got a cartoony vibe, and it's very expressive.
I highly recommend this comic. If you find it, or any of the Archie Mega Man run in the back issue bins, buy it. Great comics right there. Next time, we travel back to Earth-712, and check back in with the Squadron Supreme! Things are not getting better for them...
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