Mega Man (Archie Comics)

Mega Man
The cover of Mega Man #55, the final issue of the series
Publication information
Publisher	Archie Comics Capcom
Publication date	April 2011 – December 2015
No. of issues	55
Creative team
Written by	Ian Flynn

Mega Man is a comic series produced by Archie Comics based on the video game series of the same name by Capcom. It was announced at New York Comic Con 2010, and the series began publication in April 2011 with Ian Flynn, who has written many stories for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog series, as its lead writer. The series proved highly successful, and in 2013 a crossover took place between the Mega Man and Sonic series, under the title "Worlds Collide". The series does not follow the events of the games in exact order, including an adaptation of the Japanese exclusive game Super Adventure Rockman between those of Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3. The series later included a few stories set in the time of the Mega Man X series. The popularity of Worlds Collide subsequently led to a second crossover with the Sonic series, Worlds Unite. The series was put into an "indefinite hiatus" after issue 55, concluding with setup for an adaptation of Mega Man 4.

The series is also notable for the artistic liberties taken with various characters. Shadow Man of Mega Man 3 and the Stardroids of Mega Man V are both featured as creations of Ra Moon, the primary antagonist from Super Adventure Rockman, and all are featured as foes of a group of robots based on Mega Man 8 character Duo. Mega Man and Proto Man's Japanese names-Rock and Blues-are adapted as the names for their civilian forms. Several Robot Masters also appear in the series earlier than they did in the games.

Boom! Studios released a six-issue miniseries based on Mega Man: Fully Charged in August 2020, which has made the return of the Archie comic even more unlikely.

Premise

As in the Mega Man games, the comic is set on the planet Earth in the year 20XX, a not-so-distant future period in which advanced robots capable of independent thought and decisions making have been developed. The evil scientist Dr. Wily sets out to conquer the world, doing so first by stealing or creating advanced automatons known as Robot Masters. In order to stop him, Rock -- a helper robot created by Wily's old colleague, Dr. Light -- volunteers to be equipped with weapons so that he can stand against him.

Issues #1–23

Issues #1-4 serve as an adaptation of the first Mega Man, while #5-8 are a loose adaptation of Mega Man Powered Up, mainly serving to incorporate the characters of Time Man and Oil Man. #9-12 adapt the events of Mega Man 2, while #13-#16 serve introduce the Emerald Spears, an anti-technology extremist group. #17-18 adapt the backstory for Proto Man discussed in various games, most notably Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. The following issues provide build-up for the then-upcoming Super Adventure Rockman story arc before being interrupted by the events of Worlds Collide at the end of Issue #23.

Worlds Collide

Worlds Collide is a crossover between the universes of Mega Man and Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic series. The 12-part miniseries takes place across Mega Man issues #24-27, Sonic Universe issues #51-54, and Sonic the Hedgehog issues #248-251.

Issues #28–49

Following the conclusion of Worlds Collide, an adaptation of Super Adventure Rockman takes place during issues #28-32. Issues #33-36 address the fallout from these events and set the stage for the events of Mega Man 3, while also adapting the origin story of Mega Man X and the Reploids from the Mega Man X series. #37-40 feature an original storyline split between the two time periods, during which Mega Man and his team must defeat a rogue Wily robot while the Maverick Hunters encounter the same robot a century later. Issues #41-48 serve as an adaptation of Mega Man 3, while #49 acts as a prelude to the events of Worlds Unite.

Worlds Unite

Worlds Unite is the second crossover between the Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog comics. In addition to the casts of the main Mega Man and Sonic books, Worlds Unite also features characters from the Mega Man X and Sonic Boom universes, as well as several other Capcom and Sega franchises such as Street Fighter, Golden Axe, Viewtiful Joe, Panzer Dragoon, Ōkami, Nights into Dreams..., Monster Hunter, Ghosts 'n Goblins, and Skies of Arcadia. The 12-part miniseries takes place across Sonic Universe issues #76-78, Sonic Boom issues #8-10, Sonic the Hedgehog issues #273-275, Mega Man issues #50-52, and two Worlds Unite "Battle Books".

Issues #53–55

Returning to the usual storyline of the series, these issues lead up into an indefinite hiatus taken by the series. These include a story where Mega Man confronts the idea of no longer being a fighting robot due to Wily's disappearance, while Blues—Mega Man's older brother—transitions from his identity of Break Man to that of Proto Man. Both of these stories included buildup to the events of Mega Man 4 and set up for subsequent games, enabled by Wily's association with the X Corporation and his deception of Blues. The concluding issue features a time travel experiment mishap that results in Dr. Light viewing events depicted in the remaining Mega Man titles not yet adapted (4 through 10, including the handheld spin offs) plus Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero, Mega Man ZX, Mega Man ZX Advent, and Mega Man Legends timelines.