Mega Man Archie Comics

[Blackhook]

So..Mr. X is an actual person in the Archie comics...and he has his own mooks. I am intrigued to see where this is going.

[Mary_Nelson]

http://comicbook.com/2015/06/16/exclusive-archie-actions-mega-man-53-solicitation-reveals-the-en/


Cue five straight minutes of swearing.

[The Great Gonzo]

Hopefully it's only a hiatus. Still a major bummer, though.

[Hypershell]

Yeah, I was POSITIVELY LOVING the Mega Man comic, and it was the only thing I was still subscribed to anymore since I never really got "into" the post-reboot Sonic.  I sure as heck hope it's temporary, but, well, Mega Man fans can't help but expect the worst when things fall silent.

So..Mr. X is an actual person in the Archie comics...and he has his own mooks. I am intrigued to see where this is going.

I took his conversation with Wily as an extremely heavy implication that Mr. X is an older Xander Payne, and of course I naturally assumed Wily would at some point overthrow him during or prior to the events of MM6.  It's an interesting take, if a bit transparent.

[Flame]

Hey Guys, let archie know how you feel.

megaman@archiecomics.com

send em a message

[Mary_Nelson]

http://comicsalliance.com/sonic-mega-man-worlds-unite-part-seven-recap-interview-sdcc/

CA: We touched briefly about Mega Man going on hiatus, can you elaborate a little bit more for what that means for the characters in regards to "Worlds Unite," and if there's any update on a potential "light at the end of the tunnel" for the future of this series?

VL: Towards the end of "Worlds Unite," Mega Man is pretty much picking up where he left off from his last adventure. We are building up to something, and you're definitely going to see the stage set. As for Mega Man #55, we're going in a little bit of a different direction. I don't want to give anything away just yet, as it's kind of super secret right now.

As far as what we're doing with that series, we're still planning things out. We might be able to do a little bit more than what we had been doing.

I have no idea what that means.

[Hypershell]

http://www.rockman-corner.com/2015/08/mega-man-55-final-covers-solicitations.html

It seems that all 5 "main timeline" series will be visited in Mega Man #55.  And I just realized, that a lot of 5's.

It seems they're taking the Aile/Grey route as far as ZX's protagonists go.  I have no objections.

[Dr. Wily II]

Aile? AILE!? *clicks link and sees cover art*
... Aile~

*checks Kinokuniya Singapore, issue #9 out in Sept 2015*
... FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

[Reaperoid]

Are you sure that isn't the ninth paperback collection?

[Dr. Wily II]

https://singapore.kinokuniya.com/bw/9781619889651?no_flag=true
*shrug*

[Hypershell]

Yeah, that's the ninth paperback collection.  Trust me, the regular comics aren't 104 pages.

[Dr. Wily II]

Then it makes it all the more difficult for me to find out if #55 is out! D:

I NEED AILE

[Reaperoid]

Nov 18 like it says in the solicit, so look for a comics store and put interest in?

[Dr. Wily II]

Those are hard to find... Kino is usually my best bet ._.

[Hypershell]

Well, Worlds Unite concluded.  It was...really anti-climactic.

[spoiler]Xander opens up a time portal to right before Sigma escapes X's world, and shoots the Sigma Virus.  ......don't know where to begin with that.

I knew this was coming, but Super Sonic and Super Armor Mega Man being the ones to take Sigma's final form (not that it matters in the end) leaves X and Zero awkwardly sidelined.  I was hoping Archie could come up with some way to soften the blow, but no such luck.  The whole "Chaos Emeralds change our dreams into power" angle only makes X's benching even more awkward; you'd think that between Rock and X, the one who can impossibly wield a ki attack would have been the proper candidate.

I know Archie isn't known for accurate covers, but I thought Alia and Signas would be in the story SOMEWHERE.  Never happened.

On the up side, Sticks was fun.

So when all is said and done, the whole crossover was erased from history, but Rock and Wily retain vague memories this time, along with Sonic and Eggman.  Sticks remembers it all, but nobody believes her.  X and co. are once again shafted, X has no memory of the crossover and is just left bewildered at the Sigma Virus being shot.

Lasting impacts are that Eggman decided not to invade Lost Hex, and Wily knows who Mr. X is.[/spoiler]

[Phi]

"Chaos Emeralds change our dreams into power"

[Hypershell]

Well, I got MM#55 in my mailbox today, along with a letter from Archie confirming that it is, "the last issue of this series."  Any remaining Mega Man issues due in subscriptions are getting transferred to Sonic Universe (unless you contact Archie to request a different comic).

I believe the previews dropped this info already, but the issue is essentially Dr. Light experiencing a series of visions, so you can basically call this Rock of Ages 2.  It's triggered by his working on the Time Skimmer.  Each game/series/event is given a full page art piece.

[spoiler=Summary]We start with MM4, then jump to a Quint/Killers/Wily Tower page, then 5, then Stardroids, then the expected 6, 7, 8, 8.5, 9, and 10.  Of particular note is that Light does recognize his own robots in the MM9 page, but does not appear to be aware of their expiration dates.  Tango appears on the MM10 page for some reason, on Blues's shoulder.

Next page confirms the Time Skimmer is THAT Time Skimmer.  Wily shakes hands with his future self, Mega Man is turned into Quint.  It seems Archie subscribes to the notion that Rock can't escape that little predestined paradox.  Two small panels at the bottom of this page show the creations of X and Zero (Zero's face is hidden by Wily's shadow, but the booblights are plain as day).

Nothing on Rockman Shadow.

Next up is a page for the X series.  The design choices are, interestingly, the inverse of Zero's Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom ending, in that X, Zero, and Axl are sporting X8 designs, but Alia is not.  Page also features Cain, Sigma (X5 version), Iris, Colonel, Signas, Douglas, Lifesaver, Layer, and Palette.

No Command Mission.  D'OH!

Next up is another series-gap page, and this one is all Elf Wars.  X and Zero, along with Axl and a Cyber Elf Dr. Light, are battling against Omega and a couple of Golems.  Dark Elf and the "middle aged" Weil (unused design from MMZOCW) are seen in the distance.

Next is the expected MMZ montage.  Zero, Ciel, the Resistance, Neige, Craft, the Big Four, and both X's.  Weil and Omega do not re-appear.

ZX page features the Sage Trinity, Prometheus, Pandora, Giro, Prairie, 8 Biometal fragments (Model O and the Core version of Model W are both absent) and all four protagonists in Hu/Re form.  Despite this, Vent and Aile (pre-Advent designs, if you're wondering) are sporting the X Buster and ZX Saber.

Legends page, Volnutt, Roll, Barrel, Data, and Bonnes.  This one was in the previews also, but if you missed it, Tron is piloting an open-cockpit version of the L2 hover-Gustaff.

When Light comes to, he does momentarily ask himself the age-old joke-question of whether or not he's doomed humanity, but he quickly dismisses it, resolving that while there will always be adversity and people who abuse his work, there will also always be hope, and a Mega Man to protect the people.[/spoiler]

In the back of the comic is two letters from editors, a generous portion of fanart, and a full page "Short Circuits" strip which features an insanely large abundance of Mega Men (including but not limited to four different "bad box art" variants).

[Dr. Wily II]

AILEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Zan]

Giving Elf Wars Zero an XCM-style design (with red eyes?!) was definitely an odd choice when everyone else looks much more RMZ. Besides, isn't the Original Zero supposed to be inside Omega as is?

[Hypershell]

Not just his eyes, but the pink saber also.  Somebody botched the coloring there.

Zero's hands/forearms are actually very MMZ-ish, but yeah, his design doesn't stray too far from X-series otherwise.  And he really stands out in that he's the only one of the three who still has shoulder pads.

[Blackhook]

They also botched Omega's design and forgot Phantom's scarf...

I am still sad it ended tho :<

[Hypershell]

Indeed.  Archie's comics have been a big part of what kept being a Mega Man fan fun again for the last couple of years.  I mean, Capcom's gotten MUCH better with the re-releases, but they still haven't put out anything that's actually new.  Basically, if you wanted new Mega Man stuff, you read the comic.

I also maintain that Mega Man is/was Archie's BEST action comic ever since Sonic got rebooted for legal reasons, but that's another rant for another thread.

[Phi]

I mean, Capcom's gotten MUCH better with the re-releases

Hypershell, wake up! You're having another one of your dreams again!

[Hypershell]

Misadventures and Legends1 on PSN is real......I think.

[Phi]

That's something they should have done a LONG time ago. It's nothing special.

We're still left with lazy trash like Legacy Collection.