Rush (Archie Comics)

This article is about Rush in the Archie Comics. Rush appears in the Mega Man comic series in a role virtually identical to his game incarnation. Like a number of characters, he appears in the series before the adaptation of the game he appears in, showing up at the end of the Mega Man 2 story instead of in Mega Man 3.

Spiritus Ex Machina
Following the destruction of Wily Castle 2, Dr. Light introduced Mega Man to Rush, whom he had just completed. Rush accompanied Mega Man, Roll, Elec Man, and Dr. Light to the Advanced Robotics Trade Show, where he helped Mega Man contend with the terrorist group Emerald Spears.

Breaking Point
He later aided Roll on a rescue mission with Quake Woman and Splash Woman, and joined Mega Man in facing another Emerald Spears plot and an attack by Break Man.

Worlds Collide
He also appeared prominently in the Worlds Collide crossover event that featured the Mega Man universe meeting that of Sonic the Hedgehog. Rush appeared alongside Tango, Beat, and Eddie to help Mega Man battle the Hedgehog until learning that Sonic had been framed by his robot clone, Metal Sonic. Rush then accompanied the blue heroes, Proto Man, and Tails into the Skull Egg Zone to help rescue a kidnapped Dr. Light from Dr. Wily and Dr. Eggman. Along the way he helped the heroes deal with CopyBot, the Genesis Unit, and the Roboticized Masters before facing a massive army of Robot Masters. The robot dog then accompanied Mega Man, Sonic, and Tails into the Wily Egg and helped them take on multiple threats, later taking Tails outside after the Fox was injured in battle with the Mega Man Killers. He later returned with Dr. Light, Proto Man, and Knuckles to help rescue Sonic and Mega Man, combining with his master before absorbing energy from the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Mega Man. Together with Super Sonic, the pair fought the evil doctors in their Egg-Wily Machine X, and Super Mega Man later used his power to restore his reality to normal.

Blackout: The Curse of Ra Moon
As with most of the robots on Earth, Rush was knocked out by Ra Moon's EMP field, but was given a special protective coating that allowed him to function again. He then accompanied Mega Man, Guts Man, Cut Man, and Bomb Man to the Lanfront Ruins, where they engaged several of Dr. Wily's Robot Masters-acting on Ra Moon's orders-before teaming up with the Mega Man 2 units and Break Man to battle Ra Moon and the others. The group subsequently returned home with Mega Man in critical condition and Dr. Wily claiming that Ra Moon had manipulated him. Mega Man was eventually repaired, and Rush joined an expedition back to the ruins-right into the heart of the Temple of the Moon-to verify Dr. Wily's story. With the evidence seeming to support Wily's claims, the team returned home. He later attempted alongside Mega Man to thwart the third-generation Robot Masters' theft of the eight Energy Elements in Gamma, although he ended up injured by Hard Man's Hard Knuckle.

Dawn of X
During Mega Man, Pharaoh Man, and Bright Man's investigation of Dr. Wily's Mesa lab, Rush stayed behind, and eventually aided Mega Man as best as he could at Light Labs after they were caught in a fight with the Wily Walker when they inadvertently activated it. He later delivered a capsule to Mega Man prepared by Dr. Light just as Mega Man finished modifying Bright Man's light source to become weaponized under instructions from Dr. Wily and Dr. Cossack, covering his eyes as Bright Man unleashes the attack, shutting down the Wily Walker.

Legends of the Blue Bomber
Rush, now modified with Rush Space, then transported Mega Man to outer space after getting a report from Agent Krantz that four asteroid mining facilities were knocked offline as a tip to where the renegade Robot Masters went. Rush aided Mega Man in his fights against Top Man, Snake Man, Shadow Man, and Gemini Man, and later after returning to earth he aided Mega Man in defeating Magnet Man, Needle Man, Hard Man, and Spark Man.

The Ultimate Betrayal/Prisoners of War
However, their victory was short-lived after learning that Light Labs' communications were cut, causing them to rush back on Rush Jet mode, eventually discovering the reason why when they see Light Labs in flames. Before they could investigate further, however, they were shot out of the sky by Break Man. They then tried to fight Break Man, but the latter had the upper hand and Rush ended up downed, though Break Man conceded to sparing Rush at the Blue Bomber's request. Afterwards, upon learning that Dr. Wily had betrayed them and feigned reformation earlier, Rush ended up repaired alongside Mega Man and Auto, and then accompanied the Blue Bomber to Wily's Castle where Break Man was waiting for them. Rush proceeded to sit out of the battle on Mega Man's command, as the battle was strictly between the two brothers.

Rush, after the fight with Break Man, later used the Rush Marine function to allow himself and Mega Man to access the sewer area of Wily's Castle, with Mega Man fighting off various enemies in the process until they ran into Yellow Devil MK-II. After defeating that adversary, Mega Man was forced to contend with a new Copy Robot and the Doc Robot, before he and Rush wound up battling Gamma. Rush was brought down during the battle, but after Gamma's defeat he and Mega Man found themselves back at Light Labs. Realizing that Break Man must be responsible, Mega Man thanked his brother for his help. Rush later helped with the repairs of the Wily Robot Masters, helping Roll try and pull Magnet Man and Metal Man apart.

Short Circuits
Rush also appears in several of the Archie Comics' Short Circuits humor strips. He first appeared in Issue 4 along with Proto Man, Bass, and Treble, all of them eager to appear in the new series. Next he appeared in Issue 33's strip, where he and Roll were both treated to a poor joke by Mega Man about the issue's title "Unplugged" making him "Acoustic Rock." Rush would next be featured in Issue 39's strip as one of three robot dogs, the others being Treble and Velguarder.