Mega Man Issue 24 (Archie Comics)


 * Previous Issue: Mega Man #23 ←—
 * —→ Next Issue: Mega Man #25 (Worlds Collide - Part 4)

Mega Man #24 is the twenty-fourth issue in the Mega Man comic book series by Archie Comics, released in April 2013. It contains the first part of the crossover Worlds Collide.

Publisher's Summary
Worlds Collide'', Part One. The crossover event of 2013 starts here! The Mega Man/Sonic the Hedgehog epic kicks off with a bang as the Blue Blur and Blue Bomber meet for the first time! And considering how hard they're fighting each other, it might be the last! Why are the heroes trying to take each other down? Drs. Eggman and Wily know, and they're loving every minute of it! You cannot miss this historic first meeting of two of the biggest video game icons in the entire world! Get in on the ground floor with all-new cover art by the legendary Patrick 'SPAZ' Spaziante, and choose your favorite hero with the 'Team Sonic' and 'Team Mega Man' variant covers!''

Story

 * Previous: Sonic Universe #50 ←—
 * Previous: Sonic the Hedgehog #247 ←—
 * Previous: FCBD 2013 ←—
 * —→ Next Part: Worlds Collide - Part 2 (Sonic Universe #51)

When Worlds Collide - Part One: Kindred Spirits
In Mobius' Green Hill Zone, Sonic and Mega Man are engaged in a running battle. Sonic's superior speed has Mega Man pushed to his limits, though he is able to fire with his Mega Buster. Sonic is impressed, but not enough to stop fighting, and reiterates his superior speed with a Spin Dash attack into Mega Man. As each combatant recognizes how formidable his opponent is, they are unknowingly observed by the shadowed figure of Tails Man, who is transmitting footage to Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily. The two are gleefully observing the battle, each rooting for the other's nemesis to crush their own. Pouring glasses of champagne, the pair toast their new battle station, their success in capturing five of the seven Chaos Emeralds, and the seemingly imminent destruction of their respective enemies. The scene then changes to Wily's base a number of weeks ago, where Wily is trying to get Ra Moon to modify a Met so that it will cook rice. Flash Man enters with the blue Chaos Emerald, which he found in the jungle outside. Immediately intrigued, Wily believes it to be a sapphire, though Flash Man reports that it's actually a beryl of some sort. Ra Moon wishes to analyze it, sensing its power, but Wily blows him off to examine it himself. He plugs it into a device to analyze it, and the machine's monitor lights up with blinding energy.

On Mobius in the Death Egg Mark 2, Eggman sends out a conference signal to all his forces, and berates them for their failures in both conquering Mobius and finding the lost blue Chaos Emerald. He is then shocked when a hologram appears of a confused Dr. Wily looking into his monitor, with the Chaos Emerald visible on screen. Eggman is initially furious at having his signal hacked, only for Wily to lay claim to being Earth's greatest robotics genius. Eggman is about to contradict that claim with his own, when the reference to Earth catches his attention, prompting him to ask what year it is in Wily's world. Wily responds that its the year 20XX, and an apologetic Eggman then informs him that he (Eggman) is the greatest robotics genius on his own world. Wily is initially confused, as Eggman isn't quite what he imagined a space alien would look like, but is then informed that he's dealing with an alternate reality. Intrigued by the prospects of an alternate universe, Wily asks if Eggman has had any experience attempting to use machines to bring about a new world order. Sensing a kindred spirit, Eggman replies in the affirmative, and then asks if Wily has to deal with any young upstarts. The two doctors quickly decide that they need to meet, and Eggman proposes a means of doing so.

Sometime later, the pair of doctors greet each other in a new Zone created by Wily's manipulation of Chaos energy through Eggman's guidance. Complimenting each other on their success, they then look upon their new creation, but end up arguing over whether or not to call it the "Skull Secret Zone" or the "Egg Pocket Zone." As they argue, inspiration strikes, and they compromise by dubbing it the Skull Egg Zone. Taking advantage of the Zone as a place to hide from their foes and be able to accomplish hours of work in what passes for mere seconds back in their home realities, the pair combine their resources - from Eggman's Egg SWATs and Eggman Empire to Wily's Robot Masters and Ra Moon - to create a brand new weapon with which to conquer both dimensions. The result is a new flying fortress, which briefly leads to another argument - in the form of rock, paper, scissors - as Eggman wants to christen it the "Death Egg Mark 3" while Wily wants to call it the "Wily Flying Fortress." A series of draws leads to another compromise, and the doctors celebrate their new Wily Egg.

Using the Wily Egg, the pair then prepare the next phase of their plan: to rewrite the reality of their home dimensions according to specific programming. Gleefully anticipating the new status quo-in which the heroes will remember nothing about their previous existences while the Skull Egg Zone will allow the doctors to retain all their knowledge, which will allow them an advantage. At Eggman's invitation, Wily activates the Cosmic Reset Button, sending the Genesis Wave across both their home worlds. After a brief dizzy spell, the pair realize that the process has indeed been successful, allowing them to alter reality. Wily then declares his intent to bring all of his Robot Masters back using the properties of the Skull Egg Zone, which Eggman agrees to while also proposing an even more ingenious strategy. Back on the altered Mobius, Tails is preparing to take a trip with Sonic, only to receive a knock at the door. He goes to open it, only to find the farthest things from his hero: Metal Sonic and Wily's newest enforcer, Bass. The pair quickly subdue the Fox and take him back to the Wily Egg, where he awakens inside a Roboticizer with the two doctors looking on.

Eggman and Wily inform Tails that they've had difficulties with sending their minions from one world to another without making sure that they have a native from each, hence Metal Sonic's partnership with Bass. However, they have now come upon a possible solution, which Tails is to be a test subjective of: combining Roboticization with Robot Master technology to create a robot capable of traveling between the worlds freely. Tails is confused by their complicated language, which disgusts the pair of mad geniuses, who then inform him of their intention to turn him into a Robot Master. One transformation process later, Tails Man emerges, and Eggman introduces Wily to the first of their Roboticized Masters. Wily is impressed, though somewhat disappointed by the lack of personality, which Eggman claims is a bonus due to the lack of backtalk. Wily then suggest that they could turn Sonic's other friends into Roboticized Masters to assist Tails Man in his mission: locate the remaining Chaos Emeralds, which have been scattered by the Genesis Wave. Agreeing, the pair deploy Bass and Metal Sonic again with some new targets in mind.

Some time later, in an altered Mega City, Mega Man's brother Proto Man is surveying the city when he hears a terrified yell and spots police cars racing towards the First National Bank. Overhearing their reports of armed suspects, Proto Man rushes to the scene and enters the bank just in time to catch the vault door, which has been yanked off by a mysterious figure. The culprit and his four associates then enter the vault, which houses the silver Chaos Emerald. A sudden tune draws their attention, and its source is revealed to be Proto Man, who is confused to realize that his new enemies are neither humans with weaponry nor typical robots. Speaking for his fellow Roboticized Masters - expanded to include Knuckles Man, Rose Woman, and Shadow Man - Tails Man introduces the group to Proto Man, and informs him that they will destroy him.

Cross Over By-Laws
Mega Man and Sonic are reluctantly happy to meet and are ready to fight the two mad doctors. But Orbot gives them two pieces of paper telling them they need to fight first according to crossover by-laws. The two get ready to spar, as Eggman and Wily enjoy getting "a few issues of peace.

Appearances*
* As the first part of the crossover, this is the first appearance of Sonic the Hedgehog content in the Mega Man comic, as well as original content like the Wily Egg and the Roboticized Masters.

Sonic the Hedgehog

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower / Tails Man
 * Doctor Eggman
 * Egg Swats
 * Orbot and Cubot
 * Metal Sonic
 * Shadow Man
 * Rose Woman
 * Knuckles Man

Mega Man

 * Mega Man
 * Dr. Wily
 * Flash Man
 * Ra Moon
 * Air Man
 * Magnet Man
 * Wood Man
 * Quick Man
 * Hard Man
 * Snake Man
 * Bubble Man
 * Rice cooker Met
 * Bass
 * Proto Man

Locations

 * Skull Egg Zone (First appearance)
 * Wily Egg (First appearance)

Sonic the Hedgehog

 * Green Hill Zone
 * Death Egg Mark 2
 * Tails' House

Mega Man

 * Lanfront Ruins
 * Temple of the Moon


 * Mega City
 * First National Bank (First appearance)

Events

 * It is revealed that the blue Chaos Emerald from Sonic's world ended up near Dr. Wily's hideout in the Lanfront Ruins, after previously being used in one of Dr. Eggman's schemes, Operation: Clean Sweep. Wily was able to contact Eggman with the Chaos Emerald, and the two decided to team up to take over both of their worlds and defeat their blue nemesis.
 * Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Shadow are captured and turned by the two doctors into the Roboticized Masters.

Trivia

 * This is the first Mega Man issue where Dr. Light and Roll don't appear.
 * "When Worlds Collide - Part One: Kindred Spirits" was reprinted in Sonic Super Digest #12.