Mega Man Issue 39 (Archie Comics)


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Mega Man #39 is the thirty-ninth issue in the Mega Man comic series by Archie Comics, released in July 2014.

Publisher's Summary
W) Ian Flynn (A) Jamal Peppers & Various (CA) Patrick Spaz Spaziante

The epic Dawn of X crossover reaches its penultimate chapter, and things are heating up in both Past and Future! 'A Hint of Things to Come' Part Three: Mega Man, Pharaoh Man and Bright Man-trapped and at the mercy of a long lost Wily Weapon! Can Dr. Light find a way to stop it, or is this the end of Mega Man's story? And what will robot-hating Xander do in a future filled with Reploids? Featuring all-new cover art from the legendary Patrick 'Spaz' Spaziante and a 32-Bit-style cut scene variant from mega-artist Ryan Jampole!

Summary
With the Wily Walker trapped inside the Mesa Lab, Mega Man and his two companions are left to fend off the machine until they can work out some sort of strategy to defeat it. Bright Man tells Mega Man to move so they can come up with a plan to defeat it, with Pharaoh Man's shot hitting the Wily Walker on the head. Mega Man then proceeded to use his Mega Buster on it while dodging a blow, while responding that they try to keep the Wily Walker off balance until they come up with a strategy, much to Bright Man's chagrin due to his not being built for fighting ("What am I supposed to do? Shine at it?!").

Meanwhile, at Light Labs, Dr. Wily secretly gloats for Mega Man to be destroyed, willing to overhaul his master plan if Mega Man ended up destroyed by the Wily Walker, although he snaps out of it when Dr. Light inquires the status of contacting the eight Light Robot Masters, with Wily responding he had no luck, noting that they either aren't available or won't pick up (the call history is shown to have lasted less than a minute, and as Wily is deleting the records, he obviously didn't attempt to call for help). Light then tells Mega Man that they are working on a countermeasure as fast as he can. He then notices that two devices don't look compatable, and requests from Roll a converter. She then managed to quickly find one in a box. Satisfied, Light then requests for her to find some bolts. She then goes to find the bolts and has Rush accompany her to find them, while privately remarking to herself that they are burning through bolts so fast that they will become more valuable than money. Meanwhile, Auto is looking at some cards and Dr. Cossack, while working on a cylindrical device, inquires Wily how he'll ever sleep at night when it is his inventions that are ruining the world, and his contemporaries have to clean up after him. Wily then counters Cossack should use his analytical mind to actually do something useful instead of nagging him, also inferring that Bright Man should be weaponized to be useful. Cossack then counters that Bright Man's fine the way he is, even if Wily doesn't think so due to him not being weaponized. Wily then countered by pointing out that Pharaoh Man was equipped with a flame launcher. Cossack then stammers and then claims it was different, with Wily also pointing out that it's not as it is self-preservation. Light then broke up the argument and agreed with Wily, citing that even if it's to defend the robot, it's not like they can't remove the modifications later. Cossack conferred, though he still felt weaponizing every robot they made is a bad idea, fearing for the future.

A century later in the badlands, Zero orders the Zero and Vile Companies to target the Wily Walker's right flank on his order. They then fired launchers onto the Wily Walker, and Zero and Vile proceeded to blast it with their weapons. Strangely, the Wily Walker initially ignores Zero (identifying it as one of Wily's creations) and targets its attacks elsewhere, but changes its mind after the red Reploid attacks it. As Zero, Vile, and their men continue to attack, X returns to Dr. Cain in the lab, where the doctor reveals that he's discovered an ancient module with information on the Walker. The device suddenly gives a damaged warning record, but it is enough for them to learn that the monstrous automaton carries chemical weapons. X immediately rushes to join the battle against it to ensure that the Maverick Hunters don't unwittingly detonate its payload. He and Zero are then horrified as Vile, in an effort to halt the Wily Walker's progress, blasts a nearby highway, threatening the lives of several humans. Zero yells "Have you gone Maverick?!" to Vile, and X heads to help with casualties while Zero and Vile continue their efforts, with both Zero and X accosting Vile's dangerous actions.

While helping injured humans and Reploids, X stumbles across a Reploid with a lost arm that warns him of a human about to fall. Unable to hold any longer, Xander Payne falls and X saves him. The rattled terrorist, still thinking that he's witnessing a robot uprising, mistakes X for Mega Man and can't believe that he survived, accusing him of leading the revolution. Noticing the insignia on Xander's eye patch, X realizes that he's a member of Emerald Spears, stunning Xander with the revelation that his organization still exists in the future. He is further alarmed to learn that the Reploids are doing battle with the Walker, as the idea of the machines fighting each other as well as humanity terrifies him. Realizing that Xander poses a problem, X turns him over to a rescue crew-who handcuff him-before returning to help Zero fight the Wily Walker and to keep an eye on Vile (with Vile spitefully telling him "Bite me, X." in response). Suddenly, inside a Bee Blader Xander starts to disapper due to the effects of his time travel. Feeling he has failed the humans of the future thus far, Xander promises other humans gathered by the rescue crew that he will do whatever it takes to stop the robots and redeem himself, even if he must sacrifice his ideals to do so. To their astonishment, he then disappears, drawn back into the time stream.

Back at the Mesa Lab, Dr. Cain and Sigma-whom X had contacted previously-investigate the module further, and before its power fails, it shows schematics of the ancient weapon, allowing Sigma to learn all he needed to stop it. He then joins X, Zero, and Vile at the site of the Walker's rampage, and orders them to distract it while he neutralizes it. Recognizing Sigma and the others as a major threat, however, the Wily Walker prepares to deploy its chemical weapons payload.

Short Circuits
Seeing Mega Man with Rush, Bass mocks the robotic canine and claims that Treble is a far superior robot dog. Both are then mocked by Sigma, extolling his own canine companion Velguarder.

Events

 * Mega Man, Bright Man, and Pharaoh Man continue to battle the Wily Walker in the present.
 * In the future, Zero and Vile's units continue to battle the Walker as well, while X and Dr. Cain learn of its chemical weapons.
 * Xander Payne, upon beholding the destructive potential of the future robots, resolves to destroy robotics at any cost before being pulled back into the time stream.
 * Sigma joins X, Vile, and Zero in challenging the Wily Walker.

Trivia

 * Roll's comment about how bolts are becoming more valuable than money is a nod to Bolts, which serve as currency in various Mega Man titles.