Mega Man 5: Rock of Ages


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Mega Man Volume 5 - Rock of Ages is the fifth Graphic Novel of the Mega Man comic book series by Archie Comics. It collects the two-part story "Proto-Type" and the stories "Construction Derby", "Cold Feet", "Roll With It", and "Rock of Ages".

Proto-Type is the first arc not divided into four parts, detailing the comic's take on the origins of Proto Man and his life before separating from Dr. Light. According to an advertisement by Archie Comics, Proto-Type is only the first half of the four-issue arc "Rock of Ages", supporting the format of four issues per story arc.

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Proto-Type - Part One: Father and Son
While cleaning out the Light Labs database one day, Rock asks Dr. Light about an entry for DLN-000, Blues. With a heavy heart, Dr. Light tells Rock that Blues is his older brother as well as Dr. Light's "first triumph and greatest failure".

Flashing back to years ago, Dr. Light and Dr. Wily have just finished Blues to serves as the prototype for their contracted military robot. Blues demonstrates self-awareness shortly after awakening and Dr. Light takes him out into the world for culture, acquired the scarf and sunglasses that would later become emblematic of him. He grows into a happy young boy, even eager when it's time for the combat tests. The tests initially go well, but Blues soon suffers a short in his system due to his solar core. The test is cut short, but the military is pleased enough to order a simplified version for future use.

Later, Blues awakens and hears Light and Wily arguing over remodelling Blues, as the change carries a risk of wiping his personality. Dr. Light later chats with Dr. Lalinde about it and begins to wonder if giving Blues a personality was the right thing to do. Devastated his own father would think such, Blues packs up and flees into the night.

Back in the present, Rock suggests they go looking, but Dr. Light figures it a waste of time since his faulty core would have failed by now, unaware Blues is alive and well under the name Break Man.

Construction Derby
Guts Man is working on a dam construction project when Dr. Light arrives. Due to heavy rain, he has brought a new Robot Master to help named Concrete Man. The two bicker about who can do the job better, but when the rain pours on, the two work together to complete the dam in time and prevent a flood. Deciding to work together instead of fight, they relax with some karaoke.

Short Circuits - "Paper Plunder": Dr. Wily creates Origami Man.

Proto-Type - Part Two: The Lonely Road
Blues, having just left Dr. Light's care, sets off on his own. As he travels, he finds himself struggling to adapt with robots of lower intelligence than himself and humans unsure of him.

Back at Light Labs, Dr. Wily attempts to cheer up Dr. Light, encouraging him to finish the Sniper Joes for the military and to start work on their goal of Robot Masters. Dr. Light eventually agrees to get back to work while still considering how to make robot children.

Blues continues on his way until he notices some street thugs terrorizing a family. He fends them off at the cost of a strain on his power supply and, realizing how good it feels to help others, make his way through the cities helping as best he can. Finally, his energy level dangerously low, Blues decides to go back and give Dr. Light another chance to see if he can help him. When he arrives, he finds Dr. Light hugging Rock and Roll, the scene from issue 8.

Believing himself replaced, Blues hears a report about the Lanfront Ruins. Deciding it is a good place to die, he makes his way there. Content with how he lived his life, Blues whistles his tune one last time as he shuts down...just in time for Dr. Wily's Robot Masters to find him.

Cold Feat
Ice Man, assisting an arctic team with glacier research, has Guts Man called in to help with remodeling and expanding the research center. An overeager Guts Man only makes it worse, and an exasperated Ice Man freezes him and calls Dr. Light to send him back.

Short Circuits - "Turn up the Bass": Bass believes he's set to appear in the comic.

Roll With It
Tempo, Roll, and Kalinka are enjoying their last day together at the beach (before Kalinka and Tempo have to fly home) and are having fun playing Volleyball, and wishing Rock (who is undergoing upgrades to give him the ability to Slide) could join them. Roll invites a hesitant Tempo to join in, but then questions if she's still damaged by the events of the Emerald Spears incident. She insists that she's alright as Kalinka says she almost doesn't want to go home, as it always snows where her father works. Just then, a storm rolls in and it starts to rain.

Kalinka complains that the day has been ruined, and shortly after, Tempo points out a ship coming that seems unstable, and Roll panics when she notices the ship crashed into a massive rock and is beginning to sink. Roll frantically asks Kalinka for her phone and uses it to call Dr. Light.

Back at Light Labs, Oil Man picks up the phone and appears delighted to find that it's Roll. He states that he came to the lab for a tune-up, but was ordered to hold all Dr. Light's calls. She states that it's an emergency and a ship is about to sink. Oil Man tries to get Dr. Light's and Lalinde's attention, but the scientists are so focused on upgrading Rock that he tells him "not now" and Dr. Light states that he's frustrated with how poorly Rock's upgrades are going, but Dr. Lalinde assures him they'll make it work. Oil Man glances over and sees a metal crate marked "DLN-067 (Water Rescue Unit) Ready to Deploy" (incorrectly marked "DNL-067"), and assures Roll that he'll "solve all their problems" and "is bringing a date". Roll is confused, but Oil Man hangs up before she can ask. Flustered, she wonders why Fire Man couldn't have been the one to pick up, and instead calls Rush, who teleports from the lab to the scene, and decides to take matters into her own hands with Tempo. She orders Tempo to "armor up", but Tempo seems hesitant and seems fearful of the idea of ending up under water. Roll is unaware of this and says that if they fall in they'll "walk back to shore", so Tempo becomes Quake Woman.

Roll tells Rush to turn into Rush Jet, which he abides, and the two use him to fly to the ship. Roll is worried when she sees how many people have ended up overboard and not in rafts. They land on the deck, and Roll tells Rush to see if anybody is trapped below. The girls and Rush split, and Roll helps one of the crew members free a jammed raft. She asks if there are more, and the crew member points to Quake Woman who is attempting to free another one. The ship shifts suddenly and she falls off the railing and into the water. She panics, recalling memories of when she was nearly destroyed under a pile of rubble and de-activated, but is saved by a robot mermaid who grabs her and jumps onto the deck. She asks if Quake Woman is okay, who is to shocked to give a focused answer and gives a shakey "yes" instead. Roll recognizes her as DLN-067, but the Robot Master insists that she is "Splash Woman".

Roll fills her in on what's going on, then Splash Woman goes on her way to save more people in the water. Roll takes Quake Woman back to land via Rush, while Oil Man is cleaning up the oil by absorbing it into his oil cannon. Oil Man finds an empty raft and gives it to Splash Woman, who compliments him on being a "gentleman," and has a man and woman hanging onto her trident. She loads them into the raft as Oil Man comes with one more person. Thinking that's all the people on the ship, Oil Man decides to focus on cleaning the oil spill. Splash Woman checks from below to see how bad the leak is, and uses her Laser Trident to close most of the hole to leave him to soak up the oil. A few rafts are flipped over by a wave, so the two go to help the people in need again.

Back on land, the leader of the medical team called to the scene sees Roll and Quake Woman coming, and the two introduce themselves as their serial numbers. He explains the situation is getting worse, especially with the weather, and that they need to set up camps for the people. The two agree to help, and while Roll brings some rafts to shore, Quake Woman digs some post holes for tents.

Meanwhile, back at Light Labs, Rock's upgrades are finished, and Rock comments that his legs feel different. Dr. Light explains what the slide function does, and Rock says he can't wait to show Roll until he realizes she's gone. Dr. Lalinde hopes they aren't getting the same bad weather that Light Labs is getting, then Dr. Light believes that things are alright, but tells Auto to turn on the TV anyway to see the news. The news report says that three hours after the ship crashed, people are being saved by "a few robots". Rock, the doctors, and Auto are shocked to see this.

Back at the beach, Roll and Quake Woman are bringing more people to shore. The leader of the medical team asks Roll how the census of the people is coming, and she says that everybody is accounted for except the captain, who is found by Oil Man. Oil Man calls Roll and tells her he thinks he found the Captain, but he's unconscious and the Captain's Quarters is underwater and about to be flooded. Roll is worried, as humans can't be teleported out like robots can, and asks Splash Woman if she can help. Splash Woman is busy bringing more rafts to shore, and asks for a few minutes. Oil Man says he doesn't have those minutes to spare, and at that moment, Quake Woman grabs Rush, uses him to fly to the ship, and drills into the ship and creates a clear pathway for them to get out. She grabs Oil Man and the Captain and the three fly out just as the last of the ship ends up underwater. Oil Man comments that he should get Quake Woman's number.

Hours later, everybody is safe and sound, and the Captain is awake. He compliments Roll on her bravery and thanks her and her friend for helping to save his passengers and crewmates. She humbly says she only made a few calls, but the medic leader says that she helped set up camps, called the other Robot Masters to help, and pulled people ashore, and that she should give herself some credit for being a hero. As she contemplates the compliment, Mega Man comes rushing over and picks his sister up in a hug, frantically asking if she's okay. She says she's fine, and Dr. Light comes over and hugs her, saying how proud he is. As he's about to take her and the others back to the lab to fix her, she says she wants to continue helping everybody, and Mega Man volunteers to help too.

Short Circuits - "Melancholic Masters": Robot Master group therapy.

Rock of Ages
In the not so distant future, Dr. Wily had invaded the Chronos Institute with the Mega Man Killers and the Genesis Unit. Mega Man travels in time, first facing two enemies he had defeated in the past, Ra Moon and Gamma, and later going to the future several times before returning to a close present time.

Short Circuits - "Phoenix Wrong": Dr. Wily creates Police Man.

Trivia

 * Beside the reprint of issues 17-20 and Short Circuits (with their titles revealed), the graphic novel also includes:
 * some cover sketches;
 * some script and pencil selections; and
 * character profiles of Blues, Concrete Man and Splash Woman.
 * The tune Blues is whistling in the first issue is the first few notes of his iconic theme.
 * "Origami Man" in Short Circuits issue 17 is likely to be either referenced from a line said by Rock in issue 2 ("Why couldn't you make Origami Man or Pillow Man, Dr. Light?"), or a reference/play to the game Rock, Paper, Scissors, provided that in Japan, Mega Man's name is originally Rockman, and Cut Man's Rolling Cutter is based on a pair of scissors.
 * In the issue 18, during the conflict with the biker gang in "The lonely Road", Blues call one of them 'Green Biker Dude'. This is probably a reference to the iconic Mega Man X2 character of the same name.
 * Quint and Enker both cameo in issue 18's Short Circuits strip.
 * In the issue 19, Dr. Light's line "I just don't understand why it stops working at mode nine and ten!" when working on the slide function is a reference to Mega Man 9 and 10, where Mega Man looses the ability to slide.
 * In the issue 20, it is suggested that Quint and Mega Man encounter each other in Rock of Ages, as a character of screen says in the last panel, 'It is your destiny.' This is Quint's Mega Man & Bass CD card quote.