Mega Man (Archie Comics)

Mega Man is an ongoing comic book series produced by Archie Comics based on the famous Capcom series Mega Man.

Publication History
The comic book series was first announced by Archie Comics during the 2010 New York Comic-Con. Originally slated for a spring 2011 release, CEO Jon Goldwater later estimated a May 2011 release, which was confirmed on the official website.

Writer Ian Flynn and artist Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante, who worked on many stories for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, are involved with the production. Ian Flynn is in charge of the script for most of the issues and Spaziante provides covers and penciling for subsequent issues, working alongside letterer John Workman and colorist Matt Herms. Chad Thomas who drew a few designs for Archie's pitch to Capcom and provided the variant cover for the first issue will also be the artist of a future story arc.

Residents of Canada and the US who had pre-ordered a subscription received free copies of a poster autographed by Spaziante.

Story Arcs and Graphic Novels
The comic's storyline is divided into graphic novels each consisting of four-issue story arcs.

Arc 1: Let the Games Begin!

 * Main Article: Let the Games Begin! (Issues 1-4)
 * This first arc is an adaptation of the first Mega Man video game, Mega Man. The benevolent scientist Dr. Light creates a series of Robot Masters to help mankind, but they are stolen by Dr. Wily in an attempt to take over the world. Dr. Light's helper robot Rock volunteers to be converted into a fighting robot, becoming Mega Man in order to stop his robot siblings along with Dr. Wily's ambitions.

Arc 2: Time Keeps Slipping

 * Main Article: Time Keeps Slipping (Issues 5-8)
 * This arc features an original story with elements from Mega Man Powered Up. Although Dr. Wily is stopped by Mega Man and jailed, federal agents investigate Dr. Light's connection to the Robot Master incidents while sinister figures watch from behind the scenes. Additionally, Time Man and Oil Man make their debut in this story arc.

Arc 3: The Return of Dr. Wily

 * Main Article: The Return of Dr. Wily (Issues 9-12)
 * This arc is an adaption of Mega Man 2. Hiding out in his new base, Dr. Wily has constructed eight new Robot Masters and has challenged Mega Man with the threat of the city's destruction.

Arc 4: Spiritus Ex Machina

 * Main Article: Spiritus Ex Machina (Issues 13-16)
 * An original arc that takes elements from Super Adventure Rockman, and Mega Man 3 Mega Man must battle against the anti-robot group Emerald-Spears while Wily searches the Lanfront Ruins and discovers Ra Moon.  Characters from Mega Man 4 like Dr. Cossack, his daughter, and Pharaoh Man make their first appearnces, along with Archie-created Dr. Lalinde and her own Robot Master, Quake Woman.

Arc 5: Rock of Ages

 * Main Article: Rock of Ages (Issues 17-20)
 * An original arc comprised of five separate stories. The first two part story, "Proto-Type", explains the origin of Blues (a.k.a. Proto Man) all the way up to the present. Within those two separate issues are two separate smaller stories- the first one, "Construction Derby", introducing Concrete Man, who aids Guts Man in construction, and the second, "Cold Feat", dealing with Guts Man attempting to help Ice Man with glacier research. The fourth story, "Roll with It", features Roll, Quake Woman, and Splash Woman saving the day from a disaster. The fifth story, "Rock of Ages", takes place in the near future and has Wily managing to steal the Time Skimmer and sending Mega Man on an adventure through time, revealing moments from the adventures he supposedly had up to that point and will have from Super Adventure Rockman to Mega Man 10.

Arc 6: Breaking Point

 * Main Article: Breaking Point (Issues 21-23, 28)
 * An original arc comprised of four separate stories, three of which are holiday themed. The first story, "Countdown", marks the return of the Emerald Spears group on New Years Eve. The second story, "Cold Crush", takes place on Valentine's Day and expands on Ice Man's romantic interest in Roll while Roll tries to get Mega Man and Quake Woman together. The third story, "For the Bot Who Has Everything", tells the story of Break Man (who is actually Blues) attacking Mega Man on his birthday. This leads into the Sonic and Mega Man crossover, "Worlds Collide". The fourth story, "The Return", takes place right after the crossover and is a prelude to a new four issue story arc.

Worlds Collide
This arc takes place during Archie Comics' crossover event with their Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Universe series as well as Mega Man. The story ran for four months and released three parts of the arc at a time (one part for each respective comic per month) for a total of twelve parts as well as a prelude counting as part zero. The twelve issues are split into three acts, each act consisting of four issues.

Act 1: Kindred Spirits

 * Main Article: Worlds Collide 1: Kindred Spirits
 * The first four issue story arc of the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man crossover, Worlds Collide. This act explains how Dr. Wily met Dr. Eggman, and has both doctors tricking Sonic and Mega Man into believing that the other is responsible for a crime done by their doppelgangers Metal Sonic and Copy Robot. And while the two blue heroes are fighting, Eggman and Wily are capturing Sonic's friends and turning them into a combined form of the Robot Masters from Mega Man's world and the Robians from Sonic's world: the Roboticized Masters!

Act 2: Into the Warzone

 * Main Article: Worlds Collide 2: Into the Warzone
 * The second four issue story arc of the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man crossover, Worlds Collide. After realizing they were tricked, and finding a way to de-roboticize the Roboticized Masters, Mega Man and Sonic travel with some allies to Wily and Eggman's base in the Skull Egg Zone, a pocket dimension that has linked both worlds, and features aspects from the games of both series. The evil doctors have captured Dr. Light, and have sent the Roboticized Masters to destroy the heroes. The blue heroes and their pals must fight all the Roboticized Masters, plus Copy Robot, the Genesis Unit and Shadow Man.

Act 3: Chaos Clash

 * Main Article: Worlds Collide 3: Chaos Clash
 * The third four issue story arc of the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man crossover, Worlds Collide. As the battle in the Skull Egg Zone gets fiercer, Mega Man and Sonic gather their allies and prepare an all-out assault on the evil doctors' base, a combined form of Wily's Wily Star and Eggman's Death Egg, the Wily Egg!! The only things standing between them and saving both of their worlds, are a huge army of Robot Masters (the ones from Mega Man 2 through 10, Mega Man and Bass, Mega Man: The Wily Wars and the first four Game Boy games), the last of the Roboticized Masters Rouge Woman, the fierce Chaos Devil, their rivals Metal Sonic, Bass and Treble, and the deadly Egg-Wily Machine X!!!