Doctor Thomas Light/Archie Comics

This article is about the version of Dr. Light who appears in the Mega Man comics from Archie Comics.

Early Career
Light knew the Russian and Filipino scientists Mikhail Sergeievich Cossack and Dr. Noele Lalinde in college. When young, Dr. Light had a military contract to build an advanced fighting robot, receiving a great deal of his funds from military research. He worked alongside Dr. Albert Wily to create the prototype Blues, despite the fact that Albert had previously been sanctioned against working with advanced robotics.. Blues demonstrated self-awareness shortly after awakening, and Dr. Light took him out into the world for culture and treated him like a son. When Light Labs' benefactors wanted something to show for their investments, Dr. Light made a demonstration of his autonomous combat robot.

The tests initially went well, but Blues soon suffers an imbalance in his power generator. The test was cut short, but the military is pleased enough to order a simplified version for future use, leading to the creation of the Sniper Joes. Later, Blues awakens in Light Labs and hears Light and Wily arguing over remodeling Blues, as the change carries a risk of wiping his personality. Dr. Light later chats with Dr. Lalinde about it and begins to wonders what to do, and says that it would be easier if he could change Blues' personality-which Blues leaves after hearing-but he plans to repair him the next day. Without hearing the rest of the conversation, Blues is devastated that his own father would think to reprogram him, so he packs up and flees into the night. Wily comforted Light by saying that Blues was a prototype, a means to an end. After creating the combat robots for the military and selling them by the hundreds, Light would be able to create the Robot Masters, free-thinking robots to serve humanity. He also created Oil Man and Time Man, but because of their being "powered up" by various standards, he shelved the project before completion and had left them in the care of Wily. Unknown to Light at the time, however, Wily secretly completed them behind his back. He also at some point went on an expedition to the Lanfront Ruins with Pedro Astil.

Let the Games Begin!
Many years later, Dr. Light created the two robots Rock and Roll, and unveiled a new line of industrial Robot Masters to help mankind. However, Dr. Wily decided to reprogram Dr. Light's Robot Masters-Bomb Man, Guts Man, Cut Man, Elec Man, Fire Man, and Ice Man-and use them to conquer the world. Dr. Light couldn't believe that Wily would do such a thing, and was initially hopeless as the robots were too powerful to be stopped by conventional means. Rock, having a strong sense of justice, decided to stop them, and Dr. Light reluctantly modified him into a combat robot named Mega Man. Throughout this initial crisis, he supplied information and advice to Mega Man regarding how to stop Wily and the reprogrammed Robot Masters, although he gradually grew disturbed when Mega Man grew more cocky and reckless due to the Special Weapons program getting to his head.

Eventually, after all six Robot Masters were defeated, Light had him restrained while he created the Magnet Beam to ensure he didn't recklessly attack Wily's production facility. Rock initially lashed out, and after calming down realized how poorly he had behaved. He begged Dr. Light to remove his weapons-including the Mega Buster and Copy Chip-once Wily was defeated, feeling that they made him as evil as the renegade doctor. Light comforted his son, remarking that although Light constructed him, his feelings were his own, and that it was a heavy burden he had been called upon to shoulder. Fortunately, Thomas' confidence in Mega Man was rewarded, and Dr. Wily was imprisoned.

Time Keeps Slipping
After these events, Light aided in the cleanup of the Robot Masters, and was also under investigation by federal agents Gilbert D. Stern and Roslyn Krantz due to his Robot Masters being responsible. After Wily escaped due to a backup plan involving by Oil Man and Time Man, Light offered to be placed under custody when Stern and Krantz believed him to be responsible for Wily's escape. He later learned that Wily had abducted Roll, and informed them of Wily's most likely hideout: an old shed used for training Oil Man and Time Man. After Roll was rescued, Light was released and embraced Rock. Although Light suspected that Wily might strike back again, in the meantime he put away Mega Man's armor while Rock returned to working on Robots.

The Return of Doctor Wily
During the farewell party to Mega Man, however, Light and the others were attacked by one of Dr. Wily's new Robot Masters: Quick Man. Mega Man was dispatched to stop Wily once again after given the ultimatum that Mega Man face his Robot Masters alone or else they will cause destruction. Throughout the crisis, Light deduced from Mega Man's erratic behavior that Wily had also infected his own Robot Masters with a worm specifically to infect Mega Man when he used his Special Weapons copying ability, and made measures to remotely download an antibody to Mega Man in addition to tracking him to counteract it, although the download stopped at 2% left before Mega Man was completely infected by the worm and became programmed to fight for Dr. Wily. As a last resort, Light's other fighting Robot Masters were dispatched to save Mega Man by infiltrating Dr. Wily's hideout. Afterwards, as it was certain that Dr. Wily would continue his evil schemes, Light had Rock adopt the role of Mega Man permanently in case Wily struck again, and also created the helper robot Rush.

Spiritus Ex Machina
During the A.R.T.S. Convention, Dr. Light was to present Elec Man, Roll, Rock, and Rush, as well as have a debate regarding whether Robot AIs should possess human-like qualities. He also reunited with Dr. Cossack, Lalinde, and Pedro and was introduced to Lalinde's robot Tempo, renamed Quake Woman, although he was surprised that she was emotionless. During the debate, where he was appalled to find himself contending against Lalinde, the convention was taken over by the terrorist group Emerald Spears. Dr. Light, alongside Cossack and Lalinde proceeded to debate with their leader, Harvey Greenleaf, before his second in command, Xander Payne, took over and threatened the scientists. He eventually detonated the bomb in the audience chamber while the doctors were still inside, although Mega Man and Quake Woman aided in saving them as well as eliminating the final bomb.

Rock of Ages
Afterwards, Rock uncovered Blues' name in Light's database while he was undergoing cleaning, causing Light to reluctantly explain Blues' past as well as his presumed shutdown. He also had Guts Man aid Concrete Man and Ice Man regarding building a dam and expanding the glacier research institute, respectively, although the latter event resulted in Guts Man being flash frozen and sent back to Light by an irate Ice Man due to Guts Man making things worse. In addition, he and Lalinde also attempted to improve on Mega Man, including the ability to have him Slide. However, the slide portion ran into frustrating problems regarding its failing to work on Modes 9 and 10, which forced him and Mega Man to be unavailable to take calls, resulting in them being unavailable when Roll called requesting their aid regarding a run aground ship. They later discovered what had happened from a breaking news report, although by the time they arrived they discovered that Roll, alongside Quake Woman, Rush, Oil Man, and Splash Woman (the last having secretly been activated by Oil Man to aid in helping the people evacuate the ship) had already saved the populace.

In another adventure taking place at an unknown point in the future, Mega Man encountered Dr. Light while being transported randomly through his timeline. Mega Man found himself in an arena with Dr. Light and Roll, all of them watching a fight between Knight Man and Yamato Man. After several more time jumps, Mega Man was faced with Dr. Light again, his father hoping that he had brought back a cure for the Roboenza-afflicted Roll. To Light's surprise, Mega Man responds that he has to leave in order to take care of something else. Following his successful destruction of the anomaly that apparently caused his time jumps, Rock was reunited with Dr. Light in the present, Thomas noting that his son's internal clock had jumped ahead by years.

Breaking Point
Light also presided over the New Year's Eve celebrations, and later dispatched Rock and Roll to aid Ice Man in his research on Valentine's Day due to a suggestion from Roll while he and Lalinde met with Stern and Krantz at dinner. During this time, Light and Stern entered into a debate regarding the future of robotics, to Lalinde and Krantz' embarrassment. He later was interviewed during Mega Man's birthday, although Wily utilized this interview to manipulate Blues, renamed Break Man, into attacking the then-recently renamed Mega City right when Mega Man was presented with the key to the city. When he saw Break Man, he recognized him as Blues, but had little time to react to these events as the city was engulfed by a white light.

Worlds Collide
One day in the far future, Light got the feeling that he was forgetting something about his past, but put it aside while working on Bond Man. He, alongside Rock and Roll also witnessed a breaking news report regarding the Mega City Federal Reserve being attacked by four unidentified robots, with Proto Man fighting against them. Mega Man later informed him of a strange portal that appeared when a strange blue blur appeared and had the other robots escape as he entered the portal in pursuit. A damaged Proto Man later arrived at Light Labs with information on the Warp Ring, and to Light's relief allowed Roll to take him aside for repairs.. He also was contacted by Time Man about a time-space anomaly, and sent a message requesting Duo's aid in solving the spacial imbalance.

Dr. Light eventually was kidnapped by Bass and Metal Sonic under the orders of Wily and his new partner, Dr. Eggman and taken to the Wily Egg in the Skull Egg Zone pocket dimension, although not before creating a recreation of the Warp Ring to allow Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man to enter Mega City. He learned that this Dr. Wily was from the past, and that the white light that engulfed the city years ago during Mega Man's birthday was the reality warping Genesis Wave, launched by Eggman and Wily in an effort to defeat their blue enemies. During this time, Light was held prisoner as well as nearly killed by a Motobug and Mettaur, although they destroyed themselves by accident due to their bumping into each other. He also supplied information to Rouge the Bat regarding the Wily Egg's weakpoints, and used the Motobug and Mettaur's parts to create a radio system to send an SOS signal. However, the signal was too weak to penetrate the Wily Egg's exterior and only succeeded in giving him away to Eggman's robots, who likewise informed Eggman of Light's transmission. Prior to this, he attempted to convince Wily and Eggman of the foolishness of their plans to reshape the universe, reminding both scientists of various instances when they had attempted similar things. Unfortunately, his references to Ra Moon, the Stardroids, and other threats were dismissed by both doctors.

Thomas was later thrown out by Eggman into the crater beneath the Wily Egg, largely because Eggman deduced how much of a threat he was to his and Wily's plans, but was saved by Shadow the Hedgehog's Chaos Control. He later aided the Proto Man and Sonic's allies in fighting the Robot Master army in order to hold them off while Mega Man, Rush, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Tails infiltrated the Wily Egg. During this time, he was reacquainted with Rouge, and asked for the status of the battle while using spare parts from fallen Robot Masters to develop a portable arm cannon. When Rouge, while fighting Gemini Man, admitted that the situation was bleak largely due to the Robot Masters respawning, he told her not to give up and that he'll expect reinforcements any time soon while using his completed arm cannon to stun Gemini Man long enough for him to presumably be destroyed. When Rush returned with a badly wounded Tails, Dr. Light examined him but due to his lack of medical experience was unable to do much for the heroic young Fox. After Light's original Robot Masters arrived as the cavalry, Light, Knuckles, Rush, and Proto Man, having deduced that Mega Man and Sonic ran into trouble, infiltrated the Wily Egg themselves while the Robot Masters provided cover. Afterwards, Light, after freeing Mega Man and Sonic, aided them in trying to shut down the Genesis Wave Generator, although because the controls were out of reach, he could not disable it, resulting in a backup plan where Sonic and Mega Man would adopt super forms to undo the Genesis Wave with Chaos Control. He joined Knuckles and Proto Man in fleeing the battle between Super Mega Man and Super Sonic and the Egg-Wily Machine X, but was engulfed by the Super Genesis Wave. Fortunately, Super Mega Man later reversed its effects, returning his reality to normal.

Blackout: The Curse of Ra Moon
Once the light faded, Light informed Roll that Break Man was likely to be Blues, Rock and Roll's long lost brother, resulting in Roll rushing to their current battleground to warn Mega Man. Much to the horror of observers, an errant shot fired by Blues resulted in Roll being badly damaged. Worse, a massive EMP wave washed over the planet, knocking out Robot Masters and other technology.

After the EMP wave took effect, Dr. Light approached Break Man, still wondering if he was Blues. His original creation reacted with some hostility, but supplied Thomas with a formula to create a protective coating that would counter the effects of the wave. After making a cutting remark about Light having a "replacement computer"-a hidden allusion to Blues' belief that Rock and Roll were created to replace him-Break Man teleported away. Two weeks later, Mega Man was revived by Light and Astil aided by the EMP immune Plant Man, with Cut Man, Guts Man, Bomb Man, and Rush following suit before being dispatched to the Amazon. The two doctors worked to maintain Roll and get other Robot Masters working to help deal with the crisis until Mega Man finally succeeded in destroying the monstrous alien machine known as Ra Moon. Much to Light's shock and surprise, when Mega Man returned, it was badly damaged and in the company of Dr. Wily, who claimed to have been manipulated by Ra Moon.

Redemption
After Light and Wily stabilized Mega Man, Light demanded to know what had happened, particularly regarding Blues. Wily revealed that he had repaired Blues' power source, but neglected to mention his role in sending Break Man to attack Mega Man's celebration. Working together, the former partners succeeded in restoring Mega Man, but Light was then forced to turn Wily over to Krantz and Stern. Wily was quick to accuse his old friend of using him, and then of having a double standard when Light revealed that the agents had refrained from arresting him up to that point because of Mega Man's hero status. Much to the surprise of both doctors, Mega Man activated and vouched for Dr. Wily. As such, Dr. Light joined him, Rush, Doctors Cossack and Astil, and Pharaoh Man and Plant Man in journeying to the Lanfront Ruins to investigate the truth of Wily's claims regarding Ra Moon.

The evidence found at the ruins seemed to support Wily's story, though Cossack remained unconvinced and felt that Light was being foolish in his desire to trust their former colleague. Eventually the Russian scientist expressed the hope that Light would defend his friends just as he did Wily. Light subsequently attended Wily's trial, and was effectively left in charge of his old partner as the latter was sentenced to five years of house arrest. Light demonstrated his willingness to trust Wily by working with him on a new machine, Doc Robot, and defending him when Wily and Mega Man get into an argument as to the robot's dangerous potential. He then unveiled another project, the massive robot Gamma, designed to deal with world-threatening crises.

Thomas expressed further belief that Wily could redeem himself, and his willingness to give his old partner a second chance. However, Light was then hit with Flash Man's Time Stopper ability, as the villainous Robot Master reported to Wily on the status of their plans. Unaware that anything amiss had taken place, Light presided over the unveiling of Gamma at Titanium Park, and surprised Wily by inviting him to speak. Unfortunately, Light was forced to watch as a team of Wily's Robot Masters-whom Wily claimed retained loyalty to the destroyed Ra Moon-stole the Energy Elements that powered the giant robot. To make matters worse, Light recognized the thieving Robot Masters as having been designed by Wily and himself.

Dawn of X
At Albert's suggestion, Light teamed up with Dr. Cossak and dispatched Mega Man, alongside Pharaoh Man and Bright Man, to one of Dr. Wily's old laboratories to search for the Robot Masters. While there, the trio stumbled across the machine that had led to the previous ban against Wily working on robotics: the Wily Walker. The machine was then activated by a false "deactivation code" sent by Wily. After Mega Man narrowly evaded being crushed underfoot by the Wily Walker, Light attempted with the other doctors to find a way to aid Mega Man, eventually resorting to developing a device. He eventually got a lead via Agent Krantz (who was on her way to deliver Xander Payne back to prison) on the location of at least some of the renegade Robot Masters, specifically that four mining asteroids were taken offline.

Legends of the Blue Bomber
Dr. Light acted as radio control alongside Roll, Auto, and Dr. Wily (kind of) in Mega Man's mission to retrieve the Energy Elements. After Mega Man defeated Top Man, he ended up telling Dr. Wily (who intended to directly place the Energy Elements into Gamma) that only he and Roll had authorization to actually implement the Energy Elements into Gamma, reasoning that they didn't want to breach Dr. Wily's ban on robotics and just barely got into the judge's good graces. He then warned Roll to be careful with the Energy Elements due to the ordeal they went through as they were placing the first two back onto Gamma. After half of the energy elements were retrieved from Top Man, Snake Man, Shadow Man, and Gemini Man (with their defeat and the retrieval of their IC Chips), Dr. Light, after implying that Mega Man might need repairs due to a sneak attack from Gemini Man, informed Mega Man of a Robot Master outbreak at a shipment production facility on Earth (Magnet Man). He continued giving Mega Man guidance throughout the mission, all while being unaware of Wily actually being responsible for the revolt. Eventually, he discovers Roll running in and crying. She then admits that she had sent Auto to keep tabs on Dr. Wily due to suspicions of him and that he had disappeared. Light then tells his daughter that there's probably a reasonable explanation for this. However, when Roll finishes her statement and reveals also that she had just found Auto disassembled and with all his memory boards ripped out, Light expresses shock and then anger, clearly realizing that Wily must have done this to Auto, and with this, realized the full implications that Wily had been responsible for the revolt. He then placed the lab on lockdown mode to an extent that only Light and family members may access the lab. He also decided against contacting Rock with this development, as he wanted to avoid the risk of distracting him while he is fighting a dangerous Robot Master, and reasoned Wily doesn't have anything they can use against them anyways. Unfortunately for Dr. Light, due to his earlier supplying security bypass codes to Blues in the event that he wanted to return to Light Labs, Break Man managed to enter and supply the IC chips from the second-generation Robot Masters to Dr. Wily, thus allowing him to complete Doc Robot, burst out of containment and arrive at the command center. Dr. Light could only ask Wily why he was doing this in a shocked tone when Wily arrived with Break Man and the Doc Robot.

The Ultimate Betrayal
Dr. Light attempts to refuse to give Dr. Wily Gamma, and infers that Mega Man will be coming back soon and stop Dr. Wily. However, Wily reveals he had in fact anticipated Mega Man's arrival and made sure Break Man would deal with the Blue Bomber. Dr. Wily, clearly recognizing Break Man as Blues, demanded to know why Wily is using the name as if he's unfamiliar with his own son, with Wily telling him that Break Man is his son now. Dr. Light then narrowly saves Roll from Bubble Lead after she had recklessly attacked Doc Robot with a broom and, faced with the threat of Doc Robot killing Roll with a random attack, is forced to concede and let Dr. Wily have access to Gamma. While using his clearance to grant Wily access to Gamma, Light tells Wily that it was never a popularity contest and has to contend to Wily's taunting. Eventually, he reaches the breaking point and grabs Wily by the shirt in pure rage, only to be forcibly removed from Wily by Doc Robot. He then is kept in Gamma's hangar with Roll as Wily escapes and Doc Robot destroys Light's Lab above the hangar.

Afterwards, Dr. Light is devastated, and informs Mega Man that he was forced to hand over Gamma to Wily under the threat of losing Roll, especially when he had already lost Blues, before lamenting that he'll lose his Robot Master, Gamma, his designs, his hopes and dreams, and he might as well have the world pay the price for his role in Wily's evil plan, and even implies that he may stop believing that there is good in anyone as a result. After being comforted by Roll and Mega Man, Light, after repairing Mega Man, then plans a counterattack using the codes Break Man provided to Mega Man during their fight (as he deliberately called off the fight so Mega Man could be repaired and thus fight him at full power) to teleport Mega Man and Rush to Wily's new base of operations, where Break Man is waiting at the entrance. While repairing Mega Man, Dr. Light also upgraded his Mega Buster, and also mentioned that, although he would hope that Break Man would be allowed to live, if it comes down to it, Mega Man should make sure he survives against Break Man if it means killing the latter, as he doesn't want to lose both of his sons.

While Mega Man is fighting Break Man, Dr. Light and Roll finish up the repair work for Auto properly, with his apologizing for the hasty repair patch as there wasn't enough time, although Auto explained that he understood his motives, as repairing Mega Man and Rush was far more important given the circumstances. Dr. Light also admitted they can't do much except hope and pray Mega Man succeeds due to the destruction of the lab earlier. In addition, Break Man alludes to his past with Dr. Light during his fight with Mega Man, and implies that Light just uses his robots and doesn't value them as children. However, Mega Man refuted this, emphatically stating that Dr. Light was his father and regarded him as his son. Mega Man later triumphed, and went on to defeat Wily and Gamma. During the fight, he recalled Dr. Light's grim assertion that Gamma had to be destroyed if Wily had managed to take control of it, and his advice to find a weak point on the giant robot.

Dr. Light, Roll, and Auto later left the bunker to view the ruins of the lab, something that filled Roll with sorrow. Dr. Light comforted her, knowing that he could rebuild the lab at the cost of setting back his other projects, and then comforting her with the knowledge that they would replace their lost belongings and take new photos and videos. They were then surprised to hear Rush barking, and found him and Mega Man a short distance away. Mega Man then informed his creator of Wily's apparent demise, and apologized for failing to save him or to bring home Blues, whom Mega Man suspected had saved him from the wreckage of Wily's fortress. However, Dr. Light congratulated his son on a job well done, and expressed the opinion that it would be better to let Blues come home of his own accord. The trio then heard a tune being whistled nearby, before witnessing the distinct sight of Break Man's teleportation beam.

Prisoners of War/Worlds Unite
Dr. Light and his family soon had the Wily Robot Master up and running gain, disabling their weapons in case they proved violent. The robots were then offered a chance for reprogramming and a second chance at life, which half of them accepted and the others rejected. Light was forced to inform the robots, some of whom he had contributed to the design of, that their reactivation came with conditions. Specifically, if they weren't able to serve a useful purpose, they would have to be deactivated. Mega Man begged Quick Man and the others to reconsider, but they refused, and Dr. Light shut him down. He then tried to comfort the distraught Rock, remarking sadly that "You can't always save everyone-and not everyone wants to be saved." During this incident, Roll suggested that the deactivated robots could be placed in a Robot Museum.

With the aid of the original line of Robot Masters and Concrete Man, Dr. Light soon had Light Labs back up and running. Unfortunately, Mega Man disappeared while on a supply run, and Sonic Man appeared and attacked Mega City. Reluctantly, Light allowed his original Robot Masters to engage Sonic Man, only for them to be defeated. Dr. Light then called upon the eight Wily Numbers who had chosen to be reprogrammed, and called upon them to fight against Sonic Man. Quake Woman also volunteered to help out, as she knew that the situation was upsetting to Roll, and the nine robots quickly entered the fray. Sadly, both they and Break Man failed to overcome the threat, and Sonic Man activated a Unity Engine that began merging Earth with Sonic the Hedgehog's world. This led to an encounter between Dr. Light and his robotic allies and the Freedom Fighters, who were soon joined by X and the Maverick Hunters and Team Sticks.

The X Factor
It was revealed in the story "The X Factor" that Dr. Light would go on to create a powerful robot known as X, whom he sealed in a capsule for analysis to ensure that his systems would not be unstable. However, as a hologram of Light would report to Dr. Cain, who discovered X's capsule, Light died before the scans on X could be completed, and there was apparently no one left to take over after he passed on.

Short Circuits
Dr. Light is present in many of the Short Circuits strips featured in the Mega Man comic, beginning in Issue 1. In this premier strip, Dr. Light began the process of converting Rock into a fighting robot, only to produce the hideous Bad Box Art Mega Man. Issue 4's strip found him and Rock celebrating Wily's first defeat, and Light expressing confidence that there would be further adventures as Bass, Proto Man, Treble, and Rush pressed their faces against a window he was passing. In Issue 9 he introduced Rock to Mariachi, a robotic hamster who acted as a perpetual motion machine, its wheel recharging the battery that gave Mariachi himself power.

Issue 13 found Dr. Light bidding Auto farewell as he left for the A.R.T.S. convention, unaware that the helper robot would turn his lab into the stage for his reenactments of Mega Man's adventures. Issue 14 found him as one of several characters whose hair was left frizzy by Elec Man's static electricity. Unlike a number of characters, he did not appear in any of the Short Circuits or Off Panel funny strips during Worlds Collide. However, he returned in Issue 29 aiding Dr. Astil with a supposed "back-up system" for Plant Man that involved sticking him in a giant pot, with Light dragging a bag of fertilizer for use in the process.

Issue 34 found Dr. Light-and the future version of himself who created Mega Man X-watching as X and Zero were shooed off by Roll and Mega Man, who demanded that they get their own comic. Issue 36 found Light, Rock, and Roll listening to Wily's supposed account of his resistance to Ra Moon's evil plans, though with obvious skepticism.

Trivia

 * This version of Dr. Light is notable in a number of ways:
 * He is shown to have built Robot Masters from Mega Man 9 prior to the construction of several Mega Man 3 models.
 * He is the first to have any sort of romantic interest in the person of Dr. Lalinde.
 * At one point during the Worlds Collide arc (specifically, during Mega Man #26), Dr. Eggman referred to Dr. Light as being "Santa in a lab coat," alluding to the fact that series creator Keiji Inafune based Dr. Light's design on Santa Claus.