Mega Man Issue 42 (Archie Comics)


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Mega Man #42 is the forty-second issue in the Mega Man comic book series by Archie Comics, released in October 2014.

Publisher's Summary
''The battle rages on! Based on the legendary game Mega Man 3 comes "Legends of the Blue Bomber, Part Two". We've seen Mega Man battle Robot Masters before, but now see the fight unfold from the perspectives of the villainous robot adversaries themselves! Shadow Man recalls his humble beginnings and how they brought him to his deadly duel with Mega Man! Gemini Man is ready to ambush our hero with his hologram copies! But while the battle rages on, Break Man is behind the scenes on a mission of his own - why is he hunting down Dr. Wily's first set of Robot Masters? Featuring all-new cover art from Patrick 'SPAZ' Spaziante, and part 2 of a 3-part connecting 'SUPER SMASH' collector cover set!''

Legends of the Blue Bomber - Part Two: With Royalty, With Reflection
In the Gamma Hangar deep below Light Labs, Roll is about to place the second Energy Element into the socket when it discharges at her hand. Dr. Light notices this and tells her to be careful as the Energy Elements, combined with their being extremely powerful crystal batteries, had already been through a lot and thus had the risk of discharging and hurting Roll. Roll then sheepishly acknowledged she'll be careful and then proceeded to insert the second one inside. Dr. Light then apologized for snapping at her, mentioning he was on the edge due to the entire ordeal they had to go through, and proceeded to contact Mega Man, telling him that he and Roll had finished installing the Energy Elements that Mega Man recovered from the rogue Robot Masters, and Mega Man says he will retrieve another one in a few moments while approaching an asteroid with Rush. Inside the asteroid, Shadow Man is meditating when he hears the alarm blaring. Shadow Man then acknowledges that the time has come. While fighting Mega Man, the extraterrestrial robot reflects that although things have changed since his creation, he was still in the same situation of being besieged by robots of justice and waiting to die for loyalty to his master.

Mega Man arrives at Shadow Man's quarters and they start fighting, Shadow Man remembering of his past during the battle: Over 20 000 years ago, Shadow Man was part of an alien line of robots called Kuiper Droids that served Ra Moon. When the Star Marshals attacked Ra Moon, Terra ordered the Kuiper Droids to escort their master to safety while the Stardroids took care of the attackers, also making clear that their only concern was to escort him to safety. The Kuiper Droids try their best, but they are destroyed by two Star Marshals. Shadow Man is the last robot left, and when he is about to be finished by one named Quartet, his partner destroys the Star Marshal. Named Trio, he defects from the Star Marshals and allows Shadow Man to escort Ra Moon to safety, telling him to ensure his safety. Unfortunately for him, his master is destroyed by Mega Man.

Shadow Man was built to serve and protect his master, and each time he failed, he had to be rescued by someone else (Trio and Dr. Wily), and says to himself that it will never happen again. He has a new master, new brothers, a new purpose, and will not fail them again. A reinvigorated Shadow Man continues his attack, but Mega Man uses Search Snake. While Shadow Man is distracted with the snakes on him, calling Mega Man a weakling for needing a dog and the weapons from his brothers while he is a child of Ra Moon enhanced by Dr. Wily that he can't defeat, Mega Man uses Top Spin and hits the ninja robot multiple times, defeating him. Before passing out, Shadow Man notes that "justice" finally caught up to him, his pride blinding him to the blue hero's potential and that this time no one is present to save him.

Back on Earth, Mega Man contacts Light Labs and informs that Shadow Man is down, but he was damaged. Light tells him to take a minute to use Rush's remaining supplies to repair and recharge, and Mega Man notes that between the teleporters and I.C. chips, there isn't much room for supplies, and a storage/delivery robot would be really helpful. During their conversation, Dr. Wily says he needs to take a break and goes to the bathroom, where he contacts Break Man to know how he is doing. Break Man is engaged in a battle with Quick Man outside the third Wily Castle with orders to get his I.C. Chip and weapon data, the latter understandably upset at the order and even declaring Wily as insane and not wanting any part in it, with Break Man stating it matters little what he wants as it's still an order from Wily. Wily eventually, after having Break Man patch him over to Quick Man, orders Quick Man directly to hand them over, forcing him to comply. Quick Man asks if the others didn't object, Break Man saying that they all did, but he was the only one who fought over it. Break Man informs Wily that they will be ready for transport soon. When leaving the toilet, Auto appears and asks Wily if he knows anything about a weird signal coming from the house, but Wily pretends to not know, and Auto also asks if he is going to flush.

At one of the asteroids, Gemini Man observes Mega Man making his way through the stage while talking with his copies about what they should do against him. When he arrives, Mega Man asks Gemini Man what's wrong with the place, which Gemini Man isn't sure himself, believing to be an algae growth experiment that was previously conducted there or something similar. Gemini Man goes on the offensive and sends copies, telling Mega Man to see if they know, the copies saying that they don't have a clue and don't care. Gemini Man kicks Rush, and Mega Man, believing that the copies are harmless, focuses on the real one, but he is hit with three Gemini Lasers, the Gemini Men informing him that the copies can focus their light energy into laser energy to attack. Mega Man agrees that he was mistaken, but while they all can attack him, he only needs to attack one of them and counters with the Search Snake, eventually gaining the upper hand. Gemini Man seems to accept defeat, but as Mega Man shows him mercy, another holographic duplicate attacks him from behind.

Short Circuits
Shadow Man takes a large Shadow Blade to finish Mega Man, but its size makes him fall on the ground. Mega Man informs him that they come in smaller sizes, and Shadow Man tells him to shut up.

Characters

 * Roll
 * Dr. Light
 * Mega Man
 * Rush
 * Shadow Man
 * Kuiper Droids (First appearances, flashback)
 * Terra (Flashback)
 * Ra Moon (Flashback)
 * Star Marshals (First appearances, flashback)
 * Quartet (First appearance, flashback)
 * Trio (First appearance, flashback)
 * Dr. Wily
 * Quick Man
 * Break Man
 * Auto
 * Nitrons (First appearances)
 * Gemini Man
 * Poles (First appearances)
 * Penpen Maker (First appearance)
 * Penpens (First appearances)

Special Weapons

 * Search Snake (First appearance)
 * Top Spin

Locations

 * Light Labs
 * Gamma Hangar
 * Shadow Man's unnamed stage/asteroid (First appearance)
 * Lanfront Ruins (Flashback)
 * Temple of the Moon (Flashback)
 * Wily Castle 3
 * Mining Asteroid (First appearance)

Events

 * Mega Man confronts Shadow Man and Gemini Man.
 * Shadow Man's history of service to Ra Moon and the Stardroids is touched upon, including an encounter with the Star Marshals and the villainous Trio.
 * Break Man pursues the original line of Wily Robot Masters on Dr. Wily's orders.

Trivia

 * The variant cover, along with the variant covers of Sonic The Hedgehog #266 and Sonic Universe #69, connect together to make the "Super Smash Variant", which promotes the release of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.
 * The Star Marshals, introduced in this issue, are the robotic police force to which Duo and the Evil Robot, here named Trio, from Mega Man 8 belonged.