Mega Man Issue 16 (Archie Comics)


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Mega Man #16 is the sixteenth issue in the Mega Man comic book series by Archie Comics, released on August 2012.

Publisher's Summary
'''Spiritus ex Machina.' The epic conclusion! The debate over the future of robotics reaches an explosive turning point, and with multiple lives hanging in the balance, the Robot Masters race against time to save their creators. Will one make the ultimate sacrifice to save their comrades? And will Dr. Lalinde's tragic secret finally be revealed? Meanwhile, Dr. Wily welcomes the newest robot to his army - who is Break Man?''

Spiritus Ex Machina - Part Four: Whatever it Takes
Mega Man is horrified that the last bomb had been set off, but assures himself that Roll would've gotten herself and Kalinka out of the convention before it went off. Quake Woman and Elec Man come rushing towards him (while Pharaoh Man is helping a man who was caught and injured in the explosion) and Elec Man frantically tells Mega Man that the doctors are trapped under the rubble that was formerly the lecture hall. Mega Man then decides to copy Quake Woman's Quake Drill, and orders her to help him dig and for Pharaoh Man to lead them down (as he was built for navigating dangerous tombs). Elec Man asks what he's supposed to do, and Mega Man tells him to direct the robots to get everybody out of the convention center, which he does.

Xander is in the security office and notices that Mega Man and the others are beginning the digging. Two of his soldiers enter the room, concerned about the bomb going off, but he argues that they were disarming the bombs and had to do something. Without hesitation, he grabs one of their guns and rushes towards the remains of the lecture hall, and begins shooting at Mega Man as they dig. Mega Man threatens to "hurt him" if he gets in the way, but Xander keeps shooting until he sees Elec Man, and is immediately infuriated at recognizing him.

A flashback is shown of Xander (without his eyepatch and having both eyes), on the police force confronting Dr. Light's first line of Robot Masters (who are under Dr. Wily's reprogramming). He charges forth despite his commander's orders to stay put, and Elec Man attacks him by electrocuting his right eye. He is rushed to the hospital and his brother, Theo Payne, begs the doctor to save him and jumps at the chance to give Xander an implant to compensate for his missing eye. Upon waking up (presumeably hours later), Xander is enraged at seeing the new implant.

Back in the battle, Xander pulls off his eyepatch and reveals the implant, screaming at Elec Man and shooting at him furiously. Mega Man uses the Quake Drill to make the ground under him and a few of his soldiers unstable and make him fall, where Rush grabs the gun from his hand and chews to pieces.

Outside, Agents Krantz and Stern arrive at the convention center. Roll and Kalinka come rushing over, panicking (with Kalinka even in tears) and Roll frantically tells agent Krantz what happened. Agent Krantz calmly tells her to calm down while Agent Stern comforts Kalinka, and Roll shows her the videos they obtained about the Emerald Spears.

Inside, Mega Man, Quake Woman, and Pharaoh Man are continuing to dig, and after nearly being crushed under some unstable rubble, they find the doctors alive, who are overjoyed to see their creations unharmed, and are generally unhurt themselves except for Dr. Cossack, who has a broken leg. Quake Woman seems as emotionless as ever, but Dr. Light tells Dr. Lalinde that she's still "Tempo", and still her little girl. Dr. Lalinde agrees and tells Quake Woman that she'll return her personality after the ordeal is over, but Pharaoh Man interrupts when he spots a second bomb that wasn't disarmed, still active but damaged by the first explosion.

Meanwhile, Elec Man and Rush are staring down Xander and a few of his Emerald Spears soldiers as Elec Man tells Xander he's sorry for taking his eye, as he 'wasn't himself' at the time. Xander has his eyes focused on Rush as suddenly Elec Man turns to tell off a robot getting out of line, and all of a sudden, Xander grabs a nearby gun and shoots Rush with it, damaging the robot dog's leg and distracting them both long enough for them to bolt out of an escape tunnel and are not seen again for the rest of the issue.

The group thinks over how to disarm it for several moments until finally Quake Woman and Mega Man decide to vibrate the components apart using their drills, and to use the rubble to contain the blast if it goes off. Everybody else exits out the tunnel created by the two robots. As Elec Man, who was previously nursing Rush's injury and grumbling to himself about how he resents the First Law of Robotics, asks where Mega Man and Quake Woman are, the last bomb detonates. Dr. Lalinde and Dr. Light worry for their creations, but Rush begins frantically digging into the rubble and seconds later, Mega Man drills his way out along with Quake Woman.

Later, everyone is outside and Dr. Light is talking to Agents Krantz and Stern. Rock asks Agent Stern if the Emerald Spears were caught, and he states that all of them were captured save for three, and compliments him on good work. Rock asks if he still views robots as trouble, and Stern replies stating that it just matters on the choices they make, like people.

Back at the Temple of the Moon, Dr. Wily has finished repairing Blues, who is just starting to wake up. He recognizes Dr. Wily right away, and the doctor states that he had a power failure at the edge of the EMP field and that he repaired him. Blues misinterprets the statement at first and asks if Dr. Wily had altered him, but Dr. Wily tells him that he completed Blues, giving him top-of-the-line weaponry and replaced his solar core with a nuclear one. Feeling his question was unanswered, he asked if his core programming was changed, and while the answer is no, Dr. Wily asks if that was the reason he ran off, but Blues says he doesn't want to talk about it, and says he owes him a debt of gratitude. Upon being called "Blues", he tells him not to call him that as it reminds him of his past with Dr. Light. Dr. Wily offers the name "Proto Man", as he is the prototype of all the Robot Masters after him while he gives Blues his new Protoshield, but Blues is still unsure. After a bit of thinking, Dr. Wily comes up with "Break Man", which Blues seems satisfied with. Dr. Wily then introduces him to the rest of his robot army, the Robot Masters from Mega Man 2 and 3.

No Show
Dr. Wily attempts to visit the expo, but changes his mind after seeing an explosion.

Characters

 * Mega Man
 * Rush
 * Pharaoh Man
 * Elec Man
 * Quake Woman
 * Xander Payne
 * Harvey Greenleaf
 * Simone Miller
 * Theo Payne
 * Roslyn Krantz
 * Gilbert D. Stern
 * Roll
 * Kalinca
 * Dr. Light
 * Dr. Lalinde
 * Dr. Cossack
 * Dr. Wily
 * Blues / Break Man
 * Ra Moon
 * Wood Man
 * Needle Man
 * Magnet Man
 * Air Man
 * Bubble Man
 * Heat Man
 * Gemini Man (First appearance)
 * Hard Man (First appearance)
 * Flash Man
 * Spark Man (First appearance)
 * Shadow Man
 * Crash Man
 * Top Man (First appearance)
 * Quick Man
 * Snake Man (First appearance)

Special Weapons

 * Quake Drill

Locations

 * A.R.T.S.
 * Lanfront Ruins
 * Temple of the Moon

Trivia

 * The cover is based on Comic BomBom Special #118 - Rockman 10 Years History Book ( image link ).
 * This issue retconned Xander Payne's first appearance in Mega Man #2 (in opposition of Mega Man #13), replacing Unknown Soldier Blue with Xander.