Mega Man 11: The Ultimate Betrayal


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Mega Man Volume 11 - The Ultimate Betrayal is the eleventh graphic novel in the Mega Man comic book series from Archie Comics. It contains the stories "Making It Personal", "My Brother's Keeper", "Legion", and "Gamma", which are part of the four part arc based on the second half of Mega Man 3.

Part One: Making It Personal
Mega Man, while using Rush Jet and telling Rush to move faster, continues to try and hail Dr. Light with no success, as his teleporting signal is rendered offline. He then begs for someone to respond so he can stop worrying, but then discovers that Light Labs is on fire. Realizing that something terrible must have happened, he tells Rush to land and see if everyone is alright. However, before he could finish his thought, he hears a tune and recognizes it. True to his recognition, he and Rush are shot down, with Break Man then approaching them and telling them that Dr. Light can't see them as he's busy with "someone else".

Meanwhile, inside the lab, Dr. Wily tells Dr. Light not to be difficult. Doc Robot, in multiple voices, inquires whether he should fan the already present flames, or blow more stuff up. Dr. Wily tells him neither will be necessary as long as Light cooperates. Dr. Light, realizing that Wily is referring to Gamma, tells him he won't grant him access to the robot and expresses his confidence that Mega Man will be present any moment and stop him. Wily recognizes Mega Man as Dr. Light's second son who barely managed to beat his Robot Masters with an eerie amount of confidence, while Doc Robot states that he let Mega Man come as "they are all dying for a rematch". Dr. Wily has anticipated this outcome and made sure that Break Man would handle Mega Man.

Dr. Light then demands to know why Dr. Wily would insist on using the name Break Man as if Dr. Light wouldn't recognize his own son, with Dr. Wily saying that Break Man is his son now. Roll, clearly enraged with Wily having lied to them and then hurting Auto and putting Rock through more horrible fighting, attempts to drive Wily and Doc Robot out while swinging her broom and yelling at them to get out, with Dr. Light warning her to stand down. Roll then whacks her broom at Doc Robot, but the broom broke apart upon contact. To make matters worse for her, Doc Robot was enraged with her attack, realizing that they could and should have dodged her attack, also getting enraged with her hair, and then debating whether to attack a helper robot, before deciding they might as well since she took the first swing. Doc Robot then proceeded to hit her with Air Shooter.

They then proceeded to state that the attack was "weak sauce", and debating whether they should attack a kid or not before they then shot Bubble Lead at her, with Light protecting her Roll and narrowly dodging. Dr. Wily warns Doc Robot to be careful with the splash damage, and Doc Robot proceeded to state that Wily crammed his Robot Masters' I.C. chips into Doc Robot, meaning that it was hard to process commands. Dr. Wily explained that the Doc Robot is buggy, and then tells Light to fork over the keys to Gamma's chamber with the strong implication that he'll have Doc Robot kill them with a random attack if they refused to cooperate. Despite Roll's insistence that he should not, Dr. Light reluctantly caves to Dr. Wily's demands. Dr. Light then tells a bewildered Roll to do whatever Dr. Wily demands, and assures her that everything would be fine.

As Dr. Light lowers the defenses, Wily continues to taunt him, asking him how long it was since they were competing regarding robot development, as well as seeing who among them was the real genius. Light tells Wily that it was never a contest to begin with, with Wily capitalizing on the remark by stating that he was "always ahead of the rest of you". Light then tells Wily that the defenses are down and thus Wily can leave at any time. However, Wily demands that Light be proud of him instead of being a "sore loser", rubbing in that he managed to surpass Light despite being banned from robotics and having to work off Light's scraps. This acted as the final straw, as Light is finally pushed to physically attempt to attack Wily, grabbing him by the shirt. Doc Robot breaks them up and Wily makes his way to Gamma. Wanting Light alive to stew in his defeat, Wily orders Doc Robot to destroy the lab above the hangar while he teleports off with Gamma by using the eight teleporters used to send the Energy Elements.

Outside, Mega Man and Break Man are engaged in combat. Rush is knocked down, but a plea from Mega Man to spare his life and the I.C. chips of the Robot Masters contained within keeps Break Man from a killing blow. Mega Man inquires as to why he's doing this, but his use of the name Blues only makes Break Man angry again. Before things turn ugly, the lab explodes from Doc Robot's attack. Break Man then contacts Wily, with Wily then, after asking if the destruction of the lab was glorious, revealing he managed to escape with Gamma in tow beforehand and has already returned to the castle. Break Man, however, inquires about Roll and Dr. Light in a tone of concern, with Wily, citing he's not a monster, stating that they are still alive in Gamma's hangar below the lab. Break Man then noted they are safe, with Wily expressing irritation at Break Man's unusual amount of concern for them, telling him to finish off Mega Man and then return to the lab. Mega Man, however, overheard the entire exchange and then began angrily yelling at Break Man. However, Break Man tells him to "save it". Not wanting to fight Mega Man in his weakened state, Break Man gives him the coordinates to Wily's new castle and leaves.

Heading into the remains, Mega Man finds Dr. Light on the brink of despair, having realized the weight of what he has done, even though it was to save Roll, and raving about how the world will suffer for it, and even implied he may have to give up believing there is good in anyone. The two siblings console their father as best they can, reminding him that Gamma and Wily can still be stopped and have to for everyone's sake. Mega Man and Rush are fully repaired (alongside Auto) and head off to the provided coordinates, where Break Man is waiting for them.

Short Circuits: Drs. Light and Wily unveil the literally Guts Man.

Part Two: My Brother's Keeper
Dr. Wily is continuing to work on a device to allow him to bypass Gamma's security protocols, also vainly bragging that his genius will find a way to prevail and that he'll eventually reign supreme. After checking the output, he estimates that he'll only need a few more hours of uninterrupted work before he achieves total synchronization with Gamma. Doc Robot, via Air Shooter, then arrives and calls out to Dr. Wily, with Wily yelling at him and telling him that he's busy, with Doc Robot, after sarcastically stating that he noticed, tells Dr. Wily that Mega Man had arrived. Dr. Wily is shocked, and asks how he could have tracked his fortress down, as no one was even supposed to know about the island's location, let alone the location of the fortress. Doc Robot guesses that Break Man most likely gave Mega Man the location in order to have a final battle with the Blue Bomber.

Meanwhile, outside the castle gates, Break Man and Mega Man stare each other down. Mega Man walks forward, telling Rush to stay back, making clear he intends for Rush to stay out of the fight, as the fight is strictly between the two brothers. Mega Man then requests that Break Man address something that bothered him before they start fighting: Although he fought Mega Man for no reason, kept Mega Man at bay while Dr. Wily blew up Light Labs, and shot Roll, he also supplied Dr. Light with the key to immunizing him and other robots from Ra Moon's power, helped Mega Man fight Ra Moon's forces, and divulged the location of Wily's current hideout, and then ponders whether he is indeed Mega Man's long-lost brother Blues and that he is working for Dr. Wily, before asking what Break Man's deal was, whether he wants to help him or fight him. Break Man then points his Proto Buster at Mega Man, and demands to know what he is, whether he is Dr. Light's assistant, his weapon, or his son with increasing venom in his voice while memories surge of his past. Mega Man then tells him that he's all of these things while getting his Mega Buster ready, and Break Man attacks, angrily asking "then what am I supposed to be?!".

The two start fighting, and Break Man has advantage due to his shield, Mega Man wondering what it is made of. Mega Man knows that the longer he takes, the more time Wily will have to take control over Gamma, so he thinks in using the weapons he obtained from the eight Robot Masters he defeated, equipping Gemini Laser. However, he changes back shortly afterwards, realizing that he would need the weapons to storm the castle, and decides to make it a buster to buster battle.

Meanwhile, in Light Labs, Dr. Light and Roll finish giving Auto a proper repair, Light apologizing for the rushed patch job he got earlier, and Roll asks if he really is okay, as Dr. Wily literally tore him up. Auto tells them to not worry, noting to Light that getting Mega Man ready for the battle was more important, and to Roll that he doesn't simulate emotions in the same way as advanced robots like her do. Auto asks what they should do next, but without the lab, all they can do is sit, wait, hope, and pray. Roll doesn't like it, but there is nothing they can do at the time. Inside Wily Castle 3, Dr. Wily and Doc Robot use a Met to watch Break Man's battle, remarking that he is out to win and that almost excuses him giving the castle's location. However, considering that he is close to victory and that Light might send backup, Wily doesn't want to take any chances and orders Doc Robot to activate all defenses and prepare to stop Mega Man if he manages to get inside.

Back to the battle, Break Man asks why Mega Man fights so hard for Dr. Light, as he created him and can also unmake him on a whim, and he sends Mega Man to his battles. Mega Man answers that's because he is his father. Break Man disagrees, calling Light a mechanic and Mega Man his creation, and that they are robots that don't have families, but functions. Mega Man sees that Break Man doesn't believe on that, but Break Man yells that he must believe it. Mega Man remembers the conversation he had with Dr. Light about Blues some hours ago. The Mega Buster was upgraded, and Mega Man asks if he really needs to destroy Blues. Light doesn't know what drives him and asks to save Blues if he can, but he must be sure to return home, as he could not stand to lose both of his sons. Back to the battle, Mega Man promises that he won't lose either of them, and after some attacks, manages to take Break Man down with a well timed charge shot.

Break Man asks Mega Man to finish him, as that's how it must end, and Mega Man says that he is wrong, holding out his hand to help him up and saying that's how it must end. Break Man disagrees, believing that it can't work as Mega Man stole his function, but Mega Man tells him to stop being stupid and that he is giving him a function: be his big brother. Break Man extends his hand, but then slaps Mega Man's. Mega Man asks what's wrong with him, and why he doesn't return, and Break Man simply says that's "It's who I am". Break Man blows the floor below Mega Man (who barely dodges) and warns him that the outer defenses are too strong, but he can get inside easier by the sewers. Mega Man asks if he isn't coming back home, and that they can fix him. Break Man says he isn't returning yet, that he doesn't need to be fixed, and before teleporting out, he remarks that Rock gave a "nice shot".

Mega Man silently sits with Rush and uses an E-Tank to recover. Following his brother's advice, Mega Man and Rush infiltrate the sewer system of the base, and fought the opposition in the form of Penpens and Kamegoro Maker. While fighting, he reflected on the events and vowed that after this day, there won't be any more fighting against other robots, heartbreaks or betrayals. After leaving the sewers and passing by some Hammer Joes, they are interrupted by Yellow Devil mk. 2.

Short Circuits:

Part Three: Legion
Continuing from the previous issue, Mega Man faces Yellow Devil mk. 2. After narrowly evading the mk. 2's eye laser, Mega Man, after futilely shooting at its body, angrily attempts to figure out a quicker way to take it down. Mega Man then remembered his taking down a similar construct earlier by shooting it in the eye. He switches to Hard Knuckle and fires it directly in the eye, also telling Rush to get the eye. After knocking the eye out, Rush then catches it and irreparably damages it.

Mega Man, after congratulating Rush, proceeds forward. He turns and warns Rush to be prepared for anything, only to be hit with a beam and have a duplicate finish his statement for him. Mega Man recognizes Copy Robot, with the copy also revealing that, thanks to Mega Man not looking properly, he now has all of Mega Man's current weapon data in addition to being new and improved. Mega Man, after noting he's more talkative than before, tried to talk him out of fighting, citing they don't have to. However, two more copies emerge and reveal that they actually have to as it is their function (although the Copy Robot corrects them with the proper pronoun), and proceeds to attack, with two of them adopting the Needle Cannon and the Shadow Blade. Mega Man then tries to fight the copies, only to discover after trying to punch an orange-colored Copy Robot that at least two of them were holographic copies similar to Gemini Man. He then got an idea: Switching to Search Snake, Mega Man tells Rush to target the real Copy Robot when detected. The Copy Robots quickly realize that they were at a disadvantage, and tried to destroy the Search Snakes before it finds the real one, but Rush managed to detect him (the blue-colored one), tackling Copy Robot and proceeding to grab his scarf just as Mega Man vaporizes the orange copy with the Mega Buster.

The real Copy Robot tells his remaining copy to shoot either Rush or the Search Snake currently on him, but the purple copy is hesitant, realizing that if he hits the Copy Robot, he'll disappear. However, the purple copy is shot from behind, being eliminating. Copy Robot then bitterly states that he should have just used Mega Man's Mega Buster, also expressing shock that Dr. Light upgraded it before deciding it doesn't matter and tells Mega Man to hurry up and finish him. Mega Man refuses to do so, as he has had enough of fighting robots for no reason. Copy Robot then protests, stating that fighting is the reason they even exist. Mega Man responds by arguing that Copy Robot copied all of his functions, and therefore he couldn't exist only to fight. Mega Man explains that Copy Robot also possesses his ability to grow and that he could learn to help. Copy Robot expresses momentary interest in Mega Man's offer as it would give him a long-term function, and also noted in agreement that Mega Man learned how to fight citing how he tore through the Yellow Devil. A Crash Bomb is then launched, attaching itself to Copy Robot, who pushes Mega Man out of the way of the impending explosion. Mega Man and Rush watch as Copy Robot explodes, with Mega Man lamenting the fact that he could not save his copy.

Doc Robot reveals himself, demanding to know where Mega Man's current sentiment was when he came for "them". Doc Robot then mulls over the fact that destroying Copy Robot was unnecessary, but he would've slowed him down. Mega Man is shocked to hear Crash Man, Wood Man, and Quick Man's voices, with Doc Robot (Bubble Man), revealing that Dr. Wily's entire second line was in the body, also revealing that it was thanks to Mega Man's brother that they were all in there (Flash Man) and wanted to take their anger of their situation out on Mega Man (Air Man) before firing an Air Shooter at the Blue Bomber. Doc Robot then engages in battle, blasting Mega Man and Rush through a wall using the Air Shooter. As Mega Man recovers he sees containers with the Robot Masters' bodies in stasis. Mega Man makes note of how the Doc Robot body was only meant to hold one robot's conscience and weapon at a time, so with it having eight it would be easier to overload. Doc Robot (Quick Man) taunts Mega Man, making a remark about how they "redecorated" Dr. Light's Laboratory. Mega Man retaliates by saying that the lab could be rebuilt just like them. He also mentions that Dr. Light and Roll were safe, not that any of them cared. This causes Air Man, Wood Man, and Bubble Man's personalities to argue with Mega Man, showing that they were overloading. Mega Man states that they "probably like being one robot now", but Doc Robot claims that they are one robot, with some of its personalities disagreeing.

This moment of confusion gives Mega Man an opportunity to catch Doc Robot off guard and deal heavy damage. Doc Robot then laments about how Mega Man is making them look like fools again, stopping him with the Time Stopper. Doc Robot then levels its buster next to Mega Man's head, muttering a send off. Its buster then malfunctions and Doc Robot yells at it with multiple voices to pick a weapon. Mega Man, now freed from Time Stopper, witnesses Doc Robot shut down from overloading. The Robot Masters plead, in broken sentences, for mercy and to rebuild them in their original bodies, and ask Mega Man to stop Dr. Wily. Mega Man promises a better tomorrow and shoots off Doc Robot's head, then copying its weapons.

He marches into the next room where Wily Machine 3 awaits him, Mega Man making mention of how it is similar to the Wily Walker. Mega Man notices that "Dr. Wily" continues to utter the same threat over and over. After disabling the machine with Hard Knuckle, he makes his way to the cockpit, finding a robot stand-in for Dr. Wily, though he deduced that the presence of a fully operation control system meant that Wily intended to pilot it himself at one point. Mega Man uses the Wily Machine's computer to find Gamma's hangar, which is located right beneath them. Using well placed Crash Bombs he breaks through the floor and examines Gamma. Gamma activates, preparing its self-defense systems. Mega Man recalls that Dr. Light informed him that if Gamma were to activate he'd have to disable the autonomous control unit, and as Mega Man shows concern about damaging Dr. Light's work, Light agrees that losing Gamma with hurt, but he can't allow Wily to use it for evil purposes. Mega Man takes a final charged shot at Gamma's control unit, disabling it. Just as Mega Man begins to rest, Dr. Wily's control unit swings around and attaches itself to Gamma, again activating the colossal robot.

Short Circuits: Magnet Man's boring new function.

Part Four: Gamma
The story begins with Gamma bursting through the ceiling, causing Mega Man and Rush to fall, who fly on Rush Jet. Although stumbling at first, Mega Man and Rush then regain their composure, with Mega Man telling Rush to go after confirming he's alright. Dr. Wily then proceeds to gloat about how Dr. Light managed to imprint his naivety into Mega Man, as well as stating that Mega Man doesn't stand a chance against the power of Gamma, despite his minor victories. As Mega Man begins an attack, he chastises Wily for using Gamma as a weapon instead of allowing it to fulfill Light's dream to help people, but Wily claims that Gamma is helping him benefit the world under his leadership, which would ensure his brilliance would be seen by everyone. As Mega Man fires off his Special Weapons, he remembers talking with Dr. Light about how to fight Gamma. Light comments that Gamma is meant to be unstoppable, but Wily wouldn't have time to arm it and suggests Mega Man use his size and arsenal to find a weak point.

Unable to even scratch Gamma's paint, Mega Man uses Time Stopper to look for a weak joint, but is unable to find anything before it wears off. As they continue to fight, Mega Man warns Wily that he's causing a huge amount of damage to the Wily Castle, but Wily ignores him due to being safe inside Gamma. Mega Man continues to use his agility and Special Weapons to his advantage until he remembers one possible weak point: the Energy Elements. While distracted by his discovery, Mega Man is almost caught by Gamma, but Rush pushes him away and is caught in his place. Mega Man tells Wily to release Rush and unleashes Crash Bomber on Gamma's head, but this only angers Wily, who punches the wall, and their damage causes part of the castle to collapse. Mega Man escaped and uses Metal Blade to climb Gamma, but is found and caught by Wily. By using Hard Knuckle, Mega Man launches himself near Gamma's jaw and uses Search Snake to rip the elements, exploding its jaw and shutting it down, causing the giant robot to collapse into the castle.

After the battle, the damage causes the castle to collapse. After a few bitter words, Wily and Mega Man are buried by the debris of the Wily Castle. Break Man appears to help Wily, but realizes it is too late. However, he saves Mega Man, taking him and Rush back to Light Labs. Dr. Light, Roll and Auto are happy to see him back. Mega Man says what happened, and Light laments that his old friend is dead, but notes that Wily brought it to himself. After lamenting for not being able to bring Blues back, Light is happy that he is still alive and thinks it is better to let him return on his own terms. Break Man, hearing them, whistles from a distance and teleports away, and Mega Man thanks his brother for taking him back home. Some time later, a mysterious group appears in the remains of the Wily Castle, finding Wily alive (but with a mild concussion and a broken arm and leg), with a woman saying that Mr. X has big plans for him.

Short Circuits: Hard Man's laziness pays off.

Game Differences

 * In the Archie Comics Mega Man comic series, the plot of Mega Man 3 would not be adapted until after an adaptation of the events of Super Adventure Rockman. As a result, a few variations exist between the game and comic versions:
 * Light Labs was outright obliterated, with Wily's theft of Gamma being shown in a far more dramatic manner including his forcing Light to let him access Gamma by threatening Roll with Doc Robot, as well as Light physically accosting him. In the game, Light only informs Mega Man that Wily had stolen Gamma off-screen, with the lab clearly not being destroyed.
 * On a related note, Light discovers Blues' survival far sooner than in the game, where he learns from Wily that Blues is now working for him. In the original game, he only discovered that Blues was still around in the ending when he overheard Blues' tune upon nursing Mega Man back to health.
 * There is but a single Doc Robot featured in this arc, rather than the multiple versions faced in the game.
 * The Holograph Mega Mans faced in the game are the Copy Robot equipped with the weapons of the Mega Man 3 Robot Masters, using Gemini Man's holographic abilities to project its holograms.

Trivia
TBA