Infighting Party! Woo!
I've been on something of a Mega Man kick lately. For those of you unfamiliar with the Blue Bomber, Mega Man is one of the most enduring video game characters in history having starred in several games since the early days of the NES. Once a simple robot Lab assistant helping his creator, Doctor Thomas Light create The Robot Masters, Robots designed to safely perform the tasks that were too dangerous for humans, Mega Man was converted into a battle Robot to defeat the evil Doctor Wily and the aforementioned Robot Masters who Dr. Wily reprogrammed for his own evil purposes. With each Robot he defeats, he gains a new weapon to use to defeat his enemies.
Anywho, today's outing is the final part of a dramatic retelling of the events of the first game and we begin with Mega Man deep in the bowels of Doctor Wily's fortress, and face to face with one of the most notorious bosses in the games, The Yellow Devil. While at first Mega Man tries to attack the monster with a thunder beam to the eye, but remembers how he'd previously let the power go to his head and instead goes for his good ol' Mega Buster. The Yellow Devil is still a formidable foe however, with it's gooey outer shell that's nearly immune to projectiles, Mega Man has to use quick thinking to find it's weak spot.
After the Devil is beaten, Mega Man walks into the next room. Now those of you who have played Mega Man before will know that it's right about now that we get to the Boss Rush. However, instead of fighting the repaired Robot Masters one at a time, in this version, all six of them attack at once. Mega Man says that now he knows all their weaknesses and could tear them all apart if he wanted to, but he won't. Instead, he reminds them of their original programming, that of helping people. After hearing this speech, the Robot masters each have different reactions. Cut Man is sick of all the fighting, Guts Man wants to Destroy Mega Man to make himself more powerful, Elec Man's arrogance won't allow him to leave a job half done, Fire Man doesn't wish to see Mega Man hurt, Ice Man feels Mega Man robbed him of his dignity, and Bomb Man... well, he doesn't give a crap one way or the other as long as he can blow stuff up. This leads to a massive brawl between the Robot Masters as Mega Man slips away.
In the next room, Doctor Wily taunts Mega Man over the intercom before making a copy of him. Evil Mega Man is able to match the Blue Bomber in every way, leaving our hero worried as to how to defeat this foe. However, help soon arrives from the most unlikely of sources. Yes, it seems the Robot Masters have resolved their issues and decided that as long as they destroy a Mega Man, they'll have fulfilled Doctor Wily's reprogramming. And with that, they completely obliterate Mega Man's evil twin and make piece with their enemy. While the others escape, Mega Man has but one challenge left, Doctor Wily himself.
Doctor Wily burst through the wall piloting his battle ship known as the Wily Machine, which I've just noticed resembles a big mushroom, which is also probably what the creators of Mega Man were high on when they conceived of Sheep Man.
Seriously, what the hell am I looking at with this thing? But that's a discussion for another day. Wily taunts Mega Man by saying that he's nothing more than a souped up lab assistant. Mega Man however, has none of it and throws the taunts right back at him, saying that while he tried to improve himself, Wily only stole what he wanted instead and claimed it as his own. Using Fire Man's Weapon, he blasts the Wily Machine to bits and captures Doctor Wily with the help of the other Robot Masters. Dr. Light tells him that he did well. And so our issue draws to a close with two mysterious Robot Masters (Time Man and Oil Man) who claim to have been activated by Doctor Wily waiting in the shadows, getting ready to put their sinister plans into motion.
What Works:
What this is is essentially a dramatic retelling of the first Mega Man game, and as such, it succeeds greatly. I think my favorite part is hot all the the Robot Masters have distinct personalities. My personal favorite being Elec Man. He's extremely arrogant and conceited, but has the power to back it up, sort of like Kanye West if he was a killer robot.
I also rather like how Mega Man tries to reason with the Robot Masters as opposed to just destroying them again. After all, the Robot Masters were designed to help people, it's hardly their fault they were reprogramed. What's more, these Robots were also created by Dr. Light. In way their like Mega Man's family. I'd like to think that that was on Mega Man's mind when he talked them down.
What Doesn't:
I think more could have been made of the Yellow Devil fight, seeing as how it's such a pain in the ass in the original game.
Overall:
4/5
All in all, this issue was a fun romp and a good read for any Mega Man fan. It's not surprising that this series has gone on to several more story arcs including a cross over with Sonic The Hedgehog. (Note to Self: Find the trade paperback of that series) Anyways if you're a fan of the Blue Bomber, check this series out.
And seriously, Sheep Man?