I am an unabashed fan of Mega Man. If a game or piece of merchandise features the Blue Bomber, it’s a safe bet I plan on adding it to my personal stash. That being said… 2011 was a terrible year for Mega Man fans. Not one but two upcoming Mega-games were cancelled. To add insult to injury, the co-creator of Mega Man, Keiji Inafune left Capcom (the company that publishes/owns Mega Man) due to being disenfranchised with the company and their way of doing business. Because of this, I actually instituted a one-person Capcom boycott. The one Mega-related product I’ve allowed myself is my subscription to Archie’s Mega Man comic book. That being said, if the company that owns the Blue Bomber treated him as well as the chroniclers of his adventures do, I’d gladly open my wallet for them.
Previously in Mega Man:
The second arc has just wrapped up and essentially finished retelling the story of the original Mega Man NES game. As you might expect, this issue starts the retelling of Mega Man 2. While that may sound incredibly uncreative and lazy, the team behind the comic make it their own while still leaving a few winks and nudges to people (like me) who are intimately familiar with the games.
Case in point, as you may or may not know, Mega Man can absorb the abilities of the enemies he defeats. In the videogame Mega Man 2, the Metal Blade weapon is so overpowered that it can be used almost exclusively. It is so powerful in fact that Wood Man and Bubble Man can be defeat in seconds. The writers of the comic seem to know this, as Metal Man and his blades are nowhere to be found, leaving our hero to take on the other two robot masters without the aid of a crutch.
Furthermore, since this is a comic book format, the robot masters themselves can have actually personalities, an aspect early Nintendo games couldn’t really elaborate on. Wood Man knows that he is an anachronism, being a robot made out of wood. He has made his peace with it and is as calm and serene as the forest, until it’s time for battle, that is! On the other hand, Bubble Man has a chip on his shoulder the size of Gibraltar. Being the butt of many jokes due to his having bubbles for a weapon and his aforementioned weakness to metal blades. Bubble Man strives to overcome his shortcomings. This more than anything makes these robots seem very… human.
The real star of the show however, is Mega Man. His characterization is the most poignant of all. Originally a robot built to help his creator Dr. Light with lab experiments, Mega Man volunteered to be converted into a fighting robot when the evil Dr. Wily unleashed his madness on the world. When Wily appears again, Mega Man is of course off to fight again, but he has an inner conflict. He regrets his need to “kill” his robotic brethren. As he defeats his “brothers” there also seems to be consequences lurking around the corner that the games never touched on. It’s fairly heavy stuff for an all ages comic, but at the same time it remains enjoyable for all.
I’ve espoused enough about Ian Flynn’s writing, but so far I’ve neglected to mention the superb art of the Ben Bates/Gary Martin. The art pops off the page at every turn. The storytelling is fluid and dynamic, and gives you the sense of urgency required when running a gauntlet the likes of the one Mega Man is facing. In addition, there is extra eye candy for videogame fans as the art team recreates the opening of Bubble Man’s stage from a new perspective that would not be out of place in a modern-day remake of the game.
All things considered, Mega Man #9 hits on a lot of levels. It’s instantly accessible, leaves you wanting more, and restores my faith in a franchise I was getting ready to leave behind. I can’t think of better praise than that!
Mega Man #9 is now available from finer comic shops everywhere for $2.99. It is also available digitally for $1.99. Enjoy the five page preview in the meantime!
