Mega Man (Archie Comics)

Mega Man
The cover of Mega Man #55
Publication information
Publisher	Archie Comics Capcom
Number of issues	55
Creative team
Writer(s)	Ian Flynn

Mega Man is a comic series produced by Archie Comics which was announced at New York Comic Con 2010. The series began publication in April 2011 with Ian Flynn, who has written many stories for Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog series, involved with the production. The series has proved highly successful, and in 2013 a crossover took place between the Mega Man and Sonic series, under the title "Worlds Collide." The series does not follow the events of the games in exact order, including an adaptation of the Japanese exclusive game Super Adventure Rockman between those of Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3. The series later included a few stories set in the time of the Mega Man X series. The popularity of Worlds Collide subsequently led to a second crossover with the Sonic series, Worlds Unite. The series went on an indefinite hiatus after issue 55, concluding with setup for an adaptation of Mega Man 4.

The series is also notable for the artistic liberties taken with various characters. Shadow Man of Mega Man 3 and the Stardroids of Mega Man V are both featured as creations of Ra Moon, the primary antagonist from Super Adventure Rockman, and all are featured as foes of a group of robots based on Mega Man 8 character Duo. Mega Man and Proto Man's Japanese names-Rock and Blues-are adapted as the names for their civilian forms. Several Robot Masters also appear in the series earlier than they did in the games.

As in the Mega Man games, the comic is set on the planet Earth in the year the year 20XX, a not-so-distant future period in which advanced robots capable of independent thought and decisions making have been developed. The evil scientist Dr. Wily sets out to conquer the world, doing so first by stealing or creating advanced automatons known as Robot Masters. In order to stop him, Rock-a helper robot created by Wily's old colleague Dr. Light-volunteers to be equipped with weapons so that he can stand against him.

Issues #1-4 serve as an adaptation of the first Mega Man, while #5-8 are a loose adaptation of Mega Man Powered Up, mainly serving to incorporate the characters of Time Man and Oil Man. #9-12 adapt the events of Mega Man 2, while #13-#16 serve introduce the Emerald Spears, an anti-technology extremist group. #17-18 adapt the backstory for Proto Man discussed in various games, most notably Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. The following issues provide build-up for the then-upcoming Super Adventure Rockman story arc before being interrupted by the events of Worlds Collide at the end of Issue #23.