Mega Man: Issue 27

Mega Man: Issue 27
Publication Date: July 2013

“Worlds Collide” is quickly nearing its conclusion. Only two more of these left to go! This is the last issue of “ Mega Man” I’ll be reviewing, at least until the next crossover. It’s a bit of a mixed blessing. The crossover improves a lot in its last third. Yet the event’s end also means the “Sonic” reboot - and all the complicated feelings it brings with it - will properly begin soon. Let’s get through this together.

Part ten of “Worlds Collide” is subtitled “No Holds Barred” and, sadly, features no Hulk Hogan cameos. Dr. Light plummets from the Skull Egg but is rescued by Shadow. Rock’s dad implores him to get on the floating battle station and stop the villains’ plan, as the fate of the multi-verse depends on it. The two blue heroes face off against new threats inside the ship but also receive help from old friends.

Ben Bates’ artwork really continues to be the star attraction here. There’s a dynamic sense of motion here to rival Spaz, while Bates also keeps the cartoony facial expressions that characterize Tracy Yardley’s work. It’s the best of both worlds. While the issue looks great, some times the action scenes are a little too dynamic. A fight between the good guys and a trio of evil robots known as the Mega Man Killers is a little hard to follow. There’s lots of spinning and dashing and it’s tricky for the reader to keep up.

But at least Flynn is continuing to raise the stakes in the crossover’s last third. During the battle with the Mega Man Killers, Tails takes a blaster right to the face. Considering a problem I’ve had with this book is general lack of danger, seeing one of the Sonic franchise’s most beloved characters pushed to the edge of death at least lets us know that things are serious. Flynn also continues to emphasize that Eggman and Wily are threatening the entire universe. Which helps solve another problem I had: The crossover having no repercussions on either series’ on-going plots. (Of course, we now know that Sonic essentially sacrifices his own universe to save all the others, but we’ll get to that later.)

Another thing making this issue a little more compelling is Wily and Eggman’s friendship disintegrating. Wily does not take Robotnik’s attempt to murder Dr. Light well. Apparently, he wants to see his rival humiliated, not killed. Which might explain why Wily constantly gets his ass kicked by the good guys. He’s another one of those types that has the resources to just carpet bomb his enemies out of existence but weirdly refuses to do so. Sadly, the schism between the villains isn’t given room to breath here. Wily and Eggman have to put their differences aside for now, so the showdown can continue. It would’ve been cooler if Flynn had incorporated a fight between the two into the actual plot.

After a few issues of build-up, this one also brings two major characters into the fray. Sonic and Mega Man actually do fight the Chaos Devil here and find him to be quite difficult to defeat. His eyeball is his weak point but it’s surrounded by water that can be reshaped. Luckily, Duo appears to hold the monster back, so Sonic and Mega Man can progress towards the final boss battle. I have zero familiarity with Duo but he’s a super powerful, slightly spacey robot obsessed with maintaining a balance between good and evil. So that’s cool.

As strong as Duo is, he can still only hold-off the Chaos Devil, not defeat it. Which creates a plot hole of its own. If the Chaos Devil is so powerful and neigh indestructible, I don’t know why Wily/Eggman didn’t just drop him into the battlefield to crush Sonic and his friends. Yeah, I know they can’t control him but a battlefront situation would be ideal for a beast like that. Just point him the direction of what needs to die and let him loose. But that would also end the story way too soon and I guess we can’t have that.

Flynn does incorporate some cute humor into this one. Sonic and Mega Man banter while navigating the Skull Egg, causing Tails and Rush to give each other an exasperated, knowing glance. Flynn also has fun depicting a confrontation between Rouge and a Robot Master named Jewel Man. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a cameo from Big the Cat. This seems to make the Off-Panel strip canon for once, as that depicts Eggman and Wily realizing Big would make a useless Roboticized Master. Which is pretty funny.

There’s definitely some flaws here but by keeping the action lively and letting us know the heroes are actually in danger, Flynn creates a pretty entertaining comic book. [6.5/10]