Sonic the Hedgehog/Mega Man FCBD 2013

Sonic the Hedgehog/Mega Man FCBD 2013
Publication Date: May 2013

Ah, the crossover. It’s a tradition with a long history in comics, nearly as old as the medium itself. The first crossover in comics occurred in 1940 when the Golden Age Human Torch and Namor the Submariner slugged it out in the pages of Marvel Mystery Comics #8. (That crossover was also, more or less, the origin point of the wider Marvel Universe.) Since then, characters meeting, fighting, and teaming-up has been an essential part of the comic book experience. Not even fictional universes becoming more defined and companies becoming more stringent has prevented crossovers from happening, as inter-company team-ups still occur fairly regularly. A good recent example are the various Ninja Turtles/Batman crossovers DC and IDW have done.

Archie has happily gotten in on this game before but the results have usually been... Stranger. I’m talking about shit like “Archie Meets the Punisher” or its modern follow-ups, where the Riverdale gang met the Predator, KISS, the Ramones, and whoever the fuck the people on “Glee” were. Archie’s attempts to build crossover events with the “Sonic” characters have been even less well received. The crossover with a bunch of random Image superheroes is widely considered one of the worst Archie Sonic stories. The hedgehog’s team up with the company’s own Sabrina the Teenage Witch was ignored by most people and scorned by those that did read it.

So it’s no surprise that Archie’s Sonic books took a long break from crossovers after that. But that was going to change in 2013. This was a different era. By that time, Archie was also publishing a comic book based on Capcom’s long running and iconic Mega Man video games. Ian Flynn was also writing this series. Considering their mutual statuses as video game series about robot-smashing little blue guys with mad scientist archenemies, fans have often paired the two characters. We know Flynn is a huge fucking nerd, so I imagine he began pitching a crossover between the two books from the minute Archie received the Mega Man license.

The stodgy Sega and Capcom execs must have approved the idea by 2013. “Worlds Collide” would play out over that summer, in the pages of “Mega Man,” the main “Sonic” book, and “Sonic Universe.” The crossover would technically start in the series’ shared Free Comic Book Day edition from that year. That’s what the cover, referring to itself as Worlds Collide Part 0, would have you believe. In fact, the FCBD edition would just reprint half of both series’ most recent issues. Both end with white light fade outs, signaling the interruption of both series’ ongoing plots and the beginning of the event.

Before we can talk about “Worlds Collide,” we need to talk about the Mega Man series. Or, at least, my relationship to it. As a kid, I was definitely aware of the games. I played a friend’s copy of “Mega Man 2” on my Gameboy during a misbegotten summer camp excursion. My best friend in middle school was a pretty big fan of “Mega Man Legends.” I have vague memories of the Saturday morning cartoon show. Mostly of its anime-esque opening sequence and catchy theme song. (Which Flynn repeatedly references here.) Not so much the actual show which, by most accounts, is pretty bad. I definitely enjoyed playing as Mega Man and Roll in “Marvel vs. Capcom.” I like a couple of the Protomen’s songs. But, for the most part, my attempts to get invested in the “Mega Man” franchise have not been successful.

Despite my ongoing ambivalence to Capcom’s mascot series, when Archie’s comic adaptation was announced, I decided to give it a shot. Mostly because Patrick Spaziante was penciling the first four issues and because I like Flynn, I guess. I read the first story arc. I found the plot to be repetitive and the characters to be childish. After Spaz left the series with issue 5, I quickly dropped the book. My experience is not typical though. Flynn’s work on “Mega Man” received the kind of mainstream critical acclaim that his “Sonic” run never achieved. A lot of people really love this book. So much so that, when Archie announced its cancellation extended hiatus, there was quite of bit of fan outcry.

So, what I’m trying to say is, I want to go into this “Worlds Collide” re-read with an open mind. The Mega Man half of this FCBD edition reprints half of issue 23 of Mega Man.The story is entitled “For the Bot That Has Everything,” though that information isn’t in this comic book. It depicts Break Man – who is actually Mega Man’s robotic “brother” Protoman – attacking Mega Man. The Robotic Masters – former soldiers of the evil Dr. Wily that Mega Man has converted to the side of good – attempt to help out but are quickly defeated. Just as Mega Man has cornered Break Man and is about to unmask him, the Super Genesis Wave sweeps through the comic.

As a Mega Man novice, what do I think of this? Well, there seems to be some decent emotion here. The rivalry between Mega Man and Protoman has a nice mythic quality to them. It's elaborated upon a little in the data files in the back, but part of Protoman's switching sides is based in the jealousy he feels for Rock and Roll, his more perfect “siblings.” We get a glimpse at Protoman's inner turmoil, as he has a chance to finish Mega Man but, remembering the good times he had with their dad, decides not too. I also like how increasingly pissed off Mega Man gets at his enemy, as he continues to tear apart his friends. (Including his transforming robot dog, Rush, who is a hell of a lot more charming than T-Pup.)

However, one of the problems I had with “Mega Man” when I first read it are still apparent. As Mega Man is fighting Protoman, the Robot Masters attempt to help out. Most of these guys speak strictly in puns. Cut-Man, especially, seems to communicate solely with scissor-related wordplay. Even when he's been seriously damaged and the situation is grave, the other Robot Masters seem to have little personality beyond their various abilities and superpowers. This is also an action heavy story. Since I have zero emotion attachment to these characters, the violence means pretty much nothing to me.

There was some crossover in artists between “Sonic” and “Mega Man.” Ben Bates, Jamal Peppers and Tyson Hesse drew a few stories, with Matt Herms working as colorist for most of the series. Ryan Jampole, a regular artist on “Mega Man,” pencils this specific issue. Jampole seems pretty good at this. His facial expressions are cartoony and communicative. Everyone seems to be on-model, as far as I can tell. However, his action strikes me as a little stiff and hard-to-follow. There's a moment where Break Man scoops up Bomb Man's, uh, bombs with his shield and throws them back. In execution, it looks more like the bombs are gently rolling into Break Man's shield, which just happens to be sitting there.

So what does this Free Comic Book Day special offer faithful Sonic fans? Pretty much nothing. The reprinted pages from issue 247 are exactly the same. Considering I just reviewed that issue on Friday, I don't feel a need to rehash my thoughts on it. Besides that, there's a little section to catch new readers up on the general factoids of Sonic's world. The artwork here is all recycled from the Complete Comic Encyclopedia. It's very apparent that this FCBD special was done to promote “Worlds Collide” and to catch up readers from one series that do not follow the other one. Though it's hard to imagine hardcore Mega Man readers being lured to “Sonic” by half a story so entrenched in the comic's then on-going plots. (Though I guess that wouldn't matter after the reboot, would it?)

As far as Free Comic Book Day issues go, this is definitely one of Archie's lazier ones. Reprinting brand new stories really strikes me as a bizarre strategy. So I don't think it's even fair to rate 2013's this FCBD one-shot. It wouldn't really be ethical for me to put a number on this “Mega Man” story, when I only read half of it. And I have almost no familiarity with the series around it, for that matter. Then again, only getting part of the story never stopped Rex Reed so, eeeeh, I guess this gets a [6/10].