Mega Man

"I made you in my image. I built your heart and gave you eyes. I gave you power and a sense of justice beyond any compare... I gave you hands, a child's face... Heh... Robot hair. But this burden, the burning in your heart, I did not put there."

- Dr. Light encouraging Rock after he believed himself to be turning evil.

Mega Man, real name Rock Light, production name DLN-001, is the main protagonist and title character of the Mega Man comic book series published by Archie Comics. He is based on the original Mega Man character from the "classic" Mega Man series (or Rock Man Series in Japan) developed by Capcom since 1987.

Mega Man is a robot that was originally created as Rock by the world-renowned robotics enginner, Dr. Thomas Light, from the year 20XX in another reality of Earth. Rock in particular was designed as a helper robot to assist Dr. Light around the house and the lab. However, Rock was always treated like a son rather than a machine by Dr. Light.

When his creator/"father's" former partner, Dr. Albert W. Wily turned to the life of crime in a quest for world domination, Rock selflessly took up the role of Mega Man to protect the world, both humans and sentient robots, from the evil intentions of Dr. Wily. Since then, Mega Man has become a renowned hero, having prevented several of Dr. Wily's plans, stopped the terrorist organization the Emerald Spears and saved countless lives.

In the comic crossover Sonic & Mega Man: Worlds Collide involving Archie Comics's Sonic Universe and Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man came into contact with the beings from Mobius Prime after the Genesis Wave rewrote both worlds, in a plot by Dr. Wily and his partner Dr. Eggman. Working together with that world's own hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man and Sonic set out to and managed to save both their worlds from the evil doctors.

Personality
Being modeled and based on that of a human child, Rock is a innocent, friendly and playful robot. As per Dr. Light's programming, Rock carries many of the same principles and values that Dr. Light have, making him a gentle pacifist by nature with peaceful ideals and a strong sense of justice that is beyond any compare. Equally, Rock cares deeply for his friends and family, both humans and robots alike, and is willing to go to great lengths for their sake, even if it means putting his life on the line, and is always eager to help. He will likewise stand up for his family and friends if they are threatened or talked down to, and offer help and comfort whenever he can. He is also very humble about his exploits and achievements, not seeking to be the center of attention, and always thanking and praising his friends' efforts before his own.

Normally, Rock takes a strong stance against violence, refusing to fight others for no reason, and will attempt to resolve conflicts through words before anything else. However, if no other option is possible, he is willing to step into battle and to accept the burden of protecting society from evil, even if it leads to war.

Due to Rock's peaceful, gentle and loving nature, he initially struggled with great emotional turmoil of self-betrayal due to having to battle his own robotic kind and defying his peaceful ways. When forced to disable a robot through force or destroy it, Rock is always remorseful about his actions and would apologize to the robot in question if given the chance. Though he has since overcome his sense of betrayal and handles battling other robots better, he still has regrets when forced to hurt other sentient beings. He is also easily overcome with the great amount of power he possesses as Mega Man, especially after absorbing Master Weapons, causing him to become overconfident, rude, aggressive and more hungry for battles. As such, he prefers the additional weaponry be uninstalled when confrontation has ceased, and would rather use his abilities to copy tools rather than weapons for constructive use.

Despite being incredibly human-like, Rock is still a robot that does not truly have free will; the depth of his artificial humanity is limited by his programming, and any action or decision he makes is based solely on his programming, and he is unable to act outside of that. He, like many other robots, are also unable to break the Three Laws of Robotics. One such Law prevents robots from harming humans, unless it is to protect other humans.

Powers and Abilities
Initially, Rock had no special abilities or physical strength much beyond that of a regular person, as his original role was to be an ideal lab assistant for Dr. Light. After becoming Mega Man, however, Rock underwent a large upgrade procedure by Dr. Light that boosted his strength and gave him new abilities. When donning his Mega Man persona, Rock can change his appearance at will, giving him the outfit he wears as Mega Man, along with his "Mega Man" abilities.

After becoming Mega Man, Rock was given an increase in physical attributes, allowing him to combat even weaponised Robot Masters. These upgrades not only increased attributes such as his speed and agility, but it also gave him immense strength for his size- sufficient to lift and hold objects as heavy as cars above his head. Dr. Light also equipped Mega Man with armour made from incredibly resistant Ceramic Titanium, which gives him incredible durability. This allows him to withstand massive damage, and can even deflect minor energy shots on contact.

While having no combat experience prior to becoming Mega Man, Rock has proven himself to be a formidable fighter, being able to battle even Robot Masters that are built for combat, though he is often restrained by his own pacifistic nature. In the rewritten reality caused by the Genesis Wave, Mega Man demonstrated impressive fighting abilities, being able to keep up with and fight evenly against Sonic the Hedgehog, to the point where neither were able gain the upper hand on each other.

Mega Buster
As Mega Man, Rock's weapon of choice is the Mega Buster- an ambidextrous arm cannon that he can materialise over either forearm at will. The Mega Buster can rapidly fire pellets of highly-compressed solar energy, or charge up energy for a short period of time to unleash a bigger and more powerful shot, which is sometimes referred to as a Charge Shot or Power Shot. It can also be equipped with other components, such as Dr. Light's Magnet Beam, for additional functions.

Although an adaptable and powerful weapon, the main drawback to the Mega Buster is that it taps power directly from Mega Man's own power cells. This means that overusing it will drain Mega Man of his energy, so it cannot be used lightly.

Copy Chip
Mega Man is equipped with a unique Copy Chip, designed by Dr. Light. With it, Mega Man can adapt and copy the powers of other robots by simply touching them- essentially making his arsenal limitless. When using a Robot Master's power, it is signified by his frame and armor changing colour. However, he is limited to only using one power at a time, and in order to do so, he has to turn off his Mega Buster.

When used in conjunction with the properties of Sonic's Spin Dash, the Copy Chip also has the ability to undo the effects of the roboticization process, which Mega Man presumes is due to the data-transfer causing a cascade failure in the process.

Other meetings between Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog

 * When the company Capcom released Mega Man: the Wily Wars on the Sega Mega Drive, promotional artwork was made showing Mega Man and Sonic shaking hands.
 * Mega Man, along with Sonic, will be a playable character in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U.

Mentions of Mega Man in Sonic the Hedgehog

 * Following Worlds Collide, Sonic the Hedgehog #252 contained several vague references to Mega Man:
 * Upon returning home, Sonic hopes "that the kid got back to his home okay".
 * After regaining memories of the event, Tails recalls that he and Sonic "met those robots from that other universe".
 * The Off-Panel strip has Sonic eager to return home after Worlds Collide, only to remember the problems befalling his friends (Sally being roboticizied, Bunnie being deroboticized & missing and Antoine being injured). As such, Sonic decides to crash at Mega Man's place (referring to him as Rock).

Trivia

 * Although his official name is Rock Man in Japan, his name was changed to Mega Man before being release internationally because Capcom Consumer Products Division president Joe Marici (who renamed him), didn't like the "Rock Man" name, claiming that it was "horrible". Only 5 Characters from the original Mega Man Series (including Mega Man himself) had different names in Japan and also outside of Japan.
 * Both Mega Man and Sonic's primary color is blue, which is also the main color of the corporation logos of Capcom and Sega.
 * Among the people to voice Mega Man was Ian James Corlett (who voiced both Coconuts and Cyrus) in the American animated series, as well as Dr. Wily on Captain N: The Game Master.
 * Both Sonic and Mega Man have aliases with the word "Blue" in them, Sonic being the "Blue Blur" and Mega Man being the "Blue Bomber."