Archie Mega Man Issue 25

Archie Mega Man Issue 25 is the twenty-fifth issue in the Mega Man comic series. It is the comic series' first milestone and the fourth part of the Sonic & Mega Man: Worlds Collide crossover event.

Official Solicitation

 * "When Worlds Collide" Part Four of Twelve: It's Sonic versus Mega Man — Round Two! Celebrate 25 issues of Mega Man with the throwdown brawl to end all throwdown brawls! The Blue Bomber has the home field advantage this time — can Sonic keep up in this unfamiliar city? Meanwhile, Drs. Eggman and Wily make their boldest move yet in their master plan! This milestone issue marks the dramatic conclusion to the first act in the biggest crossover story of 2013! Featuring a stunning gatefold cover by Sonic/Mega Man art legend Patrick Spaziante, and a special "E.F.F. (aka Evil Friends Forever) variant" featuring Drs. Eggman and Wily on a (presumably evil) bicycle built for two!

When Worlds Collide - Part Four: Through the Looking Glass
In the middle of Mega City, an outnumbered Sonic the Hedgehog faces Mega Man with the assistance of his robotic support units–Tango, Rush, Eddie, and Beat–who is telling Sonic to surrender. Sonic tells Mega Man that he has his key to his "lemon-shooter" back at Green Hill Zone sometime ago. However, Mega Man has a new key to his Mega Buster thanks to Eddie, and Sonic then avoids incoming shots from Mega Man. But, Mega Man relaxes and drinks an E-Tank while Tango performs a rolling attack, similar to the Spin Dash, towards Sonic. This makes Sonic frustrated, saying that "that's my move!" Unbeknownst to them, Tails Man is monitoring the two fighting. Sonic then tries to take out Mega Man who is on Rush, but thanks to Rush's ability, Rush Coil, Sonic misses the Blue Bomber. Tango then hits Sonic again, and the Blue Blur begins to wonder when he lost control over the battle. Deciding to fight seriously, Sonic then runs up a building towards Mega Man, who is hanging on to Beat, and the hedgehog hits the robotic bird. But, Mega Man lands safely thanks to Rush's ability, Rush Jet, and Sonic, bemused, says that the dog flies.

Sonic and Mega Man then go through traffic, and Mega Man tries to shot at Sonic, but hesitates, as he doesn't want to hurt the people. Mega Man tells Sonic to not let anyone get hurt in their fight, but Sonic retaliates to him, saying that he was the one to talk as he kidnapped his friends. Mega Man, however, tells him that he helped the his robotic friends capture a mysterious gem from the First National Bank, but Sonic denies this.

Meanwhile, at the Wily Egg, Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily begin to panic as their nemesis's are beginning to find out what's happening. Eggman commands Tails Man to attack them, but Wily stops the doctor, as the minute that the two heroes find out Tails was roboticized, the two heroes will find out that they were involved. But Eggman tells Wily that what would they rather have: Tails Man defeating them after all of their fighting, or have Sonic and Mega Man regroup and attack them? After hearing these options, Wily quickly orders Tails Man to ambush the heroes. Tails Man then attacks the two heroes with his Master Weapon, the Tails Wind, to both push the heroes back and to cause cars from the traffic to fly away. Sonic and Mega Man then begin to save the citizens, and they call a truce for now, as Sonic recognizes that robot as one of his friends.

After saving the citizens, Mega Man tells Sonic to distract Tails Man while he charges his Mega Buster. Sonic hits Tails Man in the face, and Mega Man releases his charged-Mega Buster shot. Sonic then hits the robot again, but only this causes Tails Man to have static shock. Mega Man is confused at this, as the other robot he fired on earlier was not shaking as the other. Mega Man tries to copy his weapon data, but suddenly, Tails Man is turned back to normal. Sonic is delighted that he has Tails, and asks if Mega Man was the one who captured him. Tails denies this, as Metal Sonic and a similar looking robot to Mega Man did capture him, but the robot similar to the Blue Bomber was black and yellow. Mega Man then recognizes this character as Bass. Tails goes on saying that he was taken to Dr. Eggman and someone else named "Albert." Mega Man then recognizes this as Dr. Wily, and Mega Man tells them that he's been fighting Wily for years.

Sonic questions to Mega Man then why was there a robot that looked similar to Mega Man snipe Silver the Hedgehog. But, Mega Man then tells him that this doppelganger was actually Copy Robot. Mega Man then asks Sonic if he was part of that rogue to capture the mysterious gem at the bank, but Sonic recognizes this as Metal Sonic. Sonic then realizes that he might know what happened to his friends, and asks Mega Man if there were anymore robots like Tails in the bank. Mega Man replies that three more robots were also part of the rogue. Sonic then wants to go kick some scientist butt, but Mega Man is confused that he's cool with this, after their where they were both trying to defeat each other. Tails then tells Mega Man that Sonic is exhausting that way, but you'll eventually get used to it. Mega Man, however, is still worried and tells them that he thought Sonic was a robot, as nothing that fast could be organic, and harming organic life goes against his programming, but Sonic bursts out laughing. Nevertheless, Sonic understands and puts out his hand towards Mega Man, calling a truce to stop the scientists and their evil works. Mega Man shakes hands with Sonic, and the two introduce themselves. Tails also adds that the doctors were saying something about using the mysterious robots that Tails was turned into were based off of Robot Masters, of some sort. Mega Man then teleports the three to Light Labs.

They go inside, only for them to witness the worst of situations–Bass and Metal Sonic have captured Dr. Light and Proto Man is taking them down. Sonic, Mega Man, Tails, and Mega Man's support units chase down Bass and Metal Sonic, but Bass zaps at Mega Man, and the two villains escape via Warp Ring. Mega Man hen comforts Roll and Auto, but the two are confused at Sonic and Tails, and Mega Man then tells them that he has some explaining to do.

Sometime later, Tails is solving the puzzle, as the Warp Ring came was able to transfer to different dimensions, but it seems that it is coming from a third point. Rock yells at Sonic for not helping, but Sonic reassures him that while computers are not his field, when Tails figures out the case, he will do his hero thing. Rock, however, is not satisfied waiting as his father could be in trouble, but Sonic remains relaxed. Just then, Tails is able to transfer a Warp Ring to the location Bass and Metal Sonic went to. Switching back to his Mega Man persona, Mega Man prepares to go alone, but Sonic will go with him, as it might be his fight, but Sonic wants to save a doctor for a change. Tails and Proto Man, along with Rush, also assist the the heroes. Mega Man then worries who will watch the lab, but Roll and Auto reassure that they and the support units there will keep them safe. One by one, the heroes each go inside the Warp Ring, and arrive in the Skull Egg Zone.

Short Circuits
The strip opens with the question "What's the greatest battle of the crossover?" After declaring that the answer is neither Sonic vs. Mega Man nor the pair of them against Drs. Eggman and Wily, the strip depicts the actual battle: Pirates vs. Ninja, featuring Espio and Shadow Man up against Captain Whisker and Pirate Man.

Trivia

 * This is the second issue in Archie history to have a gatefold cover (the first was StH #225).
 * This issue has a humorous "Evil Friends Forever" variant cover featuring Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily riding a bike and drinking champagne with Sonic and Mega Man tied together on a tree.
 * The punchline of this issue's Short Circuits strip is a reference to the popular Pirates vs. Ninjas Internet meme.
 * Dr. Wily wears a yellow-and-red tie in the Short Circuits strip instead of his usual plain red one.