It’s time for the latest volume of Mega Man! The title could really have several meanings, but I’m aiming for either the very ending or the Break Man appearance This collection brings four stories and aside from one of them, they were all pretty solid. The story that I didn’t really care for had a pretty fun side plot though so it all evens out into a win!

In the first comic, the year has almost ended. Everyone had been hoping for a peaceful New Year’s Eve, but it turns out that a group of terrorists want to spoil the festivities. These guys mean business and Mega Man is put on the case along with Agent Stern. Will Stern be able to prove that robots can never be better than cops because of his instincts or will Mega Man’s robotic enhancements prove superior? That’s the question that must be asked as the race against time begins.

It was a pretty fun start although the stakes were low. It’s really a holiday comic with a little action to keep you ready for the future issues. It should be noted that the villains have a connection to the Agent’s partner and they may end up becoming a real threat in the future. Maybe….it’s hard to see them ever getting a huge role, but it’s always possible.

The second comic is the weak link of the bunch as Roll decides to play matchmaker for Splash Woman and Mega Man while they are at the Arctic. (Or Antarctica….one of those places!) Mega Man is a little too cool for that though, but it does result in some unnecessary tensions. The moral at the end basically proves that they are too young for that and they should just stay as friends anyway. The side plot is a lot more interesting as Agent Stern debates against Dr Light about whether or not robots are actually good for society. I found myself agreeing with Agent Stern a whole lot and basically shaking my head at everything Dr Light said. I really don’t like Dr Light and this reminded me why. He must be one of the worst characters in the Mega Man series! The story also showed us that Agent Stern may be strict, but he’s also a good guy deep down.

Things really start to heat up in the third comic as Break Man launches his big offensive against Mega Man. It was the Blue Bomber’s Birthday, but he won’t get to celebrate because of the chaos. Break Man easily manhandles Mega Man’s allies so the hero is forced to get serious. He still doesn’t like to fight, but he always puts his friends first. Break Man better be ready for the toughest brawl yet!

The 4th comic takes place immediately after the third….and yet it doesn’t. The big crossover with Sonic and Mega Man took place during this break, but they don’t remember what happened to it was more like a brief pause with the fight. Mega Man is about to continue when Roll makes the mistake of jumping onto the field. Break Man defeats her and the injury appears to be severe. Mega Man may have to do the breaking this time.

As stated earlier, I really don’t like Dr Light. He’s way too optimistic to the point where it seems like he’s just denying reality. He knows that robots have been corrupted in the past and they have even hurt civilians and damaged property. Knowing this, Dr Light still acts as if the robots are completely safe and he just wants them to basically run the world. There will be a robot for just about everything and if they ever went rogue, they would basically put number the humans. I think Dr Light really needs to step back and think about what he’s doing. Robots can help make the world more convenient, but the danger really outweighs the reward.

Mega Man is a pretty great hero. I’m glad that he easily avoided the romance trap and he handled the terrorist threat pretty efficiently. I would have liked him to take out Break Man with ease once he entered into his rage mode, but at least he didn’t joke about it as you would expect from other heroes. Mega Man is basically the perfect main character as he’s a good fighter and he doesn’t shy away from the arena, but he still tries his best to diplomatically end all hostilities. I’m sure that Roll’s situation is going to affect his mindset going into future battles, but he will likely do a good job of handling it.

This definitely wasn’t Roll’s best appearance though. First we had the matchmaking comic and then she interfered with Mega Man’s battle. It’s good to tell him the truth about Break Man, but she definitely should not have jumped in without being prepared for a fight. She should have disclosed the information to Mega Man after the fight was over. Let’s face it, Mega Man rarely does permanent damage to his opponents and I’m sure that Break Man would have been just fine. A few more minutes of deliberation would have saver her a lot of trouble here.

Some of the other Robot Masters like Cut Man and Ice Man appear, but their roles are minimal. I highly doubt that any of them will be integral to the plot ever again either. Their times have gone and passed at this point. Splash Woman got a bit of a role in the second comic, but she doesn’t get to fight. I’m not really a fan of any of the current Robot Masters that appeared in this volume aside from cameos. They also look very weak power wise as Break Man didn’t even have to try to defeat them.

Break Man is a decent villain, but I don’t think that his reason for vengeance on Mega Man was handled that well. The misunderstanding in his origin was already pretty drastic since he knew Dr Light pretty well and a quick visit would have cleared things up. Unfortunately, Break Man hasn’t forgotten that and now he just wants to wreck Mega Man’s day so that the hero will be sad. It’s not the greatest reason to join the fray and no matter how many hardcore lines he gets, it’s just petty in the end. I’m sure that he is going to become a full fledged hero soon and we already got a glimpse of that a few comics ago. By that point, I’ll likely become a fan once again, but he’s definitely fallen for now. At least his power was very accurately represented since he is close to Mega Man in overall ability, but he should ultimately be inferior. I’ll be very skeptical if he manages to beat Mega Man at some point….verrrrry skeptical.

As cool as the robot plots are, I mainly just enjoy them for Mega Man and the action. The humans may actually be more interesting on average since I really don’t like Dr Light, but I enjoy Agent Stern’s speeches. Whenever he debates Dr Light, it’s something to remember and I hope that he sticks around as a main character. Dr Wily only gets two brief appearances and nothing really happens with him except for his hasty retreat. I can’t say that he looked very good at all here, but I’m sure that things will look up for him at some point. Maybe he’ll have a fight with Agent Stern at some point.

The cliffhanger for the volume is pretty epic for several reasons though. We know that Mega Man is going to want to smash something once he is able to move so Break Man has to be careful about his next moves here. Of course, he’ll want to think fast since Ra Moon is making his move and the entire planet may be forfeit. With Mega Man out of the fight and Break Man decently fatigued…this could be the end for the heroes!

The art is pretty good as expected. The color scheme really works for the character designs and the energy blasts. That really pertains to the robots though since the humans don’t always look very sharp. I think they can maybe look a little stretched at some points, but overall it looks pretty good. The art definitely doesn’t hold the series back.

Overall, This Mega Man volume brings the series back to its core. The plot has returned and the stakes in the final comic have risen to the highest yet. I thought that the last volume or two was pretty slow, but that’s certainly not the case here. This is a must read for any Mega Man fan and it’s also a title that’s easy to just pick up and read at any time. Everything about the comic just makes it easy to get into and you’re sure to have a quality experience. Now, all we need is for Bass to appear and the series will have really reached its peak!

Overall 8/10