Mega Man #52

By Ian Flynn, Tyson Hesse, Jim Amash, Matt Herms

This is the end. “Worlds Unite” reaches its conclusion. It’s been a fun ride through the Sonic and Mega Man comics, made even better by the inclusion of so many great Sega and Capcom characters. It would be great to tell you that the ending is near-perfect…and in some aspects, it comes close. However, this is easily the weakest chapter.

Let’s talk about what works. Despite the majority of the issue revolving around punching the big baddie in the face, there is a surprising amount of depth. The presence of all of these great characters quickly becomes a metaphor for their continued love and preservation. Sega and Capcom have such a rich history that helped shape the video game industry. Nobody seems to care about Golden Axe or Skies of Arcadia, but Flynn forces you to care.

The overall plot leaves a lot to be desired. It’s not particularly terrible, but it feels worse than it is due to the fact that the previous chapters are so strong. There are jokes that are weak and completely fail, fun characters are coming off as annoying….this shouldn’t be happening. The worst offense is easily the ending and how everything is wrapped up. The villain’s defeat and our heroes’ journeys back home are a complete cop-out. This is an all-ages Sonic/Mega Man crossover and we understand that it doesn’t have to be Hemingway, but don’t just wave a problem away and insult our intelligence. At $3.99 and $4.99 per issue, we deserve better.

Worlds Unite has had some very solid art and this is (mostly) more of the same. Sonic and Mega Man often have a very clean and sterile style, but Hesse is capable of a grittier presentation. It would have been nice to have a little detail. At one point, we literally have to go through four pages before something shows up in the background. It’s just blank. Since we’re focusing on a lot of action, it can be overlooked (even though it comes off as lazy). When art is rushed, it’s funny that a character like Sonic starts losing his magic at a rapid pace.

Once again, this isn’t a bad issue, but we sure as heck deserved much more. With Mega Man ending, we’re running out of time for quality stories. Maybe that’s why this feels like such a tremendous missed opportunity.