Countdown to Archie’s Mega Man, Day 3: Worlds of Power: Mega Man 2

Not long after a decidedly un-Mega Man broke out of his game cartridge confines to appear in NBC’s Captain N: The Game Master cartoon, another company decided to take a stab at adapting the characters and story of Mega Man into another medium. Or, in this particular instance, Mega Man 2.
Despite never having published a book based on the original 1987 Mega Man game, publisher Scholastic acquired the rights to create a book based on its sequel, as well as numerous other video game titles of the day.  And in 1990, the junior novelization of Mega Man 2 hit store shelves.

Compared to Captain N, Mega Man 2 seemed to be more faithful to the appearance of Mega Man and his foes… perhaps even a little too faithful, given that the book seems to follow the box art for the game, which depicts the Blue Bomber as a slightly-older chap who fights the evil Robot Masters with his handgun-like “Mega Gun,” which itself was removed from the cover, leaving our hero pointing his fist non-threateningly at an evasive Quick Man.

For the most part, Scholastic’s Mega Man was faithful to the game upon which it was based, as the book read more or less like a fictionalized strategy guide.  But there was still one difference which most fans would consider unforgivable:

Mega Man was not a robot.

That was not always the case, however; during the events of Mega Man 1 (which were never adapted, remember), Mega Man fought Dr. Wily and his forces as a robot.  But at the start of Mega Man 2, a botched attempt by Dr. Light at cloning the Blue Bomber turned him into a human!  As a result, Mega Man’s ability to “take” weapons from his robotic adversaries became much more literal.

Fortunately, while some other games adapted elements introduced in Worlds of Power, the humanizing of Mega Man is an idea which Capcom thankfully decided to leave alone.

When the first issue of Mega Man arrives in your mailbox in the coming weeks (hint, hint), you won’t find any wimpy humans waving imaginary handguns at his foes; instead, you will receive super fighting robot action, as Mega Man wields his mighty Mega Buster against Dr. Wily’s mechanical army.  Nor will you see him merely picking up and using his enemies’ leftovers, but you’ll witness him fully adapting and integrating the powers of those he defeats as only a Mega Man can.

By the way, if you are interested in the contents of the Worlds of Power book, the man behind the Angry Video Game Nerd, James Rolfe, reads the story in its entirety for you here.

Be sure to check back in tomorrow, as we explore yet another facet of the North American history of this Super Fighting Robot outside of video games.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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