Mega Man X Comic Review
While I tend to prefer the universe of the Classic series, Mega Man X is my favorite game of all time. In fact, the first four X games are all seriously special to me. It was a simple idea; what if the classic Mega Man formula had permanent health upgrades and power-ups hidden in each level? What if the adorable Astro Boy inspired art design was swapped for something a bit colder, sharper, and grungier?
But the X games (especially the second half of the series) suffer from a bit of a narrative issue. They oftentimes didn’t know if they wanted to lean more into that Saturday morning cartoon vibe of the classic series, or if they wanted to be taken more seriously like the Zero series later would. There’s actually a decent bit of lore and story details not ever explicitly stated in these original few games. Like how Storm Eagle was technically never infected with the Maverick Virus. Or how Boomer Kuwanger and Gravity Beetle are brothers. Or the blurry connection between Serges and Dr. Wily. But do any of these things actually matter? After all, this is still the same series where one time Dr. Wily put on some sunglasses and nobody knew who he was.
In 2005, Mega Man X was remade for the PSP as Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X. While this remake is a very good and fun game, it doesn’t come close to the original as it sports worse visuals and music. However, it did attempt something pretty cool- a story. And its this spirit that I feel very strongly in the newest Mega Man X comic by Udon.
Written by Daniel Arseneault and drawn by Hanzo Steinbach; the Udon Mega Man X comic feels like it was written right next to a CRT television running the game on an original cartridge. There was so many times as I was reading it that I thought to myself “Hey, I remember that part!” Like in Issue #3 when X and Zero decide to go to Sting Chameleon’s stage together (something that doesn’t happen in the original game). There’s a part very early in the stage where the player can go down into a cave or climb the wall for a higher route- leading the player to a mini-boss and armor upgrade. The comic explicitly goes out of its way to have X and Zero split up and mention that X will be taking the higher route. It’s a small detail that shows me that level designs and enemy placements are mostly consistent with the game.
Not only that, but there was a brief mention of Storm Owl in Issue #2, somebody we won’t meet until Mega Man X4. This helps flesh out the world in a way fans have been begging for for ages. I also love that we getting mentions of Sigma being the leader of the Maverick Hunters until going Maverick himself, a key plot element that is not really spoken much about in the original game.
Steinbach’s artwork is beautiful and does tons of justice to the world and these characters. In fact, I’d argue the artwork is the main appeal here. The Mega Man X franchise doesn’t haven’t nearly as much cool official art pieces as the classic series or even Battle Network Series. Because of that, I was taking my time enjoying each panel of this comic. Unfortunately, given the nature of being a five issue comic series; the Mega Man X world is still not able to be fleshed out to its fullest extent. The comic does a pretty good job at making X and Zero feel like best friends, but the rest of the characters excluding Sigma are lucky to get a page or two to speak. Dr. Cain is arguably the most important character in this world because he’s the one who found X and helped spread his Reploid design around the world- we don’t get much of him. Some of the eight Mavericks are shown as defeated in a handful of panels. Starting in Mega Man X5, characters known as “Navigators” were introduced. A Navigator simply gives instructions to the Maverick Hunters on how to proceed safely during a stage. In Maverick Hunter X, the navigators were retroactively added. The same is present in this comic. But instead of giving us the most known and liked Navigator, Alia from X5, the comic gives us Minerva, a named version of the previously nameless Navigator from Maverick Hunter X. Why they chose to put a previously unnamed character instead of Alia confuses me. You would think the navigator of X would be an important character, no? Well…not really. They also could’ve introduced Iris, Zero’s navigator. And it would’ve been fantastic if they introduced Iris’ brother Colonel from X4. I would’ve loved to see how he reacted to Sigma’s Rebellion. And it seems like this duo’s goal is to adapt each X game into its own comic series; so if we had Colonel and Iris introduced early, it would make the reader feel extremely connected to them by the time X4’s comic comes around. Like in most Mega Man X material, the Maverick Hunters aren’t really shown much or fleshed out. Which is why countless fans like me still love The Day of Sigma, an anime OVA that came with the PSP game, it actually shows us brief glimpses of the organization and even Chill Penguin being a good guy.
To put it bluntly- the series’ pacing is far too fast for its own good. But I don’t blame anyone for this except maybe a higher-up at Udon who chose to go with only five issues. It’s also important to note that it’s unclear what creative liberties the team were allowed to have from Capcom. Since Mega Man X2 is confirmed to be the next comic, I’m hoping maybe the artists’ get to stretch their legs with a few more issues. For comparisons sake, I’ve started reading the Archie comics for the classic series, and right from the very first issue I can feel the series taking its time, fleshing out the relationship between all of the characters and making the world feel alive. That isn’t the case here in the X comic.
I know I spent the bulk of this review nitpicking the pacing, but don’t be confused, I had a fun time with this comic. It became a source of regular joy to go to my local comic shop and spend about twenty minutes enjoying a new version of a story and world I’ve experienced countless times. If you’re looking for a fun, fast, action-packed comic that provides simple fun and loyalty to the original level design- look no further. If you’re looking for a piece of Mega Man X media that finally fleshes out the world, characters, and organizations…keep waiting. Nonetheless, I still really liked this comic and I can’t wait to read X2’s adaptation.
