A Sneak Peek At Archie's Mega Man #11

Over at Destructoid, Tony Ponce has provided a little teaser of a work-in-progress page from Archie's Mega Man #11. The rough sketch (penciled by Ben Bates) depicts a heated battle between Air Man and the Blue Bomber, the latter taking quite the beating.

Yes, that's right: Mega Man can't beat Air Man. Definitely an intentional fan culture reference on Archie's behalf. The "Can't Beat Air Man" audio/video craze brought about a flood of fanmade media showing how difficult it is to defeat Air Man. The song has since achieved memetic status around the globe, with Air Man himself becoming an object of parody in his homeland.

For completeness' sake, here's the issue's solicitation which features a brief synopsis of the action:

“Dr. Wily Returns,” Part 3. Mega Man has been in the fight of his life against Dr. Wily’s eight new Robot Masters! Fearsome as they are, Quick Man has always been there to mock Mega Man and slow him down. Now, at long last, it’s the showdown you’ve been waiting for! And you won’t believe who shows up to help Mega Man at the eleventh hour! -- 32 pages, $2.99. 

Mega Man #11 hits comic stands and mailboxes everywhere next month. Thanks for the tip, Tony!

Source: Destructoid

There's Something Familiar About 'Bravest Warriors'

Eyebrows have been raised at Bravest Warriors, a brand new action show from Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward. Not necessarily because it's looks neat (it does), but because lead protagonist Chris bears a design strikingly similar to Mega Man... and then some.

Chris (center) strikes a familiar pose...

....interesting.

Whether this constitutes coincidence or playful referencing is perhaps within the eye of the beholder. However, one thing is absolutely certain: Pendleton Ward and character designer Natasha Allegri are self professed gaming fanatics. Adventure Time itself is rife with retro game parodies and general silliness, so there's little doubt Bravest Warriors won't follow suit.

In any case, Bravest Warriors seems like a promising concept, with hopefully more Mega Man-ish nods to come. Additional concept artwork and series info available at io9.

Operate Shooting Star Translation Project Revived

Good news, Battle Network/Star Force fans! The Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star English translation project is back on. A dedicated fan by the name of Speaker has taken over the reigns, continuing where the original team left off. 

So far, things are off to a great start: all the Battle Chips have been translated, with dialog strings to follow. At this rate, the project could wrap-up around April/May. That's the best case scenario, mind you. If worst comes to worst, we may not see anything until December-ish.

Speaker will be regularly updating his Twitter feed with progress reports and English screenshots, so check back often. If you'd like to lend a hand, I'm sure Speaker would like to hear from you. Drop your contact info in the comments, and we'll see what we can do together.

Zero's UMvC3 Mega Man X Costume Releases Today

Just a friendly little reminder that the Weapon Expert DLC costume pack for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is due to release later today on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The pack contains, among other outfits, Zero's controversial Mega Man X costume.

Weapon Expert will run you 320 Microsoft points or $3.99 USD, respectively. Mind you, the Mega Man X costume brings nothing new to Zero's moveset. To the dismay of practically everyone, it's all for show.

Source: Event Hubs (thanks, King Reaper!)

No Battle Network Collection For You

Concurrent to a theoretical seventh sequel, a Mega Man Battle Network collection is probably the next best thing fans would like to see from the series. However, you might not want to hold your breath. Not now, at least.

Speaking at a topic on the Ask Capcom forums, Capcom's Christian 'Sven' Svensson shot down the suggestion of a collection noting that there are "No plans for anything like that at the moment." The original poster also alluded to the prospect of Battle Network games making the jump to the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console; it's hard to tell if Sven's comment reflects that notion as well.

Following Mega Man Anniversary Collection, Mega Man X Collection and Mega Man Zero Collection a complete chronicling of the six GBA Battle Network adventures would seem like a truly viable product. Throw in some unlockable games and bonus features, and you'd have yourself a nice compendium, all on one cartridge for your on-the-go needs. For now, however, it's only a pipe dream.

If you'd like to see a Battle Network collection in the future, feel free to pitch the idea to Capcom via Capcom Unity's Suggestion Box.

Kneel Before D-Arts Vile!

Bluefin USA have unveiled a few pictures of the final D-Arts Vile figure on their FaceBook. As you can see, he sports a bevy of accessories, such as a rather handy-dandy knee canon. Oh, and a freaking glass of bourbon (or mud). How swag is that? Stay classy, Vile.

Still no word on a firm release date or pricing, but we'll certainly be keeping our fingers crossed for news soon. In the meantime, don't forget to vote on the next D-Arts figure!

Thanks for the tip, Mike!

Taste Testing Rockman DASH's Famed Soft Drink

Oronamin C is one of the top selling energy drinks in Japan. It's also, coincidently, a prominent real life product in the original Rockman DASH.

Bottles of Oronamin C populate Kattelox Island's many vending machines. Abroad, it's simply called a "soft drink" in Mega Man Legends. A quick swig replenishes Rock Volnutt's life gauge, quenching the Digger's thirst ("You feel refreshed!"). But how does the real thing taste? Is it fist pumping good or downright repulsive?

I managed to pick up a pack recently and quite frankly, I'm surprised the drink isn't more widely available outside of Japan. Much to my surprise, Oronamin C proved to be quite tasty. Energy drinks tend to been a hit or miss in my experience, but this funny little brown bottle was just bursting with fizzy goodness.

A single bottle houses 120ml of lemon yellow liquid, which tastes an awful lot like honey with a hint of citrus. The stuff is loaded with sugar, so I was pretty much bouncing off the walls by the third bottle. One or two bottles in the morning will leave you feeling energized for a couple hours, but after that? There's a crash. It's no Five Hour Energy Drink, but it's a heck of a lot tastier.

All in all, Oronamin C is an absolute delight. If you're a diehard MML/DASH fan, you're pretty much entitled to own a bottle or two just for kicks. You can import an individual bottle from Pacific Mercantile Company, or 10-pack via Very Asia.

Drink up and enjoy, friends!