REVIEW: ‘Mega Man: Fully Charged,’ Issue #3

Mega Man: Fully Charged #3 is published by BOOM! Studios. It comes from the creative team of writers A.J. Marchisello and Marcus Rinehart, illustrator Stefano Simeone, colorist Igor Monti, and letterer Ed Dukeshire. After the enlightening meeting with Dr. Wily, Mega Man finds himself with more questions than answers. He attempts to go back to business as usual but gets a call from Namagem. The two meet up and Namagem leads Mega Man to the badlands outside of Silicon City.

While here, the two talk about their shared past. Namagem reveals that he and Mega Man were created by Dr. Light to destroy robots during the “Hard Age.” He goes further to warn Mega Man that Skull Man and his army are headed to Silicon City. Confused and angered, Mega Man returns home and decides to take Mega Mini to Dr. Wily for repairs. But with a possible new Hard Age on the horizon, Mega Man’s decisions may backfire at the worst possible time.

I wasn’t sure where the story would be going with this series when I started it. Thankfully, with Mega Man: Fully Charged #3, it is much clearer and very exciting. I don’t want to spoil anything about the issue, but as a lifelong fan of Mega Man, this issue’s story has a lot to like. I’m still absolutely in love with the Saturday Morning Cartoon vibe of this series, and this issue continues that feeling. The banter between Mega Man and Namagem is a lot of fun. The two characters’ shared confidence and cockiness makes for exciting dialogue. Mixed with cheesy lines like “keep your helmet on,” the writing really captures that cartoon style.

I’m also very interested to see where the plot goes from here. With Mega Man trusting Dr. Wily, there must surely be danger on the horizon. But the way that it will manifest is still up in the air, which makes for exciting reading. Add in a surprising cameo that I won’t say anything more about, and the story really starts to heat up.

The art from Simeone continues to be high quality and visually engaging. Of particular note are the action and combat scenes. Simeone’s portrayal of movement through drawing the character multiple times across the panel to show motion makes each panel a blast to read. This is made even better thanks to Monti’s colors. The transition from the blues and whites of Silicon City to the orange and brown of the Badlands is gorgeous. Even better are the coloring details, like the Tron-like highlights on Mega Man and Namagem’s bodies. Dukeshire’s letters help to draw the eye across the beautiful artwork in a clean and easy to read manner. Together, the three combine to make each page stylish and gorgeous.

Mega Man: Fully Charged #3 is a fun and exciting nostalgia trip with a strong story hidden underneath. The writers do an excellent job of balancing several plot points at the same time.  Meanwhile, the visual team keeps the pages looking sharp. If you’ve got young readers looking for something fun and engaging, or are a fan of Mega Man like me, then this is a must buy.

Mega Man: Fully Charged #3 is available now wherever comics are sold.