In 1942, author Isaac Asimov introduced the three laws of robotics to protect man from their cybernetic creations. And thank God he didn't include anything against robot-on-robot violence; the world just be way less fun.
Mega Man, the Blue Bomber. And Astro Boy, the atomic wonder child.
The thirtieth episode of season two brings to the ring a pair of world-famous robots, renowned for revolutionizing their respective mediums. As Wizard and Boomstick compare a vast arsenal built for anything against a durability that has withstood all, a variable weapons system against a short-yet-reliable loadout, Mega Man and Astro Boy will prove their vast reputations founded, both in and out of their home series, but by being pit against each other head-to-head, one will be able to add to their list a superior warrior, all in a death battle.
The pair kick the episode off with a look at Mega Man, a product of 200X, a new age of robotics. Heralded by doctors Thomas Light and Albert Wily, the pair created a line of Robot Masters designed to perform tasks too dangerous for humans to accomplish; but Wily, growing envious of being stuck in the shadow of Light, took the robots and repurposed them for his own gains. By mere chance, however, two robots were spared from Wily's thievery; Roll, built for housekeeping, and Rock, Light's surrogate son and helper. After learning of Wily's betrayal of Light, Rock agreed to put it upon his shoulders the burden of saving the world from the now-renegade Robot Masters. And just as the tale of Rock ends, thus begins the story of Mega Man.
To aid him in his neverending quest against Wily's machinations, Rock had upgraded his body with ceratanium, an alloy lighter and stronger than titanium and the crown jewel of his abilities, the Mega Buster. By transforming an arm into a cannon, Mega Man can fire a laser shot with enough force to punch through a wall; and for those times he needs extra firepower, he can charge up the shot or turn both arms into Mega Busters, though this comes at the risk of overheating, if not killing him. That said, a feature of Mega Man more unique than the Mega Buster is his variable weapon system, that allows him the ability to gain and use the weapons he acquires from Robot Masters, and given he has fought the forces of Dr. Wily time and again, Mega Man has quite the arsenal. A few examples of what Mega Man can carry include the Metal Blades, Leaf Shield, and Commando Bomb, but, as the hosts can attest, he also has much more destructive weapons, such as the Atomic Fire, Time Stopper, and Black Hole Bomb. To aid Mega Man should his weapon systems fail him is Rush, his loyal companion dog that can transform into a hoverboard or even fuse with Mega Man to bring him to the Super Adapter mode; in it, though he loses the ability to use special weapons, Mega Man can fly and fire his fist as a rocket, in addition to the general boosts to his physical capabilities it provides.
With as many adventures as Mega Man has gone on, it seems natural that he has a set of accomplishments to match. Countless times has he foiled the schemes of Dr. Wily, and in the process, proven himself capable of surviving on other planets, holding one of Wily's castles up on his own, and even twice defeating his self from the future. Though like any character, he has his own flaws, namely that he can only hold so many special weapons at a time before becoming bloodthirsty, and that said special weapons rely on a limited supply of ammunition, Mega Man uses these setbacks to aid him in his battle for everlasting peace.
With that, Wizard and Boomstick go from surveying Mega Man to looking over Astro Boy, native of the (once-distant) year of 2003, where humans and their robot servants are suffering from an ever-increasing tension. Doctor Umataro Tenma, however, would see the two sides merge in a painful way; spending more time on his work than with his family, Tenma neglected his son, Tobio, who, without his father's guidance, was killed in a car crash. Realizing how much his work in robotics engineering was costing him, Umataro worked to create a robotic son in Tobio's image, known to the world as the Mighty Atom, or, after his home series made it overseas, Astro Boy. For a time, life was fine, and Astro Boy was even treated like an actual child, but Umataro came to the conclusion that nothing could truly replace Tobio and cast him out into a robot circus, where he was adopted by Professor Ochanumizu. The professor's kindness spurred Astro Boy to defend all that was right in the world, and defend it he did.
Umataro, when he still saw Astro Boy as his own son, outfitted the robot child with a plethora of weapons to ensure he would not suffer Tobio's fate. While not with an array of skills on par with his foe, Astro Boy still has a number of abilities to his name, such as his flashlight eyes, ability to automatically discern good from evil, and rear-mounted machine guns, all backed by enough horsepower to allow him to tunnel though solid rock with ease. And Astro Boy doesn't lack in defenses, either; made from an artificial super-plastic, his skin allows him to withstand virtually anything, up to and including the surface of the sun.
Fittingly, Astro Boy can be seen as unstoppable in his own right. After being upgraded to possess one million horsepower, Astro Boy is strong enough to lift an entire cruise ship out from beneath the ocean, and even strong enough to fly through thirty feet of solid iron. But Astro Boy is only seen as unstoppable, and not the real thing; his fear of being melted suggests that he can indeed suffer such a fate, not to mention the fact that blows with enough force can dislocate his joints. His greatest flaw, however, is that if he overexerts himself, he can drain all his fuel, essentially rendering him dead. But given that these flaws have never put an end to him, Astro Boy can work around his limits to become a figure of salvation to man and machine alike.
- Umataro Tenma: Wait! Are you sure you're ready for this, Astro?
Astro Boy: I was made ready. (soars off into the sky and throws a punch)
Both figures have been under study, and nothing is overlooked. It's time for a death battle!
A sprawling city, massive in size, enjoys the tranquility around it. Atop a building, panning up to its top, is the successor of Tobio Tenma, Astro Boy. The crackle of electricity disturbs his view of the city, for turning around, in a brilliant flash of light, is DLN-001, Mega Man. An arm shifts into the Mega Buster, and the two legendary robots gaze at each other.
FIGHT!
Though Mega Man takes the initiative in the fight, a barrage of shots from the Mega Buster are all deflected by Astro Boy, who soon returns fire with a series of lasers of his own; Mega Man shifting to the Mirror Buster and reflecting the shots gives the Blue Bomber enough time to shift to the Magnet Missile, firing off a volley at his foe. Astro Boy takes to the skies, deftly evading the magnets, and even once Mega Man changes weapons to the Dive Missile, letting loose a horde of explosives, Astro Boy soars past them and charges at his foe, surrounded by the blasts set off around him. With Mega Man's Hornet Chaser, the robot insects are merely knocked away by Astro Boy, before their own is punched off the building, just moments before the Dive Missiles blow up its rooftop. As Astro Boy slams Mega Man across the side of the building, dragging him all the way down, a series of Metal Blades is enough to push Tobio's successor away before, with another Metal Blade and a Hard Knuckle, Astro Boy is launched into the pavement.
The young robots get into fisticuffs, but when Astro Boy prepares to heave a car at Mega Man, Wily's archnemesis unleashes an Atomic Fire, covering his foe in the soot and destroying the car, slumping to the ground afterwards. Mega Man prepares another Atomic Fire, but Astro Boy's rear-mounted machine guns pop into play, firing off a series of rounds that catches Mega Mega off guard. He goes back on the offensive, hurling out more and more Metal Blades, but this time, Astro Boy catches the ceratanium blades with ease. To Mega Man's surprise, the blades now in Astro Boy's possession were the last of his ammunition for the weapon, soon forced to run from his own projectiles before Astro Boy hurls one that pins him by the shoulder. He can barely struggle to pull the blade out before Astro Boy rushes towards Mega Man, dodging a purple orb the Blue Bomber fires. The purpose of the orb, a Black Hole Bomb, makes its presence known as it starts to suck Astro Boy in, but with some extra horsepower, Umataro's one-son catches a Crash Bomber and once thrown on Mega Man's pinned shoulder, resumes his flight towards his adversary. In panic, Mega Man looks at the Crash Bomber, about to go off, and Astro Boy, arm outstretched, and in desperation, fires off a luminous flash of light. The Time Stopper has give him a reprieve, but not much.
Tearing the Metal Blade out of his arm, Mega Man walks away from the building, wherein Astro Boy punches clean through it once time resumes. A flash of red tears through the clouds; none other than Mega Man's faithful dog, Rush. Immediately, the pair combine, unlocking Mega Man's Super Adapter mode. Astro Boy, in confusion of where Mega Man went, fails to notice the Crash Bomber stuck to his back, blasting him straight into an uppercut courtesy of Dr. Light's crown jewel. The duo soar across the sky, Mega Man knocking Astro Boy about, but the competition is quick to recover, shooting off a stream of lasers until, taking hold of Mega Man, Astro Boy dives toward the ground, forcibly shearing Rush away from Mega Man. In a final trade of blows, Astro Boy lunges at Mega Man, charging up a final shot from the Mega Buster, and the ensuing clash blinds the city in a burst of light.
Limbs from both robots scatter the city, but only one can rebuild himself. Placing his head back atop its shoulders, Astro Boy lets out a merry laugh at his victory.
K.O.!
Rush carries Mega Man's head, no longer active, and presents it to Astro Boy; be it to gloat over his victory or to console the dog on his loss, Astro Boy gently pets the dog. The hosts acknowledge that the variety of Mega Man's weapons were a definite edge in the fight, but the only one he had over Astro Boy. Comparing the pair's lifting strengths, Mega Man lifting Wily's sixty-thousand ton castle is an impressive feat, but pales to Astro Boy carrying a hundred-ton cruiser out from the ocean with ease, compared to Mega Man only able to carry the castle long enough to ensure an escape. With speed, Mega Man could trade blows with Quick Man, said to move faster than lightning, but is outshone by Astro Boy once again, who, after patching his relationship with Umataro, circled the entirety of earth in under two seconds at speeds of almost forty-five million miles per hour. Lastly, Astro Boy has shown himself capable of surviving atomic disintegration and bombs that could stop solar flares. While Mega Man had the edge in one factor, Astro Boy ultimate took greater advantages through fields where it mattered most.
- Boomstick: Mega Man just couldn't keep it together.
Wiz: The winner is Astro Boy!
Mega Man vs. Astro Boy contains examples of:
- Composite Character: Astro Boy is based on all of his incarnations for this fight. With so many feats Astro Boy performed based on his many incarnations, Mega Man is definitely outclassed.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The hosts summarize the fight as such; Mega Man being greatly outclassed in speed, strength, and durability by Astro Boy.
- Flying Brick: Seeing as this is Astro Boy, a lot of this was only to be expected, being his de facto means of combat. And it worked out pretty well for him.
- Foregone Conclusion: The moment Astro was given his million-horsepower upgrade from his fight with Pluto as part of his "maximum potential" was the moment Mega Man lost this battle. Lifting 100,000 tons, Astro could give Goku a run for his money.
- More Dakka: Most of the fight was Astro having to dance around Mega Man's massive arsenal and itchy trigger finger.
- Oh, Crap!: Mega Man, once he runs out of ammo for the Metal Blade.
- Only Mostly Dead: While it wasn't touched upon, anybody who knows the characters will know that, regardless of who was physically destroyed in this battle, it wasn't going to be an actual death. Mega Man can be rebuilt so long as his IC Chip remains functional not a problem seeing as his head was intact and as long as Astro's electronic brain isn't totally obliterated, he'll be fine, too.
- Pet the Dog: Literally; Astro Boy pets Rush, busy carrying Mega Man's disembodied head.
