Issue #49 is a masterpiece.

The Prisoners of War (Issue #49) might be one of the strongest issues from the Archie Comics. Despite there being virtually no action, it's just... very heartbreaking and emotional.

The main highlight of this issue is the dilemma faced by some of the Robot Masters after facing the option of a good guy and repurposed for industrial uses. Quick Man, Heat Man, Metal Man, Crash Man, Magnet Man, Gemini Man, Top Man, and Needle Man all don't want to be repurposed, and would rather be shut down. The reasons each of them want to be shut down, however, is absolutely genius, and one of Ian Flynn's genius ways of pointing out problems present in society through the use of the robots in the comic.

Quick Man, Metal Man, and Heat Man do not want to be reprogrammed because they enjoyed what they did, which was fighting Mega Man. To them, it was thrilling, and taking that away from them is like taking away a crucial part of them. It's such a compelling part of the plot this issue because you can either view them as still wanting to be evil (especially in the case of Quick Man), or as robots who refuse to change because changing them would be stripping them of their identities. This is exactly what happened with Proto Man, and Quick Man comments to Mega Man how he disliked being reprogrammed by Wily, so why should it be different for the Robot Masters? At the end of the day, I don't view them as evil at all, they just, didn't want to adapt, and felt like their purpose would be lost.

Gemini Man, Magnet Man, and Top Man said they were too specialized or experimental to have any practical uses. This one hits pretty hard as well, because this is very relatable. They feel like they have no value to the world, so they would choose to rather be powered off, and using them three to show the feelings of uselessness is a mirror to these feelings we feel all the time, of not being of relevance. To me, it mirrors symptoms of depression. These Robot Masters aren't evil, just programmed with a human-like conscience, and that's their only fault. But they can't live on because of the proviso, so they must be shut down. I felt really sad about these ones.

Strangely enough, I felt the worst when Crash Man said he wanted to be shut down. Crash Man was always one of my favourite characters, but this was extremely sad regardless. His reason for wanting to be decommissioned? He feels like a burden. He feels like by sticking around, he's burdening everyone else because he can't do many things with no hands. I don't even need to elaborate as to why this made me so sad. Crash Man was an amazing character, and parallels many negative thoughts humans can have.

The other Robot Masters all were content with their new functions. They all really enjoyed planning how they'd help out, or were happy to be with their brothers in the case of Spark Man. This is a beautiful part of the story, as it's the notion of redemption. Even if you used to be a terrible person, there's always a change to change. To do something right. And in the Robot Master's case, they didn't have a choice! They were programmed to be evil. And most of them weren't pure evil. Some were respectful to Mega Man, like the Mega Man 3 Robot Masters, and even the Mega Man 2 Robot Masters, while having been fully built under Wily, showed good qualities even through their coding. Flash Man was proud of his troops for setting up a good defense, Bubble Man was super nice to Mega Man, treating his job exactly as it was - a job. And he instantly jumped to change loyalties from Wily once he realized he could help people if reprogrammed. They didn't hate Mega Man except maybe Quick Man, they just had to terminate him, and unfortunately, could not do anything to stop this programming. This redemption they get is exactly what I wanted when reading this comic, and it's something I wish was translated to the games as well, because all these Robot Masters are amazing characters, and deserve redemption.

Finally, Mega Man and Roll's lesson. You can't save everyone. There are some people who just don't want to be saved. These lessons hurt the first time you learn them, but it's impossible for us to save everyone. However, that does not mean don't stop trying to help. In fact, help as much as you can, because while you can't save everyone, you can do your best to save everyone. And that's what the siblings continue to do.

TLDR: I love this issue. It's probably one of my favourites of any comic I've read. And just wanted to gush about it.