Last year, Archie Comics made dreams come true when it ran a 12-issue crossover miniseries starring Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man. The event, entitled "Worlds Collide," brought the two blue heroes together to battle the combined forces of Drs. Eggman and Wily, who sought to use the power of the Chaos Emerlads to reshape both of their universes. It proved to be so incredibly popular, in fact, that Archie can't wait to do it again — get ready for "Worlds Unite" in 2015!
Executive Director of Editorial Paul Kaminski broke the news to Polygon with the following statement:
When the worlds of Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man collided in the pages of Archie Action comics, readers, fans and retailers made it the biggest crossover event in Archie Action history. That historic crossover storyline changed the comic book worlds of Sega and Capcom's iconic video game characters forever, but now an even bigger event is on the horizon. You saw what happened when worlds collided, now see what happens when Words Unite! And this time, no universe will be safe…
"Worlds Collide" did a phenomenal job of catering to Mega Man and Sonic fans who had yet to read any of Archie's comic adaptations. It ignored all the comic-exclusive characters and story arcs in favor of focusing solely the games' canons, then threw as many pieces of fan service as possible in a blender. We had Eggman and Wily engaged in a tender bromance, Sonic's friends getting "roboticized" into all-new Robot Masters, and a massive battle against every single boss from the Mega Man franchise all at once. How can "Worlds Unite" hope to top that!?
From Kaminski's hints, however, this second crossover will somehow raise the stakes in order to leave a more permanent mark on both franchises' futures (Slight spoiler: At the conclusion of "Worlds Collide," Mega Man's world was saved, while Sonic's world was irreparably damaged, and the current arc has Sonic and team dealing with the fallout). Perhaps original villains will be introduced, or maybe the series will end with both universes being permanently linked.
"Worlds Unite" will begin in Spring 2015. Archie will share more details tomorrow, October 8, at 1:00 PM during the Archie Action Hour panel at New York Comic Con. When the event actually starts, each chapter will likely alternate between the various comic series — "Worlds Collide" was spread across Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe, and Mega Man, sporting four issues apiece.