Future Shock

Dr. Light, being a show-off, is visiting two of his scientist buddies and shows them a time machine. Let that sink in a bit.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll resume. The scientists are naturally reluctant to believe this, so Dr. Light proposes a demonstration and asks for a volunteer. Dr. Wily, ever the interrupter, contacts them on the screen and wishes to get the time machine for himself, and the Robot Masters show up, where Metal Man saws a hole in the roof, Guts Man grabs Mega Man, and everyone else is useless. As Wily tugs the time machine away in the Skullker, Cut Man arrives and aims to slice Mega Man, but instead knocks Guts Man to the ground and cuts the wires supporting the time machine.
 

Metal Man then decides to have a scrap with Mega Man, but the villain has the upper hand, for he knows Mega's weakness for letting himself get crushed by things, so he cuts a chunk out of a pipe and the blue bomber is down. He isn't licked yet, for he fires a shot through a ventilation shaft which bounces around a bit before bursting out of another one and hitting Metal Man. Wily is angered at this, and decides that if he and his mood swings can't have the time machine, no one can, so Proto Man destroys it with a bazooka. What with the huge steaming crater there, Wily believes Light is done for, and returns to base. However, Mega Man simply pushed Light into the time machine and sent it one minute into the future. Close call.
 

Wait, Dr. Light isn't inside! Everyone automatically assumes the worst, and one of the scientists believes that the time machine can travel through time and return, but not the occupants. Mega Man and Rush leap inside and plan to look for their creator, and promptly vanish, worrying them that they've lost both Light and Mega Man (nobody cares about Rush, though).

Suddenly, a groaning is heard, and Dr. Light is discovered under some rubble. He explains that when the blast hit he was thrown from the machine before it went forward in time; so this means Mega Man is looking for nothing. Whoops.
 

Thirty years in the future, Mega Man and Rush discover that Wily has taken over the city! He lands and gets out, only for the people nearby to run away, believing him to be a Wily robot.

Elsewhere, a girl called Annie receives a comic book from her uncle Jack. About Mega Man. They get into a brief argument over if good robots exist, only for two evil robots to come along, confiscate the propaganda and arrest Jack for selling such a thing to a minor. Mega Man quite conveniently shows up, only to lose any resemblance of being badass because Annie is picked up by the robot, and thus there's a chance he'll hit her. Commercial break of suspense!

After some instructions from Annie, he dunks the robot into a manhole, and Rush defeats the robot dog by making it jump into a wall. Elsewhere, in Wily's future Skull fortress, he claims that when his workers finish more security robots, he'll have complete control over the city. He receives a message from the robot Mega Man just owned, and remembers the time machine from thirty years ago and then realises what's going on. He then commands his robots to find Mega Man and his time machine.

Mega Man aims to hide the time machine, only for the new and improved Guts Man and Metal Man to show up, and they demonstrate that by bending lamp posts and catching his plasma shots and throwing them back at him. Despite the added muscle, Guts Man is still defeated stupidly, by having a fire hydrant shoot him into the air. Metal Man cuts him down from the flag pole he's hanging onto after being sprung into the air by Guts Man, sending him onto a monorail track. Their imminent death via monorail is averted by Annie and Jack showing up and saving him, but the baddies have the time machine now.

Mega Man then explains what his plans are to Annie and Jack, and they reveal that Dr. Light has been in Robo Island prison for years, but it's too highly guarded for anyone to enter or exit. So the next day, he hits a robot cop over the head with a lamp post and lets himself get arrested. In the other cell is, of all people, Roll! She's doubtful it's him, so he reveals her hot hot secrets and she believes it's the real Slim Shady Mega Man. He then busts himself out by shouting in a silly voice that Mega Man has escaped, and then ramming the guard and pinching his keys.

After unlocking Roll's handcuffs, they hit another guard over the head with a frying pan and unlock Light's cell, where after a brief reuniting, explain that thirty years ago, when Mega Man vamoosed in the time machine, Wily saw his chance and kidnapped everyone, and without Mega Man around nobody stood a chance. After hitting another guard with a frying pan, they head out the front door, where they realise they can't use Rush Jet because of how many turrets there are, and climbing down the cliff isn't successful because of the "Blaster Masters" attacking them. So they jump. Commercial break of shock!
 

They land in the water safely and take care of the Blaster Masters, then dispose of two cop bots in a speed boat and use it to get back to the city. Wily is naturally quite upset about this, so tells Proto Man to rig the time machine to EXPLODE if anyone uses it. After a brief visit to Light's lab (which is somehow still there after all these years), Mega Man, Roll and Rush head to Skull fortress to get the time machine, but are ambushed by Wily and his bots before they can get to it.
 

Roll defeats kung-fu Cut Man with a toaster cannon, Metal Man, ironically, is crushed by a pipe, and Guts Man has the ground beneath him cut away. Mega Man hops into the time machine, but upon starting it up, is blown out. A bomb was set, though not at any dangerous power, as Proto Man wanted to take care of Mega Man himself. However, even thirty years later he has no luck in having a proper duel, and is promptly blown into Wily, knocking them both into a wall and allowing Roll to close the shutter on them. Mega Man takes one of Wily's ships and loads the time machine on board, and makes an exit.
 

The next day, Light has been working all night on the time machine, and he finally finishes. Suddenly, cop bot attack! They start swarming the lab as everybody piles in to the machine, and even Annie gets to destroy one of the bots. They warp to some random street, where they all share thanks and goodbyes, and the time machine whisks into the air and vanishes.

Back in the present day (well, the present day there since it's 20XX and everything), everyone is still worried about Mega Man, when he teleports in. Light asks him where he went and what he saw, and Mega explains it all. Then he says "now that I'm back, that'll never happen." No Rush gag.

Is it just me, or does this episode feel a little disjointed? It seems all the action scenes just finished very quickly or seemed unnecessary. The upgraded Guts Man and Metal Man fight was over in under a minute, and that last storming of Light's lab just came out of nowhere, and led nowhere either. At least Metal Man was made interesting, and Roll causes some comical moments.

3 out of 5 comic book Mega Men.

When Wily receives the message from the robot Mega Man manhole'd...

He has no arm as Mega Man shot it off, but when the shot cuts to show Wily as well his arm has grown back.

You have to feel sorry for Proto Man. Even in the future where all the Robot Masters are supposedly upgraded, he's still blasted away in one shot by his brother and totally ignored.