Needle Man

Needle Man (ニードルマン) is a deadly Robot Master when he uses his weapon, the rapid-fire Needle Cannon, to pepper his foes with a barrage of spike-shaped bullets which are sharp enough to pierce 10 inch-thick stone. Created by Dr. Light and Dr. Wily, his initial purpose was to work in energy mines.

Despite his large build, he is quite agile and good at jumping (even being able to remain stationary in the air to attack for brief moments of time), and the needle-sharp spikes on his head are mounted on a heavy telescopic base that can be fired over short distances with huge power, making him very dangerous to try and fight up close.

Strategy
Needle Man's pattern will be triggered either by pressing the fire button or waiting a few seconds. He will start by jumping in place, and while he is suspended in the air, he will fire his Needle Shots at Mega Man (three the first time, and later four), and slowly descend. After that, he can either jump and shoot again or hop near Mega Man's position and use his head's spikes.

To avoid the shots, it is recommended to wait until Needle Man has shot twice and then make a long jump, thus avoiding the first pair and directing the second over Mega Man's head. If Needle Man is about to jump towards Mega Man, running away or sliding twice can be used to escape, but if he manages to get in range for his spike attack, wait until he is facing Mega Man and jump in place.

Using this strategy can help to avoid most of Needle Man's attacks, though his speed can make the battle still very hard. By using his weakness, the Gemini Laser, the battle can be made much easier, taking just four shots to defeat him.

Super Adventure Rockman
Needle Man makes an appearance as the penultimate boss of Episode 2. He appears during the period when Mega Man and Beat explore the caves underneath the Temple of the Moon.

Before he fights the player, he ambushes Mega Man, impaling him using the spikes on his head, before knocking him into an underground pond with two well-timed punches. Afterwards, Mega Man responds by battling him, eventually coming out victorious, with Beat taking his Needle Cannon chip before they leave. He is later revived by Ra Moon and Dr. Wily.

Stage enemies
Enemies in Needle Man's stage:
 * Bikky
 * Bubukan (Doc Robot stage)
 * Cannon
 * Giant Metall (Doc Robot stage)
 * Giant Springer (Doc Robot stage)
 * Hammer Joe
 * Metall DX (Doc Robot stage, both normal and propeller types)
 * Hari Harry
 * Needle Press
 * Parasyu (Doc Robot stage)
 * Yambow

Enemies in Needle Man's (Game Boy) stage:
 * Bikky
 * Cannon
 * Hammer Joe
 * Hari Harry
 * Needle Press
 * Neo Metall
 * Yambow

Damage Data Chart
Amount of damage in units that Needle Man receives from each Special Weapon in Mega Man 3.

Mega Man
Needle Man appeared in the episode Bro Bots from Ruby Spears' Mega Man animated series. He, along with Heat Man and Elec Man attempted to rob the city museum early on in the episode, but is defeated by Proto Man, during his brief act in turning to the heroes. He was voiced by Gary Chalk, the same voice actor as Guts Man and Bright Man.

Megamix and Gigamix
In Hitoshi Ariga's Mega Man Megamix and Rockman Gigamix manga series, Needle Man appeared in the stories Metal Heart, Asteroid Blues, and Toward a Bright Tomorrow. Needle Man was registered as a land development robot assigned to foreign planets, specialising in breaking through boulders and bedrock. In reality, he is just a combat robot, pretending to be a non-violent industrial robot.

The Needle Cannon he uses to break through rocks is capable of firing 16 Needles at a time at speeds of up to 2000-3000 metres every second- due to the conical shape of the needles, they are less susceptible to the flow of gasses and fluids in their path. Also, since the full force of their momentum is focused on the narrow tip, each needle offers more destructive power than a regular projectile.

The only drawback to the Needle Cannon is that it is not capable of scattered shots, and Needle Man must therefore make use of the Needle Hammer located on his head to clear away large obstacles. Of course, the destructive power of all these tools can be directly applied to the field of battle.

Mega Man (Archie Comics)
Needle Man makes an appearance in Mega Man #15. Created by Ra Moon, Needle Man immediately pledges loyalty to Dr. Wily, to which Wily directs him for heavy lifting. Needle Man looks at his arms (and lack of hands) in confusion, with which Crash Man sympathizes.

Other appearances
Needle Man also appeared in Shigeto Ikehara's manga Rockman World 2 and Rockman: Blues' Resurrection, in Rockman 4Koma Great March, and as a racer in the Chinese manga Rockman Battle &amp; Chase.

Trivia

 * The differences between the NES and cell phone versions of Needle Man is that:
 * In the NES version he will jump and slowly descend while firing his Needle Shot.
 * But, in the cell phone version Needle Man hangs in the air as he fires his Needle Shot making it more difficult to avoid.


 * Ironically for his theme, there are no instant-kill spikes in Needle Man's stage, excluding the Doc Robot's version of the stage.


 * In the Sega Game Gear game Sonic Labyrinth, there is a boss who is also named Needle Man.