Shadow Man

Shadow Man (シャドーマン) is a stealthy and powerful ninja-themed Robot Master that first appeared in Mega Man 3. Shadow Man was originally an unknown, deactivated robot discovered by Dr. Wily that was possibly alien in origin, and was remodeled and reprogrammed by Dr. Wily. He is a master of ninjutsu, and can summon a giant frog robot to ride on or small frogs to check areas for him (a reference to Jiraiya, a rogue ninja hero from a Japanese folktale, who mastered frog magic). His main weapon is the Shadow Blade, a large shuriken coated with a deadly liquid that can break down any material it touches. He is sometimes seen wearing a big red scarf.

Game appearances

 * Shadow Man is a main boss in the games Mega Man 3, Mega Man III and Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, as well as remakes, collections and ports of the games, like Mega Man: The Wily Wars, Mega Man 3 (Tiger handheld) and Rockman Battle & Fighters.
 * In Wily and Right's RockBoard, Shadow Man is one of the three robots the player is transformed into when he lands on the "Transformation" panel.
 * In Super Adventure Rockman, Shadow Man and the other Robot Masters from Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3 were revived by Ra Moon; Shadow Man is the last boss of Episode 1. He tries to kill Mega Man, but Quick Man gets in the way of his Shadow Blade to protect him. Angry with Quick Man's death, Mega Man attacks Shadow Man with full power and he explodes, making it impossible to revive him with the other robots in the end of Episode 3. If the player loses to him, Shadow Man will use an arm cannon to destroy Mega Man, and there will be no choice given to continue. Wood Man tries to take Shadow Man for repairs, but notices he can't be repaired and tries to avenge him in the beginning of Episode 2.
 * In Mega Man: Battle & Chase, Shadow Man is a playable character that uses a frog-shaped car called the Shinobi Master that can use the Shadow Blade to slow down opponents and release smoke screens. In his ending, he creates a ninja house and challenges people to enter it, saying he will give one million zenny to anyone who manages to reach the top.
 * Shadow Man is a playable character in the game Rockman Tennis.
 * Several Shadow Men can be seen inside the cars in Blues Field and Needle Field from Mega Man's Soccer.
 * Shadow Man has short appearances in the arcade game Capcom World 2.

Strategy

 * In Mega Man 3, Mega Man III and Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, Shadow Man attacks by jumping, throwing Shadow Blades, and sliding.


 * Shadow Man can use the Kawarimi no Jutsu (a ninja technique that replaces the body of the user by a object, usually a piece of log) as defense in Super Adventure Rockman and Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. He also uses this technique when he loses a race in Mega Man: Battle & Chase.


 * In Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, he can use makibishis, and summon a giant frog (possibly a modified Croaker) when he loses half of his energy (He doesn't summon the frog if he is the first boss). The frog attack with its tongue, a flamethrower (Shadow Man says "Katon no Jutsu" before this attack) in the mouth, and can spit Kerones.


 * In Super Adventure Rockman, Shadow Man creates copies of himself and the player has to hit the real one.

Data
Mega Man: Battle and Chase:
 * Vehicle: Shinobi Master
 * Body: Ninja Body
 * Engine: Idaten Engine ("Great Runner" Engine)
 * Wing: Hayate Wing ("Hurricane" Wing)
 * Tire: Fuuma Tire ("Wind Demon" Tire)

Mega Man and Bass CD data
A robot created after a Japanese ninja. His Shadow Blade is coated with a special and deadly liquid.

"I can hardly wait for the surprise."

Good point: Flexibility

Bad point: Impulsiveness

Like: To surprise others

Dislike: Obvious tricks



Rockman Complete Works data
このロボットにかんするデータがほとんどなく、なぞのおおいロボットである. すべての攻撃はジャンプでかわそう.

Translation: Concerning this robot's data, there is without a doubt, many mysteries. Jump to dodge all of his attacks.

Stage enemies
Enemies in Shadow Man's stage from Mega Man 3:
 * Sub-boss: Proto Man
 * Bouncer (Doc Robot stage)
 * Giant Spring Head (Doc Robot stage)
 * Hammer Joe (Doc Robot stage)
 * Hologram
 * Mecha Kero
 * New Shotman
 * Parasyu
 * Peterchy
 * Picket Man Bull
 * Walking Bomb
 * Yambow

Enemies in Shadow Man's stage in the Game Boy Mega Man III:
 * Count Bomb
 * Hologram
 * Mecha Kero
 * Parasyu
 * Picket Man Dada
 * Walking Bomb
 * Yambow

Mega Man
Shadow Man appeared in episode 15 of the Mega Man cartoon. In the beginning he helps Proto Man, Cut Man and Quick Man steal a helicopter to pick up Guts Man and Dark Man in a laboratory, and stays in Dr. Wily's Skull Fortress until Mega Man breaks in and takes the tachyon capacitor that was used by Wily to control the Moon. He and the other robots follow him to Dr. Light's lab, where Mega Man fools them with holographic copies and takes Dark Man's weapon, using it to capture the others and throw them into Wily's Skullker. They escape after this and the Moon is placed back to its orbit.

Captain N: The Game Master
Although Shadow Man didn't appear in Captain N: The Game Master, as Top Man was the last Robot Master defeated by Mega Man and the only seen, Mega Man uses the Shadow Blade in Wily's castle.

Mega Man Megamix
In the manga Mega Man Megamix by Hitoshi Ariga, Shadow Man first appeared in the story Metal Heroes in Rockman Remix, and later in The Strongest Enemy to Date, Asteroid Blues and Burning Wheel. In the manga Shadow Man uses the Shadow Blade and a sword, and can warp between shadows. His right eye has a sensor that can send data to Wily. Sometimes he's seen with the the Japanese symbol "kage" (影) on him, which means "shadow".

His first chronological appearance is in the story Asteroid Blues from Rockman Gigamix, which is based on the events of Mega Man 3. In Metal Heroes, Wily created the new Yellow Devil MK-II, but it went out of control and he orders Shadow Man and the other robots from Mega Man 3 to bring it back, and if not possible, destroy it. They have trouble to bring the Yellow Devil back and they call attention in the street. Mega Man appear to investigate and helps them stop the Yellow Devil. In the end, only Mega Man and Shadow Man are able to follow it, while the others where left behind by the security of the building it entered. After finding the Yellow Devil, Shadow Man notices its weak point is the eye, and is damaged in battle. Seeing it would be difficult to bring the Yellow Devil back, Shadow Man decides to use the Shadow Blade in it's eye to stop it. In The Strongest Enemy to Date, Shadow Man monitor the actions of Copy Rockman. In Burning Wheel, Shadow Man is in the Battle & Chase competition.

Rockman World 3
Shadow Man appears in the manga Rockman World 3, which is based on the events of the Game Boy game, known as Mega Man III outside Japan.

Rockman: Battle & Chase
In the Chinese manga Rockman Battle & Chase, Shadow Man lives in a old ninja house with an elder Shadow Man and 4 young Shadow Men. When the house began to fall, a part of the roof felt on the elder and he asks Shadow Man to give a lair to the kids. Homeless, Shadow Man enter the Battle & Chase competition to obtain money for a house. Although he wasn't able to win the race, he became friends with Mega Man, Ice Man, Blizzard Man and Chill Penguin.

Trivia

 * The weapon obtained from Shadow Man is similar to the Metal Blade obtained from Metal Man in Mega Man 2.
 * The liquid coating the Shadow Blade is likely (or closest to) hydrochloric acid, which can dissolve most metals.
 * As Shadow Man is possibly alien in origin, he may be a precursor to other alien robots in the series, such as Sunstar and Duo.
 * He is the first Robot Master with the ability to slide.