Doctor Mikhail Sergeyevich Cossack

"Besides, I know of these robots. They're some of the finest ever built, and their creator would never intend for them to cause any harm."

- Dr. Cossack

Dr. Mikhail Sergeyevich Cossack (Ｄｒ．ミハイル・セルゲイビッチ・コサック) is a Russian robotics engineer affiliated with the Stravinsky Science Academy, and lives with his daughter, Kalinka. His hobby is watching ballet.

Mega Man 4
In Dr. Cossack's debut, he sent a letter to Dr. Light stating that he has created eight Robot Masters (consisting of Bright Man, Dive Man, Dust Man, Drill Man, Pharaoh Man, Ring Man, Skull Man, and Toad Man) and sent them to take over the world, in order to show the world his genius. Mega Man set out to defeat the eight new Robot Masters, and made his way to Dr. Cossack's Citadel. Just as he defeated Dr. Cossack in the Cossack Catcher, Proto Man appeared with Kalinka and revealed the truth: Dr. Wily had kidnapped Kalinka and forced Dr. Cossack to work for him as ransom.

Mega Man 5
After Dr. Wily's defeat in the previous game, Dr. Cossack built a robotic bird called Beat for Mega Man to assist him in protecting the world. Dr. Cossack does not appear in the game, only being mentioned in the manual as informing Mega Man of Light's capture, and increasing the firepower of his Mega Buster's charged shot. In the Rockman Complete Works version of Mega Man 5 and its port in Mega Man Anniversary Collection, Cossack serves as the main guide in Navi Mode.

Wily & Right's RockBoard: That's Paradise
Dr. Cossack is one of the playable characters. His objective is to build a new lab to continue his experiments.

Rockman ×over
Dr. Cossack, along with Dr. Light, is responsible for the creation of the Reploid OVER-1, the main protagonist of the game. He appears in Battle Memory.

Cossack Catcher
The Cossack Catcher (コサックキャッチャー) is the machine that Dr. Cossack uses in the fourth Cossack stage in Mega Man 4. Its design is based on the crane games commonly found in arcades. Its weakness is the Dust Crusher, although the fully-charged Mega Buster deals more damage. Mega Man can also use the Wire Adapter to inflict some damage against the machine. To avoid the risk of getting caught by the claw while standing directly under the machine, Mega Man should stand against the step in the boss room and begin firing the Wire Adapter just before the claw is directly over him. When the machine is chasing the player across the room, the player must slide to avoid being caught in the claw, which will not only deal damage when it drops the player, but also disables the weapon-switch screen until the player is dropped. One must make sure they have enough health to withstand the claw's drop damage, as the player cannot use an E-Tank until they are dropped. There is also the chance, if the machine is low enough, of hitting it twice with one shot of the Wire—once on the way up, and again on the way back down. When the Cossack Catcher has only two units of health left, Proto Man will appear with Kalinka and she stops the battle. Dr. Cossack leaves the machine to reunite with his daughter, and the Cossack Catcher explodes when Dr. Wily appears.

Damage Data Chart
Amount of damage in units that Cossack Catcher receives from each Special Weapon in Mega Man 4.

*For the Mega Buster and Pharaoh Shot, the first digit is when the weapon is fired normally and the second is when it is fully charged.

Mega Man (Archie Comics)
Dr. Cossack appears in Archie Comics' Mega Man comic series in the fourth graphic novel, Spiritus Ex Machina. According to this continuity, he had travelled to America as a college student while undergoing his thesis in robotics research, and was likewise an old friend and colleague of both Dr. Thomas Light and Dr. Noele Lalinde because of this. He met with Rock (Mega Man) and Roll at the A.R.T.S. (Advanced Robots and Trade Show) exhibition, quelling Pharaoh Man for confronting Rock regarding Roll accidentally bumping into his daughter Kalinka, as he knew Dr. Light, when creating the two, would never intend for them to cause any deliberate harm. He then headed to the debate between Light and Lalinde regarding whether robots should possess advanced AIs.

After the Emerald Spears terrorist organization takes over the convention, Cossack proceeded, alongside Light and Lalinda, to debate with the ringleader, Harvey Greenleaf, about why they should or shouldn't destroy robots to distract him while Mega Man, Pharaoh Man, Quake Woman, and Elec Man locate the bombs wired in the building, and also told Kalinka, who called him out of worry for him, to stay with Roll in hiding. After Xander Payne took over the Emerald Spears, he questioned whether the robots personalities were indeed less real than those of a human. The doctors were later trapped underneath rubble when Xander detonated the last remaining bomb inside the lecture hall, although they were saved by Mega Man, Pharaoh Man, and Quake Woman. Cossack suffered a broken leg as a result of the cave in.

Dr. Cossack was later mentioned by Kalinka in issue 19, and makes a brief appearance in the Cossack Catcher in issue 20 while Mega Man was stuck in a time travel loop, where Cossack tells Mega Man he has no choice but to fight him, and also blames Mega Man for a girl's (implied to be Kalinka) incoming death, appears in one panel from issue 21, and watches his robots-Pharaoh Man and the newly built Bright Man-being disabled by Ra Moon's EMP in issue 28. After the EMP wave was dispelled and Ra Moon destroyed, Dr. Cossack, alongside Drs. Light and Astil, Pharaoh Man, Plant Man, Rush, and Roll accompanied Mega Man to Lanfront Ruins. He also made clear that he did not trust Wily and believed him to be lying, even getting into a brief argument with Dr. Light about the latter believing his claim of being one of Ra Moon's victims. However, he decided to put off the argument so they could at least discover the truth and prevent the blackout from ever occurring again, citing that his daughter is still having terrible nightmares of the episode.

Despite the evidence supporting Wily's claims, Mikhail remained skeptical, and in the end expressed a hope that Dr. Light would be as quick to defend his friends as his enemies. During the trip he also revealed his intent to start work on a digging Robot Master similar to Dr. Lalinde's "daughter", Quake Woman. In Issue 37, he alongside Wily and Light aided the Robot Masters in trying to track down the third generation of Robot Masters after they stole the Energy Elements, although he was still very suspicious of Wily. In a foreshadowing of things to come, his mug's handle broke off when Wily asked about how Kalinka is doing. He later reacted with horror upon learning that Wily had equipped his Wily Walker machine with chemical weapons.

Mega Man Megamix
Dr. Cossack is a robotics engineer from Russia. After graduating with a degree in robotics from the Ural Institute of Technology, he got a job at the Stravinsky Science Academy. One day, Dr. Wily kidnapped his daughter, Kalinka Cossack, and in exchange for her safe return, he was forced to lead eight robots he created into battle against Mega Man. After the truth of this incident was revealed, Dr. Light helped Dr. Cossack clear his name and return to the good geaces of the scientific society. Since then, Dr. Cossack has intensified his efforts in the research and development of robots. He became good friends with Dr. Light and his robots, and created Beat as gift for Mega Man. He is the proud recipient of the Brzezinski Science Award and the Scientific Achievement Award, as well as numerous other prestigious awards.

In Grim Reaper of Ressurection, Dr. Cossack is kidnapped by Skull Man during a live interview with Charlie about a book he wrote, The Future of Human-Robot Relations, selling over ten million copies worldwide. Mega Man and Dr. Cossack's robots rescue him.

After the events based on Mega Man 6 in "The Greatest Enemy in History", Dr. Cossack went to Japan with Kalinka, Dive Man, and Drill Man to help Dr. Light. They first checked the ruins of New Metropolis, where they found the real Mega Man and repaired him, and also Yamato Man and the other robots that were under Mr. X's control.

Dr. Cossack also appeared in Mega Man Gigamix, where he created Duo to assist in the battle against the Stardroids.

Rockman 4
Like the game, Dr. Cossack tries to conquer the world, but this is due to Dr. Wily capturing his daughter, Kalinka.

Rockman 5
Dr. Cossack gives Beat as a gift to Mega Man, and assists him in his search for Dr. Light and Proto Man.

Rockman 6
Dr. Cossack has a brief appearance in the first chapter, where he talks with Dr. Light about the robot tournament.

Rockman 8
Dr. Wily kidnapped Kalinka again to force Dr. Cossack help him with the Evil Energy. After Duo damages Wily's stolen flying laboratory, Wily escapes and Cossack goes after his daughter. The two are rescue by Roll, Beat and Auto while Mega Man and Rush fight against Tengu Man.

Rockman: Yomigaeru Blues
When Dr. Cossack hears of Dr. Light's partnership with Dr. Wily, he goes to Dr. Light's Laboratory and finds Roll, Eddie, and Beat dismantled. He repairs them and goes after Mega Man with four of his robots to help him. When he arrives, Proto Man was damaged and he repairs him while Mega Man and the other robots go after Dr. Wily and the Wily Patrol.

Trivia

 * At one point in development, Dr. Cossack was actually named Dr. Vice (Dr.ヴァイス).


 * Cossack's name, while sharing the name of the military communities of Ukraine and South Russia, may be based off the dance known as the 'Cossack,' alternatively known as a 'Hopak' or 'Gopak'.


 * Dr. Cossack's full name may be based on the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev.


 * In the same fashion as fellow scientists Albert Wily and Thomas Light, Master Mikhail of the Sage Trinity in Mega Man ZX Advent was named after Dr. Mikhail Cossack.


 * Despite being mentioned in Beat's data in Mega Man & Bass, Dr. Cossack, himself, is absent in the game's database.


 * The Mega Man animated series version of Dr. Cain bears a slight resemblance to Dr. Cossack.