Hard Knuckle

Hard Knuckle (ハードナックル) is Hard Man's Special Weapon in the Mega Man series. When utilized, there is a short delay before the knuckle starts moving forward. It is somewhat slow, but has great strength. Mega Man can slightly guide the knuckle up or down once it is moving. Hard Knuckle can also be used to break through destructible blocks in Mega Man 3 and Mega Man: The Wily Wars.

Mega Man 3
Mega Man obtains the Hard Knuckle after defeating Hard Man.

Top Man, Doc Robot (Metal Man and Crash Man), Yellow Devil MK-II, Wily Machine 3, and Gamma's first form are weak to this weapon.

It is ineffective against Needle Man, Doc Robot (Flash Man), Break Man, and Gamma's second form.

Mega Man II
Hard Knuckle is obtained after defeating Hard Man. It is the weakness of Top Man and Quint. Needle Man and Wily Machine II are immune to it.

Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Besides Mega Man 3, Hard Knuckle is available in the Wily Tower mode. It causes the highest amount of damage against Buster Rod. G (both encounters) and the second form from the "Wily Machine". It can also be used to destroy blocks in Mega Water. S's stage and Hyper Storm. H's stage.

Super Adventure Rockman
Hard Knuckle is obtained after Hard Man's defeat in episode 3. It is Top Man's weakness.

Super Smash Bros. series
Hard Knuckle is used by Mega Man in the fighting games Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U as his down air attack. Mega Man fires the Hard Knuckle directly below him. If the opponent gets hit by the attack from the sides, the move inflicts 12% damage and it is sent flying to the side they were hit. However, if the opponent gets hit by the bottom part of the attack, it inflicts 14% damage and functions like a Meteor Smash, knocking it in midair straight down upon contact. This can be deadly if an opponent finds itself in the air without a platform below it, as it can be sent straight down and get KO'd by the attack.

Damage Data Chart
Damage values in units in Mega Man 3.


 * For Kamegoro Maker, a certain amount of damage will be taken from the health meter for each of the five Kamegoros produced, regardless of which weapon the player uses against them. Each Kamegoro has 3 health.

Capacity
In Mega Man 3 and Mega Man II, one Hard Knuckle uses 2 weapon energy units. It can't be used if only one unit is left. With a full weapon energy gauge, it can be used 14 times in Mega Man 3 and 9 times in Mega Man II.

Mega Man (Ruby-Spears)
Mega Man used Hard Knuckle in the episode Bad Day At Peril Park. After defeating Hard Man by blowing him up from the inside with a Mega Buster shot, Mega Man takes the Hard Knuckle from him, utilizing it to knock Proto Man off a rock he was standing on to fire at the heroes.

Captain N: The Game Master
Hard Knuckle was used by Mega Man in episode 32 to defeat Top Man.

Mega Man (Archie Comics)
Mega Man obtained Hard Knuckle after defeating Hard Man in Mega Man #44, later using it against Spark Man (without success despite using both arms), Yellow Devil MK-2 (highly effective), Wily Machine 3, and Gamma.