MegaMan.EXE

"Let's bust some viruses!"

- MegaMan.EXE

MegaMan.EXE, known as Rockman.EXE (ロックマンエグゼ) or simply Rock (ロック Rokku)  in Japan, is the NetNavi (short for Internet Navigator) operated by Lan Hikari. He was created by the scientist Yuichiro Hikari, Lan's father. MegaMan.EXE is very powerful, and along with his operator Lan, is a very skilled virus buster. He is also Lan's twin brother, Hub Hikari, known as Saito Hikari (光 彩斗) in Japan, who died at birth, because of a rare heart condition that is known as HBD. Dr. Hikari then used his data to revive him as a NetNavi, MegaMan.EXE.

Personality
MegaMan is very loyal to Lan and his friends and is willing to sacrifice himself to save them. His continuous bravery and hard work earns him respect from others. Despite their similarities, especially in Net Battling,  MegaMan is more polite and well-behaved compared to Lan. He is often reminding Lan of his obligations such as his schoolwork and his laziness, which mostly is the main reason they argue a lot.

In the anime, he is not so different from the game, but he displays a fear of ghosts. MegaMan is quite dense when it comes about how others feel towards him. The notable example is that he is quite popular among female Navis, perticularly Roll and Meddy, but he remains oblivious when the two fight over being with him. He doesn't mind when either of them are holding him close since he thinks that they are just being friendly.

In the manga, MegaMan is still as polite like in the game and anime, but he is more cheerful and even likes to tease Lan often. He is far more comical and sometimes can even be somewhat childish. One of the examples is when he is the only one who is excluded from the battle against Nebula Grey and complained like a child. He is also easier to anger, since he even handily beat up those who angered him. However, the prominent difference is MegaMan's (together with Lan's) enjoyment for battle is shown and expressed much clearer. He and Lan are always getting excited whenever a strong opponent appears and aims to be the strongest. This, however, can also make him reckless to the point that can be nearly considered as suicidal since he charges straight at his enemy even though his opponent is clearly stronger than him.

Description
MegaMan is small (for a NetNavi), but his abilities are many. He has indigo biceps, with cyan stripes down his sides, ending at his blue boots which are tipped with black soles. He has two yellow shoulder guards and his blue helmet has two ridges running along the top. These ridges come to a stop at the helmet's base and allows his dark hair to stick out in four spikes. He has green eyes and, unlike most other NetNavis, an overall human appearance. As a customized NetNavi, MegaMan sports the symbol of the Hikari family on his chest and both sides of his helmet. This symbol is a red circle with a black line running diagonally through the center which ends in two triangles, all of which are surrounded by a gold ring. MegaMan stands at 148 virtual centimeters (roughly 4'9").

In the games and in the manga, MegaMan is shown with a faceplate covering his mouth and nose when in battle and in most of the Battle Chips with images of him. In the manga, (or more specifically in some stories), MegaMan dons on the faceplate when he usually finishes off an enemy Navi. In the anime, this kind of facemask closes when MegaMan equips a sword or shotgun. It is revealed that MegaMan has brown hair under his helmet.

Biography and Relationships
MegaMan is considered as part of the Hikari family, even going as far as to calling Lan's parents as Mama and Papa, and in turn, both parents consider MegaMan as their son. This is largely because MegaMan's true nature is Lan's older twin brother, Hub, making him the eldest son of Haruka and Yuichirou. In the anime, he and Lan have been known to receive gifts from Yuichirou while he is away. In the manga, at one point, both Yuichirou and Haruka have been shown more worried about MegaMan than Lan when they came back after the battle against Nebula Grey (though this may have been because both Nebula Gray and Mega Man were digital and therefore could be hurt by each other, but Lan, being non-digital, could not have been hurt).

Outside his family, he spends his time Net Battling with other Navis, or with his friends, Roll, GutsMan, and Glyde. He is often Net Battling with GutsMan, whom he always easily defeats. GutsMan sometimes is jealous of MegaMan's capability in Net Battling and also his closeness with Roll whom he has a crush on, but both remains on friendly terms. Roll has a crush on MegaMan and gets easily jealous whenever there's another girl getting close to him. MegaMan is oblivious of Roll's feelings towards him, however, it has been shown that MegaMan also harbors feelings towards her, but like Lan, is shy to express it. The three always defends MegaMan if anyone insults him and do their best to support him.

Somewhat mirroring Lan, several of MegaMan's relationships are studies in contrast; his relationship with ProtoMan being the foremost example. Both have a rivalry during the first part of the series. While they are both very similar in one respect—both are accomplished and intelligent Navis with impressive Net Battling skills and impressive pedigrees—they differ incredibly from one another. With time, like his NetOp, ProtoMan eventually begins to recognize MegaMan's skill, and their rivalry has become friendlier than the time when they first met. In the anime and manga, their friendship is much more shown; ProtoMan often fights together with MegaMan as a partner. A running gag in the manga is they sometimes argue with each other over a trivial thing (with ProtoMan smacking him first).

MegaMan's potential often attracts many strong Navis, the most particular being Bass. MegaMan and Bass have clashing opinions due to their different views of humans. Bass initially doesn't pay much attention on MegaMan until his defeat at the hands of the latter. Even after he became an amnesiac, he was still obsessed about fighting MegaMan and constantly hurl taunts at him. In the manga, however, their relationship become closer as the story progress. Bass was initially sickened by MegaMan's faith in Lan as well as his bonds with his friends, deeming him weak for it. However, Bass' heart started to change after realizing MegaMan's true source of power and came to see him as a worthy rival for him. MegaMan, in turn, respects Bass after the latter decided not to delete ProtoMan who is in no condition to fight. Recognizing Bass' honor, MegaMan spares Bass and promises him that they will fight again as rivals without any anger or hatred involved, hoping to reach an understanding. The extent of their bond is very deep that both have risked their own lives for one another in many occasions because of the bond they have. Serenade implies that Bass has started to consider MegaMan as his only friend, though Bass remains insistent that they are enemies.

Lan's relationship with MegaMan is the most significant among all others. While Lan is often recognized for his skill, many of his achievements might not be possible without the high specifications that MegaMan was built to, including the MegaMan's incredible powers and abilities. Lan and MegaMan are as close as brothers. MegaMan often behaves as the dutiful older brother, reminding Lan of his obligations and trying to serve as a voice of reason, and sometimes even acting as his conscience. Even though they sometimes argue, they always manage to reconcile. MegaMan is loyal towards Lan and is willing to sacrifice his own life to save Lan. In the manga, he sacrificed himself twice to save him, and once, even lost to his anger, when Lan is hurt by ShadeMan that he mercilessly deleted the latter. In return, Lan is also willing to go through great length in order to save MegaMan even with the risk of him losing his own life. The close bond between the two actually forms the basis of one of MegaMan's strongest powers, Full Synchro. All of this is quite fitting, given MegaMan's true nature as Lan's twin brother.

Game History
MegaMan.EXE is a unique NetNavi in the fact that he is the ultimate result of the Navi Project, an experiment undertaken by all of SciLab and led by Yuichiro Hikari. The Navi Project was designed to successfully graft a human's DNA and soul into a NetNavi. The process took a NetNavi's data and made it able to adapt to almost any situation. Yuichiro was only able to create about 95% of the actual project but no further when he and his wife had two children: twins Lan and Hub. Hub was quickly diagnosed with HBD and died shortly after birth. To keep Hub's soul alive, Mr. Hikari decided to use Hub's DNA to create MegaMan.EXE and gave the Navi to Lan. As Lan and Hub were identical twins, Lan and MegaMan developed a brotherly bond perfecting Yuichiro's Navi project. However, it was presumed that if Hub's exact DNA were to be used, the 'Twin Link' effect would take place, and any sort of reception of senses that Lan or Hub would experience would affect the other by brainwave synchronization, much like Full Synchro. As such, Dr. Hikari had modified Hub's DNA by .001% (this is presumed to be eye color, as despite being identical, they have different eyes). This remaining .001% was programmed into the Hub.BAT (Saito.batch) if the need to reset Hub's DNA to the original was necessary. Largely because of how he had originally died, MegaMan.EXE was also able to instantly recognize the symptoms of HBD, which is evident by his meeting Mamoru at Seaside Hospital.

By channeling enough power, MegaMan can transform into a holographic version of Hub and if he overloads himself, he will be destroyed as was shown when he sacrificed himself to make sure Lan could escape from Alpha albeit at the cost of his life although later on his remains were discovered through a deciphered GramNote, which Yuichiro Hikari quickly used it to resurrect MegaMan on Mega Man Battle Network 3. Although never shown fighting, Mega Man Battle Network 5 and Hub Style in Mega Man Battle Network 2 imply that this form is immensely powerful, since it is able to defeat bosses like Nebula Grey with just a wave of his hand, cannot be corrupted by Dark Chips, and gains every single Navi Customizer Program without trouble. His only downside is that he loses all possible transformations and the Mega Buster, which probably isn't needed. This form is possibly even more powerful than some of the strongest NetNavis like Bass, Slur, Duo, or even the Super Cybeast. Unlike most characters that need full power to access their powers, if he has enough power, he can temporarily tap into his powers to do outrageous things, like sealing the Cybeast, controlling the Dark Chips influence on him when used, and becoming Bass Cross MegaMan when Bass failed to maintain the fusion and used Double Soul instead of self-destructing.

Throughout the games, MegaMan is used by Lan to Netbattle and communicate with his friends' NetNavis. MegaMan is able to transform into a new form in most of the games and in Mega Man Battle Network 5 and 6 has an uncontrollable form, such as Dark MegaMan and Beast Out MegaMan.

Anime History
In the MegaMan NT Warrior anime, MegaMan is not related to Lan in any way, shape or form. Being a main character, he appears in almost every episode.

WWW Arc
MegaMan was created by Dr. Hikari and was given to Lan as a present. He appears in the first episode when Lan uses a disk his dad gave him to customize his NormalNavi. In the following morning, MegaMan wakes Lan up like he usually does in the games. Lan is initially disappointed that MegaMan is small, but when viruses attack, MegaMan displays amazing skill, which made Lan take back what he said and accepting MegaMan as an awesome present.

MegaMan has a NetBattle with GutsMan the next day, which MegaMan easily gaining the upper hand with his speed, and even superior strength despite his small frame, as he had stopped a Guts Punch easily with one hand. Their battle was interrupted when Roll arrived, saying that Maylu's house was on fire. Using the Net, MegaMan, Roll, and GutsMan arrived at Maylu's house network, and deleted the viruses, but was then attacked by TorchMan (FireMan in the Japanese version). Without Lan being there plugged in to send Battle Chips, MegaMan was being overwhelmed by the fire Navi, who had easily defeated GutsMan. However, right as MegaMan was about to be next, Lan had plugged his PET in, allowing MegaMan to use the Blaster (Shotgun in the Japanese version) and CyberSword, to quickly defeat TorchMan, forcing him to retreat. This event lets him make quick friends with Roll, which eventually leads her to love him.

Similar to TorchMan, MegaMan ended up also having to face the WWW Navis ElecMan and WackoMan (ColoredMan in the Japanese version), where he was at a disadvantage at first due to Lan having to help others, but then coming to give MegaMan the Battle Chips needed to defeat them. He also had to help Glide when he was attacked by NumberMan, who was attempting to take Yai's rare Battle Chips.

Along the way, he also had rematches with Mr. Match, Count Zap, and Maddie, though he had more trouble in those battles and required others to assist him to win, such as Roll helping him defeat TorchMan, WoodMan appearing to stop the flow of electricity so that ElecMan couldn't regenerate, and IceMan to stop WackoMan. He had also obtained a new Battle Chip, the ElecSword, which likely came from Masa, due to it being the perfect match against the Jelly viruses due to them being Water attributed.

However, MegaMan faced a powerful WWW NetNavi when he came face to face with Yahoot and MagicMan, who managed to overpower MegaMan, and it was the intervention of ProtoMan that saved MegaMan and forced MagicMan to retreat. It was then that MegaMan and Lan began their heavy rivalry with Chaud and ProtoMan.

N1 Grand Prix Arc
Before MegaMan entered the N1 Gran Prix, he and the others had to find NumberMan, who had gone berserk after a major, yet faulty, upgrade by Higsby. They lured NumberMan by having Yai's computer calculate the exact number for Pi, which goes infinitely, and due to NumberMan having a love for numbers, he followed after it. After luring him in, MegaMan and the others fought. Due to NumberMan being more powerful, and MegaMan having to avoid hurting him too much, due to Higsby begging them not to as he wanted to enter the tournament as well, it was a very difficult fight. It was only when SkullMan, a then unknown Navi, arrived out of nowhere that NumberMan was defeated and reclaimed.

MegaMan's first opponent ended up being none other than SkullMan, who was under Miyu's ownership, which surprised both Lan and MegaMan. Miyu stated that the battle would be over in 5 minutes, with SkullMan as the victor, which made the duo determined to prove the fortune teller wrong. However, when the battle began, all their attacks had little to no effect, as if SkullMan could predict their movements before they made them. Just then things seemed lost, Lan decided to keep trying and used the MiniBombs that Higsby had given him, which allowed him to fight more effectively, changing strategies and even damaging SkullMan, much to Miyu's shock, as she said that the future had changed. Despite how SkullMan could have continued to fight and most likely would have won, Miyu logged her Navi out, forfeiting the match.

They later enter the N1 Grand Prix, during which Lan and MegaMan try to master the Program Advance. In the final round, MegaMan and ProtoMan fight each other, with ProtoMan as the victor. However, their battle awakens PharaohMan.EXE who deletes MegaMan. He is later rebuilt and defeats PharaohMan with the help of ProtoMan using a double Program Advance. In the second season, MegaMan and Lan face off against the criminal organization Grave using various style changes.

MegaMan NT Warrior (manga)
In the MegaMan NT Warrior manga, although not explicitly, there were hints regarding MegaMan's relation with Lan. Mayl once commented that Lan and MegaMan are like true brothers, and Miyu, who is able to read and hear the "hearts" of objects sensed that MegaMan has a human heart even though he is a NetNavi.

MegaMan was created by Dr. Hikari and was given to Lan as a present when he was five years old. Lan was initially annoyed by MegaMan constantly reminding him about school or commenting on his behavior and ignores him for days. However, one day, Lan was trapped in inside a container that was about to be destroyed while playing hide and seek. Sensing that Lan is in danger, MegaMan finally found him, insisting that he won't leave him alone even though he will get deleted if he keeps staying inside the container and encouraged Lan not to give up. This urged Lan to once again call for help and finally able to get free before the container was destroyed. Since then, Lan finally understood what his father meant by MegaMan being 'special' and since then the two became close.

WWW Arc
The first part of the story focused on MegaMan and Lan's life with their friends and fighting against WWW. After defeating NumberMan, the Net Police recognized Lan's ability to perform Full Synchro with MegaMan and gave them a test to become Net Saviour, in which they succeeded. After obtaining an official net battle license, Lan becoming arrogant, thinking that no one can defeat him. Both are then challenged by fellow Net Saviour and his Navi, Eugene Chaud and ProtoMan, and defeated. This greatly shocked Lan and MegaMan who then train on their own way to become stronger.

WWW's activities begins to get worse and takes over the whole SciLab, taking Yuichirou as hostage. Net Saviour special squad infiltrates the SciLab and fight the Dream Virus, but the entire squad was defeated, MegaMan and ProtoMan being the only ones left to fight. Hearing the weakness of the barrier protecting the Dream Virus, MegaMan able to destroy the Dream Virus, but the impact of the attack deleted him, but not before MegaMan disconnecting his Full Synchro with Lan to save him.

However, it turns out that MegaMan was not yet deleted, but instead got thrown into Undernet. Lan, accompanied by ProtoMan and NumberMan, goes there and revived MegaMan.

Undernet Arc
After sensing various stronger people while he was unconscious in the Undernet, MegaMan wanted to enter the Undernet to face tougher opponents and become stronger. This is granted when ElecMan and BomberMan cause havoc in a restaurant where Lan and Chaud are and the path leads them to the Undernet. MegaMan and ProtoMan chased after and defeated them in an instant. They are interrupted by the arrival of the 'Black Shadow' of the Undernet, Bass. Witnessing that Bass' power was beyond them, ProtoMan and Chaud disconnected their Full Synchro and intend to jack out, but MegaMan and Lan charged straight at Bass. ShadowMan saved MegaMan and Lan and revealed that Bass had let them live. He then gave them a map that he said might help them to power up and disappeared.

MegaMan and Lan were frustrated upon seeing the map as nothing more but a badly-drawn picture and tried to think of another way to reach the place that ShadowMan mentioned. A Mettol appeared and asked for MegaMan's help, dragging him to a Mettol village in the Undernet with GateMan's help. The Mettol village was terrorized by a mysterious tornado that has been destroying the village and the Mettol asked for Gateman's help to get rid of the tornado. GateMan refused to assist them since it was a natural phenomenon and it was against his tribe's rule to interfere with the law of nature. MegaMan found out that the tornado was caused by someone and not by nature. By cooperating with the Mettols, they were able to defeat the one who created the tornado.

GateMan lead both of them to the Navi Graveyard because of a legend of a mysterious building rumored to grant whoever reaches it more power. He also gave MegaMan his gate. MegaMan and Lan found themselves lost until GutsMan, who performed Full Synchro with Dex, finds the way. Arriving at a pyramid, MegaMan and GutsMan struggled and reached the final room, but GutsMan's Full Synchro with Dex accidentally disconnected, so MegaMan used the gate to get GutsMan out while he remained and finally reached the room where he was welcomed by PharaohMan. To get the legendary program, PharaohMan made him fight against four versions of MegaMen himself. When cornered, MegaMan and Lan finally were able to perform Perfect Synchro and destroyed all of the four MegaMen and PharaohMan along with the building, allowing their souls to rest.

Gospel Arc
Chaud and ProtoMan challenged MegaMan to test how much stronger they have become. Since MegaMan and Lan still have difficulty performing Perfect Synchro, they cannot use Hub Style and are cornered by ProtoMan's Bloody Quartet. Before their battle could end, AirMan arrived to delete them. In desperate attempt to save MegaMan, Lan and MegaMan perform Perfect Synchro and changed to Hub Style, defeating AirMan. However, MegaMan, unable to control his new power, went on a rampage. With Kei Yuki's help, ProtoMan snapped MegaMan out of his rampage and regain his senses just in time.

Several days later, Lan's class were invited to a luxury cruise ship trip that was actually a trap set by Gospel to gain MegaMan's Hub Style power. MegaMan and ProtoMan defeated all of their enemies, but then Grave appeared, forcing MegaMan to enter Hub Style, rampaging once again. Only when MegaMan heard PharaohMan's voice was he finally able to control Hub Style. Bass appeared and got rid of Grave, then attacked MegaMan. They fought on the same level until Bass gained Hub Style by using his Get Ability program. Lan fainted due to the burden his body took while performing Perfect Synchro and MegaMan was beaten to a pulp by Bass. In the nick of time, Lan regained consciousness and once again use Hub Style with MegaMan. By focusing all of his remaining power into his finger, MegaMan able to defeat Bass.

Dark Navis Arc
Due to the spreading of dark power throughout DenTech City, the Net Navis were materializing in the real world. Mr. Famous brought MegaMan and Lan to a center where he gathered Net Battlers to fight the danger, but they were ambushed and all defeated by DesertMan. They were saved by ProtoMan and Chaud who had gained Muramasa Style from the King of the Undernet, Serenade. Sean's search leads them to a secluded island where the Dark Quartets are located. BeastMan attacked them, but was easily defeated by ProtoMan and Chaud who decided to face him alone. MegaMan and Lan tried to stop them, but Serenade prevented them from going after Chaud and ProtoMan. Eventually, MegaMan broke through Serenade's barrier and met with Chaud and ProtoMan, defeating the enemies together. However, MegaMan still feels uneasy as they faced an unknown being.

The unknown being turned out to be Bass, reborn as a Dark Navi, Bass GS. Bass intended to destroy the city, but was stopped by MegaMan, only for the latter to be beaten by the former. Serenade appeared to protect him and ProtoMan, but he was unable to materialize fully and Bass' newly gained dark power overpowered Serenade, killing him. MegaMan and ProtoMan continued to fight, finally using the program that Serenade left behind, Double Soul, allowing them to defeat Bass, though Bass survived. Respecting Bass' honor, MegaMan offered him a truce so they can fight again next time without being influenced by anger or hatred. Before Bass could respond, he intercepted an attack by LaserMan aimed at MegaMan. Before being captured by Dark MegaMan, Bass made MegaMan promise him that he will survive until the day he destroy him. Dark MegaMan revealed that the Dark Navis that they have fought were nothing but normal Navis that borrowed dark power. Introducing themselves as the Darkloids, they declared they will spread the darkness throughout the world and took Bass with them, much to both MegaMan and Lan's dismay.

Darkloid Arc
With the dark power gone, MegaMan returned to Cyberworld with the rest of the Navies that materialized in the real world. Their search for the whereabouts of the Darkloids was interrupted by the sudden ambush from SearchMan who demanded that MegaMan come out, accusing him as the one who killed his comrades while in reality it was actually Dark MegaMan. After trading a few blows with each other, SearchMan realized that MegaMan was not the one who killed his comrades. BubbleMan then appeared and informed them that he knew the whereabouts of Darkloids with his satellite, but he would only tell them if they pay him 100 million zenny.

Having no other leads, MegaMan and his friends visited BubbleMan to try to negotiate, but BubbleMan wouldn't help unless they pay him. While MegaMan was trying to retrieve his money, Dark MegaMan disguised as MegaMan attacked BubbleMan and antagonized GutsMan. Using GutsMan's anger and hatred, LaserMan changed him into a Dark Navi, forcing MegaMan to fight him. However, MegaMan activated a Double Soul with GutsMan, forcing Dark MegaMan and LaserMan to retreat. BubbleMan finally agreed to tell him the whereabouts of Darkloids as a form of gratitude for being saved.

Finding a dark portal, MegaMan and Lan used Hub Style to enter it and immediately encounter Dark MegaMan. Dark MegaMan summoned ShadeMan and used his attack to separate Lan's consciousness from MegaMan, injuring him badly. This triggered MegaMan's anger and hatred, giving LaserMan the opportunity to increase Dark MegaMan's power by absorbing MegaMan's emotions. SearchMan and his team arrived to help them but were quickly annihilated, leaving only MegaMan, SearchMan, and Lan surviving the attack. MegaMan and Lan confronted Dark MegaMan with SearchMan's Double Soul and tried to awake the captured Bass. They were nearly killed until ProtoMan arrived. Unfortunately, MegaMan's brief seemingly death allows Dark MegaMan to absorb Bass and further open the dark portals throughout the Cyberworld.

Not believing that Bass has disappeared, MegaMan tries to reach out to Bass. He succeeded, returning Dark MegaMan to his original form. Using Double Soul with ProtoMan and SearchMan's help, MegaMan finally deleted Dark MegaMan for good. Their moment of victory didn't last long as more Darkloids appeared to fight them when they were already out of strength. Fortunately, Colonel and TomahawkMan from the Netopia army arrived and destroy the Darkloids along with the Darkspace, using Colonel's Giga Freeze.

Netopia Arc
Afterward, MegaMan and ProtoMan were taken for a medical check-up. In the middle of the check up, TomahawkMan arrived with Colonel and MegaMan in order to fight TomahawkMan. Using Double Soul with ProtoMan, he easily overpowers TomahawkMan. Much to his shock, Colonel tells him that he will be imprisoned in Netopia prison. ProtoMan helped MegaMan escapes, allowing MegaMan to visit Lan to tell him his situation before escaping to BubbleMan's place. BubbleMan sold MegaMan's location after seeing a flyer with MegaMan's bounty is 100 million zenny, but then told him to enter the right hole behind the house that's actually a warp hole connected to Schaero where SearchMan is.

Unfortunately, BubbleMan had forgotten that the left hole is actually the one that will lead to Sharo while the right hole is to Netopia. MegaMan spent his times in Netopia disguising himself to prevent capture by the Netopia armies. It was until Lan was in danger that he finally revealed himself, something that the Darkloids had expected. To defeat CloudMan, MegaMan used Double Soul with TomahawkMan and defeated him. MegaMan was then taken to Netopia's base and imprisoned under Colonel's order, making him wondering why Colonel wouldn't trust him. He finally found out when Colonel attacked CosmoMan, disguised as Bass, revealing that Serenade was his friend and the fact that MegaMan was growing close to Bass made him not trust him. MegaMan won Colonel's trust when MegaMan easily noticed CosmoMan's identity and helps Colonel.

MegaMan and TomahawkMan were assigned to infiltrate Dr. Regal's Darkloid base. Encountering Nebula Grey, TomahawkMan became a Dark Navi, but MegaMan used Double Soul with him to free him. This caused all of the dark power within TomahawkMan to be transferred to MegaMan instead, making him a Dark Navi. To free him, Lan transferred himself into the Cyberworld. MegaMan nearly attacked Lan, who was only saved by Colonel's protection. MegaMan was then captured by Nebula Grey, who begin to absorb his power. Encouraged by Lan's words, MegaMan suppressed his darkness and returned to normal.

Nebula Arc
After the incident at Dr. Regal's base, MegaMan was not allowed to be part of the operation against Nebula Grey and instead was taken to hospital for a check-up in case he showed any sign of his dark power reawakening. Upon hearing that the entire Netopia battalion has been annihilated and little had survived, MegaMan, with the help of GyroMan, ProtoMan, and TomahawkMan went to where Nebula Grey was fighting Bass and Colonel. MegaMan and the others joined forces with Bass and attacked together. Nebula Grey easily overpowered them, absorbing ProtoMan, TomahawkMan, and GyroMan, leaving only MegaMan, Colonel, and Bass to fight. Not seeing any other way to win, MegaMan asked for Bass to perform Double Soul with him, which Bass rejected since they were enemies.

MegaMan tried to persuade Bass to fight together so they wouldn't lose, but Colonel interrupted, warning him that fusing with Bass may make him a greater danger than Nebula Grey. MegaMan insisted that Bass' heart is not only anger and hatred, but Colonel still wouldn't allow him. Promising Lan that he won't give up until the end, MegaMan rushed to Bass, taking Nebula Grey's attack in his stead, causing him to be near deletion. To save MegaMan's life, Bass absorbed him with his Get Ability Program, fusing them into Bass Cross MegaMan and defeated Nebula Grey easily.

Nebula Grey absorbed CosmoMan and managed to survive the attack. Sensing this, Bass separated from MegaMan and got bitten by Nebula Grey. MegaMan, without any power left to fight was discouraged, but Bass and Lan encouraged him to not give up. MegaMan used his Double Soul to find a power that will allow him to defeat Nebula Grey. With his newfound power, MegaMan changed into a form of a Beast and defeat Nebula Grey.

Cybeasts Arc
After acquiring Beast Out, MegaMan has reoccurring nightmares about him losing control of Beast Out and killing Lan, even though Lan assures him that he will stop it with Full Synchro. He is then taken to the Underground by a mysterious girl, Iris, who has also summoned several other Navis, including ProtoMan, SearchMan, and TomahawkMan. The all except for MegaMan decide to fight one another to determine the strongest Navi. That Navi is to receive the Ultimate program to defeat the CyberBeast, Gregar. MegaMan is reluctant to fight and tries to persuade the others to no avail.

He then encountered Colonel who challenged him. MegaMan refused. However, when Colonel intend to shoot Roll for trying to defend MegaMan, MegaMan triggers Beast Out, attacking Colonel wildly. CircusMan then appeared and trapped him within a cage that easily beat the insane MegaMan. They are interrupted by the arrival of Gregar, who sensed part of his power being taken by MegaMan. The entire area was destroyed by the CyberBeast before it left. MegaMan returned to his senses after Lan used Full Synchro with him. They then defeated CircusMan. Taking CircusMan's Navi Mark, he passed out and was taken back.

He was asleep for three days and then returned to the Underground with Lan to discover that the majority of the other chosen Navis were already defeated by ProtoMan, TomahawkMan, and SearchMan, who all begin to attack him. Realizing that his friends are participating for his sake, he protects them when Falzar ambush them. MegaMan then receives his friends' Navi Marks, giving him the power to fight, but still cannot defeat Falzar. Bass then appears after being called by Iris and absorbs Falzar, allowing him to Beast Out like MegaMan does. However, part of Falzar separates from Bass and merges with Gregar. After defeating Colonel and his subordinates and received their Navi Marks, making him the strongest Navi, Iris gives him the legendary program, changing him to Super Beast Out.

MegaMan charges at the CyberBeast and seems to be in advantage. The damages, however, didn't work long since he needed to destroy the core within the CyberBeast to destroy it once and for all. The CyberBeast begins to swallow the real world into Cyberworld and momentarily causing Lan to be disconnected from MegaMan. Bass then approaches him, telling him to give up since it's already too late and challenges him before the world ends. Disappointed by Bass' answer, MegaMan continues his way to the core of the CyberBeast, refusing to give up on hope. Lan able to connect himself with MegaMan by using Chaud's PET and eventually join forces with Bass to destroy the core. Once they arrive at the core of the CyberBeast, MegaMan and Bass are trapped by the last defense system of the Cyber Beast before MegaMan could destroy the core. Before the CyberBeast could devour him, however, all of his friends who has been swallowed holding the CyberBeast long enough for Bass to give all of his power to MegaMan. Regaining his resolve and new power, MegaMan destroys the core, but not before disconnecting his Full Synchro with Lan to protect him from the impact once the core is destroyed.

Journey with Bass
While everyone presumes that MegaMan has perished in the battle against Cybeast, in reality, MegaMan got blown away all the way to the end of Cyber World and meet Bass who also ended up there. The two of them forms a truce and travels together to return to the original Cyber World. At one point, Bass challenged MegaMan to fight him after they defeat some viruses, but MegaMan merely brushed him off because his utmost priority is to return to Lan's side. Seeing no meaning in defeat MegaMan who can't use his full power without his operator's help, Bass relented and continued their journey together. While resting at night, MegaMan expressed his relief that Bass got to be his companion in his journey, but Bass replied having a journey with MegaMan is boring because they can easily crush their enemies together. MegaMan took this as Bass complimenting him and was happy for it, prompting Bass to stomp on him while demanding MegaMan to sleep. Even after traveling for a year, MegaMan and Bass still yet to find a way back home. Despite Bass' discouraging words, MegaMan still won't give up hope of returning home so he can be with Lan again. Bass then tells MegaMan that Lan must have created new Navi and forgot about him, which angered MegaMan who retorts that Bass knows nothing about Lan. This provoked Bass who decided to kill him at the moment, but they are interrupted by a remain of Gregar's data.

MegaMan notices a Remote Gate attached on the beast's body and tells Bass they can go back through the gate. However, the beast attacks MegaMan, prompting Bass to cover for him and tells him to go first while the beast is preoccupied biting his arm. MegaMan refuses to leave Bass alone and tries to free him using his sword, but it easily gets broken. After hitting the beast's teeth several times, however, Bass is freed. Bass tells MegaMan that his current self without an Operator is no different than a hindrance as he can't use his full power, but by uniting his power with his Operator, MegaMan becomes a worthy opponent for him. For that reason, Bass tells MegaMan to go, shooting him into the remote gate. Before letting go, MegaMan tells Bass that he will wait for him until the day comes they can fight once more. He then thanks Bass and falls back to the original Cyber World.

Meanwhile, after MegaMan's apparent death, Lan keeps hearing voices that have been calling him and often transferred himself into Cyberworld to look for the source of the voice, though Chaud tells him that he was only being delusional since Lan cannot accept MegaMan's loss. They are interrupted when a great energy suddenly appears and deems it as a danger. Recognizing the voice from the source, Lan immediately approaches it and welcomes MegaMan back, finally returned.

Solar Boy Django
MegaMan (mistranslated as "Rocket-Man" in the English manga) appears in Django's world to stop ShadeMan (mistranslated as "ShadowMan").

Abilities
Despite having the physical size of a young person, MegaMan possesses superhuman strength, speed, agility, endurance, stamina and durability on the field, being able to fight against bigger NetNavis and even more dangerous programs like the Life Virus, Alpha, and Nebula Gray. MegaMan is the only NetNavi who can use various transformation systems like Double Soul, Style Change, Cross System and Beast Out. These draw powers from another NetNavi/Cybeast in order to associate with MegaMan to create a new form. MegaMan can also be customized in many ways, like charge shot (Trans Arm), fighting style (Style Change), special abilities (Navi Customizer), so MegaMan can be considered as a "Custom Navi". Due to his many abilities and transformations, combined with Lan's support and Battle Chips, MegaMan is one of the most powerful NetNavis in the series.

Offensive Abilities
 * Mega Buster: This is MegaMan.EXE's standard weapon, like all other Mega Man incarnations before him. MegaMan can either shoot the buster rapidly or charge the buster to do more damage. Typically a charged shot deals out 10 times as much damage as an uncharged shot. In Network Transmission, the Buster will attack through a unique formula that takes away a certain amount of health based on an enemy's Max HP, the kind of buster shot being used, and overall upgrades made to the MegaBuster over time. The MegaBuster's power changes depending on the upgrades or NaviCust programs equipped to him, and charged shot changes depending on the Style Change, Double Soul, or Cross System. It is a powerful and effective weapon for MegaMan to utilize.
 * Giga Buster: In the final extra chapter of the Manga, MegaMan uses the new version of his Mega Buster while entering the Giga mode (by removing his limiters). Its appearance changes greatly, now looking like the barrel of a tank, and its power greatly increases to the same level of power as the Giga Cannon Program Advance.

Custom Abilities
 * Navi Customizer: Exclusive to the games. Debuting in Battle Network 3, this system allows MegaMan to equip different programs in the form of colored blocks, each of them having a different effect on him. These effects range from upgrading his Buster strength or his battle chip folder capacities, to giving him special abilities, such as generating defensive Reflective Shields or surviving fatal blows with 1 HP of auxiliary energy. However, the Customizer has its own rules, and breaking these will result in bugs on MegaMan.


 * Style Change: Debuting in Battle Network 2, this allows MegaMan to change his elemental alignment and get upgraded power depending on the change. There are twenty-eight different customized styles (four elements and seven Styles).


 * Trans Arm: Introduced in Rockman.EXE Legend of Network, the Trans Arm is similar to the Double Soul, but only changes MegaMan's charge shot and color.

Transformation Abilities
 * Cross Fusion: Exclusive to the anime, by the use of a special Battle Chip inside a Dimensional Area, MegaMan can synchronize with Lan and fight in the real world. However, if not in full sync, the Cross Fusion can deteriorate.


 * Double Soul: Also known as Soul Unison, by resonating with another Navi's soul, MegaMan can gain the abilities of the Navi along with additional powers. In both Mega Man Battle Network 4 and 5, MegaMan gains six Souls, each of them varying depending on the game version. In the anime, the side effects of Cross Fusion removed the use of the Style Change and Double Soul was acquired as a replacement. A dark form of it is known as Chaos Unison.


 * Chaos Unison: Appearing only in Battle Network 5, Chaos Unison is an alternate version of Double Soul that involves sacrificing a Dark Chip instead of a normal Battle Chip. The Chaos Unison can only be available for one turn, as opposed to the Double Soul's three turns, and the charge shot is replaced by the sacrificed Dark Chip. However, the charging method has been altered; as it shifts from teal to purple. When the player stops charging while teal, MegaMan uses the charge attack' if the player does so while purple though, the Chaos Unison ends instantly, while MegaMan DS appears on the opponent's battlefield, using random battle chips and buster shots to attack MegaMan. MegaMan DS cannot be damaged, but will dissipate after 13 seconds.


 * Cross MegaMan: This is the prototype/alternate/advanced version of Cross System exclusive to Mega Man Battle Network 5. It provided an alternate base form for MegaMan with several Navi Customizer programs already installed, as well as an altered charged shot. However, it is much more potent than the Double Soul and Cross Systems due to no elemental weakness, permanent transformation and a lot of special abilities.


 * Cross System: This is similar to Double Soul, but with certain differences. Exclusive to Mega Man Battle Network 6, this becomes his new means of transformation, combining the abilities of Double Souls with the long duration of Styles. MegaMan gains 5 Crosses per game in Battle Network 6, each of them varying depending on the game version.


 * Beast Out: There are two different Beast Outs, Falzar and Gregar, and the one you get is dependent on the version played. It can be activated at any time between turns. It expires after three turns, and if Beast Out is used again immediately afterward, MegaMan enters Beast Over and goes berserk. Beast Out can combine with Crosses to form Cross Beasts, each with their own chip charge attack.


 * Style Change: Debuting in Battle Network 2, this allows MegaMan to change his elemental alignment and get upgraded power depending on the change. There are twenty-eight different customized styles (four elements and seven Styles). The elements vary from Fire, Aqua, Elec and Wood, while the following styles are:


 * Trans Arm: Introduced in Rockman.EXE Legend of Network, the Trans Arm is similar to the Double Soul, but only changes MegaMan's charge shot and color.


 * Hub: Appearing only once during the climax of Megaman Battle Network 5, MegaMan turns into Hub(his human form) in order to defeat Nebula Grey. He does so by simply depleting its energy through a wave of his hand, implying that this form is immensely powerful. However, it drains a lot of MegaMan's energy, as seen in the game where MegaMan is unable to even fire with his Mega Buster after reverting to his normal state after using this transformation.

Special Abilities
 * Dark Power: MegaMan is the only Navi who can use Dark Chips without becoming evil, and can even merge them with Double Soul as Chaos Unison. Usually, they permanently reduce his maximum HP by one per battle used. The only way he can't be hurt by one or suffer side effects is by using Double Soul or sacrificing bug frags. Like Beast Out, the player can trigger a berserk state upon receiving fatal damage.


 * Synchronization: Also known as Full Synchro, the effects of it in the games and in the anime and manga and different. In the games, Full Synchro is obtained when the player manages to perform a counter hit using a non-dimming chip attack. MegaMan glows bright blue and a pink spinning ring surrounds him. In this state, the player's next chip attack has double power, and attacking enemies will flash during the timings when they can be countered, encouraging the player to remain in Full Synchro. Full Synchro expires when MegaMan is hit by an enemy attack, or when he performs a chip attack. It cannot be accessed when MegaMan is using a Double Soul or Cross, but can be used while he is in Beast Out. In the anime and manga, Full Synchro is a state where NetNavi and NetOp become one to improve focus and it puts the NetOp into direct contact with their NetNavi, transmitting effects on the NetNavi back to the NetOp. So, a high level of synchronization should complete the circuit enabling transmission of a NetOp's very will to their NetNavi, which greatly raises a NetNavi's fighting capabilities. Full Synchro fuses the mind of NetNavi and NetOp into one consciousness, getting rid of the delay between command and reaction, which can make a big difference between life and death during a battle.


 * Bug: Though, not an actual ability, bugs are glitches in MegaMan, but only he can utilize and use its power. These glitches may cause a variety of side-effects during a battle.


 * Hub.BAT/Hub Batch: The Hub.BAT is a program that when equipped on to MegaMan's system completes Hub's DNA within him. It gives MegaMan all powers from style changes in Battle Network 2(as Hub Style), and all NaviCust programs installed with a halved-HP bug in Battle Network 3. In Battle Network 6, it appears as a Giga Chip and with the same effects as in Battle Network 3, but with the exclusion of the HP Bug.


 * e-Reader Cards: (Japanese only): Players can insert e-Reader Cards to customize Rockman in special ways. These cards caused various effects as, such as Base HP, Abilities, Buster Changes, Charge Shot Modifications, B+ Back Abilities. There are even Item Cards which can give out sets of Battle Chips, Sub Chips, BugFrags, Zenny, and even Navi Customizer Programs (only introduced in Rockman.EXE 6 Modification Card Part 1 & Rockman.EXE 6 Modification Card Part 2). They could also cause negative effects ("Bugs") to occur, such as causing Rockman to lose health and move the wrong way, or causing the player to be unable to control him.

As a boss
In the game series, there are several times where MegaMan goes berserk, and Lan must fight against him using another Navi. Additionally, many villains have tried to create mirror images of MegaMan, but fail because they copied him using a certain power (namely Dark Power and Beast Out).

Dark MegaMan/MegaMan DS
The boss pattern of MegaMan DS (MegaMan Dark Soul) is an almost complete mirror of that of the player's. He has exactly the same Max HP at the start of the battle and uses Battle Chips, preferring those in the player's folder. A good way to counter this is by putting several chips together that would be needed for a Program Advance or special combo (e.g. Sanctuary and Holy Dream), as MegaMan DS has a tendency to use chips at random and can't use PA's, but on some rare occasion, Dark MegaMan can use LifeSword. If MegaMan receives a fatal blow while in a Dark state, he ignores that damage and turns into a state just like MegaMan DS, becoming completely immune to damage for a few seconds. In Mega Man Battle Network 5, when MegaMan uses the Dark Chip DarkInvis, MegaMan will also enter a state just like MegaMan DS. Also in Mega Man Battle Network 5, if MegaMan uses a Chaos Soul and fails to use the charge attack correctly, MegaMan DS will form and try to kill MegaMan until the viruses are deleted. This MegaMan DS has no HP, but will dissipate after a long period.

It's worth noting that Dark MegaMan only appears in Mega Man Battle Network 5, and that there is a difference between him and MegaMan DS. Whereas Dark MegaMan is MegaMan overwhelmed and transformed by Dark Power, MegaMan DS is the embodiment of MegaMan's evil but was removed after then ending of Battle Network 5.

GBeast and FBeast
GBeast (Gビースト) and FBeast (Fビースト) are bosses from Mega Man Battle Network 6, each appearing in a different version. Contrary to Dark MegaMan, they have more of a fixed battle pattern. When MegaMan is consumed by the Cybeast Gregar or Falzar, Lan must use one of his Link Navi partners to fight against him. Later, a copy made of data bits appears in the Underground, and MegaMan has to fight against it and Bass.

GBeast
GBeast is a boss from Mega Man Battle Network 6 Cybeast Gregar. In this form, he uses a rapid fire blaster.

Attacks:
 * Thunder: GBeast fires an Elec-type lightning orb that slowly moves to home in the player's position. If it hits, the player will be stunned and GBeast will use Beast Buster and rapidly shoot the player.


 * Gregar Claw: GBeast homes in on the player and slashes twice, first in a LongSword fashion and second in a WideSword fashion.(in Double Beast Gregar will use Wide Blade while Falzar will use Long Blade)


 * Gregar Claw/Beast Buster Combo: GBeast uses a stunning Long Blade slash. If the player gets stunned, GBeast will use Beast Buster to fire a barrage of shots at the player.


 * Beast Breath: GBeast launches a flaming breath to incinerate the player. The flaming breath covers one panel ahead, and then another six panels(two columns) behind.

FBeast
FBeast is a boss from Mega Man Battle Network 6 Cybeast Falzar. In this form, MegaMan can rapidly shoot sharp feathers on his row and two ahead on the rows he is.

Attacks:
 * Aqua Needle: FBeast launches Aqua-type needles at the players's field. Dodging is easy; simply move away from the glowing panels.


 * Boomer: FBeast summons one Wood-type boomerang to attack the top, bottom and the last panel of the center row like the battle chip.


 * Falzar Claw/Feather Shoot Combo: FBeast jumps in front of the playable character and slashes twice(the first in a LongSword fashion while the second has the range of a Wide Sword). If stunned after the second slash, he will fire a total of 30 sharp feathers at the opponent. This can also be done if the stun takes effect after the first slash as well.


 * Sonic Storm: FBeast blasts a hurricane that damages the center row and the last panel of the top and bottom row.

Trivia

 * Normally, in both the games and the anime, MegaMan is often the character who breaks the fourth wall (sends a humorous message or joke straight to the audience) normally in the intro or during a lull in the plot.


 * This is the first Mega Man so far to have an actual logo. Mega Man from the Mega Man Star Force series later bears his own logo.


 * As default, MegaMan.EXE doesn't have a pre-installed shield like the Star Force Mega Man. That's why all attacks of all bosses from the Battle Network series don't affect all of MegaMan.EXE's panels(unless the bosses use AreaGrab). Fo example, Star Force Mega Man can block Crimson Dragon's laser attack with his shield, but MegaMan.EXE (if he was there) can't do that. Another example, in Battle Network 5, Bass' Darkness Overload attack doesn't damage all of MegaMan's panels, but only a 2x3 area so that MegaMan.EXE can dodge it without a shield, despite having a radius of 3x3 panels.


 * MegaMan's eyes are green, but in the first three Mega Man Battle Network games his mugshot shows him with blue eyes. It was fixed in later games.


 * In Mega Man Battle Network 6, the sprite used for walking in the cyberworld make his eyes look blue. However, his battle sprite has brown eyes, but his mugshot shows that his eyes are green which is their true color.


 * He has unused overworld sprites in Mega Man Star Force 2 and 3.
 * MegaMan.EXE, however, makes a cameo appearance in the first Mega Man Star Force game in one of the side quests. If the player completed the side quest and returned the "SciLab" data for MegaMan.EXE, he will make a short appearance from the portal and gives Geo the "BNBlaster", or "Battle Network Blaster".


 * Mega Man Star Force always keeps the weapon "BNBlaster" in the series; players can get the advanced version, "BNBlaster-EX" with a Cipher Code in Mega Man Star Force 3.


 * Geo Stelar, the main character in the Mega Man Star Force series shares many traits with MegaMan.EXE such as his fear of ghosts, and both being more level-headed than their respective partners.
 * In Mega Man Star Force 2, Lan's diary entries can be obtained through side quests. One entry reveals that Patch, Lan's son from the epilogue of Mega Man Battle Network 6, had his own NetNavi: MegaMan Junior, a program combining the best qualities of MegaMan and Roll, making Junior the son of both Navis.
 * According to concept art, MegaMan has brown hair, yet when his helmet is on, it's black, suggesting the back is actually part of the helmet, or was a glitch in MegaMan's programing.


 * In the anime, MegaMan doesn't understand Lan's fascination with food.


 * MegaMan.EXE is the only Megaman in the franchise to have his Mega Buster on the right hand instead of his left. This is shown on the side by side comparison in the new Smash Brothers game. All his video game sprites support this but his profile image above is the only contradicting one.


 * A downloadable costume for the Mii Gunner in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U portrays them as MegaMan.EXE.


 * Due to the publishing rights for MegaMan Battle Network being held by another company, MegaMan does not appear in the Archie Comics Mega Man series. However, in the Short Circuits for Issue 55, a pair of silhouetted figures resembling him and Star Force Mega Man appear behind X, Zero, Model A, and a Servbot.