Mega Man (character)

"I'll keep on fighting for peace for both humans and robots!"

- Mega Man

Mega Man, known as Rockman (ロックマン) in Japan, also known as Mega or Rock in his original form, is the title character of what has been referred to as the "Classic" Mega Man series developed by Capcom since 1987. The pixel art for Mega Man was created by the designer of the original game in the series, Akira Kitamura (credited under the pseudonym "A.K"), and later turned into a refined illustration by Keiji Inafune. Since then, he has become one of the company's primary original characters and continues to be one of the video game industry's most recognizable icons. Having appeared on many gaming systems since the Nintendo Entertainment System, Mega Man has had a wide gaming audience, and his games continue to evolve with the ever-changing hardware demands of modern gaming systems. Mega Man's fictional universe can be divided into seven categories, each featuring different variations and incarnations of the same blue hero. Although "Mega Man," or "Rockman," is usually the name used to describe only the original Mega Man from the classic series, it can also be used less specifically to describe the Mega Man series of fictional works, or the group of adherently named main characters within.

Several spin-off series have emerged over the past few years, each one continuing the Mega Man mythos in some unique way, including but not limited to the Mega Man X, Mega Man Legends, and Mega Man Battle Network. A resulting animated series was also produced originally in the United States as well as a number of toys, comics, and collectibles available both in and outside of Japan.

Mega Man's role in the original story is to battle the mad scientist Dr. Wily and his ever-growing army of robots, and stop them from taking over Earth by using their own special abilities against them. Utilizing his special Mega Buster arm cannon, and his ability to copy a defeated robot's Special Weapon, Mega Man must travel the world and traverse harsh environments in order to bring Wily's menace to an end. With the help of his creator Dr. Light and his assorted robotic companions, Mega Man's eventual goal is to one day achieve "everlasting peace".

Conception and design
Although originally the names "Battle Kid" (バトルキッド), "Mighty Kid" (マイティーキッド), "Knuckle Kid" (ナックルキッド), "Rainbow Warrior Miracle Kid" (レインボー戦士 ミラクルキッド) and "The Battle Rainbow Rockman" (ザ・バトルレインボー ロックマン), were proposed, Capcom eventually settled on "Rockman" as Mega Man's Japanese moniker. The word "Rock" in Rockman is a reference to the music genre rock and roll, and is meant to work in tandem with his "sister" robot, Roll. Such music-themed naming conventions are present in a number of Keiji Inafune's other character designs, such as Blues. In addition, the original Mega Man titles intentionally incorporated a "Rock, Paper, Scissors" game play mechanic into defeating certain enemies. In parts of the English speaking world, some people call Mega Man "The Blue Bomber" because of his blue armor and high fighting capabilities.

Origin
Mega Man, or Rockman, came into existence due to the following timeline of events. In the fictional and futuristic year 200X, the robotics expert Dr. Thomas Light (Dr. Right in Japan) worked to create a humanoid robot. This robot would demonstrate an advanced artificial intelligence program that would allow it to make decisions based on vague commands and directions.

Before Dr. Light ever constructed what would eventually become Mega Man, he first designed the robot known as "Proto Man" ("Blues" in Japan) which similar to his name was designed as a prototype of his future creations. Dr. Light's achievement greatly exceeded his expectations, however, he found a critical problem on Proto Man's power reactor. He made plans to modify and repair him, but the robot ran away, fearing that he would lose his identity and become like a different person.

After the disappearance of Proto Man, Dr. Light decided to create another robot. He created two robots siblings around the same time to work as a pair. These robots were called "Rock" (ロック) (Mega in the Mega Man Powered Up remake) and "Roll". Rock was created as Dr. Light's lab assistant, and his "sister", Roll, was designed for housekeeping.

With the success of these two test-type robots, Light designed and built six industrial robots, mainly to be used in the construction and maintenance of public works. These robots were Cut Man, a timber felling robot; Guts Man, a construction robot; Ice Man, a robot designed for exploration in extreme freezing temperatures; Bomb Man, a land reclamation robot; Fire Man, designed for waste management; and Elec Man, designed to oversee and control atomic energy power plants. (Mega Man Powered Up introduced two more Robot Masters: Time Man and Oil Man.) Each of these robots had full use of a human-like intelligence and reasoning potential. However, little did Dr. Light know that all of these robots, including the missing Proto Man, would later serve as the key to unlocking Rock's destiny.

Mega Man
Dr. Albert W. Wily, an old colleague of Dr. Light's, grew jealous when his projects were always overshadowed by his self-proclaimed rival. He constructed a robot factory in the Pacific and began to plot to conquer the world.

Wily stumbled upon Proto Man one day, who was dying when his energy system was malfunctioning. He repaired him, and while analyzing him he discovered that he had found a way to create robots at the same level as Dr. Light. He decided to reprogram Dr. Light's industrial robots to exact revenge. One day, the industrial robots became misled and forced under his rule. With his new followers, Wily seized control of the city and demanded recognition. This string of events, set in motion, what would later become the purpose for Mega Man's existence.

Realizing that it would be very difficult for the armies to stop Wily, Dr. Light knew something had to be done. Rock, having a strong sense of justice, volunteered to be converted from his current state as a lab assistant into a fighting robot. Thus, from that day forth, he became known as "Rockman" (Mega Man in the US).

From that day forward Mega Man volunteered himself for action against crime and serving to support and protect mankind's existence and coexistence with robots within society.

Mega Man fights and destroys each of the Robot Masters before journeying to Wily's fortress to defeat him once and for all. Mega Man eventually wins the battle, but Wily bows down and begs for forgiveness, which Mega Man grants. Mega Man then walks home to meet Dr. Light and Roll.

Mega Man 2
After the events of the first Mega Man game, Dr. Wily somehow returned with a new fortress and eight of his own combat robots, designed specifically for destroying Mega Man.

Mega Man defeats all eight Robot Masters and Dr. Wily himself. After Wily begs for mercy, Mega Man spares him and returns home...again.

Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge (Game Boy)
Dr. Wily once again sets his sights on world domination. This time, he revives several of his Robot Masters, giving them another chance to do battle with Mega Man. Four Robot Masters rampage across the globe, so Dr. Light sends Mega Man out to stop them. Once they are taken down, Mega Man heads to Wily's fortress only to discover that four more Robot Masters await him there. To make matters worse, Dr. Wily has constructed a new powerful robot, a Mega Man Killer known as Enker. Enker has the ability to absorb Mega Man's plasma shots with his lance and return a powerful blast of energy at him with his Mirror Buster; however, Enker is defeated, and Mega Man chases Wily to his space fortress above the Earth, using Enker's own Mirror Buster to defeat him.

Mega Man 3
Some time later, Dr. Wily claims to have changed and teams up with Dr. Light to create a giant peacekeeping robot called Gamma. However, the new Robot Masters created to mine the Energy Elements needed for Gamma's construction have gone out of control. Mega Man goes after them, meeting his brother, Proto Man (under the alias Break Man in this game, until the ending) along the way. Mega Man soon retrieves the crystals, but returns to discover that Dr. Wily has stolen Gamma and plans on using it to take over the world.

Mega Man defeats Gamma and foils Wily's plan again, and the mad doctor is seemingly killed by debris of his fortress at the end. (Wily's UFO can be seen flying in the ending, revealing he had survived.)

Mega Man II (Game Boy)
Even after his crushing defeat at the hands of Mega Man during the events of Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, Dr. Wily was already planning his next scheme. If he could get his hands on the time machine (named Time Skimmer in the American manual) that was being developed at the time-space research laboratory (named Chronos Institute in the American manual), he thought he just might be able to change the past.

After stealing the time machine, Wily had wanted to set out immediately on a trip across time, but had to put an emergency brake down on his plans when he discovered that the time machine had a serious flaw.

Meanwhile, Dr. Light had been dispatched to the time-space laboratory to investigate. With the help of Rush’s super-sense of smell, he was able to deduce that it was none other than Dr. Wily behind the theft. Having a bad feeling about the incident, Dr. Light quickly called upon Mega Man and Rush to search out Dr. Wily’s whereabouts.

Dr. Wily having finally managed to modify the time machine, discovers that the time machine could now only travel into the future and back, not into the past. Dr. Wily modified his plan and decided instead to spy on Mega Man’s future. Travelling approximately 37.426 years into the future (as stated in the American manual), Wily found that the future was peaceful, as his future self had reformed and Mega Man no longer needing weapons, had been reset back into a peaceful household robot. Recognizing this chance, Wily convinces his future self to abduct the now defenseless Mega Man. Dr. Wily then proceeds to capture Mega Man, and modifies him into the fighting robot Quint, reprogramming him to make him fight against the Mega Man of the present.[2] [3]

Back in the present time, Mega Man and Rush were finally closing in on Wily’s fortress, defeating the first four once again revived set of Robot Masters. After penetrating into Wily's lair, Mega Man finds another four Robot Masters awaiting him via teleporters. Mega Man manages to defeat all eight of his adversaries and engages his modified future self Quint in combat. After defeating him, Mega Man obtains his weapon, a pogostick-like device called the Sakugarne. With it, he makes his way to Wily's space fortress and defeats him yet again.

Mega Man 4
One day, Dr. Light received a message from a scientist named Dr. Cossack, challenging Light and Mega Man to a contest to see whose robots were better. Dr. Cossack's Robot Masters started causing chaos and Mega Man went out to stop them.

After defeating the Robot Masters, Mega Man goes to Dr. Cossack's Citadel to confront him. Upon defeating the scientist's final machine, however, he discovers that not all is as it seems...

In truth, Cossack was being forced into his criminal acts because his daughter, Kalinka, had been kidnapped by Wily (who was very much alive). Luckily, Proto Man betrays Wily and rescues her, allowing Mega Man to head for Wily's new fortress and defeat him once more. This time, however, Wily was able to escape.

Mega Man III (Game Boy)
A few months after the events of Mega Man II, Dr. Wily makes a bid for control of the world's off-shore oil platforms. To do so, he stations some of his most powerful Robot Masters that he had ever built at various off-shore locations, and once again, Dr. Light sends Mega Man to investigate and stop them before it gets out of hand. Mega Man takes down the first four Robot Masters and makes his way to the Wily Castle, where he discovers that four more Robot Masters await him. After defeating them, he encounters a new Mega Man Killer named Punk in the Wily Station, whose Screw Crusher delivers a crushing blow to its opponents. However, Mega Man promptly defeats Punk and defeats Wily with Punk's own weapon.

Mega Man 5
Mega Man discovers, to his shock, that Proto Man has kidnapped Dr. Light and a new group of Robot Masters under his command were attacking the city. As usual, Mega Man heads out to save the day and get to the bottom of Proto Man's strange behavior.

After defeating the Robot Masters and navigating Proto Man's Castle, Mega Man confronts Proto Man. At first, his opponent gets the better of him, as Mega Man is reluctant to hurt his ally, but the real Proto Man shows up and reveals the fake as Dark Man 4, who Mega Man defeats with ease.

After defeating Dark Man, Dr. Wily appears and reveals himself as the creator of Dark Man. Saying that he is holding Dr. Light captive at his castle, Wily challenges Mega Man to come after him.

Yet again, Mega Man goes to Wily's castle and defeats him once more.

Mega Man IV (Game Boy)
Sometime after Mega Man 5, Dr. Wily attends the annual Robot Masters Exposition where he manages to reprogram some of the Robot Masters that were on display. Although Dr. Light and Mega Man were also in attendance, Wily failed to reprogram Mega Man. Thus, Dr. Light sends Mega Man out to stop Wily before he can use his newly reprogrammed robots to wreak havoc across the globe. Mega Man manages to defeat the first four Robot Masters and make his way to Wily's fortress, where he encounters a new Mega Man Killer named Ballade, and although he defeats him, Ballade promptly leaves, opening the way up to where four more Robot Masters lay in waiting. However, after Mega Man defeated them, he made his way to where Ballade was waiting and defeated him for a second time, acquiring the Ballade Cracker, which he used to blast his way out of Wily's crumbling fortress. Mega Man made his way to Wily's new space fortress and defeated Wily, but was trapped in the fortress when Wily activated a self-destruct mechanism. However, Ballade had a sense of self-sacrifice at the last minute and saved Mega Man in the end.

Mega Man 6
An event called the 1st Annual Robot Tournament, sponsored by the billionaire Mr. X, is held. Everything seems fine as the contest begins, but when the top eight robots enter the arena for the final event, Mr. X appears and reveals he had reprogrammed the eight robots to use them to take over the world.

Mega Man goes to stop Mr. X and his army of robots, defeating the Robot Masters and battling Mr. X atop his castle. As it turns out, Mr. X is only an alter ego for Mega Man's arch-nemesis, Dr. Wily. Thus, Mega Man battles Wily and puts a stop to his plans once again. This time, he finally apprehends the mad doctor, sending Wily to prison.

Mega Man V (Game Boy)
From the game's opening scene:

''In the year 20XX AD, the world is at peace thanks to Megaman. Dr. Wily's fourth attempt at world domination has failed and his name has once again faded from the minds of the citizens of the world. A few months later...'' (Rock and Roll are walking through a field and suddenly a mysterious robot appears in front of them.) Terra: "So, you are the famous Megaman! I am Terra - and you will soon be my slave!" (Roll retreats and Rock turns into Mega Man to fight against Terra, but even the charged shot doesn't worked on him, and is defeated.) Mega Man: "What?! My Mega Buster has no effect on him..." A few hours later, the world was attacked by warrior robots from space. Mega Man (awakening): "Where am I?" Dr. Light found Megaman and equipped him with the new "Mega Arm". The most powerful weapon ever devised. Why have the Stardroids come here!?

Dr. Light: "Megaman, our world is once again in chaos. The alien robots call themselves "Stardroids" and have conquered most our major cities. They are constructed of alien material which render our weapons useless. But, I have done some analysis and constructed a new weapon for you. It will replace your Super Mega Buster. It is called the "Mega Arm" and it allows you to charge energy in your fist before you fire it. I have also created a new assistant for you. His name is "Tango". I'll enhance this item replicator to make powerful items for you. Collect as many P Chips as possible and return to my lab to exchange them for power-up items. Good luck, Megaman."

Mega Man 7
Unfortunately, Dr. Wily had planned for even this outcome. Six months after Wily's defeat and imprisonment, it is revealed he had four robots hidden away. These robots are activated remotely and break Wily out of prison.

Mega Man arrives upon the scene and encounters Bass, a humanoid robot, and Treble, his robotic wolf. Mega Man and Bass get into a short battle, apparently impressing the latter with his skill. Bass claims he is trying to stop Wily as well and comments that Mega Man might not need his help before leaving.

After defeating four of the Robot Masters, Mega Man finds out Wily is attacking the robot museum and has stolen one Guts Man. He attempts to intercept the villain, but is delayed when Wily deploys a clown-like robot to battle him.

Mega Man finds Bass again, injured in a fight. Mega Man takes him back to Dr. Light for repairs. However, when Mega Man returns to the lab, he finds the lab has been damaged by Bass, who has also stolen blueprints for the Super Adapter intended for Mega Man and Rush. Dr. Wily appears on the screen and reveals that Bass and Treble are his creations.

Mega Man then heads to Wily's castle to stop his latest plan. Along the way, he fights Bass, using a similar version of the Super Adapter with Treble.

Mega Man then confronts Wily and defeats him again. As always, Wily begs for forgiveness, but Mega Man points his Mega Buster at him, saying he does not trust Wily and plans on killing him. Dr. Wily, scared out of his wits, reminds Mega Man that robots cannot harm humans. In the original Japanese version, Mega Man is speechless. In the English version, he replies that he is "more than just a robot."

Before Mega Man can pull the trigger, Bass and Treble appear and rescue Wily. Mega Man then leaves Wily's fortress as it goes up into flames, clearly conflicted about what happened.

Mega Man 8
During a city battle against Bass, Mega Man is called away to investigate an island uncharted by any maps. After defeating a hermit crab-like robot, he finds Dr. Wily, who reveals that the island was his base before absconding with an orb of strange purple energy. Although unable to stop Wily's escape, Mega Man finds a badly damaged robot in a crater and takes it back to Dr. Light's lab. While the robot is brought in for repairs, Dr. Light informs Mega Man that Dr. Wily is at it again, with four brand-new Robot Masters attacking locations all over the globe.

As Mega Man defeats each of the Robot Masters, he finds capsules of the strange energy Dr. Wily took from the island. When he returns to the lab, he gives the samples to Dr. Light for study, but the robot he found earlier breaks free and heads out to the desert. Mega Man goes after him and briefly fights him, but realizes that his opponent is holding back. Before he can consider it further, the robot flees and Proto Man appears, telling him that Wily's new headquarters is up ahead.

Mega Man goes to the "Wily Tower," but is captured by a massive robot. He is then saved by the strange robot he battled earlier, who introduces himself as Duo and explains his mission to destroy all "Evil Energy" in the universe. Duo informs Mega Man that the other robot contained Evil Energy within it, which Wily was using to make his robots more powerful. He also told the hero that Wily Tower was protected by a forcefield linked to four more Robot Masters hidden around the world. As Duo left to secure the rest of the Evil Energy around the world, Mega Man set out to defeat the other four Robot Masters and foil Wily's latest plan.

In the end, Mega Man defeated the remaining Robot Masters and infiltrated Wily's fortress. Along the way, Bass challenges him to a duel, having used Evil Energy to increase his power, but Mega Man emerges triumphant once more. When he fights his way to Dr. Wily, he is caught in an energy trap, but is saved by the actions of Duo and Proto Man. Mega Man tells his Proto Man to help Duo recover while he takes on Wily's newest machine.

As usual, Mega Man destroys the latest incarnation of the Wily Machine, leaving Wily on the ground begging for forgiveness. As Mega Man berates Wily for trying the same old ruse after so many failures, he is taken over by the Evil Energy in Wily's machine as the tower collapsed around them. However, Duo saved Mega Man and destroyed the evil energy within him. He leaves before Mega Man wakes up, but Proto Man informs him of Duo's final message to the Blue Bomber: "Thank you".

Mega Man & Bass
A new robot named King, claiming to be the strongest robot in the world, began to recruit other robots to form a new Robot Army. Mega Man went to stop King, aided-to his surprise-by Bass, who took offense to King's claims of being the strongest robot.

After defeating the eight new Robot Masters and King himself, it is revealed that King was created by Dr. Wily, who Mega Man and Bass defeat once more.

Mega Man 9
Several years later, new robots were causing havoc around the world, all created by Dr. Light. Mega Man quickly volunteered to clear Light's name and was sent out to investigate the source of the problem.

Soon, the police came to arrest Dr. Light. Meanwhile, Mega Man went after the Robot Masters and, after he defeated a few of them, discovered that they were scheduled to be decommissioned and sent to the junkyard because they had reached the expiration date assigned to them by the government. Once the final robot had been taken down, Mega Man brought back one of the robot's Memory Circuit Board to Auto for investigation. As it turned out, Dr. Wily had reprogrammed the robots, who were scheduled for demolition, to rise up against their human masters rather than be destroyed.

Mega Man then went to Dr. Wily's castle and defeated Dr. Wily again. Dr. Wily, as usual, begged Mega Man for forgiveness. Mega Man responded to this by having Rush play clips of all the times Wily had done the same routine (The clips being scenes from previous games). Although Wily seemed contrite and apologetic, he tricked Mega Man into thinking that Dr. Light was, in fact, imprisoned in a jail cell in the next room. Although Proto Man appeared and warned him that it was a trap, Mega Man went to investigate the cell and was electrocuted by the fake Light robot and Wily set his hideout to self-destruct. Proto Man saved Mega Man, but Wily escaped yet again.

Mega Man 10
Mega Man is enjoying his day until Roll falls ill with Roboenza. At first, he believes that Wily is behind the epidemic, but Wily claims that he had found the cure, only to have it stolen by eight out-of-control Robot Masters. After defeating them all, Mega Man learns that Dr. Wily actually was behind the Roboenza epidemic all along. He succumbs to Roboenza himself, but Roll gives him her saved medicine to give him the strength to defeat Wily.

After Mega Man defeats Wily, the doctor becomes sick. Mega Man asks Wily if he has been infected with the Roboenza and Wily answers that he is a human, not a robot. Despite this opportunity to finally end Wily's evil schemes once and for all, Mega Man's heroic nature wins out and he takes Wily to a hospital. The mad scientist immediately broke out after recovering, but left behind enough of the cure to restore all of the robots infected with Roboenza. This would imply that Dr. Wily does in fact have some kindness in him.

Mega Man series
His most notable appearances have been within his own self-titled games, beginning with Rockman for the Nintendo Famicom in 1987. This, and all future Mega Man games released in North America and Europe, would bear the title "Mega Man" due to Capcom USA's senior vice president, Joseph Morici, deciding to change the name.

Nearly all of the classic series Mega Man titles have been two-dimensional side-scrollers involving horizontal movement through various levels. This mechanic persists even on titles developed for high performance platforms, such as the Sony PSP release of Mega Man Powered Up, which features 3D graphics, yet movement to both the background and foreground is restricted. The main series on both the NES and Nintendo Game Boy would follow this formulaic approach in the design of every game developed on those systems, and set the standard for all platformer Mega Man games to come. Mega Man himself has evolved very little cosmetically since his initial release, but has often been given new techniques in each game. The Mega Buster, for instance, which was introduced in Mega Man 4, allowed him to charge up a shot. The slide was introduced in Mega Man 3. It was these which were used in order to help him exceed any new challenges added by the programmers.

Capcom, regarding Mega Man as a versatile character, has placed him in several different gaming situations outside of his usual series. He has since been seen as a sports star in the Super Nintendo game Mega Man's Soccer, a race car driver in Mega Man: Battle & Chase, a board game piece in Wily & Right's RockBoard: That's Paradise, and several mobile phone games, including, but not limited to, Mega Man Pinball, Rockman Tennis, Rockman The Puzzle Battle, Chokkan! Rockman, Rockman Poker, and Rockman no Dot Art Logic. A limited release arcade fighting game series containing Mega Man: The Power Battle and Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters pitted Mega Man against several boss characters from his original series. Mega Man also appears in the social RPG Rockman ×over as Battle Memory and an armor of OVER-1 referred to as OVER-R, the Legend unit.

Though Capcom owns the rights to all Mega Man games and has been responsible for the development of all of his console titles, it has in the past licensed the Mega Man character to other companies for PC releases. Mega Man and Mega Man III (with no relation to the NES games of the same name) were developed by the US-based Hi-Tech Expressions, the Mega Man game published on the Game Gear by Sega, and Rockman Strategy was developed and released exclusively in China by AcerTWP. Neither title has since been regarded by Capcom as an official Mega Man series game.

In other games
Mega Man has made appearances in several game projects outside of his original series. He appears as a playable character in the fighting games Marvel vs. Capcom and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 alongside other prominent characters such as Ryu, Strider Hiryu, and Captain Commando. He has also been featured in the 3D shooter Cannon Spike and the card game simulator SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash, and its sequels Card Fighters 2: Expand Edition and Card Fighters DS.

Non-playable cameo appearances by Mega Man occur most often in other Capcom licensed games, and he is often seen as a background character. Such appearances include Mega Man Legends 2 (as a TV character), The Misadventures of Tron Bonne (TV character), Mega Man Star Force 2, Capcom World 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3 (in a billboard), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (in a banner and one of Norimano's attacks), Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix (Felicia's attacks), Mighty Final Fight (in a billboard from the ending scene), and Power Stone 2.

Mega Man also appears on a poster in the Days of Future Past stage in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 along with other cast that were in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, with all but Mega Man with the label of either "Apprehended" or "Slain", which is also homage to the Marvel Comics Uncanny X-Men storyline Days of Future Past.

He also appears in Nova's ending as part of the new Mega Nova Corps along with Proto Man, Beat, Roll and Zero as well as Thor's ending which was redone to include him along with Ryu and Darkstalkers' Morrigan. His other appearance in the game is that of a card in the free DLC mode, "Heroes and Heralds", as an "S Rank" card who's primary ability is halving the time used to charge attacks for characters with his secondary ability increasing the chance to gain rare cards of characters belonging to Capcom.

He also has a cameo appearance in Roll's ending in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars, standing with Dr. Light as they watch the robots Roll reprogrammed follow her.

Mega Man has been confirmed to appear as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. While his proportions and movements are closely based on his NES appearance, his appearance possesses traits from his design in Mega Man Universe. His moveset includes:




 * The Mega Uppercut from Marvel Vs Capcom, which is his only physical attack.
 * The Mega Buster and his Smash attack is a Charge Shot.
 * His Special Moves consist of Metal Blade which operates similarly to its MM2 incarnation though the projectiles can be picked up and thrown.
 * The Leaf Shield which is virtually unchanged from MM2
 * The Crash Bomb which operates identically to the Gooey Bomb from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * He also uses Hard Knuckle as a Meteor Smash and can be fired as a projectile just like in MM3.
 * His melee attacks include the Slash Claw from MM7 and the Flame Sword from MM8.
 * He uses the Super Arm from MM1 as a throw.
 * The Top Spin from MM3 which is a spinning attack, similar to Meta Knight's Mach Tornado from Brawl.
 * The Spark Shock and Flame Blast uniquely utilize both Mega Busters in Mega Man's arms though using either one will actually cause his Mega Busters to open up and vent out excess heat.
 * He can also summon Rush for his Rush Coil for an extra jump similar to Sonic's Spring in Brawl.

TV series
His first animated appearance was as a main character in the 1989 series Captain N: The Game Master, which features a myriad of characters that had appeared on Nintendo consoles up until that time. They all aid the title character, Captain N, in his quest to save the world of Videoland, encountering many villains, including Mega Man's own enemy Dr. Wily. Mega Man is green and is voiced in this series by Doug Parker. His character also has a speech impediment and a tendency to add the word "mega" in front of words for emphasis.

A three-episode Japanese anime OVA titled Mega Man: Upon a Star was produced in 1993 in an attempt to help spread information on Japanese culture. In it, Mega Man crosses paths with his adversary, Dr. Wily, while learning various facts about Japanese society, and receiving occasional help from Proto Man.

He also appeared as the main character of the animated Mega Man TV series created by Ruby-Spears, where he looks and acts more like a teenager than a kid. He is voiced by Ian James Corlett.

Comics and Manga
Mega Man appears in several manga from the series, including, but not limited to, the manga Mega Man Megamix, Rockman Remix, Mega Man Gigamix, Rockman, Rockman World, Rockman: Yomigaeru Blues, Rockman 8, Rockman &amp; Forte, Rockman 10 -Extra F-, Rockman 4Koma Dai Koushin, Rockman Battle &amp; Chase, and Rock'n Game Boy. Mega Man also appears in the Mega Man 2 novel and in the comics Mega Man (from Dreamwave Productions), Mega Man (from Archie Comics), and Novas Aventuras de Megaman.

Appearance
Outside of his armor Mega Man appears as a ten year-old boy with spikey hair, the color of which varies between games. His armor however resembles that of most other Robot Masters in that it's a skin-tight bodysuit with large rounded coverings on the lower arms and legs, and typical 'superhero briefs'. Mega Man's primary color is cyan with a blue 'trim' (his arms, legs, helmet and 'briefs'). His helmet has a raised cyan square in the forehead and a light blue ridge running straight back from the square. His helmet also features round grey sections with red in the center over his ears, likely his receivers.

Something unique to Rock alone amongst his future and alternate counterparts, is that he's the only Mega Man with blue eyes, while most of the others have green ones (or brown in the case of Geo and red in the case of Copy X).

Abilities
Mega Man appears to possess superhuman speed, strength, reflexes, and durability which is exhibited in most games in the series.

Mega Buster - His most noticeable ability, a powerful plasma firing "Arm Canon" and the evantaul successor to the Atomic Fire.


 * Mega Arm - Detaching jet boosted arm with grabbing abilities a successor to Hard Knuckle.


 * Magnet Beam - Creates temporary metal platforms.


 * Mega Ball - Drops a ball to kick at Enemies.


 * Slide - A tacticle move used for speed, dodging and at times attacking.


 * Shoryuken - Also known as Mega-Upper, a powerful focused uppercut.


 * Weapon Copy System - Due to his old job of learning how to use any machine or tool simply by examining it—in the form of touching a Robot, or, subsequently, destroying one, he duplicates their core Life Energy, gaining their Special Weapon.
 * In Mega Man 6, "adapters" were introduced that allowed Mega Man to fuse with other robots, mainly the character Rush: the "Jet Adapter" allows Mega Man to fuse with Rush and become "Jet Mega Man" (ジェットロックマン) and, in this form, Mega Man is equipped with the "Jet Booster," which allows him to hover for short periods of time. The other adapter, dubbed the "Power Adapter," allows Mega Man and Rush to fuse and become "Power Mega Man" (パワーロックマン). In this form, Mega Man is equipped with the "Super Knuckle", a powerful short-range attack that knocks back foes and breaks blocks. However, both of these adapters place specific limitations on Mega Man's abilities at the same time as granting him new skills. The "Super Adapter" introduced in Mega Man 7 allowed the creation of "Super Mega Man" (スーパーロックマン). This form basically combines the other two adapters, giving him both abilities.
 * The final adapter functioned as a hyper move in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes. Mega Man combines with the three characters Rush, Eddie, and Beat to become Hyper Mega Man, where he grows in size and extends wings and a rocket pack from his back. He will then use a powerful blast from his arm cannon with rockets coming from his shoulders, boots, torso and back as well.


 * Mega Man has also exhibited the ability to teleport, though usually into or out of a level during gameplay, as a streak of light colored the same as the character.

Weaknesses
While Mega Man has no special weaknesses, certain environment-related traps can cause him to explode. For example, two distinct types of spike traps can automatically kill Mega Man. The first type are constructed of spikes sharpened at the molecular level, and therefore able to instantly penetrate any material. The second type are spikes charged with massive quantities of energy and that instantly impart the entirety of that energy to anything that touches them. Both trap types are extremely expensive to produce. Regardless, Mega Man can protect himself from either trap type by equipping Shock Guard barriers. Spikes outside of these types merely inflict damage, rather than instant destruction.

Also, lava/magma can sometimes cause Mega Man to explode. However, in some cases (such as projectiles), magma will only harm Mega Man.

In the original Mega Man game, Mega Man may have been designed to fit in with the weakness order, as he takes 10 units of damage from both the Ice Slasher and Thunder Beam. Mega Man takes far less damage from these weapons in the PSP remake, Mega Man Powered Up.

Pitfalls also cause Mega Man to die upon falling in.

Personality
Mega Man's personality seems to stem from his creator, Dr. Light, whose intention may have been to design Rock based on his own interpretation of a real boy as if it were his very own son. Rock, who would later be upgraded into The Super Fighting Robot known as Mega Man, demonstrates a wide range of emotions, similar to that of a prepubescent boy, not typical of other robots, thus making him unique.

Mega Man's primarily extremely courageous and just, choosing to become Mega Man and face the threat Wily posed because he wanted to help and do the right thing. This said he's also a pacifist and in the Mega Man Powered Up pre-boss cutscenes he always tried to find an alternative to violence. This trait was also, to a degree, shown in Mega Man 8 where he questioned Bass as to why they must fight. Along with these traits he's also kind, generous and polite.

However Wily's frequent false repentances have become a constant frustration to Mega Man who appears to developing less patience with him, something that came to a head in the course of Mega Man 7 where he contemplated killing him, though ultimately decided against it. He further pointed out Wily's previous false repentances at the end of Mega Man 9, showing his diminishing patience, however he nonetheless assists him when he becomes ill in Mega Man 10.

Statistics
Mega Man has a solar energy intake above his head and a compact, supercomputer brain. His body has a solar-pile reactor developed by Dr. Light, an EPROM and the circuit board. His body armor is constructed of a unique, flexible, ceramic titanium alloy that bends under severe impacts then retains its shape, rather than breaking or shattering. His legs have suspension and air pressure pumps below the feet that help in his jumps and cushion his landings, even from great heights. He has magnetic joints.

Mega Man: Battle & Chase
Note: Rush Roadstar is named "Rush Roadster" in Mega Man ZX.

Losing quotes:
 * "It`s regrettable, but..."
 * "How come I lose?"

Mega Man &amp; Bass CD data


Rockman Complete Works data
Rockman 1-3:

かてい用ロボットだったロックは、ワイリーのやぼうをそしするため、せんとう用ロボロックマンにかいぞうしてもらった

Rockman 4:

もともとは家庭用のお手伝いロボットだったがＤｒ．ワイリーの野望をそしすべくライト博士に戦闘用ロボット「ロックマン」に改造してもらった. コサック博士との戦いでまちうけているものは？

Rockman 5:

Ｄｒ．ワイリーの野望をそしすべくライト博士に戦闘用ロボット「ロックマン」に改造してもらった. ロックマンにとってなぞのそんざい．．．敵か味方かわからない「ブルース」が突如謎のロボット軍団をひきいて街を攻撃し、さらにライト博士をさらっていってしまった．．．ブルースを追え！そして真相をつきとめるのだ！

Rockman 6:

Rockman

Ｄｒ．ワイリーの野望をそしすべくライト博士に戦闘用ロボット「ロックマン」に改造してもらった. ロックマンのかつやくにより、世界に平和はおとずれ、ロボット 連盟が組織された. おかげでロボット工学はひやくてきな進歩をとげたが．．． しかしＭｒ．エックスの裏切りが！Ｄｒ．ワイリーの影の支配者、Ｍｒ．エックスの世界征服の野望をとめられるか！？史上最大の戦いがはじまる！！

Power Rockman

ロックマンがラッシュアダプターを装備してパワーロックマンに変身できる. ソーラーエネルギーをラッシュアダプターにストックしてから放出することで絶大なパワーチャージショットが発射できる. ひびの入ったブロックなどはこれで破壊できるぞ しかし、ラッシュアダプターの軽量化が未完全のため、スライディングができなくなってしまう.

Jet Rockman

ロックマンがラッシュアダプターを装備することでジェットロックマンに変身できる. ジャンプボタンを押し続けることでジェット噴射で短時間ではあるが空中飛行できる. 飛行時間はゲージを見て確認できる. ラッシュジェットと比較すると飛行時間が短いが、ソーラーエネルギーを使用しているため何回も飛行できる.

Rockman Battle & Fighters data
こころやさしいかていようロボットとしてたんじょうしたロックは、ワシのじょしゅをしながらへいわにくらしていた. しかしあくのかがくしゃワイリーのせかいせいふくのやぼうをそしするため、じぶんからしがんして、せんとうようロボットロックマンとしてうまれかわったのだ.

Translation: The kind-hearted robot created for domestic use, Rock, lived in peace as my assistant. But to stop the evil scientist Wily's ambition to conquer the world, was modified, and reborn as the fighting robot Rockman.

Mega Man 6

 * "Mr. X! Why!?"
 * "We'll stop you! Come on, Rush!"

Mega Man 7

 * "Can't this thing go any faster, Auto?? The city is under attack!"
 * "He won't be loose for long! Once Dr. Light gives Rush and me our new enhancements, Wily is history!"
 * "You better tell me who you are?"
 * "Bass...?"
 * "Dr. Light, what do you think of Bass?"
 * "No. We are a team. Dr. Light will be glad to fix you up."
 * "D-Doctor Light! What happened!?"
 * "Bass...? I can't believe it..."
 * "I'll make you pay, Wily!!"
 * "I don't trust you, Wily! I'm gonna do what I should have done years ago!!"
 * "I am more than a robot! Die, Wily!" (English version)

Mega Man: The Power Battle

 * "Yeah, but Dr. Wily got away, again..."
 * "When will there be world peace?"
 * "What exactly do robots need?"
 * "Okay, I will fight for everyone's future."

Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters

 * "I will keep fighting to bring peace to humans and robots!"
 * "Noooo! Is it true? Can I really be the same as Wily...? He's right... I destroy his robots with no hesitation! Could I really be as evil as violent as the man I oppose...? I could have negotiated with the robots instead of slaying them... I could have brought peace..."
 * "T...Thank you, everyone! I will not yield!"
 * "Under these conditions, Bass? We are both heavily damaged from battle..."
 * "I don't think you understand. I don't want to fight with you!"
 * "Alright, if this is what you really want. I... I will fight with you!"

Mega Man 8

 * "Bass, why must I fight you? We're not enemies!"
 * "Roll!"
 * "We'll have to do this some other time, Bass."
 * "Dr. Light, what is the problem?"
 * "I understand, Dr. Light. I'm on it."
 * "Ok!"
 * "I got it, Doctor!"
 * "Thank you, Dr. Light!"
 * "Dr. Wily! Why are you here!?"
 * "Wait! Wily! I've got to go after him!"


 * "What's this? A robot? ... It's still alive. I must help it!"
 * "Yes, Doctor! I've found a robot!"
 * "Dr. Light, how's it going? Will he be ok?"
 * "That's good. By the way, what do you make of these?"
 * "But where is Dr. Wily?"
 * "What the...?"
 * "Yes sir! Let's go, Rush!"
 * "What power...! I've got to go after him!!"
 * "Wait, who are you!?"
 * "Proto Man!"
 * "I don't know."
 * "(That robot wasn't fighting me with everything he had... I wonder why?)"
 * "Okay, I'll be careful. Thanks, Proto Man!"
 * "That must be it over there!"
 * "I can see it!"
 * "Waaaahhh!! Ah...!"
 * "Rush! RUSH! RUSH!!!!"
 * "Huh?!"
 * "Rush? Rush..."
 * "Who are you?"
 * "Duo, that thing... It's just like the one that I gave to Dr. Light."
 * "Let's do it!"
 * "Time to go, Rush!"
 * "Bass, stop it! I don't want to fight with you!"
 * "Wait! That's not power! You don't know how dangerous it is!"
 * "I must prove you are wrong again, Bass!"
 * "You can't beat me with fake power! Wake up, Bass!"
 * "Bass, why u no understand?"
 * "Where's this...?"
 * "D...DUO!"
 * "Duo, Thanks!, Are you okay?"
 * "Proto Man! Thanks!"
 * "Dr. Wily! You must be stopped!"
 * "That's the same old apology, Wily! Over and over again..."
 * "Uwaaaah!"
 * "Roll!"
 * "Am I alive?"
 * "Duo..."
 * "Proto Man!"
 * "From Duo? What is it?"
 * "Duo... Me too. Thank you... Duo!"
 * "You... you're CutMan! Why are you here? Don't you remember what happened last time we fought?"
 * "Cut that out! CutMan, we don't have to fight."
 * "WoodMan! Are you still working for Wily?"
 * "Don't fight me, WoodMan. You have no chance to win."

Mega Man & Bass

 * "Proto Man!"
 * "Blues!" (SNES)
 * "I'll handle this! You go to Dr. Light for repairs!"
 * "No, King, you're wrong! Neither is better or more advanced!" (SNES)
 * "Proto Man, don't! You might overheat or explode!"
 * "Let's get out of here! Can you grab on to my shoulder?"
 * "Superiority, is not the point."
 * "King, come with me! Dr. Light will be glad to fix you up."
 * "What!? So, Dr. Wily was the one who created you!?"

Mega Man 9

 * "Dr. Light, look! It's your robots!"
 * "For starters, I'm going to do something about those robots!"
 * "Without a doubt. Don't worry, I'll clear Dr. Light's name!"
 * "They were scheduled to be scrapped? So why are they going crazy?"
 * "It was Wily all along!"
 * "I want you to see something, Wily! This is where you first went wrong! Then this time! And this time! And this time! And this time! And this time! And this time! And this time! And this time!"
 * "What is it!?"
 * "Dr. Light!"
 * "...It may be, but if that's the REAL Dr. Light, then I HAVE to help him!"
 * "I'm glad that wasn't Dr. Light... But that poor robot..."

Mega Man 10

 * "Oh, no! Roll!"
 * "Leave it to me! I´ll stop those robots. I´ll find Dr. Wily´s medicine-making machine, and then we can cure Roll and all the other robots!"
 * "Proto Man!"
 * "I'd appreciate any help, Proto Man!"
 * "Let´s do this!"
 * "Roll!"
 * "That´s great news! I´ll go back out there and get those missing pieces!"
 * "No, I´m great! Use the medicine you have on those who really need it!"
 * "Unghhh..."
 * "I should´ve known this was Dr. Wily doing all along! I have to...stop...unghh"
 * "But Roll, you need it..."
 * "Thank you, Roll...sit tight. I´ll stop Dr. Wily and bring back enough medicine for everyone."
 * "I´ve gotcha now!"
 * "Um...Dr. Wily? You´ve got a fever! Did you catch the Roboenza virus, too?"
 * "I gotta get you to a hospital!"

Marvel vs. Capcom

 * "Right on! Now, What new powers have I obtained?!"
 * "Nice attacks, but I like my Mega Buster the best!"
 * "That was a neat attack! I think I'll try it now!"
 * "Your Powers are too weak to help me!"
 * "You need more power? Maybe if you beat me..."
 * "Why must I fight you? We're not enemies!!"
 * "I can't let you beat me! I must become better!"
 * "Dr. Light said I could learn much from fighting!"

Gallery
For this subject's gallery, see: Gallery:Mega Man (character)

Trivia

 * He is the first Mega Man robot and the second robot created by Dr. Light of the Mega Man series, the first being Proto Man.
 * Being the first, Mega Man's design was decided to be the analogue and template for other characters in the series that would bear the name. Notably, what would originally be the first character to succeed Mega Man, had a radically different design, before the developers decided on another, more similar design completely.


 * In Japan, Rockman and Roll's names are a pun of Rock 'n Roll. This pun was lost in English versions.


 * The Japanese name "Rock" (Mega Man's original name) was not Americanized until Mega Man Powered Up, when it was changed to "Mega". This change has since been retconned, however, as evidenced by the U.S. Mega Man 9 site which uses the name "Rock".


 * Mega Man appears as Rock (in his human looking form) in only five games: Mega Man, Mega Man 4, Mega Man V (Game Boy), Mega Man's Soccer and Mega Man Powered Up, being playable as Rock in the latter, where he uses a "Mega Kick" instead of an arm cannon.


 * Of the various "Mega Men", classic series Rockman is the only one with blue eyes. All other characters to bear the name "Mega Man" have green eyes. Curiously in the PSP remake Mega Man Powered Up his eye color is changed to green (though the artwork for the game shows him with blue eyes). In the Mega Man Megamix illustrations, his eye color is also depicted as green.


 * In Mega Man Star Force 2, if one has the event '1stMegaMan' brother data his secret is that he obtains his energy from the sun.
 * Also in the final Club Capcom magazine there was an Ask Dr. Light bit in which he said regarding the robot master energy systems, many of them do utilize “solar energy” in some way and that Mega Man’s charge shot discharges condensed solar energy.


 * Spiritia Rosenberg, a character from the Japanese doujin soft series, Rosenkreuzstilette, is based on Mega Man.


 * In The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, in one of the houses in the first level, one of the Servbots will turn on a TV showing the 8 bit Mega Man running while the stage selected theme plays.


 * XCM-MegaMan-CutMan.jpg Artix Entertainment's AdventureQuest Worlds MMORPG, one of the randomly-generated regular monsters is a robot called MegaDude, who is a reference to Mega Man, based on his appearance and blaster attack.


 * Early concept art for Mega Man X: Command Mission shows that Mega Man (and Cut Man) may have been planned to appear in the game.


 * Mega Man made a one-time appearance in a German Super Mario comic book, where he and Dr. Light were helping Mario catch Wario who had recently committed a robbery.


 * In the Airlock stage of Double Dragon Neon, there is a boss that is an homage to Mega Man, called the "Mecha Biker". The boss uses abilities similar to Mega Man himself such as shooting three shots in a row, sliding, and even doing a charged shot; his dying animation is also similar to Mega Man's.


 * Mega Man made an appearance in the Cartoon Network show, "MAD" in the skit "Gaming's Next Top Princess", where he is one of the judges alongside Mario and another person. However, his appearance is slightly different outside of the animation style, he is shown with a buster set on the left hand at all times, and like 'Mega Man?' from Powered Up, the grey square on his helmet is a triangle, and he has brown eyes instead of blue.
 * He also appeared in another skit (MAD's Guide to Video Game Cheats) where he beats Strike Man by doing a code which makes cats fall from the sky.