Hyde

Hyde (ハイド) is a character in the Mega Man Star Force series. He can EM Wave Change with the UMA Phantom to become Dark Phantom. He was a recurring antagonist in Mega Man Star Force 2, and a minor antagonist in Mega Man Star Force 3.

Personality
Hyde is a cunning, methodical and strategic individual, being able to devise several kinds of plans and scenarios and carry them out with rather precise accuracy. Deep down however Hyde is extremely self-centered and a deep narcissist with a love for Opera, believing himself to be a "producer" and referring as his machinations as "scripts".

While very intelligent and careful on his schemes, his arrogance proves to be his recurrent downfall as he often inflates his own abilities as much as he underestimates his opponents, making him fail where he could succeed.

Hyde has little to no loyalty towards anybody except himself, and while he proved to be obedient and resourceful for the likes of Vega, in truth all he seeks is a good position and the power that comes with it since he is at large a coward, as is evidenced by his recurrent use of dirty tricks, often involving hostages. When mocked by it by Rogue, he initially shows anger but is quick to confirm that he is fine in being the "World's strongest parasite" so long as he is rewarded, showing that he is extremely power hungry, which is reinforced by the fact that he sought the power to control Noise when he lost the power of Mu.

When his schemes fail, he loses his composure very quickly, the amount of which is proportional to how close he was of achieving his goal and becomes increasingly desperate and helpless. Nearing the end of his appearance in Star Force 3, it is largely implied that the constant amount of defeats and interferences by Mega Man have rendered Hyde utterly insane as he seemingly grasped his full "Producer" persona, blaming both Geo and Omega-Xis of being "bad actors" that didn't follow his "perfect script" (said script meaning to have their power taken from them and allowing themselves to be killed by Hyde) and that they were at fault for it and should get "fired" for ruining his scheme. Even after his defeat he is left in shock and denial to the point that he fell of the Wave Road seemingly falling to his (albeit unknown) demise.

Mega Man Star Force 2
Hyde is a wishful actor as well as Dr. Vega's top henchman, and received his UMA directly from her. Vega often uses Hyde to give other UMAs to unsuspecting people in order to cause havoc, although Hyde is also allowed to create his own schemes from time to time. He first attempts to take control of IFL Tower, since being the principal receptor of EM Waves it was the country's most important building, therefore allowing him to spread fear while he also kidnaps Luna Platz for fun. Mega Man faces him but is not able to truly defeat him and retreats.

Hyde is later seen giving Yeti to Rich Dotcom with the two forming an "alliance" when in truth Hyde is merely manipulating Rich's greed in order to wreak havoc and lure Mega Man. When the plan fails, Hyde leaves Rich to his own arrest, due to not wanting to risk getting himself involved. After Solo fails in retrieving the OOParts and having spread Geo's friends around the world, Hyde kidnaps Luna in order to force her to EM Wave Change into Queen Ophiuca and fight Mega Man, a fight of which Mega Man emerges as the victor. Although Hyde expected the OOPArt swallowed by Omega-Xis to destroy the two from the inside out after being worn down by its power, they are capable of harmonizing and taking control of the artifact giving them more power. When the plan backfires he is forced to retreat.

He is seen later wandering the world in order to cause chaos while looking for clues regarding Mu's real location. He gives Plesio to Gerry Romero and has him stage the kidnap of Zack Temple in order to create a fight with Mega Man. This scheme fails when Mega Man defeats Plesio Surf.

Hyde eventually travels to Wassup and meets with Osa Agame. Promising to give him the power to make his country a prosperous one he asks in exchange to be given the location of Mu. Tempted by Hyde, the Shaman reluctantly reveals that Mu is west of Wassup. With the information in hand, Hyde hands Condor to Agame and makes him EM Wave Change naming his form as Terra Condor.

As a result of Hyde being always unsuccessful in his plots Vega grows disappointed in him and appoints Hollow to retrieve the OOPart. Hyde watches with frustration but secretly devises his own machination. He lets Mega Man and Harp Note face both Hollow and Rogue and steals the OOPart when Mega Man is too worn out to fight. He subsequently retreats to Vega's base with Vega pleased at his result and revealing her true form to him for the first time. Vega then immediately invites Hyde to follow him and that she expects him to be "intelligent" and not to disappoint her any further. Hyde travels with Vega and Hollow in a flying device. Hyde asks how she intends to awaken Mu. Vega clarifies that the Mu continent needs a tremendous amount of EM Waves to sustain itself and that the OOPart is the key in achieving that. The three soon witness the resurrection of the old continent.

When Mega Man reaches the continent of Mu, Hyde, in his Dark Phantom form, challenges him on the entrance. As a reward for obtaining the OOPArt, he is given more power and Vega says she will form a BrotherBand with him if he manages to defeat Mega Man, but he is defeated. He is given one more chance and gains more power, but before he can fight Mega Man again, Rogue appears angry and disgusted at the fact that Hyde used him to steal the OOPart from Mega Man when he was weakened, but Hyde reiterates he did it for Vega's sake. The two voice their mutual dislike for each other with Rogue stating that Hyde's loyalty towards Vega was a farce and that in truth all Hyde was doing was sticking with the one that granted him power in the first place and that were not for Vega he would be weak and unnoticeable. Hyde was initially angry at claims but eventually concedes at the facts, and even goes as far as stating that he will be the "world's strongest parasite". The two exchange blows and Rogue easily defeats him.

Not wanting to accept defeat, he asks for even more power. However he is relieved of his duties by Dr. Vega through her sending Hollow to knock him out, saying that someone as useless as him isn't needed. He remains unconscious for the rest of the game.

Mega Man Star Force 3
Although Hyde doesn't appear as himself, he appears as Dark Phantom, having kept his ability to EM Wave Change. He initially follows Geo while he was in Alohaha, watching him from afar as he battles and develops, believing that eventually he will become overwhelmed by Noise. His prediction becomes true when Mega Man is unable to move at the Astro Wave and mocking Mega Man for his weakness. He then sends a pack of viruses to finish him off but Mega Man is able to defeat the viruses and embrace the Noise. While Omega-Xis mocks Hyde for his failure, he remains calm and reveals that everything went according to his plan, disappearing for the mean time but promising to return.

As he lost the power of Mu, he takes Zack Temple and Dr. Goodall as hostages to make Geo trade them by his Noise Change program to increase his power and get revenge. When things don't go according to his script as Geo decides to stand up with renewed resolve thanks to Harp Note, Taurus Fire, Zack and Goodall who are all ready to risk their own lives if needed, he escapes inside the WAZA main computer. When found, he complains that Mega Man is always on his way and and says that the blame for his failures is due to Mega Man not reading his script and acting according to it, not of his brilliant writing, which ruined his "perfect script" of getting themselves killed by Hyde and that both Geo and Omega-Xis are "fired" (this sudden change in speech pattern suggests that Hyde may have turned insane after so many subsequent frustration). After the battle, he is in denial and says all he wanted was more power, with the shock of his defeat causing him to step backwards one too many times and fall off the Wave Road to his apparent demise. His fate is unknown.

Anime History
In the anime, Hyde is a hopeful artist whose paintings are always ghoulish in nature. All Hyde wants is to have longevity so that he will be able to see his works become appreciated, as he notes that famous artists are never noticed until they are dead. Phantom, hearing Hyde's wish, appears before him and tells him that one way to achieve ever-lasting life is through the use of the OOPArts.

Hyde and Phantom, along with Rich Dotcom and Yeti, are rivals to each other and to Mega Man, the three of whom hunt the OOPArts. Hyde eventually comes into possession of the shuriken OOPArt, until it is forcefully removed from his body by Hollow. Hyde is not affiliated with Dr. Vega until the gate to Mu is opened, when Vega tells Hyde and Rich Dotcom that their desires lie in the dimension of Mu. Hyde and Phantom work temporarily with Vega, Hollow, Rich Dotcom, and Yeti while on Mu, and later escapes during its collapse. Hyde is currently still at large.

Trivia

 * In the game when the player visits Whazzap, it is revealed that the UMA Phantom acted as a tactician for the Mu civilization, a role which his new holder Hyde oddly enough fits quite well as he is the one behind most of the plots on the game which Mega Man must fight, with his "scripts".


 * Hyde is a possible homage to the novel "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", as he shares his name with the doctor's evil personality and wears British-style clothing. However, his EM Wave Change form Dark Phantom bears more similarities to the "The Phantom of the Opera".