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 a video game character created by Keiji Inafune and is the title character of what has been referred to as the "Classic" Mega Man series developed by Capcom since 1987. 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 robotic boy 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 MegaMan Battle Network series. 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 the planet 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".

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.

Inspiration
Mega Man was based of the character Casshan from the anime Neo Rider Casshan by Tatsunoko Productions. Casshan is a robot man that fights for humanity along with his robotic dog Friender who would inspire Rush. Casshan himself volunteered to become a fighting robot, something Mega Man would do.

Origin
Mega Man, or Rockman, came into existence due to the following timeline of events. In the fictional and futuristic year of the 200X master designer 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. He called the robot project "Robot Master", because the resulting robot would be able to supervise the work of other, less intelligent machines.

Before Dr. Light ever constructed what would eventually become Mega Man, he first designed the Robot Master known as "Proto Man" ("Blues" in Japan) which similar to his name was designed as a prototype of his future creations. However, before testing of his AI, or his complete system was finished, the robot escaped and was thought to have been destroyed.

Because of the disappearance of Proto Man, Light decided to create another robot. Fearing that the disappearance of Proto Man was due to the fact that he didn't have a peer, he created two other robots at around the same time to work as a pair. These robots were called "Rock" (ロック) (Mega in the Powered Up remake) and "Roll". Rock was created as Dr. Light's lab assistant. His purpose was a general-purpose tool user. Simply by studying how a tool was used, he could mimic its use using a Variable Tool System, thus making him the ideal lab assistant. His "sister" (though not actually a sister, but a robot partner), Roll, was designed for housekeeping.

With the success of these two test-type robots, Light designed and built six production-type 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 and excavation 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 has two more Robot Master: Time Man and Oil Man although it is unknown if they are canon.) Each of these robots had full use of the Robot Master's 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


The time finally came for Dr. Light to be recognized by the world for his brilliant contributions to science. Dr. Albert W. Wily, an old colleague, grew jealous when his unique research, which he studied with Dr. Light, was utterly overshadowed by his self-proclaimed rival.

He stumbled upon Proto Man one day, who was dying when his energy system was malfunctioning. He repaired him, using his specifications to create the police robot, Sniper Joe. He discovered while analyzing Proto Man that he had found a way to reprogram Light's robots. He decided that he could use these new robots to exact revenge. Soon, Dr. Wily arrived at Dr. Light's laboratory, taking and reprogramming the six (or eight) construction robots so they 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 without harming the city, Dr. Light knew something had to be done. Due to his programmed sense of right and wrong, Rock 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 across shores).

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 his sister, Roll.

Mega Man 2
After the events of the first Mega Man game, Dr. Wily returned having build a new fortress and eight new Robot Masters to take over the world.

Mega Man defeats all eight robot masters and Dr.Wily himself. After Wily begs for mercy, Mega Man spares him and returns home.

Mega Man 3
Dr.Wily returns claiming to have changed and works with Dr.Light to create a peace keeping robot called Gamma. However, the newest Robot Masters go crazy and run off with the energy crystals that Dr.Light needs. Mega Man goes after them and along the way meets his brother, Proto Man (under the alias Break Man in this game, until the ending). Mega Man soon retrieves the crystals, but when he returns, 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, who is seemingly killed at the end. (If you look closely, you could see Wily's UFO flying out of Wily's castle,so he really wasn't dead.)

Mega Man 4
Dr. Light received a letter from a scientist named Dr. Cossack challenging Light and Mega Man to a contest to see whose robots were better.

Dr. Cossacks Robot Masters start causing chaos and Mega Man goes to stop them.

After defeating the Robot Masters, Mega Man goes to Dr. Cossack's castle to confront him.

It turned out that Cossack was being forced into doing what he was doing because his daughter Kalinka had been kidnapped by Wily (who was very much alive), but luckily Proto Man rescues her. Mega Man heads to Wily's new fortress and defeats him once more.

Mega Man 5
Mega Man discovers that Proto Man has kidnapped Dr. Light and that all new Robot Masters under his command were attacking the city.

Mega Man confronts Proto Man, but this is revealed to be a fake as the real Proto Man shows up and reveals the fake as Dark Man.

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

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

Mega Man 6
Dr. Light, after hearing news of an event called the 1st Annual Robot Tournament sponsored by the billionaire Mr. X where designers would bring their robots to do battle, sent Mega Man to make sure the contest went well and nothing goes wrong.

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. As it turns out, Dr. Wily was impersonating Mr. X. Thus, Mega Man battles Wily again and puts a stop to his plans once again. This time, sending Wily to prison.

Mega Man 7
Some time after Wily's defeat and imprisonment, it is revealed he had four Robot Masters hidden away. These robots are activated and break Wily out of prison.

Mega Man arrives upon the scene and encounter Bass, a humanoid robot, and Treble, his robotic wolf. Mega Man and Bass get into a short battle and Bass is apparently impressed with Mega Man's skill. Bass claims he is trying to stop Wily as well and says 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 Master Museum and has stolen a copy of Guts Man.

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 Rush Adapter, which was 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 him and encounters Bass again and fights him. This time though, Bass is using a similar weapon to the Super Rush Adapter with Treble, but is defeated by Mega Man.

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 robots cannot harm humans, which he replies that he is "more than just a robot."

Just then, Bass and Treble appear and rescue Wily. Mega Man then leaves Wily's fortress as it goes up into flames.

Mega Man 8
Mega Man, who was battling Bass in the city, finds out that Dr. Wily is at it again with brand new Robot Masters attacking all over the globe.

When he returns to the lab, he finds a robot undergoing repairs there, but it breaks free and heads out to the desert. Mega Man goes after him and briefly fights him, until Proto Man appears and tells him that Wily's headquarters is up head. Mega Man goes to the "Wily Tower" but is captured. He is then saved by the robot who introduces himself as Duo.

Duo explains that the other robot contained "Evil Energy" within it and that Wily was using that energy to make his robots more powerful.

In the end, Mega Man defeated the remaining Robot Masters, Bass and Wily himself, but is taken over by the evil energy. However, Duo destroyed the evil energy within him and leaves.

Mega Man & Bass
A new robot named King claimed to be the strongest robot in the world, began to recruit other robots to form a new Robot Army. Mega Man, along with Bass,went to stop King.

It is revealed King was created by Dr. Wily, whom is then defeated once more.

Mega Man 9
Several years later, new robots were causing havoc around the world and it turned out these robots were 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 Master had been taken down, Mega Man brought back one of the robot's internal memory units to Auto for investigation. As it turned out, Dr. Wily had convinced 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 this same routine. (The clips were 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's lab self-destructed. Proto Man saved Mega Man.

Mega Man classic
The first Mega Man has appeared in over 40 games over the past two decades, and all Mega Men characters together are responsible for more sales revenue than both of Capcom's next leading franchises (Street Fighter and Resident Evil) combined. 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 Soccer, a race car driver in Mega Man: Battle & Chase, and a board game piece in Wily and Right's RockBoard: That's Paradise. 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.

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 Marvel vs. Capcom fighting game series 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 simulators SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash and the 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 Capcom World 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Pocket Fighter, Mighty Final Fight, Power Stone 2, Mega Man Legends 2 and The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. Animated incarnations of Mega Man were common in the early 1990s, particularly in North America.

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, and his character 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 Rockman 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, Rockman Gigamix, Rockman, Rockman World, Rockman: Blues' Resurrection, Rockman 8, Rockman & Forte, Rockman 4Koma Great March and Rockman Battle & Chase. Mega Man also appeared in the comics Mega Man (from Dreamwave Productions) and Novas Aventuras de Megaman. He is also a recurring character in the webcomic Bob and George, but notably is not the main character.

Abilities
Mega Man appears to possess superhuman speed and strength, which is exhibited in most games in the series. Two of his most notable abilities are his arm cannon, which mainly shoots plasma projectiles, and his Weapon Copy skill derived from his old ability to learn how a tool is used simply by seeing it in action before he was "upgraded" to a fighting robot. This ability allows him to gain skills from enemies he has defeated.

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" 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". 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". This form basically combines the other two adapters, giving him both abilities.

The final adapter, the "Hyper Mega Man 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.

The Mega Arm was introduced in Mega Man V. Mega Man can charge and fire his forearms at his enemies. Mega Man can also charge energy in his hands and perform an uppercut, called the "Mega Upper". The "Mega Punch" is an ability where Mega Man repetitively punches his opponent with rapid speed.

Weaknesses
Like other Robot Masters, Mega Man has weaknesses. However, while other Robot Masters are usually weak to a weapon of their fellow Robot Masters, Mega Man's weaknesses are usually environmental-related hazards. For example, a special type of spike trap can automatically kill Mega Man unless he's invulnerable from having taken damage prior to touching the spikes (the only exception to this being the original Mega Man game) or is equipped with nullify instant-kill hazards. Lava/magma is usually another instant-kill hazard, although in some cases (such as projectiles), magma will only harm Mega Man. Additionally, Mega Man takes damage from touching any enemies (even if he's using a melee weapon like the Top Spin from Mega Man 3 or the Charge Kick from Mega Man 5).

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 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.

Data
Statistics:

Year of creation: 200X (20XX in Mega Man Powered Up)

A.I. fixed age: 10 years old

Height: 132 cm (4'4")

Weight: 105 kg (230 lbs)

Installed capacity: 1500PS/1200rpm

Torque capacity: 220kg-m/8500rpm

Mega Man: Battle & Chase:
 * Vehicle: Rush Roadstar (renamed "Rush Roadster" in Mega Man ZX)
 * Body: Rush Body
 * Engine: Twin Engine
 * Wing: Starter Wing
 * Tire: All-Around Tire

Mega Man & Bass CD data
A super robot created by Dr. Light. He is the guardian of peace and justice!

"I'll protect the world!"

Good point: Sense of justice

Bad point: Reckless behavior

Like: Animals

Dislike: None

Japanese CD data:

Good point: Strong sense of justice (せいぎかんかつよい)

Bad point: Careless (そそっかしい)

Like: Animals (どうぶつ)

Dislike: Things that disturb peace (へいわをみだすもの)



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!"

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."
 * "I got it, Doctor!"
 * "Thank you, Dr. Light!"
 * "Dr. Wily! Why are you here!?"
 * "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!"
 * "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 [don't you] understand?"
 * "Where's this...?"
 * "Dr. Wily! You must be stopped!"
 * "That's the same old apology, Wily. Over and over again..."

Mega Man & Bass

 * "Proto Man!"
 * "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. And 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!"

Trivia

 * Mega Man originally had 3 names to choose from:Mighty Kid,Knuckle Kid,and Rock Man but later on they went with Rock Man because capcom thought it'd fit more with the blue bomber.
 * 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's 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 Mega 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 Mega in the last one, where he uses a "Mega Kick" instead of an arm cannon.
 * Mega Man is one of many characters who have music-inspired names.
 * Mega Man is spelled Megaman in some games.
 * 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 MegaMan Starforce 2, if one has the event '1stMegaMan' brother data his secret is that he obtains his energy from the sun, despite players needing to collect energy pellets during the original games.
 * 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.