Hard Man

Hard Man (ハードマン) is a Robot Master created by Dr. Light and Dr. Wily that first appeared in Mega Man 3. He has a hard, durable body made of ceratanium, which makes him highly resistant to attacks and grants him remarkable defense. However, it also makes him very heavy, weighing in at about three tons, and affects his movement speed considerably.

His special weapon is the Hard Knuckle, which allows him to detach his fists and attack from afar with rocket-powered punches, and also has a compact rocket booster built into himself that allows him to jump high into the air. He can utilise his jumping ability in combination with his excessive weight to attack by leaping up and diving down onto his opponents to crush them, or to smash the floor and cause tremors that can stun nearby foes.

Whilst generally known to be a man of few words, Hard Man is a fair-minded individual who prefers to fight his opponents on equal terms, which puts him at odds with the much more pragmatic Snake Man. He enjoys Sumo Wrestling, a sport in which he can put his weight to good use, but dislikes swimming.

Mega Man 3
Hard Man is one of the eight bosses. In battle, he will start shooting two Hard Knuckles at Mega Man, which then will boomerang back at him if he avoided them. The best way for the player to avoid them is to jump over the first knuckle so the second knuckle fires in the air above Mega Man, then jump over the first knuckle again so the second one goes through the air, missing Mega Man. Hard Man will then jump at Mega Man's location and stomp the ground, causing an earthquake and paralyzing Mega Man even if he is in mid-air. The player has to get out of the way to avoid it. Hard Man will repeat the pattern over and over.

His weakness is the Magnet Missile, which is able to hit him better when he jumps to cause the earthquake. He is also weak to his own weapon, the Hard Knuckle, but it can only be tested on him on the rematch in the Wily Castle, like the other Robot Masters. Any of his weakness defeats him in seven hits.

Mega Man II
Hard Man is one of the four bosses fought in the Wily Castle. He acts in the same way as Mega Man 3.

Super Adventure Rockman
Hard Man was one of the robots revived by Ra Moon in the Lanfront Ruins, appearing as the second boss of Episode 3. When Mega Man enters a garden-like place in the Temple of the Moon, Hard Man drops from the ceiling and attempts to crush Mega Man. However Hard Man missed and gets his head stuck in the ground, and the player must defeat him. After the battle, he falls to pieces and acid begins to flood the room, melting Hard Man's parts.

Hard Man is later revived by Ra Moon again, but Wily is betrayed by Ra Moon and his robots are attacked, collapsing. They are apparently destroyed alongside the Temple of the Moon.

Rockman Strategy
Hard Man and Cut Man serve as Libra's bodyguard, and Hard Man later joins Freeze Man in attacking Proto Man.

Other appearances

 * Hard Man appears in the CD database from Mega Man & Bass.
 * Hard Man appears in Battle Memory from Rockman ×over.
 * Hard Man is an enemy in the arcade game Adventure Quiz: Capcom World 2.

Rockman Complete Works data
セラミカルチタンをとくしゅかこうしたボディをもつたいじゅうは３トン. ハードナックルは画面はじで、かわそう.

Stage enemies
Enemies in Hard Man's stage.
 * Sub-boss: Proto Man (not present in Game Boy version)
 * Bikky (not present in Game Boy version)
 * Hammer Joe
 * Metall DX (not present in Game Boy version)
 * Returning Monking
 * Pickelman Bull
 * Have "Su" Bee (with Chibees)
 * Wanaan

Damage Data Chart
Amount of damage in units that Hard Man receives from each Special Weapon in Mega Man 3.

Mega Man (Ruby-Spears)
Hard Man appeared in Episode 25 from Ruby Spears' Mega Man animated series voiced by Terry Klassen. He proves to be much more durable than his game counterpart, able to deflect Mega Man's buster shots off his body except for his vulnerable face. He also likes to make jokes involving the word "hard". He doesn't use his Hard Knuckle, instead relying on up-close punches and throws, but Mega Man uses it himself to fight Proto Man.

Mega Man (Archie Comics)
Dr. Wily used Ra Moon to create Hard Man during the story arc Spiritus Ex Machina; Hard Man was designed by Wily and Dr. Light but not built until that point in time. He and his fellow Robot Masters were later employed by both Wily and Dr. Eggman to battle Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and their allies in the Worlds Collide crossover event. After a massive battle involving numerous Robot Masters, Hard Man was knocked over by Sonic, causing him to fall on top of Top Man, preventing both from continuing to fight. Shadow the Hedgehog, however, who had been fighting the two, expressed irritation at Sonic's interference, saying that he didn't need help, with Sonic admitting he mostly did it to get Shadow angered. Eventually, Hard Man and his brothers were returned to their proper places in reality by Super Mega Man.

Due to being created first by Ra Moon, Hard Man was susceptible to the computer's controlling influence and was forced to fight Dr. Wily's first line of Robot Masters and a team led by Mega Man. He and his brothers were later freed by Ra Moon's destruction, and soon recruited Shadow Man as well, with Hard Man's great strength proving highly effective in subduing the ninja robot. After building a new Wily Castle in tandem with Wily's first line of Masters, Hard Man and his brothers appeared to steal the Energy Elements designed to power Gamma, a powerful crisis-managing robot created by Dr. Light. He aided in the theft by holding open Gamma's mouth to allow Snake Man to steal the elements; his partner remarked that it was "Like taking candy from a baby" to which Hard Man responded "Which you would totally do."

With four of his brothers, Hard Man scattered to various locations on Earth, and Mega Man defeated the four who had fled into space and two of Hard Man's fellow Earth-based Robot Masters before challenging Hard Man himself. After being alerted to his approach by a Returning Monking, Hard Man surprised Mega Man by offering him an E-Tank with which to recharge before their battle. Mega Man then attempted to convince the honorable Robot Master to give up peacefully, as he suspected a guiding hand that he felt Hard Man shouldn't have to obey. However, Hard Man was quick to attack, his desire to be fair in no way diminishing his dedication to fighting Mega Man on Dr. Wily's orders. Hard Man initially gained the upper hand, demonstrating superior strength and absorbing Mega Man's blows with ease. However, Mega Man switches to the Magnet Missile and sends a barrage of them at Hard Man, who due to his large exterior is unable to dodge them and is defeated. Before shutting down Hard Man is told by the Blue Bomber that his I.C. Chip will be salvaged and he'll be re-built, which causes the durable titan to smile and say that Mega Man has lived up to what the legends say.

Short Circuits
Hard Man appears in some of the humor strips for the series, beginning in Issue 47 where he retrieves some E-Tanks from a refrigerator and then shuts it behind him, leaving Magnet Man stuck to the door. He then appeared in Issue 48's strip watching TV, and attempted to use his Hard Knuckle to retrieve the remote from atop the TV without getting up, only to ruin the television and put a hole in the wall.

Mega Man Megamix
Hard Man appears in the story Metal Heart.

He also appears in the story Asteroid Blues from Mega Man Gigamix

Other appearances
Hard Man appeared in the manga Rockman World 2, Rockman: Yomigaeru Blues, and Rockman 4Koma Dai Koushin.

Trivia

 * Bit Man's mugshot from the PC version of Mega Man 3 is an edit of Hard Man's mugshot.


 * Hard Man and Gemini Man are the only two Robot Masters from Mega Man 3 to not have a NetNavi counterpart.


 * Hard Man and Top Man were the only two Robot Masters who did not appear in the Mega Man 3 handheld by Tiger Electronics.


 * The reason why Hard Man dislikes swimming according to his Mega Man & Bass CD Data, is because he is so heavy that if he tried to swim, he would immediately sink straight to the bottom.


 * It is unknown if he was built for or likes boxing, as his weapon permits him to punch opponents from a safe distance. This is alluded to in the Megas cover of his theme, Harder Than Steel, where he is shown to be an older, retired fighting robot who wants to prove his strength by fighting Mega Man.

Hard Man Hard Man