Search Man

Search Man (サーチマン), is a two-headed Robot Master from Mega Man 8 who was created by Dr. Wily, designed to look like a camouflaged soldier. During Search Man's construction, Wily had the idea that if he had two minds, he could be twice as smart and powerful as a normal Robot Master, and went with the idea of a two-in-one sniper robot. Unfortunately, Wily forgot to install two personalities, so Search Man just has one personality that keeps switching back and forth between his two heads. Search Man switches himself from head to head so frequently he even gets himself confused. He is one of the four Robot Masters that protected the barrier to the Wily Tower, and was stationed somewhere in the forest of the Congo, Africa.

An expert marksman and ambusher, his primary method of defense is to hide behind a series of strategically-placed bushes; hiding nothing behind one, bomb-rigged decoys behind two, and himself behind the last one. Equipped with a powerful missile launcher and tracking system, his primary methods of attack are to utilize his Special Weapon, the Homing Sniper, to quickly and accurately hit opponents with guided missiles, and to throw spiked discs that descend down from the ceiling. Much like Grenade Man, he is also equipped with an Overdrive System that increases his power, which he uses as part of an attack he calls the Deadly Storm - this enables him to rapidly launch barrages of missiles towards his foes. However, due to regularly using foliage as camouflage, he is particularly vulnerable to attacks that can set it on fire, namely the Flame Sword.

Although he is not very sociable around other people, Search Man actually has a surprisingly positive outlook on life for a robot of his profession, albeit mostly when fighting. He is cowardly, disliking direct confrontation with his foes and instead prefers to use a more varied approach in combat. To this end, he mostly relies on his knowledge of setting traps, sniping from a distance, and the element of surprise over sheer brute force to defeat his foes.

Voice Lines
Intro
 * サーチマン、こい. (Sāchiman, koi.)"I'm Search Man." "Okay?"

Taunts:
 * "Begin mission." "Yes sir!"
 * "Ready?" "Yeah, let's go!"
 * "Hey boy." "Come on!"

Attack Shouts:
 * ホミングスナイパー！"Homing Sniper!"
 * "Go!"
 * "Shoot!" "Fire!"
 * Overdrive: "Deadly Storm!"

Cries:
 * "Ouch!"
 * "Ow!" "No!" (hit with Flame Sword)

Death:
 * ワイリー、バンザイ！"Wily!" "Banzai!"

Stage Enemies
Enemies in Search Man's stage.
 * Hidden sub-boss: Wood Man (Sega Saturn version only)
 * Blader Tank DX
 * Goriblue
 * Gorigree
 * Gorigro
 * Metall SV
 * Muragattori
 * Onbuubattan
 * Spinning Gabyoall
 * Sydecka
 * "Thorn Vine"

Mega Man (Archie Comics)
Search Man first appeared during the Worlds Collide story arc in Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 250. He is one of the many members of Dr. Wily and Dr. Eggman's Robot Master army, and is seen having his heads smacked together by Sonic the Hedgehog.

Other appearances
Search Man appears in the Rockman 8 manga and has a brief appearance in the end of Mega Man Gigamix.

Trivia

 * His weakness against the Flame Sword is a reference to the tactics of scorched earth or slash and burn, to where a battlefield's obstacles are purposely targeted for destruction to clear out a level battlefield. Being a sniper, one's advantages are truly removed entirely when the terrain is clear and without places to hide and ambush.
 * During Capcom's boss character contest for Mega Man 8, Search Man was one of three robots created using a pre-made design template supplied to fans (Clown Man and Sword Man were the others). Search Man's template was known as "Two-Headed Robot".
 * He and Dynamo Man both share the same dislike of social interaction.
 * Search Man has a NetNavi counterpart, but this counterpart has only one head and is far more serious in personality.
 * His death quote roughly translates to "Long live Wily!"
 * Search Man is the only Robot Master so far to have two heads.
 * Search Man resembles "Rack'n'Ruin" from Transformers series.

Search Man