Robot Master



Robot Master is a name used to refer to humanoid-appearing boss robots from the original Mega Man series that possess a very advanced level of artificial intelligence. Most, if not all, Robot Masters possess a Special Weapon, which can be acquired by Mega Man (and other characters such as Proto Man and Bass) after the Robot Master is defeated.

Each Robot Master has a "consciousness", although the level of every "cognitive circuit" embedded inside each one of them varies, producing as many different "personality" types as found in people. Like humans, they can speak, and have emotional responses like shyness or anger. When Mega Man fights against a Robot Master, he takes great care to not damage their integrated circuit chip's "cognitive circuit". As long as the cognitive circuit isn't permanently destroyed, they can be rebuilt any number of times.

Name origin
The name "Robot Master" was first used in the North American instruction manual of Mega Man 3 in 1990, where it was used to identify the eight master robot bosses from the Stage Select Screen, and continued being used until 1994, last appearing in the manuals of Mega Man 6, Mega Man V and Mega Man's Soccer. In the first game's manual they were called "Humanoids" (a name later used for "cyborgs" in the Mega Man ZX series). In Japan they are known as the Numbers (most being the Wily Numbers), and they are also known as "boss characters", "Wily's robots", and similar names.

Being present in instruction manuals, the term "Robot Master" was used by many gaming magazines and websites, the term became popular among fans and it was expanded to be used for most humanoid robots from the original series besides those from the stage select screen. However, there isn't an official classification of what defines if a robot is or not a Robot Master. To avoid discrepancies, in this wiki it is mainly used as a comprehensive term for all known Numbers, robots with advanced A.I. that possess a unique known identification code, consisting of a two-letter "series code" followed by one of "N", "No.", or "#", then a three-digit "serial number", the Light Numbers being the first to appear. Other humanoid bosses such as Copy Robot, Doc Robot, and the four Dark Man robots are considered special bosses instead of Numbers. Exceptions for this are robots included in the book Mega Man: Robot Master Field Guide (Doc Robot, the Dark Man series, Duo, King, Fake Man, and Sunstar) and similar characters, specially if they are bosses from the stage select, have "Man"/"Woman" in the end of their name (enemies like Pickelman, Shotman, and Shadow Mega Man are not considered), and have a Special Weapon. If they don't fit these criteria, they will not be refered as Robot Masters even if they are humanoid robots with advanced AI, such as Auto, Plum, Fan, Karate 003, etc.

The term was also used in other media, such as the Archie Comics Mega Man series and in Mega Man: Fully Charged.

Design
Robot Masters generally have themes that fit their name, appearance, environment, minions, weapon and weakness. For example, Wood Man has a tree theme, giving him a wood-like appearance and a leaf-based power. His level is forest-themed, as are his robot underlings, and, like a tree, he is weak to fire and cutting attacks. Fortress bosses like King, playable characters like Bass, or support characters like Roll generally do not have such themes.

Dr. Light believes it is important that his robots have a good image to present. For example, he could have done Guts Man smaller, but decided to make him as he did to give a good impression.

In Hitoshi Ariga's Mega Man Megamix and Mega Man Gigamix novels, a recurring design element found on most of the Wily Numbers is a belt buckle adorned with a W. Opposite this, the Light Numbers feature an R (due to the translation of Dr. Light's name from Dr. Right) on their chests. Dr. Cossack's robots and the robots of Mega Man 6, who were built by individual nations, lack any particular distinctive symbol of their own.

List of Robot Masters
Each Robot Master from Dr. Light and Dr. Wily have a serial number, listed in the format of DLN-000, DLN000, or DLN. 000. Certain series only have two digits (the MWN series, specifically), whereas the rest have three digit serial codes. Those robots have different serials, but share the same numbering sequence. They are numbered by order of creation.

In Archie Comics' Mega Man comic book series, Robot Masters are numbered after the time of their conception, not of their creation. For example, DWN-018 Magnet Man was finished before DWN-017 Needle Man in the comic. Additionally, several Robot Masters featured in other games, like Plant Man, Centaur Man, and Pump Man, are shown to have been constructed some time before the events based on Mega Man 3, and some have a serial number not present in the games, like Time Man and Oil Man.

The name of the Robot Masters have alternate spelling depending of the source, some having space between the first part of their name and "Man", and others not. For instance, Mega Man is the only Robot Master in the English version of Mega Man & Bass to have his name together, while other Robot Masters have a space in their names. In Mega Man: Powered Up, the inverse is true. There is also a few instances where their names are written as "NameMan". For convenience, the name of all Robot Masters are written with space in this wiki, since this is the most used transcription outside Japan. Japanese names such as Rockman are written without space.

Below is a list of the various Robot Master series from the classic Mega Man series:

DLN and DWN series
The DLN (Doctor Light Number) series are robots created by Dr. Light. This series is known as the DRN series in Japan, after Dr. Light's Japanese name, Dr. Right.

The DWN (Doctor Wily Number) series are robots created or remodeled by Dr. Wily. Their numbering picks up from where the DLN series leaves off, which he modified and used in his first attempt to conquer the world.

All Wily Numbers from Mega Man 2 to 7 and six of the Numbers from Mega Man 8 were created as part of a boss character contest held by Capcom.

000-008 (Mega Man and Mega Man Powered Up)
The robots in Mega Man and Mega Man Powered Up were created by Dr. Light (with the assistance of Dr. Wily in some sources). Six (eight in Mega Man Powered Up) of them were reprogrammed by Wily to serve his evil purposes, but after Wily's defeat, Dr. Light manages to fix them and they serve their initial functions.

Time Man and Oil Man were not given a serial number in Mega Man Powered Up. In the second story arc of Archie Comics' Mega Man comic book series, they are referred to as DLN-00A (Time Man) and DLN-00B (Oil Man), which is an experimental line-up.


 * DLN. 000 Proto Man (Blues), the first DLN created (introduced in Mega Man 3 under the pseudonym Break Man).
 * DLN. 001 Mega Man (Rockman), the protagonist. Originally created as Rock (Mega in Mega Man Powered Up).
 * DLN. 002 Roll
 * DLN. 003 Cut Man
 * DLN. 004 Guts Man
 * DLN. 005 Ice Man
 * DLN. 006 Bomb Man
 * DLN. 007 Fire Man
 * DLN. 008 Elec Man
 * Time Man (DLN. 00A in Archie Comics)
 * Oil Man (DLN. 00B in Archie Comics)

009-016 (Mega Man 2)

 * DWN. 009 Metal Man
 * DWN. 010 Air Man
 * DWN. 011 Bubble Man
 * DWN. 012 Quick Man
 * DWN. 013 Crash Man (Clashman)
 * DWN. 014 Flash Man
 * DWN. 015 Heat Man
 * DWN. 016 Wood Man

017-024 (Mega Man 3)
With the exception of Shadow Man, the robots from Mega Man 3 were supposedly created by Dr. Wily and Dr. Light together, but they are listed as part of the DWN series. The Mega Man: Official Complete Works shows artwork of an RW logo (right image), suggesting they planned to make apparent the doctors' cooperative effort in the game. Moreover, this logo can be seen in Magnet Man's stage.

In early versions of the manga Mega Man Megamix, these robots are known as DRWN series (Doctor Right and Wily Numbers), but were later changed to be robots developed by Dr. Wily without Dr. Light. In the Archie Comics series, Ra Moon serves as the initial creator of these Robot Masters, who are based on the designs of Dr. Wily and Dr. Light instead of being built by them, the exception being Shadow Man who was found in Ra Moon's ruins and reactivated. However, it was stated that Wily redesigned Shadow Man before having Ra Moon restore him, so his upgraded form may also have been conceived by both doctors.


 * DWN. 017 Needle Man
 * DWN. 018 Magnet Man
 * DWN. 019 Gemini Man
 * DWN. 020 Hard Man
 * DWN. 021 Top Man
 * DWN. 022 Snake Man
 * DWN. 023 Spark Man
 * DWN. 024 Shadow Man

025-032 (Mega Man 4)
The eight robots from Mega Man 4 were created by Dr. Cossack, but are listed as part of the DWN series because Wily remodeled them, making them his own robots.

They are listed under a DCN (Doctor Cossack Number) serial number in the Mega Man Megamix manga, as they are still Cossack's robots.


 * DWN. 025 Bright Man
 * DWN. 026 Toad Man
 * DWN. 027 Drill Man
 * DWN. 028 Pharaoh Man
 * DWN. 029 Ring Man
 * DWN. 030 Dust Man
 * DWN. 031 Dive Man
 * DWN. 032 Skull Man

033-040 (Mega Man 5)
These robots were created by Dr. Wily and used to frame Proto Man of his attempt to take over the world, being led by a fake Proto Man.


 * DWN. 033 Gravity Man
 * DWN. 034 Wave Man
 * DWN. 035 Stone Man
 * DWN. 036 Gyro Man
 * DWN. 037 Star Man
 * DWN. 038 Charge Man
 * DWN. 039 Napalm Man
 * DWN. 040 Crystal Man

041-048 (Mega Man 6)
These robots' creators are unknown as they came from various countries from around the world to participate in the First Annual Robot Tournament. However, they were taken control of by Dr. Wily (disguised as Mr. X) and, like Dr. Cossack's robots, are considered to be part of the DWN series.

The Rockman 6 manga suggests that they were created by Dr. Wily, as he uses them as seed players to decide which robots would enter in the tournament, destroying all participants. In the manga Mega Man Megamix they are known as the MXN (Mister X Number) series.


 * DWN. 041 Blizzard Man
 * DWN. 042 Centaur Man
 * DWN. 043 Flame Man
 * DWN. 044 Knight Man
 * DWN. 045 Plant Man (In Archie Comics his number is DAN-001, which stands for "Dr. Astil Number". DAN is also the acronym from the "Doctor Auto Numbers" in Mega Man Maniax and Master Albert's creations in Mega Man ZX Advent.)
 * DWN. 046 Tomahawk Man
 * DWN. 047 Wind Man
 * DWN. 048 Yamato Man

049-056 (Mega Man 7)
Some of these robots were created by Dr. Wily, while others were stolen and repurposed.


 * DWN. 049 Freeze Man
 * DWN. 050 Junk Man
 * DWN. 051 Burst Man
 * DWN. 052 Cloud Man
 * DWN. 053 Spring Man
 * DWN. 054 Slash Man
 * DWN. 055 Shade Man
 * DWN. 056 Turbo Man

057-064 (Mega Man 8)
Just like Mega Man 7, some of these robots were created by Dr. Wily while the rest were stolen and repurposed.


 * DWN. 057 Tengu Man
 * DWN. 058 Astro Man
 * DWN. 059 Sword Man
 * DWN. 060 Clown Man
 * DWN. 061 Search Man
 * DWN. 062 Frost Man
 * DWN. 063 Grenade Man
 * DWN. 064 Aqua Man

065-072 (Mega Man 9)
The eight robots from Mega Man 9 follow the numbering pattern after Mega Man 8, although they were created by Dr. Light and reprogrammed by Dr. Wily. In the Archie Comics at least some of them were built before the robots of Mega Man 3, but retain the same numbering system presumably due to those robots (and others) being designed first.


 * DLN. 065 Concrete Man
 * DLN. 066 Tornado Man
 * DLN. 067 Splash Woman
 * DLN. 068 Plug Man
 * DLN. 069 Jewel Man
 * DLN. 070 Hornet Man
 * DLN. 071 Magma Man
 * DLN. 072 Galaxy Man

073-080 (Mega Man 10)
Like Mega Man 6, the creators of these robots are unknown, but they are considered part of the DWN series. The Bonus Track in the Rockman 10 Image Soundtrack suggests that Wily had planned in advance to infect certain robots in society with Roboenza.


 * DWN. 073 Blade Man
 * DWN. 074 Pump Man
 * DWN. 075 Commando Man
 * DWN. 076 Chill Man
 * DWN. 077 Sheep Man
 * DWN. 078 Strike Man
 * DWN. 079 Nitro Man
 * DWN. 080 Solar Man

081-088 (Mega Man 11)
These robots have a variety of manufacturers, including Tundra Man's Cossack Robot Laboratories, but their numbers continue the DWN pattern from Mega Man 10. Dr. Wily kidnaps all eight robots at the start of the game, reprograms them, and equips each of them with his Double Gear System device.


 * DWN. 081 Block Man
 * DWN. 082 Fuse Man
 * DWN. 083 Blast Man
 * DWN. 084 Acid Man
 * DWN. 085 Tundra Man
 * DWN. 086 Torch Man
 * DWN. 087 Impact Man (Pileman)
 * DWN. 088 Bounce Man (Rubberman)

Others

 * DWN. ∞: Zero - An advanced robot in his own class comparable to X, but classified in common terms as a Reploid.

Pachislot Rockman Ability
The Wily Numbers from the Dr. Wily in Pachislot Rockman Ability. Their numbering is unknown.


 * Choice Man
 * Coin Woman
 * Lever Man
 * Replay Man
 * Reverse Man
 * Chance Man

KGN series
The KGN (KinG Number) series are robots working for King in Mega Man & Bass. King built/recruited six of his own robots to lead his rebellion, having his own series, while two robots from Mega Man 8 (Tengu Man and Astro Man) joined in King's rebellion.

The King Numbers were designed by manga artists Hitoshi Ariga, Shigeto Ikehara, and Kōji Izuki.


 * KGN. 001 Dynamo Man
 * KGN. 002 Cold Man
 * KGN. 003 Ground Man
 * KGN. 004 Pirate Man
 * KGN. 005 Burner Man
 * KGN. 006 Magic Man

WWN series
The WWN (Wily Wars Number) series, known in Japan as the MWN (Mega World Number) series, are the three robots from the Genesis Unit, known as Mega World Corps (メガワールドぐんだん) in Japan, that appeared on the Wily Tower mode in Mega Man: The Wily Wars (known as Rockman Mega World in Japan). The three are based on the characters of the Chinese novel Journey to the West. In some sources, like the Japanese Rockman & Forte database, their serials only have 2 numbers instead of three. Mega Man doesn't obtain a Special Weapon after defeating them.


 * WWN. 01 Buster Rod G
 * WWN. 02 Mega Water S
 * WWN. 03 Hyper Storm H

MKN series
The MKN (Mega Man Killer Number) series, known in Japan as the RKN (Rockman Killer Number, Mega Man's Japanese name) series, are the robots created by Dr. Wily specially to kill Mega Man. In some sources related to Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, Enker is designated as a "Mega Man Hunter" instead of Mega Man Killer.

Quint is not part of the MKN series, but serves an analogous role in Mega Man II and appears alongside them in Mega Man V.


 * MKN. 001 Enker
 * MKN. 002 Punk
 * MKN. 003 Ballade

SRN series
The SRN (Space Ruler Number) series are robots from Mega Man V known known as Stardroids (Space Rulers in Japan). Dr. Wily found these robots in mysterious ruins from an ancient alien civilization and did small modifications to them, using them in an attempt to conquer the world. They have the name of celestial bodies from the Solar System. Like the Stardroids, Sunstar is another robot excavated from the mysterious ruins, but it is implied that he was not modified by Wily.


 * SRN. 001 Terra
 * SRN. 002 Mercury
 * SRN. 003 Venus
 * SRN. 004 Mars
 * SRN. 005 Jupiter
 * SRN. 006 Saturn
 * SRN. 007 Uranus
 * SRN. 008 Pluto
 * SRN. 009 Neptune

Other series

 * SWN. 001 Bass (Forte) is the only Special Wily Number, a special robot designed by Dr. Wily.


 * Ra Thor is referred by Wily as the New Wily Number 1 (新ワイリーナンバー1).


 * ???-??? Quint is Mega Man from the future, captured and modified by Dr. Wily, thus not having an specific serial number. Due to his origin, Mega Man: Robot Master Field Guide lists him as DLN. 001. Dr. Wily's Robots 101 lists him as SVN. 001, or "Special Variation Number."

Unknown/Others
Robots that don't have any known serial numbers to them, being unknown if they can be considered Robot Masters.


 * Mega Man X (Rockman X) - Like Zero was Dr. Wily's last creation, X was Dr. Light's last creation. However, unlike Zero, it is unknown if X was given a number. This robot was sealed until discovered by Dr. Cain, and was used as a template to create the Reploids, of which X is known as by common terms.


 * Doc Robot
 * Dark Man series
 * Duo
 * King
 * Fake Man
 * Sunstar


 * Mega Man? - An imposter of Mega Man featured in Mega Man Powered Up.
 * Rockman Shadow - A prototype robot designed using mid-21st century technology; discarded by Dr. Wily in exchange for Quint. The leader of the Dimensions.

Scrapped characters:
 * Bond Man
 * Boss character contest submissions
 * Custom characters

Dimensions
The Dimensions are robots that work for Rockman Shadow and traveled from the future with the purpose of destroying the world in Rockman & Forte: Mirai Kara no Chōsensha.


 * Dangan Man
 * Konro Man
 * Aircon Man
 * Komuso Man
 * Clock Men
 * Compass Man

Mega Man (DOS) series
These robots are led by the peacekeeping supercomputer CRORQ who had fallen under Dr. Wily's control. They appeared in the DOS games Mega Man and Mega Man 3. Four of the boss names from Mega Man 3 were later reused for other unrelated bosses in future games; those bosses are indicated with a dagger (†). Two of the other Mega Man 3 bosses had names that were later reused for Mega Man Battle Network NetNavis, and are marked with a double dagger (‡). Additionally, the name Sonic Man was used for Sonic's roboticized form in Worlds Unite.

Mega Man
 * Sonic Man
 * Volt Man
 * Dyna Man

Mega Man 3
 * Bit Man
 * Shark Man ‡
 * Wave Man †
 * Oil Man †
 * Blade Man †
 * Torch Man †‡

Rockman Xover
Characters created in contests.


 * Arcade Man
 * Tablet Man
 * Daruman
 * Sudachi Woman
 * Hanabi Man
 * Udon Man

Rockman Strategy
The game contains alien robots that, except for their two leaders, are named after the twelve astrological signs.


 * Aries
 * Taurus
 * Gemini
 * Cancer
 * Leo
 * Virgo
 * Libra
 * Scorpio
 * Sagittarius
 * Capricorn
 * Aquarius
 * Pisces
 * Luna
 * Apollo

Mega Man Maniax
The DAN (Doctor Auto Number) series, known as DRTN (Doctor RightoT Number) in Japan, are the robots made by Auto in Hitoshi Ariga's short series, Dr. Auto's Laboratory, which was part of the Mega Man Maniax shorts. They were designed by fans who submitted their designs to Ariga, who then remade them for his shorts and gave credit to the original artists.


 * DAN. 001 Surprise Man
 * DAN. 002 Shake Man
 * DAN. 003 Giga Auto
 * DAN. 004 Massage Man
 * DAN. 005 TV Man
 * DAN. 006 Watermelon Man
 * DAN. 007 Submarine Man
 * DAN. 008 Sexy Man
 * Maneki-neko Man
 * Tower Man

Captain N: The Game Master

 * Garbage Man
 * Mega Girl (Although one can argue she is this continuity's equivalent to Roll)

Mega Man: Upon a Star

 * Samurai Man
 * Magma Men

Mega Man: Fully Charged
Robot Masters are a rogue faction of robots that strive for robot supremacy over humankind, and cause chaos in society while attempting to recruit others to their cause. They originally worked for Sergeant Breaker Night, and later for Skull Man.

Mega Man (Dreamwave Productions)

 * Barrage Man
 * Express Man
 * Multi Man

Mega Man (Archie Comics)
In the Archie Comics Mega Man series, Robot Masters are a new generation of robots with advanced A.I. systems created by Dr. Light and Dr. Wily. The series also introduced new Robot Master characters, the first being Quake Woman, who is designated a "Lalinde Model Number" due to being created by Dr. Noele Lalinde. A second Lalinde Number was later introduced, based on an unused concept design for Hornet Man.


 * LMN-001 Quake Woman
 * LMN-002 Vesper Woman

Roboticized Masters
During the Worlds Collide crossover with the Sonic the Hedgehog comic universe, Dr. Wily teamed up with Sonic's arch-nemesis, Dr. Eggman, to capture Sonic's friends, and turn them into special robots that were modified with Robot Master technology. The Roboticized Masters are also given designations based on the typical formula, including EWN (presumably "Eggman Wily Number") and a three digit number. However, most of the EWN series did not have their numbers specified during the story, except for Shadow Man, Silver Man, and Blaze Woman. Rose Woman and Knuckles Man are mentioned to be EWN-001 and 002, and the Chaotix are EWN-006 to 008. Tails Man and Rouge Woman didn't had their numbers revealed, the numbers listed below being a "guess" as they were the first and last Roboticized Masters, respectively. In Worlds Unite, Sonic and Mega Man were transformed into Roboticized Masters.


 * "EWN-000" Tails Man
 * EWN-001 or 002 Rose Woman
 * EWN-001 or 002 Knuckles Man
 * EWN-003 Shadow Man
 * EWN-004 Silver Man
 * EWN-005 Blaze Woman
 * EWN-006/7/8 Charmy Man
 * EWN-006/7/8 Espio Man
 * EWN-006/7/8 Vector Man
 * "EWN-009" Rouge Woman


 * Sonic Man
 * M'egga Man

Short Circuits
The Short Circuits strips have also featured "new" Robot Masters, but only for humorous purposes.


 * Origami Man
 * Police Man
 * Big Man (Roboticized Master)
 * Dubstep Man
 * Comedy Chimp Man (Roboticized Master)
 * Itch Man
 * Motion Sickness Man
 * Fragile Man
 * I Can't Find My Keys, Man!

Other robots

 * Wily Blues (Rockman: Yomigaeru Blues)
 * Build Man (Mega Man Megamix)
 * Judge Man (Mega Man Megamix)
 * Armor Man (Rockman 4Koma Dai Koushin)
 * Bukinashi Man (Rockman 4Koma Dai Koushin)
 * Rockman Brazil ("Rock and Rush")

Support Units
Support units are robots that assist humans and Robot Masters.

Dr. Light:
 * Rush
 * Eddie
 * Tango
 * Auto
 * Mariachi (Archie Comics' Short Circuits)

Dr. Cossack:
 * Beat

Dr. Wily:
 * Reggae
 * Treble
 * Sakugarne