Air Man

"Poor child...you should've known you can't beat me."

- Air Man

Air Man (エアーマン) is a Robot Master from the Mega Man series created by Dr. Wily specially for combat, debuting in Mega Man 2. Air Man has his face built into his torso instead of a head - an unusual design, said to be intimidating. This body supposedly worked out so well from a design perspective that it was dubbed the "Air Man type" design, and would be used as a basis for future creations such as Needle Man. Air Man's main method of attack is to generate powerful winds with the propeller in his torso - in particular, he is able to push enemies away or pull them or other items towards him, generate typhoons, and can use his Special Weapon, the Air Shooter, to attack foes with rapid barrages of tornadoes.

Air Man is something of an egotist; whilst generally an individual of good character, he can be condescending and has a tendency to bore his colleagues by talking about himself for long periods of time. In his spare time, Air Man enjoys Wind Surfing, and is skilled at the Japanese card game Menko. He dislikes the autumn season however, due to falling leaves clogging up his propeller - the same reason he is weak to Wood Man's Leaf Shield.

Physical appearance
Air Man is a stout robot with a blue body, has red eyes at the level of his head and shoulders and has embeded an air fan in the center of the torso, his limbs are black and yellow, and his left arm is an arm cannon which he uses his Air Shooter.

Mega Man 2
Air Man is one of the eight Robot Masters. He attacks by creating six tornadoes in different patterns (Most of the patterns are easy to dodge except for one) with his Air Shooter and blows them in Mega Man's direction with his propeller to damage him. After doing this three times, he will jump to the other side of the screen and repeat the attack. Air Man is very weak to the Leaf Shield, as it clogs up his propeller with leaves. But, if the Leaf Shield touches a tornado it will be stopped, so shots must be timed carefully. Mega Man obtains the Air Shooter and Item-2 by defeating him.

Mega Man 3
In Mega Man 3, the first Doc Robot in Needle Man's stage copies Air Man's moves, and before the battle, Air Man has a cameo appearance as program data copied by Doc Robot. This Doc Robot is weak against the Magnet Missile and Spark Shock. Also, Mega Man can slide in this game, making it easier to avoid some tornadoes.

Mega Man II
Air Man's strategy in the Game Boy Mega Man II is the same as in Mega Man 2, except he shoots four tornadoes instead of six. Mega Man can slide to avoid some tornadoes.

Wily & Right's RockBoard: That's Paradise
Air Man appears in the Boss Card Air Card (エアーカード). When used, Air Man will appear and blow the targeted player away to where it was last turn.

Mega Man's Soccer
Air Man is a player with the fifth slowest run speed and low defense, but he has the fourth strongest tackle (alongside Cut Man) from the game. His special shoot is Tornado Shoot (竜巻シュート).

Air Man doesn't have his own team, but he is a member of the Fire Man, Elec Man, Needle Man, Dust Man, Skull Man, and Proto Man teams in Tournament mode, and the Wood Man and Dust Man teams in League mode.

Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters
Air Man is one of the six bosses from the "Recover the new parts!" course. He attacks by using his Air Shooter to create five tornadoes, and blows them in the direction of the player. He also pushes or pulls the player away using only wind, with a DeluPipi coming to attack sometimes while pushing.

After losing half of his energy (depending of difficulty and boss order), Air Man will use new attacks. He can now jump to the center of the screen and use his propeller to suck junk to him, using it as a shield similar to the Junk Shield, and them blow the junk away. He will also use a typhoon attack. Air Man is weak to the Super Arm in this game, as the fragments from the broken boulders clog up his propeller and prevent it from turning.

Super Adventure Rockman
Sixteen of Dr. Wily's robots from Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3 are rebuilt by Ra Moon, including Air Man, who is the seventh boss from the game (the second from Episode 2). Mega Man fights against Air Man and defeats him. If the player is defeated by him, Elec Man will appear to save Mega Man and give the player another chance to fight against him.

Near the end of the game, Dr. Wily's robots (except for Shadow Man) are revived, and Wily orders them to destroy the captured Mega Man. However, Ra Moon attacks the fifteen robots, revealing his true intentions, and when Wily orders the newly created Ra Thor to destroy Ra Moon, he attacks Wily's robots. Mega Man is freed and he defeats Ra Thor, but Ra Moon reveals he created a robot called New Yellow Devil. Wily orders his robots to attack the New Yellow Devil, but their attacks cause no harm and it knocks down all robots. If the player is defeated, Mega Man can ask the robots to help him, and they will give their remaining energy to Mega Man and shut down. Their bodies are apparently destroyed in the explosion of Ra Moon's temple.

Rockman ×over
Air Man is one of the four bosses in the 25th anniversary world. He also appears in some Battle Memory. He also appeared in an improved golden form.

Other appearances

 * Air Man appeared in the CD database from Mega Man & Bass.
 * Air Man is a boss in Mega Man Pinball.
 * Air Man would appear in the cancelled games Mega Man Universe and Rockman Online.
 * Air Man appears in the Sega game Dragon Coins.
 * Air Man appeared in an event in Otoranger.
 * Air Man appeared in Street Fighter x All Capcom.
 * Air Man appeared in an event in Zombie Cafe.
 * Air Man appeared as an event character in Super Robot Wars X-Ω.
 * An Air Man costume is available for Rashid in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition.
 * Air Man is one of the Mega Man Spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Rockman Complete Works data
おなかに強力なプロペラをないぞうした、どくとくなデザインのロボット. あるていどのダメージはかくごしてれんしゃ攻撃だ.

Translation: In his belly, a strong propeller was installed, he is a robot with peculiar design. To some extent he causes rapid fire damage.

Rockman Battle & Fighters data
のちに「エアーマンタイプ」といわれることばをうんだどくとくのデザインのロボット. かんぜんなひとがたよりもたいせんしゃにきょうふをあたえる. とくしゅぶきはエアーシューターじゃ.

Translation: The distinctive design of this robot later gave birth to the speech called "Air Man Type". It is more frightening to opponents than a fully humanoid form. Special Weapon is Air Shooter.

Stage enemies
Enemies in Air Man's stage from Mega Man 2 and Mega Man II.
 * Goblin (with Petit Goblins)
 * Matasaburo
 * Kaminari Goro
 * Pipi
 * Scworm

Damage Data Chart
Amount of damage in units that Air Man receives from each Special Weapon in Mega Man 2.

Mega Man (Ruby-Spears)
"And I'm an even bigger FAN of yours kid! Now BLOW!"

- Air Man

Air Man appears in episode 7 of Ruby-Spears' Mega Man animated series, where his appearance was drastically altered from his video game counterpart. This Air Man's armor was a powder blue instead of the darker shade of blue in Mega Man 2. He is also taller, and in one scene, he appeared to be taller than Guts Man. The most notorious change was that Air Man now had a head and red eyes. It should also be noted that he and Ice Man do not get along very well at all.

Mega Man: Fully Charged
Air Man is one of the many Robot Masters fought against Mega Man in Mega Man: Fully Charged. Unlike his Ruby-Spears and classic game counterparts, this version of Air Man is primarily grayish-white and yellow. His wind turbine is now located on each above of his shoulders.

Captain N: The Game Master
Air Man appears in episode 20 of Captain N: The Game Master, where he and other robots from Mega Man 2 plays soccer against the main character. In this cartoon, Air Man suffers drastic alterations. He is white instead of blue, and has propellers in both arms instead of his torso. Instead of a fan on his chest, he has a wind gust emblem.

Mega Man Megamix
In the manga Mega Man Megamix, Air Man is a robot developed specially for aerial combat. Air Man's blaster is on his right arm instead of the left, and he has large shoulders similar to the Ruby-Spears animated series and a larger back.

Air Man appears in the story "Orders to Destroy R", where he and Flash Man, along with several of Air Man's minions, attack Mega Man in the city. After Flash Man's defeat, the other Light robots appear and help Mega Man fight against Air Man, defeating all of his minions; but other Wily robots arrive to aid him. When Dr. Wily's plan fails, Air Man retreats with the other robots.

Air Man also appeared in Mega Man Gigamix, where he is one of the robots that attempt to stop the alien robot, without success. He is later repaired and assists in the preparations to the battle against the Stardroids.

Other appearances
Air Man appeared in the Worlds of Power book and in the manga Rockman: Dr. Wily no Inbou, Rockman World 2, Rockman: Yomigaeru Blues, Rockman wo Tsukutta Otokotachi - Rockman Tanjou Densetsu, and Rockman 4Koma Dai Koushin.

Trivia

 * Air Man and Wind Man are rivals.
 * One of Air Man's minions, Matasaburo, was based on him.
 * Air Man is the first robot master to have one arm cannon.
 * Air Man was set to appear in the cancelled game Mega Man Universe.
 * Wave Man from the DOS version of Mega Man 3 is almost directly based off Air Man.
 * Air Man is considered one of the hardest bosses in the series due to his random projectile patterns, sometimes even resulting in him shooting them in a way that makes them impossible to avoid without glitches.
 * The infamous Airman ga Taosenai is based on one player's struggles with beating Air Man, and how it would be easier to stop him with the Leaf Shield, but the player can't beat Wood Man without the Atomic Fire, and the player can't get through the disappearing blocks in Heat Man's stage without Item-2 from Air Man's stage, creating a never-ending cycle of frustration.
 * Air Man's fan blades are bright blue in his artwork, but due to the color limitations of the NES, they are yellow in his Mega Man 2 sprite.
 * If Mega Man is standing on Item-1 during the battle with Air Man in the NES version of Mega Man 2, he will not blow his tornadoes.
 * If Mega Man is hit with an Air Shooter while standing on Item-1 next to the boss gate, a glitch will occur, transporting Mega Man to a glitchy location that is similar in layout to Wily Stage 2. The level cannot be cleared, thus forcing the player to reset the game.