Metal Man

"Sorry. Were you expecting some kind of formal intro first? I'm Metal Man, the robot that Cut Man should've been!"

- Metal Man

Metal Man (メタルマン) is a boss character from the original Mega Man series. He was the first Robot Master built by Dr. Wily, created specially for combat for his revenge against Mega Man. Wily based Metal Man's design on Cut Man. His Special Weapon is the Metal Blade, large and razor-sharp saw blades made of ceramic titanium that he can throw at high speed with deadly accuracy. His lightweight design also grants him high agility, but because of a design flaw, Metal Man is vulnerable to Mega Man's Mega Buster.

Whilst Metal Man is a quick and efficient worker, he possesses a dry wit- having something of a reputation amongst his colleagues for being sarcastic and often untrustworthy. Directly relating to his skill with throwing his Blades, he enjoys playing with Flying Discs in his spare time, but dislikes it when dogs get in his way by catching them. When Dr. Light saw Metal Man for the first time, he remarked that he was "the dentist of the future".

Metal Man is infamous among players for being killed with one or two hits from his own weapon when battling him for the second time in Mega Man 2. Also, a glitch in the Game Boy game Mega Man II can leave Metal Man stuck in the walls, making him harmless.

Mega Man 2
In Mega Man 2, Metal Man stands at the corner of the screen without moving, attacking every four seconds. When he is attacked, he will jump and throw between one to three Metal Blades, depending on how high he jumps. When Mega Man gets close to him, he will jump to the other corner of the screen and throw a single Metal Blade in the middle of the jump. The direction the conveyor belt in his room changes at random. His weakness is his own weapon, Metal Blade, which can defeat him in two hits or less. However, the Metal Blade is only available when fighting against him again in the Wily Castle. The most effective weapon to use against him in the first battle is Quick Boomerang.

Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Metal Man's strategy from Mega Man 2 was slightly changed. Instead of throwing between one to three Metal Blades at three different jump heights, he now jumps at four different heights, throwing two blades at the three lowest jumps, and 3 blades at the highest one. When Mega Man gets close to him, instead of automatically jumping to the other side of the screen, he will now only jump when attacked or when he is going to attack, throwing a single blade during the jump.

Mega Man 3
In Mega Man 3, the first Doc Robot in Spark Man's stage copies Metal Man's moves, and before the battle, Metal Man has a cameo appearance as program data copied by Doc Robot. This Doc Robot is weak against Magnet Missiles and Hard Knuckles. There is no conveyor belt in Doc Robot's room.

Mega Man II
Metal Man is one of the first four bosses in the Mega Man II game for Game Boy. His strategy is similar to Mega Man 2, but he doesn't move or attack until he is attacked; he will always throws two Metal Blades; and when Mega Man gets near him he will only jump towards him without attacking. The conveyor belt in his room won't change directions.

Super Adventure Rockman
Sixteen of Dr. Wily's robots from Mega Man 2 and Mega Man 3 are rebuilt by Ra Moon, including Metal Man. Metal Man is the first boss from the game, attacking Mega Man in the Amazon Rainforest.

Metal Man attacks by throwing Metal Blades while jumping back and forth, and sometimes jumping towards Mega Man and slashing him with his blades, instead of throwing them. If the player is defeated, Cut Man will appear to save Mega Man, giving the player another chance to fight against Metal Man. Mega Man defeats Metal Man and obtains the Metal Blade.

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. As Ra Thor prepares to kill Wily, Mega Man stops Ra Thor, and Wily sees that Metal Man and Gemini Man released Mega Man so he can help. After Ra Thor's destruction, Ra Moon reveals he created a robot called New Yellow Devil. Wily orders his robots to attack the robot, 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 Strategy
Metal Man is an enemy and recruitable ally, first appearing in Southern Asia with Guts Man to aid Gemini in his attack on the Mine Cave. He also reappears in Wily's laboratory in Saudi Arabia to aid the doctor's Wily Machine in its battle with Mega Man's team. His teammates in that battle are Flame Man, Frost Man, and Spark Man.

Other appearances

 * Metal Man appears in the CD database from Mega Man & Bass.
 * Metal Man would appear in the cancelled game Mega Man Universe.
 * Metal Man appears in Street Fighter x All Capcom.
 * Metal Man is one of the five bosses present in the first version of Panic Shot! Rockman.

Rockman Complete Works Data
カットマンをベースにつくられた. 動きがすばやく、メタルブレードをいかによけるかがポイントになる.

Translation: Created based on Cutman. His movements are agile, the point is to dodge his Metal Blade.

Stage enemies
Enemies that appears in Metal Man's stage, a stage filled with gears and conveyor belts.
 * Blocky (Not present in the Game Boy version)
 * Mole
 * Neo Metall (Only appears in the Game Boy version)
 * Pierobot
 * Press
 * Springer

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

Mega Man (Ruby-Spears)
In Ruby-Spears' Mega Man animated series, Metal Man appears in the episode titled "Future Shock", voiced by Ian James Corlett- noticeably, sharing an actor with Mega Man. Whilst he looks very similar to his original design, Metal Man has red eyes, and as in the future part of the episode, he is shown to have small spur-like blades that come out of his heels, which he uses to skate around with at high speed.

Despite only appearing in one episode, Metal Man was also shown to be one of the more effective Robot Masters in the animated series- at one point trapping Mega Man underneath a pipe and trying to saw his head off. He is ultimately defeated after being hit in midair by a falling pipe that Mega Man had knocked down with a Buster shot, causing him to crash-land and get stuck in the floor. Mega Man then copies his Metal Blade, and uses it to defeat Guts Man.

Captain N: The Game Master
Metal Man appeared in the episode "The Big Game" from the cartoon Captain N: The Game Master. In this cartoon, Metal Man somewhat resembles an electric tin opener- instead of his standard red and yellow colour scheme he is green and silver, has a more angular and metallic appearance, and both of his hands turn into Metal Blade launchers rather than throwing them. He and the other Robot Masters from Mega Man 2, except for Flash Man, play American Football against the main characters.

Mega Man Megamix
In the manga Mega Man Megamix, Metal Man is said to be made of lightweight materials, has a sensitive gyroscope installed in his body for enhanced stability, and is able to balance the weight of each part from his body, allowing him to have high mobility and fight unhindered even in unstable terrains. As a result, his durability is lower than some of Wily's other combat robots, and he prefers to evade attacks rather than endure them. His gloves have anti-slip surfaces so that he can grip his blades more easily.

Metal Man first appeared in the story "Orders to Destroy R", where he, Crash Man, and Heat Man appear to aid Air Man when he was outnumbered by Mega Man and four of Dr. Light's robots. Cut Man and the others distract Wily's four robots to let Mega Man go after Wily, but Heat Man chases after him, and the others fight against Light's robots. When Wily's plan fails, they retreat.

Metal Man also appeared in Mega Man Gigamix. He is one of Dr. Wily's robots that help rescue the three doctors and their robots in Dr. Light's Laboratory, which was destroyed by Terra. When Bass takes four Energy Elements and leaves to fight against the Stardroids, Metal Man is one of the robots that inform Wily what happened.

Mega Man (Archie Comics)
In Archie Comics' Mega Man comic book series, Metal Man first appeared in issue #8, when he was created by Dr. Wily. In issue #11, Mega Man meets Metal Man after he defeats Air Man. Metal Man introduces himself as "the Robot Master Cut Man should have been!" and throws a Metal Blade at Mega Man's foot, and they go over the area fighting. Mega Man distracts him by using Crash Bombers, then sneaks up behind him and copies the Metal Blade. He then throws a Metal Blade at Metal Man's head, destroying him.

Later, Metal Man and the rest of the Robot Masters were reconstructed by Ra Moon in the Lanfront Ruins. They were soon joined by another set of Robot Masters that Ra Moon created using designs from Dr. Wily's laptop (the Robot Masters from Mega Man 3). Both groups were later drafted into the joint efforts of Wily and his interdimensional partner, Dr. Eggman, who used the Robot Masters to help them build the Wily Egg and establish their newly created Skull Egg Zone between their two universes. Metal Man and the others were caught up in the effects of the Genesis Wave, which affected both realities and left them drastically altered. He then joined an army of Robot Masters in battling Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and their allies before reality was restored at the end of the Worlds Collide event.

Metal Man and his brothers (the Mega Man 2 Robot Masters) ended up serving Ra Moon when it betrayed Dr. Wily, though they were initially unaware of this. Metal Man, alongside Bubble Man, Heat Man, and Flash Man, confronted Mega Man as well as Cut Man, Guts Man, Bomb Man, and Rush shortly after their arrival into the Amazon. After the Blue Bomber had been knocked into a pool of water by Heat Man, Metal Man attempted to attack him with a Metal Blade, although Cut Man countered the attack with one of his Rolling Cutters. Metal Man later threw a Metal Blade at Bubble Man and warned him to not tell them anything after the latter almost let slip that Ra Moon was actually commanding them and not Wily while taunting them. However, he ended up attacked from behind by one of Bomb Man's Hyper Bombs, with Mega Man copying his ability upon Bomb Man's suggestion. Metal Man then ended up having his arms pierced with four Metal Blades via Mega Man after the latter told them he gave them a chance to settle this peacefully. Metal Man, shortly before his defeat, lamented his being copied after being hit by an explosive again. He was spared, however, although he did not join initially. After being repaired by Cut Man, Bomb Man, and Break Man, he joined Mega Man in taking on Ra Moon, and later fought the third generation of Robot Masters and Ra Thor. However, the second generation, Metal Man included, had their immunity deactivated by Ra Moon, shutting them down.

After Ra Moon's defeat, Metal Man and the other second-generation Robot Masters were reactivated, and participated alongside the third generation and Break Man on a manhunt against Shadow Man. However, he and his brothers from the second generation eventually left the task to Break Man and the third generation set while they departed to begin work on a new base. Flash Man later reported to Wily that the new base had been nearly completed and that his army now consisted of seventeen Robot Masters-including Break Man-and a number of less sophisticated robots. While Wily's second line of Robot Masters stole Gamma's Energy Elements and distracted Mega Man, Metal Man and the others were ordered to turn over their weapon data and Integrated circuits to Break Man for use in Wily's new Doc Robot. Metal Man and his brothers protested, but eventually yielded to their master's orders. The Doc Robot subsequently manifested all of their personalities, albeit confused due to the eight of them inhabiting one body, while their bodies were preserved in special capsules.

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

Trivia

 * While all of the teleport rooms in the final stages from Mega Man 2 are the same (save that Bubble Man's room is filled with water), Metal Man will still run as if there is a conveyor belt (like in his original room).


 * In Mega Man II for the Game Boy, Metal Man jumps toward Mega Man instead of going to the other corner of the screen, making him do several wall kicks if Mega Man stays behind him in the corner of the screen. With some luck, it is possible to get him stuck in the wall.


 * Metal Man is one of Keiji Inafune's least favorite bosses in Mega Man 2 because he is "too easy", as he said in a 1996 interview with Famitsu.


 * Metal Man is the only boss in the series who can be defeated by his own weapon in two hits or less.


 * Metal Man doesn't like dogs because they think he's playing fetch and try to take his blades.


 * Blade Man's mugshot from the DOS version of Mega Man 3 is an edit of Metal Man's mugshot.


 * Metal Man has a few variations in terms of his design. Most sources depicts him having a red pelvic plating, but in some of his sprites, this pelvic plate is not present, possibly due to limitations. In his official artwork from Rockman Complete Works illustrated by Ryuji Higurashi, this pelvic plating is missing and Metal Man himself is also depicted with having green eyes as well. It is unknown if he has the plate in his first official artwork from Mega Man 2, as his position covers the area it appears.