Mega Man (Character)From The Mega Man Universe
Character HistoryAfter Dr. Light's first humanoid robot Proto Man dissappeared, he continued his research to create a human-like AI. In order to avoid repeating the mistake he made with Proto Man, Dr. Light decided to make two paired robots, a brother and sister. This idea was to ensure neither would ever feel isolated as they would always have each other. In 200X he finished these two robots, and called them Rock and Roll, a lab assistant and a household robot respectively. After the success of the latter two, the scientist created six industrial robots robots. However, Dr. Light's rival Dr. Wily stole and reprogrammed these robots in his bid for world domination. Rock having a strong sense of justice volunteered himself to be turned into a battle robot and became Mega Man. With Dr. Light, Roll and others supporting him, Mega Man prevailed over Wily time and time again, always with a smile and a hope that he will someday usher in a more lasting peace. With the introduction of Mega Man Powered Up to the franchise, the number of industrial robots created by Dr. Light was changed from six to eight. It also explained why MegaMan was not stolen and reprogrammed by Wily. The mad scientist proclaimed that he had no use for a helper robot, which he deemed a pile of scrap metal with no special abilities. However, depending on who you're playing as, Dr. Wily makes up other similar excuses to not steal and reprogram the one the player is using. Alternate HistoryIn part due to the American manual for the first game and in part due the Mega Man cartoon, Mega Man's history was told slightly differently outside of japan. According to the manual, Mega Man is the very first near-human robot created by Dr. Light and his assistant Dr. Wily. Encouraged by their success, they went on to create six additional humanoid robots. (Roll is neglected mention in the manual.) The most notable difference is that Dr. Wily is strictly Dr. Light's rival in the Japanese canon, though they have a history going back to university, he certainly is not Dr. Light's assistant. In the Japanese canon Wily did not work on Rock, Roll and any of Light's industrial robots. After Mega Man 3 introduced Proto Man, it's this alternate history that seemingly led to the cartoon introducing the concept of Proto Man also being made by both Light and Wily. However, strictly going by the games and their manuals, Proto Man is only mentioned as a creation of Dr. Light, not Dr. Wily. Character AnalysisMega Man personifies the phrase "idealistic youth," matching his view of the world in most respects. He wants peace not only from Dr. Wily, but from people in general. There are hints dropped from time to time that Mega Man doesn't spend all his time conquering Wily's evil schemes, but also helping people who are simply in need. This ideal and sometimes naive view of the world seems to trickle down from his programmer, Dr. Light, who made Mega Man in many ways like a real son to him. Mega Man cares deeply for his creator, and worries about him when he is in trouble. Despite his idealism, though, he remains realistic about necessary violence when it is required of him to save the world from the plots of Wily. And after a while, he seems to grow somewhat disappointed in his inability to usher in real change. In Mega Man 8, he commented that Wily simply makes the same excuses repeatedly. And in Power Fighters, Wily turned the tables on his guilt and made him feel responsible for the violence. Fortunately, though, Mega Man always has his friends standing by him, and his good-natured spirit, valor, and willingness to help simply because it's the right thing to do can never be crushed. Name AnalysisThe name "Mega Man" was simply an Americanized conversion of his Japanese name, Rockman. Apparently those creating the US translation decided he needed a more westernized hero name, while Rockman is a play off of his original name, Rock. In Mega Man Powered Up a supposed mistake was made in the localization process, wherein "Rock" was renamed "Mega" for the English releases, thereby leading Mega to become Mega Man. With the possibility of further Powered Up remakes currently appearing bleak at best, it is unknown whether this is meant to be accepted as the new canon name for Mega Man's alter-ego, or whether they would instead correct the oversight in future releases. Future AppearancesBeing the star of the series, Mega Man has a guaranteed role in any future Classic series games. | ||||||||||||||||||||
