Cool as the Blue Bomber is, one of the reasons his games are so memorable are the bosses, or Robot Masters, that he goes up against. In the character's twenty five year history, there have been over 70 different Robot Masters that Mega Man has gone up against and I've listed 25 of my favorites in no particular order.
DLN-008: Elec Man - Mega Man (NES)
One of the few robot masters that's the same size as Mega Man (in game universe, anyway), Elec Man, like the next two on this list, was one of the six industrial robots that Dr. Light invented that was stolen by Dr. Wily in his first quest for world domination. Elec Man sports a cool mask and a devastating projectile attack in the form of his Thunder Beam, which can make very short work of the player in about 3-4 hits. Because of the zig-zag nature of the Thunder Beam, it's extremely difficult to dodge. If you want to have an easier time with Elec Man, come prepared with Cut Man's weapon, the Rolling Cutter. Elec Man earns a spot on the list of my 25 fav robot masters for looking so darned stylish and for giving you one of the most useful weapons in the Mega Man series. This theme music ain't bad either.
DLN-003: Cut Man - Mega Man (NES)
In terms of design, Cut Man is very simple. In fact, his body looks just like Mega Man's but with a different color scheme and he's got scissors on top of his head. When Cut Man throws his scissors, or Rolling Cutter, he's pretty much thrown his only means of attack at you. So while you have to remain on the defensive to dodge it, you can still attack him without having to worry too much about him taking another shot at you until it returns to him. He's an excellent first choice because he takes a good chunk of damage to Mega Man's default weapon, the Mega Buster. Not too surprising since Mega Man's original name is Rock. While he isn't the most challenging robot master, he has a cute quality to him that many robot master's lack. Cut Man was given ample screen time on Ruby Spears Mega Man cartoon, quite a bit of panel time in Hitoshi Ariga's Mega Man Megamix manga and he's become one of my favorite supporting character's in Archie's Mega Man comic. The Rolling Cutter may not be as popular as other blade based weapons, but it's still quite useful.
DLN-004: Guts Man - Mega Man (NES)
Occupying the role of a brute, Guts Man attacks Mega Man with rocks that he obtains after causing the ground to shake. These earthquakes can cause Mega Man to lose his footing and make it easier for Guts Man to land a hit. His Super Arm grants Mega Man the ability to pick up and throw certain blocks. I'm not exactly sure what the Guts in his name stands for, but Guts Man is one of the most used robot masters in the whole series. He was used as giant bulldozer in Mega Man 2, Wily broke into the robot museum in Mega Man 7 and outfitted him with an enhanced Super Arm, he's a playable character in Mega Man Battle & Chase. For being viewed as dumb muscle, he really gets around.
DWN-009: Metal Man - Mega Man 2 (NES)
In Dr. Wily's second bid for world conquest, the mad doctor decided to build his own set of robots to challenge Mega Man. Not only does Metal Man have one of the sickest names among the Robot Masters, his design is awesome across the board. All of this is offset by Metal Man being insanely easy to defeat. The weapon you get from him, the Metal Blade is one of the most broken weapons in the history of Mega Man. It doesn't use much energy so it can be spammed and it can be fired off in eight different directions. Have you tired using the Metal Blades on Metal Man when you fight him again in the Wily stages? Metal Man drops so fast you can't even call it a fight. In spite of this, Metal Man is still one of the best blade based Robot Masters.
DWN-012: Quick Man - Mega Man 2 (NES)
He isn't the fastest thing alive and he certainly isn't faster than a speeding bullet, but Quick Man is far from slow. At this point in the series, he was the fastest Robot Master around and that made him pretty intimidating. In his debut, he could jump to incredible heights and attack Mega Man with his Quick Boomerangs and then come charging towards him. Even using his weakness, the Flash Stopper wouldn't take the wind out of his sails because it would only take him down to half health. Quick Man returned in Mega Man 3 like all the other Mega Man 2 Robot Masters in the form of a Doc Robot. As Doc Robot, Quick Man was even faster than before and the flat battle arena made the battle against him all the more furstrating. Despite his speed, in Mega Man 2 he is still somewhat of a pushover. In Mega Man 3? Not so much.
DWN-018: Magnet Man - Mega Man 3 (NES)
Just how does Magnet Man actually work? Being able to draw metal things towards him, it's a wonder he doesn't fry his own brain. Wily's genius is constantly overshadowed by that of Dr. Light, but if he truly did find a way to make this lighter version of the master of magnetism work without destroying himself, then just think of all the other things Wily could do. That is, if he invested his time in making robots for positive reasons rather than take over the world. Mysterious functioning aside, Magnet Man is one of my top 3 favorite robots in Mega Man 3. The Magnet Missile you get from beating him his one of my favorite homing weapons in the series and his design, which seems a tad ninja inspired, is just so cool. He reminds me of Quick Man, wearing his weapon of choice on his forehead and having the firing mechanism on his arm as opposed to an arm cannon.
DWN-22: Snake Man - Mega Man 3 (NES)
Admittedly, I don't like snakes. The things just creep me out. I do find it sort of strange that one of my favorite Robot Masters is based off of a reptile race that I can't stand. But one look at his design and my dislike for the slithering reptiles loses out. I mean, look at him. White and green has never looked so good. Snake Man has the honor of being the first animal themed Robot Master in the Mega Man series, something the X series would rely heavily on. Snake Man's tail means that you have to be very careful jumping over him in fights. The thing gives him the chance to damage you even when it looks like you clearly jumped all the way over him. Snake Man's Search Snakes are one of the few Robot Master weapons that you can actually shoot to dispose of.
DWN-024: Shadow Man - Mega Man 3 (NES)
If there's one thing that will always be great no matter what, it's ninjas. The mask, the costume, the throwing stars. Everything about ninjas just screams "Dude, AWESOME!" Shadow Man is no exception. In what may come as a surprise, he isn't very fast on his feet, but he can shorten the distance between you and him by sliding. That's right, Shadow Man is one of the few Robot Masters that can slide. Like any good ninja, he gets good air time when he jumps, which makes tackling him without Top Spin a nuisance. His Shadow Blades are a much more balanced version of the Metal Blades. The range is limited, you can only shoot one at a time and they can only be thrown in three different directions. In spite of what many may view as setbacks compared to the Metal Blade, the Shadow Blade is still a useful tool. They also consume very little weapon energy and you gotta love the sound effect they make. In the Hitoshi Ariga's Mega Man Megamix manga, Shadow Man was made Wily's personal body guard and was able to literally hide his body in the shadows.
DCN-028: Pharaoh Man - Mega Man 4 (NES)
Mega Man 4's set of Robot Masters gets a great deal criticism. Toad Man and Dust Man frequently rank as some of the worst Robot Masters of all-time but Mega Man 4 also houses some of the most unique. One of Dr. Cossack's creations, Pharaoh Man takes the whole Egyptian theme and runs with it, placing his level inside a tomb full of mummies, bats and all other manner of obstacles that we've seen in films that makes tombs one of the last places on Earth you'd want to explore. Quick on his feet, the Pharaoh Shot can be fired off as small projectiles or charged up as a large one. Even with the ability to slide, the only way to avoid the charged up Pharaoh Shot is to jump over it. Yeah, it's that big of a projectile. His original look is fine but Hitoshi Ariga's design is absolutely sick. In the Ruby Spears Mega Man cartoon, Pharaoh Man responded to the famous "Now I've got your power!" line by punching Mega Man in the face.
DCN-032: Skull Man - Mega Man 4 (NES)
Skull Man won't make a single move unless you shoot or move left or right. This was what inspired Mega Man Megamix manga author Hitoshi Ariga to write the episode The Grim Reaper of Resurrection. In this story, Skull Man is cast as a vengeful robot due to Dr. Cossack's deactivating him after the events of Mega Man 4. Skull Man was always a stand out Robot Master but this story elevated him even further in my eyes. Ariga's design of Skull Man for the manga is especially creepy, bordering on nightmare fuel. Much as I like Skull Man, I haven't found much use for his Skull Barrier.
DWN-39: Napalm Man - Mega Man 5 (NES)
Every Robot Master listed here was designed for combat with the Light Numbers being the exception. While everyone here has been equipped with weapons to fight, Napalm Man is an entire arsenal. Dude is like a tank is equipped with all sorts of bombs. Ideally, you want to fight Napalm Man from a distance but when you get far away, he launches his Napalm Bombs at you, forcing you to evade them and move closer to him. You'd think the Napalm Bombs would be some masterful bomb weapon but in reality, Napalm Bombs are one of the worst bomb-based weapons in the series. Napalm Man still gets props for packing the weaponry of a tank and moving much faster than one.
DWN-042: Centaur Man - Mega Man 6 (NES)
Heavily criticized for being one of the weakest entries in the Classic Mega Man series, Mega Man 6 is hardly the bad game so many critics make it out to be. Sure it may not be on the same level of other titles, but it's still a solid game. Based off the mythical creature, Centaur Man fits right in with the likes of Flame Man, Knight Man and Yammato Man, making the set of Robot Masters in Mega Man 6 feel like they are in a class by themselves. Taking a cue from Flash Man, Centaur Man's Centaur Flash allows him to halt time and like Bright Man, he takes cheap shots at the player. His Centaur Arrow can easily be avoided when first fired by sliding under it, but when it hits the wall behind you, it splits into seven pieces, meaning you'll have to perform more evasive maneuvers. I like Centaur Man because like Snake Man, he reminds of one of the Mavericks from the X series and that helmet is the pinnacle of awesome fighting headgear.
DWN-049: Freeze Man - Mega Man 7 (SNES)
Each Robot Master strikes their own unique pose, but few of them look as cool as Freeze Man. The pose looks even better thanks to his design. Just look at him. In the above picture, he's clearly saying "Come at me, bro." Freeze Man will actually taunt you to attack first if you don't make a move. During the rematch with him in the Wily stages, if you hit him with his own weapon, the Freeze Cracker, the game will freeze up for a few seconds. Freeze Man will take this opportunity to look at you (yes, YOU, not Mega Man) to acknowledge your stupidity for actually thinking you could kill him with his own weapon. This makes Freeze Man the only Robot Master to break the forth wall. For being such a serious-looking foe, his stage theme is one of the most upbeat, cheerful pieces of music in the whole series.
DWN-055: Shade Man - Mega Man 7 (SNES)
Clearly designed with vampires in mind, Shade Man feels right at home in dark castles and other Dracula like environments. But there seems to be a touch of class beneath his frightful appearance. As stated with Freeze Man, all robot masters strike a pose, but Shade Man is the only one that bows to Mega Man. This suggests a sense of honor, similar to Sword Man. Honor aside, I detest being picked up by Shade Man and having the life drained out of me. Like the vampires, Shade Man feeds off others to get energy, but in his case, instead of feeding on humans, he feeds on robots. Shade Man is one of the precious few Robot Masters to have an alternate level background tune. Holding B while selecting his stage results in his regular theme music being replaced by the main theme from the Ghosts 'n' Goblins series.
MKN-001: Enker - Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge (GB)
Wily brought back eight of Mega Man's previously defeated foes for many of the portable Mega Man adventures but he also added something new to the mix. Enker was the first in a new line of robots dubbed the Mega Man Killers. He was Wily's very first humanoid robot to lack "Man" in his name. In his debut game, Enker could only be damaged by Mega Man's default weapon and using his his Barrier Spear allowed him to store energy from the shots Mega Man fired. This allowed him to return fire int he form of the Mirror Buster. The size of the Mirror Buster depends on how many shots you dealt to Enker before it was released. It probably isn't as obvious as other references in the series, but Enker's name is music-based, being a play on the word enka, a music genre that's very popular in Japan.
MKN-002: Punk - Mega Man III (GB)
Now here is a music reference that's pathetically obvious. I mean, Punk clearly looks the part of the music genre that he's named after. One tough customer, in the Game Boy version of Mega Man III, it was best to avoid getting hit by Punk himself or his Screw Crusher. Punk could destroy Mega Man in a mere 3-4 hits and was completely invulnerable when rolling at Mega Man in ball form. Woe to the player that lacked sufficient dodging skills or had zero E-Tanks. Punk is the only Mega Man Killer to have a Net Navi counter part in the Mega Man Battle Network series. This is all because Mega Man bigwig Keiji Inafune views Punk as one of his favorite creations.
MKN-003: Ballade - Mega Man IV (GB)
The third and final robot in the Mega Man Killer series, Ballade has a great sense of pride and desires to be nothing but the strongest, and dislikes weak opponents. Does Ballade remind you of someone else? He should. These very traits would later be passed down to Bass. You might think Ballade is a quickster with a headpiece very similar to Quick Man, but in truth, Ballade has about average speed and his Ballade Cracker is easy enough to dodge. While Ballade is similar to Bass, there is one key difference between the two: Ballade knows how to show some humility. After his second loss to Mega Man, Ballade, in a surprising show of character development admits that he was wrong and helps Mega Man escape Wily's fortress by blowing himself up, destroying the final barrier that was preventing the Blue Bomber escaping. Why Green Biker Dude has a bigger fan following than Ballade, I'll never know.
SWN-001: Bass - Mega Man 7 (SNES)
If you can't beat them, imitate them. That seems to be the premise behind Bass, one of Wily's strongest and unruly creations. Bass was built to surpass Mega Man's capabilities and while he's one of Wily's greatest achievements, he could also been seen as one of his greatest failures. Bass is arrogant, headstrong, and very rebellious, all the makings of the classic anime rival and traits that make it impossible for Wily to have any control over him. Bass is driven by his desire to defeat Mega Man, thus proving himself to be the best. If Dr. Wily somehow stands in his way by creating more robots or bringing back old ones, Bass will not hesitate to aim his Bass Buster at them and take them out. Bass has actually teamed up with Mega Man on more than one occasion, stopping Wily's schemes, much to the doctor's dismay. Though Bass has his own agenda in these team ups, nonetheless he has helped save the world so he's something of an anti-hero. Bass has also shown that he has some degree of respect for humans since they did create robots. As Mega Man has Rush, Bass has his faithful robot dog Treble, who may be the only robot Wily built that Bass actually likes. Debuting in Mega Man 7, Bass has proven to be a very popular character. Bass is also notable for getting the Classic Mega Man series to have a Precious F-Strike, or D-strike in this case. He actually cursed at the end of Shade Man's level, much to many gamer's shock. Bass went on to be a more fleshed out playable character in Mega Man & Bass and Mega Man 10.
DWN-057: Tengu Man - Mega Man 8 (PS, SAT)
Hoo, boy, and I thought Bass had a chip on his shoulder. Tengu Man is pride personified. Mega Man 8 gave each of the Robot Master speaking parts and a great deal of Tengu Man's dialog was dedicated to mocking the player. Forget about saving the world. I wanted to kick the crap out of Tengu Man just to shut him up. World peace was an afterthought. Like Cloud Man in Mega Man 7, Tengu Man has a battlefield that is larger than a single screen. Flying through the air, he tries to crash into you along with attacking you with his Tornado Hold. In spite of his huge ego, I've always thought Tengu Man looked incredibly cool, but for the longest time I wasn't sure just what his design was supposed to be based off of. Turns out tengu are a popular brand of Japanese demons, usually taking the form of birds that have human characteristics. Like Shade Man, Tengu Man has two different level themes, except this varies depending on which version of Mega Man 8 you're playing. If you're playing the PlayStation version, Tengu Man's level theme is happy-go-lucky. The Saturn version takes on a far more serious tone.
DWN-059: Sword Man - Mega Man 8 (PS, SAT)
With both Tengu Man and Bass taking up so much space as arrogant, boastful bots in Mega Man 8, Sword Man helps to balance things out a bit by being the complete opposite of them. Sword Man's design makes him look a tad ancient especially compared to Astro Man, but I've always found that just makes him more distinguished from the other Robot Masters in Mega Man 8. Sword Man's sword is so heavy that Wily had to equip him with an anti-gravity device. This enables him to split his body in half and attack with his torso. He'll commend you when you do well in battle and has no hard feelings when he loses, saying "Nice shot" when you defeat him. A more noble warrior does not exist in Wily's ranks.
DWN-63: Grenade Man - Mega Man 8 (PS, SAT)
There have been numerous bomb type Robot Masters prior to Mega Man 8. Bomb Man, Crash Man, Napalm Man, and Burst Man. But all of those guys were perfectly sane. Grenade Man is missing every single one of his screws. You only need to spend about ten seconds battling Grenade Man to find out that he's completely off his rocker. He spends the entire fight running and jumping around, lobbing his Flash Bombs at you, all the while he chuckles like a lunatic. Midway through the fight he'll shout "Crazy destroyer!" and blow up the floor beneath you, sending you one floor down. Not only does Grenade Man enjoy inflicting pain on others, he delights in the pain dealt to his own body. So he's a sadist and a masochist. Grenade Man gets a spot on this list just for being a total nut.
KGN-005: Burner Man - Mega Man & Bass (SNES, GBA)
One of the numerous fire themed Robot Masters, despite using intense heat, Burner Man's stage isn't really flame based, instead taking place in a forest. King ordered Burner Man to destroy a forest each day or a bomb inside his body will self destruct, killing him. Of course this was all a lie that King made up to get Burner Man to burn down a ton of forests and the Robot Master seems to be none the wiser. Designed by Hitoshi Ariga, Burner Man sports that Megamix slasher smile that more than a few Robot Masters have been known to show in Ariga's works. Usually when there's a spike hazard in a Robot Master's battle room, it's on the ceiling. In Burner Man's case, there are two sets of spikes on the left and right side of the room. Burner Man is weak to Cold Man's Ice Wall, but in order to really do damage to him, you have to hit him so it knocks him into one of the spike pits. You might think Burner Man would be slow with those bulky tanks on his back. Burner Man is one of the fastest, most frantic Robot Master in the whole series, making Quick Man and all the other speed demons look like snails. He also has a sizable amount of attacks like placing bear traps in the ground, diving into you and his Wave Burner. His stage isn't exactly a cake walk either so you'll probably die numerous times before you actually witness firsthand how crazy Burner Man is.
DLN-072: Galaxy Man - Mega Man 9 (WW, PSN, XBLA)
After a copious amount of Wily bots, we make a return to the Light Numbers. As much praise as Mega Man 9 gets, the game had a number of goofballs in it's roster, like Jewel Man, and Plug Man. But the game also gave us our second console Mega Man space themed robot, Galaxy Man. Along with Turbo Man, Ground Man and Nitro Man, Galaxy Man shares the gift of being able to transform his body into a vehicle, in his case, a UFO. That makes him quite the frantic foe as he loves to fly around the room. In addition to this ability, he can use the Black Hole Bomb to pull nearby objects into it. His design looks like it was influenced by Astro Man, except Galaxy Man was given legs. He's also adorable.
DLN-066: Tornado Man - Mega Man 9 (WW, PSN, XBLA)
When the first trailer for Mega Man 9 hit the web, the music that played along with the footage was none other than Tornado Man's stage theme. Some gameplay of his level was shown and while the trailer was brief, it was enough to make the wait for Mega Man 9 seem so far away. Tornado Man turned out to be as popular as his background music, being one of the sweetest-looking Robot Masters to come out of Mega Man 9, offering a stage that was quite evil without the use of Rush Jet. When Tornado Man uses his Tornado Blow, not only can the twisters damage you, but they also increase your jump height, which can be quite dangerous seeing as how the ceiling is loaded with spikes. Tornado Man bears a strong resemblance to Harpuia from the Mega Man Zero series.
DWN-073: Blade Man - Mega Man 10 (WW, PSN, XBLA)
I figure Napalm Man was getting a little lonely being the only Robot Master on the list that doesn't have any hands. In truth, I find a lot of the handless Robot Masters to be some pretty cool characters but many of them get overshadowed by the others. But Blade Man is an exception. If you don't know his pattern, Blade Man can be quite the tricky foe to deal with. He likes to stick to the walls and ceiling and hurl blades towards you. Dodging one blade is hard enough but Blade Man shoots three at a time your way. Even when using his weakness against him, the Commando Bomb, you have to aim it properly so the shock waves, not the bomb itself, hits him. Years back Nintendo Power held the Robot Master Design Contest to select the Robot Masters for Mega Man 6. One of the designed Robot Masters was one called Sword Man who has a similar design and color scheme to the Sword Man in Mega Man 10.
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So that's my list of favorite Robot Masters. There were many more I'd love to include. Gemini Man, Knight Man, Turbo Man, Splash Woman and a ton of others. But in limiting it to 25, I had to omit a lot of great ones. What do you think? Like it? Love it? Think it's dumb? Hate it? Sound off below.
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