Mega Man / Rockman

About

Mega Man, also known as Rockman (Japanese: ロックマン) in Japan, is a video game franchise created by the game development and publishing company Capcom. The game features the playable robot protagonist Mega Man, who utilizes his Mega Buster arm cannon to fight his enemies. Since it’s release in 1987, the series has sold over 29 million copies worldwide, spawning multiple spinoffs across various gaming platforms.

History

On December 17th, 1987, the first Mega Man game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console, in which the player assumes the role of Mega Man fighting against six robots controlled by the primary antagonist Dr. Wily. The series yielded 11 games, including Mega Man 1-6 on the NES, Mega Man 7 on the SNES, Mega Man 8 on the Playstation and Sega Saturn, Mega Man & Bass on the SNES and Game Boy Advance and Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10 on downloadable gaming services for the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. Several spinoff series were released as well, including Mega Max X featuring a new incarnation of Mega Man named “X” who hunts down rogue robots named “Reploids.” The series also introduced the saber-wielding robot Zero and the gun-slinging robot Axl as playable characters. Mega Man Legends was launched as a 3D action role-playing game in which the player assume the role of a teenage version of Mega Man. The role-playing game series Mega Man Battle Network for the Game Boy Advance features the character Lan Hikari as the main protagonist, who controls his “Net Navi” virtual friend Mega Man to battle enemies in cyberspace. Other spin-off games featuring Mega Man characters include Mega Man Zero, Mega Man Star Force, Mega Man ZX and the crossover games Rockman ×over, Street Fighter X Mega Man, Marvel Vs. Capcom and Super Smash Bros.

Online Presence

Mega Man’s first official online presence began with his own page on the Capcom website^[8], established as early as 2001. Originally, it hosted a free desktop theme download^[9] for people who purchased the Mega Man Legends PC game. It continued to host that download until approximately 2011. That same year, the official Mega Man Facebook page^[3] was created, linking to official merchandise and information about upcoming games as well as fan-made games and art. As of June 2013, the page has more than 170,000 likes. An official Mega Man Twitter^[4] was established in December 2012 and has since gained more than 7,200 followers.

Fansites

The first Mega Man fan site, The Mega Man Homepage^[1], was created in 1994 offering news and updates about the character and its games as well as a space for the fan community to submit fan fiction, art and theories about the games. As of June 2013, the site continues to operate under its original owner, Miranda Paugh, with expanded sections and information on the history of the character. In August 2000, Mega Man X Online was established as a home base for fans of the Mega Man X series, later expanding to The Mega Man Network^[2] in 2002.

A Mega Man Wiki^[7] was established in May 2005 as a comprehensive database for the franchise, ranging from video games, characters, and merchandises. As of June 2013, the site has complied more then 3,400 articles. Single topic blogs about the character began appearing on Tumblr in February 2010 with the launch of Fuck Yeah! It’s Mega Man!.^[10] A number of other Mega Man-specific blogs have been created including Awful Mega Man Fan Art^[11], Mega Man Image Macros^[12] and Ask Mega Man.^[13] In May 2010, the subreddit /r/MegaMan^[16] was created, accruing more than 2,400 subscribers as of June 2013.

Fan Works

Mega Man fan works, both art and fiction, can be found on Tumblr with the tags “Mega Man”^[14] and “Megaman.”^[15] On deviantArt, there are more than 70,000 search results for the term “Mega Man,”^[5] as of June 2013. Additionally, more than 5,400 stories about Mega Man can be found on Fanfiction.net.^[6]

Bands

Protomen

Founded in 2003, the Protomen are an American rock band who compose albums based off of the the original series. They are based in Nashville Tennessee, and were mostly composed of MTSU recording program graduates. Currently, the band is working on their Act III album and actively touring.

Related Memes

Gutsman’s Ass

Gutsman’s Ass is a YouTube Poop series which features a scene from Episode 2-25 “Bad Day at Peril Park” of the animated series Mega Man. In the scene, Mega Man’s robot dog sidekick Rush tears off the the tail of a Kangaroo disguise to reveal the posterior of the Robot Master Gutsman.

Rejected Mega Man Villains

Rejected Mega Man Villains are a series of YTMND pages featuring fan-created Mega Man-style villains. The characters often given bizarre designs and names to appear as if they were turned down by the video game company Capcom.

What am I Fighting For!

“What am I Fighting For!” is a quote uttered by the character Zero during a cut scene from the 1997 Playstation video game Mega Man X4. Zero yells phrase after having his love interest Iris die in his arms. Since then, the quote has inspired the creation of many image macros and other parodies.

Can’t Beat Air Man!

Can’t Beat Air Man! (“エアーマンが倒せない” or “Air Man ga Taosenai” in Japanese) is a doujin song expression the frustration experienced by players attempting to defeat the villain Air Man in Mega Man 2. The song has been remixed and covered after being uploaded to the Japanese video-sharing site Nico Nico Douga in 2007.

110 Million Memories! / Okkusenman!

Omoide wa Okusenman! (思い出は億千万), or Okkusenman! (おっくせんまん), is a Japanese song inspired by the theme for the Dr. Wily Castle Stage in Mega Man 2. A series of vocal covers were uploaded to the site Nico Nico Douga in 2007, inspiring a slew of remixes and musical tributes.

Green Biker Dude

Green Biker Dude (often abbreviated to GBD) is an unnamed Maverick Hunter from Mega Man X2, depicted as a green man riding a hover bike. In the game’s intro scene, GBD is seen riding his bike alongside X and is destroyed by an enemy attack before the stage actually begins. Over the years, fans have created images and videos of GBD.

You Got Mega Man

You Got Mega Man is an exploitable image of Mega Man which first appeared on 4chan in 2008.

Legends Never Die

Legends Never Die is the slogan used by fans of the series Mega Man Legends, referring to their efforts to bringing Mega Man Legends 3, and the franchise as a whole, back from the grave after its cancellation in 2010. It is mostly used among the members of the 100,000 Strong for Bringing Back Mega Man Legends 3^[17], a fanpage on Facebook dedicated to convincing Capcom to un-cancell the title.