List of Mega Man (Ruby-Spears) characters from the games

The original Mega Man cartoon show featured many of the usual suspects from the games and a few interesting new characters who only appeared for one episode or just a few. However, something was very (and in some cases VERY, VERY) different about them. The most obvious change was ProtoMan's turn to the dark side. Many fans still remember this show for this storyline to this day.

Mega Man
"The super hero of the 21st Century." The main hero, Mega Man was created as Rock along with his twin sister robot Roll after Proto Man was stolen by Dr. Wily in a jealous rage. After Rock saved himself and his sister from Dr. Wily's clutches, Dr. Light decided that the threat from Wily was too grave to underestimate and rebuilt Rock into a robot warrior and rename him Mega Man. With his mixture of conscience, compassion and self-determination along with his unique weapon copy system, Mega Man has a clear edge over other robots. Ever since this war with Wily began, he has been at odds with his brother ProtoMan. As much as he dislikes his older brother, he wishes that he was really on the good side.

Differences: The most obvious difference (as with all of the characters on this show) is the fact that Mega Man does not look like a little kid. He appears to be around 5'6-5'10" tall and he looks to be an older teenager, or perhaps early college age. The other major difference is the fact that his armor has a muscular look. His attitude seems to be a mixture of the clean-cut boy scout (like Superman) and a wise-cracker (like Spider-Man/Peter Parker).

Roll
Roll was created around the same time as her twin brother Rock. Her main purpose is a housekeeping robot. Her left forearm serves as a multi-purpose utility, including such appliances as a vacuum cleaner, a toaster and a blender. When her brother Rock was converted into Mega Man, she wanted to get in on the action. Although Mega Man was reluctant, he let his sister join him in his battles with Wily.

Differences: Roll had the most drastic physical change of all the characters (except maybe Air Man). Unlike the games (where she looked like a little girl), Roll resembled an attractive young lady in great shape. Her blonde hair was more styled up front and her ponytail was very long. Also, instead of wearing a red dress, she wore a red and beige two-piece jumpsuit and her metallic boots went up near her knees. The other obvious difference is that she fights alongside her brother in battle. This Roll was a more strong-headed girl than the video game version of the character.

Dr. Thomas Light
The world's most famous living scientist and the creator of Mega Man. Dr. Light is a brilliant man and has a strong sense of right and wrong. He once worked side by side with none other than Dr. Wily and they created Proto Man together. Shortly after ProtoMan's outburst, Wily stole the prototype and faulty blueprints for other robots from Light. Dr. Light however was able to build two new robots (Rock and Roll) who would serve as his assistants. In a sense, they are like his children. Light has made many inventions and contributions to science and robotics, like Brain Bot, a College Campus for robots to learn like humans do and (if you can believe it) an Anti Curse Machine.

Differences: Much like Dr. Wily, there are no major differences between this Dr. Light and his video game counterpart other than his accent. This Dr. Light has an English sound to his voice, where the video game Light supposedly does not.

Rush
Rush's main purpose is transportation for Mega Man. His many forms include the famous Jet Board, the underwater marine vehicle, a hang-glider, a skate board and (of course) the springboard or "Rush Coil" (which was never used on the show). Rush's energy can be replenished by eating specially made "Battery Biscuits", which he enjoys very much (so much, he often tries to nab the whole box for himself). While Rush is certainly man's (and robot's) best friend, he does have a tendency to lick other people's faces... and he burps too.

Differences: There is virtually no difference between the T.V. Rush and the game's Rush. However, this Rush sounds a lot like Scooby-Doo and Astro from The Jetsons.

Dr. Albert Wily
"And I'll... TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!" Those words (or a variant of them) were uttered by this man in every episode. Mentally unstable, Dr. Wily fled Dr. Light's lab one night and stole Proto Man and the blueprints for other robots like him and began to build his robot army with them. While Dr. Light was busy creating Rock and Roll, Wily was enhancing ProtoMan and transforming him into a warrior bot. He later stole Guts Man, Cut Man and Ice Man (and probably Fire Man, Elec Man and Bomb Man too. Even though they were not shown getting stolen in the first episode). Although Rock and Roll escaped from Skull Fortress when he kidnapped and tried to reprogram them, it didn't stop Wily from beginning his quest for world domination. Until he is brought to justice, the battle for everlasting peace will continue.

Differences: There are no major changes between this Dr. Wily and his video game counterpart... except for one very obvious difference. This Dr. Wily is German.

ProtoMan
The original prototype. Dr. Light's and Dr. Wily's first free-thinking robot hadn't been online for longer than a few seconds before he began to go berserk and injured himself. The insanely jealous Dr. Wily stole Proto Man and rebuilt him into a deadly robot warrior. ProtoMan frequently finds himself in battle against his little brother Mega Man, and always loses. Although he has insisted to Wily that he is the only robot that should destroy Mega Man, ProtoMan frequently tries to coax his brother over to his side. When, he pretended to turn his back on Dr. Wily ("Bro Bots"), he found out that Mega Man had always wanted to have a real brother-to-brother relationship with him. This fact took ProtoMan by surprise. Although they became engaged in a heated battle later after Mega Man found out ProtoMan was lying, neither of them could destroy the other.

Differences: (Not including the obvious one everybody knows: 'He's a bad guy now') Like his little brother Mega Man, ProtoMan is taller than his video game counterpart and has a muscular look to his armor. Also, there are two glaring omissions from ProtoMan: his shield and his flute! But, ProtoMan can copy other robot's weapons like Mega Man does. Also, ProtoMan carries himself off on the show as a jerk with a cocky, punkish attitude.

GutsMan
All brawn and no brain would be the best way to describe Guts Man (often referred to also as "Gutsy" on the show). While GutsMan is a very strong, very deadly opponent, he usually finds himself on the losing side thanks to his stupidity. GutsMan is in every episode along with CutMan. GutsMan had his own action figure.

Differences: This GutsMan has a very square jaw, where the video game GutsMan had a more round jaw. Other than that, there's not much difference.

Cut Man
Originally intended for logging operations, Cut Man now is used as an agent of evil by Dr. Wily. Although his Rolling Cutters are deadly, Cut Man also isn't too bright and usually loses battles to Mega Man and even Roll. CutMan is in every episode along with GutsMan. CutMan had his own action figure.

Differences: This Cut Man's ears are orange (they were white in the games) and his cutters are often fired (not thrown) from his head or an arm blaster. He also has an annoying wheezing voice.

Snake Man
This Snake Man has a different head than the video game Snake Man. His eyes are different and his mouth moves like Cut Man's. The Search Snakes did not scurry on the ground like in the games. They were fired as projectiles that could chew threw many surfaces and objects. SnakeMan appears in the episodes: "Bot Transfer", "Showdown at Red Gulch", "Campus Commandos", "Brain Bots" and "Mega X." SnakeMan had his own action figure.

Air Man
Air Man's 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 was also much taller now, and in one scene, he appeared to be taller than even GutsMan! The most notorious change was that Air Man now had a face and red eyes. In the game, Air Man was basically a torso with eyes and a big fan in the middle with arms and legs, but no mouth. AirMan appears in the episode titled "Ice Age."

Ice Man
There were a few changes with Ice Man on the show. First, the Ice Slasher weapon didn't produce spike projectiles or triangular shards like in the video games. Appearance-wise, his thick Eskimo coat was now a dark navy blue and instead of having a mouth with lips, he had a small strip for a mouth (much like C-3PO) that glowed blue when he spoke. Speaking of Ice Man talking, he also had an accent that sounded like he was from The Bronx. IceMan appeared in the first episode, "The Beginning", and again in "Ice Age."

Bright Man
Unlike many other characters, there doesn't appear to be any difference between the video game Bright Man and his T.V. counterpart. Although, his weapon doesn't make his foes freeze in place, but rather causes temporary blindness. He also has a much bigger solar panel on his chest. BrightMan appeared in "Electric Nightmare", "Robo Spider", "Bro Bots" and "Curse of the Lion Men." BrightMan had his own action figure.

Wood Man
Unlike the games, where Wood Man was more or less a big log with arms, legs and a face, Wood Man now had black and gray armor and only sections of his body resembled a log (namely his head). Also his weapon, the leaf shield, was very different. Unlike the games, where four green "leaves" rotate around Wood Man, Wood Man carried an actual full-sized shield shaped like a leaf. WoodMan appears in the episode titled "The Strange Island of Dr. Wily."

Toad Man
Not much change in Toad Man except that he now has lips and his belly doesn't shake when he brings down the acid rain. ToadMan appears in the episode, "Robosaro Park."

Pharaoh Man
Pharaoh Man's colors have change from the game's gold and tan colors to green, red and white. He also wears a cape. PharaohMan appears in "Electric Nightmare."

Ring Man
Ring Man has smaller, less anime styled eyes. He also has a silver blaster hand on his left arm that he uses to touch the ring on top of his head to make ring boomerangs appear. RingMan appears in two episodes, "Mega-Pinocchio" and "Bad Day at Peril Park." RingMan has a hoverboard in the beginning of "Mega-Pinocchio" and an air fighter in "Bad Day at Peril Park."

Dust Man
Similar to the cartoon versions of AirMan and NapalmMan, Dust Man now has a head rather than eyes on a torso. His power is also the vacuum on his back rather than the Dust Crusher that is fired in the game. DustMan appears in "The Incredible Shrinking MegaMan."

Bomb Man
Bomb Man is more detailed compared to his game version. This is similar to CutMan and SnakeMan in the cartoons. BombMan's mouth is even more beak-like in the cartoon. BombMan appears in the episodes "The Beginning", "Terror of the Seven Seas", "Mega Dreams" and the last episode, "Crime of the Century." BombMan had his own action figure.

Metal Man
Metal Man has red eyes in the cartoon. Also, in the future part of the episode, MetalMan has spur-like blades come out of his heel that he uses to skate around with. MetalMan appears in the episode titled "Future Shock."

Elec Man
Like Mega Man and Proto Man, Elec Man's armor has a muscular look. ElecMan is usually paired with Bomb Man in the episodes, but ElecMan does not talk nearly as much as BombMan. ElecMan appears very weak since he has been beaten by Roll's vacuum arm on more than one occasion. ElecMan appears in "The Beginning", "Terror of the Seven Seas", "Mega Dreams", and "Bro Bots." ElecMan had his own action figure.

Drill Man
Drill Man is one of the few robot masters that appears to be just like his video game version with no alterations. DrillMan appears in the episodes "The Big Shake", "Showdown at Red Gulch", and "Master of Disaster." DrillMan had his own action figure.

Gravity Man
A noticeable feature of the cartoon version of Gravity Man is the capital letter "G" on the bottoms of both his feet. On the cover of MegaMan 5, GravityMan has spikes on the bottoms of his feet. In the cartoon, his power appears to make things fall down while his power in the game makes things fly upwards. GravityMan appears in the episode titled "Master of Disaster."

Napalm Man
Like AirMan, Napalm Man was given a head in the cartoons. NapalmMan never appeared in any episode but was shown for a fraction of a second in the opening for every cartoon episode.

DarkMan
Unlike in Mega Man 5, there is just one Dark Man. He also doesn't have red armor. His armor is black on the show. He appears to be the second DarkMan boss in Mega Man 5, rather than the final DarkMan boss. Sadly, he never got the chance to use his ability to mimic other robots (and possibly humans) on the show. DarkMan appears in two episodes, "Brain Bots" and "The Day the Moon Fell." DarkMan uses his hands for his power in "Brain Bots" and has a blaster in "The Day the Moon Fell."

Brain Bot
Brain Bot was the most memorable one-shot (one episode) character in the series. (He was even going to have his own action figure.) Brain Bot is supposedly the smartest robot in the world. He's also the most painfully annoying robot in the world too, constantly wanting to inspect things to see how they work (which nearly turned fatal when Mega Man was transporting him in the land blazer). He bares a striking resemblance to Mega Man, although his armor is two shades of green, his helmet has a super intelligence processor encased in a small, clear glass dome on his forehead and he wears a lab coat. Brain Bot never appeared in any of the Mega Man video games.

Flip-Top/Eddie
Another major appearance change here. Unlike the games, where Eddie was red and usually referred to as "Flip-Top", Eddie was now green on the show and was never called "Flip-Top".

Bree Recoda
This character is the female news reporter who could be seen occasionally on some episodes. Her most notable appearance was in "Mega-Pinocchio" where she harshly criticized Dr. Light. She never appeared in any of the Mega Man video games.

Mega Man X
Humanity's last hope. Sometime after the battle for everlasting peace ended, Dr. Cain had discovered the ruins of Dr. Light's lab. (Apparently, regardless of how the Wily War ended, it got very ugly towards the end.) Dr. Light himself had long since passed away, but one of his inventions was unburied from the ruins, encased in a capsule not meant to be opened until years after it was sealed. Dr. Cain discovered that it was safe to open it and found Dr. Light's last creation - a robot named X - inside. In X's future, the deadly Maverick virus is causing many robots (now much more advanced and called Reploids) to cause widespread destruction and death. At the forefront of this group of evil robots is Sigma. Along with Zero, Mega Man X fights to rid the world of Mavericks and hopefully let peace rule once again.

Differences: The single most notorious character change in the history of the show. X looked like a fully grown adult in his late thirties (or even early forties) and was leaner and taller than Mega Man and bore no resemblanse to his predecessor. X also showed absolutely no regard for property or anything else during battle. Meaning that if he had to destroy an entire building (or a city block) to destroy a Maverick, so be it. This X used tactics that made him look like a maniac and that made many fans angry.

Vile
Vile travels back in time with Spark Mandrill to get plans from Dr. Wily. The cartoon Vile works for Sigma unlike the Vile in the PSP game, Maverick Hunter X, who seems to be on his own bad side. This Vile's head is less helmet-like and he has a red glowing eye. In the cartoon, Sigma is spelled "Cigma."