| This page is about Dark Man 4. For the others see Dark Man 1, 2 or 3. To see information on their NetNavi counterpart, see DarkMan.EXE. |
Dark Man 4 (ダークマン4 Dākuman 4), also written as Dark Man IV, is the fourth Dark Man robot created by Dr. Wily in Mega Man 5 to assassinate Mega Man. Dark Man 4 is the superior model, made to be the strongest of the four, being equipped with energy bullets, an electromagnetic barrier, and the ability to shift each part from his body to change his size. By shifting his body parts to the smallest size possible, he can impersonate Proto Man, using the disguise to frame him for Dr. Wily. His fake Proto Man disguise doesn't have a scarf (as he lost it when he kidnapped Dr. Light in front of his lab), and his whistle is low and flat compared to Proto Man's. His buster shots are also larger than Proto Man's, but travel at a slower pace.
Video game appearances[]
Mega Man 5[]
Dark Man 4 is the boss of Proto Man Stage 4, being the final boss of this fortress. When Mega Man first enters this room, he meets Proto Man, lacking his scarf and playing an offkey whistle. Mega Man doesn't wish to fight Proto Man, but gets shot by a direct hit that severely damages him (leaving him with one point of life left). Proto Man slowly closes in on his prey, but before he can shoot another shot, another whistle plays (which is correct in pitch). Another Proto Man appears to defend Mega Man, wearing a scarf. As Mega Man looks in confusion, the violent Proto Man fires at the defending Proto Man, but the latter dodges and shoots at the aggressor, revealing Dark Man 4's disguise. Before leaving, Proto Man gives Mega Man an L Tank, fully restoring his health before the battle begins.
Attack pattern[]
Dark Man 4 is the most complex of the Dark Man robots and combines attacks from all of them into his own pattern. He has Dark Man 2's twin electromagnetic barriers circling around him and protecting him from buster shots. However, they circle around him at a faster speed. Dark Man 4 has two attacks that can be used, chosen randomly. His first is to fire quick buster shots forward, taken from Dark Man 1. He always shoots 3 buster shots forward, which can be slid under or jumped over, but he shoots them at a fast enough rate that Mega Man will have to short hop over them precisely instead of doing full jumps. Dark Man 4's second attack is to release his barriers away from him, sweeping the ground on both sides and going offscreen. After this, he does a high jump (taken from Dark Man 3) that lands on Mega Man's position. Once he lands, the barriers return to him from offscreen.
Weaknesses[]
As with all the Dark Man robots, Dark Man 4 is weak to Beat, who automatically homes in on him to damage him, going through his shield and doing 3 damage. If the player saved energy for Beat, this is the time to use him. Star Crash and Power Stone do 2 damage and also ignore his barriers, with Star Crash being able to protect Mega Man from his buster shots (though continuously doing so will drain too much ammo). Power Stone is more recommended than Star Crash, as it has more ammo and lags the game slightly, which can helps players in reacting to attacks. As with all bosses, Dark Man 4 takes 3 damage from a fully-charged buster shot.
Aftermath[]
After Mega Man destroys Dark Man 4, the screen goes black and Dr. Wily appears in his UFO, saying that he didn't expect Mega Man to defeat his powerful robot. He tells Mega Man that Dark Man 4 was used to frame Proto Man for his crimes, but the real one had appeared and exposed the truth. Dr. Wily then reveals that Dr. Light is being held captive in his lab and dares Mega Man to come rescue him before retreating.
Other appearances[]
- Each of the four Dark Man robots appears mixed with the scrap in the first Wily Castle stage from Mega Man 10, but only their heads are visible.
- Dark Man 4 appears as a collectible Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Other media[]
Mega Man: Upon a Star[]
The four Dark Man robots have a brief appearance in the first episode, Appearance in Japan. Dark Man 4 is the last Dark Man robot to appear, and Mega Man's battle against him happens offscreen.
Mega Man (Archie Comics)[]
The four Dark Man robots in Mega Man #55
All four Dark Man models are seen briefly in Mega Man #55, with Dr. Light seeing them in a vision of the near future.
Dark Man 4's arm cannon is also one of the robot parts present in Mega Man #54, but it was hidden by a speech balloon in the comic.[1]
Mega Man Megamix[]
The four Dark Man type robots are based on the same design that were in charge of defending Dr. Wily's fortress during his fifth attempt at world domination. Dark Man 4 acts as the leader of the other Dark Man robots, and was developed using the best features of the other three. His buster and electromagnetic shield are smaller, more efficient versions of those used by the other Dark Man robots. His body is made of a special alloy that allows him to not only transform into the shape of other Dark Man robots, but to also displace certain parts of his body to alter his overall form. This ability appears to have limitations, as his feet remain pointed and he is unable to change his expression when he is disguised as Proto Man.
In “Warrior’s Day Off,” Dark Man 4 appears in one panel as a newspaper solicitor that promoted the park for Roll. In “Power Battle,” while running a shop, Dark Man 4 meets Roll, Auto, and Rush. When Roll recognizes him only as the newspaper guy, he calls the other Dark Man robots to kidnap them to present as hostages to Wily, in exchange for greater rank. When they corner the three, Bass intervenes calling them cowards for ganging up on Roll, easily beating the four Dark Man robots.
Mega Man Gigamix[]
In the story “Burning Wheel,” Dark Man 4, under the disguise of Proto Man, enters the Battle & Chase race in order to pay off his huge debt with the prize money. His disguise was revealed when Turbo Man destroyed his vehicle.
Later, all four Dark Man robots appeared in the story "To a Shining Morrow" explaining to Shadow Man that they survived the attack from the alien robot by hiding inside Gamerizer (with Dark Man 4 hoping that the others would not tell Shadow Man that they were planning to use it to escape), and that they helped Shade Man transport and repair the defeated Wily Numbers.
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Rockman 5 (manga)[]
Like the game, Dark Man IV pretended to be Blues, and is the fourth Dark Man robot fought by Rockman in Blues's fortress.
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Gallery[]
![Dark Man 4's arm cannon inside a box in Mega Man #54.[1]](/wiki/File:ArchieMegaMan54Page4Raw.jpeg "ArchieMegaMan54Page4Raw.jpeg (182 KB)")
Trivia[]
- Although Dark Man 4's cutscene shot (while disguised as Proto Man) does the most damage out of any boss attack that isn't an instant-kill (doing 27 points of damage, with Mega Man having 28 points of health), it is impossible to die from it as the stage before the boss only has instant-kill hazards, offering no way for Mega Man to take regular damage. Even if there was, the damage is scripted, with Mega Man always staying with 1 life point even if cheats are used to alter his life before he enters the room.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shown by Ryan Jampole and Matt Herms on Twitter.