Mega Man is one of the last bastions of my all-time favorite characters needing a full-blown action figure line.
There have been many (failed) attempts at getting a Mega Man line off the ground, but nothing has ever even come close to what I would call “expansive.” The thing about it, though, is so many characters from this property would make for amazing toys, and a lot of them can capitalize on that whole part-reuse mandate that seems to be required these days.
It appears that Bandai of Japan is our best chance (right now) of making this happen, and their classic Mega Man figure is one of my most cherished recent acquisitions. That figure is done very well (you can check out my shared review with canonball here), and he really shows that detail and articulation can be a winning combination for a line that many of us have been championing for what seems like, well, forever.
Bass and Treble are up next and scheduled to hit in June, and there is currently a poll going at Capcom of Japan’s website, but that includes, in my opinion, either very obvious or very weird character choices. Thus, I have decided to put together this little list. Now, I am a fan of CLASSIC Mega Man, so all “X” or other incarnations are not being included here. I am talking Robot Masters, people! I think it is probably safe to say that Mega Man and Mega Man 2 are the most popular games, so you will notice that most of my choices come from those games.
Check out my personal picks and sound off in the comments section with your list!
#10: Skull Man
The lone entrant from Mega Man 4 on this list, I picked Skull Man because he would make a really, really neat figure. He has an iconic “bad guy” design influence with the skeleton motif, and, for some reason, whenever I would play that game, Skull Man always seems like the most serious of robots, even though Pharaoh Man was probably more difficult. Either way, getting a robot man that has a skull force field and looks like a skeleton is a win in my book.
#9: Snake Man
C’mon, you know that you fell in love with Snake Man’s look the minute you saw it. Mega Man 3 actually has a lot of great characters designs, but Snake Man takes the cake as the best integration of man, robot, and animal. I love how his face looks like it is coming out of the snake mouth. I think he would be rather striking in figure form and would certainly be a good lead-in for more Mega Man 3 representation.
#8: Proto Man
He’s the “older brother” of Mega Man and one of the most enigmatic and central characters in the mythos. If we actually do not get this figure in the in near future, I will be both shocked and kind of perturbed. I know that the dice has not been rolled on any Masters yet, but I personally think that Proto Man should have been made ahead of robot-come-lately Bass.
#7: Quick Man
At the end of the day, there is just something special about the Robot Masters from the first two games. I could easily make an argument for any of them on this list, and it is actually painful to leave off characters like Bubble Man, Fire Man, Flash Man, and Crash Man, but there are only ten slots available. I have always loved the idea and design of Quick Man and no other Master has really replicated his attacks since, so he is certainly unique. He is also has one of the designs that could be “cheap” for Bandai since he could actually reuse several basic parts from the existing Mega Man figure.
#6: Cut Man
There are no Robot Masters in the Mega Man universe as iconic as those from the original adventure, and I personally think that we should get AT LEAST all of them in D-Arts form. Cut Man is pretty straight forward in terms of design, but he is a fan-favorite and he has a giant pair of scissors on his head. Needless to say, I want that in plastic form. I like the idea that, after their defeat, all of the Robot Masters created by Dr. Light went back to the good side, so he could be used as both a foil and ally of Mega Man.
#5: Elec Man
Elec Man holds a very special place in the history of Mega Man. The first Master that was created by series director (and MM celebrity) Keiji Inafune (Inafking), he is often featured in various promotions and media. We have been somewhat lucky in that we have actually gotten a couple of Elec Man figures over the years, but his color cues and electricity bolt mask would make for a very sharp D-Arts update.
#4: Roll
The only female robot in the series (until the arrival of Splash Woman in Mega Man 9), Roll is the quintessential “little sister” to our main character. She was teased in a recent April Fool’s announcement and is featured in the new Capcom poll, but really, she should not even be on there. Again, like Proto Man, she 100% deserves to be in this line and it will be nothing but a disappointment if she does not make it. I know Capcom seems to be pushing her Mega Man 8 look, but I am a fan of her more simple earlier look. Toss in Eddie (Fliptop) and Beat as pack-ins and this would be a winning release.
#3: Wood Man
My favorite character from Mega Man 2 (perhaps it is the namesake connection), Wood Man set the stage for several new concepts that would carry over into future games. He first used the rotating force-field concept for a main attack and he merged the natural world with sophisticated robot technology. I always thought of him as the hefty big brother of the Wily Robots, so he would add some great variety in terms of shape and form. It would be really fun to see how his Leaf Shield is executed in plastic, but am confident that Bandai could make it cool if they took a chance on him.
#2: Ice Man
Ice Man is my favorite Robot Master of all time. I love his little arctic explorer design and his insulated coat and hood (on a robot!) just seal the whole deal. He is also a bit smaller in stature than the rest of the Robot Masters, so he can add some size and shape differential. He has been a main character since his debut in the awesome frozen world populated by palm trees, and I love the flirty relationship he has with Roll in the current Archie Comics series. If Bandai came to me and let me pick any character for a figure in the line, Ice Man would be it. No question.
#1: Guts Man
While he is not my number one in terms of personal favorite, Guts Man is certainly one of the most recognizable characters of the Mega Man world. So many enemy designs and themes are based around his hard hat look and if he has a fan club, it includes every Mettal ever produced. He is certainly the largest of all of the Robot Masters and his mega arm throw and ground shake attacks are very memorable. I really think that, of all of the characters on this list, Guts Man has the potential to be a HUGE seller both in Japan and abroad. So I think he would be a great starting point for Bandai to test the waters on making a Robot Master and he would (hopefully) lay the ground work for all of the rest of them to come along in time.
I do want to point out that honorable mentions go to doctors Wily, Light, and Cossack. They are most certainly essential characters, but I am positive that if we get lucky enough to actually get some character selection from Bandai, they will focus on the Robots.
So that is it. I did not really want to include Roll and Proto Man on the list because I would have thought they would be givens, but nothing in action figure world is guaranteed until you have it on your shelf.
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