Character Profile: Proto Man

Before creating Mega Man, Dr. Light created a prototype he named Proto Man. I’ve never been sure why he’s so different than Mega Man if he was an early draft of him, or if he never intended Proto Man to be more than a trainer to the Blue Bomber. According to his story in Mega Man: The Power Fighters, Proto Man has a fatal defect in his energy system and is in constant pain. Perhaps this is why Dr. Light replaced him with Mega Man, although they’re basically identical on the inside.

Proto Man’s first appearance was in Mega Man 3, where he would attack Mega Man for a few seconds then leave, opening new areas for Mega Man to explore. He seemed like an enemy, but you could tell he was only testing and training Mega Man. Back then he used the code name Break Man.

Although he has only been playable in the arcade games Mega Man: The Power Battle and Mega Man: The Power Fighters, Proto Man (called Blues in Japan) has made cameos in pretty much every Mega Man game after part 3. Like Mega Man, Proto Man has the ability to absorb his opponent’s weapons. He has a slightly more powerful arm cannon than Mega Man, which he can charge to a point where it hurts him but delivers massive damage to his opponents. His signature ability, however, is the Proto Shield. It’s huge, but it can deflect enemy fire with the greatest of ease and also works as a ramming device when the going gets rough.