The Complete History of Mega Man | MojoPlays

Not every hero is born; some are made. Welcome to MojoPlays and today we’re exploring the origins of Capcom’s Blue Bomber, Mega Man. The creation of Mega Man can be linked directly to two brilliant scientists: Dr. Thomas Light and Dr. Albert Wily. Long before the games take place, the two attended the Robot Institute of Technology. And as classmates, they got along fairly well. But it wasn’t long before Wily would begin to feel overshadowed by Light. The event that would begin to tear them apart came when a school committee decided to fund Light’s research instead of Wily’s. Light wanted to use his inventions for the betterment of mankind. It was at school where he first developed the technology for sentient thought in robots. Wily’s creation, on the other hand, would only serve to improve robots in a physical sense. Called the Double Gear System, it was designed to increase the speed and power of a robot significantly, but it would cause severe damage to their internal systems. Enraged that others couldn’t see his genius, Wily would abandon his invention. The committee obviously made the right call. But this was only one of many instances that would create Wily’s grudge towards Light. Wily was undoubtedly a genius. But Light was a constant source of recognition and awards, including the Nobel Prize. After they left the university, Light would build his own lab where he enlisted Wily to help him with his work. Wily knew he would always be second best and, unbeknownst to Light, this fact would take its toll over time, and as mad scientists tend to do, he began plotting his world domination. He would construct a secret base off the coast of the Pacific in order to build an army of mindless bots. If he wouldn’t be given glory, he would one day take it. In the meantime, Light’s research would lead to several breakthroughs in robotics. He created many useful robots that could help around the house or in civil services. But he longed to take his research further. He crafted the first robot with independent thought; a prototype aptly named Proto Man. But his invention was much more a success than he thought it would be. Proto Man had his own personality, could think independently and make his own decisions just as Light intended Despite this, there was a single major flaw with Proto Man’s power reactor. If not fixed, it would lead to Proto Man’s demise. However, Proto Man’s sense of self was too strong. When Light attempted to repair him, he fled out of fear that the repairs would cause his personality to change. It seemed that Light’s technology for sentient intelligence in robots was too advanced for even him to predict. Of course, this wouldn’t stop him from tinkering. Light improved the power reactor and designed two new robots: a boy designed for lab assistance and a girl designed for housekeeping. The boy, Rock, and the girl, Roll, were astounding successes. The brother and sister were both capable of independent thought, but neither knew that they would soon be a part of much bigger plans. Light then moved forward with designing a whole group of intelligent robots that would help humans in all manner of industrial fields. He created Cut Man to help with lumber, Elec Man to help at power plants, Fire Man for waste management, Guts Man for construction, Ice Man for exploring frozen terrain, and Bomb Man for land reclamation. Along with these successes in engineering, he had a brand new family to keep him company and a new found respect from citizens everywhere. All was going well in the land of Dr. Light. Or so he thought. Meanwhile, it was the scheming Dr. Wily who found Proto Man close to death and repaired his faulty power reactor. This didn’t have any effect on Proto Man’s personality as he feared it would. But he would feel indebted to Wily and would serve him until he met his younger brother for the first time in Mega Man 3. However there was something much worse about Wily gaining ownership over Proto Man. Though he had worked closely with Dr. Light, he now fully understood how his rival’s technology operated. With the necessary knowledge now at hand, Wily reprogrammed all six of Light’s industrial bots. He made them into his own robot masters and used them, along with a slew of other lesser bots, to seize control of the world. Each resided over well-defended area and with so much power, the governments of the world thought that all was lost. But it was Light’s young lab assistant, Rock, who volunteered to be converted into a literal fighting machine. His sentient thought had led to the development of a strong sense of justice. And out of love for the man who created him, Rock felt he had to step up when no one else would. Light had unintentionally created Mega Man, the world’s first superhero. With shiny blue armor and a blaster for a hand, Rock was redesigned specifically to take Light’s robots down. As Mega Man, he would travel to where each robot master resided and overthrow them one by one. By defeating them, Mega Man would gain a new ability which he would then use against Dr. Wily. After triumphing over the mad scientist, Dr. Wily would beg forgiveness, which Mega Man would graciously grant. Because stronger than his sense of justice is his desire to live in a world where humans and robots peacefully co-exist. Wily, now understanding Light’s technology, would always return to cause mayhem with his own powerfully sentient robots. But Mega Man, or some other version of him, will always be there, ready to rise to the occasion.