Proto Man, civilian name Blues and formerly known as Break Man, is a character that appears in the Mega Man comic series, and the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. He is a Robot Master from the year 20XX in Mega Man's World, the first robot created by Dr. Light, and the older brother of Mega Man and Roll. Though embraced by Dr. Light as his son, Blues' power core malfunctioned and he ran away from home in the belief that Dr. Light would reprogram his personality. Found by Dr. Wily, the mad doctor repaired and upgraded him, and in gratitude Blues- forsaking his original name- joined his forces.

After Dr. Wily and his partner Dr. Eggman used the Genesis Wave to reset his world and Mobius Prime, Proto Man found himself in an all-new reality. After reality was returned to normal, he would take up his Break Man persona again and end up taking part in another meeting of worlds.

Appearance[]

Proto Man's chest, arms, and legs are gray, while most of his body is red. He has a yellow scarf, able to transform his hand into the Proto Buster, similar a few other Robot Masters (like Mega Man and Quake Woman), and black sunglasses. Underneath his helmet, his hair is tall and shaped like lightning, and also curved slightly.

History[]

Worlds Collide[]

Prelude[]

Operating under the name "Break Man", Proto Man launched an attack on Mega Man during a birthday celebration for the blue hero. As Mega Man pursued him, the two traded shots, and Break Man injured Rush in the process. He continued to attack Mega Man even as his brother examined his injured pet, eventually hitting Mega Man himself. Break Man was then set upon by three Light Labs Robot Masters-Guts Man, Cut Man, and Bomb Man-but managed to defeat the three by turning their various weapons against them. He then defeated Mega Man after a brief battle and was about to destroy him when Mega Man pleaded for him to spare his Integrated Circuit. So long as that survived, Mega Man could be rebuilt, and he did not want his father, Dr. Light, to be heartbroken by his permanent loss. Remembering his own connections with Dr. Light, who had also created him, Break Man attempted to leave but was grabbed by Mega Man to stop him. Before he could learn Break Man's true identity, however, both robots-and their entire world-were enveloped by the Genesis Wave.^[2]

Act I: Kindred Spirits[]

In a reset version of Mega City, after the Genesis Wave, Break Man was known as Proto Man and learned that the bank had been broken into. Following the screaming of the distressed citizens, he found that the culprits were a group of new robots that he'd never seen before: the Roboticized Masters.^[3] He engaged the criminals in battle but was quickly overwhelmed by Knuckles Man, and Rose Woman, but was fortunately rescued by the timely arrival of his brother Mega Man. Weakened by the battle, he reluctantly agreed to let Mega Man take over, but warned him that the Masters were both powerful and strange in their design. He observed the battle up until Mega Man followed the Roboticized Masters and Metal Sonic through a Warp Ring, which he took scans of before teleporting to Light Labs An overjoyed Dr. Light greeted him, but Proto Man maintained his distance from his creator as he provided him with the data drive containing his info on the ring. Roll, recognizing the damage he had suffered, persuaded him to let her repair him-with no involvement from Dr. Light-so that he could rejoin the battle more quickly.^[4][5]

Proto Man's repairs were completed just in time, as the lab was attacked by Metal Sonic and Bass, who managed to capture Dr. Light but were prevented from doing any serious damage by Proto Man's efforts. The two villains escaped with their captive just as Mega Man arrived with new friends Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower, the latter having been restored to his original form following his transformation into Tails Man. With Proto Man's input, the Fox was able to create another Warp Ring to take them where the evil robots had gone. Sonic and Tails volunteered to join Mega Man in the rescue mission, and Proto Man joined in and suggested bringing Rush as well. Assured that the lab would be safe in their absence-especially since Dr. Light had managed to contact their old ally Duo before being captured. The band of heroes then passed through the portal into the Skull Egg Zone.^[6]

Act II: Into the Warzone[]

Once inside, they quickly ran into more trouble in the form of Copy Robot and the Genesis Unit. Proto Man squared off with Mega Water S, and was briefly kept at bay by his attacks, but managed to strike back. Once his teammates had dealt with their own opponents, Proto Man was able to finish off Mega Water as he attempted to flee the battle. Despite their victory, the two robot brothers were concerned, explaining to Tails and Sonic that they had previously destroyed the four robots who had just attacked them, and that the loss of their Integrated Circuits should have meant their permanent end. After discussing the implications, the group moved on, only to run into Dr. Wily, Dr. Eggman, and their remaining force of Roboticized Masters.^[7]

The heroes and Masters were soon embroiled in battle, with the doctors explaining how they had used the Masters to gather the Chaos Emeralds and now wanted them to battle the heroes. Proto Man refused to take part, and broke away to investigate the Wily Egg and locate Dr. Light, while hoping to draw away several of the Masters in the process.^[8] His plan worked, as Eggman called away all but three of the Masters to pursue him. Those three-the Roboticized Masters versions of the Chaotix-were subsequently restored to their organic forms and sent to join Proto Man, who did not much enjoy their company.^[1] Eventually the group managed to locate the Wily Egg, and Proto Man contacted Mega Man to apprise him of their status while the Chaotix attempted to crack the code on a nearby teleporter, though without much success. They then set up a beacon in order to allow the other heroes to assemble at their location, with Knuckles the Echidna and Tails being the first to join them.^[9]

Act III: Chaos Clash[]

Reunited and joined by Sonic and his various friends-the restored Roboticized Masters-Proto Man and Mega Man then found themselves facing the Wily Egg's first line of defense: a massive army of Robot Masters. A massive battle erupted, which eventually found the two brothers back to back and being attacked by Yamato Man and Knight Man, only for Sonic to come to their rescue. Proto Man would be aided by the Hedgehog yet again as Sonic tripped up Bubble Man but found a more like-minded ally in Shadow the Hedgehog. The two discussed their situation and quickly agreed that it would be best for Mega Man and Sonic to board the Wily Egg while the rest of the team kept up the fight against the Robot Masters. Watching as his brother reluctantly departed, Proto Man wished him well, only to be attacked by Commando Man. To make matters worse, Dr. Light was then dropped from the Wily Egg, with no one close enough to rescue him physically.^[10] Fortunately, Shadow was able to rescue him using Chaos Control, who brought him to Proto Man. After informing Mega Man that their father was unhurt, Proto Man lent Light his helmet so that he could talk to Mega Man directly, and then defended him from Gemini Man.^[11][12]

When the other Light's Robot Masters created by Dr. Light arrived to aid the heroes, Proto Man recruited Knuckles the Echidna, Rush, and Dr. Light to help him board the Wily Egg and learn the fate of Sonic and Mega Man. Finding the pair at the mercy of Eggman and Wily, Knuckles and Proto Man went on the offensive while Light and Rush freed the captured pair. Knuckles and Proto Man pressed their assault, causing heavy damage to the Egg-Wily Machine X that was aided by the doctors' mutual sabotage. Unfortunately, the doctors got their mech back up and running and were able to draw energy from the Genesis Reactor, repairing their damage and greatly increasing the machine's power. Proto Man and Knuckles were forced to retreat with Dr. Light in tow, but their efforts bought Sonic and Mega Man time needed to absorb some energy from the reactor themselves. Super Armor Mega Man and Super Sonic thus took up the fight, while Proto Man and his companions came across Bass, Treble, and Metal Sonic just before the Super Genesis Wave washed over them all. With the doctors' defeat, Super Armor Mega Man then reversed the effects of both waves, returning Proto Man and the rest of the inhabitants of Earth 20XX to their proper places in reality.^[13]

Aftermath[]

Now as Break Man once again, he would resume his conflict and vendetta against Mega Man and Dr. Light, though after a showdown with his brother, the two parted on "friendly" terms.^[14]

Worlds Unite[]

Act I: Deadly Fusions[]

Break Man eventually returned to help his former allies-a handful of Wily Robot Masters who had reformed-in the battle with Sonic Man. While he managed to get his old teammates to safety, he proved to be no match for the Roboticized Master, who knocked him into the energy field surrounding the Unity Engine Sigma had sent him to set up.^[15] As Mega Man's World and Sonic's World began merging, Break Man and his fellow Robot Masters were brought face to face with the Freedom Fighters. Wily's former minions panicked and wanted to attack, but Break Man urged caution. After teaming up to rescue civilians from the effects of the planetary fusion, the two teams joined together with the healed heroes Sonic and Mega Man. With the addition of Roll, Knuckles, Dr. Light, Gemerl, Auto, Team Sticks, and the Maverick Hunters, the growing army of heroes boarded the Sky Patrol to take the fight to Sigma, the mastermind behind these events.^[16] Along the way, the group's leadership assembled for a meeting, and Break Man and Zero went to the training deck to collect Mega Man and X.^[17]

Act II: Broken Bonds[]

The alliance was unexpectedly joined by Wily, Eggman, and Xander Payne, who informed the heroes of Sigma's whereabouts on the Lost Hex. The Sky Patrol then set off for the floating continent, though Break Man was annoyed on the journey by the presence of Comedy Chimp. They soon arrived and engaged Sigma's Mechaniloid army under the Deadly Six. Unfortunately, the machine-controlling power of the Zeti was soon turned on the heroes, turning Break Man and his fellow Earth 20XX robots into helpless puppets who were powerless to stop themselves from attacking their allies.^[18][19] Break Man was sent against Knuckles, and tried to convince him to help him enact a plot that would weaken the enemy army at the cost of Break Man's power core and possibly his life. However, Knuckles refused to allow the Robot Master to sacrifice himself, and defeated Break Man after a hard battle.^[20] Luckily, Break Man and his allies were subsequently freed from the Deadly Six's control by the Egg-Wily Uppity Robot Scrambler Cannon. Their next challenge would then loom over them, quite literally: Sigma in a giant new body with an army of Mavericks at his command.^[21] Break Man fought against them bravely, despite the obvious difference in numbers. After a number of Sigma's minions went to invade other worlds, the Unified Army was assisted by heroes from the world of Street Fighter. Sally Acorn then devised a plan for the army to disperse to the different worlds and get help in fighting Sigma. With this, Break Man received an Extreme Gear and went off to recruit new members for the army, giving chase to Sigma's forces.^[22]

Act III: Allied Forces[]

Break Man followed Sonic the Hedgehog to the world of Alex Kidd, where they found Alex Kidd and his friend Stella defeating Magna Centipede. Break Man discovered that the Unity Engine there was not turned on and so the heroes could return back to the battlefield. There, they found out that Sigma-2 had destroyed the Sky Patrol. After the new United Army assembled, they attacked Sigma-2 and his forces. Deep into the battle, Sigma's robots began to lose power while the evil Reploid fell apart. However, it was discovered that Sigma had powered up into Sigma-3, an even more deadly transformation. He overpowered Break Man and the rest of the army but he was swiftly stopped due to the efforts of Super Armor Mega Man and Super Sonic. Xander Payne would then reset the events, restoring reality and making Break Man return to his former place in his world.^{[23][24][25][26]}

Personality[]

Proto Man is cool and reserved, and unafraid of facing superior odds. While heroic at heart-and apparently somewhat friendly to his siblings-he maintains a cool distance from his creator, Dr. Light, based on previous difficulties between them. Though stubborn, he is also logical, and can be persuaded to take the most reasonable course even if it is not entirely to his liking.

In other media[]

Super Smash Bros. series[]

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U[]

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Proto Man appeared as a DLC costume outfit for the Mii Gunner as part of the Wave 1 batch.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Proto Man appeared as one of the characters that arrives to assist Mega Man in his Final Smash Mega Legends, alongside X, MegaMan Volnutt, MegaMan.EXE, Star Force Mega Man, and Bass.

Powers and abilities[]

Proto Man, as one of the Robot Masters, is a powerful combatant. He is faster and stronger than any human, and like others of Light's robots can teleport.

Weapons[]

Proto Man battles using his Proto Buster cannon appendage, similar to his younger brother. He also wields a large sturdy shield which he can use for both defense and transportation.

Relationships[]

Friends/allies[]

Freedom Fighters Blaze the Cat Chaotix Charmy Bee Espio the Chameleon Knuckles the Echidna Vector the Crocodile Silver the Hedgehog Team Fighters Amy Rose Miles "Tails" Prower Sonic the Hedgehog Team Dark E-123 Omega Rouge the Bat Shadow the Hedgehog

Unified Army Freedom Fighters Amy Rose Antoine D'Coolette Big the Cat Bunnie D'Coolette Cream the Rabbit Miles "Tails" Prower Rotor the Walrus Sally Acorn Sonic the Hedgehog Gemerl Knuckles the Echidna Team Sticks Sticks the Badger Light Labs Dr. Light Mega Man ("brother") Rush Roll ("sister")

Enemies[]

• Dr. Wily
  • Wily Robot Masters
    • Copy Robot
• Eggman Empire
  • Cubot
  • Dr. Eggman
  • Orbot
• Mavericks
  • Sigma

Trivia[]

• Proto Man's name is derived from "prototype", in reference to his status as Dr. Light's first ever robot creation. His normal name, "Blues", is in reference to the musical genre, in keeping with the series' running theme of music-related names.
  • The name Proto Man is actually a name exclusively used in the English localizations of the Mega Man video games, whereas Blues was his name in the original Japanese versions. The Mega Man comic series uses Blues as his real name.
• Proto Man's character in the altered reality has advanced beyond the usual continuity of the Mega Man comics; in the series beforehand, he was going by the alias "Break Man" and was not only antagonistic towards Dr. Light and Mega Man, but an actual ally of Dr. Wily. He would return to this name and persona afterwards, and retain the identity of Break Man into Worlds Unite.

Gallery[]

Gallery

References[]

External links[]

• Proto Man at Mobius Encyclopaedia, the Archie Sonic wiki.
• Proto Man at Mega Man Knowledge Base