History WesternAnimation / Megaman

* AdaptationalWimp: The Robot Masters themselves, with the exception of [[EvilCounterpart Proto Man]], are all basically glorified {{Mooks}} with names. Even those who were notoriously difficult in the games are all able to be easily defeated, often with a single shot.

* AllAPartOfTheJob: When complimented for his good work, Mega Man will sometimes say it was part of his program.
* AllIsWellThatEndsWell: Despite all the crap Wily and to a lesser extent Proto Man puts Mega Man through, he never takes it personally. Roll is a different story and refuses to see Proto Man as her brother.

* AnAxeToGrind: One of Roll's Utility Arm weapons is an axe.

** Dr. Wily's had his moments. One that comes to mind was in "20,000 Leaks Under the Sea". After pulling off a clever {{plan}}, he managed to trap our heroes in a fake laboratory building that was in fact an enormous robot which then took them underwater. We later find out that he had a self-destruct for the building that he could've just used right at the start and kill them all before they even realized anything was wrong. Instead, he trapped them in an AgonyBeam while gloating about his plan, eventually leaving them to their fate, enabling them to make their escape. Not only that, but he apparently left some tools behind that Dr. Light was able to use to help them escape.
** Despite Wily and his robots being somewhat savvy, they missed several opportunities to outright kill Mega Man. In ''Campus Commandos'' the Robot Masters had Mega Man at their mercy, twice. The first time they locked him in a closet and the second time they tied him to gears in a clock and left him alone. In ''Brain Bot'' they handcuffed Mega Man to the floor and was going to crush him, but they again left him alone instead of staying to make sure he died. In ''Showdown at Red Gulch'' they had Mega Man completely at their mercy after they knocked him out, but instead of finishing him they tied him to a horse and sent him off into the desert.

* CatFight: In ''Electric Nightmare'', when [[DesignatedGirlFight Roll is fighting with the cosmetics bot]], there's a quick cut to Mega Man, staring with an... [[GirlOnGirlIsHot interested]] look on his face.
* CatFolk: The Lion Men.
* CatSmile: Proto Man makes one in "The Beginning."

** When under Wily's control in ''Mega-Pinocchio'' Mega Man becomes his dragon alongside Proto Man.

* ConceptArt: Among other things, Proto Man had a belt, Roll's shirt and pants were red and white, and Rush's muzzle was white.
* ConquerorFromTheFuture: Vile and Spark Mandrill, though they weren't around to stay, instead intending to obtain a valuable resource from the past and take it back to Sigma. Destroying that era's protectors was just a bonus.

* ColonyDrop: One of Wily's ingenious schemes involved using a contraption to pull the moon out of orbit and bring the Moon close enough to the Earth that the resulting gravitational shift would send the Earth's climate into chaos. The human race would still be wiped out, save for maybe a few survivors -- who, Wily hoped, would submit to his power after that. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even his Robot Masters thinks this plan is crazy.]]

** Mega Man also becames like this when under Wily's control, when he was not engaging in BriefAccentImitation.
* CripplingOverSpecialization: Almost all the Robot Masters become helpless once their weapon is disabled since they have nothing else to fall back on. Mega Man avoids some of this by having Karate techniques handle when his blaster is disabled.

* CutLexLuthorACheck: It's mentioned sometimes that Wily (and Sigma, in the VideoGame/MegaManX crossover episode) needs funding to continue his evil schemes. So naturally he sends the robots out to steal stuff.

* DefiedTrope: Tar of the Lion Men avoids an EvilVsEvil scenario by frisking Wily for his reprogramming device and brainwashing the Robot Masters, Roll, and ''Proto Man'' with it.

* DestructiveSavior: Mega Man X. His idea of keeping Vile and Spark Mandrill from stealing the Lightanium rods is to fire on them, nearly destroying the entire plant. Mega Man is more than a little horrified.

* DistressedDamsel: Fittingly, B-movie star Evelyn Ray.

* EliteMook: Dark Man was pretty competent for a regular Robot Master, as was Pharaoh Man.
* EnergyAbsorption: What the webs on Wily's mecha spider does in ''Robot Spider''.

* EverybodyLaughsEnding: Most episodes ends with Rush doing something silly a la Franchise/ScoobyDoo and the good guys, well, laughing.

** Proto Man to Mega Man. They are both build from the same plans and are the most powerful robots in the world with the ability to copy other Robot Masters' powers. While Mega Man fights for the common good and justice, Proto Man is an AxCrazy BloodKnight, who takes delight causing pain and chaos.

** Wily might as well believe this too since he thinks near the end of ''Mega-Pinocchio'' that Mega Man willingly turns on his family because the power of evil is stronger than good.

* EvilVsEvil: Tar avoids this scenario in "Curse of the Lion Men" by brainwashing Wily's robots, even to his own Robot Masters.

* GainaxEnding: The ending of ''Night of the Living Monster Bots'' implies that the entire episode was one of Evelyn's movies.

* GenreBlind: Most robot masters don't realize that they can still fight after having their main weapon stolen. Famously averted with Pharaoh Man though.

* GoneToTheFuture: Mega Man in "Future Shock". He think Dr. Light is lost in time after trying to save his life by pushing him into the time machine and sending him into the future by a minute. He goes into the time machine to search for him. In truth, Dr. Light is thrown from the machine before Mega Man sent the time machine into the future.

* HairstyleMalfunction: Happened to a one-off crook in "The Incredible Shrinking Mega Man". Her wig gets suck into Roll's vacuum.

* HeelFaceMole: Proto Man in "Bro Bots". He pretends to turn against Wily all so he can plant a scramble chip on Mega Man, and capture Dr. Light, Roll, and the newly elected-governer.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: Mega Man and Dr. Light in ''Mega-Pinocchio''. After taking control of Mega Man's mind, Wily has him mess up a battle to make him look incompetent and make the public turn against Dr. Light. He then steals Light's other robots and tries to take over Washington DC, all in Dr. Light's name.

* HeroInsurance: Mega Man tries to keep damages down when he is fighting the Robot Masters. Unfortunately, when you are fighting an army of super-powered robots, things will get destroyed.

* HumongousMecha: Wily's giant spider from the properly named ''Robot Spider'' episode.

* IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight: Not said by words, but Roll invokes this trope when she is trying to get through to Mega Man, who is under the influence of Wily's mind-control chip. Mega Man doesn't really listens to her until Dr. Light interferes and interrupts Wily's control, allowing Roll's words to free him.

* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Most of Wily's Robot Masters are proud graduates. Mercilessly [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Mega Man, who always tell the Robot Masters that they can't aim.

* ImprovisedWeapon: Mega Man once uses a broom to take down a hostile robot. When his ArmCannon is disable he throws dessert, tables, and anything else he can get his hands on.

* ISurrenderSuckers: Pulled by Mega Man of all people when he was surrounded by Wily's robots. Although, it was more, "I'll join you....not!"

** In ''Mega-Pinocchio'', Roll spends the entirety of the episode wanting to fight Wily's bots. Instead, she has to fight a mental battle against her own brother.

* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: PlayedWith in at least one episode. Mega Man interrogates Dr. Wily and holds his arm cannon up to the doctor's face, saying that it should help to jog his memory.

** At the beginning of ''Ice Age'', the kids that Mega Man is tasked with supervising says that he can't help them, since all of his actions are pre-programmed (except they're not).
** Mega Man, interestingly, seems to have this view of himself at times. When congratulated for his good work, he often brushes it off as something he was just program to do. And in ''Mega-Pinocchio'', he's confused about why he cared about a statue since he's only a robot.

* MadScientist: Dr. Wily, of course. He created an army of Robot Masters and other inventions to help him take over the world.

* ManchurianAgent: In ''Mega-Pinocchio'', Mega Man is himself as long as Wily gives him no commands though his mind helmet. As soon as Wily does, however, Mega Man would unquestionably obey any order. Mega Man seems to remember the order as an emotion or a part of his human thinking so he thinks nothing of it. Although, part of that is caused by how Wily phase his commands: like telling Mega Man that he's feeling fear, making him drop bombs on a building, or him feeling pity toward Guts Man, letting him escaped.

** ''Mega-Pinocchio'', odd premise aside, was one of the most serious episodes of the show, involving Wily besmirching Dr. Light's name, Mega Man having existential crises, him nearly killing his own family twice, and an attack on the White House. It ends with Rush doing something silly.
** ''Bro Bots'' ends likewise, though it could be argued that it was to cheer Mega (and the audience) up. In the episode, Mega Man is tortured by a scramble chip, used and betrayed by his own brother, his family and a top government official are nearly murdered, and Mega Man is forced to fight his treasonous brother, who returns to Wily's side.

* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Both Wily and Dr. Light, since they seem to be experts in several scientific fields.
* OneManArmy: Like his game counterpart, Mega Man can take down a horde of Robot Masters. In fact, he's pretty much is ''the'' army against Wily since no one literally can stop him as seen in ''Future Shock''.

* TheOnlyOne: Mega Man is literally the only one who can stop Wily going by ''Future Shock''.

** Just as Vile and Spark Mandrill in ''Mega X'' are completely out of context for Mega Man, X himself is an out of context foe to Wily and his robots. When they did try to fight him, he catches Cut Man's weapon and crushes it like it was made of tinfoil. He later copies Snake Man's weapon and uses a supercharged version of the search snake to tear apart Wily's giant doomsday cannon in a matter of seconds.

* PlayingWithPuppets: What Wily does to Mega Man for the first half in ''Mega-Pinocchio''. He toys with Mega Man's mind, making him screw up a battle, which leaves Mega Man extremely depressed, before taking full control of him.

* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: Certain broadcasts of the series would edit out instances of "'bot" being used in place of "butt" (ie "'bot-heads", "kick some 'bot", etc.), replacing them with silence instead.

* PowerCopy: Happens regularly, though Proto Man did it only once in the pilot. Also, it is different from the video game version in that Mega Man doesn't have to defeat a Robot Master to duplicate their powers. All that is required is for Mega to concentrate for a few seconds while touching a Robot Master. This cartoon-exclusive loophole was played with in an episode where after Mega copies Pharaoh Man's powers and spouts his catchphrase, Pharaoh knocks him away with a punch to the face. He was also able to analyze the schematics of Wily's giant robot spider, an AgonyBeam, and a bomb.

* PretendToBeBrainwashed: Mega Man does this when freed from Wily's control in "Mega-Pinochio" to fool Wily's robots and to steal the mind helmet.

** Mega Man ambuses Pharaoh Man by jumping out of a fountain and touching him, stealing his power. Pharaoh Man punches him in the face.

** The episode "The Day the Moon Fall" gives a realistic look of what will happen to the world if the moon is moved closer to Earth's orbit. The results are not pretty.

** The robots are programmed to think and act like humans, having unique personalities. Some episodes have shown that this ability and the resultant personalities, such as Proto Man's ego, have ruined Wily's plans. Ice Man's jealousy of Air Man also ruined Wily's plan. This has even caused trouble for Mega Man since he's often confused about what is his personality and what is his programing, which leaves him open to Wily's manipulation in "Mega-Pinocchio".

* RestrainingBolt: What the scrambler chip Proto plants on Mega Man does in ''Bro Bots''. Mega is in so much pain that he can't effectively fight the Robot Masters or use his weapon out of fear of overheating.

* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Just about every robot on the show. They have human personalties and feelings to the point that they might as well be humans. What separates the humans from robots is free will. The Robot Masters can't disobey Wily no matter how crazy his schemes become, except for Proto Man whose plans are used to build Mega Man, so both have a degree of free will. How much control Dr. Light has over his robots is never explored since he treats them like his children and doesn't give them orders.

* SelfParody: Keiji Inafune, the most famous person associated with Mega Man, helped make some of the episodes, possibly evoking this Trope.

** The mobile prison in "20,000 Leaks Under the Sea" bears a resemblance to an [[StarWars AT-AT Walker]].

* ShowingTheirWork:

** At one point, Wily's Skulker is destroyed, and to escape, he uses a smaller, UFO-like ship to escape. Aside from the fact it looks like a UFO, This is functionally identical to his Wily capsules, which he used to escape deadly scenarios after ''{{VideoGame/Mega Man 3}}''.

%%* {{Sleepwalking}}: What happens to the humans in ''Mega Dreams''.

* SouvenirLand: Fun World, which has standard rides and even offers souvenir rings. [[spoiler: The rings brainwash people to think like robots]].

* TrashLanding: In one episode, Megaman is being overwhelmed by Wily's bots and needs to make a getaway off a bridge. He spends a superblast on Guts Man, knocking him into the other bots, and while they're picking themselves up from that, Megaman and Rush jump off the bridge onto a garbage barge to get away. Surfacing from it with a banana peel on his head, he [[LampshadeHanging wonders aloud]] whether Wily's bots or himself have the worse end of the deal.

** Mega Man and Dr. Light gets this in ''Mega-Pinocchio'' after Mega Man dropped two bombs that collapsed a building. It was really Wily toying with Mega Man's mind that made him do it.

** In ''Red Gulch'', after Wily enhances his robots using pieces of a meteorite, Mega Man can't hurt any of the Robot Masters. Heck, he can't even hurt a Battonton.

->''"MEGA MAN, THE SUPER HERO OF THE 21ST CENTURY!\\
Super Fighting Robot, MEGA MAN!"''

* [[MonsterOfTheWeek Robot Master of the Week]]: Most of the robot masters worked in this manner, except for [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Cut Man and Guts Man]]. Some, like Snake Man and Bright Man, would be brought back multiple times, others would [[OneShotCharacter never be seen again]].
* RobotWar: All the fights in the show are between Wily and his robot army.

* WhatADrag: One of the ways Wily tries to kill Mega Man. He ties him to a horse and sends him across the desert.

* WorthyOpponent: Proto Man views Mega Man as this and so does Mega Man given that Proto Man is the only Robot Master he takes seriously.
* WouldHurtAChild: Wily threatened to rocket a young girl into space if Mega Man didn't back down.
%%* YesMan: Wily in his college days.

** Woodman's Leaf Shield became somewhat practical by being an actual shield. He used it to defend Proto Man from attack, and was one of the few Robot Masters to threaten Dr. Light.

* AgonyBeam: Wily used one in "20,000 Leaks Under The Sea" to incapacitate Roll, Rush, and, oddly, Dr. Light.

* AllAPartOfTheJob: When complimented for his good work, Mega Man will some times say it was part of his program.
* AllIsWellThatEndsWell: Despite all the crap Wily and to a lesser extent Proto Man puts Mega Man through, he never takes it personally. Roll is a different story and refused to see Proto Man as her brother.

* ArmCannon[=/=]PlasmaCannon: Mega Man and Proto Man's weapon of choice just like the game.
* ArtisticAge: Mega Man looks 21 and (for the most part) acts like it, but a good deal of promotional material gives the impression that he's only 15 or so...and all of that despite the fact he's a robot who was built, at most, a handful years before the series starts.

* KnightOfCerebus: Unlike almost all of Wily's henchmen, Vile is ''not'' a joke, due to being powerful enough to [[NoSell ignore Mega Man's shots]], [[OutsideContextProblem the characters not being able to properly combat him due to lack of familiarity]] (until X shows up), along with [[EvilerThanThou being the one in control of the operation instead of Wily]], who he's [[VillainTeamup teaming up with]].

* MultiformBalance: In "Cold Steel" Mega Man uses Gyro Man and Spark Man's powers at the same time, allowing him to fly and shoot electricity.

%%* CuteBruiser: Roll.
* CuteMachines: Doc the Met and Beat.

%%** Proto Man, and Vile in "Mega X".

* KnightOfCerebus: Unlike almost all of Wily's henchmen, Vile was ''not'' a joke, due to being powerful enough to [[NoSell ignore Mega Man's shots]], [[OutsideContextProblem the characters not being able to properly combat him due to lack of familiarity]] (until X shows up), along with [[EvilerThanThou being the one in control of the operation instead of Wily]], who he's [[VillainTeamup teaming up with]].
* KnightTemplar: X. He shows little, if any regard to the collateral damage he causes while fighting Vile and Spark Mandrill, and he outright states that he doesn't care if he brings Vile back dead or alive.

* NeverRecycleYourSchemes:
** Dr. Wily never repeats a plan. Sometimes {{justified|Trope}} by Dr. Light coming up with a counter to whatever he had tried.
** In "Cold Steel" he ''tried'' to recover his device so he could start the plan over later, but Mega Man stopped him.

** Evelyn Ray was likely a ShoutOut to Fay Wray.

* InSeriesNickname: Mega Man is often called "Mega" by his friends and some times even his foes. This later replaced Rock in ''VideoGame/MegaManPoweredUp'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for WiiU''.

** The episode "Bro Bots". In it, Proto Man fakes [[HeelFaceTurn going straight]] to implant an inhibitor chip into Mega to keep him from stopping Wily's scheme of the week. Even though he was faking it, he is genuinely surprised when Mega says that he "always wanted a real brother relationship" with him. Later on when his ruse is revealed, Proto man tried to invoke WeCouldRuleTogether with his brother in exchange for removing the inhibitor chip. Mega Man obviously refuses, causing Wily to point out just how disappointed Blues looked about this.

* BadBadActing: Seen on two separate occasions when Mega and Roll try to fool Wily. (You can also tell which of Roll's voice actresses voices her by this--Robyn Ross doesn't do this, while Kathleen Barr does.)

** The episode "Bro Bots". In it, Proto Man fakes [[HeelFaceTurn going straight]] to implant an inhibitor chip into Mega to keep him from stopping Wily's scheme of the week. Even though he was faking it, he is genuinely surprised when Mega says that he "always wanted a real brother relationship" with him.

** The appearance of Vile and Spark Mandrill, given they're from the future. Their armor is literally centuries ahead of any present-day weapons, and they are able to shrug off attacks from Mega Man and Dr. Wily alike.

** Just as Vile and Spark Mandrill in ''Mega X'' are completely out of context for Mega Man, X himself is an out of context foe to Wily and his robots. When they did try to fight him, he catches Cut Man's weapon and crushes it like it was made of tinfoil.

** More than one publication has even mistaken the show for an anime. This included the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version of ''Mega Man Anniversary Collection'' and the Fox Family channel, which aired the show on their Anime Hour.

* MerchandiseDriven: This series had a respectable amount of merchandising for a syndicated children's cartoon, such as a soundtrack album (featuring songs that were crammed into the end credits, but none of the score) and a potential deal with {{Creator/Marvel}} to adapt the cartoon into a comic (which fell through), but at the center of the merch was the toyline from Bandai. As a nod to his [[PowerCopying mimicry ability]], the Mega Man figure's Mega Buster could be switched with other weapons. Bandai apparently had some creative input on the series, such as by having the producers introduce a vehicle for Mega (the Land Blazer) so they could make a toy out of it. But with sales below expectations, Bandai got fussy with Capcom, and as a result, Capcom canceled both the toyline ''and'' the series. Of the action figures, the Bomb Man figure is the rarest as it was pulled out of stores shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing. Due to its rarity, you can expect it to be very expensive if you find it anywhere.

The overall plot of the cartoon is pretty much like the video games it was based on, with Mega Man having to foil the schemes of MadScientist Dr. Wily, who wants nothing more than to TakeOverTheWorld. It is somewhat like the [[WesternAnimation American]] ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' [[WesternAnimation/StreetFighter cartoon]] in that the plots of the individual episodes would tend to get kinda screwy, but was nonetheless good for a usually unintentional laugh. The voice work was provided by Creator/TheOceanGroup, who would later dub ''VideoGame/MegaManPoweredUp''.

Despite the cartoon getting fairly solid ratings, it was canceled before a third season could get off the ground. [[http://siphersaysstuff.tumblr.com/post/8519989554/joerubbyinterview An interview]] with Joe Ruby has shed light on production of the show. [[http://www.asmzine.com/geekly-rewind/2011/08/05/from-the-lost-asm-archives-a-little-qa-with-joe-ruby/ Concept art]] has also resurfaced.

* CatSmile: Proto Man [[http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/4203/protomancatface.png has this]] in "The Beginning."

In a strange move, despite the cartoon getting fairly solid ratings, it was canceled before a third season could get off the ground. [[http://siphersaysstuff.tumblr.com/post/8519989554/joerubbyinterview An interview]] with Joe Ruby has shed light on production of the show. [[http://www.asmzine.com/geekly-rewind/2011/08/05/from-the-lost-asm-archives-a-little-qa-with-joe-ruby/ Concept art]] has also resurfaced.

** Ice Man defeated Mega Man about 3 times in one episode. And broke Rush. Then again, in the games he could kill you in 3 hits.

** Mega Man himself to an extent. He can copy the powers of a Robot Master without defeating or disabling them first like in the game. He also disables the Robot Master's weapons after he copies them, making them powerless, with the exception of Pharaoh Man and to a lesser extent Crystal Man. He also been shown once using two Robot Master's weapons at the same time, something that is impossible in the game. On top of all that, he knows karate moves.

* AdaptationalVillainy: Although Proto Man first appears in the games as a villain (or at least, not on Mega's side)[[note]]In ''Mega Man 3'', Proto mostly served as a sparring opponent for Mega Man, who has yet to realize Proto is his older brother until the game's ending, thinking he's an enemy. In ''5'', he's framed for causing trouble when the damage was actually done by another robot (Dark Man) disguising as Proto.[[/note]] he has a HeelFaceTurn and becomes a frequent ally to Mega Man, if still [[AloofBigBrother aloof]] at times. In the series he is a straight up villain with little to no redeeming qualities and an obsession with defeating Mega Man himself. Essentially he's playing Bass, a character who wouldn't appear in the games until near the very end of the show's run, when it was far too late to write him in.

* AdaptedOut: Some Robot Masters never made an appearance in the cartoon. In fact, ''VideoGame/MegaMan1'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'' are the only two games to have every Robot Master from it make at least one appearance on the cartoon.

** In a sense, X's appearance implies that the future of the VideoGame/MegaManX and VideoGame/MegaManZero games still comes to pass, meaning the world is in for quite a bit of fighting until things settle down for a bit with VideoGame/MegaManZX.

* NormalFishInATinyPond: X, in his own continuity, roughly even with Mega Man. Back in the original's time, Superpowered robot who can't be harmed. Ditto for the villains.

* AdaptationalVillainy:
** Although Proto Man first appears in the games as a villain (or at least, not on Mega's side)[[note]]In ''Mega Man 3'', Proto mostly served as a sparring opponent for Mega Man, who has yet to realize Proto is his older brother until the game's ending, thinking he's an enemy. In ''5'', he's framed for causing trouble when the damage was actually done by another robot (Dark Man) disguising as Proto.[[/note]] he has a HeelFaceTurn and becomes a frequent ally to Mega Man, if still [[AloofBigBrother aloof]] at times. In the series he is a straight up villain with little to no redeeming qualities and an obsession with defeating Mega Man himself. Essentially he's playing Bass, a character who wouldn't appear in the games until near the very end of the show's run, when it was far too late to write him in.
** While not really evil, in this adaption Mega Man X is significantly colder and much more ruthless than he is in the video games, especially compared to the ones made after the cancelling of this series.

** Cut Man's voice is an impression of PeterLorre.

** Snake Man was pretty much the fourth member of Wily's personal Robot Master team, considering how many episodes and how much screen time he had.

* AIIsACrapshoot: One of the many reasons for the fallout between Dr. Light and Dr. Wily was because Dr. Light thought this trope was in effect after their prototype humanoid robot malfunction. He ordered all of the plans to be destroyed and to start over. Wily didn't take that well.

** Mega sees Roll as this at times since she wants to help him fight Wily's robots despite not being redesign to be a warrior.

* ArmCannon[=/=]PlasmaCannon: Mega Man and Photo Man's weapon of choice just like the game.

* AxCrazy: Both Proto Man and Wily show signs of this. Wily comes off as mentally unhinged to the point of breaking out into wild laughter and enjoy causing pain a little too much. Several people call him insane, which he takes as a compliment. Photo Man isn't as unstable as Wily, but he does enjoy [[BloodKnight fighting]] and smiles when causing massive among of property damage.

** Wood Man's infamous line about Mega Man not liking them as she shoots at them. Photo lampshades that Wily didn't give him too much intelligence.

** Photo Man is equally as strong and as smart as Mega Man on top of being a CombatPragmatist. He has taking Mega Man out several time when he's distracted.

** Proto Man to Mega Man. Out of all the Robot Masters, Photo Man is the only one who can beat Mega Man in an one-on-one fight. Mega Man is also the only one who can beat Photo Man.

[[quoteright:317:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MegaShowsTitle.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:317:[-[[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore This version of Mega Man is hardcore]].-] ]]

->''"MEGA MAN, THE SUPER HERO OF THE 21ST CENTURY!\\
Super Fighting Robot, MEGA MAN!"''

An [[TheAnimeOfTheGame animated adaptation]] of Creator/{{Capcom}}'s beloved {{mascot}}...[[LegacyCharacter more specifically]], the [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic classic version]]. Created by Creator/RubySpears Productions with Ashi Productions of Japan (now Creator/ProductionReed), this series ran from 1994 to 1995.

The overall plot of the cartoon is pretty much like the video games it was based on, with Mega Man having to foil the schemes of MadScientist Dr. Wily, who wants nothing more than to TakeOverTheWorld. It is somewhat like the [[WesternAnimation American]] ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' [[WesternAnimation/StreetFighter cartoon]] in that the plots of the individual episodes would tend to get kinda screwy, but was nonetheless good for a usually unintentional laugh. The voice work was provided by Creator/TheOceanGroup, who would later dub ''VideoGame/MegaManPoweredUp''.

In a strange move, despite the cartoon getting fairly solid ratings, it was canceled before a third season could get off the ground. [[http://siphersaysstuff.tumblr.com/post/8519989554/joerubbyinterview An interview]] with Joe Ruby has shed light on production of the show. [[http://www.asmzine.com/geekly-rewind/2011/08/05/from-the-lost-asm-archives-a-little-qa-with-joe-ruby/ Concept art]] has also resurfaced.

!!''Mega Man'' provides examples of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: A-I]]
* ActionGirl: Roll. Despite being a housekeeping robot, she was able to incapacitate Cut Man. ''With a toaster gun that shot out delicious toasted bread''.
* ActionHoggingOpening: The opening is more fluidly animated than the show and is almost nonstop action.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness:
** While rather tame compared to other female characters like that in the show, Roll had a body of a fairly curvy young woman rather than the little girl she normally is in the franchise.
** There's also Mega Man himself and Proto Man, both of whom have an older and more muscular appearance compared to the games.
* AdaptationalBadass:
** Top Man went from being an easy boss with an oft-mocked acquired weapon to a smooth-talking womanizer capable of defeating Mega Man unaided.
** Metal Man was ''always'' awesome, but in the cartoon he had a spectacularly hardcore moment. After pinning Mega Man under a metal pipe, he ''tried to saw his head off''.
** Woodman's Leaf Shield became somewhat practical by being an actual shield. He used it to defend Proto Man from attack, and was one of the few Robot Masters to threaten Dr. Light.
** Unlike in the game, Pharaoh Man can punch you in the face.
** Ice Man defeated Mega Man about 3 times in one episode. And broke Rush. Then again, in the games he could kill you in 3 hits.
** Roll shows us how dangerous kitchen utensils are, and occasionally wields things like axes and buzzsaws.
** Mega Man himself to an extent. He can copy the powers of a Robot Master without defeating or disabling them first like in the game. He also disables the Robot Master's weapons after he copies them, making them powerless, with the exception of Pharaoh Man and to a lesser extent Crystal Man. He also been shown once using two Robot Master's weapons at the same time, something that is impossible in the game. On top of all that, he knows karate moves.
** Dark Man is based on his second, rather basic form, rather than the armed ones, but his abilities are less defensive than his game counterpart's, and better for capture purposes.
* AdaptationalHeroism: A Metool (an enemy from the games) was in the first episode as Roll's partner. There was also a heroic Pipi enemy in the episode "Ice Age."
* AdaptationalVillainy:
** Although Proto Man first appears in the games as a villain (or at least, not on Mega's side)[[note]]In ''Mega Man 3'', Proto mostly served as a sparring opponent for Mega Man, who has yet to realize Proto is his older brother until the game's ending, thinking he's an enemy. In ''5'', he's framed for causing trouble when the damage was actually done by another robot (Dark Man) disguising as Proto.[[/note]] he has a HeelFaceTurn and becomes a frequent ally to Mega Man, if still [[AloofBigBrother aloof]] at times. In the series he is a straight up villain with little to no redeeming qualities and an obsession with defeating Mega Man himself. Essentially he's playing Bass, a character who wouldn't appear in the games until near the very end of the show's run, when it was far too late to write him in.
** While not really evil, in this adaption Mega Man X is significantly colder and much more ruthless than he is in the video games, especially compared to the ones made after the cancelling of this series.
* AdaptationalWimp: The Robot Masters themselves, with the exception of [[EvilCounterpart Proto Man]], are all basically glorified {{Mooks}} with names. Even those who were notoriously difficult in the games are all able to be easily defeated, often with a single shot.
* AdaptedOut: Some Robot Masters never made an appearance in the cartoon. In fact, ''VideoGame/MegaMan1'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'' are the only two games to have every Robot Master from it make at least one appearance on the cartoon.
* AdorableEvilMinions: The Battontons, and the Pipis in the opening.
* AffectionateNickname:
** All of Mega Man's friends and family affectionately call him Mega. Dr. Wily even calls him Mega when he is under his control.
** Proto Man calls Mega Man 'little bro', both when he is being sarcastic or praising his brother.
* AgonyBeam: Wily used one in "20,000 Leaks Under The Sea" to incapacitate Roll, Rush, and, oddly, Dr. Light.
* AIIsACrapshoot: One of the many reasons for the fallout between Dr. Light and Dr. Wily was because Dr. Light thought this trope was in effect after their prototype humanoid robot malfunction. He ordered all of the plans to be destroyed and to start over. Wily didn't take that well.
* AllMythsAreTrue: The legend of Lotos is right on the money.
* AllAPartOfTheJob: When complimented for his good work, Mega Man will some times say it was part of his program.
* AllIsWellThatEndsWell: Despite all the crap Wily and to a lesser extent Proto Man puts Mega Man through, he never takes it personally. Roll is a different story and refused to see Proto Man as her brother.
* AlternateDVDCommentary: Diabetus of WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}} did a great [=MSTing=] of the BizarroEpisode "Curse of the Lion Men."
* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The animated series has this German [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFEBaAxO7W0 opening]].
* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: This Mega Man is a muscle-bound teen while his Classic self is a little boy. This also extends to Roll.
* AmplifierArtifact: Lightanium rods could convert small amounts of plasma into enough energy to power the entire city. Wily wanted to use them to power his Super Blaster gun.
* AmusementParkOfDoom: Fun World in "Bad Day at Peril Park."
* AnAxeToGrind: One of Roll's Utility Arm weapons is an axe.
* AndroidsArePeopleToo:
** Mega Man and Roll are treated no differently from humans in the show.
** Out of all the Robot Masters, Proto Man is the only robot Wily treats like a person.
* AnimatedAdaptation: Of the [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic classic series]].
* AnimationBump: The first and last episodes had very good animation, as did some scenes in other episodes; even "Night of the Living Monster Bots" had good use of light and shadow.
* {{Animesque}}: The series was co-animated by a [[Creator/ProductionReed Japanese company]] and thus, has moments of this.
** Some of the {{Wild Take}}s the characters (mostly the Robot Masters) [[http://www.randomhoohaas.flyingomelette.com/rah/megaman/2-3/soanime.JPG sometimes do]].
** Sometimes the characters' eyes, particularly Roll's, take on an anime look.
** In "Crime of the Century", the rich women at the party look ''very'' animesque.
** More than one publication has even mistaken the show for an anime. This included the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version of ''Mega Man Anniversary Collection'' and the Fox Family channel, which aired the show on their Anime Hour.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling:
** Mega sees Roll as this at times since she wants to help him fight Wily's robots despite not being redesign to be a warrior.
** Proto Man sees Mega Man as this most of the time; defeating him in battle, stopping Wily's plan, and just being a plain goody-two-shoes.
* ArmCannon[=/=]PlasmaCannon: Mega Man and Photo Man's weapon of choice just like the game.
* ArtisticAge: Mega Man looks 21 and (for the most part) acts like it, but a good deal of promotional material gives the impression that he's only 15 or so...and all of that despite the fact he's a robot who was built, at most, a handful years before the series starts.
* AscendedExtra:
** Dark Man, the robot posing as Proto Man in ''5'', gets two major parts in two episodes, a pretty cool voice, an awesome power, and he's even competent to boot!
** Snake Man was pretty much the fourth member of Wily's personal Robot Master team, considering how many episodes and how much screen time he had.
* AscendedFanboy:
** The Karate Bot from "Campus Commandos" admires Mega Man and wants to be a fighter like him. Despite hindering Mega at times, he manages to take down Cut Man.
** Annie from "Future Shock" is a human, female example. She has admired Mega Man her entire life, reading his comics. She helps rescue Mega Mega.
* AuctionOfEvil: "The Incredible Shrinking Mega Man" had Dr. Wily shrink entire American cities - specifically, New York, Washington, and Chicago - and then encase them in glass before auctioning them off to the highest bidder. One scene of the Robot Masters driving around in their van also had Guts Man mention that Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Los Angeles were next on the list.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Proto Man is second only to Wily and he is by far the strongest and most competent robot in Wily's army.
* AxCrazy: Both Proto Man and Wily show signs of this. Wily comes off as mentally unhinged to the point of breaking out into wild laughter and enjoy causing pain a little too much. Several people call him insane, which he takes as a compliment. Photo Man isn't as unstable as Wily, but he does enjoy [[BloodKnight fighting]] and smiles when causing massive among of property damage.
* BackToSchool: Roll attends Light's robot college; Mega's there too, but just to keep an eye on things if Wily's around.
* BadBadActing: Seen on two separate occasions when Mega and Roll try to fool Wily. (You can also tell which of Roll's voice actresses voices her by this--Robyn Ross doesn't do this, while Kathleen Barr does.)
* BadFuture:
** The one in "Future Shock", in which Wily has nearly taken over the entire world in the span of thirty or so years.
** In a sense, X's appearance implies that the future of the VideoGame/MegaManX and VideoGame/MegaManZero games still comes to pass, meaning the world is in for quite a bit of fighting until things settle down for a bit with VideoGame/MegaManZX.
* BadassCape:
** Pharaoh Man sports one.
** In the one VHS cover that Proto Man is on, his scarf looks more like one of these.
* BadassInDistress: Mega Man's been captured more than once, but breaks himself out every time.
* BalefulPolymorph: Seen a couple times across the series.
* BatmanGambit: Ice Man and Air Man spent the bulk of "Ice Age" arguing over who will be Wily's Number Two. The good guys use this to their advantage by making Ice Man think Wily is favoring Air Man and would replace him, leading to him rebelling and stalling Wily long enough for Mega Man to take them all down.
* BeachEpisode: "Curse of the Lion Men" had the heroes on vacation in Hawaii. Several fanservicey girls were seen, both in human and lioness forms.
* BerserkButton: Don't give Roll a bad facial or [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm4trjOb5r4 haircut]]. She will destroy you.
* BewareTheNiceOnes:
** Mega Man qualifies as this. He is polite, kind to everyone he meets, and is always willing to help, but he's merciless towards Wily's robots. He blows them up and destroys them in some times amusing ways. One time Guts Man kicked Rush into the ocean, so Mega shot him about 6 times in a row. Normally in the show it only takes 1 or 2 shots to down a Robot Master.
** Roll is this too. She is sweet and kind, although a little temperamental. She is also just as merciless as her brother when it comes to fighting Wily, especially when she finds out that Top Man was just using her and pretended to like her.
* BigApplesauce: Where most of the action take place.
* BigBrotherBully: Proto Man. He lives to destroy his baby brother.
* BigBrotherInstinct:
** Proto Man can also be this at times. He occasionally helps Mega during his battles, unintentionally or not.
** Mega Man is this towards his sister Roll to the point that in the pilot episode he is crushed by a monorail train protecting her. In the same episode he tells a lie, something that robots are supposedly incapable of doing, to save Roll from being reprogrammed.
* BigDamPlot: Wily used this in "Mega X", with assistance from Vile and Spark Mandrill, to flood a plasma plant.
* BigEntrance: Pharaoh Man can open a double door like no other.
* TheBigGuy: X is about a foot taller than Mega--and almost every other character in that episode, for that matter.
%%** Tar of the Lion Men's pretty tall, too.
%%* {{Bishonen}}: Mega Man, sort of.
%%** Proto Man qualifies too.
* BittersweetEnding: The ending of "Bro Bots". Wily's plan is foiled and everyone is saved, but Proto Man was faking his HeelFaceTurn. He left to rejoin Wily, leaving Mega alone.
* BloodKnight: Proto Man, so very much. He loves fighting Mega Mega and proving who's the strongest bot. Helps that [[PsychoPrototype he might be insane.]]
* BlowYouAway: Air Man did this, as did Roll's various Utility Arm fans.
* BondVillainStupidity:
** Dr. Wily's had his moments. One that comes to mind was in "20,000 Leaks Under the Sea". After pulling off a clever {{plan}}, he managed to trap our heroes in a fake laboratory building that was in fact an enormous robot which then took them underwater. We later find out that he had a self-destruct for the building that he could've just used right at the start and kill them all before they even realized anything was wrong. Instead, he trapped them in an AgonyBeam while gloating about his plan, eventually leaving them to their fate, enabling them to make their escape. Not only that, but he apparently left some tools behind that Dr. Light was able to use to help them escape.
** Despite Wily and his robots being somewhat savvy, they missed several opportunities to outright kill Mega Man. In ''Campus Commandos'' the Robot Masters had Mega Man at their mercy, twice. The first time they locked him in a closet and the second time they tied him to gears in a clock and left him alone. In ''Brain Bot'' they handcuffed Mega Man to the floor and was going to crush him, but they again left him alone instead of staying to make sure he died. In ''Showdown at Red Gulch'' they had Mega Man completely at their mercy after they knocked him out, but instead of finishing him they tied him to a horse and sent him off into the desert.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Happens quite a few times across the series to both humans and robots. To give perspective, all the main characters (including the villains) have been brainwash at least once.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Proto Man seems to do this in "Bot Transfer" where he asks the audience:
-->'''Proto Man:''' Boy, what's the world coming to when you can't trust your own brother?
* BriefAccentImitation:
** Mega does this while under Wily's control in "Mega-Pinocchio". He takes on Wily's German accent.
** In a meta example, Proto Man's disguise in "Bot Transfer" sounds like he's doing his best impersonation of Dr. Wily. They both had the same voice actor.
* BrotherSisterIncest: Sounds like it in the pilot. Rarely again, however.
-->'''Mega Man:''' She's pretty!
-->'''Dr. Light:''' Yes. ''(quickly)'' [[MomentKiller And you can think of her as your sister.]]
* BrotherSisterTeam: Mega Man and Roll, who often work together to take down Wily's robots.
* TheBrute: Guts Man, Hard Man, and Spark Mandrill. They are more known for their muscle then their brain power. Although, Spark Mandrill isn't stupid like Guts and Hard Man.
* ButtMonkey: Cut Man, considering he's almost always the first one to be defeated, or to take the most pain in the episode. It's taken to ridiculous heights [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZdEZSsIZIs here]]! You really feel sorry for the guy.
* ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: Cut Man, Guts Man, and Proto Man as hooded figures in "Mega Dreams" (in Proto Man's case, it's the reflection of his sunglasses).
* CainAndAbel: Proto Man and Mega Man, with Proto Man always trying to kill Mega Man. Proto's only "Cain" [[WeCanRuleTogether half of the time.]]
* CallingYourAttacks: Mega Man tends to shout "Plasma Power!" when activating his Mega Buster to beat down some robot masters.
* CannotTellALie: Dr. Wily ''thinks'' this about robots in the first episode, but Rock proves him wrong. In other episodes, Roll's capable of lying as well.
* CanonForeigner: The humans besides Light and Wily, and the cartoon-exclusive robots. The Lion Men and Lotos the Genie, too.
* CanonImmigrant: Fake Man, the police robot from ''9'', is pretty clearly based off of the cartoon police-bots.
* CaptainObvious:
** Wood Man's infamous line about Mega Man not liking them as she shoots at them. Photo lampshades that Wily didn't give him too much intelligence.
** Dr. Light has plenty of these moments as well, like him slowly realizing that the bathroom door shouldn't be bar lock.
* CaptureAndReplicate: In the episode "Bro Bots", Dr. Wily's latest scheme is to kidnap the newly-elected Governor on election night, and replace him with a robotic duplicate. Mega Man, despite having been incapacitated earlier, manages to stop him and save the Governor-Elect.
* CapturedOnPurpose: In "Future Shock", Mega Man decides the best way to get to the imprisoned Dr. Light and Roll is to get himself arrested so he can break out from inside the prison.
* CardCarryingVillain: Wily becomes this, ironically having plans that are somewhat more original than the games. ''Somewhat''.
* {{Catchphrase}}:
** Mega's "Sizzling circuits!"
** Cut Man had "I'll cut you down to size" and "I'm on the ''cutting'' edge". Another semi-common one, "I'm going to make paper dolls out of you."
* CatFight: In ''Electric Nightmare'', when [[DesignatedGirlFight Roll is fighting with the cosmetics bot]], there's a quick cut to Mega Man, staring with an... [[GirlOnGirlIsHot interested]] look on his face.
* CatFolk: The Lion Men.
* CatSmile: Proto Man [[http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/4203/protomancatface.png has this]] in "The Beginning."
* CatsAreMean: The Lion Men. Humanoid lions that can turn humans into lion slaves. Their goal is to take over the world, naturally.
* ChainedToARailway: Happened to Mega on at least two occasions, though he was electrified to it rather than tied.
* TheCheerleader: Averted with the Cheerbots in "Campus Commandos", all of whom are nice. A specific one befriends Roll, and helps out when Wily invades the campus.
* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler: The giant squid]] in "20,000 Leaks Under the Sea". Mega Man helped it earlier in the episode and the squid returns the favor by peeling off the metal that was trapping Mega Man and the others in the lab.
* TheChessmaster:
** Wily took this role in "The Big Shake" thanks to a microtransmitter; Dr. Light noted how he was always one step ahead of them.
** He takes this role again in "Mega X", coming up with the plan to flood the plasma plant and have the Mavericks do the work, and getting to use the lightanium rods before Vile and Spark Mandrill tried to bring them to the future.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Expect any EnemyMine situation to have Wily betraying the heroes or even his own allies. This gets turned against him when he tried to use the Lion Men to take over the world.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Mega Man can't resist saving people, even if it means letting Wily get away, something Wily regularly takes advantage of. Guess it's that strong sense of justice.
* CoDragons:
** When Tar of the Lion Men takes over, Wily and Light briefly becomes his dragons after he turned them into Lion Men.
** When under Wily's control in ''Mega-Pinocchio'' Mega Man becomes his dragon alongside Proto Man.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Is there any other reason why Wily was going to reprogram Rock and Roll without even bothering to shut them down first.
* ConceptArt: Among other things, Proto Man had a belt, Roll's shirt and pants were red and white, and Rush's muzzle was white.
* ConquerorFromTheFuture: Vile and Spark Mandrill, though they weren't around to stay, instead intending to obtain a valuable resource from the past and take it back to Sigma. Destroying that era's protectors was just a bonus.
* CombatPragmatist: Neither side was above throwing in punches, kicks, sneak attacks or an ImprovisedWeapon or two, but this was mostly Proto Man's specialty:
** Near the end of "Terror of the Seven Seas"; he and Mega engage in what's supposed to be a straight fistfight. Once it's apparent that he's going to lose, he changes his mind about not using his arm cannon and shoots Mega. All this earns him is a running punch to the head.
** In "Robo-Spider", he attacks from below, uses Guts Man as a shield, and damages Mega's blaster while he's off-guard.
** In "Campus Commandos", he shoots Mega's Arm Cannon while he was distracted, breaking it for about half the episode.
* ColonyDrop: One of Wily's ingenious schemes involved using a contraption to pull the moon out of orbit and bring the Moon close enough to the Earth that the resulting gravitational shift would send the Earth's climate into chaos. The human race would still be wiped out, save for maybe a few survivors -- who, Wily hoped, would submit to his power after that. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even his Robot Masters thinks this plan is crazy.]]
* ContinuityNod:
** During an EnemyMine situation, Wily comments on how nice it is that he and Dr. Light are working together again. This happened in both the games' backstory and the first episode of the show.
** Mega fails to break open the bathroom door in "Electric Nightmare" and the gigantic Robo-Spider in "Robo-Spider". Both are explicitly stated to be constructed out of titanium.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: In "Electric Nightmare", Roll is strapped to a chair and receives... a bad facial.
* [[CoolBigSis Cool Little Sis]]: Roll definitely qualifies for this.
* CoolOldGuy: Played straight with Dr. Light, but averted with Dr. Wily.
* CoolShades: Proto Man wears these. They're also the preferred method of stopping Bright Man's attacks.
* CreepyCrossdresser: Ice Man in the opening of "Ice Age".
* CreepyMonotone:
** Proto Man engages in this in "Curse of the Lion Men" when Tar reprograms him and the other robots.
** Mega Man also becames like this when under Wily's control, when he was not engaging in BriefAccentImitation.
* CripplingOverSpecialization: Almost all the Robot Masters become helpless once their weapon is disabled since they have nothing else to fall back on. Mega Man avoids some of this by having Karate techniques handle when his blaster is disabled.
* CulturalTranslation:
** Generally what people tend to think about this series. As this show was mostly a western production, the character designers would go with the style what was the ''it'' thing in other western cartoons of its time: muscles. This had the side effect of making Mega Man/Rock and his "sister" Roll look more like teenagers, as opposed to their child-esque appearances in the games. Other than that, most of the characters resembled their video game counterparts, only on 'roids, with the exception being a completely redesigned Roll.
** The action was also firmly grounded in the United States (most of the time), with one episode featuring Mega Man taking a plasma shot from Proto Man to protect the statue of [[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln President Lincoln]].
** In another episode, Wily proclaims that [[BigApplesauce New York City]] is his, presumably talking about "the city" that most episodes take place in.
* CursedWithAwesome: The Lion Men's curse nearly led to them taking over the world with the ability to change others into lions.
%%* CuteBruiser: Roll.
* CuteMachines: Doc the Met and Beat.
* CutLexLuthorACheck: It's mentioned sometimes that Wily (and Sigma, in the VideoGame/MegaManX crossover episode) needs funding to continue his evil schemes. So naturally he sends the robots out to steal stuff.
* DamselOutOfDistress: Roll gets captured a couple times, but escapes on her own more than once. When unable to escape, she usually manages to make trouble for her captors--and she's an ActionGirl in combat.
* DarkActionGirl: A cosmetics robot, Doris the maid, Ms. Lapierre, and a brainwashed Evelyn Ray have all fought Mega Man and Roll at points. The park attendant from Fun World was also evil, but she didn't fight.
* DaydreamSurprise: "Electric Nightmare" opens with Wily attacking a power plant, Mega Man coming to stop him, and Wily seemingly destroying Mega. It turns out that this is just a "game" Wily and his bots are playing to prepare for the real attack.
* DeadpanSnarker:
** Proto Man is a Deadpan Snarker by nature. He has no problem mocking Wily, his allies, and Mega Man.
** Mega Man himself can become like this when dealing with the more stupid Robot Masters.
%%** Proto Man, and Vile in "Mega X".
* DeathTrap:
** "Campus Commandos" has Mega, Roll and Rush tied to clock tower gears to be crushed between them.
** In "Brain Bots", Wily places Mega Man in a Death Trap consisting of a Descending Ceiling with spikes. Mega was bound to the floor as it descended.
** Another episode has Mega's legs trapped as a rocket is wheeled over him, the point being to fry him when the rocket lifts off.
* DefiantCaptive: Even when captured, Roll tries to cause trouble for Wily and Proto Man.
* DefiedTrope: Tar of the Lion Men avoids an EvilVsEvil scenario by frisking Wily for his reprogramming device and brainwashing the Robot Masters, Roll, and ''Proto Man'' with it.
* DemotedToExtra:
** Crash Man had only seven seconds of screen time.
** While some got their own episodes, many of the Robot Masters were little more than cannon fodder throughout the show.
* DesignatedGirlFight: "Electric Nightmare" had Roll attacked by a female cosmetics robot who gave her a bad facial. Mega Man gave the robot an equally bad facial with a tube of makeup, and offered to fight her, but Roll insisted she handle it.
* DestructiveSavior: Mega Man X. His idea of keeping Vile and Spark Mandrill from stealing the Lightanium rods is to fire on them, nearly destroying the entire plant. Mega Man is more than a little horrified.
* {{Determinator}}:
** Even if he's hurt, out-numbered, shrunken, or had his body stolen, Mega Man won't stopped fighting until he has stopped Wily.
** Pharaoh Man, who, after having his power stolen by Mega Man, responds by punching his opponent in the face and continuing to fight him.
* DisabilityImmunity: Mary, a hearing-impaired girl, is immune to Wily's mind-control music.
* DisabilitySuperpower: Mary's reading of Dr. Light's lips told Roll and Rush where Wily's base was. And made sense of Rush's yammering for her to tell Roll that Mega Man was hurt and at the bottom of the sea.
* DisproportionateRetribution: In "Electric Nightmare", Roll was attacked by a female cosmetics robot that strapped her to a chair and gave her a bad facial. Mega Man's response was to throw a tube of makeup at the robot, giving her an equally bad facial. Roll's response when freed was to cut her in half, then vacuum her face off.
* DistressedDamsel: Fittingly, B-movie star Evelyn Ray.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: So this cosmetics bot is under Dr. Wily's control, and straps Roll to a chair. Roll tells the robot to let her go, but Wily gives her a ''creepy'' look and goes "Not before I give you the beauty treatment!" Then the robot produces an oversized powderpuff from her chest area (really) and tries to smush it in Roll's face. Roll acts like this is the worst thing in the world that could happen to her.
%%** And let's not forget the final fight scene in "Bro Bots".
* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: Proto Man some times goes into this trope when he's trying to convince Mega Man to join Wily.
* DoorJudo: Mega Man pulls this off in "Terror of the Seven Seas" with a pursuing Guts Man. While running down a hallway, he sets it up by ''closing'' several doors in Guts Man's face before opening the final door that leads to a maintenance shaft.
* DragonInChief: Wily is a threat given how intelligent he is, but he wouldn't be half as successful without Proto Man who has more common sense and keeps the other Robot Masters in line. He is also the only robot Wily has that can match Mega Man.
* DramaticIrony: Proto Man and Wily reveal the former's faking being good about three minutes into "Bro Bots", but Mega and company don't find out until much later.
* DreamingOfTimesGoneBy: What happens to Mega Man in the pilot episode after he is critically hurt fighting Wily's robots.
* DreamSequence: The {{flashback}} in the very first episode appears to be this rather than Dr. Light's actual first-hand account of the past, as he thinks Mega Man's electrical brain must be [[MyLifeFlashedBeforeMyEyes shorting in and out]]...otherwise, how did either of them know about the parts they weren't there for?
* DreamWeaver: The basic principle of behind Wily's dream machine.
* DrillTank: Dr. Wily used one to help create earthquakes in the episode "The Big Shake".
* DrivenByEnvy: Like his game counterpart, this is one of the many reasons why Wily wants to take over the world. He wants to prove that he is better than Dr. Light.
* DrivenToVillainy: Wily, at least in the pilot episode, believes this about himself. Really, it is just a flimsy excuse.
* DumbMuscle: Guts Man, who is so incompetent in battle against Mega Man that one of the few times he is able to actually hit Mega could be considered an accomplishment.
* DynamicEntry: Mega Man and Wily's robots loved to make their presence known by breaking windows, knocking down walls, or bursting the door opened.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The pilot has a Metool (named "Doc") as Roll's helper and Proto Man copying Guts Man's power, neither of which happened again. It also has the ambiguity surrounding the prototype robot who may or may not have become Proto Man. Also for one short scene, Proto Man's plasma is red as he melts the wall of Light's lab.
* EarthquakeMachine: Wily used one in "The Big Shake".
* EasilyForgiven: Everyone (save for Mega Man) embraced Proto Man when they thought he turned against Wily despite everything he has done.
* EatingMachine:
** Mega Man and Roll have been seen eating robot food. They even went to a restaurant and ordered the specialized food off the menu. Although, EatingOptional for them.
** Rush eats energy dog biscuits to recharged his energy.
* EffortlessAmazonianLift: Roll carries Dr. Light and the governor this way in "Bro Bots", one in each arm.
* EinsteinHair: Wily, just like his game counterpart.
* EliteMook: Dark Man was pretty competent for a regular Robot Master, as was Pharaoh Man.
* EnergyAbsorption: What the webs on Wily's mecha spider does in ''Robot Spider''.
* EmergencyEnergyTank: How Mega Man re-powers himself when he is low on energy or hurt. These tanks are always carried by Eddie.
* EnemyMine: "The Strange Island of Dr. Wily" had Wily and the heroes call a truce to escape Stone Bots.
* EscortMission: Mega Man and Roll had to escort Brain Bot to California. Wily gets in the way and tries to steal Brain Bot.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: This exchange in the first episode.
-->'''Dr. Wily:''' You remember, I built you, Proto Man! And ''you will obey me''...
-->'''Proto Man:''' You're right, Dr. Wily. I'll obey you--when ''I'' want to.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Quick Man, Shadow Man and Dark Man are shocked when Wily intends to pull the moon out of orbit, resulting in major natural disasters. Even Proto Man thinks this is going a bit too far. Too bad they're programmed to do his bidding regardless of the consequences.
* EverybodyLaughsEnding: Most episodes ends with Rush doing something silly a la Franchise/ScoobyDoo and the good guys, well, laughing.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Top Man for Roll, or so she thinks until he reveals that he was using her the whole time.
* EverythingIsOnline: Seen in "Electric Nightmare", even with things that weren't electronic at all.
* EvilCounterpart:
** Proto Man to Mega Man. They are both build from the same plans and are the most powerful robots in the world with the ability to copy other Robot Masters' powers. While Mega Man fights for the common good and justice, Proto Man is an AxCrazy BloodKnight, who takes delight causing pain and chaos.
** Dr. Wily to Dr. Light. They are brilliance scientists who have mastered robotics and other fields of studies. Dr. Light uses his brilliance to help others, uplift mankind, and treats his robots like his children. Wily, on the other hand, wants to conquer the world, uses his talents to terrorized mankind, and treats his robots, except Proto Man, like tools.
* EvilDetectingDog: Occasionally, Rush's ears would hear the villains up to no good. He can also sniff out evil and bombs.
* EvilFeelsGood:
** What Proto Man firmly believes and tries to get Mega Man to feel the same.
** Wily might as well believe this too since he thinks near the end of ''Mega-Pinocchio'' that Mega Man willingly turns on his family because the power of evil is stronger than good.
* EvilFormerFriend: Wily and Dr. Light were friends and colleagues before Wily's envy (along with many, ''many'' other issues) got the best of him.
* EvilGloating: Wily cannot stop himself from gloating when he thinks he's ahead.
* EvilIsHammy: Wily loves to ham it up, especially when things are going according to plan.
* EvilIsNotAToy: Wily thought he could use Tar to help him conquer the world. [[BalefulPolymorph He is proven wrong]].
* EvilLaugh: Although this is a general trait of practically every version of Dr. Wily, the laugh possessed by this incarnation is notably awesome thanks to the vocal talents of Creator/ScottMcNeil.
* EvilPlan: Wily has one an episode, though the big one is destroying Mega Man.
* EvilVsEvil: Tar avoids this scenario in "Curse of the Lion Men" by brainwashing Wily's robots, even to his own Robot Masters.
* {{Expy}}:
** The cop bots in "Future Shock" seem to be based off of Sniper Joes, and a different kind seem based off of Dark Man.
** Rush is obviously based off of Franchise/ScoobyDoo in this incarnation. Although, according to [[http://siphersaysstuff.tumblr.com/post/8519989554/joerubyinterview this article]], Rush was supposed to be as different from him as possible, but he still wound up that way.
* EyeBeams: The Lion Men used these to turn humans into lions.
* EyeCatch: In the syndicated run before and after commercial breaks, with one of the characters announcing something to the effect of "''Mega Man'' will be right back after these messages" or "And now back to ''Mega Man''!" Images used during these bumps include Mega Man in a dynamic action pose, Roll throwing a mean karate kick, and Roll giving Rush a Battery Biscuit while Mega watches in amusement.
* FakeOutOpening: In the beginning of the episode "Electric Nightmare", Mega Man is battling Wily's robots and winning. Then electrical cables get wrapped around him and fry him. Mega Man dead. Or not; in an interesting variation of the trope, it was Wily doing a runthrough of his latest scheme with action figures.
* FamilyFriendlyFirearms:
** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] depending on the episode. At the very least, the guns ''looked'' realistic.
** "Robo-Spider" averts this when the police use guns with bullets against the Robo-Spider, which fail to even dent it.
* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence:
** Since the characters are mostly robots, the writers/animators can get away with dismembering or otherwise mutilating them.
** In "Crime of the Century", Proto Man fires into a room of ''humans'', who don't move or get up afterward.
* FandomSpecificPlot: Plots with Ruby-Spears Bass or Proto Man leaving Wily for another reason are fairly common, as are stories where Wily treats Proto terribly.
* {{Fauxshadowing}}: In "Master of Disaster", Professor Ramuh comments how in the legend, Lotos was banished by tricking the rajah into wishing he'd never found the golden chest. Mega apparently plans to try the same thing on Wily, but ends up just defeating Lotos.
* FinaglesLaw: "Bot Transfer" is a Murphy's Law episode for both sides; ''everything'' goes wrong for both Wily and Mega Man.
* FlashStep: Quick Man's specialty. He's the fastest robot in the series. It's ashamed he's too dumb to use his great speed effectively, unlike all his other counterparts.
* ForTheEvulz: Wily's motivation seems to be this:
** The pilot episode plays with this a bit. During the flashback, Wily appears to be bitter that Dr. Light seemed to be blaming him for the failure of his robot prototype (which may or may not be an unfinished Proto Man) and believed that Light sabotaged his computer guidance system to take credit for all of the work. Later we see him completing Proto Man while spouting off a HumansAreFlawed MotiveRant complete with FreudianExcuse. All of this is dropped after this episode, however, and is never brought up again in the series. A later episode even shows that Wily had double-crossed Light as far back as when they were in college, so indeed ForTheEvulz seems to be the more likely motive here.
** In "Bot Transfer" he goes out of his way to antagonize Mega Man when he could just steal the money he wants from banks while Mega Man's in Geneva.
* FragileSpeedster: Quick Man. He goes down in just a couple of hits, if you can hit him.
* FreakyFridayFlip: A villainous example in "Bot Transfer"; Wily's goons forces Mega Man to switch bodies with Snake Man, with an appropriate, panicked reaction from the former.
* FreudianExcuse: Subverted. In "The Beginning", Wily mentions having a hard childhood, not even having toys like the other kids--then goes right on to working on Proto Man, expounding on a different subject. The show never brings it up again, implying that Wily's bid to take over the world is simply ForTheEvulz.
* GRatedDrug: The meteorite fragments at Red Gulch.
-->'''Mega Man:''' I felt great at first, but then I got really weak...
* GadgeteerGenius:
** Roll did all her modifications to her Utility Arm herself. This includes, among other things, a vacuum, a circular saw, a blender, and ''a baking sensor that detects earthquakes''.
** Brain Bot makes a disguise device on the fly that was so effective that it fooled Dr. Wily.
* GainaxEnding: The ending of ''Night of the Living Monster Bots'' implies that the entire episode was one of Evelyn's movies.
* GeniusBruiser:
** Mega Man is not only powerful, but he is extremely clever. He uses everything to his advantage to take down Wily's robots, including outright lying to them. He is also seen working computers or devices giving to him by Dr. Light.
** Photo Man is equally as strong and as smart as Mega Man on top of being a CombatPragmatist. He has taking Mega Man out several time when he's distracted.
* GeniusDitz:
** Dr. Light has his moments, such as when he wonders aloud "why anyone would bar the outside of a bathroom door" [[FridgeLogic before realizing]] something bad is brewing. He also ''stands'' there as Dr. Wily welded a door shut, and once he left, trying to ''punch'' his way out.
** One-shot character Brain Bot counts as well; he tampers with everything tamperable, oblivious as to whether or not it actually needs to be "fixed" (such as the jet). Despite this, he created some useful inventions.
* GenreBlind: Most robot masters don't realize that they can still fight after having their main weapon stolen. Famously averted with Pharaoh Man though.
* GetIntoJailFree: Mega Man decided the best way to get to Dr. Light and Roll in the Wily-run future was to get himself arrested, so he hit a copbot over the head with a lamppost. It worked.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** Say what you will about [[AccidentalInnuendo some other incidences,]] but there is ''no way in hell'' that Ruby-Spears ''couldn't'' have known what they were doing with this line:
-->'''Proto Man''': (in response to a lame pun on electricity) Yeah. Whatever [[DoubleEntendre turns you on,]] Doc.
** In "Robosaur Park", Mega Man and Roll are de-evolving into cavebots. Dr. Light opens them up to see if there's anything he can do to fix them. The panel he opens on Roll? ''Her breasts''. And it's ''not'' hollow inside.
** Roll calls Wily ''something'' over the sound of a drill in the first episode. People have heard "Dr. Dickhead", "Deadhead," "Denthead," "Dinghead," and "Diskhead," with no official version given.
** Dr. Petto from Mega-Pinocchio is a reference to [[Disney/{{Pinocchio}} Gepetto]], but almost everybody pronounce his name as Dr. Pedo. The only one who gets his name right is Dr. Wily, but his German accent makes us think that he meant 'd' instead of 't'.
** Rush's sexy pose in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAWL6GdQ2pE this commercial break.]]
* GiantSpider: The titular "Robo-Spider". Its webs could drain electricity from the city, and Mega Man could copy the webs' power like a Robot Master.
* GiantSquid: Seen in "20,000 Leaks Under the Sea."
%%* GigglingVillain: Cut Man, and [[ItMakesSenseInContext Snake Man in Mega Man's body]].
* GlassCannon: Elec Man. He can floor Mega Man with one hit, but so can Mega. And Roll.
%%** Also Cut Man.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Mega Man has no problem blowing robots (including his own brother) away like there's no tomorrow. He has also directly threatened Wily more than once, going as far as to shoot at his feet one time.
* GoneToTheFuture: Mega Man in "Future Shock". He think Dr. Light is lost in time after trying to save his life by pushing him into the time machine and sending him into the future by a minute. He goes into the time machine to search for him. In truth, Dr. Light is thrown from the machine before Mega Man sent the time machine into the future.
* GratuitousJapanese: The Bubble Bats are referred to as "Battontons", their original name--which is admittedly less ridiculous.
* HairstyleMalfunction: Happened to a one-off crook in "The Incredible Shrinking Mega Man". Her wig gets suck into Roll's vacuum.
* HandbagOfHurt: In "The Incredible Shrinking Mega Man", Ms. Lapierre swats at a shrunken Mega Man with her purse.
* HartmanHips: Depending on how small their waists are drawn, Mega Man, Roll, and Proto Man.
* HavingABlast: Bomb Man's power, naturally. He can create endless bombs from seemingly nowhere.
* HeelFaceMole: Proto Man in "Bro Bots". He pretends to turn against Wily all so he can plant a scramble chip on Mega Man, and capture Dr. Light, Roll, and the newly elected-governer.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: Mega Man and Dr. Light in ''Mega-Pinocchio''. After taking control of Mega Man's mind, Wily has him mess up a battle to make him look incompetent and make the public turn against Dr. Light. He then steals Light's other robots and tries to take over Washington DC, all in Dr. Light's name.
* HeroicBSOD:
** Mega loses it after switching bodies with Snake Man; he gets it together just long enough to distract the police chasing him.
** He suffers a more protracted one in "Mega-Pinocchio". He feels so bad about messing up the battle against Wily that he begins to think that he's a mistake.
* HeroicBuild: Mega Man and Proto Man both have this. Their armor is design to look like muscles.
* HeroicSacrifice:
** Non-fatal example; Rush let Mega borrow some of his energy to save the day in "Robo-Spider."
** Mega Man himself has had his share, like him taking a plasma blast to protect the statue of President Lincoln.
-->'''Proto Man''': Ha! I knew you'd [[TakingTheBullet risk yourself to save Mr. Lincoln]]!
* HeroInsurance: Mega Man tries to keep damages down when he is fighting the Robot Masters. Unfortunately, when you are fighting an army of super-powered robots, things will get destroyed.
* HerrDoktor: Wily has a German-sounding accent.
* HilarityEnsues: Some of the episodes delved into this, particularly "Electric Nightmare" and "Bot Transfer".
* HoistByHisOwnPetard:
** Wily and his robots stopped the Lion Men from being defeated by Mega Man... and were later mind controlled by them.
** Mega Man will often defeat a robot master with his own weapon if he didn't do so before copying it.
* HollywoodHacking: The episode "Electric Nightmare" has Wily hacking ''everything'' and making it attack the heroes. This even includes other robots.
* HotPaintJob: Unlike in the games, Fire Man has a flame pattern on his blasters.
* HowWeGotHere: The first episode, "The Beginning", explores Rock's origins and his conversion into Mega Man through flashbacks.
* HumongousMecha: Wily's giant spider from the properly named ''Robot Spider'' episode.
* HurricaneOfPuns: There isn't a minute in a battle scene where epic punnage '''isn't''' being dropped between the good and evil characters.
* ICanStillFight: Mega Man does this in "Bro Bots". Despite suffering from an unknown (to him) condition that shocks him, he still goes to protect everyone when he sees Wily's robots on the news.
* AnIcePerson: Ice Man, and one of Roll's weapons was a fan that fired ice.
* IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight: Not said by words, but Roll invokes this trope when she is trying to get through to Mega Man, who is under the influence of Wily's mind-control chip. Mega Man doesn't really listens to her until Dr. Light interferes and interrupts Wily's control, allowing Roll's words to free him.
* IfIDoNotReturn: In "Campus Commandos", Roll hopes Dr. Light will remember to recycle her should they not escape Wily's trap.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Most of Wily's Robot Masters are proud graduates. Mercilessly [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Mega Man, who always tell the Robot Masters that they can't aim.
* ImplacableMan: Vile and Spark Mandrill are completely unstoppable until X arrives to even the odds--and even he has trouble with them.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Mega Man is often called a hot shot by both his foes and allies. He takes out Metal Man by ricocheting his blast through an air vent.
* ImprovisedWeapon: Mega Man once uses a broom to take down a hostile robot. When his ArmCannon is disable he throws dessert, tables, and anything else he can get his hands on.
* ImprobableWeaponUser:
** Roll uses household appliances both in and out of combat.
** The cosmetics robot from "Electric Nightmare" used a hairdryer and oversized razor as weapons, as well as an oversized powderpuff.
** In the same episode, Mega Man even manages to break the spy-bot into parts by ''twirling a broom.''
* InHarmsWay: Proto Man isn't happy unless he's destroying things or fighting Mega Man.
* InSeriesNickname: Mega Man is often called "Mega" by his friends and some times even his foes. This later replaced Rock in ''VideoGame/MegaManPoweredUp'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for WiiU''.
* IncredibleShrinkingMan: The episode imaginatively named "The Incredible Shrinking Mega Man." In it, Wily's world domination scheme of the week involves using jewel-powered shrinking rays to shrink cities (''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime Hyperstone Heist]]'', anyone?). As you would expect by looking at the title, Mega Man is a victim of the shrinking ray.
* IncrediblyObviousBug: Averted in "The Big Shake". Wily's listening device makes no sound and is so tiny, Dr. Light only discovers it by accident when going over Mega Man's damage with a magnifying glass.
* InescapableNet: Seen on occasion. Since Mega Man is a robot the nets are either metal or electrified, and one instance has him invoke this in order to get into where Dr. Light was being held prisoner.
* InstantWakingSkills: Being robots, they don't suffer from drowsiness when awakened from 'sleep'.
* InsufferableGenius:
** Brain Bot. A RunningGag in his episode is Team Wily shouting "Quiet!" at him.
** Wily is a genius and will remind everyone that he is.
* ISurrenderSuckers: Pulled by Mega Man of all people when he was surrounded by Wily's robots. Although, it was more, "I'll join you....not!"
* IntrepidReporter: Bree Ricotta is an antagonistic version in "Mega-Pinocchio".
* InvisibilityCloak: Mega Man's Stealth Suit, though sometimes it malfunctioned.
* {{Irony}}:
** Mega Man is voiced by Ian James Corlett, who voiced Dr. Wily in ''WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster''.
** In ''Mega-Pinocchio'', Roll spends the entirety of the episode wanting to fight Wily's bots. Instead, she has to fight a mental battle against her own brother.
* ItsAllAboutMe:
** Wily wants to take over the world all to stroke his own ego.
** Tar, leader of the Lion Men, insists on being the only one to rule the world.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:J-R]]
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: PlayedWith in at least one episode. Mega Man interrogates Dr. Wily and holds his arm cannon up to the doctor's face, saying that it should help to jog his memory.
* JoinOrDie: Proto Man's policy when dealing with his baby brother.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Unlike his game counterpart, Dr. Light volunteered Rock to become Mega Man. Rock had no problem with that.
* JustAMachine:
** Wily seems to hold this view of robots, except for Proto Man. He treats his robots like tools, rather than machines with feelings.
** At the beginning of ''Ice Age'', the kids that Mega Man is tasked with supervising says that he can't help them, since all of his actions are pre-programmed (except they're not).
** Mega Man, interestingly, seems to have this view of himself at times. When congratulated for his good work, he often brushes it off as something he was just program to do. And in ''Mega-Pinocchio'', he's confused about why he cared about a statue since he's only a robot.
* JustAStupidAccent:
** This incarnation of Dr. Wily has what sounds like a German accent, although it's never elaborated on where he's from.
** Doris the robo-maid seemed to have a Russian accent.
* KarmaHoudini: In "Bad Day At Peril Park", the corrupt park attendant is never found out as working for Wily, and she isn't defeated or punished.
* KickTheDog:
** Wily yelling at his own robots. Among other things, he's called them "nothing but heaps of useless chips!" And Proto Man was one of the 'bots he was yelling at.
** In "Mega-Pinocchio", his plan was to con Mega into believing he was human so he could plant a chip in him, controlling his mind. However, rather than act on it right away, he spent time toying with Mega Man's mind and gives him existential crises before exerting full control. To make it worse, once he has exerted full control he has Mega Man reprogram all of Dr. Light's robots and has him nearly kill his own family by crushing them when they were trapped in the dumpster. Then, when Roll comes back to free her brother, Wily orders Mega Man to vaporize her.
** Ice Man does this literally in "Ice Age", kicking Rush and breaking him into pieces.
** Guts Man also kicks Rush away from him in "Bad Day at Peril Park" when he kidnaps Bobby.
** And again in "Terror of the Seven Seas", [[BerserkButton this time getting a]] [[BeamSpam pummeling]] by Mega for his efforts.
** In "Robo-Spider," Dr. Wily's Robo-Spider kicks both Mega Man and Rush into a building.
** Rush went to pieces again in "Mega X". Mega, Roll and Rush head out to confront "two weird bots" - and run straight into a blast from Vile's shoulder cannon. Mega and Roll are perfectly fine, Rush is in many pieces and inoperative.
* KillSat: In "The Mega Man on the Moon," Wily hijacks a moon laser, points it at Earth, and starts making demands.
* KnightOfCerebus: Unlike almost all of Wily's henchmen, Vile was ''not'' a joke, due to being powerful enough to [[NoSell ignore Mega Man's shots]], [[OutsideContextProblem the characters not being able to properly combat him due to lack of familiarity]] (until X shows up), along with [[EvilerThanThou being the one in control of the operation instead of Wily]], who he's [[VillainTeamup teaming up with]].
* KnightTemplar: X. He shows little, if any regard to the collateral damage he causes while fighting Vile and Spark Mandrill, and he outright states that he doesn't care if he brings Vile back dead or alive.
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: Mega Man and Roll are fans of movie actress Evelyn Ray; Roll even asks for an autograph.
* LargeHam:
** Dr. Wily. Period. Especially when he's ranting to his robots, giving speeches, or just laughing.
** The mayor of the city is one too, though to a lesser extent.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Rush's scenes are generally accompanied by a saxophone, to emphasize his comic relief nature.
%%* LightningBruiser: Appropriately, Elec Man.
%%** Also Quick Man.
%%** Mega Man himself is one.
* LikeADuckTakesToWater: The Lion Men grasp technology fairly well, despite thinking planes are giant silver birds.
* LiteralSurveillanceBug: One of Wily's miniature robot spiders.
* LiterallyShatteredLives: Wily threatens Light with this in "The Beginning", saying that if he tried anything, Ice Man would freeze him and Cut Man would ''slice him up''. They demonstrated with a chemistry table.
* {{Lobotomy}}: What Wily's reprogrammed method looked like with Rock and Roll.
* LogicalWeakness: Bright Man's Flash Stopper works by shining a bright light that overloads a robot's optic sensors. In "Robo-Spider", Mega Man blocked it by wearing sunglasses.
* TheLongList: Roll used a ''lot'' of Utility Arm attachments over the show's run. [[note]]She's used a vacuum, a blender, a reverse vacuum, a lengthened vacuum, several fans, an ice-shooting fan, a garbage disposal, three different circular saws, a hockey stick, an ice pick, a microwave, a hair dryer, a net, a nail file, a small pair of scissors, a corkscrew, polisher, a ball-shooting cannon like in amusement parks, a toaster gun, a frying pan, a faucet, a lightbulb, a mop, a cake mixer, a plunger, a plumber's snake, an axe, a spatula, and a baking sensor that detects earthquakes.[[/note]]
* LongRangeFighter: Mega Man and most of the Robot Masters fight with blasters or weapons that can be shot long-range. Only Robot Masters like Guts Man and Hard Man specialize in close-range combat, although Mega Man does know karate moves when he's fighting in close quarters.
* LosingYourHead: At the beginning of "The Incredible Shrinking Mega Man", Mega says "don't lose your head" to a disassembled Roll.
* MacGuffin: The black pearl from "Crime of the Century".
* MadeASlave: What happens to any robot reprogrammed by Willy. They become his loyal servant, whether they like it or not.
* MadeOfPlasticine: Doris the robo-maid, who was torn to pieces by a wooden broom.
* MadScientist: Dr. Wily, of course. He created an army of Robot Masters and other inventions to help him take over the world.
* MakeupIsEvil: "Electric Nightmare" had a corrupt cosmetics robot who gave Roll a bad facial.
* ManchurianAgent: In ''Mega-Pinocchio'', Mega Man is himself as long as Wily gives him no commands though his mind helmet. As soon as Wily does, however, Mega Man would unquestionably obey any order. Mega Man seems to remember the order as an emotion or a part of his human thinking so he thinks nothing of it. Although, part of that is caused by how Wily phase his commands: like telling Mega Man that he's feeling fear, making him drop bombs on a building, or him feeling pity toward Guts Man, letting him escaped.
* MassHypnosis: Used in "Cold Steel" and "Bad Day At Peril Park", with Wily hypnotizing the masses to act as robots.
* MeaningfulName: Otto Raptor likes dinosaurs.
* TheMedic: What Dr. Light is most of the time outside tech support. He repairs Mega Man whenever he's damaged, which happens a lot on the show.
* MerchandiseDriven: This series had a respectable amount of merchandising for a syndicated children's cartoon, such as a soundtrack album (featuring songs that were crammed into the end credits, but none of the score) and a potential deal with {{Creator/Marvel}} to adapt the cartoon into a comic (which fell through), but at the center of the merch was the toyline from Bandai. As a nod to his [[PowerCopying mimicry ability]], the Mega Man figure's Mega Buster could be switched with other weapons. Bandai apparently had some creative input on the series, such as by having the producers introduce a vehicle for Mega (the Land Blazer) so they could make a toy out of it. But with sales below expectations, Bandai got fussy with Capcom, and as a result, Capcom canceled both the toyline ''and'' the series. Of the action figures, the Bomb Man figure is the rarest as it was pulled out of stores shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing. Due to its rarity, you can expect it to be very expensive if you find it anywhere.
%%* MightyGlacier: Hard Man. Also Guts Man to a slightly lesser extent.
* MilitaryMashupMachine: Dr. Wily's initial goal in "Terror of the Seven Seas" was to steal enough ships, so that he could assemble them into one of these.
* MindControlDevice:
** Wily has a handheld reprogrammer that can also turn robots into his servants. This gets a CallBack in a later episode when Tar of the Lion Men uses it to reprogram Proto Man, Roll, and the rest of Wily's robots to serve him.
** The mind-control chip he plants on Mega Man along with the helmet he uses to give Mega Man commands. Dr. Light creates his own version of the mind helmet to help free Mega Man from Wily's control.
** The control box Wily was using to brainwash humans with Cold Steel's music.
* MindControlMusic: Used by Wily in "Cold Steel", the titular band being made up of Gemini Man, Gyro Man, and Spark Man.
* MindScrew: The ending of "Night of the Living Monster Bots" implies that the entire episode was one of Evelyn's movies. There's also the possibility that the heroes recovered the battle footage Wily intended to release as a movie, and they released it instead.
* MisterMuffykins:
** Ms. Lapierre, a criminal affiliated with Wily, had a poodle named Fluffy.
** A robo-poodle named Lady Silicon appeared briefly in "Bad Day At Peril Park". Rush tried to impress her.
* TheMole: Doris the maid in "Electric Nightmare," Otto Raptor in "Robosaur Park", Top Man in "Campus Commandos", and Proto Man in "Bro Bots".
* {{Mondegreen}}: Roll's lines when yelling at Wily in the first episode and a cosmetic robot in the second episodes are hard to make out as they're over the sound of a drill/oversized powder puff. The latter line is commonly misheard as "Go powder your own snatch," when she said "snout", and the former has no apparent correct version.
* MonsterMash: The whole point of "Night of the Living Monster-Bots". Dr. Wily creates a bunch of classic horror movie-inspired robots to terrorize the English countryside; a {{Mummy}}, a [[WolfMan Werewolf]], a [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampire]], and a [[FrankensteinsMonster Frankenstein-esque monster]].
* MoodWhiplash:
** ''Mega-Pinocchio'', odd premise aside, was one of the most serious episodes of the show, involving Wily besmirching Dr. Light's name, Mega Man having existential crises, him nearly killing his own family twice, and an attack on the White House. It ends with Rush doing something silly.
** ''Bro Bots'' ends likewise, though it could be argued that it was to cheer Mega (and the audience) up. In the episode, Mega Man is tortured by a scramble chip, used and betrayed by his own brother, his family and a top government official are nearly murdered, and Mega Man is forced to fight his treasonous brother, who returns to Wily's side.
* MoreDakka: In "Terror of the Seven Seas", Wily uses every gun, missile launcher, and laser-shooting satellite dish on ''several'' battleships to try and destroy Mega. [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy They all miss]].
* MotherlyScientist: Well, more like Fatherly Scientist, but Dr. Light treats Mega Man and Roll like his children. In the pilot episode he outright calls Mega Man his son.
* MotorMouth: Quick Man, who also sounds a little like a stereotypical 50's movie mobster.
* MultiarmedMultitasking: Dolores the robo-nanny can feed babies and change diapers at the same time, as she has multiple arms.
* MyLifeFlashedBeforeMyEyes: Mega Man goes through this in the pilot episode after he is badly damaged fighting Wily's robots and is near death. This is how we get the history of Dr. Wily, how Rock was created, and why he became Mega Man.
* NearVillainVictory: Wily has come close several times to a perfect victory.
* NeverRecycleYourSchemes:
** Dr. Wily never repeats a plan. Sometimes {{justified|Trope}} by Dr. Light coming up with a counter to whatever he had tried.
** In "Cold Steel" he ''tried'' to recover his device so he could start the plan over later, but Mega Man stopped him.
* NeverSayDie: Being robots this can be somewhat easily forgiven.
* NoBackwardsCompatibilityInTheFuture: Averted. X is able to [[PowerCopying copy Snake Man's weapon]] just fine. It would've been [[FridgeLogic interesting to see]] what would happen if Mega Man had tried to copy Vile or Spark Mandrill. Would it simply fail, or would the process take so long that he'd get clobbered before it was finished?
* NiceGuysFinishLast: Proto Man says this almost word-by-word after he pulls his arm cannon on Mega Man after agreeing to a fight without blasters.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
** Cut Man's voice is an impression of PeterLorre.
** Evelyn Ray was likely a ShoutOut to Fay Wray.
* NoNameGiven: The mayor. Especially jarring when oneshot and recurring characters get names.
* NoNonsenseNemesis:
** In "The Big Shake", Wily discovered Light and Mega Man were working on a device to stop his earthquake machine. His response was to direct a maximum-powered earthquake directly at Light's lab in an attempt to kill them all, or at the very least wreck the machine.
** In "Future Shock", Wily is aware that if Mega Man makes it to the time machine, his conquest of the future will end. So he orders Proto Man to rig it to explode.
** Catch phrases may be a [[TalkingIsAFreeAction free action]], but PowerCopying is not, as Pharaoh Man will happily demonstrate by punching Mega Man in the face.
** A couple of Wily's death traps were fairly savvy; the robots have attempted to kill Mega while he's weakened or unconscious, and in "Brain Bots" Mega Man was handcuffed to the floor as a spiked ceiling descended on him.
** This occurrence in "Robo-Spider":
-->'''Wily:''' I've got to turn up the power...Wait, what am I worrying about? There's no way Mega Man can stop my Robo-Spider!
-->'''*pause*'''
-->'''Wily:''' I'm not taking any chances. '''*turns up power*'''
** Upon discovering Dr. Light made an antidote to his retrograde virus in "Robosaur Park", Wily immediately decides to destroy it. After Mega intervenes and they play keep-away with the antidote, it ends up back in Wily's hands. Wily then hops in the Skullker to fly away from the heroes and destroy the antidote someplace where they can't interfere.
* NormalFishInATinyPond: X, in his own continuity, roughly even with Mega Man. Back in the original's time, Superpowered robot who can't be harmed. Ditto for the villains.
* NoSell: Vile and Spark Mandrill are completely unaffected by the present-day tech.
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Proto Man to Mega Man, especially when pretending to be good.
* NothingCanStopUsNow: Wily has a really bad habit of saying this, to which Proto Man has to remind him that Mega Man is still around.
* NoWaterproofingInTheFuture: In the games, Mega Man sank in water (except for ''8'', where he could swim for some reason), [[SuperNotDrowningSkills but had no problem]] staying under, being a robot. In the series, Mega Man experiences rapid loss of energy when underwater. Bonus ouch points: It's mostly limited to him.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Bright Man had a rare moment of competence when he decided to first blind Mega Man, then run him over with a tank.
* ObviouslyEvil: Wily, in both the present day and his college-aged self. One wonders why Dr. Light is so surprised that he turned out to be evil.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Both Wily and Dr. Light, since they seem to be experts in several scientific fields.
* OneManArmy: Like his game counterpart, Mega Man can take down a horde of Robot Masters. In fact, he's pretty much is ''the'' army against Wily since no one literally can stop him as seen in ''Future Shock''.
* OffModel:
** A promotional image for the cartoon featuring Mega and Rush [[AssKickingPose looking like they're ready to kick some Robot Master ass]]; what is supposed to be Mega's abs instead looks like a lumpy EldritchAbomination on his stomach.
** Almost everyone in "Curse of the Lion Men" was this.
* OffscreenVillainDarkMatter:
** Played with. A number of episodes revolve around Wily attempting to acquire money to finance his plans or stealing technology or resources, but he still has the resources to build his usual Wily Machine style mechs.
** Vile and Spark Mandrill also avert this in their appearance, as they came back to steal Lightanium rods for Sigma, which are worth a ton in the future.
* TheOnlyOne: Mega Man is literally the only one who can stop Wily going by ''Future Shock''.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou:
** Only Proto Man is allowed to defeat Mega Man, and he'll gladly remind you of this fact if you [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim try to simply shoot Mega.]]
** In a meta example, nobody but Mega Man could defeat Proto Man--when Roll encountered him, she was always defeated.
** Proto Man seems to have gone back and forth on this, ultimately straying from this over time. In the first season he would often directly disobey Wily playing this trope straight. By the second season he didn't do this as often, and was more willing to go along with Wily's plots, whether Mega Man dies by his hand or not.
* OnlySaneMan:
** In a way, Proto Man is the most sane out of Wily's robots, including Wily himself; he is a BloodKnight, but even he demonstrates better decision-making than the BigBad.
** Dr. Light is this in general; he's also the only character to not make puns.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Dracubot in "Night of the Living Monster Bots" can hypnotize people into turning into vampire robots, turn into a bat, and shoot lightning from his fangs. While hypnotized, Evelyn Ray could do the same.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: Wolfbot only transforms under a full moon and is a butler otherwise, and can shoot his claws to turn people into werewolves.
* OutsideContextProblem:
** Just as Vile and Spark Mandrill in ''Mega X'' are completely out of context for Mega Man, X himself is an out of context foe to Wily and his robots. When they did try to fight him, he catches Cut Man's weapon and crushes it like it was made of tinfoil.
** The Lion Men, who invaded the world and turned other people into Lion Men with eye beams.
** The appearance of Vile and Spark Mandrill, given they're from the future. Their armor is literally centuries ahead of any present-day weapons, and they are able to shrug off attacks from Mega Man and Dr. Wily alike.
* OverclockingAttack: In "Robo-Spider", Wily attempts to use this to fry Dr. Light's supercomputer by flooding it with stored electrical current.
* PercussiveTherapy: At the end of "Campus Commandos", Wily starts smashing his control panels in a rage when he realizes Mega's saving City Hall. This causes the Skullker to lose control and fly everywhere.
* PetTheDog:
** The episode "Bro Bots". In it, Proto Man fakes [[HeelFaceTurn going straight]] to implant an inhibitor chip into Mega to keep him from stopping Wily's scheme of the week. Even though he was faking it, he is genuinely surprised when Mega says that he "always wanted a real brother relationship" with him.
** In "Brain Bots", he compliments Mega's shooting skills even as Wily's vehicle goes down.
* PinocchioSyndrome: The plot of "Mega-Pinocchio," where an eccentric scientist named Dr. Petto offers to turn Mega into a human, which Mega for some reason wants to become. Unsurprisingly, Petto is actually a robot created by Wily, and instead of turning Mega human, he instead implants a mind-controlling device to make Mega do his bidding.
* PlayAlongPrisoner: In "Future Shock", Mega Man decides that the best way to get into prison to rescue Roll and Dr. Light is to get himself arrested. He promptly does so, and soon breaks out to free them.
* PlayingWithPuppets: What Wily does to Mega Man for the first half in ''Mega-Pinocchio''. He toys with Mega Man's mind, making him screw up a battle, which leaves Mega Man extremely depressed, before taking full control of him.
* PlotDrivenBreakdown:
** Quite a few episodes have these. In "Bro Bots", Proto Man implants a chip on Mega Man that causes him to suffer these in a form of painful shocks.
** In "Campus Commandos", Proto Man shot Mega's arm cannon, leaving it broken for about half the episode.
** If the episode takes place near or in water, expect Mega Man to suddenly run out of power at a critical moment.
* PluckyComicRelief: Rush. He often lightening the mood during tense scenes.
* PoliceAreUseless: This goes for the human police and the robots, although they do their best.
* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: Certain broadcasts of the series would edit out instances of "'bot" being used in place of "butt" (ie "'bot-heads", "kick some 'bot", etc.), replacing them with silence instead.
* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: "Mega X", which was an obvious launching pad for a ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' cartoon, but it never came into fruition.
%%* PortraitPaintingPeephole: Seen in "Night of the Living Monster Bots".
* PowerCopy: Happens regularly, though Proto Man did it only once in the pilot. Also, it is different from the video game version in that Mega Man doesn't have to defeat a Robot Master to duplicate their powers. All that is required is for Mega to concentrate for a few seconds while touching a Robot Master. This cartoon-exclusive loophole was played with in an episode where after Mega copies Pharaoh Man's powers and spouts his catchphrase, Pharaoh knocks him away with a punch to the face. He was also able to analyze the schematics of Wily's giant robot spider, an AgonyBeam, and a bomb.
* PowerNullifier: The side-effect of Mega Man taking a Robot Master's weapon. Once Mega copies a weapon, the Robot Master can't use it for a period of time.
* PowerParasite: This adaptation of Mega Man shows the Blue Bomber stealing the weapons of Robot Masters by touch, usually leaving them unable to use their powers.
* PragmaticAdaptation:
** While the show has its fair share of detractors, it's often considered to be one of the better [[AnimatedAdaptation Video Game based animated shows]] around. At least when it came to the [[WesternAnimation/{{Darkstalkers}} three]] [[WesternAnimation/StreetFighter 90's]] animated shows based off of Capcom Video games, the Mega Man series is usually considered to be the best one of the three here.
** There was also the decision to change Proto Man from Mega Man's AloofBigBrother Mysterious Ally to his WorthyOpponent on Wily's side. Given that Dark Man, Proto's impersonator from the fifth game, shows up in the series, it's more likely this was a conscious decision in order to give Mega Man an appropriate rival (Bass from the seventh game didn't exist yet). According to an interview this was requested by Capcom itself.
* PragmaticHero: Although Mega Man fights clean most of the time, he is not above lying, deceiving, and using sneak attacks to get ahead in a fight.
* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: Several robot masters; Cut Man (DependingOnTheWriter), Metal Man, Quick Man (only in "The Day the Moon Fell"), Shadow Man, and Ring Man.
* PretendToBeBrainwashed: Mega Man does this when freed from Wily's control in "Mega-Pinochio" to fool Wily's robots and to steal the mind helmet.
* ProjectileToast: One of Roll's Utility Arm attachments was a toaster gun that did this.
* PsychoPrototype: Proto Man. He's [[PsychoticSmirk almost always smirking]], and [[BloodKnight isn't happy unless he's destroying things or fighting Mega Man.]] In fact, in "Future Shock", he didn't want Wily to finish conquering the world because it would mean less opportunities to kill people.
* {{Pun}}: All over the place. Dr. Light is the only main character to never use a pun in the show.
* PunnyName: News reporter Bree Ricotta's name is a reference to two types of cheese.
* RapidFireTyping: Wily and Light engage in it occasionally.
* RealityEnsues:
** Mega Man ambuses Pharaoh Man by jumping out of a fountain and touching him, stealing his power. Pharaoh Man punches him in the face.
** In the first episode, Mega Man is crushed by a train and is heavily damaged to the point of death.
** In the episode "Bot Transfer", Mega Man has a FreakyFridayFlip with Snake Man. For almost the rest of the episode, Mega Man has a major freakout and can barely think straight. He actually tries to run to the police for help, forgetting that he is in the body of one of Wily's Robot Masters.
** The episode "The Day the Moon Fall" gives a realistic look of what will happen to the world if the moon is moved closer to Earth's orbit. The results are not pretty.
** Mega Man seems to run out of energy a lot, especially since no other Robot Master has this problem, not even his brother Proto Man. Although, considering all the fighting he does (he is often fighting five to seven Robot Masters at once), it does make sense he would drain his energy fairly fast.
** Some episodes have addressed the fact that Dr. Wily doesn't have OffscreenVillainDarkMatter and needs money to fund his operations.
** The robots are programmed to think and act like humans, having unique personalities. Some episodes have shown that this ability and the resultant personalities, such as Proto Man's ego, have ruined Wily's plans. Ice Man's jealousy of Air Man also ruined Wily's plan. This has even caused trouble for Mega Man since he's often confused about what is his personality and what is his programing, which leaves him open to Wily's manipulation in "Mega-Pinocchio".
* RedShirtReporter: Newswoman Bree Ricotta, on the scene of Wily's attacks in three separate episodes.
* RemoteBody: Any robot under the influence of a mind-control chip becomes like this.
* ResetButton: In "Future Shock", the reason the future turned out badly is because Mega Man wasn't around to stop Dr. Wily in the past. Both he and Wily are aware that if he makes it to the time machine, Wily's conquest of the future will end. Sure enough, Mega Man makes it and the BadFuture is erased.
* RestrainingBolt: What the scrambler chip Proto plants on Mega Man does in ''Bro Bots''. Mega is in so much pain that he can't effectively fight the Robot Masters or use his weapon out of fear of overheating.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Doc, the Battontons, Pipi, and Eddie. Rush, too, in his cuter moments.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Just about every robot on the show. They have human personalties and feelings to the point that they might as well be humans. What separates the humans from robots is free will. The Robot Masters can't disobey Wily no matter how crazy his schemes become, except for Proto Man whose plans are used to build Mega Man, so both have a degree of free will. How much control Dr. Light has over his robots is never explored since he treats them like his children and doesn't give them orders.
* RidingIntoTheSunset: How the final episode of the series ended after it was cancelled.
* TheRival:
** Proto Man to Mega Man. Out of all the Robot Masters, Photo Man is the only one who can beat Mega Man in an one-on-one fight. Mega Man is also the only one who can beat Photo Man.
** Dr. Wily also sees himself as a rival to Dr. Light, although Dr. Light does not seem to really care.
* RoboFamily: Mega Man, Roll, and Proto Man are all siblings to each other and Dr. Light is considered their father.
* RobotDog: Rush, obviously.
* RobotMaid: One was featured in "Electric Nightmare", with a {{Meido}} uniform even. At one point, she rips off her uniform to reveal herself as a NinjaMaid. Not to mention Roll was originally designed for household chores.
* RobotMaster: No, not those Robot Masters. Dr. Light and Dr. Wily are scientists who specializes in building or maintaining robots.
* [[MonsterOfTheWeek Robot Master of the Week]]: Most of the robot masters worked in this manner, except for [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Cut Man and Guts Man]]. Some, like Snake Man and Bright Man, would be brought back multiple times, others would [[OneShotCharacter never be seen again]].
* RobotWar: All the fights in the show are between Wily and his robot army.
* RunningGag: Rush biting Guts Man's leg, and usually being kicked off of him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:S-Z]]
* SadisticChoice: Done by Wily at least twice. One when he threatened to shake New York into the ground if the mayor didn't surrender. The second time when he had a space laser and threatened to start shooting cities if the UN didn't surrender the world.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Proto Man, never seen without his trademark yellow scarf just like his game counterpart.
* ScienceFantasy: In episodes with fantastical elements, such as Lotos the genie.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: What the Robot Masters often do when Wily's plans goes south.
* SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou: In the intro, although it does happen a few times in the series proper.
* SealedEvilInACan: The Lion Men, Lotos the Genie, and the Stone Bots.
* SecondLawMyAss: How ThreeLawsCompliant the robots are is questionable, but Proto Man has absolutely no problem disobeying the Second Law given how many times he disobeys Wily or even undermines his orders, something no other robot built by Wily can do.
* SelfParody: Keiji Inafune, the most famous person associated with Mega Man, helped make some of the episodes, possibly evoking this Trope.
* SelfRestraint: One episode had Mega Man get arrested by humans who, thanks to Wily. Since he didn't want to harm the humans, he let himself be handcuffed and arrested. Soon after his name is cleared, he snaps the cuffs like they were nothing.
* ServantRace: How Wily seems to view robots. They live only to serve him.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Brain Bot. He loves to use big and over-complicated words to explain the simplest things.
* ShackleSeatTrap: "Electric Nightmare" had Roll thrown into a makeup chair, which restrained her.
* ShockAndAwe: Elec Man and Dark Man's powers. They both can shoot lightning, albeit in different ways-- Elec Man's Thunder Beam acts more of a standard electric weapon, whilst Dark Man's Electromagnetic Net is designed to immobilise targets rather than destroy them.

** In 'Future Shock', Roll calls enemy robots [[VideoGame/BlasterMaster Blaster Masters]].
** Rush is a robotic expy of Scooby Doo.
** The mobile prison in "20,000 Leaks Under the Sea" bears a resemblance to an [[StarWars AT-AT Walker]].
** In "Cold Steel," Mega called Spark Man [[VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures Sparkster]].
** In "Mega Dreams", Roll walks out of a theater advertising ''Film/TheLastDragon'', which is an actual movie. She even comments how she loves kung-fu movies, which it is.
** The revival of the classic series have their own shout-outs to the animated series:
*** ''9'' references the plot of "Mega Pinocchio", with Wily reprogramming Dr. Light's robots in an effort to tarnish his name. Also, the design of Fakeman was clearly influenced by the police-bots that are common in the series.
*** ''10'' makes a clear reference to "Robosaur Park". Specifically, Mega Man and Roll are both infected with TheVirus, Roll is offered the (experimental) vaccine first, but she declines, saying that Mega Man is the only one who can stop Wily, so he should take it instead.
** Probably a coincidence, but [[VideoGame/MegaManX Command Mission's]] plot involving supra force metal is quite similar to the episode "Showdown at Red Gulch".
* ShowingTheirWork:
** While the show isn't accurate by ''today's'' standards, Ruby Spears included several Robot Masters from the games with designs mostly unscathed. While there are exceptions (Air Man, Roll), overall the looks are usually accurate.
** Look at 00:09 in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRb1OZv_7j4 this video]], specifically Annie's hand. She's ''clearly'' doing the [[http://www.themmnetwork.com/2010/03/18/the-great-mega-man-finger-phenomenon/ Mega Man hand thing]]. Ruby-Spears clearly paid great attention to the artwork, at the very least.
** Dr. Wily does the hand thing in "The Strange Island of Dr. Wily" when commanding the giant Stone Bots.
** The Battontons? Yeah, that's their original Japanese names.
** Before he became Mega Man, his name was Rock.
** Mega Man uses a holographic projector in "The Day the Moon Fell" that looks similar to the Wily alien holographic projector in ''VideoGame/MegaMan2''.
** The writers watched the subbed ''Anime/MegaManUponAStar'' [=OVAs=] to get a feel for Wily's vocal characterizations, citing that in the raw footage Wily spoke Japanese with a German accent.
** In "Mega Dreams", Roll walks out of a theater advertising ''Film/TheLastDragon'', which is an actual movie. She even comments on how she loves kung-fu movies, which it is.
** At one point, Wily's Skulker is destroyed, and to escape, he uses a smaller, UFO-like ship to escape. Aside from the fact it looks like a UFO, This is functionally identical to his Wily capsules, which he used to escape deadly scenarios after ''{{VideoGame/Mega Man 3}}''.
* SiblingRivalry: Mega Man and Proto Man's relationship can best be described as this. When Proto Man is not trying to kill Mega Man, he's trying to prove he's the better bot.
* SinisterShades: Proto Man wears these. A couple times, Mega Man is reflected in them when Proto's about to take him by surprise.
* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: Napalm Man appears for a split-second during the opening credits, but never appeared in any episode.
%%* {{Sleepwalking}}: What happens to the humans in ''Mega Dreams''.
* SmokeOut: Eddie does one in "Robosaur Park", letting Mega and Dr. Light get to safety.
* SmugSnake: Wily a fair amount of times. Although he is very smart and has come up with several clever schemes, he is often undone by his own arrogance, like not killing the heroes when he has the chance.
* SouvenirLand: Fun World, which has standard rides and even offers souvenir rings. [[spoiler: The rings brainwash people to think like robots]].
* SpeechImpairedAnimal: Rush, much like you know who.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: In "Mega X", Sigma's name is spelled on-screen as "Cigma".
* SpiderTank: Wily's robot spider. Nothing could dent that thing.
* SpringCoil: The cosmetics robot in "Electric Nightmare" had springs built into her ankles.
* SpyBot: Wily some times used Battontons to spy on people.
* SssssnakeTalk: Snake Man, natch. And it's evidently ''programmed in'', rather than something he does out of habit; see "Bot Transfer".
* StandardFemaleGrabArea:
** Averted with Roll. When she was captured, she was usually grabbed by her waist. In one instance when the 'bots were on the moon, she was lifted by her shoulder.
** PlayedStraight, oddly, with Proto Man. While he wasn't rendered helpless, Wily's hand on his upper arm was enough to stop him from going after Mega Man.
* StatusQuoIsGod: The PetTheDog moments in "Bro Bots" are simply that, as by the end of the episode, after being found out, Proto Man is back to being Wily's [[TheDragon dragon]].
* StayInTheKitchen: Despite Roll being a more than capable fighter, Mega insists on her staying at Dr. Light's lab. However, this only happens in early episodes, and she still goes out to fight in spite of it. By the fourth season 1 episode, it's never brought up again.
* StockFootage:
** Mega Man's PowerCopying sequence, which begins with a close-up of Mega's face while a wire frame of the ability's chip appears for a few seconds, and ends with Mega feeling rather satisfied as he looks at his ArmCannon.
** There's another bit of stock footage where Mega Man jumps back and fires a weapon. If you see SpeedStripes instead of a proper background behind Mega Man as he looks at his ArmCannon during his PowerCopying sequence, you'll know this particular one is about to occur.
* TheStoic:
** X. With the Mavericks he has to hunt down, it's no wonder. ([[NotSoStoic So what was with all that screaming at the end?]])
** Pharaoh Man, Shadow Man, and Crystal Man, for the baddies' side. They rarely express emotions and often talk in a monotone voice.
* StoryBreakerPower:
** The games will limit you to one power at a time, but "Cold Steel" shows, near the end, that Mega Man can ''stack'' his abilities and use two at the same time. He can also disable the Robot Master's power once he has copied their weapons, leaving them defenseless.
** Mega Man X, Vile, and Spark Mandrill are immensely overpowered compared to the main cast, as they're from the future. Spark Mandrill nearly kills Mega Man and Roll with only one attack.
* StrappedToAnOperatingTable: Dr. Wily does this to Rock (not yet Mega) and Roll in the first episode so he can reprogram them.
* StuffBlowingUp: The intro features a swarm of Killer Bullets flying into skyscrapers and blowing them up. This scene was edited out of post 9/11 broadcasts of the series because people thought it would be in bad taste, but it can be found on the DVD-sets.
* SuperStrength: All robots are stronger than a human, but Guts Man stands head-and-shoulders above them. He can throw a monorail with one hand.
* SuperToughness: Well, they are robots. They can take a lot of punishment.
* SurferDude: Ring Man has a surfer's voice, for some reason.
* SurroundedByIdiots: Wily holds this opinion about all of his robots, to be fair, who wouldn't say this? Proto Man occasionally says so as well and Dr. Light mocks Wily by saying that he can only build idiots.
* SwissArmyAppendage: Roll's Utility Arm, which has almost every weapon imaginable build into it.
* SwissArmyWeapon: Mega Man's buster arm can reproduce any projectile gained from the Robot Masters. This includes, but is not limited to, fire, ice, lightning, bubbles, leaves, whirlwinds, missiles, bombs, boomerangs...
* TagalongKid: Several humans, notably Bobby and Annie. They all tend to be useful in their own ways.
* TakeOverTheCity: If Wily can't TakeOverTheWorld, he settles for this.
* TakeOverTheWorld: Wily's primary goal.
* TakeThat: The final episode "Crime of the Century" features Wily using toys to steal valuables. Given part of the reason the series was cancelled was due to [[MerchandiseDriven low toy sales]], it gives the impression someone was annoyed.
* TastesLikeDiabetes: In-universe. Roll has this reaction to a park attendant's overly sugary demeanor and voice.
-->'''Roll:''' Talk about sweet. I could throw up!
* TeamRocketWins: While his primary goal wasn't achieved, Wily made off with the money from robbing the citizens in "Crime of the Century" and the money from selling a shrunken Washington D.C. in "The Incredible Shrinking Mega Man". If you want to get technical, he also got all the money from selling Fun World tickets.
* TearOffYourFace: Roll does this to a cosmetics robot in "Electric Nightmare".
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: The EnemyMine in "The Strange Island of Dr. Wily" has a lot of this. Neither side likes or trust each other, but need to cooperate to survive.
* ThemeNaming: Mega Man's original name was Rock and his sister's name is Roll.
* ThereIsOnlyOneBed: Mega and Brain Bot end up briefly sharing a bed (Roll took the other one), [[HoYay in rather close proximity.]]
* TheyCalledMeMad: Dr. Wily says this a couple times. Once, it's followed up by a [[DeadpanSnarker snarky comment]] from Proto Man.
-->'''Wily:''' The world called me mad! Insane, Proto!
-->'''Proto Man:''' Sounds right to me.
* ThinkNothingOfIt: How Mega Man often responds to praise after stopping Wily's latest scheme.
* ThirdPersonPerson: Eddie. He's also incapable of saving Mega Man in a dignified manner.
* ThisIsReality: Said when Mega Man is angered at some delinquent kids who were just standing around as Wily attacked.
-->'''Mega:''' This isn't some video game!
* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Guts Man and Cut Man are rarely seen apart. Bomb Man and Elec Man frequently team up, as well.
* TooDumbToLive:
** Mega Man leaping in front of a shot meant for... a statue of President Lincoln. Then again, the repercussions of just standing there and not trying to neutralize the shot somehow wouldn't be pleasant. Best part, Mega Man himself knows it was crazy and ask Dr. Light why the heck he cared about a statue. The answer is more-or-less that Mega Man's humanity wouldn't allow Lincoln to be destroyed.
** Otto Raptor from "Robosaur Park" believes mankind should've gone extinct, not the dinosaurs. ''Otto's a human''. And dinosaurs went extinct 61 millions years before the first ancestor of humans even appeared.
** Tina [=McIntyre=] stowed away on a space shuttle to see her astronaut dad. While that was silly at best, she crosses into this when seeing her father threatened by Wily and the Robot Masters for a password...and she runs out and is promptly held hostage. What really brings this scene into IdiotBall territory was the fact that ''Mega Man was winning'' against Wily's robots when she ran out and became a hostage.
** Evelyn Ray, who had no idea Dr. Wily was bad news until she was hypnotized. She even met with him willingly, despite him trying to take over the world about 17 times by then.
** Frankenbot was so dumb he blew himself up with his own turret, despite there being only one that Mega fixed to point straight down.
* TooPowerfulToLive: Vile and Spark Mandrill, who having come back from the future are presented as being invincible against everything but X, who also fits the trope.
* TotallyRadical: Usually averted; when the trope did happen, Roll was the usual offender. Ring Man engaged in this, too, though he may have been a parody of it.
* ToxicPhlebotinum: The meteor fragments in "Showdown at Red Gulch" increase the power of their users tenfold, but will soon overload said users. Mega Man uses one anyway, since it's the only way to stand up to Wily's superpowered robots. It ends badly.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Battery Biscuits for Rush.
* TrashLanding: In one episode, Megaman is being overwhelmed by Wily's bots and needs to make a getaway off a bridge. He spends a superblast on Guts Man, knocking him into the other bots, and while they're picking themselves up from that, Megaman and Rush jump off the bridge onto a garbage barge to get away. Surfacing from it with a banana peel on his head, he [[LampshadeHanging wonders aloud]] whether Wily's bots or himself have the worse end of the deal.
* TrulySingleParent: Dr. Light is the sole creator of Mega Man and Roll.
* UncannyValleyMakeup: The [[http://i.imgur.com/uWE2eMi.png cosmetics robot]] in "Electric Nightmare."
* UnskilledButStrong: Most of Wily's Robot Masters give this impression, especially after their weapon is stolen.
* UnwantedAssistance: Brain Bot's "help" ranges from merely annoying (trying to give Rush wheels, elaborately stating the obvious) to life-threatening (trying to adjust a jet's gyro-stabilizer in mid flight so that it could operate at peak efficiency). About the third time he tries to "help", Mega Man briefly snaps and yells at him to not touch anything.
* UnwillingRoboticisation:
** "Bad Day at Peril Park". {{Subverted|Trope}} in that the humans are only brainwashed to think like robots.
** After being hypnotized by Dracubot, Evelyn Ray is somehow able to turn into a robot vampire bat.
* UpgradeVsPrototypeFight: All the Mega Man vs Proto Man fights.
* VacationEpisode: "Curse of the Lion Men" had Mega and company on vacation in Hawaii. Then Tar and Wily attacked.
* VanillaEdition: The [=DVDs=] of the show have all the episodes... and nothing else. No concept art, interviews, or anything. Oddly enough, Ruby-Spears concept art ''was'' featured in ''ComicBook/NovasAventurasDeMegaman''.
* VillainousBreakdown: Wily suffers one at the ends of "Cold Steel" and "Campus Commandos".
* VillainousWidowsPeak:
** Wily had one in his college days.
** Dracubot and vampire!Evelyn have this too.
* VirtueIsWeakness:
** What Proto Man believes and why he thinks Mega Man's a softy. He has taking advantage of Mega Man's kindness more than once.
** Wily also appears to hold this belief given he got Mega Man to back down twice by threatening innocent lives.
* VocalDissonance: A couple Robot Masters have raspier voices than you'd think, and Bright Man has a very camp voice.
* VoicesAreMental: Averted in "Bot Transfer." Snake Man in Mega Man's body sounds just like Mega Man, and vice versa. Helps that they're done by the same voice actor.
* WasOnceAMan: The Lion Men used to be human before they were cursed to become lion men.
* WashingtonDCInvasion: Wily does this in "Mega-Pinocchio" with the help of Mega Man and the other Light robots.
* WaveMotionGun: Wily spends "Mega X" trying to build this.
* WeakButSkilled: How Roll is able to fight and defeat some of the Robot Masters. She knows a number of martial arts techniques on top of her unique toolset.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Proto Man ''really wants'' Mega Man to defect to Wily.
* WeaponizedLandmark: Lotos animates The Statue of Liberty in "Master of Disaster", making her come to life and attack Mega Man.
* WeaponsThatSuck: Roll's vacuum cleaner attachment.
* WeatherControlMachine: Dr. Light briefly experiments with one in "The Strange Island of Dr. Wily". It ends up flooding the lab.
* WeirdMoon: Used twice; once with Wily taking control of a laser on a moon base, and the second with him pulling the moon out of its orbit.
* WhatADrag: One of the ways Wily tries to kill Mega Man. He ties him to a horse and sends him across the desert.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Doc the Metool only appeared in the first episode, as a helper to Roll.
** Odd single-episode example: After Proto takes a Hard Knuckle to the chest in "Bad Day at Peril Park", he isn't seen or heard from for the rest of the episode. In the same episode, the corrupt park attendant is never even found out, much less defeated or punished.
* WhatTheHellHero:
** Mega Man and Dr. Light gets this in ''Mega-Pinocchio'' after Mega Man dropped two bombs that collapsed a building. It was really Wily toying with Mega Man's mind that made him do it.
** In the same episode, Dr. Light gets called out by the Secretary of Defense for attacking Washington DC. It is Wily with Dr. Light's reprogrammed robots.
* WhenTreesAttack: Magically animated trees attack in "Master of Disaster".
* WhoWritesThisCrap: Evelyn Ray describes Wily's plot in "Night of the Living Monster Bots" as the worst movie she's ever heard, which Proto Man snarkily agrees with. This episode is generally regarded as having one of the worst plots.
* TheWorfEffect:
** Mega Man is easily one of the strongest robots in the world and he gets completely trashed by Vile and Spark Mandrill. He couldn't even dent them.
** In ''Red Gulch'', after Wily enhances his robots using pieces of a meteorite, Mega Man can't hurt any of the Robot Masters. Heck, he can't even hurt a Battonton.
* WorthyOpponent: Proto Man views Mega Man as this and so does Mega Man given that Proto Man is the only Robot Master he takes seriously.
* WouldHurtAChild: Wily threatened to rocket a young girl into space if Mega Man didn't back down.
%%* YesMan: Wily in his college days.
* YouFightLikeACow: These sorts of insults happen very frequently, mostly by Mega Man amusingly enough since he likes to mock the Robot Masters' [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy poor marksmanship]].
* YouShallNotPass: Mega and Roll try this on Bright Man to let Rush BringNewsBack in "Robo-Spider". Though since he was about to run them over with a tank while they were blinded, it was more trying not to die.
* {{Zeerust}}: In the future, the {{r|idiculouslyHumanRobots}}obots are the only ones not mired in the 1990s.
[[/folder]]

An [[TheAnimeOfTheGame animated adaptation]] of Creator/{{Capcom}}'s beloved {{mascot}}...[[LegacyCharacter more specifically]], the [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic classic version]]. Created by Creator/RubySpears Productions with Ashi Productions of Japan (now Production Reed), this series ran from 1994 to 1995.

* MerchandiseDriven: This series had a respectable amount of merchandising for a syndicated children's cartoon, such as a soundtrack album (featuring songs that were crammed into the end credits, but none of the score) and a potential deal with {{Marvel}} to adapt the cartoon into a comic (which fell through), but at the center of the merch was the toyline from Bandai. As a nod to his [[PowerCopying mimicry ability]], the Mega Man figure's Mega Buster could be switched with other weapons. Bandai apparently had some creative input on the series, such as by having the producers introduce a vehicle for Mega (the Land Blazer) so they could make a toy out of it. But with sales below expectations, Bandai got fussy with Capcom, and as a result, Capcom canceled both the toyline ''and'' the series. Of the action figures, the Bomb Man figure is the rarest as it was pulled out of stores shortly after the Oklahoma City bombing. Due to its rarity, you can expect it to be very expensive if you find it anywhere.

An [[TheAnimeOfTheGame animated adaptation]] of Creator/{{Capcom}}'s beloved {{mascot}}...[[LegacyCharacter more specifically]], the [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic classic version]]. Created by Creator/RubySpears Productions, this series ran from 1994 to 1995.

* OneEpisodeWonder: Quite a few Robot Masters. Especially Pharaoh Man in Electric Nightmare, who retaliated after having his weapon stolen during the climax.