Awesome / The Protomen

"Climb. Climb to the top of the world."

The Fall

In General

• The Protomen's entire existence is awesome. This Wired article credits a Nintendo Power article with helping the band hit it big and stay together, with Murphy saying it was what pushed things over the top and propelled them to the heights they're at now.
• This awesome quote from an early news mailer.
  They loaded the battle wagon at dusk.
  They were ten and five in number.
  Behind them were the charred ruins of a burning city.
  Before them lay nothing but endless battles.
  Their destination?
  West.
• The band became major characters in Dead of Summer, a zombie apocalypse webcomic, and essentially took over the second half of the comic's run.
• The circumstances behind the release of the "Breaking Out" demo. A fan poked somewhere he wasn't supposed to go and ripped a low-quality MP3 of the song, posting it on the forums. The Protomen edited out his post, then released a high-quality version in their newsletter, reasoning that if everyone was going to have one they may as well have it in good quality.
• At one show, Heath Who Hath No Name fell on his back while playing a song. He continued playing while on his back.
• KILROY's speeches at major shows, including the Act II release show, the Act I Vinyl release show, and the Queen CD release show.
  • KILROY's speeches at all shows.
• The fans raising 32K for a documentary project whose goal was 8K. The initial goal was met, and surpassed, in five hours.
• When Panther fell in the cookie incident, he later recalled the voice of God speaking to him, telling him it was his time. The Nightwalker said it wasn't and told him to stay with them. It worked.
• At a 2008 Greenville show, the fans built their own Mega Buster, which Panther used to kill Protoman.
• Ascended Fanboys The Ringer and Steve, who were called upon to play keyboard in "The Stand" and sing as Megaman, respectively, when Panther fell.
• In July 2011, their website was hacked. Combined with a false cease and desist letter and that Capcom canceled Megaman Legends 3, morale was low and people were panicked. So the Protomen sent everyone an epic news mailer detailing exactly how the C&D was fake, that the website would be back up soon, and reminded them to not get too angry at Capcom. And they weren't even that angry at the people who hacked them, jokingly suggesting The Megas were playing a prank. They closed the letter by renaming their tour "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now."
  • The hack was also taken care of the day after it began.
• What was the band doing after their fall 2011 tour ended? Besides working on the new CDs, they prepared for a stage show called Terminator the Second, which is Terminator 2: Judgment Day In the Style of William Shakespeare. And by prepared they meant composing music for it and acting in it.
• According to witnesses at the Queen tribute show, Panther not only successfully pulled off the Freddie Mercury scream in "Under Pressure", but made the microphone and stage vibrate as he did so.
• The March 5th 2012 news post, appropriately titled "Hold Onto Your Butts...Again!". Not only did the Protomen release a 30 second clip of music from their live Queen cover show, they also announced Makeup and Vanity Set releasing his 8-bit remix on vinyl, and an April music video shoot for fan favorite Act II track "Light up the Night." Even better? Fans were allowed to participate as extras!
• The April 19 2012 news post. While three shows were canceled, the reason for it was that the Protomen were asked to open a Tenacious D concert. And even better? They were preselling the Queen album and t-shirt.
• Ringo Segundo crowd surfing at the Palladium on May 18th 2012 while still playing his guitar.
• The Queen CD. All of it. Said CD's insert is both an homage to the Queen II art and a representation of both Acts, showing the main players and symbolism of gears, wires, and helmets.
• The July 22 2012 Queen CD release concert had Tenacious D appearing during Bohemian Rhapsody and singing along with the band. A video is here.
• This poster◊ for their Summer 2012 tour.
• The Ascended Meme of Panther doing a mostly Wood Man "Due Vendetta" at the 8/23 2012 West Hollywood show, with plans to save the all Wood Man song for another time.
• The Act III track preview at PAX 2012.
• At MAGFest 2013, the band reconvened in Jamspace, after their main stage show was cut short, to play "Due Vendetta" on a meowing plastic cat keyboard christened "Freddie Meowcury". It was equal parts funny and awesome.
• The band's President's Day 2013 auctions have 25% of the proceeds going to charity.
• This poster◊ for their Tenth Anniversary.
• The 10th Anniversary show featured the return of "Beard's Going Nowhere," a cover of "Separate Ways," a pinata shaped like Doug Fetterman, and the return of Heath Who Hath No Name.
• This Sons of Fate clip has Protoman calling the rest of the band back out for an encore to fight... by calling them sissies and insulting the audience.
  • Later, Panther gets revenge by ordering him crowdsurfed all the way out the door.
  Panther: That's what he gets for trash talkin' the Protomen.
• The original song preview at PAX 2013. It was later revealed to be titled "Built to Last," and was part of two official Mega Man tribute albums.
• After a limited-edition T-Shirt sold out very quickly, the Protomen apologized by making a new print of it.
• In the Summer of 2014, the Protomen went on their biggest adventure yet: Van's Warped Tour.
• Commander rides an electric skateboard to awesome music.
• The Cover Up album is the soundtrack to a movie made during the time skip in "How the World Fell Under Darkness." It fills in some of the blanks about the time between Light’s exile and "Breaking Out." Apparently, Light is on the run from Wily and receives help from a reporter who is one of Wily's moles.
• The Protomen got "Light up the Night" into Rock Band 4.
• The official trailer to the Light up the Night music video.
• The music video for Light Up the Night features not only the titular song, but also Emily's death, Keep Quiet, The Fall, and Here Comes the Arm. Keep Quiet is also illustrated like a comic book, leading to further awesomeness.
  • The art was later turned into an awesome set of posters.
• New Year's Eve, 2016. The Protomen take the stage three minutes to midnight. Reanimator Lovejoy walks out with a single military drum, keeping beat as the rest of the crew files out, pallbearers, lugging a crude coffin. They set it up - and out comes KILROY, who proceeds to lambaste 2016 in general, giving it the eulogy it deserves, before - at midnight - he proceeds to stab 2016 in effigy, stuff it into the coffin, and order the revelers to crowdsurf it out of the building. THAT is how The Protomen end a terrible year.
• The April 2017 newsletter revealed that the Light up the Night video was chosen to air at the Nashville Film Festival.
• In August 2018, as part of a Makeup and Vanity Set release, they put the infamous original 525-SEA tape in one of a thousand cassettes. Whoever wins that specific tape gets a Cold Steel ticket for free Protomen concerts for life.
• When the band's 2021 New Year's Eve show was postponed to April 9, 2022, the Protomen displayed a big pinata of the Covid-19 virus during the concert. When the New Year's countdown was supposed to occur, they covered The Final Countdown during the set and called an audience member onstage to destroy the virus with a baseball bat, revealing merch bracelets inside.

Act I

• Dr. Light spending 12 years building Protoman. Protoman puts up a good fight before being defeated, too.
• The first time we meet Dr. Wily, right after Protoman's Last Stand.
  ''And as the smoke cleared, Wily rose above the countless robots remaining. Protoman was wounded, low on energy, struggling to remain standing, as Wily ordered the final attack. The death of Protoman.
• Dr. Light creating Megaman without even realizing it.
• The entirety of "The Will of One." Megaman defies Dr. Light and goes to learn the truth about his brother and the City, and sets off to fight Wily. As he visits Protoman's gravesite, he reads a message carved there: "Hope Rides Alone." With renewed energy, determined to finish what his brother started, he heads to the fortress. A crowd follows. As Wily's loudspeakers begin to chant the mantra, determined to quiet them, they throw the words right back as a battle cry. Bonus points for the music being awesome.
• The entirety of "Vengeance," with Megaman tearing through the robot army like it's nothing.
  • Accentuated by this one line a fourth of the way through the song:
  Megaman: All you wounded, those of you who can, pick yourselves off the ground! Hurry back! Tell your leader you need more men!
• Protoman casually plowing through a chunk of Wily's army as he makes his way to Megaman in "The Stand."
• The crowd gets a particularly despicable one during The Sons of Fate.
  Destroy him!
  You can save us!
  Destroy him!
  KILL PROTO MAN!

Act II

• Emily's speech in "Father of Death" is one big 'screw you' directed at Albert Wily.
• Dr. Wily's Villain Song, "The Hounds." There is no better way to take over the City than with swing and jazz.
  If you think that you can run, if you think that you can stand
  Well, you forget who turned this city on, you forget who plugged this city in!
• Everything that Joe does.
• Joe goes toe to toe with an armed assassination robot in hand to hand combat and comes out on top, only to have Light deliver the finishing blow.
  You're gonna have to do better than fear! You're gonna have to step out of the shadows and fight!
• The entirety of "Light up The Night." Joe and Light plan their assault on Wily's tower to an awesome 80's-inspired tune.
• Joe destroying the tower, made more awesome by his use of his motorcycle as a weapon.
• Light renewing his resolve to save the City by building Protoman, using Joe's helmet as a template for Protoman's. About to give up, the good doctor reads the letter Emily left him and prepares to go against Wily's rule once more.

Joe... if you see Emily, tell her to wait for me... 'cause I still have work to do.

Act III

• The Act III track preview at PAX 2012.
• The female lead's determination to save the City.
• "Hold Back The Night" with the female lead giving Dr. Light back his resolve to stand against Wily.
• The second Act III preview song presented at MAGFest 2015, seems to feature Megaman himself, trying to find some shreds of hope in convincing the masses of humanity to fight by his side, rather than look on from the sidelines like in Act I.
• Hold Back the Night has a short Badass Creed that plays in the background during the final choruses, making the song end on a hopeful note.
  We can hold out past the endless dark
  All a fire needs is a single spark

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