APPEARANCES

The following listings are a few places that may give you déjà vu, otherwise known has, “Does this remind you of anybody?”

Click on the icons to see larger images or for more information.

(These are not here to accuse anyone of trying to rip off anyone else. They are just coincidences and cute similarities.)

Met helmets are not similarities and they are not appearances. Believe it or not, the Met helmet is actually modeled after real construction hard hats. So don’t mail me telling me that a construction worker in such-and-such anime, manga, or other fictional work was seen wearing a Met hat. All of these works of fiction are borrowing from the same source—that is, real life.

As an off-shoot, “Mega Man” is a pretty popular name when it comes to people just looking for a random super-hero sounding name or in other situations as well. Here are some places where the name “Mega Man” (or other characters) has been used but has nothing to do with the blue bomber at all.

• 
  Viewtiful Joe - A “Mega Man” is briefly mentioned in this game. Not really a cameo, but not really an influence; this one is more like an in-joke, since the game was made by Capcom. (It’s probably also not a coincidence that Joe himself looks kind of like a weirded-out version of Proto Man in this game. I can’t help it; it’s true!) I’ve made a short sound clip of the part in question.
  Contributor: multiple
• Mega Bloks - I encountered a “Mega Man” as a mascot for Mega Bloks, those Lego-like toys. Unfortunately I don’t yet have a scan, however.
• Mastertonic - I’m not sure how to classify this one, but it seems Mastertonic made a Rockman game (and a sequel) for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer back in 1985. I don’t know how it plays but the names are probably complete coincidence (the “Rock” in this case appears to be a reference to rocks and not music).
  Contributor: BloodyL
• Teen Titans - Now this one’s pretty funny. There’s a DC Comics villain named “Dr. Light” who appears on the Teen Titans cartoon who is named based on his special abilities. You can read more information about him here.
  Contributor: Justin
• Marvel Comics - Similarly, a “Megaman” made an appearance in a Marvel comic as a villain...
  Contributor: ACE
• Timely Comics/Atlas (e.g. Marvel Comics) - There are a couple of “Rockman” characters which you can see here. See also this post.
  Contributors: Jonathan, Phil
• Voltron - A reader sent a scan of what looks like Voltron, but it has “Megaman” written on it. Here is another scan. From the looks of things, Voltron was localized as “Megaman” in certain regions, but I don’t know which ones or whether this was done legitimately or if these are pirates.
  Contributors: Trike, Tommy
• South Park - There are evidently at least two episodes that mention a “Mega Man.” One, Damien, featured characters discussing various “Mega Man” toys that were various colors and could join together. Sounds more like a Power Rangers rip-off than a Mega Man one, despite the name.
  Contributor: multiple
• Powerpuff Girls - A “Mega Man” is mentioned in the episode Aspirations in a discussion between two guards.
  Contributor: multiple
• Funky Winkerbean - Characters in this comic strip once wrote a story involving a “MegaMan” character.
  Contributor: Lioness 47-0
• The Cosby Show - Characters here talk about a Mega Woman married to a Mega Man who have a Mega Boy and ride in a Mega Mobile. That’s more “megas” than the Captain N shows ever used in one episode.
  Contributor: Josh
• Charmed - An episode called “Wrestling with Demons” involves a character named “Mega Man.”
  Contributor: Carlos
• Replica - It’s been reported that in this series of books, a bad guy’s favorite super hero is named “Mega Man.” I’ll report more when I get my hands on the books.
  Contributor: Brandon
• KMFDM - One of this band’s songs, “Sycophant,” mentions a “mega-man” (as it is usually written in the lyrics).
  Contributor: Dustin
• My Hero - Apparently one episode has a character use the word “Megaman” in a conversation.
  Contributor: Kansheera
• Tom Scholtz - This guitar player’s company invented and sold a line of products with the name “Rockman.”
  Contributor: Kansheera
• DJ Ötzi - There’s a song called “Megaman” on the album “Peace, Love, and Vollgas.” It doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Mega Man, just the title.
  Contributor: Phillip
• Yu-Gi-Oh - Some cards in this series’s trading card game have names like “Bubbleman” and “Sparkman” (although they bear no particular resemblance to the respective Robot Masters).
  Contributor: Nick
• Corporations - There are actually one or more companies named “Megaman” (such as this one which is also found here as well as worldwide). And people think Capcom couldn’t use the name “Rockman” because of trademark issues...
  Contributor: Duke87

Aaannd we have music similarities! This is a preliminary list of songs that sound similar to various tunes in the Mega Man games (or should I say, various tunes in the Mega Man games that sound similar to certain songs...).

Songs which deliberately sound like Mega Man music I put in the Links section.

• (She’s A Little) Runaway - The opening to this Bon Jovi song sounds like the character select screen in Mega Man 1.
  Contributor: Jess Ragan
• Guns N’ Roses - It’s reported that Neon Tiger’s music in Mega Man X3 bears a strong resemblance to the Guns N’ Roses song “My Michelle.” (Makes sense, considering the later X game which used Guns N’ Roses names for the Mavericks...)
  Contributor: Chris
• Good Enough - Quote from e-mail: “In Burner Man’s level, the music at the beginning of the level sounds exactly like the intro to Cyndi Lauper’s ’Good Enough’ (the song in the Goonies).”
  Contributor: Mike
• Since I Don’t Have You - A Guns N’ Roses song said to sound like the ending theme of Mega Man X1.
  Contributor: Kansheera
• Seek and Destroy - A Metallica song with a tune that resembles Flash Man’s stage music.
  Contributor: Raccoon Sam
• Between Angels and Insects - A song by Papa Roach that sounds like Elec Man’s stage music.
  Contributor: Ptx
• Re-Actor feat Steve L II - Digital Technology - I’m told this song sounds like Mega Man music.
  Contributor: Anders
• Faithfully - Several people have mailed me to say this song sounds like Elec Man’s theme. I never really noticed it before, but to each his own.
• Final Countdown - Note: I’ve looked into this, and as far as I can tell, the song “Final Countdown” has nothing to do with Mega Man 8. Rather, someone took a MIDI of “Final Countdown” and labeled it as coming from Mega Man 8, but it doesn’t. I have listened to the MIDI and the song isn’t found anywhere in Mega Man 8. So this is a false rumor.

The following are unconfirmed similarities that others have mailed me, but that I have not personally seen. These are ones that I want to verify further. But just to let you know what has been reported...

• Brain Drain - A game on a “300 arcade games” compilation CD is claimed to contain a Dust Man and a Gyro Man. I don’t know yet if their appearances were “borrowed” from the Mega Man games or if the names are pure coincidences.
  Contributor: Jeteyepat2
• Shaman King - I’m told one episode has a Servbot on some Lego-like ghost. You apparently have to see it to understand it.
  Contributor: Kassandra

Note to contributors: If I’ve listed you and you’re rather have your name changed or removed, let me know.