90s nostalgia meets a dark comedy crime story!
Mega Man Recut is a fanfic based on the Mega Man (Ruby-Spears) cartoon, written by BlackRussian.
It retells the series as a more serious, continuity-laden work with a heavy focus on the villains and the wheres and whys of the series' universe. For the most part, it sticks to the show's plotlines, though details often differ from the cartoon.
The fic is set to retell the whole series, even including Curse of the Lion Men, Master of Disaster, and Night of the Living Monster Bots. A third season of completely new content will also be written in order to properly end the series, and several side-stories have also been written.
Season 1 can be found here
, Origins: Duo can be found here, Origins: The Red Bomber can be found here, Season 2 can be found here, and the author's Tumblr is here.
This fanfic contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Roll takes an active part in fighting Wily, despite her family's concerns with it and her own insecurities.
- Adaptation Expansion: The entire fic expands on the cartoon considerably, but especially "Bot Transfer," "Future Shock," and "The Mega Man in the Moon."
- Adaptational Heroism: Several of the Robot Masters, but Enker, Galaxy Man, and Ra Thor are probably the most notable.
- All Just a Dream: Future Shock may be this; it's ambiguous.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Mega Man gives one to Proto Man in "Campus Commandos":Proto Man: I don't blindly follow orders, I just don't-Mega Man: Care, I know, that's your whole life mantra. Let me ask you something... ever consider why nothing matters to you?
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Proto Man's list of crimes in the first chapter ends with "defacement of a public statue". Sadly, this was not foreshadowing for Mega-Pinocchio's Abraham Lincoln incident.
- Ascended Extra: Doc the Metool, referred to in this story simply as Met, becomes a recurring character rather than a one-shot character like in the show. Additionally, many guest Robot Masters gain more screentime, and thus more personality, as do many cartoon-exclusive humans.
- The cosmetics robot from "Electric Nightmare" is slated for future appearances.
- Ascended Fridge Horror: The series likes to delve into the darker implications of all versions of Mega Man such as what kind of emotional stress the heroes would suffer from, the problems Roll would develop from always being shoved to the sidelines by Mega Man, and the abuse the Robot Masters suffer from Wily.
- Bad Future: "Future Shock," as in the show, but with many more details added.
- Battle in the Rain: The climax of "Cold Steel" has a fight between Mega Man and Proto Man in the rain.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: "Master of Disaster" has this with the genie Lotos and Wily's wishes, as in the show, but also has Lotos granting Dr. Light's wish of Proto Man never having left—by having Mega Man work with Wily instead.
- Berserk Button:Metal Man: NO ONE MESSES UP MY BLADES.
- Big Bad: Dr. Wily is the main villain, as in the show.
- Big Good: The International Robot Police.
- Big Brother Instinct: Proto Man is rather protective of Roll. He expresses some similar feelings towards Mega Man but not as strongly.
- Big Damn Heroes: Duo slamming down to the moon to take out Wily and his minions in "The Mega Man in the Moon".
- Black Comedy
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Any robot affected by Wily's reprogramming gun.
- Brick Joke: "Dr. Wily has a degree in psychology".
- Broad Strokes: "Future Shock" is this, with the time machine being replaced by chronitrons, Wily having/enacting a plan to win him the world on New Year's Day, and adding details of Wily's dystopia like everyone having an enforced silly accent.
- "20,000 Leaks Under the Sea" turns the episode's giant squid into the Purple Devil.
- Robosaur Park turns the devolving serum into Roboenza from Mega Man 10.
- "The Mega Man in the Moon" reveals that the Emergency Scanner is actually Galaxy Man.
- The episode order is changed a bit from the original show in order to provide stronger continuity (for example, "Ice Age" and "The Mega Man in the Moon" have been moved to earlier spots).
- Breather Episode: "20,000 Leaks Under The Sea" and "Robosaur Park" are a lot less intense and more comedic than "Cold Steel" and "Future Shock.
- Came Back Wrong: Snake Man, post bodyswap.
- Casanova Wannabe: Ring Man fancies himself as a ladies man, but every time he's tried to hit on a girl so far it's ended in him either getting rebuked or (in the case of Roll) shot at.
- The Cameo: Jewel Man makes a cameo appearance in "The Mega Man in the Moon", being blackmailed by Ring Man and Magnet Man.
- Canon Character All Along: Lotos, a genie exclusive to the cartoon continuity, turns out to be Ra Moon.
- Chaste Hero: Mega Man is puzzled by Roll's various crushes and her desire to date. Even though advanced androids can develop crushes on other robots or even humans, Mega Man doesn't seem to be interested in anyone. He bonds with an equally puzzled Proto Man over it.
- Chekhov's Gun: The password Proto Man gives Mega Man in "Future Shock".
- Dr. Light's journal is taken by Mega Man in "The Mega Man In The Moon" but doesn't come up again until the next episode.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Some humans Mega met during previous episodes appear, aged-up, in Future Shock.
- Bright Man is mentioned early in the first part of "The Beginning", several parts before his actual appearance in the next episode.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Dust Man and Metal Man.
- The Comically Serious: Mega Man started out as this, but learns to lighten up after the events of "Future Shock".
- Consummate Liar: Proto Man. He even admits this.
- Continuity Cameo: Yuuta from Mega Man: Upon a Star appears, aged-up.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: After spending most of his introductory episode being a Dirty Coward, Top Man finally takes part in a fight with Mega Man... and promptly takes him out with a single well-placed attack.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Lampshaded by Elec Man who points out how much more profitable Wily would be if he put his genius to work making weapons, robots, and tech for the mob instead of wasting it on some inane world domination plot.
- Dark Action Girl: Wily brainwashes a cosmetics robot to attack and humiliate Roll, and sics Doris the maid on Dr. Light.
- Darker and Edgier: Than the show; Mega Man's family is secretly dysfunctional, Roll skews the line to acting like Proto Man, and some Robot Masters die.
- Wily's dystopia in "Future Shock" is much darker than the show, with scientists essentially being lobotomized. This also extends to the future versions of Mega Man's family.
- Dating Catwoman: Future!Roll dated Crash Man, though she claims it wasn't serious. She also dated Enker.
- Present!Roll has a crush on Enker as well.
- Deal with the Devil: Dr. Light accepts funding from Senator King, who is in with the Syndicate.
- Dirty Coward: Astro Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man would rather run than fight.
- Do Androids Dream?: The story concerns itself with this question in regards to many of the robots in the series, in particular Mega Man, Proto Man, Roll and Top Man. The three advanced android siblings need to sleep and can dream, and many of the robots behave in very human ways. They all possess distinct, evolving personalities and preferences and are even able to develop crushes on other robots or humans. Many of them are Ridiculously Human Robots, such as Ring Man and Metal Man, who are only interested in slacking off, flirting and having fun.
- Door Stopper: The two seasons (with season two still unfinished) and the prequel put together have close to half a million words. Since three seasons are planned, together with a Proto Man origins story, the size of the fanfiction continues to grow.
- The Dragon: Proto Man is Wily's.
- Dramatic Irony: All over the place in "Future Shock," especially regarding Proto Man's password.
- Dreadful Musician: Cold Steel in this 'verse. Roll doesn't care.
- Driving Question: For Duo; what is Ra Moon and what happened to the Stardroids?
- Dumb Muscle: Guts Man and Wood Man.
- Dysfunction Junction: Both the heroes and the villains have loads of issues. Roll and Snake Man in particular could use some serious couch time.
- Eldritch Abomination: "The Great One" described by the Vannu'bi architecture in "The Strange Island Of Dr Wily". It came down from space, spoke to them with "words without words", and seemingly destroyed their civilization after promising to teach them how to make fire rain from the skies. "The Mega Man In The Moon" implies that it may still be around and is somehow linked to Duo, Ra Thor, and the Steel Crescent Syndicate.
- Enemy Mine: Mega and Wily call a truce to escape hostile Stone Bots at the end of Season 1.
- Evil Versus Evil: Wily's forces vs. the Steel Crescent Syndicate.
- Evilutionary Biologist: Otto 'Raptor' Moreau.
- Foreshadowing: There are many nods to upcoming episodes.
- In the very first paragraph, Dr. Light is mentioned to attend the New York Philharmonic regularly. In the original cartoon, he is shown to love classical music in "Cold Steel".
- The machine Rock shoves at Wily and Proto Man in "The Beginning" was a prototype of the dream wave machine used in "Mega Dreams".
- At the World Robot Expo, Roll tries to get tickets to Fun World, the setting of "Bad Day At Peril Park".
- Governor Parson was hoping to run for another term, but then he cedes the state to Dr. Wily, setting up Deacon's landslide election victory in "Bro Bots".
- When Proto Man and Roll are trapped underground, Proto Man mentions that he listens to Cold Steel.
- Mega Man's doubts that lead him to see Dr. Petto in "Mega Pinocchio" begin in "The Big Shake" when Dr. Light tells him to focus on finding Dr. Wily instead of Roll.
- Ring Man and Magnet Man talk about Metal Man, who appears in the cartoon episode "Future Shock". Metal Man debuts not in "Future Shock", but in "20,000 Leaks Under The Sea".
- When fighting Wave Man, Mega Man notices his harpoon gun and wishes he had one, in a nod to the second season's marine gear.
- For the Evulz: Proto Man is only working for Wily because he wants to do whatever he wants.
- Future Me Scares Me: Proto Man in "Future Shock" has mellowed out a bit after 30 years. Roll, on the other hand...
- Gecko Ending: A variation; the author has revealed that there's going to be a season three of completely new content in order to properly end the series, since the original show got Cut Short at season two.
- The Ghost: Duo, until "The Mega Man in the Moon".
- Good Is Not Soft: In "Campus Commandos," Dr. Light shoots Proto Man.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The Steel Crescent Syndicate is being set up as this.
- "The Mega Man In The Moon" and "The Strange Island Of Dr. Wily" both imply that they're just pawns of Ra Moon.
- Heel–Face Turn: Future!Proto Man, sorta.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Magnet Man and Ring Man.
- Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Proto Man to Dr. Wily. Lampshaded constantly.
- To a lesser degree Magnet Man, who is far more intelligent and sensible than Ring Man.
- If I Can't Have You…: Ra Moon tried this against Ra Thor, but Duo was able to save him.
- Implacable Man: Duo is basically invincible and can regenerate his wounds. Proto Man learns this the hard way during his fight with him.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Most of Wily's minions are either useless, insane, defiant, or cowards.
- In Harm's Way: Proto Man isn't happy unless he's being reckless or fighting people.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gemini Man and, to a lesser degree, Proto Man.
- Jigsaw Puzzle Plot: This fic is very layered, and many character facets and even the overall plot remain hidden.
- Kick the Dog: Wily reprograms Drill Man against his will because Drill Man wasn't sure about causing earthquakes in New York.
- Kill Sat: In "The Mega Man in the Moon," Wily hijacks a moon laser, points it at Earth, and starts making demands.
- Killed Off for Real: Ice Man.
- La Résistance: The Underground Alliance in "Future Shock."
- Laser-Guided Karma: In "Cold Steel" Ballade is introduced torturing a man and woman for money. At the end of the episode, he fails to kill Dr. Wily and gets tortured by the Syndicate bosses as punishment.
- Last of His Kind: Duo is the last of a group of living robots who were designed to defend life.
- The Mafia: The Steel Crescent Syndicate.
- Mascot: Bright Man was this for a kids' show, until he was captured and reprogrammed.
- Meaningful Name: President Lemming is a pushover.
- The Mole: "The Mega Man in the Moon" reveals that Senator King is this.
- Mood Whiplash: In "The Strange Island Of Dr. Wily", Dust Man goes a a terrifying rant about the Bermuda Triangle and tells Cut Man and Guts Man that their damned souls are doomed, than casually says "Have a nice trip!" and leaves. It should be noted that he's carrying a prairie dog with him the whole time.
- Moral Event Horizon: In-universe, Proto Man sees having to fire the Lunar Laser at New York as this.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Proto Man establishes this amongst the Robot Masters regarding Roll. He later gets angry when he learns that she might have a crush on Enker.
- Mythology Gag: Proto Man mentions his greatest fear is being buried alive. In the cartoon, the prototype robot who may have become Proto Man was crushed and buried by a machine.
- A lot of Wily's fortress in "Future Shock" has elements taken from the Mega Man video games.
- Named by the Adaptation: Many characters had Only One Name in the show, so the author gives them full names. Ms. Lapierre's first name is Maude, for instance.
- The Napoleon: Ice Man.
- Narm: In-Universe example with Bright Man, who nobody takes seriously since he was the mascot of a children's show before Wily reprogrammed him.
- The Nicknamer: Metal Man.
- Nightmare Fuel: In-universe, Proto Man is very unnerved by Wily having a degree in psychology.
- No Such Thing as Bad Publicity: In-universe. Cold Steel becomes infinitely more popular as a band after they're exposed as Wily's minions.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Roll and Proto Man frequently comment on the similarities between themselves while being on opposite sides of the law, in particular their tempers and love of adrenaline.
- Novelization: Of the cartoon, though season three will be completely new material.
- Only Sane Man: Proto Man and Elec Man tend to have the most common-sense reactions to Wily's schemes.
- Origins Episode: The Origins story is one for Duo, Ra Thor, and Dr. Cossack.
- Orcus on His Throne: The Syndicate decides to hold back in "The Mega Man in the Moon" rather than just track Wily down and slaughter him and his Robot Masters. A rare justified example since as a mob, the Syndicate wants to avoid police/government attention. Doesn't stop Centum from going behind the other bosses' backs to get info on Proto Man though.
- Original Character: The Steel Crescent Syndicate, Dr. Umlauf's children, Mary's boyfriend Jude, and Hugh Pfister's human employees.
- Pet the Dog: In "Robosaur Park" Wily considers killing Proto Man to stop him from becoming The Starscream, but decides against it and admits to himself that he likes Proto Man as a friend.
- Proto Man has one with Elec Man, of all people, in "The Terror of the Seven Seas". After finding out that Elec Man is terrified of being at sea due to his irreparable design flaw which makes him extremely vulnerable to water, he shows sympathy and tries in his own way to comfort Elec Man, even offering to play cards with him. At the end of the chapter, he carries a suicidal Elec Man to safety and in the next chapter he tries to get Wily to repair Elec Man faster. Considering that until then, Proto Man enjoyed belittling Elec Man and their relationship was very cold, it makes the change even more poignant.
- Playing Possum: The second part of "Master of Disaster" has Lotos fake his defeat.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: In-universe, Roll is shocked to find out that Proto Man has somehow not seen "Marauders Of The Cursed Necropolis".
- Precursors: The Vannu'bi, an ancient civilization that existed on a small remote island and were apparently destroyed by a volcanic eruption. They may have been Abusive Precursors, since they're architecture describes them as constantly warring with other civilizations and making deals with an Eldritch Abomination.
- Punny Name: Governor Parson and Mitchell Deacon.
- Rule of Three: Most episodes are divided into three chapters. According to the author, this was not intentional.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Mega Man and Roll are as different as night and day: Mega Man is a studious, calm, dutiful, rule-obeying, nerdy and responsible guy while Roll is a brash, reckless, hot-headed girl more interested in dating, videogames and heavy metal music than anything else. All things considered, they work well together.
- Mega Man and Proto Man are also very different in terms of personality. Serious, gentle Mega Man is very comfortable living a quiet, law-abiding life helping Dr. Light with his inventions and experiments, while Snark Knight Proto Man is an incurable thrill-seeker who resents most forms of authority and values his independence above anything else. Ironically, they also work well together, but are separated by their different lifestyles and moral alignments.
- Averted with Proto Man and Roll. Proto Man proudly notes that Roll takes after him, and has a soft spot for her rebellious nature.
- Shout-Out:
- When Proto Man and Dr. Wily are discussing the scary Robot Master Wily's planning, Proto Man suggests Bat Man.
- Apparently, Bright Man's original job was being an environmentally conscious Barney.
- Proto Man introduces himself to the CEO of Skytower as James Willis Bond Jr. the third.
- Metal Man's nickname for Snake Man is Cobra Commander.
- Snake Talk: Deconstructed in "Bot Transfer": This makes it difficult for anyone to understand Mega Man while in Snake Man's body – or Snake Man himself.
- The Snark Knight: Proto Man, moreso than in the cartoon.
- Starfish Aliens: The mechanical lifeforms like Duo, who apparently don't use sound to communicate and can regenerate wounds.
- The Starscream: Future!Proto Man.
- Ice Man tried to be this, but failed. It gets him killed.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Much more pronounced than in the show, where it only happened in the earliest episodes. Here, it's ongoing as far in as Cold Steel, and feeds Roll's insecurities and wanting to prove herself no matter what.
- Stupid Evil: Wily would be much more successful if he resisted the urge to be a dog-kicking jerk all the time. It's repeatedly lampshaded by Elec Man, who notes that Wily and the Robot Masters could easily just build weapons for the mob rather than trying to Take Over the World, and they would be much more well off.
- Taking You with Me: Ice Man to both Wily and Mega Man, though he fails.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: As an intelligent and capable android, not to mention the Only Sane Man in Skull Fortress aside Proto Man, Elec Man deeply resents Wily kidnapping and reprogramming him. Although he doesn't have much say in the matter, it's clear that if given the chance, he would gladly give Wily and the other robot masters a taste of his weapon.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: In "The Strange Island Of Dr Wily", Dust Man makes a ridiculous rant about the Bermuda Triangle and how the island Wily is going to is haunted. Considering all the weird stuff that starts happening shortly after Wily and the Robot Masters arrive, he had a pretty good point.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Wily decides the best way to deal with a shrunken Mega Man is a submachine gun.
- Thrill Seeker: Proto Man. It's one of the reasons why life in Dr Light's laboratory was unbearable for him.
- Those Two Guys: As in the show, Cut Man and Guts Man. Ring Man and Magnet Man are often found lazing about Skull Fortress together.
- Token Good Teammate: Snake Man for Wily and the Robot Masters though he doesn't realize it.
- Ultimate Universe: For both the cartoon and the Mega Man series as a whole.
- The Unreveal: Both Mega Man and Roll are intrigued by Proto Man's half-hidden face and attempt several times to get him to either reveal information such as eye color or to take his helmet off altogeter. It doesn't work.
- Villainous Crush: Snake Man to Roll, though he doesn't realize it.
- Villainous Rescue: Snake Man and Proto Man save Roll in "Robosaur Park."
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Wily and Proto Man act like this.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Snake Man.
- Wham Episode:
- "Future Shock" has been described as the keystone for Season 1, and while the future events are erased via time travel the ramifications of it are felt throughout the rest of the season.
- "The Mega Man in the Moon". Duo drives off Wily and the Robot Masters, the Emergency Scanner is actually Galaxy Man, Senator King is revealed to be The Mole, we learn that the Syndicate is deliberately keeping the R.I.P out of America, and Duo and Ra Thor imply that there is a much bigger threat on the horizon.
- What You Are in the Dark: Wily has a moment like this in "Robosaur Park" and, to the surprise of many, passes. He considers killing Proto Man to stop him from becoming The Starscream, but decides against it and admits to himself that he likes Proto Man as a friend.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Elec Man is very uneasy around large bodies of water because his design flaw makes him extremely vulnerable to it. Because of this, he is very high-strung and stressed when on Wily's submarine. His worst fear comes true when Mega Man blasts him with a high pressure water hose. Elec Man short circuits and is rendered barely functionable.
- "20,000 Leaks Under the Sea" and "Terror or the Seven Seas" are partly a "What Do They Fear?" Episode, as we find out about Elec Man and Proto Man's fears. Elec Man's fear is water, while Proto Man fears Dr. Wily dying, as he is the person who repairs him. With Wily dead, Proto Man would be forced to return to Dr. Light, and he finds the idea unbearable. It's the first time we see a glimpse of Proto Man being truly vulnerable.
