Trivia / The Protomen

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• Acting for Two: Panther as Megaman, Protoman, Joe and Light, and the very first live rendition of 'The Good Doctor' where he sang as Light and Wily.
• Ascended Fanon: The ThUnderHAUL got its name from a fan post.
• Content Leak: The Protomen had an early demo of "Breaking Out" leaked by a fan. The recording of a recording was of such poor quality that the band released the demo as a free track, in much better resolution.
• Creator's Oddball:
  • The band took a break from their rock opera to perform at Whiskerino, creating an epic song about beards. It actually manages to subvert the trope as well as playing it straight. It's not a part of the canon, but reading the lyrics give the impression that it's written from the view of a pre-Act II Light, or even a happy ending, where Light and Emily escaped the ruined City.
  • The band often performs covers of various '80s songs during their encores, including "Silent Running" by Mike + the Mechanics, "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins, and a face-meltingly awesome rendition of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with the Gambler on lead vocals.
  • 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".
  • An original song was heard at PAX 2013. It was later revealed to be titled "Built to Last," and was part of two official Mega Man tribute albums alongside Breaking Out and a remastered version of The Will of One—though, like "Beard's Going Nowhere," it's also in their canon.
• Development Hell:
  • The documentary that was made using footage from the Act II tour is Vapor Ware at this point, although apparently work on it is tied to the completion of Act III. Speaking of which...
  • Act III has been in the pipeline for over a decade, with some indication that the band was unhappy with the initial results and that they wanted to reconfigure elements of it before giving the album an official release. As of 2021, they have reaffirmed that they are still recording for it, with the implication that it is the band's next priority after their tours, with a new song debuting during a 2022 tour.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Turbo Lover once grew a moustache. As it was rather light and thus barely visible, he dyed (or at least painted) it black. He since shaved it off.
• Extremely Lengthy Creation: Early work on Act III began in 2009. As of 2023, the album is still in development, targeting for a release sometime "before Avatar 5" — though three singles have been officially released, with two other songs from the album previewed at live concerts, and all indications are that the album is the band's main priority after completing a handful of side projects.
• Fan Community Nickname: Protofans, brotomen, or brotos. Also the LIGHT Brigade and Chamethrawer Squadron.
• Fandom Nod: The Light up the Night music video is one big love letter to the Protomen fandom, featuring common fan theories like Joe loving alcohol, the Protomen existing in-universe, and Dr. Light meeting KILROY.
• Milestone Celebration: The band's 10th Anniversary Show, featuring "Beard's Going Nowhere," "Separate Ways," a pinata shaped like Doug Fetterman, and the return of Heath Who Hath No Name.
• The Other Darrin: K.I.L.R.O.Y. speaks most of Protoman's lines in live performances of "The Sons Of Fate." This is to avoid the usual case of Panther talking to himself live, as shown above, particularly since most of the Mega Man and Protoman lines in the first part of the song overlap each other and couldn't be performed by one singer.
  • Emily was voiced by Ellen Aim on the vinyl and live a couple times, the Merchant live once, and the Gambler live most times and on CD.
• Promoted Fanboy: Several fans have performed at Protoshows, including the Ringer, Steve, Annabel, and Panda.
• Throw It In!: Commonly done during the live performances. One notable example was the time Turbo Lover chucked his hat into the crowd and then forcibly took it back just to prove that he's evil.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Prototype lyrics for Breaking Out suggest the girl in the bar may have originally been more than a random person, with Joe speaking more personally to her.
    So kiss me fast cause there's no time to lose/I promise someday I'll come back for you/And if I die, don't blame yourself; we all do what we think is right!
  • Breaking Out originally had different lyrics, with Joe speaking more personally to the girl in the bar.
    • The finalized lyrics:
    So kiss me fast cause there's no time to lose/Leave the light on, I'll come back for you/When everything is said and done, I swear I'm gonna make it right...
    • The prototype lyrics:
    So kiss me fast cause there's no time to lose/I promise someday I'll come back for you/And if I die, don't blame yourself; we all do what we think is right...
    • The finalized lyrics for a different section:
    I'm so tired of giving up.
    I am so tired of giving in.
    You wake up knowing things should change,
    not knowing where to begin.
    This city won't say where she's going,
    and she won't speak of where she's been.
    • The prototype lyrics for that section:
    I'm so tired of giving up.
    I am so tired of giving in.
    This city won't say where she's going,
    and she won't speak of where she's been.
    It's like the whole damn world is fighting,
    and you never see who wins.
  • Keep Quiet had a markedly different version only a year before Act II's official release. The song is much heavier, and only the chorus is the same as in the final version.

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