Hard Man

Hard Man (or Hardman) is a Robot Master first appearing in Mega Man 3. He is one of the Robot Masters created by Dr. Light and Dr. Wily to search alien worlds for energy crystals so they could power their peace-keeping robot, Gamma. Like his fellow Robot Masters, he becomes part of Dr. Wily's evil plan, and has since been cast as a villain in most of his appearances.
Hard Man is a dark blue, bulky robot with a keg-shaped body and helmet. His power, the Hard Knuckle, sends his rocket-powered arms away to punch enemies, while his heavy weight and hard head allow him to create earthquakes by diving head-first into the ground.
==In the Games==
===Mega Man 3===
In Mega Man 3, Hard Man is one of the main bosses that can be selected from the start and the fourth listed on the stage select screen, in reading order. His stage is set in a mine.
In battle, Hard Man has two moves that he alternates between. He can send out his two fists one by one, which fly towards Mega Man up to a certain distance before stopping and then returning to him (unless they went off-screen), and he is also able to jump high into the air, turn upside-down, and slam his head into the ground. The latter causes the screen to shake, stunning Mega Man for a duration; unlike similar stun effects, like the one from Guts Man in the original Mega Man, this stun cannot be avoided and will freeze Mega Man in place even while he is in the air.
Hard Man is weak to the Magnet Missile, which deals 4 damage and can easily hit him during his leaps, but he is completely immune to all other special weapons apart from the Gemini Laser (which only deals 1 damage) and his own. Like all of Mega Man 3's Robot Masters, he also takes 4 damage from his own weapon during his Teleporter Room rematch. Defeating him grants Mega Man the Hard Knuckle, allowing him to create a slow-moving flying fist like Hard Man's that can only go straight forward, but can break certain walls.
===Mega Man II===
In Mega Man II on the Game Boy, Hard Man is one of the second batch of Robot Masters, accessible via the top-left teleporter hatch in Wily Stage. His stage seems to be made out of steel rather than the rocky mine of the original, but includes the same range of enemies; his fight, however, is essentially the same.
Hard Man's weakness remains the Magnet Missile, which still deals 4 damage, and Metal Blade and Crash Bomber will also damage him, but only deal 1 each. As before, defeating him grants Mega Man the Hard Knuckle.
=== Super Smash Bros. series ===
==Official Data==
===Mega Man & Bass CD===
Hard Man's CD in Mega Man & Bass is located in Burner Man's stage. It is found in a vertical section with sight-blocking elements, on the other side of an invisible hole, requiring tools such as the Ice Wall or Bass's double jump to reach.
===Mega Man Legacy Collection Database===
Hard Man appears under "Mega Man 3" in the Database in Mega Man Legacy Collection and is the fourth Robot Master listed for the game. Like other Robot Masters, he can be fought by pressing a designated button while viewing his data.
==Trivia==
* In Mega Man II, Hard Man has a weakness to his own weapon coded in (taking 3 damage from it), even though it can never be used against him in practice due to the absence of boss refights.
* Although Hard Man has no nose in any of his in-game or production art, some international artwork depicts him with one, such as the European box art for Mega Man 3, North American promotional art from Nintendo Power, and his 1994 animated appearance.
Category:Mega Man 3 Robot Masters
Category:Mega Man II Robot Masters
Category:The Wily Wars Robot Masters
Category:Missing Info - animated series