Skull Man

Skull Man
DWN-032
In-Game Information
HP:	Mega Man 4: 28 Mega Man III: 19
Attack Damage:	Mega Man 4: 8 (contact) 4 (shots) 0 (Skull Barrier)
Weapon:	Skull Barrier
Weakness:	Dust Crusher
Misc. Information
Script:	スカルマン
Rōmaji:	Sukaruman
Designer:	Toshiyuki Miyachi
Eye Color:	Green
NetNavi Counterpart:	SkullMan.EXE
Series Information
In-game Appearances:	Mega Man 4 Mega Man III Mega Man 7 (cameo) Mega Man's Soccer Mega Man & Bass (as a data CD) Rockman Strategy
Other Appearances:	Mega Man Megamix

This article is about the Robot Master Skull Man. For information on his NetNavi counterpart, see SkullMan.EXE.

Skull Man (スカルマン, Sukaruman) is a Robot Master created specially for combat with balanced offense and defense by Dr. Cossack while he was working for Dr. Wily in Mega Man 4. He attacks with shots from his arm cannon, and can generate a skull-shaped energy shield called the Skull Barrier for protection. Skull Man only moves or attacks when Mega Man does the same; however, he doesn't move if Mega Man only jumps, instead firing his buster.

Much like Ring Man before him, Skull Man was made solely for the purpose of fighting. With this in mind, he is a good strategist, and is meticulous in his attention to detail- particularly with planning his combat methods. However, he lacks skill in other areas having only been taught to fight, and tends to be socially awkward; often alienating others by acting in bad taste. Befitting his morbid theme, Skull Man is also a huge fan of horror movies. His weakness is Dust Crusher due to the fact that the projectile can get easily lodged in his workings.

Video game appearances

Mega Man 4

Skull Man is one of the eight bosses. Interestingly enough, he won't attack until Mega Man moves or shoots. He won't move if Mega Man jumps, though. He attacks by firing his arm cannon. His shots can be avoided by jumping high so the first shot either misses or Skull Man shoots it high, missing Mega Man, then avoiding the rest of the projectiles. Then, he jumps at Mega Man (which can be avoided by moving out of the way) and activates his Skull Barrier, making him invincible to almost everything. Afterwards he will run in an attempt to tackle Mega Man. The player should quickly move out of the way or jump over him to avoid it. He won't repeat the pattern until Mega Man moves or shoots again.

His attack pattern may be triggered differently depending on what Mega Man does. If Mega Man moves, he'll start by firing his arm cannon. If Mega Man shoots him, he'll start by jumping at Mega Man.

His weakness is the Dust Crusher, although it can't pierce his barrier. It defeats him in seven hits. The only weapons strong enough to pierce his barrier are the Ring Boomerang and Rain Flush, although the Ring Boomerang deals one damage and the Rain Flush two damage. He is also immune to the Pharaoh Shot.

Mega Man III

Skull Man is one of the four bosses fought in the Wily Castle. His strategy is similar to Mega Man 4.

Mega Man's Soccer

Skull Man is a balanced player. A team of eight Skull Mans is one of the eight team bosses in the Capcom Championship mode, and one Skull Man joins Mega Man's team after his defeat. Skull Man's team in Tournament mode is formed by three Skull Mans, Ice Man, Bomb Man, Air Man, Bubble Man, and Gemini Man. In League mode his team has three Skull Mans, two Bomb Mans, two Flash Mans, and one Proto Man.

Rockman Strategy

Skull Man is featured in Rockman Strategy as a recurring antagonist, appearing twice over the course of the game. He first appears as an ally of Luna, and then later protecting the Wily Capsule.

Other appearances

• Skull Man has a cameo appearance in the museum stage from Mega Man 7, in the background of the room that Mash appears.
• Skull Man appears in the CD database from Mega Man & Bass.

Data

Mega Man & Bass CD data

• CD data •

Rockman Complete Works data

戦うためにつくられたセントウ用ロボット。攻撃のタイミングがいやらしいので弱点武器はかならず使おう！

Stage enemies

Enemies in Skull Man's stage in Mega Man 4 and Mega Man III.

• Battonton
• Imorm
• Shield Attacker
• Skeleton Joe
• Skullmet
• Super Ball Machine Jr.
• Togehero

Damage Data Chart

Amount of damage in units that Skull Man receives from each Special Weapon in Mega Man 4.

Mega Man 4
Mega Buster	Flash Stopper	Rain Flush	Drill Bomb	Pharaoh Shot	Ring Boomerang	Dust Crusher	Dive Missile	Skull Barrier	Wire Adaptor
1:3	0	2	1:1	0:0	1	4	1	1	1

*For the Mega Buster and Pharaoh Shot, the first digit is when the weapon is fired normally and the second is when it is fully charged.

Other media

Mega Man Megamix

Skull Man in Mega Man Megamix.

In the manga, Skull Man was created by Dr. Cossack specially to fight against Mega Man after Kalinka was kidnapped. His Skull Barrier is a set of six skull-like discs that appear from the mouth of his shoulders and creates an electromagnetic field around himself. With the Skull Barrier active, Skull Man can attack foes without worrying about avoiding attacks and taking damage, but a drawback is that his mobility is restricted while the barrier is in effect. In terms of additional weaponry, Skull Man also has a Buster in each radius, and sixteen Shotguns hidden in his ribs. Though Skull Man represents the culmination of Dr. Cossack's skills, he was purposely created to look like the complete opposite of Cossack's ideals, and thus his existence is more like a nightmare than anything else.

In the story The Grim Reaper of Resurrection, Skull Man was deactivated by Dr. Cossack after the events of Mega Man 4, but is later reactivated by Dr. Wily. Angry for being deactivated, Skull Man goes to Dr. Cossack's Citadel equipped with a scythe and disguised with a robe to resemble a Grim Reaper, and proceeds to destroy it with the aid of Reggae and a group of Skeleton Joes, capturing Dust Man, Pharaoh Man and Drill Man in the process. He later locates Dr. Cossack while he was giving a TV interview, and captures him during the broadcast. Mega Man saw this on TV and goes after Skull Man to rescue Cossack, receiving some help along the way, but Skull Man also captures Kalinka and Roll. Mega Man later locates Skull Man and fights against him with the help of the other seven robots Cossack created.

Dr. Cossack figures that Skull Man's feelings were hurt from being deactivated, and treated like he was just a weapon without emotions. Skull Man is happy that he realized this, and after being defeated, he asks Cossack to never create any fighting machines like him again before running out of energy. Skull Man also has a few appearances in Mega Man Megamix vol. 3, where he is mentioned by Dive Man.

In Mega Man Gigamix vol. 3, in the final battle against the Stardroids in space, Skull Man's ghost appears to scare Pluto and talk with the injured Ring Man. Pluto refers to Skull Man as a "monster" (obake in Japan), which angers Ring Man, and gives the robot the motivation to destroy the Stardroid.

Mega Man (Archie Comics)

Skull Man also appears in the Mega Man series from Archie Comics, appearing some time before the Mega Man 4 adaptation in the Worlds Collide crossover. Like many of the Robot Masters, he appeared as part of a time-cloned army to oppose the small force led by Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog. During the course of the battle, he had the misfortune of being attacked by Rush, undoubtedly due to his bone motif.

Other appearances

Skull Man also appeared in the manga Rockman 4, Rockman World 3, and Rockman 4Koma Dai Koushin. He also had a cameo appearance in the comic Novas Aventuras de Megaman with his "Grim Reaper" appearance from Mega Man Megamix.

Gallery

Skull Man's original Mega Man 4 artwork.

Front, side, and back view of Skull Man.

Skull Man's cameo appearance in Mega Man 7.

Skull Man in Mega Man Megamix.

Skull Man in the Rockman 4 manga.

Skull Man in the Rockman World 3 manga.

Skull Man in Rockman 4Koma Dai Koushin.

Skull Man + Skull Barrier figure.

Trivia

• Possibly because of his comparatively macabre theme, Skull Man is the only Robot Master from Mega Man 4 to never appear in the Mega Man animated series.

• Interestingly, his AI is not programmed to act until the player moves horizontally or shoots.

• During the development of Mega Man 4, Capcom scrapped his stage and restarted from scratch, as they were so impressed by the fan-submitted design.

• When the player reaches Dr. Cossack's Citadel, a skull theme is not seen anywhere in it. It is also interesting to know Skull Man is the last in the line of Dr. Cossack's Robot Masters. This may be hinting that Cossack would have been "motivated" by Wily to build Skull Man.

• Skull Man's bad taste and dislike of feelings may stem from the fact that he is based on the living dead. Reanimated creatures, such as skeletons and zombies, tend to lack any sense of emotion.