MMLC Robot Master List: Guts Man

Part two in our ongoing series about each Robot Master in the Mega Man Legacy Collection! Today – Guts Man!

Number: DLN-004

Weapon: Super Arm

Weakness: Hyper Bomb

A land-clearing robot. He’s got quite the sturdy body. As long as you dodge the rocks he throws, he’s not tough to beat.

With the power to shake the earth around him, Guts Man makes an imposing debut in the original Mega Man. All the other bosses employ some of kind beam or projectile weapon, but Guts’ brute strength is enough to make him a threat. Plus his sprite is beefier than the other bosses, giving him an even more aggressive, powerful vibe.

Like the rest of the MM1 cast, Guts was a peaceful robot designed with industry in mind. Once Wily repurposed Light’s six robots, however, it was time for Rock to leap into action.

Besting Guts Man earns you the Super Arm, which gives Mega Man the same rock-tossing ability Guts displays during battle. Unfortunately you can only throw pre-existing rocks and not summon them at will, as Guts does when he leaps around the screen… but I wonder how exhausting it might have been if Mega Man shook the screen every time he jumped. Might get old real quick!

My first impression of Guts Man was “whoa, this guy is huge!” His larger sprite and earth-shaking ability really sold his sturdy, girthy properties, and his tossing animation was a great comic-book-y flourish. His stage is also home to one of the series’ first great challenges – the conveyer belt. After some practice it’s not that bad at all, but I think many, many folks have some, uh, lively memories of trying to leap from platform to platform :3

Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante ( Archie Comics )

“Being the first MM boss that I had encountered/beat, he holds a special place in my heart. His stage alone, with one of the most controller-crushing platform jumps, forced me to become an MM aficionado, long before I had to reach the exalted Guts himself. But there is something about beating the first boss in a brand new game, (at the time), that is thrilling, and just cemented my love for the series.

“On the art side of things, I also love Gutsman’s esthetic as a kind of jacked up body-builder with a huge mechanical “50’s robot” style chin. He is a blast to draw!”

Jamal Peppers ( Archie Comics )

“Guts Man is my favorite Robot Master. I’ve been fortunate enough to draw two stories featuring Guts Man for Archie Comics’ Mega Man series. I like big, powerful characters like The Hulk or The Thing and Guts Man is The Hulk/Thing of the Mega Man world.

From a character design point of view Guts Man has always stood out, to me, from the other Robot Masters. I’ve been a fan of Guts Man and his iconic jaw since I first played Mega Man as a child.”