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This Villain was Headlined on January, 2023. |
“ | Now, the world is MINE! | „ |
~ Dr. Wily's famous quote. |
“ | Ladies and gentlemen, your attention, please. The name's Wily... The one and only, the brilliant scientist, Dr. Wily! It may seem rather sudden to you, but I've decided I'd like to take over the world! Nuhah! Nuhahahaha! Ahem! Anyway, to begin... Dr. Light! I'll be taking your precious robots! | „ |
~ Dr. Wily in Mega Man Powered Up. |
“ | Silence! My plans have only just begun, you fool! And I won't stop until I see the both of you kneeling before me in utter defeat! | „ |
~ Dr. Wily declaring his undying hatred for Mega Man and Dr. Light in Mega Man 11. |
Dr. Albert W. Wily, better known simply as Dr. Wily, is the main antagonist of the Mega Man franchise.
He is an obsessively ruthless scientist, the arch-nemesis of Mega Man, and the former college friend turned arch-rival of Dr. Light, who strives to conquer the world and to one up his competition. In almost all of his appearances, he does this through enlisting an army of Robot Masters to assist with his plans, which are always foiled by Mega Man.
In Japanese, he was voiced by Kenichi Ogata in Mega Man: Upon a Star, the late Yoshiya Nemoto in Mega Man: The Power Battle, the late Takkō Ishimori in Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, the late Takeshi Aono from 1996-2006, the late Hideyuki Umezu in Mega Man 11, and Shirō Saitō in the Pachislot game Rockman Ability.
In English, he was voiced by Ian James Corlett in Captain N: The Game Master, Scott McNeil in the English version of Mega Man: Upon a Star, Douglas Kendall in Mega Man 8, John O'Connor in Mega Man X4, Dean Galloway in Mega Man: Powered Up (who also voiced Chill Penguin in Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X) and Keith Silverstein in Mega Man 11 (who also voiced many characters like both the show version and movie version of Hawk Moth in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, Johan Liebert in Monster, and HUNK in the Resident Evil franchise).
Personality[]
Classic series[]
Dr. Wily is an archetypal villain who has a cruel and incredibly cunning personality. He is a skilled liar and manipulator, shown in him convincing a group of Dr. Light's own robots to work for him in Mega Man 9, and having persuaded his enemies into thinking that he has reformed or is on their side multiple times, only to inevitably betray them. He is consistently portrayed in a cowardly light as well, as, after most of his defeats, he typically grovels, begging for forgiveness while claiming he will change his ways, although these claims never seem to hold water, as he always either backstabs his enemies, takes the opportunity to escape, or returns to villainy one way or another.
While clever and a genius, Wily is ignorant and arrogant to a fault. He never seems to recognize why his plans fail and is incredibly overconfident in his success, even knowing how many times Mega Man and his allies have defeated him. He is also persistently confident that Bass will one day destroy Mega Man for him, ignoring the fact that Bass is disloyal to the point of interfering with his own plans to destroy Mega Man and attacking him on numerous occasions. Naturally, Wily's rampant tendency to overlook faults in his plans and creations consistently leads to his defeat or other failures—something seen perhaps most tragically in his final creation Zero, who both immediately turned on him and would, ironically, later go on to help Dr. Light's creation X and reject his legacy. In the opening of Mega Man 11, it is implied that his constant defeats by Mega Man in the past have given him recurring nightmares that have left him with insomnia.
Despite his villainy, Wily occasionally shows that he is honorable. In Mega Man 10, Wily leaves behind a stockpile of medicine to cure the robots infected by his Roboenza virus, presumably out of gratitude towards Mega Man for saving his life. Also, despite his hatred for and rivalry with him, Wily does not want Light to be hurt by his plans and does not try to harm him even when given the opportunity, like when he kidnapped him in Mega Man 5 and when he had Bass only steal his plans in Mega Man 7.

Wily in Zero's memories.
Dr. Wily is, at times, even a comical villain acting really foolish and over the top. This is notable when he is defeated in Mega Man 11 where he appears to do a super attack, only for him to start groveling.
Mega Man X series[]
“ | "...Get up... ...Wake up now... ...Do you forget... what you should do? ...Destroy it now... ...You can do it! ...You're the best of all my works... ...Wake up... " | „ |
~ Wily communicating with Zero in Mega Man X5. |
In Mega Man X, taking place hundreds of years later, Wily, now existing as an AI integrated with the Maverick Virus, has a different personality likely due to his hatred and obsession hardening his heart. Having cast aside the prior scruples and restraints of his past self, Wily is remorseless and cold-blooded; he is perfectly willing to kill millions with a virus simply to see his goals come to fruition.
Hundreds of years later, Wily is a much more hands-off and enigmatic character. In every appearance, he manages to escape justice due to his ability to abandon his current vessel. Nevertheless, his hatred of Light is still clear. This can be seen when Wily breaks down in rage after X survives the doctor's attempts on his life in X2 (as Serges; Japanese version only) and X6 (as Isoc).
Wily Castle[]

Wily's Castle
Dr. Wily's iconic fortress, the Wily Castle, is his ominous base of operations that appears at the end of every classic Mega Man game. A final gauntlet of sorts, Wily's Castle is opened after the corrupted Robot Masters have been defeated, and is usually split into four difficult sections, sometimes with a boss at the end of each section (ex. the infamous Boobeam Trap in Mega Man 2). At the end of the run, Dr. Wily is fought in one of his mechas, and upon his defeat the castle is prone to explode. It is always rebuilt, with the iconic skull-like motif always present in each design.
In Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS, Wily Castle is a playable stage. At the upper-left hand corner, platforms will appear from time to time. At some point, the Yellow Devil will land on the stage and shoot at the characters. After a while, he will go away. He also switches sides of the stage from time to time, like he does in the Mega Man series. His weak point is his eye. If he is hit there enough, he'll erupt into a giant explosion, and the fighter who defeated him can hit the other fighters into the explosion for massive damage, possibly even one-hit KO'ing them.
In other media[]
Captain N: The Game Master[]
Dr. Wily appears as one of the main antagonists of Captain N: The Game Master. In this series Wily, along with King Hippo and Eggplant Wizard, appears as one of Mother Brain's minions and engages in her schemes to conquer Videoland and defeat Captain N and the other videogame heroes. Unlike most Mega Man characters depicted in the series, Wily closely resembles his original counterpart, albeit dwarfed and with a deformed head.
He was voiced by Ian James Corlett (who, ironically, later voiced Mega Man in the Ruby-Spears cartoon).
Ruby-Spears Cartoon[]
Dr. Wily serves as the main antagonist of the Ruby-Spears cartoon series, appearing in every episode. In this series, he is depicted as far more sinister and unhinged than in the games, and possesses both a German accent and a tendency to laugh manically.
Unlike in the games, prior to becoming a villain, Wily served as Dr. Light's lab assistant for years. However, when they created a robot prototype that malfunctioned and Light told him to destroy their plans for industrial robots so they could start anew, Wily stole the plans, believing that Light wanted to sabotage his work to gain all the credit. He then used the plans to create Proto Man and came back to Light Labs to steal all of Light's robots. While he succeeded in reprogramming Cut Man, Guts Man and Ice Man, Roll and Rock escaped, the latter being upgraded into Mega Man to foil Wily's attempts to conquer the world as well.
Archie Comics[]
- Main article: Dr. Wily (Archie Comics)
Mega Man: Fully Charged[]
Although Dr. Wily himself does not appear in the series, a character based off of him, named Bert Wily, appears as a supporting character. He is seen as a teenager with a penchant for mechanical tinkering, and, opposite to the games, one of Aki Light/Mega Man's friends. He also wears a t-shirt bearing Wily's signature "W" logo on it.
Super Smash Bros.[]
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS[]
Dr. Wily appears as a trophy in both the Wii U and 3DS ports of Super Smash Bros. 4.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Dr. Wily appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as an Assist Trophy, piloting the Wily Capsule from Mega Man 7. He can create four elemental orbs around him, either containing fire, ice, or electricity, that will target a random fighter. He can also fire electricity on the ground, which scatters and creates four electric orbs. His capsule will also swing its propellers whenever a fighter comes into range. If the capsule is destroyed, Dr. Wily falls to the floor and begs for mercy.
Dr. Wily also appears in the game as two spirits, himself and as the Wily Capsule. As the Wily Capsule, it is a primary grab-type. It can be purchased from Funky Kong's Shack, or by defeating it in a Spirit Battle, which is a Stamina battle against a metal R.O.B. that summons the Wily Capsule Assist Trophy. As Dr. Wily, he is a support spirit that lowers the rate of the opponent's Final Smash Meter when equipped. His spirit battle is a stamina battle against eight Metal Mega Man. After they are defeated, Dr. Wily, who is portrayed by Dr. Mario, appears.
Quotes[]
From Dr. Wily[]
“ | WHAT!? Why, you insolent FOOL! I will CRUSH you with a loud, loud crunch! Behold, my latest creation! The ULTIMATE combat robot! Wily Machine Number 1! NUHAHAHAHA! | „ |
~ Wily while unleashing his Wily Machine in Mega Man: Powered Up. |
“ | You betrayed me, Proto Man!! I'm gonna break you, Mega Man!! | „ |
~ Wily after Proto Man betrays him and saves Dr. Cossack's daughter, Kalinka in Mega Man 4. |
“ | Whatever. You can fight with Mega Man all you want. The robot I'm making right now will blow the BOTH of you away. | „ |
~ Wily alluding to the creation of Zero to Bass. |
“ | I'm impressed! I didn't think you'd make it this far, Mega Man! However, I don't have time to deal with you! Say goodnight! | „ |
~ Dr. Wily to Mega Man in Mega Man 8. |
“ | Peace for humans and robots? What about MY robots, you metallic hypocrite? Do you destroy robots to bring THEM peace? What's the difference between my actions and yours? We are so alike, you and I! | „ |
~ Wily to Mega Man in Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters. |
“ | Darn that King! How dare he disobey his maker! It's a good thing that Mega Man took care of him for me! And now I have regained control of my laboratory castle. Time to get back to my plan of world domination again! But first, I will personally eliminate Mega Man! | „ |
~ Dr. Wily about how he got Mega Man to destroy King. |
“ | I've always believed that you are the strongest in the world. But you have not been able to defeat Mega Man... So I began to lose my faith in you. Then I had the idea that I could create a mightier robot. So, I created King... But since you defeated King, I now know the truth... You are the mightiest robot in the world! | „ |
~ Wily manipulating Bass into forgiving him in Mega Man & Bass. |
“ | Just because you reached some arbitrary expiration date doesn't mean you should be scrapped! You're all still quite useful! You have a right to live! I'm going to help you. Together, we'll show the world how useful you all can still be! | „ |
~ Wily manipulating a group of Robot Masters in Mega Man 9. |
“ | Greetings, people of the world. I hope you're enjoying the effect of my little Roboenza virus. If there are any robots who want the cure, all you have to do is come work for me. And don't think Mega Man is going to save you like usually does. He came down with a nice case of Roboenza himself. Now you will finally see the true genius of Dr. Wily! | „ |
~ Wily revealing himself as the cause of the Roboenza virus in Mega Man 10. |
“ | Ungh... Bad memories make the worst dreams. A genius of my caliber needs sleep to keep his brain in gear. Wait...That research from my youth! Yes... Now I'll show you, Light! | „ |
~ Wily recalling the Double Gear System he and Dr. Light researched in the opening of Mega Man 11. |
“ | Ah, Mega Man! Congratulations are in order! Congratulations to ME, that is! My Double Gear did all the work! | „ |
~ Dr. Wily, Mega Man 11. |
“ | Wily always wins! | „ |
~ Dr. Wily, during the final battle of Mega Man 11. |
“ | HA! What a cheap show! Thanks for being an idiot. I think I'll leave now. | „ |
~ Dr. Wily |
“ | After him! He's my nemesis! Our rivalry is what gives me motivation in life! | „ |
~ Dr. Wily, during one of Zero's nightmares. |
About Dr. Wily[]
“ | I met an old man who knows a lot about you... He told me an interesting story. He told me that you are something far greater than what you appear to be... On his advice, I scattered the Virus so that it could infiltrate you, but you haven't shown any signs of waking up... | „ |
~ Sigma’s first mention of Wily to Zero. |
“ | Sigma: Hee hee hee hee. Calm down. I'm here... Let me tell you about an old man I met... He told me that you are the strongest in the universe... Tell me. Who is this old man? Zero: How should I know? I don't know such a person. Sigma: You must know him. Don't tell me you've never met him in your dreams. Zero: I don't... know him... Sigma: He seems very interested in you,... as if he was your own father! |
„ |
~ Sigma describing Dr. Wily to Zero before the second half of their fight in X5. |
“ | You can challenge me at anytime. I have delightful news. I've recently acquired a new partner. He has been very supportive. He seems to have created quite a few robots. And he gave me the toughest body that you will ever see. You got here sooner than I expected, so it is not yet complete... But...it is enough to defeat you... He is an excellent partner... I believe you two know each other... In fact, he used to be a comrade of yours. He was very persistent about you... and that makes him very helpful to me. You see X, there is someone other than me...who hates you... Now feel our combined rage and die! ...But not before suffering horribly, ha ha ha! ...Goodbye, X! | „ |
~ Sigma describing Dr. Wily to X before the last half of their last fight in X5. |
“ | Zero: I don't need any power-ups... ............ But I have one thing I want to ask you... Sometimes unknown data emerges in my mind, and I can see a figure of an old professor... Do you know him by any chance? Dr. Light: I don't know... Perhaps, if I saw him... But the data must be a fragment created by some error... I wouldn't worry about it. Why don't you just forget about it? |
„ |
~ Zero asking Dr. Light on the figure of Dr. Wily only to get no answers. |
Trivia[]
- Dr. Wily has other nicknames which are "Dr. Willy", "Dr. Wahwee", "Dr. Wiley", and "Dr. Waily".
- Dr. Wily's middle name was never revealed. Some claimed it could be "Willis", but that has never been proven.
- Wily was originally set to appear in Disney's Wreck-It Ralph as one of the members of the Bad Guys Anonymous club; however, due to licensing issues with Capcom, he was cut from the film and replaced with an unnamed ninja.
- In a way, Wily succeeded in proving he was a superior scientist to Light as his greatest creation, Zero, outlived Mega Man X, Light's greatest creation, by a hundred years.
- Dr. Wily and Bass made an appearance on Season 1 of ScrewAttack's DEATH BATTLE! He and his teammate fought Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic, with Metal Sonic being the winner.
External Links[]
- Dr. Wily on the Mega Man Wiki
- Dr. Wily on the Super Smash Bros. Wiki
[]
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