Wire Sponge, known in Japan as Wire Hetimarl (ワイヤー・ヘチマール Waiyā Hechimāru), is a luffa-type Reploid from the Mega Man X series that first appeared as a boss in Mega Man X2. Due to a programming error, he is a chaotic and childlike Maverick.
Character Description
Physical Appearance
Wire Sponge has a lime green body. He has yellow eyes in a black slit. His shoulders are at level with his "face" with purple padding, and two green arms pop out of each of them. The arms themselves are green and their extremities depend on the height: the top two arms end in white-gloved hands while the bottom pair is a set of segmented leaf-tipped whips that are used by Wire Sponge to attack as well as spun around him as a shield. Surmounting Wire Sponge is a yellow flower-like appendage that allows him to summon thunderbolts as an overdrive attack. Wire Sponge also has black legs with lime green and yellow feet.
History
Mega Man X2
Created in one of Sigma's Maverick-producing factories, an accident resulted in Wire Sponge having a personality disorder, causing him to be childish and easily amused, loving to dance and violently play. He still had impressive combat abilities, so Sigma placed him in charge of a Weather Control Center to use as his personal playground, where he found delight in passing the time by playing with the weather system.
Wire Sponge is one of the eight SA-Class Mavericks unleashed by the X-Hunters. Due to him causing trouble with the weather, X had to stop him in the weather control center. X obtains the Strike Chain after his defeat.
Mega Man Xtreme 2
Wire Sponge is one of the four resurrected Maverick bosses from the Zero Mission, and one of the eight bosses in Extreme Mode. Like before, Wire Sponge was causing trouble in a weather control center on Laguz Island, and had to be stopped by Zero. Unlike in Mega Man X2, he is weak to Fire Wave.
Strategy
Wire Sponge uses his Strike Chain like a whip and a grappling hook. He tries to control the stage by planting spiked vines and throwing his chains everywhere he can. When Sponge's health is less than half he will become enraged and electrified, causing lightning bolts to strike for a moment; he is also invulnerable in this state. Wire Sponge is easily fought with just the X-Buster firing charged shots, but if the final blow is dealt with the Sonic Slicer, he is split in half. When Zero faces him in Mega Man Xtreme 2, he is weak to the Drill Crush.
During his rematch in Mega Man X2, he is fought in a noticeably smaller room.
|
Chain Spin (チエーン回し Chiēn-Mawashi)[1] |
|---|---|
| Wire Sponge spins a chain in front of himself, deflecting attacks (save for Sonic Slicer). He often performs Strike Chain right afterwards. | |
| Damage: 2 | |
|
Strike Chain (ストライクチェーン Sutoraiku Chēn)[1] |
| Wire Sponge throws a chain horizontally at the player. If it hits a wall, it pulls Sponge towards it. | |
| Damage: 2 | |
|
Hanging (ぶら下がり Burasagari)[1] |
| Wire Sponge throws a chain vertically, latching to the ceiling to hang in the air. From here he launches seeds, which grow into spiked vines upon landing. They can be destroyed with any weapon. | |
| Damage: 2 | |
|
Lightning Strike (落雷 Rakurai)[1] |
| At low health, Wire Sponge becomes enraged and performs a short dance, invincible. His flower becomes a lightning rod to call lightning strikes around the room. Afterwards, he is charged with electricity that increases his damage output for the rest of the battle. | |
| Damage: 2 |
Data
Stage
Mega Man X2 stats
- Height: 188 cm (6'2")
- Weight: 96 kg (212 lbs)
- Power: 6400rp
- Speed: 4800rp
Other appearances
- Wire Sponge is one of the bosses from the X Challenge in Mega Man X Legacy Collection and Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2. He appears alongside Web Spider in stage 1-3 (Volume 2) and Spike Rosered in stage 4-2.
- Wire Sponge has a cameo appearance in Mega Man ZX Advent, absorbed into the base of the Tower of Verdure, Rospark the Floroid's stage.
- Wire Sponge appeared in Battle Memory from Rockman Xover.
- Wire Sponge appeared in TEPPEN.
- Wire Sponge appeared as an event character in Dragon Poker.
Other media
Rockman X2 manga
Wire Sponge has the distinction of being the only Maverick to survive his battle with X in the Rockman X2 manga, being repaired by Dr. Cain immediately following his defeat. This is due to Dr. Cain telling X to drop the idea of continuing the battle after Sponge revealed he was scared of fighting anymore. This is further shown by the fact that it was Dr. Cain who had stopped X from shooting Sponge by using his electrified cane to interfere.
Morph Moth also uses a Wire Sponge illusion to distract X during his battle, among illusions of other Mavericks in the first two games (except himself). It fails when X realizes that something wrong, as he does not remember killing Wire Sponge since he failed to do so seven chapters prior. X responds to this by attacking Morph Moth with his X-Buster, dispelling the illusions.
Archie Comics
Wire Sponge was one of many Mavericks who appeared in the Worlds Unite event after being revived by Sigma. He and most of his fellow Mavericks from the series were dispatched to various worlds through Genesis Portals to plant Unity Engines, following a brief attack on the heroic crew of the Sky Patrol.
Rockman X Mega Mission
|
This section requires expansion. |
Wire Sponge was revived and powered up by Dr. Doppler's Limited.
Gallery
Artwork
Sprites
Trivia
- While Wire Sponge is named after a sponge (technically an animal) outside Japan, his design and original name are derived from "hechima", Japanese for luffa, a vine plant that produces a cucumber like vegetable that is dried and sold to be used as a cleaning sponge.
- Although Wire Sponge is not an electric-type Maverick, in Mega Man Xtreme 2, Zero learns an electric-type attack from him, appropriately named "Lightning", apparently based on the lightning attack Wire Sponge uses after being reduced to critical health in Mega Man X2.
- Wire Sponge's death animation with the Sonic Slicer is somewhat a precursor to the death animations of enemies in the Mega Man Zero series when killed with the Z-Saber.
- Oddly, in Mega Man Xtreme 2, hitting Wire Sponge on the final blow with his weakness, the Fire Wave, will cause him to split in half, much like a Sonic Slicer would from Mega Man X2.
- This makes Wire Sponge the only boss to have multiple death animations in a single game, those being his regular explosion animation and the one where he gets chopped in half.
References
| Mega Man X2 | |
|---|---|
| Stage Select bosses | |
| Overdrive Ostrich • Wire Sponge • Wheel Gator • Bubble Crab • Flame Stag • Morph Moth • Magna Centipede • Crystal Snail | |
| Other bosses | |
| Gigantic Mechaniloid CF-0 • Violen • Serges • Agile • Zero • Sigma | |
| Special Weapons | |
| Sonic Slicer • Strike Chain • Spin Wheel • Bubble Splash • Speed Burner • Silk Shot • Magnet Mine • Crystal Hunter - Other - Giga Crush • Shoryuken | |
| Stages | |
| Maverick Factory Stage • Desert Base Stage • Weather Control Stage • Dinosaur Tank Stage • Deep-Sea Base Stage Volcanic Zone Stage • Robot Junkyard Stage • Central Computer Stage • Energen Crystal Stage • X-Hunter Stages | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Armor Parts • Damage data chart • Script | |