Raijin is Snakeman on the Mechanical Maniacs. He was also Skullman.EXE on Viral Infection and operates Drillman.EXE on Annihilation (a team not set in the standard epiverse). He joined the Mechs during before Series 5.
He functions as the editor on the team and has done the job since his admission into the team, even going back over older Series 1 and 2 epilogues to edit them.
Personality[]
Since joining the Maniacs and growing into his role of Snakeman, Raijin has become a respected source of battlefield knowledge and tactics. His role as a sniper has granted him a decidedly different take on combat as the Mechs see it, and he uses his vantage point to carefully guide and map out his allies movements.
Raijin can be rather curt and blunt, especially during a mission, often restricting dialogue to single syllables for the sake of safety. Those who meet him for the first time often mistake this as crassness or rudeness, but its merely battlefield knowledge seeping into his “normal” life.
Raijin doesn’t go out in human guise as much as he used to, perhaps out of frustration towards the generally sour attitude amongst human beings towards Robot Masters in general, despite his efforts. Still, an underlying compassion towards victims of his enemies’ crimes, as well as passion for his job, keeps his spirits up and his priorities in line.
When first joining the team Snakeman is the typical Mechs, showing very little respect for the law. Upon joining the RPD this has completely reversed itself. Snakeman is possibly the most "law and order" type on the team now. When first joining the RPD Snakeman was trained as a sniper, but relying on it proved nerve wracking for the Mech and he learned to hate the job.
Relationships[]
Respects Shadowman as his equal; No nonsense attitude with Geminiman (Lennon), uses his power over him to control him when needed; quiet working relationship with Needle (Psycho Magnet); General annoyance with Top (SD), but will work with him; friendly with Hardman (Hadrian); quiet with Magnetman (Kenta) and avoids working with him; works well with Spark (Classi), but is quiet around her.
Abilities[]
Snake has worn the 1, 2, and 3 versions of the Transmetal Armour. He was also Skullman.EXE on Viral Infection before being Snakeman and had access to all his powers. In one Mech epilogue Raijin decided to overwrite his Snakeman Navi form to his old Skullman one out of nostalgia. This would never be seen again for Navi forms fell into disuse by the end of Series 6.
Series Information[]
Snakeman first met the team as Skullman.EXE. His team - Viral Infection (which Sharkman of the Sinister Six founded as Sharkman.EXE within Mechs canon) was infected with a virus (by Viral Infection foe Life Virus). Copies of SD and Gauntlet were on the team as Gutsman.EXE and Shadowman.EXE respectively. Topman and Shadow absorbed their copies and their Transmetal Armour creates an anti-virus to combat Life Virus' control. Thus armed battle was pathetically short and the viral Infection Navis were all deleted.
In the Series 4 epilogue the Mechs were brought on trail for stealing money they were illegally given by the Mayor at the end of Series 1. Raijin jumps in as the team's lawyer and pins it all on the Snakeman of the time (Hexlaser). As Snakeman Raijin joins in on many random adventures including one selling spiked lemonade to kids.
When the Mechs joined the RPD in Series 6 Raijin was among them and gained the Transmetal 2 armour. Here he met Alan Munich who taught him everything he knew about sniping. It was at this time that Raijin was investigating a string of killings that pointed to a sniper exacting a harsh form of justice (the killer was called "The Judge") and evidence pointed him to his teacher. Snakeman confronted him and turned him in, vowing to pursue justice by the books and claiming his former teacher's rifle for his own.
When LA was destroyed and the Mechs framed Snake would accompany his team in going to LA for their investigation. The Judge was part of a group of government-assigned assassins sent to kill the Mechs and Snakeman went personally to deal with his former teacher. After a long, patient battle and the use of his specialized snakes and new TM2 powers Snake took out the Judge's robotic "jury" backup and he challenged Snake to a knife fight which, of course, the robot won.
Afterwards General Cutman started his war and the shutdown code was introduced into the RPD robot's systems. Snakeman was one of the Mechs who decided to stay with the RPD. After Shadowman went crazy and a string of indiscretions was discovered Crorq put the robot hating Amatista on the team as their Watcher (a human who could shut them down if they stepped out of line). In one misison Spark Chan (who had joined Wily's faction) was sighted and Snakeman was ordered to kill her. When he refused to he was shut down.
But this was not the end for Snake. Seeing that shutdown was possible he set a link up with one of his snakes and when his body was shut down the snake function as a new house for his consciousness. He, led by Topman, and with the help of Protoman, Bass, and Constance helped the RPD bounce back after General Cutman shut down their entire faction. Afterwards he was given his old body back. Snakeman accompanied the Mechs in their final battle against General Cutman (where he wielded a crystal shard gun in lieu of his rifle, which Amatista still had). After the battle he reclaimed his prized rifle, but it was destroyed in the battle with Mesmerman.
In the 15 year gap between Series 6 and 7 Raijin stayed with the team until it dissolved after the (seemingly) final battle against General Cutman. He turned in his armour and assumed the name Lucas Denozo. During this time he learned all about hacking computers. When the Mechs reformed he rejoined the team and, a short time later, the RPD.
Writer's Notes[]
At first Raijin was fine with his role as sniper during Series 6, but became impatient with the over reliance on his use of a rifle during the War. However, his attachment to the rifle he carried was cemented in WANTED. A compromise was reached where he would carry it one final time before it was destroyed in the battle against Mesmerman. The use of a crystal shard gun in the battle with General Cutman was a compromise of his impatience with using a rife, but a misunderstanding that he had rewritten the scenario to feature a specialized snake.