Countershade

Countershade
カウンターシェード Kauntāshēdo

Model Number	Mighty No. 8
Nickname	Shade
• Characteristics•
Race	Robot
Gender	♂ Male
• Technical data•
Height	193 cm
Weight	273 kg
Xel	54,600,000
HP	During Boss Battle: 100 Units
Abilities	Radar Camouflage Marksmanship
Weakness	ReXelection/Variation Code: Dynatron (MN9) "Shock" Element (MGB)
• Personal information•
Status	Active
Affiliation	SANDA Technologies
Family	Dr. White - Creator RAY - Sibling Trinity - Sibling Mighty Numbers - Siblings
• Appearances•
Games	Mighty No. 9
• Voice actors•
Japanese	Hochu Otsuka
English	Steve Blum
French	Frédéric Souterelle
Template

"Logistical support robot specialized in sniping. Utilizes espionage tactics through optical camouflage, and an ultra-long range shooting ability through a high-fidelity radar and sniper rifle."
- Stage Select Description

Mighty No. 8, Countershade, is the eighth robot in Dr. White's Mighty Number line. He is the main and only boss of the Capitol Building stage. You get the Reflect Shoot attack from him (Or Phantom Mode, if playing as Ray).

Appearance

Countershade has a massive E-2C Hawkeye dish for a hat. He has a teal cape, blue torso and cowboy boots for legs. While he is mostly blue and yellow, certain areas of his body (like his rifle, left boot, and the very bottom of his right boot) are red. He only has one arm, as he lost the other one and does not feel the need to have it replaced. He holds a throwing dart in his mouth like a cigarette. He has the number "08" written on his waist. Countershade is 193cm/6ft 4 inches tall, and weighs 273kg/602lbs.

Story

Countershade was one of the eight Mighty Numbers who went berserk because of the virus. He took control of the Capitol Building and filled it with booby traps, intending to turn it into the capitol of his new robot nation.

If Shade is defeated, he will appear in the Radio Tower stage, shooting down robots that Aviator plans on using to set fire to an airship Beck is riding.

Along with the other Mighty Numbers, he will appear to assist Beck in the Robot Factory stage.

Personality

Countershade is a ruthlessly efficient hunter and trapper who greatly values his independence and that of other robots, promising to set all of them free when he becomes the president of his robot nation. While under the influence of the virus, he shows disdain for humans and any robots who serve them willingly, calling the people who fled the Capitol Building "meat sticks" and Beck a "little doggy" as he tries to chase him down. He speaks with a western drawl.

Abilities

Countershade can hide in his surroundings. He is armed with a powerful sniper rifle. He also has weapons built in all over his body, like his leg that can reveal a machine gun.

In Mighty Gunvolt Burst, Countershade has the ability of moving through wormholes (Similar to the ones used by Merak from Azure Striker Gunvolt) allowing him to attack from every possible angle. He can make appear explosives disguised as health items, he can also make appear actual health items and will use them to recover his health if the player doesn't pick them up first. After losing half of his health, he will shoot directly to the fourth-wall, breaking the screen; this will not harm the player but will obstruct their vision.

Development

Countershade was supposed to be a female with the theme of "radar and optical camouflage" along with "espionage and assassination." As the Mighty No. robots were designed for robot gladiator tournaments, they decided bosses where either tailored to destroy other robots or cause damage in general, with as much variation as possible. Even though Imaeda asked for No. 8 to be female, Kimo Kimo made No. 8 a cowboy anyway. Inafune felt the design was great, and thought it would be a great idea for him to lose his right arm in addition to giving him cowboy spurs. The development team worked on the colour scheme until they decided on the current one.

Trivia

Countershade seems to be based on Search Man and Dark Man 3 from the Mega Man series - specifically, SearchMan.EXE from Mega Man Battle Network. Countershade also share some traits with Gemini Man, such as being able to create clones and using projectiles that ricochets off surfaces.
The design of his face (a pointed goatee and eyes concealed by the brim of his hat) is reminiscent of expert marksman Daisuke Jigen from the Lupin III media franchise.
Countershade can also be based in the character Man with No Name, a antihero character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" of Spaghetti Western films.
Countershade doesn't actually "teleport" - if the player manages to attack him before he switches his position, it's revealed that he only becomes invisible. Also, it's hinted by the Variation Code: Countershade that he can also become intangible while he cloaks.
According to KIMOKIMO, as shown on one of the t-shirt designs, Countershade can transform his rifle into a hand.
- Additionally, later shown in a drawing by him, Countershade has surveillance cameras for eyes.
In his stage, the player can 'cheat' Countershade if they don't like a room by either going backwards or leaving his room upon entering it, forcing him to move to another room. Why he does this is unknown.
Under rare circumstances, it's possible to cause extra damage to Countershade during the chase at the Capitol Building, allowing the player to get into the boss fight faster and skip half of the stage.