One of these things is not like the others, One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others By the time I finish my song?

     Thinking back to Rockman 3; Dr. Wily's Last Stand, one boss out of the roster of rouges seem out of place. But to understand where I'm coming form, first some background information. The opening plot of Rockman 3 goes along as so:

    Dr. Wily has repents on his evil world domination ways and is allow to partner with Dr. Right. Together, they are commissioned to build the super peace keeping robot "Gamma". Being the first robot of it's kind and of it's scale, it required specialty minerals and elements only found in outer space. For these ends, specialized teams of robots were sent out to mine these precious elements. As Gamma nears completion, the robots at the mining colonies unexpectedly started rioting , halting all supplies. Dr. Light dispatches Rockman and Rush into space to solve the situation.

     The leaders of the robot revolt (thus primary boss characters of Rockman 3) are as follows:

  • DWN017 Needleman, rock breaking robot
  • DWN018 Magnetman, scrap metal processing robot.
  • DWN019 Geminiman, laser based strip mining robot
  • DWN020 Hardman, soil compaction robot
  • DWN021 Topman, experimental high speed barrier machine
  • DWN022 Snakeman, terrain recognizance robot
  • DWN023 Sparkman, electric charge robot
  • DWN024 Shadowman, espionage robot

     Now, Geminiman, Hardman and Needleman can all be classified as specialty mining robots, so they fit the mode of this story plot perfectly of mining colony robots gone haywire. Sparkman, Magnetman and Snakeman, while not mining robots, can be used in a mining operation via powering machines, sort and movement of metal, and land surveying respectively. Shadowman, although being quite removed from anything related to mining, can ultimately fit in most any sort of plot line, especially ones of robot uprisings. This is the advantage of "the spy", you can send one to do espionage on virtually anything.

     And now we are left with Topman, the experimental high speed barrier machine. By his functional title, Topman is a work-in-progress defensive mechanism, or a robot built to manage experimentation in this field. So why would such a work be done in space? It's not like Topman only works in zero gravity environments, we see him running around in normal gravity in Rockman 3 functioning just fine. Going back to the main plot line, nothing suggest that such a barrier would have any sort of direct mining function, he's no spinning drill. Also, unlike Magnetman, Snakeman and Sparkman, there is no intuitive use for a "shield" for a mineral mining operation either. So does this robot fit into the grand scheme of Rockman 3?

     Well,....uh,....maybe? I have done a bit of brain storming, and this is the best I was able to come up with for a scenario where Topman would have a good reason to be out there:

"It's outer space, so maybe there are mining colonies that are susceptible to meteorite showers and need protection from the flying debris! A robot that specializes in barrier production and barrier management would be ideal for such a task. In fact, I bet that's what those tops you ride on at the end of his stage are! A high speed barrier system managed by Topman!"

     Even then, such a scenario would be a pretty forced as anything sort of super valuable mine producing one of a kind materials would probably not be using something experimental for it's defense. Though, this would explain why nothing else in Topman's stage relates to tops with exception to that final area. If you think you can come up with something better, feel free to comment as I'm a bit spent on this~