Bass AKA Forte

For my next submition, here's a drawing I did of Megaman's rival, Bass (known as Forte in Japan). This guy made his first appearance in Megaman 7, which was released for the SNES in 1995 just before newer and more advanced video game consoles started to take over the market. As far as records go, he is Megaman's second most dangerous foe next to Dr. Wily in terms of being a persistent and relentless competitor, driven with a single desire which is to destroy Megaman to prove that he is the strongest robot on Earth. In his initial appearance, Bass was at first a mysterious and shadowy figure whose sidekick was a robotic wolf named Treble (Gospel in Japan). He is first seen at the end of the intro stage in Megaman 7 after Wily escapes from prison. When Megaman first meets him, he claims to be on the side of good in order to convince Megaman that he had a possible ally on his side. Later on, Megaman naively trusts him without thinking twice about it. Much to his dismay, it turns out that Bass lied to Megaman about being on the side of good, and his so-called story of trying to stop Wily was just an act to gain his trust so that he could steal the enhancements from Dr. Light's lab. It is then revealed that Bass was in fact, created by Dr. Wily himself in order even the odds against Megaman. And quite frankly, Bass turned out being quite an adversary as he equals Megaman in nearly every aspect imaginable from power, strength, and abilities.

However, his short temper and lack of sufficient intellect serves as a great weakness. Wheras Megaman is always calm and tranquil in his battles against Bass, which enables him to emerge victorious each and every time. Nevertheless, Bass/Forte is without a doubt, a great challenger, and an adversary worthy of mention. In fact, ever since his first appearance, I always saw him as the perfect rival for Megaman. He is a warrior who equals his enemy in almost every aspect, with the one difference being that he fights for himself rather than for the side of good or to serve his master.

In fact, that leads me to the next thing in this subject; Bass is driven with the single desire to destroy Megaman for his own selfish reasons. However, he hates his master, Dr. Wily almost equally as much, and often rebels against him when he feels that Wily is getting in the way between him and Megaman. In the game called "Megaman and Bass" (Rockman and Forte in Japan), he serves as a playable character who rebels against Dr. Wily by battling through armies of robot masters, which are all his brothers given that they were all created by the same person. Because of this, it is believed by a large number of fans that Bass is an antihero. Although my personal definition of an antihero is essentially a protagonist whose actions are at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the typical hero. Some consider the word's meaning to be sufficiently broad as to additionally encompass the antagonist, who elicits considerable sympathy or admiration. In a more modern context, an antihero can be a protagonist whose actions against the antagonists are driven through their own reasons and motivations rather than for the standard values of a true hero. So with regards to the fact that Bass is rebellious towards his own master, I guess it's clear to say that he's an antihero in that sense. However, in most cases, he seems to be more of a villain than an antihero. Though since Bass has no other desires other than to destroy the one he was programmed to destroy, then I guess that pretty much makes him a neutral villain; he's probably not all that evil, but he's still selfish and cannot be trusted in any instance.

It's also worth mentioning that ever since Bass's debut appearance, many fans have mispronounced his name and have resorted to pronouncing it in reference to the species of fish, when in fact his name is more of a reference to the low-pitched sound and the musical term. For this reason, I usually refer to him by his Japanese name "Forte" as I find it to be more symbolic of his malicious personality and his lust for power. As is the case with the rest of the cast from the classic series, it's never revealed as to what happened to Bass before the beginning of the X series. Because of this, his fate has been left open to speculation by the fans. Some say that he simply became obsolete or was defeated by Megaman in a final battle. While some believe that he was killed by Dr. Wily's final creation, Zero, who turns out being a friend and ally to Megaman X through the course of the X series. Personally however, I can't say for sure as we're never given a clue as to whatever became of Bass. All that can be assumed is that he probably died sometime before either X or Zero were even activated. I mean after all, something has to explain why he never appears anywhere in the X series. So chances are, I guess it's safe to assume that he could very well be dead.

As for the drawing, I personally wanted to draw Bass/Forte in a dynamic sort of pose. I guess the inspiration for this was most likely from "Megaman X2" with the "weapon screen". Given his villainous/antihero status, I wanted to make him look as dark and menacing as I could possibly make him look. And aside from the way I positioned one hand facing the camera along with his blaster at a distance, the main focus was his facial expression. Based on what I know, Bass often has that murderous enraged frown on his face with the teeth bared. So I decided to go with an expression that in my view is more expressive than that. So instead of an ugly frown which he usually has, I gave him that sort of sinister and psychotic grin that implies that he wants to kill you. And also, I thought it make him seem more intelligent. I don't know. For some reason I tend to see an evil genius in him despite how simple his character is in the games. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Bass/Forte is owned by Capcom.