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Flying Man

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Flying Man
Flying man origin.png
EarthboundSymbol.svg

A Flying Man in EarthBound.

Universe EarthBound
Debut Mother (1989) Japan
Smash Bros. appearances SSB4
Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance EarthBound (1994)
Console/platform of origin Famicom
Species Flying Man
Gender Male
Place of origin Magicant
Article on WikiBound Flying Man

Flying Men (フライングマン, Flying Man) are minor characters in the EarthBound series, and residents of Magicant.

Origin[edit]

The Flying Men are a race of humanoid bird creatures that can be found in Magicant in both Mother and EarthBound, where Ninten or Ness can recruit them to help in battles while exploring Magicant. Should a Flying Man be defeated, however, it will be permanently dead and a grave will appear outside their house. Like in Smash, there are only five Flying Men available in both Mother and EarthBound.

In Super Smash Bros. 4[edit]

As a stage element[edit]

Two graves, each appearing when a Flying Man is defeated.
Tombstones that appear when a Flying Man is defeated.
An image of the Flying Man's planned 3D model.

Flying Men occasionally appear in the Magicant stage, coming out of their house on the top right platform. When passed by or attacked by a character, they start fighting alongside them, brawling against their opponents and even teammates.

Flying Men move around and approach opponents by running and jumping, and have an infinite amount of midair jumps. They have two attacks at their disposal:

  • Flying Cross Chop, a dash in the air towards an opponent in an attempt to body slam them.
  • Somersault Kick, an upward kick similar to Mario's up aerial, which can be performed both on the ground and in the air.

Both attacks inflict 12% damage and have high base knockback which can KO an opponent as early as 90%.

Flying Men can be attacked and grabbed like a regular fighter, and be launched farther the more damage they accumulate. When they are KOed, either by being launched beyond the blast line or by taking enough damage, a small tombstone appears near their house. Only five Flying Men in total will spawn in a single match, and if all five Flying Men have been KOed, they will no longer appear for the remainder of the match.

The Flying Men on Magicant appear as 2D sprites, similar to their original appearance in EarthBound (albeit with new, more fluid animations). During development, a 3D model was also created, but scrapped in favor of the sprite; it lessened the strain on the 3DS hardware, and the team felt it looked better in comparison. The scrapped model was modified to be used for the Flying Man Mii costume.[1][2]

Suicide grab glitch[edit]

Previously, if Bowser attempted to use the Flying Slam offstage on a Flying Man, he would not be KO'd upon reaching the lower blast line, but instead fall indefinitely.[3] It is possible that Bowser could not be KO'd until after the opponent he was grabbing (in order to ensure the opponent lost if they both had one stock remaining), and that the Flying Man did not properly interact with this. Due to the nerf to Flying Slam in version 1.0.4, this is no longer the case; Bowser will be KO'd as normal, with the Flying Man being able to recover back to the stage.

In Smash Tour[edit]

A Flying Man can appear as a random event. He follows the first player who bumps into him, and when bumping into another player he knocks them away before disappearing.

As a costume[edit]

Mii Brawlers dressed as Flying Men.

Flying Man's costume serves as the basis of a paid downloadable content costume for the Mii Brawlers. It was created by modifying the Flying Man's scrapped 3D model.[2]

Trophy[edit]

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U the Flying Man trophy is a Challenge reward, obtained by starting the final battle in Smash Tour with the maximum 10 characters.

Flying Man's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
Flying Man's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Flying Man
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U The Flying Men from EarthBound are five kind brothers with a cruel fate. They live together in a house on the outskirts of Magicant. The brothers gladly join Ness on his journey, but if they fall in battle, they return home to be buried. In Smash Tour, they'll ally themselves with the first player to touch them.
NTSCSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS The Flying Men are a team of five birdmen. Each time a Flying Man appears, he'll help the first person to reach him with Flying Cross Chops and Somersault Kicks. A small memorial stone will be erected for each one defeated. Once all five are gone, they're done fighting forever until the next battle.
SNES: EarthBound (06/1995)
PALSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS The Flying Men are five brothers who seem to be some kind of bird people. They make great allies, smoothly combining majestic jumps with Flying Cross Chops and Somersault Kicks, and they'll each support whoever reaches them first. Sadly, once they're defeated, they'll be buried next to their homes, never to return.
Famicom: Mother (1989 (JP))
Super Famicom: EarthBound (1994 (JP))

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

As a stage element[edit]

A Flying Man attacking Mewtwo.

Flying Men reappear on Magicant, just like in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. Both attacks deal more damage, with Flying Cross Chop dealing 14% and Somersault Kick dealing 16%.

As a costume[edit]

A Mii Brawler dressed as Flying Man.

The Flying Man costume for the Mii Brawler also returns and can be bought in the Shop.

Spirit[edit]

The Flying Man also appears as an Ace-class primary spirit.

In Adventure Mode: World of Light, the Flying Man is presumably one of the countless spirits captured by Galeem during his takeover of the universe. The Flying Man's spirit is located in the cloud section of The Light Realm.

The Flying Man uses a Mii Brawler puppet fighter wearing the Flying Man Hat and Outfit and is fought on the Magicant stage. He is fought along a Ness puppet fighter. During the battle, the player's fighter must defeat five Mii Brawlers, referencing how the Flying Men can be defeated in battle and cannot be revived.

The Flying Man can be summoned using the cores of Blaziken and Reporter & Wrestler.

No. Image Name Type Class Slots Base Power Max Power Base Attack Max Attack Base Defense Max Defense Ability Series
570
From the game's files
Flying Man
Attack
★★★ 3 2792 8379 1607 4822 1027 3083 Initial Damage 30% EarthBound Series

Gallery[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name
Japan Japanese フライングマン, Flying Man
UK English Flying Man
France French Flying Man
Germany German Flying Man
Spain Spanish Flying Man
Italy Italian Flying Man
China Chinese Flying Man
South Korea Korean Flying Man
Netherlands Dutch Flying Man
Russia Russian Полетчик

References[edit]