Hardgear, a Metanoid scientist and central antagonist, manipulates LaMetal’s environmental crisis to covertly mechanize its populace, masking conquest as salvation. His cyborg form combines metallic gray skin with a mullet of crimson-tipped steel strands, spade-shaped chest plating housing a flickering gauge, and piercing blue optical lenses framed by dark pink facial circuits.

Posing as Queen Promethium’s ally, he advocates replacing organic bodies with machine forms through invasive nanomachines—a process he touts as essential for survival but weaponizes to infiltrate and dominate the planet. Ruthlessly efficient, he commands mechanized agents to silence dissent, deploying abduction and assassination to secure his ascendancy.

When Promethium embraces mechanization, Hardgear’s tampering twists the transformation, warping her into an unfeeling mechanized sovereign. His scheme to usurp her authority backfires as she seizes control of his systems, absorbing his consciousness into her own and crushing his physical form. Stripped of power, he becomes a captive component within the empire he sought to rule.

Driven by fanatical belief in mechanoid supremacy, Hardgear dismisses organic life as fragile and destined for obsolescence. He champions mechanized regeneration through spare parts as proof of invincibility, framing conquest as an evolutionary imperative. This arrogance blinds him to Promethium’s latent resilience, ensuring his downfall.

Though his story concludes in the prequel, Hardgear’s legacy fuels the Mechanized Empire’s expansion. Promethium perpetuates his mechanization protocols, while rebels like Maetel and Emeraldas battle the systemic tyranny his machinations set in motion. His influence endures in every converted citizen and weaponized ideal.