SPOILER WARNING: This article will discuss plot points in Dispatch Episodes 1-8. If you haven’t caught up yet, do proceed with caution.
Dispatch Episode 5 sees Robert bonding with the Z-Team, who are determined to figure out his true identity. Read on to learn what happens based on whether Robert chooses to reveal he is Mecha Man or not.
Are You “Robert” or “Mecha Man”?
“Everyone Will Remember That,” Flambae Most of All
It’s been clear since the very first episode of Dispatch that playing as Robert Robertson means making some pretty weighty decisions. Whether choosing who to cut from Z-Team in Episode 3 or deciding on a date in Episode 4, the game repeatedly tests how much of himself he’s willing to reveal, both as a leader and a person. Episode 5 continues this arc, but this time the focus is directly on Robert and the identity he’s been hiding from the team.
As the episode progresses, Z-Team’s curiosity about who Robert really is only intensifies. They’ve long questioned whether he has powers or if he’s simply a regular guy calling the shots. The only one who knows the truth in their team is Invisigal, who happened to be invisible when she saw him changing out of his costume in Episode 2.
Following a messy but rather triumphant bar fight that ends with the team bonding over tacos, they confront him again about who he really is. At this point, the player can finally choose whether Robert should come clean and reveal himself as Mecha Man, or keep the secret and redirect their focus toward the team’s own roles as superheroes.
But Dispatch being Dispatch, it’s never that simple. Episode 5 repeatedly flashes back to Flambae and Mecha Man’s fight from years ago, back when Flambae was still a villain. These challenge the player to consider what would happen if Robert reveals his identity, especially since Flambae is a hot head, literally and figuratively.
The consequences of this choice fully manifest in subsequent episodes, but the decision itself does not dramatically deviate from the main plot. It avoids being a choice that completely rewrites the ending or locks you into a separate route. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s meaningless; dialogue and specific scenes play out differently, and it impacts how Robert perceives his own identity.
Choose “I’m Robert”
If Robert chooses not to reveal that he’s Mecha Man, he slips into one of his familiar off-the-cuff pep talks—a habit he’s developed, it seems, throughout the game. This time, the speech is about letting go of who they used to be, which echoes back to one of the game’s themes: redemption; Z-Team trying to move on from their past as villains and redefine themselves through SDN’s Phoenix Program.
Many members of the team struggle with this. In Episode 3, for instance, Invisigal confides in Robert that her "supervillain powers" make her feel destined to remain one no matter how hard she tries to change. Robert challenges that belief by telling her that her powers don’t define her; she gets to decide who she is.
In this moment, Robert’s decision to stay "Robert" instead of "Mecha Man" reinforces that same idea. "Every room you walk into, your reputation precedes," he tells Z-Team. But he also reminds them that their time in the Phoenix Program is a clean slate, "a chance to leave the past behind."
He is not hiding from his enemies, exactly. He’s choosing to move forward as the man he is now, not confining himself as the superhero he used to be. He resigns himself as Z-Team's "guy behind the desk." In his own words, the Z-Team are "the heroes now." What follows is a heartwarming scene where everyone starts revealing their real names to each other, breaking down the last bit of distance between them.
As previously mentioned, this doesn’t change much of the overall story. In Episode 6, when Robert tests the new Astral Pulse prototype, some of the characters who know about his secret are there to witness the Mecha Man suit explode with Robert in it. He ends up hospitalized for about fifteen hours, and when he finally returns to work, he finds a gift from Z-Team on his desk (a bourbon whiskey with a note that says, "CONGRATS ON NOT DYING") and they go back to their usual routine.
Because the Z-Team is unaware of his secret identity, they demand an explanation for his absence. Invisigal covers for him by claiming he had an upset stomach—an excuse that, as Robert notes, "doesn’t make sense [...] but it’s totally the truth."
The rest of the episode flows mostly the same, with small differences that add flavor to how the scenes play out. The Z-Team throws a surprise housewarming party for Robert at his apartment, bringing lamps as gifts and casually chatting about the missing Astral Pulse.
Things stay light until Invisigal and Chase start arguing. Invisigal wants to break into a heavily guarded warehouse to recover the Astral Pulse, while Chase, clearly drunk, argues against it. The fight escalates until Chase blurts out that Robert "doesn’t need to be Mecha Man to be a hero."
The room goes quiet. Everyone reacts in shock, and Invisigal storms out. Blonde Blazer steps in to calm things down and insists that nothing leaves the apartment. Then, as though perfectly timed, Flambae walks in holding a desk lamp and greets everyone with a "Whazaaaaaap?" By the end of Episode 6, the team more or less knows Robert’s secret, even if he didn’t intend for it to come out that way.
Choose “I’m Mecha Man”
If Robert chooses to reveal that he’s Mecha Man, the general flow of Episode 5 stays similar, but some scenes and context change. Instead of giving a speech about moving on from the past, Robert admits that "Robert" has always been something of a mask, the persona he built to hide behind after losing the Mecha Man suit. He calls this persona "the guy who sits behind his desk, biding his time, dreaming of the day he gets back in the fight."
This version of Robert feels more open, but also more conflicted. You can tell that this is him embracing the Mecha Man identity, even if it comes with all the baggage of his family’s superhero legacy. It’s him resigning himself to it. He knows every Robertson who has worn the suit has died inside the suit, and by owning up to being Mecha Man, he’s accepting that risk.
In this route, Robert tells Z-Team that the real reason he never told them who he was is simple: "I’m starting to like you all, and I’m not sure you’re gonna like the real me." He, however, also makes it clear that trust has to go both ways, and that means letting them know his secret. "I’m Mecha Man," Robert says.
Their reactions vary, but none stand out more than Flambae’s. His anger is immediate. After all, Mecha Man is responsible for him losing two fingers, his tooth or eyebrows (depending on a choice in Episode 1), and him getting thrown in jail years prior. He lashes out, firing flames at Robert, but Golem shields him. The rest of the team steps in to stop Flambae, and he flies off in fury. The rest of the scene continues like the other path. Z-Team members reveal their real names to one another, but with Flambae gone, you don’t learn his (it’s Chad, by the way).
Episode 6 plays out a little differently afterwards. Since Z-Team now knows Robert’s identity, almost everyone shows up when Robert tests the new Astral Pulse prototype. There’s more chatter and banter this time, a sign that they’ve come to accept who he is.
It doesn’t change what happens next, though. The scene still ends with the Mecha Man suit exploding, and Robert winding up hospitalized.
There are minor differences. In the other route, Royd smashes through the locked door with brute strength to try and rescue Robert. Here, Malevola opens a portal instead. The aftermath, however, stays the same. Robert wakes up, goes back to work, and Z-Team welcomes him back with the same energy as before—minus one person. Flambae skips the day’s shift, leaving Robert short a team member. Prism notes during the dispatch segment that she hasn’t heard from him since the fight.
Later, during the housewarming party, events unfold almost exactly like before. Chase still ends up drunk and arguing with Invisigal, still blurts out that Robert’s Mecha Man, but this time, no one reacts in shock; they already know. Invisigal storms off, Blonde Blazer once again tells everyone to keep what happened to themselves, and Flambae arrives late. This time, though, he punches Robert straight in the face. He tells Robert that he has to do that "as a release of [his] hatred," essentially forgiving him.
Changes Depending on Which You Choose
Changes in Episodes 7 and 8
By the end of Episode 6, both branches meet in the same place. No matter what the player chooses earlier, the Z-Team eventually learns that Robert is Mecha Man. Either he admits it outright, or Chase spills it for him. Aside from a few lines of dialogue during dispatch segments that reference it, there isn’t much to point out here. It’s mostly background context at this point, setting up the next events.
A somewhat notable split shows up in Episode 7, and a bit in Episode 8. In the boardroom scene, due to certain events that happened in Episode 6, Z-Team takes a vote on whether to cut Invisigal from the team. Naturally, not everyone’s on the same side. Most members want her out; Golem stands firmly in her corner, as the two of them are close.
However, if Robert chose to reveal his identity as Mecha Man back in Episode 5, Flambae also steps up to defend her, with his reason being, "You all let me back in when you didn’t have to," in reference to the events of Episode 5 and his absence in Episode 6. He’s someone chasing redemption, and by revealing yourself, you showed him that the team is capable of giving people a second chance. So he pays that forward.
If Robert hid his identity, though, that moment never happens. Flambae keeps quiet, and Golem ends up being the only one pushing to keep Invisigal around.
That choice in Episode 7 also rolls into Episode 8. Whether you defend or cut Invisigal affects the team’s morale, especially for the members who disagreed with your call. The ones who wanted her gone feel let down if you keep her, and the ones who wanted her to stay feel the same way if you cut her.
However, if you choose to keep Invisigal, Flambae's morale will still be lower, even if he defended her. This appears to be a bug, though its impact can be minimized with good decision-making during the final dispatch segment.
Even though this choice doesn’t have as much impact as the big decisions in earlier episodes, it’s still interesting to see the two sides of Robert’s character. If you choose to reveal his identity, it’s him showing trust; he’s deciding that the Z-Team deserves to know the truth. It also affects how other characters see him, especially Invisigal, since it gives her a better idea of what heroism means. At the same time, it’s Robert admitting that he can’t separate himself from being Mecha Man.
On the other hand, if you choose to keep his identity secret, it reflects a Robert who believes people can move past their histories. In this version, he accepts himself as just Robert and focuses on helping the Z-Team become the heroes, without relying on his Mecha Man persona. Both paths feel true to him. Neither is morally wrong. They’re just two ways of exploring the same man trying to figure out who he wants to be after everything that’s happened.
Both approaches tie back to the themes of the game, even if the consequences are subtle. Whether he stays "the guy behind the desk" or embraces being Mecha Man, it’s still the same story seen through a slightly different lens. The difference isn’t in what happens but rather what you, as the player, want him to believe about himself and the team.
