History Fridge / MegaManX

** Extend this theme to Axl, whose origins are a mystery and who has no real purpose, and so he chooses to take that blank slate of a life and do good with it rather than let himself be used by the likes of Sigma to cause chaos.

** Flame Mammoth and Burn Dinorex; fire is blown out by wind.

** Jet Stingray and Rainy Turtloid; water is frozen by ice.

* No wonder Zero invokes DoNotRunWithAGun with his Z-Buster in the first two games and everything from ''X5'' onwards; he charges his shots for maximum kill efficiency and needs to take a moment to aim, as ''Maverick Hunter X'' implies. Every shot he takes with his Z-Buster in ''X5'' and ''X6'' aren't as powerful as X's full charges, and show he isn't as proficient with ranged combat unless it's with raw, overwhelming force like in ''X1''-- which he had to use for ambush tactics rather than mid-fight. He works around this in [[VideoGame/MegaManZero the sequel series]] by outright shoving his Z-Saber in a regular, handheld buster like an ammo pack, removing the weight and kickback from the equation while using the Z-Saber's power that he's more comfortable with.

* No wonder Zero invokes DontRunWithAGun with his Z-Buster in the first two games and everything from ''X5'' onwards; he charges his shots for maximum kill efficiency and needs to take a moment to aim, as ''Maverick Hunter X'' implies. Every shot he takes with his Z-Buster in ''X5'' and ''X6'' aren't as powerful as X's full charges, and show he isn't as proficient with ranged combat unless it's with raw, overwhelming force like in ''X1''-- which he had to use for ambush tactics rather than mid-fight. He works around this in [[VideoGame/MegaManZero the sequel series]] by outright shoving his Z-Saber in a regular, handheld buster like an ammo pack, removing the weight and kickback from the equation while using the Z-Saber's power that he's more comfortable with.

** Despite this simplicity, however, X goes on to topple virtually every single Reploid that gets in his path, both alongside comrades and as a OneManArmy. The series tries to propose that it's X's infinite growth for potential that drives this, but there's also likely another reason: [[SuperPrototype he's the original]] versus nothing but knockoffs. Perhaps in part to his potential, he can keep adjusting and adapting, ''changing'' as the series goes on, but all of his foes are imperfect recreations that are designed to-spec even as the LensmanArmsRace of power increases through the canon. The only ones that can match up are Zero, who was designed as a counter to X, Sigma, who effectively sacrificed his physical form to become data shifting to new bodies, and Copy Reploids, who presumably were a new attempt at the X potential design by being able to change into anything -- and, as far as canon is concerned, were presumably wiped out after Sigma made them an entire army of new potential vessels.

* In Zero's ''X7'' ending, he has a nightmare in which he and an [[spoiler:AxCrazy X]] are fighting to the death. What do you face in the ''Zero'' series? An [[spoiler:AxCrazy doppelgänger of X]]. Counts as a ShoutOut rather than {{Foreshadowing}} because ''X7'' came out after the ''Zero'' series began.

* This troper finally noticed a pattern in ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission.'' The game is divided into a total of ten chapters. You fight a boss at the end of each chapter. The first boss is a flunky with no real impact on the story, it's just there. The next eight stages are the main bosses (with two battles in Chapter 9) and the final chapter is the boss rush and final bosses. In the main ''X'' series, you fight an intro boss, eight Maverick bosses, and then a boss rush leading into the final battle. While ''Command Mission'' was essentially the EnsembleDarkHorse of the series, they kept the same pattern all along.

* X pulls away from the battlefield in X7, despite the resolve he showed at the end of the previous game. Also keep in mind that X salvaged Gate's remains out of respect for Alia in the chance she might revive him. Since Gate isn't even ''mentioned'' later on, it's a good bet that Alia was ''denied'' that chance, viral corruption and FreudianExcuse doesn't change the fact that Gate's actions and skill made him TooPowerfulToLive, and fell into a depression. X took up a support position out of guilt, putting himself physically right next to her, to provide emotional support.

* In ''X7'', Sigma's ultimate goal is apparently to use Axl to get the DNA of X and Zero. This may seem random, considering he's never cared about their DNA until now. But it's possible that seeing what Gate could create with Zero's DNA in ''X6'' (the Nightmare, High Max, and his Final Gate armor) inspired Sigma to give it a shot himself. Unfortunately, he didn't have any scraps of X or Zero's bodies to use, so he had to take a different approach and go directly to the source.
* When Red supposedly reappears at the end of ''X7'', there are several obvious hints that it's actually Axl in disguise. First of all, he gets X and Zero's attentions with a quick laser shot, something that Red has never been shown doing but something that Axl does all the time with his A-Bullets. Then, when he jumps to attack them it makes the same sound as when Axl jumps in-game. The ruse is quickly blown seconds later when Red!Axl finishes off Sigma, but it's fun to point out this attention to detail.

* The art style and some character designs of ''Mega Man X8'' were changed to make the characters look more human. This is (for now) the last game in the series... which bridges into the ''Mega Man Zero'' series, where Reploids are basically indistinguishable from humans.

* ''X8'' is the game that kills Sigma off for good. While this revelation seems to come out of left field, there are subtle hints that this is going to be Sigma's final appearance:
** First, the design of the Copy Sigma(s) in ''X8'' is an updated version of Sigma's original body circa ''X1'' while the Real Sigma's design is a shoddy-looking black devil skeleton (so shoddy that his viral essence is visible). In featuring Sigma's original form alongside his current/final form, the game creates a contrast between the two that provides a subtle reminder of how far Sigma has fallen from what he once was. The Real Sigma's shoddy appearance also provides a visual cue that he's on his last legs.
** Second, Sigma finally provides clarification as to why he went Maverick in the first place. When confronted by Zero he tells Zero that it was being infected with Zero's virus that set him on that path (information we already knew), but when confronted by X, he tells X that it was X's own dedication to justice that first got him thinking about how imperfect the world was and why (this is new information). In other words, according to Sigma himself it was both the virus ''and'' ideology that made him turn Maverick. [[note]]Specifically, Sigma was inspired by X to think about the world's imperfections while the virus removed his inhibitions, allowing him to act on that ideology by rebelling when he otherwise would have never considered doing such a thing.[[/note]]
** Third, Sigma talks about how the "old world" and the old generation Reploids have to be destroyed for the sake of the new world he wants to create in space. Naturally this implies that Sigma himself has to be destroyed as well since he's part of that old world too, with Lumine (the new incarnation of Sigma) replacing him as the Maverick leader.
** Fourth, When the Copy Sigma contacts Hunter HQ, he tells X that they'll never have to meet again when this is over, and when he's later confronted by X, he tells X that it's time for them to have their final showdown. When the Real Sigma is confronted by X, he tells X that this is the moment their destinies come to a head; and when confronted by Zero, he muses about how he and Zero are crossing paths at the end of the world. All these statements imply that this game will be X and Zero's final battle with Sigma. [[note]] Neither Sigma's statements to Axl have this sense of finality, but that can be chalked up to Sigma having no personal history with Axl as well as viewing Axl as an inferior prototype unworthy of his attention.[[/note]]
** Fifth, Sigma doesn't vow to return upon his defeat like he usually does. In previous games Sigma always vowed to return when he was beaten, and there were only three exceptions prior to this: ''X4'', where he died satisfied with the result of his machinations; ''Xtreme 2'', where he made no final statement at all; and ''X5'', which was meant to be the final game of the series. In this game, Sigma's last words indicate that he did not die content, so his lack of a promise to return here implies that his death was final this time.
** Sixth, the fight took place on the moon - ''Lumine's'' base. Not only were communications jammed by Sigma, but Lumine likely cut Sigma off from the Internet during his fight because he wants to exterminate all Old Generation Reploids. Also, the final level is very sparse, consisting of basic structures compared to the completed fortresses of the previous games. Between all that and Sigma wanting to abandon Earth, there might not have been any Internet access in the first place.
* It may seem rather random that new generation Reploids have the ability to turn into copies of other Reploids... But remember what the ''[[PowerCopying key feature]]'' of the Reploids' template is; copying other Reploids is actually an evolution of X's variable weapon system.
** This is best exemplified with [[spoiler: Lumine's]] battle. What are the key attacks of his first phase? Using ''boss abilities, complete with it changing his color to match the weapon used''. Not just that but his version is copying their TurnsRed attacks. X is basically fighting a ''directly upgraded'' version of himself.

* While in X8 if your current Hunter gets beaten the backup will supplant him works most of the time, it doesn't when you fall into spikes or pits. Considering your partner spawns in the very same place the first protagonist was beaten, spawning into the spikes and pits means he pretty much gets destroyed at the very first contact, so naturally you'll lose no matter what.

* Really, Sigma won in ''X8''. Despite being destroyed for apparently the last time, Sigma ensured that revolutionary Mavericks like himself would always exist. By getting his data into the new generation Reploids and leading their revolt, he planted seeds that would carry on into the future forever. No longer would he need to manipulate those such as Doppler or Repliforce to change the world - an entire race of robots was now capable of carrying on that dream for him. That's why he refers to them as his children.
** Sigma's defilement of the supposedly perfect new-generation Reploids is even similar to the story of Lucifer and the Fall of Adam, where one man's temptations caused an entire people to become dangerous and mortal.

* When it comes to X6, we have the descriptions of Blaze Heatnix and Rainy Turtloid. The former is described as being far more powerful than his coworkers and would ignore them even when they were in danger, causing others to want him powered down so he'd learn to work with others and value their lives. Gate refused and Heatnix was killed. Then we have the latter who had ridiculous defensive abilities compared to others, but he didn't do anything to bother his coworkers, it was just his defensive capabilities. They wanted him downgraded to be just like them, and when refused, Turtloid killed himself. The brilliance? The ones who wanted them dead did so out of hatred and jealousy respectively. It makes you realize just how human Reploids really are when they suffer from such a petty emotion as jealousy.

* If Isoc is indeed another form of Dr. Wily, it's possible he was following up on his team-up with Sigma in ''X5'' by getting Gate to resurrect him. Either Wily wanted to salvage the plan by fusing Sigma's remaining virus with Zero, or Sigma was just a distraction to cover for Wily's escape; Wily abandoned the Isoc's body but the Maverick Hunters prioritized Sigma instead of tracking him down.

* Gate's status as something of a PuzzleBoss (not to mention being ThatOneBoss) makes sense given his specialty. He is an incredibly analytical engineering genius with a track record for optimizing Reploids to dangerously high levels. It makes sense that he would have such powerful armor and such a dangerous strategy, putting the Hunters into a pit-filled arena and making himself ''nearly invincible''. His strategy is just that good. If his own attacks weren't so strong against ''himself'' too, Gate would likely have been able to overpower them with ease.

* In X6, Metal Shark Player can reanimate dead Mavericks from the SNES games. Okay, the X4 crew was obliterated in space with Final Weapon's destruction, and the X5 crew was probably too damaged from the immense pollution of Eurasia's fall. This also means that the bosses that X fought ''years'' ago weren't destroyed beyond recovery, despite the Erasure incident, which X6 references, showing the danger. Who knows how many more bosses can be salvaged?
* At the end of X6, Alia decides that, even if Gate is damaged beyond repair, she will try her best to bring him back. Seeing how he's never mentioned again, so much for that!

* One of the remaining mysteries of X6 is what happened to Isoc, who fans suspect was actually Dr. Wily. Consider the following: the original Sigma's mind was absorbed into the Maverick Virus (basically killing the Maverick Hunter), Isoc's body was found after Sigma's reveal, Sigma's following plans centered around Copy Chips, and that Copy Chips are basically an extension of the Copy Robots of the Classic series. In his Viral Form, Sigma absorbed Dr. Wily to restore his mind, effectively killing his partner, but would still be subconsciously influenced by the old man until their mutual death on the moon.

* I used to be amused by one discrepancy in Magazine/NintendoPower's coverage of the first ''Mega Man X'' game, in which they recommended fighting Storm Eagle after Chill Penguin and using your normal buster on him, and then issued a "challenge card" claiming that beating Storm Eagle first was one of the toughest challenges. Until I realized the truth. Look carefully at Storm Eagle's techniques in battle. While his weapon weakness is the Chameleon Sting, that's not what makes him so trivial to beat early in the game. The real difference is X getting the boots from Chill Penguin's stage. Try beating Storm Eagle without a dash. ''That'' can be fairly challenging.

* Many are quick to point out that, despite Dr. Doppler ordering them to just capture X, the Nightmare Police will still kill X if they defeat him in the sub-boss rooms. GameplayAndStorySegregation aside, their personalities may be to blame here - Bit is a ProfessionalKiller who brags about his head count, while Byte is a BloodKnight who loves to fight. It's possible that they get caught up in the moment and end up killing him instead.
* Dr. Doppler's [[SquishyWizard simple]] boss attack pattern is definitely in reference to his profession - formerly a ScienceHero seeking peaceful resolutions to the Maverick problem, it would make sense that he is a BarrierWarrior with very simple and defensive strategies.

* Bit, Vile MK-II, and even Sigma from ''X3'' all feature shields (though only one of them uses it). Flavor text in ''[=X DiVE=]'' and the ''Maverick Hunter Field Guide'' clarify that Bit and Vile choose to not use their shields in exchange for speed and aggression. Based on Dr. Doppler's BarrierWarrior moveset in his own boss fight, it appears he's trying to get his creations to use his favorite tool too.
** The only enemies that could give a base-level X the most trouble in the past were ones with strong defenses (Armored Armadillo, Vile's original Ride Armors, etc.). Doppler built his moveset by learning from those examples, which also explains the above fridge brillance (he's trying to give them the edge over X). Sigma seems to have picked up on this too, fighting with a shield this time.

* In X3, Dr. Doppler created an anti-body to the Sigma Virus. Depending on whether Zero is around or not, he either installs it into his body or Zero uses it on his saber. The English and Japanese scripts differ on how Zero obtained it, the former says that Doppler gave it to him while the latter says he found it while destroying the power core. If Doppler uses it, then Sigma may have hijacked his body long enough to escape. If Zero uses it, did he execute Doppler (U.S.) or did Doppler die shortly after his boss fight (Japan)?

* If Black Zero in X2 is supposed to be Zero's clone, why is it so weak and... black? Because it only appears if you gathered all 3 of Zero's parts. Without any of Zero's parts, the X-Hunters will have to make do with what they vaguely remember about his combat capabilities and rush its production so quick that it doesn't even get a proper paint job. This also ties to its later appearances in later games as an 'armor' for Zero where it reduces his defense (namely X8 since in X4, it does nothing for him while in X5 and X6, it gives a defense boost). Black Zero really can't take a hit.

* In ''X2'' Serges and Agile are completely different in their rematches but Violen is virtually the same in his. While the real reason is because Violen's second form was cut due to cartridge space limitations, this actually works for his character: It's implied that Violen isn't very smart [[note]]He has the lowest speed stat of the three X-Hunters by a wide margin (reflected in his rate of speech being the slowest of the three), he doesn't take part in any of the planning or strategy discussions, indicating that Serges and Agile are the brains of the group, and when he does speak up he only makes simple and obvious statements.[[/note]], so a dumb brute like him wouldn't think to switch up his primary form of attack for a rematch and would stick to what he knows without much change in strategy.

* When defeated in X2, the X-Hunters turn over Zero's parts, despite Zero's importance to their plan and having a copy they could use. If one believes that Serges is some form of Dr. Wily however, it's clear that he doesn't want Zero to become Sigma's puppet. This also clears up his team-up with Sigma in X5; after beating Dark Necrobat, Alia comments that Sigma used so much energy spreading his virus that he could actually die. The real plan was to have Zero "awakened" and then kill the now weakened Sigma, before dealing with X. The only reason it failed is that Lifesavor defied his orders and warned X about Zero's power boost.
** On the subject of X5: those green Ride Armor enemies with the shields are the X-series take on Sniper Joe.
** This is also explains why Gate revived Sigma in X6, despite having no real reason to do so. Isoc, believed to be another form of Dr. Wily, manipulated Gate into bringing back Sigma. As for why, either Dr. Wily was trying to salvage the plan from X5 by salvaging and fusing Sigma's remaining virus with Zero, or Sigma was just a distraction to cover for Wily's escape, Wily abandoned the Isoc body but the Maverick Hunters prioritized Sigma instead of anything that could've tracked him down.

* According to some background details for the VideoGame/MegaManZero series, the Maverick Virus was sealed into Zero's capsule only to leak out and cause the Maverick problem, and is implied to be some form of Dr. Wily's Roboenza virus.. If this is the case, then why wasn't the virus causing problems before X was dug up? Because the robots that existed between VideoGame/MegaManClassic and VideoGame/MegaManX were too different from anything based off of Dr. Light's work to be compatible. This also means that Dr. Cain ''really'' screwed up when he decided to mass-produce Reploids because the virus that wasn't a threat was given a breeding ground.

* Quite a bit for ''VideoGame/MegaManXtreme2'':
** Sigma returning after ''X3'', where he was supposedly destroyed by Doppler's anti-virus, can be explained by Berkana reviving him after he somehow escaped Doppler's fortress. X and Zero's surprise at seeing him in ''X4'' is because they expected him to stay dead after thwarting the Erasure plan.
** In ''X3'', Sigma tried to possess X to finally defeat him, but Sigma never attempted this again in subsequent games and instead focused on Zero. Doppler's anti-virus did inflict permanent damage, and he was hoping that Berkana's experiments would reveal how to fully restore himself. He was never able to discover this himself, hence why he changed priorities.
** The background of the final stages resemble those of the Final Weapon stages, both a CallForward and hinting at a connection between the research lab and Repliforce. If the research facility was involved with Repliforce, then it's possible that this was where Iris and Colonel were originally developed. This would explain why Sigma targeted Repliforce: he knew that doubt was already cast upon the army following the Erasure incident, and what Colonel's weaknesses were.
** The effect this game's events had on Reploid technology are massive. At this point, energy meters maxed out at 32 units, but moved higher from ''X4'' to ''X7''. Whatever techniques Berkana used to give herself a permanent power boost, compared to the temporary power-ups the heroes gained, were employed as a universal upgrade for Reploids, explaining the bigger meters and bigger attacks used by bosses. (Though this also leads to FridgeHorror, considering that said methods involved ''consuming other Reploids’ '''souls'''... which loops back around to FridgeBrilliance in that other technological advancements could make DNA Souls stronger to begin with, making soul-stealing antics unnecessary.)
*** Said techniques were likely refined by Sigma into what would become the Copy Chips. It's possible that Sigma's goal in ''X7'' was to copy X and Zero's DNA so he could absorb them and heal himself after what happened in ''X3'' and ''X6''.

* You may be wondering why, in ''X5'', that [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIs7oSM1UVg this]] is considered to be X's 'Bad' ending. After all, despite the [[spoiler:death and disappearance of Zero]], X is fully repaired and the world is getting back to normal, with X talking about his dreams. Think about it. The dream that X is talking about is actually {{Foreshadowing}} for the formation of Neo Arcadia in the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series, and ([[WhatCouldHaveBeen if Keiji Inafune had his way]]), [[spoiler:his eventual FaceHeelTurn]]. And, with [[ForWantOfANail no Zero around]] [[OhCrap to stop]] [[KnightTemplar him....]]

* In one of the ''X7'' endings, Zero has a nightmare in which he and an [[spoiler:AxCrazy X]] are fighting to the death. What do you face in the ''Zero'' series? An [[spoiler:AxCrazy doppelgänger of X]]. Counts as a ShoutOut rather than {{Foreshadowing}} because ''X7'' came out after the ''Zero'' series began.
* Remember the Enigma Cannon, the big laser cannon from X5 whose name has nothing to do with its function? There are some reasons for its meaning:
** First, the entire franchise comes from Japan, and we all know how Japan is so much in love with cool-sounding foreign words. Second, its mere existence in ''X5'' is also the reason why it was called Enigma. There was never any mention about said weapon from previous games. The closest we could have for a gigantic laser cannon is Final Weapon, and we all know what happened to it. When ''X5'' came, it just came out of the blue mysteriously. Finally, the most important reason why the Enigma Cannon was named like that was because...well, it was an enigma. At first, people kept on looking for the meaning, from any available and possible standpoint, before they just give up. There might be a real meaning of its name, other than just for sounding cool. But until someone finds that meaning, it will stay as a mystery, hence the name Enigma. The name pretty much [[SelfDemonstratingArticle self-demonstrates]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment itself]].
** In ''X4'', what appears to be the Enigma Cannon can be seen in the background of Web Spider's stage, and it later dominates the backdrop of Web's chambers. He must have been a Repliforce officer associated with it! Not to mention the real reason why Repliforce was building Enigma: it's an anti-aircraft cannon meant to both defend the Final Weapon from incoming threats and take it out if it's compromised. After all, what better weapon to use on a giant space laser pointing ''down'' than a giant space laser pointing ''up?''

* A bit of unintentional FridgeBrilliance in X5 with the renaming of the Mavericks to Music/GunsNRoses references. The person who did it just did it because her husband was a fan of the band, but seeing all the other music-themed names in the franchise...

* If Black Zero in X2 is supposed to be Zero's clone, why is it so weak and...well, black? Because it only appears if you gathered all 3 of Zero's parts. Without any of Zero's parts, the X-Hunters will have to make do with what they vaguely remember about his combat capabilities and rush its production so quick that it doesn't even get a proper paint job. This also ties to its later appearances in later games as an 'armor' for Zero where it reduces his defense (namely X8 since in X4, it does nothing for him while in X5 and X6, it gives a defense boost). Black Zero really can't take a hit.

* The eventual fate of Iris in X4 almost stops making sense given that Zero had his own Hunter unit back then and could've just assigned guards to her. Until you remember what Bass and King were like, and you realize that Zero also inherited his father's ego, albeit much more subtly than his siblings. This might have been foreshadowed in the intro stage: after their argument, Zero and Colonel beam out of the city, ''leaving an injured Iris behind.''

* In ''X5'' Dr. Light's seemingly miraculous feat of [[spoiler:walking out of his capsule to repair X]] may seem weird, but it makes sense once you realize that the event takes place in Zero Space (the final stages) where Cyberspace and the real world merged due to the intense amount of viruses at the site. It thus would allow Light to [[spoiler:materialize himself from his capsule (presumably the one in Zero Space #3) to catch up to X.]]
** This also makes sense why X5 was meant to be the last in the series. If you kill Sigma in real world, he can just escape to cyberspace and hijack a new body. His source of regeneration is in cyberspace, and if you kill him in cyberspace, you kill him for real.
* Colonel's moves in ''X4'' mirror the ones Zero uses in ''X2'' and ''X5''[[note]]Colonel's 3 {{Sword Beam}}s = Zero's 2 busters + SwordBeam, Colonel's warp and slash is similar to Zero Nightmare's attack in ''X6'', Colonel's SwordPlant move (which spreads out lightning on the ground) is Zero's GroundPound move and Colonel's big ground wave move (under 50% health) is Zero's Genmurei[[/note]], which does many things: it enforces his role as TheRival to Zero, shows that the Repliforce designers were taking inspiration from Zero, and shows what Zero might become if he became too focused on fighting.
** By extension, this means that Iris was based on X because of their compassionate nature. This would also mean that the project that created Iris and Colonel was trying to make a fighter that combined X and Zero's best attributes.

* In ''X4'', Sigma's first form can only be harmed by fire weapons, which X and Zero obtain from Magma Dragoon. Guess like Magma Dragoon's subtly atoning for his actions from beyond the grave by giving X and Zero the means to hurt Sigma. Similarly, Sigma might have chosen to tempt Dragoon via appealing to [[BloodKnight his nature]] so that one of the Maverick Hunters holding his weakness to fire would no longer be a part of the Maverick Hunters anymore.
** From a logical perspective, it also makes sense. Sigma is wearing a tattered cloak, which is certain to catch fire.
* Zero's weakness technique against Cyber Peacock isn't Kuuenzan, but the fire-based [[PlayingWithFire Ryuenjin]]. Cyber Peacock is a virus/hacker, and one can beat viruses/hacking with a ''fire''wall.
* In X5 Sigma claims that the Maverick Virus "purifies" Zero, explaining why the latter gets a power boost. If the Maverick Virus, and by extension the Zero Virus, are based on the Evil Energy of ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'', than Zero's darker emotions feed the virus which in turn powers him up. Consider that Zero was originally an uncontrollable berserker, but there's no reason Dr. Wily ''didn't'' want a berserker at all. As Zero himself says in his spin-off series, he only fights for those he believes in: he has no higher ideals like X. And this whole plot-point came after X4, where Zero would undoubtedly have some self-loathing after Iris.
** The fact Zero gets a boost from the virus explains a few things about him. One, Zero's never said to have potential like X's, yet he can match X's growth because Zero's infection enables his own growth. Two, based on official art, Zero changed to a new buster for X3, likely a replica made by Dr. Cain so Zero has as little Maverick built weapons as possible, but it was weakened by the virus. Zero's buster was useful in X1, 2, and 6. Dr. Wily built the first one, and built/modified the others if Serges and Isoc are aliases of his.

* Sigma's sleek, yet simplistic first form in ''X5'' resembles the more simplistic designs of X and Zero, more so than any of his previous bodies. When you take into account that you fight this form in a room that has X and Zero's capsules and blueprints prominently displayed in the background, it becomes clear that Sigma is intentionally mimicking X and Zero's appearance with this body.

* WordOfGod is that Zero's berserk behavior as a Maverick in ''X4'' is the result of programming errors, which is to justify his being one of the more level-headed and collected characters in the ''Mega Man'' mythos. The logic is that the earliest prototype for both X and Zero is Protoman. Dr. Light analyzed Protoman's program and learned how to replicate his free will using stable code. Dr. Wily, however, focused on obedience over program integrity, and so did little to correct those errors.
** Dr. Light's work also allowed him to build and program diagnostic computers that could repair errors in a robot's programming without compromising their core personalities and free will. Those computers would be the forerunners of the Reploid diagnostic machines Zero got plugged into for study and repairs after his first fight with Sigma.

* The reason Repliforce's "Ultimate Reploid" failed is because they wanted her to have the same personality as X. If you want to know what happens when you try to make an exact copy of X without the fine tuning that he got form his capsule, take a look at Copy X.
** Also, if you take a look at the YMMV page of the series, the X/Zero yaoi shippers have DieForOurShip tendencies towards Iris. Considering how Iris - another- was meant to be, these yaoi shippers are dumb, because, by falling for Iris, Zero technically fell for a copy of X.

* Fighting Magma Dragoon with the Ride Armor is the ultimate disrespect. This guy killed ''thousands'' to get a shot at fighting X or Zero to the death and seeing their power for himself. Bringing an unfair advantage into the fight is such a gutsy move, keeping Dragoon from getting what he wants while punishing him for his callous slaughter.
** Unless of course, not if Dragoon is totally up for the challenge. It's hard to say.

* In X4 X is worried that he'll go Maverick someday, since Repliforce turned on their own accord. Repliforce turned to protect themselves and make their own home, not to attack humanity, establishing that "Maverick" can be more broadly applied than in the last games. [[spoiler: Jump forward to the gap before the [[VideoGame/MegaManZero next series]] where X, after having established a practical utopia as its ruler, sealed the Dark Elf and abandoned his post without appointing a successor, and in the series proper where he could've made things easier if he appeared before his minions and talked to them, but didn't so he could "rest". He indirectly put everyone in danger of getting killed at some point. He really did go Maverick after all.]]
** This doubles as FridgeBrilliance when you remember that X's final death in the Zero series happens as a result of expending the rest of his energy as a cyber elf to stop Omega (the original body of Zero) from mind controlling all the Reploids in the resistance base, making Omega indirectly responsible for X's demise. When you take the above entry into account, this means the {{Foreshadowing}} from X4 does ultimately come to pass: X inadvertently puts everyone in danger by abandoning his post- an action that can be considered Maverick, then later the original body of Zero becomes the cause of his final demise. Though keep in mind that the reason X needed to "rest" in the first place is because he had lost his compassion due to all the years of endless fighting wearing it away, and the original plan was for him to actually lose his mind from this and become the psychotic KnightTemplar we eventually got with Copy X. For all of his efforts, a happy ending was never in the cards for X. His only options were to either go crazy and have to be put down by his best friend, or cause the creation of the genocidal Copy X by abandoning his post, both of which involve him putting everyone in danger and dying by Zero (indirectly or otherwise).
** Except for one thing: until the events of the third game, where he pretty much sacrificed himself, it is unknown how much help he could have been. It's really unknown whether he could have majorly interacted with the real world before his body got destroyed, and whereas Zero took the help he gave because why not, it's unclear whether the guardians would have even recognized him, especially with Copy-X being there and especially when we don't know if his help was even needed before Copy-X and his arrogant shenanigans (probably not, since the guardians seemed to be faring well).
* The Repliforce think that [[WellIntentionedExtremist they're doing the right thing]] by [[HonorBeforeReason refusing to put down their arms]] and [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans fighting for a utopia for Reploidkind,]] even if they supposedly don't wish to harm humanity at all in the process. Now think about the story from their perspective; more specifically, Colonel's perspective. How would anyone take being told that they, a person who's dedicated their lives to fighting against the Mavericks is under suspicion of being a maverick themselves? Worse, one who laid waste to a city they'd spent the entire time protecting? Now imagine this is coming from someone he considered a friend. Is it any wonder Colonel snapped? Is it any wonder General made the choice he did when Colonel all but confirms his fears about the humans and their potentially unfair treatment of Reploids? It gets even worse when you consider Colonel and Iris's creation was basically a rush job, with the higher-ups sending them into war not long after their births; and the fact that Colonel was supposed to have a degree of pacifism, but the tests of it failed (due to it clashing with his fighting spirit), forcing the scientists to put them (i.e the A.I programming that chooses peace) into Iris. He basically has no way of making peaceful resolutions.
** Not to mention that X5 confirms there were survivors of Repliforce. Never mind the whole honor issue, imagine if they learned how the Maverick Hunters and the government were becoming more paranoid and violent against Reploids, as bosses in later games confirm, and realized that ''they'' were the ones who set them on that path.
** Here's another one for Repliforce: considering how heavily armed they were, and their infamous [[HonorBeforeReason morality]], you quickly realize that Sigma probably didn't need to do anything; Repliforce was a powder keg. The manual also points out that they're "potentially dangerous".
*** Especially since at least two Repliforce commanders were attacking civilian targets, specifically Storm Owl and Jet Stingray. The city Jet Stingray attacked was even described as being "decimated". So much for not wanting to harm humanity.
** Actually, Iris was the one supposed to be created, as seen in [[VideoGame/MegaManXDiVE X Dive]]. A recent update gave us Iris -another-, who is the Ultimate Warrior Repliforce planned on creating. Although, technically, Iris -another- is pretty much the Colonel of Repliforce herself, due to Colonel being half of her.
* Speaking of Colonel and Iris' creation, as the manuals stated, the two was originally planned to be a single Reploid with a kind of programming close to X, i.e a powerful, honorable fighter who's at the same time compassionate and values peace. But then the result comes out as flawed and potentially dangerous to itself (the programming cannot reconcile between the two extremes), so the Reploid was then split into two, each inheriting different aspects of X. Iris later does try combining Colonel's "core" with hers, but it pretty much overclocks her body. The horrors come in the potential that X's own programming might one day eventually fail, which would be dangerous to him... or other people. This is at least shown in ''X7'' and ''Command Mission'', the former where X falls too far on the "pacifist" side while the latter is his most "destructive" incarnation. The original plan for ''Videogame/MegaManZero'' was that X would discard his pacifism and concerns for his enemies after countless wars, becoming a ruthless KnightTemplar that Zero has to stop; this didn't come to pass, but what ''did'' come was that X almost fell over said edge, only stopping himself once he realized it. A few of cyber elf X's comments in the games also hint at his ruthless tendencies that he tried to suppress.
* We all knew the story from the flashback in X4: when a red maverick started causing havoc, a unit of Maverick Hunters led by Sigma was sent to stop him. Now remember that all the Reploids, and thus all the hunters including Sigma, have been created thanks to Dr. Cain discovering and studying of X several years before Zero woke up and caused trouble. Had someone discovered Zero's capsule and awakened him before Dr. Cain found X, the AxCrazy Zero would have [[KillEmAll slaughtered]] [[OmnicidalManiac every human and robot alike]]. And considering very few reploids can stand up to Zero, human and VideoGame/MegaManClassic style robots would have been largely powerless to stop him.

* In Storm Owl's stage, some of the ships overhead are firing lasers to slow X and Zero down. The stage takes place over a city, and your character never stops those ships- it's implied stopping Storm Owl would make them surrender. How many people are getting killed by those lasers and, if the player takes their time, how much death are X and Zero indirectly responsible for?

* The ''Rockman X'' novel ''"Irregulars Report"'' states that Dr. Cain built Sigma after his own image, sharing his younger self's face. That's an interesting bit of trivia until you realize that Sigma is, well, TheDreaded. Cain got to watch a replica of himself wreak havoc on civilization for years and years. Can't be good for your mental health.

* In his ending in X5, Zero realized he was built to be a killer and had to stay dead to preserve peace. These revelations have not been followed up at all. Did Zero get his memories wiped when he was rebuilt?
* The entire Iris and Colonel problem of one having the compassion and the other having the combat focus is just one of ''many'' highlights of how dangerous Reploids are in this series. Even if we discount what Sigma and his forces build, a great deal of the Mavericks our heroes destroy are some variant of combat machine, bodyguard, researcher -- and all of them have inherent battle capabilities, to the point that they're easily stronger and more powerful than just about all of the mechaniloids and old robots in their stages. Which means humanity keeps building ''insanely'' powerful machines alongside their operator, support and even citizen models, giving them full sentience as thinking Reploids, and then trying to force them into a subservience after the fact or simply sending them off to go do battle and police the world. Is it any wonder Earth effectively [[ApocalypseHow became a giant wasteland]] in the aftermath of people constantly designing war machines and basically delivering Sigma a never-ending supply of destruction he could manipulate or infect? And besides Dr. Cain and the one guy in the intro of ''Maverick Hunter X'', we never see ''any'' humans in this series nor anyone to hold accountability for entire extinction events -- something that carries onto the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series with a certain new antagonist...
** It also raises the question of ''why'' so many Reploids are being designed for warfare and conflict. As far as the ''X'' series bothers to say, it's entirely because of the Maverick Wars, but Sigma and the Maverick Hunters existed even before the Zero Virus was unleashed, and that means someone as powerful as Sigma was either designed or refactored to kill his own kind if they went haywire. No one ever seems to learn their lesson, dial things back or realize they're making it worse, instead pushing the world into a LensmanArmsRace to fail to solve a problem with stronger and stronger creations, a problem ''humanity created by accident just because they made Reploids.''
** And if Dr. Weil's later discrimination involving the ThreeLawsCompliant nature of old robots that he throws at Zero is anything to go by, there's a strong possibility that whether due to the Maverick Wars destroying most of the world, or due to just plain ignorance even up to the higher echelons of the surviving humanity, there's likely an uncomfortable number of humans who are either taught to or [[{{Jerkass}} intentionally]] believing that [[SlaveRace Reploids were created to serve mankind]] and little more. Given the amount of hell that Reploids go through, right up to mortality imposed by law by the time of ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' [[spoiler:under the false pretenses of equality by manipulators intending to reset the world in their image]], ''[[HumansAreBastards there's grounds in the theory.]]''

* Vile's hatred of X is pretty ironic, all things considered. He openly despises him for getting more attention despite his lower rank, and all but declares war on him for it, not knowing the reason he gets so much attention is because of his humanity. In a way, Vile is every bit as human as his mortal enemy. Selfish, rude, jealous, short-tempered, arrogant, violent and driven by a petty motivation, in contrast to X, who is selfless, kind, reverent, placid, humble, uses violence as a ''last'' resort and is driven to fight for justice and hope. X and Vile can be seen as representing the very best and ''worst'' of humanity, respectively.

** And if Dr. Weil's later discrimination involving the ThreeLawsCompliant nature of old robots that he throws at Zero is anything to go by, there's a strong possibility that whether due to the Maverick Wars destroying most of the world, or due to just plain ignorance even up to the higher echelons of the surviving humanity, there's likely an uncomfortable number of humans who are either taught to or [[{{Jerkass}} intentionally]] believing that [[SlaveRace Reploids were created to serve mankind]] and little more. Given the amount of hell that Reploids go through, right up to mortality imposed by law by the time of ''VideoGame/MegaManZXAdvent'' [[spoiler:under the false pretenses of equality by manipulators intending to reset the world in their image]], ''[[HumansAreBastards there's grounds in the theory.]]''

** And if Dr. Weil's later discrimination involving the ThreeLawsCompliant nature of old robots that he throws at Zero is anything to go by, there's a strong possibility that whether due to the Maverick Wars destroying most of the world, or due to just plain ignorance even up to the higher echelons of the surviving humanity, there's likely an uncomfortable number of humans who are either ignorant to or intentionally believing that [[SlaveRace Reploids were created to serve mankind]] and little more. Given the amount of hell that Reploids go through, right up to mortality imposed by law by the time of ''VideoGame/MegaManZXAdvent'' [[spoiler:under the false pretenses of equality by manipulators intending to reset hte world in their image]], ''[[HumansAreBastards there's grounds in the theory.]]''

* The entire Iris and Colonel problem of one having the compassion and the other having the combat focus is just one of ''many'' highlights of how dangerous Reploids are in this series. Even if we discount what Sigma and his forces build, a great deal of the Mavericks our heroes destroy are some variant of combat machine, bodyguard, researcher -- and all of them have inherent battle capabilities, to the point that they're easily stronger and more powerful than just about all of the mechaniloids and old robots in their stages. Which means humanity keeps building ''insanely'' powerful machines, giving them full sentience as thinking Reploids, and then trying to force them into a subservience after the fact or simply sending them off to go do battle and police the world. Is it any wonder Earth effectively [[ApocalypseHow became a giant wasteland]] in the aftermath of people constantly designing war machines and basically delivering Sigma a never-ending supply of destruction he could manipulate or infect? And besides Dr. Cain and the one guy in the intro of ''Maverick Hunter X'', we never see ''any'' humans in this series nor anyone to hold accountability for entire extinction events -- something that carries onto the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series with a certain new antagonist...

* The Zero parts acquired from the X-Hunters in ''X2'' match them perfectly. Violen is the strongest of the X-Hunters, and has Zero's body. Agile, the fastest, has the legs, and Serges, the most intelligent, has the head.

* After replaying the second and third X series games, I realized why the bosses had blue explosions when they died, as opposed to the reddish orange ones seen everywhere else. The bosses were upgraded to the absolute limit, making their bodies run "hotter" to generate enough power. After X3, the heroes' power meters default size jumped to 32. The increase was an upgrade in order for Reploids to take full advantage of advancing technology and to function properly.

* I've always wondered why they say that, as of ''X8'', [[spoiler:Sigma is DeaderThanDead]]. But then I looked at his most recent body: partly completed, with viral energy clearly visible. Perhaps it symbolizes that [[spoiler:after so very long, Sigma's on his last legs. Perhaps his mind has finally worn out?]]
* I used to be amused by one discrepancy in Magazine/NintendoPower's coverage of the first ''Mega Man X'' game, in which they recommended fighting Storm Eagle after Chill Penguin and using your normal buster on him, and then issued a "challenge card" claiming that beating Storm Eagle first was one of the toughest challenges. Until I realized the truth. Look carefully at Storm Eagle's techniques in battle. While his weapon weakness is the Chameleon Sting, that's not what makes him so trivial to beat early in the game. The real difference is X getting the boots from Chill Penguin's stage. Try beating Storm Eagle without a dash. ''That'' can be fairly challenging. [[spoiler:Hint: Blowing winds + bottomless pits.]]

* This troper finally noticed a pattern in ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission.'' The game is divided into a total of ten chapters. You fight a boss at the end of each chapter. The first boss is a flunky with no real impact on the story, it's just...y'know, there. The next eight stages are the main bosses (with two battles in Chapter 9) and the final chapter is the boss rush and final bosses. In the main ''X'' series, you fight an intro boss, eight Maverick bosses, and then a boss rush leading into the final battle. While ''Command Mission'' was essentially the EnsembleDarkHorse of the series, they kept the same pattern all along.