Mega Man X | Main Character Index
Heroes (X | Zero) | Villains (Sigma | True mastermind) | Maverick Bosses | Supporting Cast
Heroes (X | Zero) | Villains (Sigma | True mastermind) | Maverick Bosses | Supporting Cast
The three main playable characters of the X series: X, Zero, and Axl.
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Mega Man X (Rockman X)
Click here to see Command Mission X.
Voiced by: Megumi Ogata (X1, "Hadouken" clip), Michael Donovan (EN, animated series) Kentarō Itō (JP, X4), Ruth Shiraishi (EN, X4), Showtaro Morikubo (JP, X5-X7), Peter von Gomm (EN, X7), Takahiro Sakurai (JP, X8, CM, MHX, Project × Zone, Teppen, DiVE), Mark Gatha (EN, X8, CM, MHX), Carol-Anne Day (EN X4 redub), Ted Sroka (EN, MvC:I, TEPPEN)
The first of a new breed of robot with the ability to think and feel, X was the last creation of Dr. Thomas Light. Of course, Light had experience with about ten or so doomsday scenarios courtesy of one Albert Wily, and decided to give X a Hyperspace Arsenal and an endless array of power ups in the expectation that, come the next one, X would become the world's new champion. In spite of his own pacifistic leanings, X did just that.
Throughout his many battles against Sigma and several other opposing Reploid organizations and individuals, X is always plagued by the many lives he has take to bring peace to the world and is no stranger to doubting if his actions are righteous. Though he may retire from the frontlines if he feels he is not achieving piece, he can always be counted to return to the fray if there's no other option.
Click here for tropes on him.
DWN-∞ Zero
Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (JP), Wayne Doster (EN, X4 original dub), Jack Merluzzi (EN, X7), Lucas Gilbertson (EN X8, CM, MHX, X4 Redub), Johnny Yong Bosch (EN, MvC3, MvC:I, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Teppen)
The beloved Breakout Character of the series, Zero has been described by the series creator as "the other main character who gets all the good scenes." The final creation of Dr. Albert Wily, Zero was created to destroy Mega Man once and for all, but a programming error in his system forced his creator to seal him away. After a violent rampage upon waking up, Zero was quelled following a fateful fight with Sigma, becoming a high-ranking Maverick Hunter and close friend to X.
Click here for tropes on him.
Axl
Voiced by: Minami Takayama (JP), Lenne Hardt (EN, X7), Jeffrey Watson (EN, X8, CM)
A former member of Red Alert (a Bounty Hunter organization) turned Maverick Hunter; since the only difference is the government sanction, this hasn't really changed his outlook on life. As the prototype of the next-generation of Reploid evolution, Axl's copy ability allows him to effectively become anyone.- Archaic Weapon for an Advanced Age: His "Ancient Gun" weapon in Command Mission is a flintlock gun. Not only is it the most powerful single-shot weapon in the game, it also deals additional damage to bosses.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Easily the youngest of the trio and the most immature due to being a New Generation Reploid. Nevertheless, he's treated less like a kid as the story goes on, but the treatment is still there.
- Blood Knight: In contrast to the Martial Pacifist X, and the Shell-Shocked Veteran Zero, Axl fights because he loves to fight.
- Bottomless Magazines: In X8, all of his weapons have this property.
- Brought to You by the Letter "S": Averted in his default form, but played straight by his DiVE Armor variant in X DiVE, which projects holographic wings from his back shaped like a letter A.
- Calling Your Attacks: By the name of the weapon.
- The Cameo: Appears briefly in Zero's Tatsunoko vs. Capcom ending.
- Character Development: Axl matures greatly from X7 to X8, going from being a Naïve Newcomer to much more competent Hunter.
- Charged Attack: He has one in his original appearance, but the Bag of Spilling takes it away as part of his later Superhero Speciation.
- Chekhov's Boomerang: Blink and you'll miss it, but Sigma's plan in X7 (before the whole Gambit Roulette went Off the Rails) was to have Axl copy the data of X and Zero, presumably with the intent of hijacking him from there. This seemingly irrelevant plot point is eventually revisited in X8 (specifically, where it's revealed that Axl is the prototype of the New Generation Reploids), in Command Mission (with final boss Redips and his officers in the Far East Hunter division being the products of secretly restarted copy chip manufacturing), and (although Axl may or may not be personally involved) Mega Man ZX Advent.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: Unlike X and to a lesser extent Zero, Axl comparatively really is as young as he seems. Despite this, he's a Special A-Class Hunter, a position reserved for seriously high-ranking officers in the Maverick Hunters, and on the same technical level of command as Zero.
- Color-Coded Characters: Black in some depictions; navy blue in others. Despite it only appearing in very small patches of his design, he is typically associated with yellow though.
- Contrived Coincidence: Axl, for some reason, was not included in the Giga City mission (X and Zero are instead accompanied by newcomer Shadow); the mission immediately went awry because Shadow was The Mole, and X and Zero are separated for a good portion of the game. Even then, Axl, trying to learn more about his origins, would later turn up in Giga City and join X anyway. The clincher is it's in the same general location where X's group would soon meet up with Zero again.
- Cousin Oliver: He's a character introduced later who's younger (both age and personality wise) than X and Zero and generally "liven" the Maverick Hunters operatives.
- Denial of Diagonal Attack: Averted. Like Bass before him, Axl can shoot his guns diagonally.
- Disability Immunity: Unlike the other New Generation Reploids, he apparently lacked Sigma's DNA due to being a prototype. As such, he has no active compunction of going with Sigma's will (i.e. killing humans) because of it.
- Do Not Run with a Gun: Much like Bass from Mega Man & Bass, Axl in X8 can fire in multiple directions (including diagonally), but he can't run while doing so.
- Dual Wielding: In Command Mission his Axl Bullets weapon is his default gun times two, and two other weapons are also dual guns. In X7 one of the Maverick weapons lets him wield dual guns and attack two enemies at once.
- Expy: Mega Man Model A, an expy of unclear origin. To a gameplay extent Axl himself might be considered one of Bass, only with the ability to hover in place of his double jump.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Has to work hard to earn X and Zero's trust and friendship, specifically because he was an assassin for a group that is Ambiguously Evil. Axl's tendency to avoid answering questions, and the fact that Red Alert was more than happy to go to war with the Maverick Hunters to get him back, didn't help Axl's case at all. By X8, he has earned it.
- Flawed Prototype: His copy ability doesn't work on anything more massive than he himself is. He seems to have ironed this out by the time of Command Mission.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Shaped like an X, to boot.
- Guns Akimbo: Some of his powers acquired from the Mavericks he destroys give him the option to wield a pistol in each hand.
- Handgun: His weapon is a handgun that shoots rapid fire.
- Hero-Worshipper: According to character data, he greatly admires X and Zero. Not that we'd ever see it in gameplay.
- The Id: In relation to X and Zero. Likes to get on X's and Zero's nerves, and is also very eager and interested in fighting and doesn't put concern in deep matters.
- The Immune: Much like X's Suffering Circuit and Zero's already-infected nature, Axl's Next Gen Reploid Copy Chip makes him immune to infection, as is established in X8. Plus, thanks to being the prototype of the batch, he didn't receive Sigma's data like the rest.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Axl gets unique firearms from certain bosses in X7 along with the same special weapon X gets. In X8, though, every Maverick boss gives Axl a new gun instead of X's special weapon. His weapons are:
- Ray Gun (X7, X8), self-explanatory
- G-Launcher (X7)/Blast Launcher (X8), also self-explanatory
- Double Bullets (X7).
- Spiral Magnum (X8), a revolver that can penetrate through walls and enemies.
- Black Arrow (X8), a homing cross-bow.
- Plasma Gun (X8), an electric gun.
- Bound Blaster (X8), which fires projectiles that can bounce of surfaces.
- Flame Burner (X8), a flame thrower.
- Ice Gatling (X8), a gatling gun that sprays ice shards.
- Infinity +1 Sword: The White Armor from X8, which lets him remain airborne indefinitely while firing. And, oddly enough, heals his scar.
- Knight, Knave, and Squire: Axl is the Squire to X's Knight and Zero's Knave. Axl's inexperienced as a Maverick Hunter, although he previously worked as a bounty hunter under Red Alert until his defection, and he is naive and looks up to X and Zero as his inspiration to becoming a Maverick Hunter at the time of X7 then later becoming more cocky and sassy in Command Mission and X.
- Long-Range Fighter: Same way as X — at first.
- Marked Change: The red lines on Axl's body pulse when he's preparing to shapeshift.
- Master of None: In X7 compared to Glide Armor X. Aside from Axl's Copy Shot (which was already highly situational) and hover ability (which works slightly differently from X's glide,) Axl is basically an inferior version of X, who gets armor buffs and abilities on top of his chip upgrades, as well as a charge shot. X8 rectifies this by giving Axl a weak but multi-directional rapid-fire ability.
- More Dakka:
- When the Guns Akimbo don't entirely cut it, Axl pulls out a gatling gun, a grenade launcher, Frickin' Laser Beams, a magnum that ignores walls...While his projectiles are very weak, he makes up for it by rapid-firing a TON of them.
- This even extends to his guard-break ability in X8: while X and Zero have to use their charge shot and the final hit of their combo attack respectively to break an enemy's guard, Axl just needs a second or two of sustained fire.
- In Command Mission one of his weapons deals eight hits per attack.
- Multi-Ranged Master: In X8, his copied ability grants him multiple kinds of guns that he can use with near-equal proficiency.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: He does not join the uprising of the "pure" new generation Reploids in X8. They, in turn, regard him with contempt and (occasionally) regret.
- Mysterious Past: He cannot remember anything from before his Red Alert days. Sourcebooks give some hints — he retains certain responses, such as his hatred for Mavericks and admiration of X, but he cannot remember why he feels that way. Red (see Self-Made Orphan below) refuses to talk about how they met.
- Naïve Newcomer: In X7. He irons it out a little by X8.
- Never Hurt an Innocent: The last straw that gets him to leave the Sigma-manipulated Red Alert.
- Older and Wiser: By X8 and Command Mission, he's much more mature and savvy. He even acts as the emotional core of the battle with Lumine, encouraging X and Zero to press on, and is something like a big brother to Cinnamon during the Giga City adventure.
- One-Man Army: He's about as capable of wrecking entire battalion of enemy Mechaniloids and Maverick bosses as X and Zero.
- Palette Swap: His White Armor in X8 bears an eerie resemblance to Lumine. Given what happens to Axl at the end of X8 note , most fans take it as Foreshadowing for future events. Future events that sadly have been left dangling.
- Power Copying: By finishing off enemies with a Charged Attack, Axl creates DNA cores. Picking them up gives him some property of the defeated enemy, and, in case of humanoid enemies, their attacks. In X8 the charging requirement is removed, but he gains DNA cores only from certain enemies.
- Power Perversion Potential: Pointed out amusingly here
(safe for work). And then we have this. - Psycho Prototype: Inverted. He is the prototype for the next-generation Reploid line, but he himself is actually quite sane (even with his Blood Knight tendencies). It's the mass-produced versions, especially Lumine and Redips, who were very much insane.
- Quest for Identity: Hinted at when he first appears in Command Mission, as Axl mentions he's investigating rumors about his copy chip/chameleon ability being invented at the Ulfat Factory (where he meets up with X's party).
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He defected from Red Alert when they started killing people who weren't "bad guys."
- Self-Made Orphan: Red is his adopted father, at least. Axl still takes him out.
- Sequel Hook: Involved in a big one in X8. It hasn't been settled, yet; theories abound.
- Shout-Out: Briefly acquires what is quite obviously the Morph Ball to solve one puzzle in X8.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: His most famous positive moment. Just ask Lumine about that bullet in his shoulder.
- Spell My Name With An S: It's a small running gag in
Fanon whether or not Axl knows how to spell his own name... - Spiky Shonen Hair: His hair has spiky points and flow outwards than down.
- Superhero Speciation:
- Axl's "skillset" from X7 is pretty much the same set that X will use after the end of his 10-Minute Retirement. Fortunately for Axl, X8 fixed the problem by tweaking his set of skills, keeping his copy and hovering abilities while giving Axl multi-directional, rapid-fire capabilities.
- Command Mission also rectifies this by making Axl a summoner akin to the traditional RPGs, by transforming into a defeated boss and using one of its attacks.
- Swiss-Army Hero: He's got data from all the bosses in Command Mission and can transform into any of them. Command Mission is not a platform game, and this amounts to only using an attack, but as stated above, his expy does much better in ZX Advent.
- Tagalong Kid: in X7 at least. He "grew up" before X8.
- Took a Level in Badass: After X7, he goes from being a Naïve Newcomer to a generally competent Maverick Hunter, even if he still gets on X and Zero's nerves.
- Trigger-Happy: On par with him being a Blood Knight, in contrast to X and Zero.
- Unnecessary Combat Roll: In this case, it provides immunity to projectiles. In X7, Axl could also fire at locked-on targets mid-roll.
- Utility Weapon: The various forms Axl takes using Copy Shot are mostly useful in overcoming obstacles.
- Visible Invisibility: In ''Command Mission" his Hyper Mode turns him transparent, leaving a dark-blue silhouette.
- Voice of the Legion: In X7 he could speak like this when transformed, if he chose.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting:
- He has a Copy Chip, that allows him to change form, using an ability known as "A-Trans". His Power Copying abilities stem from this.
- In Command Mission he uses a more advanced DNA Change, that gives him enough Shapeshifter Baggage to copy bosses.
- Weapon of X-Slaying: In Command Mission some of his weapons have a high crit rate against certain enemy types. They are rarely worth the trouble, since all of them have one-hit attacks, as opposed to Axl's normal two.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's anyone's guess what became of him (or indeed, the entire supporting cast) between the last game and Mega Man Zero. His Expy in Mega Man ZX Advent is obviously inspired from him in design and gameplay, but canonically doesn't (seem to) originate from him, which solves...absolutely nothing. The Archie Comics continuity has a brief glimpse of Axl drawn in Mega Man Zero format fighting Omega alongside X and Zero (who hasn't gotten his upgrade yet).
- "X" Marks the Hero: He has an X-shaped scar on his face, it top part concealed by the helmet. How he got it or why it's still there remains unknown. A 4koma states that they're self-inflicted in order to look cool and dangerous.
- Young Gun: At the time of X7, Axl resembled a teenager compared to X and Zero, whom are young adults, and he uses firearms to fight his enemies.
