Glossary

I thought it would be useful for readers unfamiliar, or not so familiar, with the Mega Man X franchise to have this glossary as a reference and brief introduction. I may add certain elements later on, to explain plot devices I only introduced later on in the fiction from time to time, but this list should contain all the information you need to understand the canon storyline of Mega Man X, its premise and who the major players are. As always, this isn't a mandatory read, so feel free to skip it entirely if you know this information, or if you'd prefer to be taken fully by surprise (you can always come back to it as you come across terms).


Terms, Events and Locations

Reploid: A Reploid is the next step in the evolution of robots and artificial intelligence. The Mega Man Classic series saw the introduction of sentient robots, though none could think or feel past what was programmed into their systems. Some, like Mega Man himself, could display eerily realistic human emotion, but it was still just the programming's response to a certain set of input. The creator of the first robots of this kind was . Near the end of his life, he created Mega Man X, who was based off the original. The X in the robot's name stood for the variable X, commonly used in mathematics, which implied the limitless potential of Mega Man X. This doesn't actually refer to his strength as a fighter, though considerable, but it refers to the limitless 'emotional' potential of the robot. X was made to think, feel and worry like any human and can learn to cope with these emotions much in the same way humans do. However, had to run significant tests to make sure it was safe to release X into the world. So, he sealed the first "Reploid" in a pod in his lab, letting his computers continue the intricate array of tests while the good doctor grew old and sick. A hundred years would pass before the pod was found by another man named , who studied Light's notes, the computer's results and X himself; creating the first Reploids with that data. While Reploids don't have quite the same independence as X, they still display far more humanoid emotions than the robots of old. Since their conception and their eventual semi-mass production, Reploids have lived side-by-side with humans for many years now, though not always peacefully...

Maverick: A Maverick is the term coined to describe a Reploid that has stepped outside the boundaries of its programming and has begun disobeying or harming those around it, especially its human creators. The causes of a Reploid going Maverick vary greatly. Sometimes it's a glitch, an error, a malfunction or even a virus. Whatever the case, however, Maverick is the catch-all term used.

Maverick and Sigma Virus: The Maverick Virus is a virus capable of forcing Reploids to go Maverick, resulting in a great deal of tension between humans and Reploids. Where this virus came from is still left largely unknown or the subject of great speculation (I am uncertain if Capcom's made any sense of it yet, but my facts may be a little off). After Sigma's first death, he fused himself with this virus to create the Sigma virus, which was a much more potent version which still terrorizes the Earth.

Maverick Hunters: The Maverick Hunters are an organization created with the sole purpose of gathering Reploid who are experts in all manner of fields, and using them to counter a Maverick threat. Throughout the many years since their conception, they've been a subject of debate. Especially since, in recent years, they've become a sort of guiding beacon to the people of Earth, perhaps stepping out of the bounds of their original directive in this way. They do not adhere to any single government and are, as such, above national and quite a few international laws, which could make them dangerous. Despite the controversy, most hunters fight a never-ending war against Maverick Reploids, capturing them for repairs or imprisonment, or simply destroying them if they are deemed a lost cause.

Mechaniloid: Mechaniloids are essentially what robots of old have devolved into. Replaced by the superior Reploids, robot technology and their basest AI are used in the construction of relatively mindless drones and self-sufficient machines that perform a variety of tasks for which a Reploid or a robot with advanced AI is overkill. They come in all shapes and sizes and are used in nearly every aspect of society, from construction to the military. Some are very small scouting drones sent into mines to search for valuable deposits, while others are massive machines able to lift many tons of materials with ease or tear through enemies without breaking a sweat.

The Day of Sigma: The Day of Sigma is the name given to the day when commander Sigma - long time commander and chief of the Maverick Hunters, as well as personal creation of , rose up in rebellion against mankind. He led a civil war that cost many lives, both human and Reploid. He was eventually stopped by Mega Man X, at the time only a B-class Maverick Hunter, but subsequently returned 7 times in continuous attempts to destroy mankind and built a world where only Reploids exist.

Eurasia Incident: The Eurasia Colony was one of the colonies created by mankind to seek out the stars. However, it soon became the instrument of Sigma's vengeance. He hired a Reploid named Dynamo to sabotage the colony, sending it on a collision course with Earth. Through X and Zero's best efforts, the colony was severely damaged, but they were unable to stop it from hitting Earth. Its reduced mass did help in avoiding a complete cataclysm, but the Earth was forever scarred. Millions of people died, the Sigma virus spread across the entire planet, infecting countless Reploids, and even now the Earth continues to wither away.

Jakob Incident: With the Earth slowly crumbling, mankind looked to outer space for their salvation. After the monumental task of creating the lunar base, work began on creating an elevator that would mankind up out of Earth's atmosphere and allow them to transfer, or teleport into outer space. However, the appearance of Vile, Sigma, and the betrayal of Lumine – the project manager – saw the destruction of the elevator and the entire Jakob project. Mankind continues to see space as their best hope, but their dreams have been halted for now.

Giga City: Giga City is a huge metropolis out on the ocean and the only place where a special kind of resource called 'Force Metal' is and can be mined. Force Metal greatly enhances the capabilities of any Reploid that installs it. Giga City became a battlefield when an experimental Reploid named Epsilon rebelled against the government. He was going to fire missiles fueled by Supra Force Metal (impossibly empowered Force Metal) all across the globe. His plans were stopped by X, Zero, Axl and the other fights they had met on Giga City. The battle was not over yet, as colonel Redips, a Maverick Hunter who gave X the mission to stop Epsilon, arrived at the helm of a Mechaniloid fleet; revealing himself to be a traitor who desired the Supra Force Metal for himself. Chief R, the Reploid who had helped X in his mission, was killed in the first wave of the attack. Redips proceeded to steal Supra Force Metal and threatened to succeed where Sigma had failed. In the end, however, he too fell to X, Zero and Axl and was killed in battle. Today, Giga City is slowly rebuilding and slowly starting to get back on its feet, but Redips' actions greatly damaged the Maverick Hunters' public image.


Important Individuals

Mega Man X: For a long time, Mega Man X didn't recall much, if anything, from his past or his creator. After being found by , he served as the blueprint for modern Reploids, though these have now deviated significantly from X' initial design. X wasn't immediately released as Cain allowed the machines to complete their analysis. Upon completion, he joined the Maverick Hunters as a B-Class hunter, though the reasons why he joined up or what he did prior to this event is unknown. He has become one of the world's greatest heroes and humanity's best hope for peace. Together with his best friend Zero, and more recently Axl, he has saved the Earth countless times from Sigma's insane plans. Despite his gentle heart and his reluctance to fight, he often does what needs to be done, while still valuing life above all else.

Zero: Zero is a mystery. He was found by Sigma as a raving Maverick in an abandoned mine, killing anyone or anything that dared approach him. Sigma was able to knock Zero unconscious, but not before being beaten to within an inch of his life. Recognizing the strength of the Reploid, as few had ever posed such a challenge for the commander, Zero was repaired by . Somehow, his Maverick tendencies just vanished. Zero became a Special A-class hunter and the best friend of X. He served in Sigma's elite team for a long time before becoming the commander of Unit 0. He has met his end twice and has been restored to functionality twice, each time heroically sacrificing his life to aid his friend in defeating Sigma. During the Eurasia Incident, Sigma had planned to use Zero, who had been the original vessel of the Maverick Virus (or so it seems), to create the true virus that would secure Sigma's dominance. Mixing the Sigma virus that was unleashed upon the colony's crash with Zero's body created the Zero Virus. However, it was stopped before it had a chance to spread. Even today, Zero still bares great anger over being used in such a way by the Reploid he hates the most.

Axl: Axl is the latest addition to the S-class hunters and a close friend of X and Zero. He helped stop Sigma's ambitions twice so far. Axl is unique in that, within him, rests one of the prototypes of the Copy Chip. A chip given to what is called 'New Generation Reploids', it allows them to copy the form of any humanoid shaped Reploid of Mechaniloid and take on their appearance and/or abilities. Axl had somehow bene recruited into a group of vigilantes that called themselves the 'Red Alert Syndicate'. However, after Red, the leader of the group, had taken a turn for the extreme, Axl decided to leave the Syndicate. In the end, Sigma had been behind it all, manipulating Red and the other Red Alert members into believing the Maverick Hunters to be unqualified to handle the Maverick threat, forcing their hand to the extreme. Axl had then been forced to kill Red, the very Reploid he saw as his father.

Vile: Not much is known of Vile's origins, but he has always been known to be borderline Maverick. Violent, aggressive, trigger happy and impulsive; he is everything a hunter shouldn't be. He always managed to track down and bring in his prey, but it was never a pretty sight, as he tended to use lethal force even when entirely unnecessary. He overstepped his bounds countless times and was eventually stripped of his rank and incarcerated a day before Sigma's uprising, awaiting trial. When Sigma rebelled, he freed Vile in the hopes the renegade war machine would help him and, for a while, the purple Reploid did. Vile had always hated X and fought the hunger on numerous occasions. After killing Zero, Vile attempted to dispatch X next, but was defeated as an unknown power awakened within X, and was destroyed. Vile reappeared several years later when a mad scientist called revived him with a new body in a manipulated attempt to purge the Earth of mankind. This time, Vile was defeated X and zero one more, but not before warning X that he would haunt the hunter until the day he died. During the Jakob Incident, Vile reappeared again, though it remained unclear how he had survived the previous encounter, or if he had somehow been rebuilt. Regardless, he kidnapped Lumine and attacked the three heroes many times before being defeated in a one-on-three battle inside Sigma's Lunar base. However, this time, he did survive.

Sigma: Sigma was once the commander of the Maverick Hunters and the most respected Reploid in operation. Now, however, he has become the most hated and despised individual in history. Eight times has he appeared with a plan to exterminate mankind and bring about a utopia for Reploids, but all 8 times he failed. His latest attempt seemed to have been his last, as Lumine had been behind the whole Jakob Incident and proclaimed, upon Sigma's eight death, that the Reploid had finally been put to rest permanently.

Lumine: Director of the Jakob project and a new generation Reploid, Lumine was kidnapped by Vile during the Jakob incident. Sigma revealed his plans to steal the moon from mankind and use if for his Reploid nation, leaving humans to rot on Earth. However, in the end it seemed that is had been Lumine all along who had been pulling the strings. He, and the entire line of new generation Reploids that had already been built, could go Maverick whenever they wished, simply because their copy chips contained the data of Sigma. To them, the term Maverick didn't really apply, they could simply do whatever they desired, whenever they wanted. They desired space for Reploids, not mankind, perhaps Sigma's mad ambitions leaking into them through the copy chip. Lumine was eventually beaten and killed by X, Zero and Axl, but not before shattering the glass gem on Axl's forehead (what this signifies has not been explained as Capcom has yet to realize they need to make Mega Man X9).

Nana: Nana was one of the Reploids that aided X in his mission on Giga City. Created on the island to serve as an operator, she has lived and worked there her entire life. She shares many of X' philosophies on peaceful relations between humans and Reploids, and desired nothing more but to see an end to the violence in the metropolis caused by Epsilon and Redips' wars. Her superior officer, both before and during the incident, Chief R, had also been like a father and mentor to her, causing her to be shaken to the core by his death at the hands of Redips' assault fleet. She is an expert operator and communications Reploid who proved to be an invaluable asset to X and his party. After the incident, she returned to work in Giga City, becoming one of the individuals most responsible for the city's speedy recovery.