Maverick (Mega Man)

A Maverick, in the video game series "Mega Man X", "Mega Man Zero", and "Mega Man ZX", is a Reploid who generally defies the will of the Maverick Hunters or of the human governments. In the Japanese games, they are called Irregulars. The motivation for these Reploids' actions varies from case to case, but the most significant and influential Mavericks generally cite progress and evolution as their reason for defiance, and are generally consumed by a desire to change the world in dramatic ways.

Maverick causes

There is no single cause for a Reploid to act as a Maverick, but generally a Maverick will fall into one of several categories.

Flawed/error Mavericks

There were Mavericks before Zero was uncovered, and his virus was sent loose to mutate into the Maverick virus. Though it is unknown, there is much speculation among fans that some of these mavericks were caused by errors to their system: after all, X had not been fully analyzed, and he was working with an archaeologist, Dr. Cain, as opposed to a robotics specialist. So it makes sense that there might have been some errors to cause them to go insane.

Viral Mavericks

The major cause of Mavericks is a computer virus called the Maverick Virus. The virus usually causes the infected Reploid to become very violent and irrational, though this is not always the case (such as the Maverick Sigma). Viral Mavericks lose their inhibitions and generally succumb to the belief that the human race is limiting the potential of Reploids. Viral Mavericks often deliberately try to injure or kill humans. They will also attack other Reploids that try to defend humans.

Mavericks in this category include the infamous former head of the Maverick Hunters, Sigma, and Reploid scientists Dr. Doppler and Gate.

A similar (though not directly related) effect exists in "Mega Man ZX", in which former researcher Serpent was corrupted and manipulated by Model W, thus going Maverick in the same fashion. The majority of Mavericks in this game are in turn controlled by Serpent, and therefore indirectly by Model W as well.

Properties of the viruses

The Maverick Virus appears to be capable of infecting most Reploids and Mechaniloids, though some robots, most notably X, Axl, and the New Generation Reploids, seem to be immune to the effects of the virus.

In games with tangible viruses, most notably "Mega Man X5" and "Mega Man X6", the virus is a self-propelled airborne agent which hones onto a host. This might indicate that the Maverick Virus has wireless capabilities. In "Megaman X2" and "Megaman X3" Sigma has also existed in a tangible virus form.

Origins

For a time, it was believed that the Maverick Hunter Zero is the sole originator of the virus, and that Dr. Wily had a hand in its creation. In one of the endings of "Mega Man: The Power Fighters" (when Bass wins alone), Wily reveals a shadowed blueprint of Zero to Bass and speaks of his "other project", which was assumed to be the Virus. Later information would discredit Dr. Wily's vague statement of that project.

The truth is revealed by a Japanese sourcebook known as Rockman Zero Complete Works. X was built with a "Suffering Circuit" program that gave him his calm attitude and ill-will towards violence. Dr. Cain copied the Suffering Circuit for the Reploids, but due to a flaw in its design, it caused some Reploids and Mechaniloids to turn violent (thus, they were the first Mavericks). Dr. Wily gave Zero a malicious personality. When Sigma defeated the homicidal Zero, Zero's murderous programming was transferred to Sigma. When Dr. Cain examined Zero, he installed his version of the Suffering Circuit, restraining him to a normal being. Meanwhile, Zero's program came into contact with Sigma's Suffering Circuit, and because of the defect, the components of X and Zero mixed and created the exact opposite of the Suffering Circuit. With the programs of X, Zero, and Sigma, the Suffering Circuit became the Virus.

In "Mega Man X4", a flashback reveals this event, and Sigma, then leader of the Maverick Hunters, fought with Zero, then quite obviously Maverick, a few months before rebelling against the humans and taking most of the other Hunters with him. Sigma's hatred of humanity seems to stem from this event.

This is further corroborated in "Mega Man X5", where Sigma claims that the Maverick Virus purifies Zero’s body and alludes to a "father" of Zero who advised Sigma to spread the virus with the hopes of "awakening" Zero to his "true self".

In "Mega Man X8", when Zero meets with Sigma in the final stage, Sigma speaks of Zero's virus having infected him as being the catalyst for the world's destruction, thus verifying that it was indeed through Zero that Sigma was infected (this knowledge was only an assumption in previous games).

Variations

There seems to be no single "Maverick Virus", but rather many similar viruses which produce the same basic effect.

The Zero Virus

This is the virus which Sigma had hoped would "awaken" Zero to his "original purpose". If infected, Zero becomes much stronger and temporarily regains his lost memory, but otherwise retains his personality and memories. This virus form is more powerful than either the Sigma or Colony Viruses, and therefore, yields much more power. It appears after the fusion and will show a purple silhouette of Zero, rather than a head of Sigma.

This is the original, pure version of the Maverick Virus, carried by Zero before he infected Sigma.

The Maverick Virus

The most common form of the virus is simply called the Maverick Virus. This form causes the majority of Reploids to go Maverick, especially during the first 4 games. Its effect causes Reploids and Mechaniloids to go berserk and attack Reploids and humans indiscriminately. It was first discovered by a Reploid scientist, Dr. Doppler, who also created the first antivirus programs. This virus is a weak version of the Zero virus.

The Sigma Virus

The Sigma Virus is a modified form of Sigma's own viral code, created by the fusion between Sigma's programing and the Zero Virus, and is capable of infecting large numbers of Reploids and Mechaniloids alike, making them irrational and aggressive. This form of the virus is many times more potent than the original Maverick Virus. Sigma has this virus spread across the Earth in "Mega Man X5" to cause chaos and confusion in order to mask his true purpose: the Colony Virus. In the same game, the Sigma virus is displayed as a floating Sigma head, which when it touches X or Zero, will infect them.

The Colony Virus

The Colony Virus was used to cause the failure and subsequent crash of the Space Colony Eurasia, hence its name. Little is actually revealed about this virus, except that when it came into contact with the Sigma Virus, the two merged and became the Zero Virus.

The Nightmare Virus

This virus appeared in Megaman X6. Gate, a researcher and primary antagonist in the game found a piece of Zero after he was destroyed. Using this piece, he reconstructed a virus and dubbed it the "Nightmare". This virus is odd because it takes the form of some decaying reploid, with Tentacles. This virus latches onto Reploids and infects them. When destroyed, it will drop a nightmare 'soul'. Gate's destroyed reploids where apparently resurrected with the Nightmare Virus.

Other viruses

There are many other viruses in the "Mega Man X" storyline, but they all seem to share some commonality: they infect previously deceased Reploids and alter their capabilities significantly, but act more as a brainwashing or mind control tool than a cause of irrational aggression. Examples of these viruses can be seen in "Mega Man X6" (called Nightmare), "Mega Man Xtreme 2", and "Rockman X Megamissions" (called Limited).

Free-will Mavericks

Some (though relatively few) Mavericks are called such because they actively choose to go against the will of the humans. They usually are petty criminals or rebels against the government. These Mavericks usually act a little more rationally than viral Mavericks.

An example of free-will Mavericks is "all" of the new generation Reploids - Lumine reveals in "Mega Man X8" that they can go Maverick at will, because their copy chip contains Sigma's DNA (although technically, all Reploids in existence are able to go Maverick due to their ability of free will). Other examples include Vile, Shadow, and Redips, all ex-Maverick Hunters that turned evil to become more powerful - though Vile is questionable, as the reason behind his turn is an unrepairable break in his programming.

A much more notable example of a free-will maverick would be Boomerang Kuwanger in "Maverick Hunter X" for the Playstation Portable. The game manual states that Kuwanger sided with Sigma after looking over the facts rationally.

Political Mavericks

Not all Mavericks try to harm humans or the government. Because the distinction of who is or is not Maverick is decided by the Maverick Hunters, sometimes a group will be unjustly called Maverick for political reasons or misunderstandings, such in "Mega Man X4".

Most notably, this happened with the Repliforce, a Reploid army which was crushed by the Hunters. After realizing the mistake, the leader of the Maverick Hunters resigned, appointing Signas in his place.

The "Liberion Rebellion" led by Epsilon in "Command Mission" is another prime example, as Epsilon only wanted to create a place where Reploids could live free of world politics, but his plan to induce Reploid evolution through Supra-Force Metal was interpreted as Maverick activity by the authorities. After learning of Epsilon's true motives, as well as learning of the betrayal of the Hunter Commander, Colonel Redips (who, having somehow deduced himself as the destined ruler of all Reploids, is a perfect example of a free-will Maverick himself), the authorities chose to defer "Maverick" status from Epsilon, although the Hunters had already destroyed him by that time.

Yet another excellent example would be the Resistance in "Mega Man Zero"; these Reploids do not seek to harm humanity in any way (with the notable exception of Elpizo, who is a classic example of a free-will Maverick), but are designated as Mavericks due to their defiance of the Neo Arcadian regime.

Maverick Mechaniloids

Mechaniloids are true robots. They follow orders given by humans and Reploids. In a way, Mechaniloids are to Reploids as work animals are to humans. Each mechaniloid has a basic AI and programming to make it obedient. Mechaniloids, like Reploids, can be infected and carry a Maverick virus, usually with the intent of spreading it onto a network (it can be assumed that this is the reason why entire mining sites are taken over by Maverick mining units).

Problems caused by Mavericks

Mavericks present a large problem to the governments in the "Mega Man X" series. They actively fight against the governments and the Maverick Hunters, causing large amounts of collateral damage during their attacks.

Mavericks are usually the most destructive when they group together. This is usually hard for viral Mavericks to accomplish, but numerous times Sigma has been able to use them for his elaborate schemes against the Maverick Hunters.

Responses to Mavericks

Maverick Hunters

:"Main article: Maverick Hunters"

Due to the many problems posed by Mavericks, the Maverick Hunters were formed by Dr. Cain. The Hunters enlist Reploid soldiers to fight the Mavericks and perform rescue operations on their victims. On numerous occasions, this organization has stopped Maverick attacks on human cities, but it has also failed to prevent some large-scale damage, such as the destruction of Doppler Town, the Sky Lagoon, and the space colony Eurasia.

Mercenary groups

Also combating the Maverick threat are various mercenary groups, most notably the Red Alert Syndicate (who became infected with the Sigma virus themselves) and solo mercenaries like Dynamo. The mercenaries and their organizations tend to be illegal and are also targeted by the Maverick Hunters. Some mercenaries have even been known to work "for" the Mavericks, making them all the more dangerous to the Hunters.

Neo Arcadia

In the "Mega Man Zero" series, the government of Neo Arcadia has strict anti-Reploid laws designed to protect the human populace from Mavericks. This results in much oppression of Reploid workers who are often executed for petty crimes or other false pretenses. A so-called "Maverick" group known as the Resistance, led by the human Ciel, forms a safe haven for such Reploids who are otherwise doomed to "retirement." It should be noted that during this time period, the term "Maverick" has been redefined to simply mean anybody who fights against Neo Arcadia.Fact|date=July 2007

The Guardians

The Guardians were introduced in "Mega Man ZX", as an organization which travels around the world protecting the civilians and investigating the cause behind the Maverick outbreaks. While not outright stated, it's revealed through flashbacks that the creator and first commander of the Guardians was Ciel, so it's most likely that the Resistance in the "Mega Man Zero" series evolved into the Guardians. The current commander of the Guardians is Prairie (who is heavily hinted to be Alouette). Serpent, the main antagonist was a member of the Guardians until he was infected and corrupted by Model W, which caused him to wipe out his unit and run away with the Biometal. Giro stated that he was also a member of the Guardians. In "Mega Man ZX Advent", Vent and Aile have become full-time members of the Guardians.

Maverick Bosses

Most fans often use the term "Maverick" to describe the boss characters seen throughout the "X" series. They are similar to the Robot Masters of the "Classic" series. Instead of being based on humans (or "men") like the Robot Masters, they are based on animals and nature (to a greater extent than animal and plant-based Robot Masters, like "Mega Man 4's" Toad Man and "Mega Man 6's" Plant Man) and are anthropomorphic.