Mega Man/Fridge

Fridge Brilliance

 * Mega Man 9 had some pretty cold interactions, with Mega Man and Roll not being able to understand why the current batch of Robot Masters did not want to go to the scrapyard. At first, it seemed kinda gruesome. But then I realized that Mega Man and Roll are not truly free-willed beings. They are limited in many ways. This is why X was such a breakthrough. Mega Man and Roll can't understand why they wouldn't want to be scrapped because their programming is too limited to let them. Which also explains why Mega Man picked up the Idiot Ball at the end. He's a limited 3-Laws Robot. -Peteman
 * It doesn't explain the Idiot Ball, because with Proto Man around, he could have had his big brother keep an eye on Wily. Proto Man clearly sees through the trap, but picks up a Jerkass Ball, allowing a deadly psycho to run free in order to teach his brother to be less naive. It's not an issue of in-universe robot logic, it's a world where Dr. Wily managed to scam the human populace into arresting Dr. Light just by showing up on TV. That, and Failure Is the Only Option as regards stopping him for good. - Guy Smiley
 * Think about it this way: Everyone in the Mega Man universe is, ultimately simple-minded. Except for Dr. Wily, who is smart enough to realize he can dupe and con and outsmart everyone even though they don't have a One-Man Army chasing them all the time. Heck, he simply TALKS the Robot Masters into going berserk in MM 9. Also, Dr. Light is smart enough to realize their limitations and works on X, along with burying capsules with advanced weaponry in case the future needs another hero. -- Chadius
 * The lack of an in-game explanation for the expiration law that set the plot in motion bothered me. Then I realized that the massive distrust that humans had for Reploids in the Mega Man X and Mega Man Zero series started with distrust for robots in the original series with the expiration law as an early example. -- MM Trigger
 * That's similar to the revelation I had with the expiration law and Wily's usage of its pointlessness to get the Robot Masters on his side: the law was likely created because of Wily, the public thinking that having the expiration dates and keeping to them prevented madmen like Wily from taking control of them and wreaking havoc. When Wily learned of this, he realized just how stupid that logic was, and was able to convince the Robot Masters of that. This, in turn, makes him realize just how easy it is to get robots to rebel by playing on humans' distrust and callousness towards their safety rather than simply reprogramming them for evil, and thus inspires him to create the Maverick Virus.
 * Zero was created to ruin Light's dream for peace between robots (or reploids) and humans. As long as Zero lived, there was constant tension, even if he wasn't directly responsible for it and fought for the good guys. After Zero dies for good, peace is achieved. In effect, Zero filled his original purpose as long as he lived. Mandemo
 * I discovered an interesting revelation in the change in Mega Man's demeanor across the games. In Mega Man 7, he points his buster when he's charging a shot. In following games, he doesn't. Than it occurred to hit me: 7 is the game where he tried to kill Dr. Wily. Pointing the buster out was meant to foreshadow Rock's anger at Dr. Wily, which would cool down but still remain. In 8, he realized that Wily always says the same line when he's defeated before he's attacked by the Evil Energy. He was going to attempt to kill Wily again, no announcements ("I am more than a robot!") just straight up murder him because he was tired of dealing with him again and again. That's why the Energy attacked him; he was the only viable source of evil left. When Duo saved him, he also purged Rock of his anger, restoring his friendlier nature. -- MM Trigger
 * This Troper figured out why Mega Man can't slide in the adaptor forms, they're too bulky, think about it, the wings prevent good sliding due to the length, the power adaptor has a bigger torso, and the Super Adaptor carries both problems.
 * 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, with the max being 48. The increase was an upgrade in order for Reploids to take full advantage of advancing technology and to function properly.
 * Mega Man Zero had these things called "Cyber Elves", which I thought was an absolutely stupid name. Then, eventually it dawned on me: Elf is an Acronym, "Electronic Life Form". Now I think it's pretty clever. -Peteman
 * This Troper gave some thought on why Zero is named "Zero", How he can do exceptionally high close range damage at the expense of low armor, and also as a character why he has a tendency to rush headlong to face impossible odds, performing extraordinarily heroic feats . Then I remembered the Japanese airplanes employed during World War II, The A 6 M 2 "Zeroes" who were destructive in close range, but fragile compared to most other fighter planes, and several pilots who were about to die or ran out of ammunition... who were instructed beforehand by their superiors that they may not make it out alive, crashed their ships into targets as a last ditch effort, creating the suicidal term known as "Kamikaze", and they were revered for such heroic acts. Interesting stuff.
 * Becomes more brilliant in Marvel vs Capcom 3. The opening quote for Captain America to Zero is "Your name's Zero? Hope you don't fight like one." Now what war did Cap fight in? And what war did the A 6 M 2 Zeroes fight in? That's right, Cap isn't insulting Zero, he's tense about his fighting style. K Man
 * The final battle in the last game of the Mega Man Zero series has something boss battles haven't had since the first actual boss in the first game: a countdown. 140 seconds before the Colony Drop. I was pondering if the number 140 had any special meaning, if they had wanted to make it 2 minutes it would have been 120 seconds. Maybe they figured out this was the best time range to defeat the last boss. But This Troper thought up of an interesting meaning: 140 = 1-4 Zero. Or Zero 1-4, games 1 through 4 in the series have their climax in these last 140 seconds. -- Fubu 72
 * Also regarding the final battle with Zero killing Dr. Weil. While this would seem to invalidate Dr. Light's ideals due to Zero not being programmed with the three laws, it truly doesn't when you take into account the extremely obscure Zeroth Law Of Robotics. "A robot through action or inaction cannot allow HUMANITY to come to harm." What this law says is that in order to protect the human race as a whole, a robot is allowed to disobey laws 1-3 because law zero supercedes the other laws. Think of it as an emergency clause that would take effect if someone like Hitler or The Antichrist rose to power. Under Law Zero a robot would be allowed to terminate him to stop his depredations upon humanity. Due to the obscurity of the law, this is a genius bonus. --Magnum 12
 * This Troper just realized the beauty in giving all the NPCs names and bios in Mega Man Star Force: It is like a social networking profile. You know them as well as you do random people you friend just to increase your friend count in Facebook. - Stinkoman 87
 * The inclusion of Sheep Man in Mega Man 10 seemed kind of a lame boss-concept... then I realized: wait a minute... he's a robot sheep... an Electric Sheep... the kind androids dream of. - User:Rothul
 * Another one for Mega Man Star Force: After having played through the trilogy, I wondered why it was that while both Budd and Luna had gained EM forms throughout the story thanks to merging with Taurus and Ophiucus, respectively, in the first game, only Taurus revived as a Heel Face Turn while Luna was left on the sidelines with no powers by the end of 3. At first, I thought, "letdown," and that they just decided to shove her to the sidelines for whatever reason. But then, I remembered that for the human-EM fusion to be effective, it was a two-way deal. Both the character and the FM-ian had to "sync" in sorts to get it to work right, hence why the FM-ians deceived their hosts in the first game. As the story goes on, we see that Taurus may not have been all that evil when we first met him, better to match Budd's fierce, yet easy-going demeanor, resulting in his eventual team up in 3. Ophiucus, on the other hand, was wholly unrepetant and manipulative, while Luna was becoming a nicer, more honest and genuine person. Luna's character development and personality just did not match Ophiucus', which is why Luna never transforms ever again, barring her fight in 2 when she was Brainwashed and Crazy at the time. Basically, Luna would have to betray her entire being to obtain that power again, and she would rather be powerless and support from the sidelines. - Grithalmur
 * Many people complains that how Model ZX looks more like Zero than X, and with that fact, some fans assume that Inticreates dump X away. And then I remember: Why Model HX looks more Harpuia than X, for example, and fans never complain about it? The answer is that Double Megamerging is not like mixing red with blue (as many fans assumed), but akin to X's Variable Weapons System. What the system does is emulating the powers he copied from the defeated enemies. Similarly, Model X serves as an emulator to use other Biometals. That's also probably why we never see Double Megamerge forms other than Model (insert letter here)X: Because only Model X could do it. - DAN 004
 * Dr. Light's & Bass profile lists his bad point as "douchie." It made no sense, until I remembered the Light Capsules. - Shy Tenda
 * At the end of the first Mega Man Battle Network game, Wily goes into a Motive Rant about how long ago, he was working on robot research, whereas Lan's grandfather was doing Internet research. The committee in charge of both had to cancel one or the other, and after much debate they canceled Wily's project. I wondered almost immediately: what would have happened had they decided to give Hikari's research the axe instead? I shared my quandary with a friend, and he noted the obvious: there would be more robots about and the Internet wouldn't be so advanced. It wasn't until later that I made the connection between that and certain theories about the series as a whole, and the revelation came out: not only is the Battle Network series an alternate timeline from the original Mega Man series, but the latter is what would've transpired had Hikari's research been cut instead of Wily's. -- User:Sonic Lover
 * Actually, that was a major point of the Battle Network series, according to the Word of God itself. Unfortunately, it only works until the 4th Battle Network game, when The Giant Space Flea From Nowhere Final Boss appears. Meet Duo, a Sufficiently Advanced Alien in charge of an Earthshattering Kaboom Mobile, which suggests that there may be more than one nail for the wanting.
 * The darkchip factory was what got his attention. Apparently other types of evil weren't really his problem.
 * I was playing Mega Man 3 the other day, and I remember thinking to myself, "What kind of a stupid name for a dog is Rush? I mean, he's not exactly fast (seriously, Rush Jet goes, like, five miles an hour), and he certainly doesn't hurry Mega Man along, so what the hell?" Just today, it dawned on me. The Mega Man series is known for its musical Theme Naming, and then there's that one really awesome progressive rock band from the 70's and 80's... --
 * Referenced in Roo's review of Mega Man: The Wily Wars. Rush is also one of the reasons why Mega Man 3 is his favorite game of the classic series. - blueflame 724
 * In Mega Man 7, the best Robot Master weapon to use against Bass (during Wily Stage 1) is the Noise Crush, Shade Man's weapon. Where is it that Mega Man sees an injured Bass earlier in the game? Shade Man's stage. - Mister Vercetti
 * There are three reasons why it was a good idea for Wily's final from always be weak against the worst weapon in the game. First there is the in game reason: wily figures Mega would never bother with such a crappy weapon against such a serious enemy. Then there is the out of game reason where, because you never use it, it ensures that you always have plenty of ammo for it. An one that works on both levels, in that it adds difficulty to the fight. - Stinkoman 87
 * It's pretty much Fanon at this point that in the original batch of Robot Masters, Mega Man has a type advantage over Cut Man, based on how easy a boss Cut Man is. What is Cut Man based around? Scissors. What was Mega Man's original name? Rock. Rock beats scissors.
 * In Battle Network, we have the Undernet. A deep part of the internet that people fear to tread, with posters that don't disclose any names, and is subject to illegal activity and piracy. Remind you of a certain Image Board, perhaps?
 * So I used to think "Blaze" was a weird last name for Chaud in the anime of Battle Network. Granted, it's a fire word, and so fits in with the first name he has in Japan—"Enzan", "flame mountain"—but still. Kind of a weird name, no? And why did they change it from the game (where "Eugene is his first name and "Chaud" is his last name)? And then I realized: "Blaze" sounds like "Blues", which is ProtoMan's name in Japan...and Chaud is ProtoMan's Operator.
 * Yet another thing...a 'blaze' is the term for a big white patch on a horse's face. Look at Chaud's hair! Also, the first kanji in 'Enzan' can be translated as 'blaze' as well as flame. I think it was actually a pretty good name change.
 * It may also be a subtle Shout-Out to Blaz Blue.
 * In the X series, many of the bosses have an animal theme (Gravity Beetle, Rainy Turtloid, Blizzard Buffalo, and so forth). This is in direct contrast to the Classic series, where the bosses are humanoid Something Men (and a Something Woman).
 * Peacekeepers wear blue helmets. Who (always) wears a blue helmet? Mega Man. And who fights for everlasting peace? Mega Man.
 * For ages, two questions bugged me: "If Mega Man can teleport, why doesn't he go straight to Wily's Castle?" and "Why doesn't Mega Man keep the weapons from previous Robot Masters?" Fora long time, I chalked it up to Gameplay and Story Segregation. Then it hit me... it's not that he doesn't - he can't. Wily, being Dr. Light's former colleague, would know certain fundamental things about his rival's technology - things such as his variable-weapon systems and teleportation frequencies - and thus obviously set up some form of forcefield/filter thing to keep Mega Man out. The access codes for the filter would be in the care of his robots, thus why Mega Man needs to defeat them all to gain entry. The loss of weapons would be due to said pass-codes being integrated with the control drivers of the Masters' weapons, which would self-corrupt when Wily himself was defeated, to keep Light from using the codes/weapons against him at a later date.
 * Some people used to complain about some of the strange designs and themes for the robot masters. In Mega Man 8, the robots were a lot more quirky than the others, with Search Man having two heads an confusing himself, Clown Man's design, and the fact that Clown Man's spare parts were used to make Aqua Man and Frost Man. Even Wily knew he was running out of ideas. Further supported by the fact that the next two games had Robots that weren't actually built by Wily
 * I've always wondered why they say that, as of X8, But then I looked at his most recent body: partly completed, with viral energy clearly visible. Perhaps it symbolizes that
 * Dr Weil's comment that "I am the Devil!" makes a lot of sense when you think about it: he corrupts everything he touches. He triggers a Heel Face Brainwashing to the Eight Gentle Judges, manipulates Copy X into crossing an in-universe Moral Event Horizon, gets ahold of Omega...that's not even getting into what he did as And this is just glossing over the fact he makes Dr. Regal look innocent by comparison!
 * Wily's final form always being weak to the weakest weapon in the game works on three levels. In universe Wily would expect Mega Man to never bother attacking with a weapon that barely worked before; why use Bubble Lead when you have Metal Blades? Out of universe, the devs could always expect you to have plenty of weapon energy left for such a bad weapon. Finally, it adds another layer of challenge.
 * I used to be amused by one discrepancy in Nintendo Power'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.
 * On the Japanese names: Did you know Rock and Roll were influenced by Blues? --Manga Maniac
 * 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. — aonaselk
 * The Dr. Cossack fortress bosses in Mega Man 4 are usually considered fairly easy...because Cossack is a good guy who really doesn't want to be doing this.
 * In Mega Man 2, Wily's final form's weakness is Bubble Lead because it's really a hologram. The water-based weapon shorts out the machine, thus deactivating it. --Gancena

Fridge Horror

 * Dust Man might not sound frightening, but dust is baneful to electronics, and the Dust Bowl instigated the Great Depression.
 * The end sequence for Mega Man 2. Assuming that tableau of Mega walking home isn't merely the devs showing off the NES' palette-swapping capabilities etc., that means it takes Rock a year to get home from Wily's final castle.
 * On the other hand,
 * Remember Quint, the Mega Man Killer from Rockman World 2? Remember that he is canonically a kidnapped and remodelled Mega Man from the future? Now, think about why Rock is no longer around in the X Series. -Ace Of Scarabs
 * Debatable. 9 and 10 don't refer to the Game Boy games in their plotlines; note which games are absent in 9's ending and the secret stages in 10 are bonus stages, and not plot relevant.
 * On the contrary, canon never states from what point in the future Quint had been stolen from, so he might have been taken from a point further in the future.
 * No, it's established that Quint is taken from 37 years in the future.
 * It's been stated that X considers Zero his only friend. Why? Because all of the others he had made either turned Maverick (such as Volt Catfish) or were Killed Off for Real. In a deeper sense, you can even assume that these events have resigned X to not form meaningful bonds with anyone, save for the one robot who has persevered through it all so far. - El Rodrigo
 * Mega Man Zero introduces us to Omega, aka what happens if Zero turns bad. The planet became devastated, and most of humanity died. And this was what Wily intented. Given his Pet the Dog moments, what the hell happened to make Wily a heartless world ending maniac?!
 * No, what Wily intended was to beat Mega Man and control the world. Omega happened because it got out of Wily's control.
 * You do realize that Dr. Wily's tried more than once to kill Mega Man, right? And arranged for robots to go on global rampages causing massive property damage at least ten times, with all the fatalities implied? The only real difference between Omega and what Zero was supposed to be is the difference in the overall tech levels in the Classic and X/Zero series; that is, the power of the robots in those eras.
 * There's a big, big difference between what Wily did and intending to end the world. Omega was, once again, when Wily's creation grew way out of his control—and not the first time it's happened, either.
 * Perhaps Omega worked beyond what he intended.
 * When you think about it, some of the villians won in a way. Dr Wily managed to surpass Dr Light, considering Zero not only outlasted X, but become a greater hero than him. Sigma ultimately won, since humanity ultimately died out and machines (or Carbons, if you will) took over.
 * What makes it worse is that Zero ended the overall conflict that began with the first Mega Man game by killing Dr. Weil, the human villain. Rock himself tried to kill Dr. Wily in his seventh game, but was unable due to the morals Dr. Light programmed into him. If Rock had just fired, (no speeches, no charging, just shoot the Mad Scientist to death), the war would've been over, possibly forever. No King, no Roboenza,, no Zero, no Maverick or Elf Wars. Just Bass and Treble, and they wouldn't have been a threat too long without Wily to maintain them. Even the Evil Energy would've been dealt with once Duo woke up. X would've lived out his life as Dr. Cain's lab assistant, maybe become a scientist himself later on. But because Dr. Light couldn't compromise his ideals, despite that Dr. Wily just didn't deserve mercy, he became humanity's killer. — MM Trigger
 * Mega Man was a three rules robot, and physically could not pull the trigger, his programming wouldn't allow it
 * Again, Dr. Light programmed those into Rock. He, of all people, should know how dangerous Wily was then, given the multiple robot thefts, kidnappings, and the general mayhem his robots cause which must amount to war crimes at least. Programming a fail-safe, not entirely ethical granted, wouldn't be that hard and the usual exploding fortress would destroy the body.
 * A piece of new Fridge Brilliance: In X4, it's revealed Zero and Sigma fought before. Watching the scene, you see that Sigma toyed with Zero, instead of immediately using his beam saber to slice Zero apart. If Sigma had done that, than everything that happened because of Zero wouldn't have happened. While it mostly absolves Dr. Light and Rock, killing Wily would've prevented Zero altogether but unlike them it's Sigma's job to take out violent robots as quickly as possible, the horror kicks in when you realize Sigma's campaign was already won, without him realizing it.
 * Of course Wily won—he won in spite of himself; Zero was born of the neurotic, malevolent wrath that festered and spread from the simple schoolboy jealousy the Albert fostered. Yet, Zero proved ultimately to be one of history's greatest heroes, whether or no he accepts that designation.
 * We all know that Dr Weil is the narcissitic, ultra-sadistic, prejudiced epitome of all that is wrong in the world. But, when you think about it, many of his Hannibal Lecture S do have grounds. Indeed, if it wasn't for It's All About Me, they'd be quite chilling, and Weil nightmarish on a very personal level. You want some examples?
 * Dr Weil thinks that Humans Are the Real Monsters, since only they can appreciate the joy of controlling people and Reploids. Remember, back in Mega Man X4, the main reason the Repliforce had a Heel Face Turn was because they thought humanity wouldn't like them making a world for Reploids only. Plus, let's look at the motives behind major Mavericks: Sigma saw himself as a Well-Intentioned Extremist, Gate had a Freudian Excuse(how would you feel if your creations were hunted down by your peers?), thought he was only fufilling evolution's course, and Elpizo is a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds. Constrast Dr Wily, who wanted to Take Over the World out of pride, and Dr Weil himself.
 * The Repliforce was indicted because they were framed and they themselves undermined the efforts to exonerate themselves all because of a massive robotic dick-waggling contest on their part. As for Lumine: EVOLUTION DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!!
 * Dr Weil exhibits Fantastic Racism. But so do much of the citizens of Neo Arcadia. Not to mention, Weil would've grown up in the Maverick Wars. He knew what damage the Reploids had done to the planet, so is it any wonder he despises them?
 * Also keep in mind that each X series game usually takes place a few months after the last one (X5 had a bad translation error in it's opening). So in possibly less than five years since Dr. Cain found Dr. Light's lab did Sigma become so insane as do a Colony Drop. Take into account the damage and casualties mentioned in X6 (billions dead) and suddenly Weil's hatred seems a lot more justified.
 * If you follow the plot of the main series timeline, things progress thus:
 * Goes further when you realize that Doctor Light, the Big Good Guy, invented X and unintentionally set all of that in motion (if it were not for X, Dr. Cain would have never invented the reploids).
 * It could a step farther when you realize that  This is why Capcom should've let Inafune tell the story he wanted. Or at least amend the whole Dr. Wily angle in the X series.
 * Then there's Omega. The Ax Crazy psychopath whose Hate Plague powers and ceaseless thirst for blood that ended up killing 75% of sentient life. The horror kicks in when you realize that Omega was exactly what Dr. Wily intended Zero to be. In fact, given what happens in the whole timeline, actually letting Dr. Wily win seems to be genuinely preferable to just thwarting his plans. As bad as his schemes got, they never went as far as what Sigma or later villains wanted.
 * Remember, Wily became evil because his pride was hurt. Meaning if he won, it would be more or less just to prove he's better than Dr Light. If he won, mankind would probably just have to deal with his ego for a couple decades until Dr Wily dies(he's already quite old.) Compare that with Sigma and Doctor Weil, and you'll be rooting for Dr Wily in no time.
 * Let's not forget the basic premise: Mega Man is a DRN series robot. The Robot Masters from the first game are also DRN robots. Mega Man must kill his brothers. Not to mention that Guts Man keeps getting brought Back From the Dead in various forms. Poor Gutsy... And if you assume that Mega Man is too unsophisticated to realize the above, think about Mega Man X. All Reploids derive from him, so he has to destroy his offspring, and is fully aware of it.
 * Think of the attitudes humanity has towards genuinely non-violent robots: in MM9 we see Yet, people like Dr. Wily and Weil get to live, with no "kill on sight" orders established before being captured. How horrifically skewed are humanity's priorities towards robots and humans to even allow this to happen? The worst part about this? This means that Dr Weil's Hannibal Lecture has ground. Only humans understand the joy of power, indeed.
 * Translations errors aside, X5 is notoriously off, each X series game takes place a few months after the last one. With a new Robot War starting almost like clockwork, with a Reploid becoming so insane that he does a Colony Drop not even a decade after X is uncovered, is it any wonder that Weil seemed more than a little pissed that Reploids seemed to be getting off too easily for the Maverick wars?
 * Oh god...that makes Dr Weil even more terrifying. How? Because it means he had a good reason behind his Fantastic Racism. The Complete Monster had JUSTIFICATION.
 * Not that it makes it any better, but Weil also subverts his own philosophy: He's human, but his omnicidal tendencies are worse than any maverick ever was, Sigma included. Not So Different, eh?
 * This troper realized that, when Sigma said something along the lines of "Evolution needs sacrifice", he was right all along! Let's just see it:
 * From Classic to X: Until the discovery of X, robots didn't have emotions, pretty much like the robot masters. Then X was discovered, and Dr. Cain tried to make all robots a replica of him, but he failed to copy the part that limits X's decision, part of a failsafe that ensured that X would never harm a human. This made the reploids able to feel emotion, yet they weren't restricted to harming humans. In essence, the first law of robotics was sacrificed in order for robots to evolve into reploids.
 * From X to Zero: During the Elf Wars, humanity was thrown into chaos after 70% of its population decimated, essentially creating a chaotic world. After defeating Omega in the Elf Wars, X used his body to seal the Dark Elf, while Zero chose to seal himself because he believed that as long as he still existed, there would be war (and how right he was! The 'war' between Neo Arcadia and the resistance technically began after Zero was awakened). After that, Neo Arcadia was created as an utopia, bringing the world into peace (that didn't last for long, though). In essence, the heroes sacrificed themselves in order for the chaotic world to evolve into an utopia.
 * From Zero to ZX: In Zero 4, it was stated that the relationship between humans and reploids was bad. After Zero killed Weil (in which he was also killed off for real), humans started to warm up to reploids. In essence, Zero sacrificed himself in order for the rowdy relationship between humans and reploids to evolve into a better relationship. Also, in ZX, reploids were given an age limit, while humans were given cybernetic implants and enhancements. In essence, Zero sacrificed himself in order for reploids to become closer into becoming the same with humans.
 * From ZX to Legends: In the secret ending of ZXA, Master Thomas stated that the world needs to be reset. In Legends, after the great flood, there were no humans left, save for the master himself, the rest of the world was populated with carbons, a race of robots that basically had the specs of a human. In essence, the entire humanity was sacrificed in order for reploids to evolve into the ultimate goal: becoming the same with humans, by basically replacing them.

Fridge Brilliance

 * Rumor has it that one of the plans for Season 3 that Proto Man was going to have a full fledged Heel Face Turn (rather than the temporary one he had in Season 2), with Wily building Bass and Treble as replacements.
 * Word of God confirms it was just a rumor.

Fridge Horror

 * In "Brain Bots", Wily places Mega Man in a Death Trap. The trap consists of a Descending Ceiling with spikes. Unlike some death traps, Mega was bound to the floor as it descended. What pushes this into Fridge Horror is what Wily said about it; he uses it to recycle robots he no longer needs into scrap metal. Meaning he's done this to HIS OWN ROBOTS. What makes it worse is that some robots, like Fire Man and Star Man, were only in one episode and never seen or mentioned again...
 * "The Strange Island of Dr. Wily": Woodman was among Wily's group, until sustaining heavy damage towards the end. He isn't seen escaping with them.
 * In "Future Shock", Roll doesn't believe Mega is real at first, saying it's another trick of Dr. Wily's. Meaning Wily may have staged rebellions and incited false hope with a fake Mega Man.
 * In "Bro Bots", Wily's plan turned out to be replacing the city's leaders with robot doubles who would obey his every whim. Standard evil villain stuff, until you realize that Mega Man found out about the plan by finding a robot copy of Dr. Light. And given that he'd imprisoned the governor and Light over a pit of acid, Wily may have been going for a Kill and Replace scenario...
 * As noted in this review Mega Man X pushed Vile and Spark Mandrill through a time portal that Sigma opened up to receive the MacGuffin for the episode. Meaning X is going to be deep in enemy territory when he exits the portal.
 * In that same episode, some have raised qualms about X's characterization and the lack of Zero. Things seem to be personal between X and Vile, with the former not caring what condition he's brought back in. And then you remember in X1, Zero died at Vile's hands.
 * In "Electric Nightmare", the cosmetic robot tried to use her razor on Roll, but she ducked. Looking at where the attack lines are and where Roll was in the preceding frame, she was trying to slice Roll in half.

Fridge Logic

 * The infamous episode "Robosaur Park" features Wily creating a de-evolution serum that devolves humanoid robots into more ape-like robots. Fansite The Mega Man Homepage put it best: "Why did the robots de-evolve into apes? Shouldn't they have turned into toasters or something?"
 * If Dr. Wily has a handheld gun that can reprogram or turn off robots, why doesn't he just turn it on Mega Man and Roll? If it wouldn't reprogram them it'd at least shut them off, buying him time.
 * It's likely that Mega Man and Roll are more advanced than the other robot masters. In the pilot episode, he doesn't use the reprogramming gun on them like the others, even after he captures them. Instead he takes them back to his lab for what looks like a do-it-yourself lobotomy to make them easier to reprogram.
 * In "The Day The Moon Fell", Wily's scheme involves a machine called a Gravitron that is pulling the moon out of its orbit. Light reveals that he built a Gravitron in his youth, and he may have some files to help counteract Wily's invention. He finds archive footage of himself and Wily in their college days; turns out college Wily stole the device and the files without Light knowing. The theft was on the tape. This is apparently the first time Light saw the video. Why would he even make the video if he wasn't going to watch it?
 * The entire premise of "Campus Commandos". Why would robots need to go to school, if they can already be programmed to perform specific functions in the first place?
 * It's been suggested that the students want to learn things progressively, like humans.
 * In "Robo Spider", Dr. Light analyzes a piece of the giant spider's web that he took from its initial attack. He says he can invent a device that can turn its energy-draining powers back on itself, but he needs a copy of the web's schematic to do so. Mega Man volunteers to get a copy, using the same technique he uses to copy robot master weapons. Cool plot, except for one thing; you already have a piece of the web, so why did Mega Man and Roll have to travel through hell and high water to copy another piece of the web?
 * In "Curse of the Lion Men" if it was meant to be curse, then why would they be given the ability to turn innocent people into other lion men or women?