Mega Man Zero/Characters

This page deals with the characters from the Mega Man Zero/Rockman Zero series. The series takes place (approximately) 100 years after the X series and (approximately) 300 years after the original series, and deals with an ongoing war between Reploids and Humans, and Zero trying to remember his identity and finding a new purpose in existence.

Introduced in Mega Man Zero

 * Zero

"I won't hesitate. If an enemy appears in front of me, I will destroy it! I made a promise to a friend..."

- Voiced by Yuuto Kazama

The Zero series' Backstory ends with the ending of Mega Man X 5. By the time the Zero series starts, both X and Zero are bona fide legends. However, X is nowhere to be seen (for reasons revealed in Zero 2), and Zero is found in an underground laboratory, nonfunctional and lacking in weaponry, memories, or indeed arms. At first, Zero seems to be a loner, more distant than he ever was in X, but over the course of the series, he comes to define himself as a soldier who fights to protect people he believes in. Which pretty much means Ciel.

""I never cared about justice, and I don't recall ever calling myself a hero. I've always only fought for the people I believe in. I won't hesitate... If an enemy appears in front of me, I will destroy it!""
 * Aborted Arc: For a series about Zero, they eschewed his entire Backstory in favor of a new one.
 * Averted to a degree as well:
 * Adaptational Badass: Inverted in the manga, it's more like adaptational Badass Decay.
 * Amnesiac Dissonance: Zero suffers this in the transition between the X and this series. While he stays a hero in between both series, his memory was lost during hibernation, including one crucial detail:
 * Anti-Anti-Christ: One of the biggest examples.
 * Anti-Hero: Type 3
 * The Atoner: Basically what he's been doing throughout his entire life. Especially when he finally learns that, even after Sigma's demise,
 * Badass: Zero naturally takes this even further.
 * Badass Creed: "I'll do what you want... Rest for a while. I will handle it, you can count on me. I won't stop! If an enemy appears... I'll terminate it."
 * World of Cardboard Speech: Which evolves into this:

"You're right, I don't understand that feeling. To me, you just look like another Maverick."
 * Badass Long Robe: Z2 intro stage.
 * The Coats Are Off: Right after that.
 * Badass Long Hair: As always.
 * Badass Normal: For robotic standards, at least. He has no powers on its own (other than Mega Manning); he just relies on his multiple weapons.
 * One-Man Army: It's a surprise that La Résistance (mostly made up of inexperienced soldiers) managed to survive the 2nd Maverick Wars until Ciel found Zero. In Zero 4, it's played very literally.
 * Sealed Badass in a Can
 * Underestimating Badassery: Most of the bosses mock Zero's "Legendary Hero" status and the fact that he was out of commission for about 100 years since the X era. How wrong they are.
 * Brought to You by The Letter "S": His Z-Knuckle is a Z-shaped imprint on his palm, in which a special chip is inserted, allowing him to take enemy's weapons.
 * Building Swing: With his Chain Rod in Zero 2.
 * Charged Attack: A series standard.
 * Chaste Hero/Oblivious to Love: Arguably, if Ciel's care for Zero can be interpreted as "love".
 * Chick Magnet
 * Continuity Nod: Zero's Proto Form is a nod to his infinity plus one armor from X, the Black/Zero Armor, minus the silver hair. In addition, its stats mimic that of the X8 version of the armor. Reversed, because X8 came out after the Proto Form's debut in Z2 and reappearance in Z3.
 * Plus,, all X found was his sword. Guess who gave Zero his signature weapon back?
 * Another one of Zero's Forms (see Palette Swap below) is the X form. Guess what color is this form based on, as well as what weapon it specializes in? Possibly a Mythology Gag as well.
 * Cutscene Power to the Max: This commercial says it all.
 * Determinator: He fights nonstop between the events of the first and second games. Just in case you were wondering, that's a whole year in-universe.
 * Deus Exit Machina: the reason the Elf Wars having gone as long as it did was because of Zero being out of commission for most of that time period. This is evidenced by the fact that the war saw a quick finish when he finally came back to the battle.
 * Double Jump: Though one of Zero's signature abilities from the X series, it doesn't make a return until Z3, and even then it's not something Zero can learn as an innate skill. You need to equip different items to use the ability.
 * Elemental Punch: Zero can load elemental chips to his weapons, and their charged attacks become elemental.
 * : Inverted.
 * Evolving Weapon/Attack: In the first two games, using Zero's weapons a set number of times allows him to learn additional skills with them.
 * Fake Ultimate Hero: Played with throughout the series, ending with a subversion.
 * Famed in Story: He is well-known as a Maverick Hunter even a hundred years after he went missing, and the reactions of who he meets differ depend on which side of the war they're on, with the Resistance and Ciel viewing him as their resurrected savior, and Neo Arcadia viewing him as a Fallen Hero who now works for terrorists.
 * Fan Nickname: "The Red Ripper," as a counterpart to the typical nickname of Mega Man protagonists. "The Crimson Warrior," as a follow up to his popular X series title as "The Crimson Hunter."
 * Fingerless Gloves: Well, his hands only look like he's wearing these.
 * Gameplay-Guided Amnesia: He wake up with almost no memory of his past. Since he's been asleep for 100 years, this doesn't make much difference to the plot — the real point is to explain why the "legendary hero" has skill level 1 with his own sword. (It also conveniently allows the X games to continue without affecting what Zero should remember later on.) Zero 2 and 3 get better mileage out of the amnesia by "revealing" things that Zero was actually around for in the past.
 * Glass Cannon: Zero using his Proto Form and Junk Armor from Zero 2 and 4, respectively, doubles the damage he deals AND receives.
 * Good Is Not Nice: Type 3.
 * Gosh Dang It to Heck: "Rats!"
 * Guest Fighter: In Onimusha Blade Warriors.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Hero with Bad Publicity: Neo Arcadia established to its citizens that Zero and La Résistance are nothing but extremists. This is an important plotpoint in Zero 4, with human refugees not appreciating the helping hand given to them,
 * Humans Are Bastards/Humans Are Special: Played with. In Zero 4, he condemns humans fleeing from Weil's iron fist as cowardly beings who would do nothing about their refugee leader getting kidnapped just to avoid another war. However, he also thinks that, as a machine designed solely to wage war, he cannot change the world, but instead believes in the humans who can. In the end, he believes that Humans Are Bastards, but he also believes that they can change into the better and then change the world.
 * I Am Who?: He's lost his memory of the X series — everyone tells him that he's a "legendary Reploid" and he just has to take their word for it. Also see the Locked Out of the Loop entry below.
 * Identity Amnesia: At the start of the series, he doesn't seem to sure that he's the legendary Zero everybody thought as.
 * I'm Not a Hero, I'm X: One of his most prominent trait. See also his World of Cardboard Speech above.
 * Japanese Pronouns: Uses ore.
 * Katanas Are Just Better: Averted; in Zero 1 and Zero 2, Zero's Z-saber is roughly shaped like a katana, but this is merely a matter of simplistic sprites. Box art has always depicted it as the triangular shape that has since become synonymous with Zero in this series.
 * Kubrick Stare: In almost all of the official arts.
 * Laser Blade: Z-Saber, as well as laser spears, bullet-reflector shields that can double as a boomerang, whips and tonfas.
 * Life Drain: One of his EX-Skills in Zero 2 is this, using the Chain Rod.
 * Locked Out of the Loop: Not only Weil, but also X know about, with X blatantly not telling Zero about it up until Weil himself let the secret out.
 * The Guardians, especially Phantom, are implied to know about it as well, considering  One of the drama tracks seems to clear it up - Phantom found out in Cyberspace; Leviathan and Fefnir had a Near-Death Experience in which they met Phantom and X. X gave them one final order to stop Omega, presumably giving them a heads up.
 * Mega Manning: The EX techs from X4 onwards are back starting in Zero 2, and the Z-knuckle rips weapons off Mooks, although some of them can survive even after the weapon is stolen.
 * Zero 3 also takes it further by having Zero obtain custom chips that grant him innate non-combat abilities from other Bosses.
 * Midnight Blue Eyes: Hits pretty much all aspects of this trope (with chips, includes elements)
 * Multiform Balance: the Forms, vaguely.
 * Master of None: Normal, literally, since it doesn't have a specialty unlike the other Forms.
 * Fragile Speedster: Active
 * Mighty Glacier: Energy and Power, defense- (on health, specifically) and offense-oriented, respectively.
 * Stone Wall: Defense and Erase, although the latter can still dish out damage.
 * Glass Cannon: Proto
 * Lightning Bruiser: Rise and X
 * Super Mode: Ultimate
 * Multi Melee Master: Although he also has a gun. See also the Swiss Army Weapon below.
 * My Hero Zero: Ciel couldn't have said it better herself.
 * No Social Skills: One Lower Deck Episode highlights how clueless Zero can be in matters outside battle, although knowing him, this is justified.
 * Not So Different: With Harpuia. Both are dickish good guys fighting for X's dream, making their conflict very ironic and tragic.
 * Oh Crap: The possibility of facing the Einherjar Warriors all together (which, unfortunately, didn't happen) is one of the few times in the series that Zero had this reaction (subtle, yes, but a reaction nonetheless).
 * He also had this reaction when faced with the possibility of fighting all three remaining Guardians at the end of Zero 1.
 * Yet another time is when he realizes that and is about to take an ICBM to the face. Note that these reactions never seem to rise above the level of Alertness Blink.
 * The Other Darrin: Yuuto Kazama is his consistent voice actor in this series, but it's different from any of the ones from the X series. Easily justifiable when you're a robot in a new body, though.
 * Overrated and Underleveled:...but he gets much, much better.
 * Palette Swap: Hard and Ultimate Modes clothe Zero in black and deep crimson colors, respectively. The Forms system (and the Body section of its successor, the Customisation Chips) gives him even more colors.
 * Perpetual Frowner: He never smiles. At all.
 * Person of Mass Destruction:
 * Phrase Catcher: "You are Zero."
 * Pieta Plagiarism: In the Zero 1 intro level, Zero and Ciel go through the level until they find a dead end. Then the floor under Ciel crumbles and then she falls down. Zero saves her by doing the pose.
 * Pillar of Light: When he's resurrected in the first game, this happens.
 * Powers as Programs: In order for Zero to use his EX skills, he must "activate" them on the menu first. A more literal take on this would be the Custom Chips from Zero 3 beyond.
 * Punch Clock Hero: What he does all the time is just fighting for the people he believe in; he never considers himself a hero. See also his World of Cardboard Speech above.
 * Rapunzel Hair: Yep, still there.
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old: You'd never know from his looks (what with being ageless and all), but he's arguably the oldest functioning Reploid in existence.
 * Riding the Bomb: In Zero 3, he's going to stop a missile containing Omega from launching into a city block containing the Mother Elf. However, as he approaches the missile, it starts to fly off. Zero's next solution? Ride on it and then destroy it from inside.
 * Secret Character: In SNK vs. Capcom SVC Chaos.
 * Shell-Shocked Veteran: Being amnesiac aside, he has seen many tragedies in the past. Now, he seems to care only about missions, and is frequently emotionless.
 * Shoot the Dog: In the final battle, Weil boasts how a heroic Reploid like Zero would be incapable of killing a human. This is in spite of Zero calling him a Maverick that needed putting down in the previous game, and how Zero just tried to kill him. Weil just doesn't get it. So Zero gives him his best speech, and does to him what should have been done a century ago.
 * Shut UP, Hannibal: After Weil's gloating in Zero 3:
 * Secret Character: In SNK vs. Capcom SVC Chaos.
 * Shell-Shocked Veteran: Being amnesiac aside, he has seen many tragedies in the past. Now, he seems to care only about missions, and is frequently emotionless.
 * Shoot the Dog: In the final battle, Weil boasts how a heroic Reploid like Zero would be incapable of killing a human. This is in spite of Zero calling him a Maverick that needed putting down in the previous game, and how Zero just tried to kill him. Weil just doesn't get it. So Zero gives him his best speech, and does to him what should have been done a century ago.
 * Shut UP, Hannibal: After Weil's gloating in Zero 3:


 * And, of course, his World of Cardboard Speech above doubles as this.
 * Spin to Deflect Stuff: In the artworks, it's shown that his Shield Boomerang is actually the Z-Saber spinning really fast.
 * The Stoic: Oh so much. Even in the drama tracks (see Lower Deck Episode below), he can't talk anything other than things about his missions.
 * Swiss Army Weapon: Zero's saber can be a razor shield (doubling as a boomerang), a pogo spear, a whip/hookshot, tonfas, and a gun magazine. Really?
 * As seen in the minigames, Zero's Z-knuckle is capable of a lot of things, depending on the weapon it stole.
 * Walking the Earth: From the end of Zero 1 to the beginning of Zero 2.
 * Key members of the La Résistance join him in Zero 4, although they weren't exactly walking...
 * What the Hell, Hero?: in Zero 4, Neige and her Caravan call him out on all his and the Resistance's actions throughout the series, up to and including bringing the war to Area Zero, even though Zero and the resistance didn't even go to Area Zero until Weil's troops were already approaching it.
 * What the Hell, Townspeople?: And then Zero later calls the Caravan out for attempting to abandon Neige when she was kidnapped.
 * What the Hell, Player?: In Zero 2, in the intro level, if you just stand on the first screen killing the endless stream of Mooks, he'll say "This isn't fun anymore..."
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Zero in the boxart of Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero MYTHOS (dubbed by fans as "Zero Mythos").
 * You Are Too Late: Zero arrives at the final boss barely in time (which is an improvement over his usual tardiness; see below) to stop the destruction of the last good land on Earth...
 * Earlier, he had many moments like this; in particular, see Riding the Bomb above.
 * You Shouldn't Know This Already: ALL of Zero's sword skills in this series are adapted from the skills he learned in the X series. Yet, thanks to his amnesia, he has to relearn them again. He also totally forgot techs from Z2 to Z3.
 * You Will Not Evade Me: One of Zero's skills with the Chain Rod is pulling things, including enemies, towards him.


 * Ciel

"To me, you are Zero."

- Voiced by Rie Tanaka

A human scientist looking into more efficient energy sources, particularly Cyber Elves, which she believes will end the war between humans and Reploids. She's also responsible for making Copy X - whoops. Ciel is the one who initially finds Zero, informs him of his legendary warrior status, and asks him for help fighting the tyranny of Copy X's Neo Arcadia. After defeating Copy X, Zero wanders off to do his own thing, but in the end, he realizes that he and Ciel need each other to accomplish their goals.

""Ciel, believe in me!""
 * Actual Pacifist: Why do you think she's going into research involving energy?
 * Anger Born of Worry: Not anger per se, but she gets into the same situation when Zero performs a very life-risking act, against her orders.
 * The Atoner: This is why she formed the La Résistance in the first place, feeling guilty for the creation of the one who would persecute innocent Reploids.
 * Big Good: As the Rebel Leader whose organisation is directly opposed by Neo Arcadia's forces, she's pretty much this. When original X isn't around, anyway.
 * Bio Augmentation: According to the Official Complete Works, she was one of the DNA altered children that Neo Arcadia made to develop better Reploids.
 * Bodyguard Crush: Possibly the unofficial Love Interest for Zero. It was implicitly stated that she actually had romantic feelings for him. Plus, there's Zero's Famous Last Words, which drove some fans to such conclusions:

"Ciel:, you believed in us...Now it's our turn to show that your faith in us was not misplaced. Watch, I'll make this world a better place. One where humans and Reploids can walk hand in hand, living in peace. Just come back someday...I...I believe in you!"
 * Damsel in Distress: Played straight in the first, averted in the third.
 * Expy: Ciel has a very uncanny similarity, in appearances, background AND role, to Alia from the X series.
 * And done recursively when Alia gets a makeover to look more like Ciel...as well as other alterations, but that's irrelevant here.
 * As a scientist who strives to achieve peace between humans and robots and whose work left its mark on the future generations, she's also quite similar to Dr. Light.
 * Prairie in ZX is Ciel's expy, and almost definitely a character, probably, from this series as well.
 * Gadgeteer Genius: She built the Big Bad of the first game at the age of six (or nine, depending on who you ask). Moreover, she perfectly reproduced the base prototype. By comparison, every Maverick in the previous series came about precisely because they were flawed copies of the original. By the age of 15-16, she's working on free, clean energy for everyone.
 * Also, considering that she built the Big Bad, she was likely also something of a Wrench Wench before she moved on to energy research.
 * She also created an energy system to solve the energy crisis that is not only effective but just beautiful (take a look at the reactor of the Guardian airship from ZX!), and she made Biometals to match Master Albert's, but also added the dual Mega-Merge feature. It's All There In The Official Complete Works.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Hot Scientist: Of the Moe loli kind (YMMV for the latter, though).
 * Innocent Blue Eyes: In contrast to Zero's Midnight Blue Eyes.
 * It Runs in The Family: Her ancestress is the creator of The Messiah Mother Elf. And Ciel's main field of research is into energy involving cyber-elves. Do the math!
 * I Will Wait for You: Just read her Tear Jerker moment, adding this to the mix:

"Ciel: I'm happy that I could meet you... If it were not for you, everyone would be gone by now... Promise me that you will come back alive. Even if you cannot destroy Neo Arcadia, I just want you to be able to return safely."
 * That's the best example. Here's one of the earliest examples:


 * Japanese Pronouns: Uses watashi.
 * Late Arrival Spoiler: Later installments treat her connection to Copy-X as common knowledge, even though it's a late-game spoiler in the first game.
 * The Leader: Type IV and Type II.
 * Leitmotif: "Labo".
 * Image Song: "L'oiseau Du Bonheur".
 * The Messiah
 * Mission Control: Solo during the first game, accompanied by Operators from the second onwards.
 * Motherly Scientist: Cares very much about her Resistance members, and Alouette in particular, who considers Ciel her "big sis".
 * Non-Human Sidekick: Has one special Cyber-elf at the beginning of the series, before said elf sacrifices herself to revive Zero.
 * Not That Kind of Doctor
 * Parental Substitute: She's a mother figure to most of the younger La Résistance members, especially to Alouette.
 * Pursued Protagonist: At the beginning of the series; awakening Zero turns this into the Distressed Damsel scenario mentioned above.
 * Rapunzel Hair: The length of her hair is enough on the sprites, but the official artwork depicts it as even longer.
 * Rebel Leader
 * Reed Richards Is Useless: actually a subplot in the second game, Ciel stepping down from her position as Rebel Leader in order to try to fix the energy crisis that started the war in the first place.
 * Save Point: Her purpose in the game.
 * Say My Name: Ciel shouts out Zero's name at least three times. The last time she does it, it's a
 * Stay in the Kitchen: Twice, Zero refused to allow Ciel to accompany him on a mission. The first time was subverted when they reached a compromise (Ciel's expertise was extremely needed in that scenario) where Zero will use a Transserver to transport her straight to the location. Justified, however, since she is a squishy human while Zero is a war machine.
 * Teen Genius: Oh, yeah.
 * Voice with an Internet Connection
 * Yank the Dog's Chain: at the beginning of Zero 3, Ciel has finally finished the CIEL System, and has sent her research to Neo Arcadia, possibly opening up a chance for peace talks...and then Weil uses that information to spark another all-out war between the two sides.
 * You Monster!: She mentions after Zero stops Pegasolta Eclair from pouring acid rain on Area Zero that Weil's whole idea of Operation Ragnarok is so atrocious, she can't believe that he's even human.
 * You Monster!: She mentions after Zero stops Pegasolta Eclair from pouring acid rain on Area Zero that Weil's whole idea of Operation Ragnarok is so atrocious, she can't believe that he's even human.


 * Cerveau

"The world is too much for Ciel to bear alone... Take good care of her, Zero..."

The Resistance engineer. He gives Zero the Shield Boomerang and the Rod of the Week at the beginning of every game, except the fourth where he just gives him the Z-Knuckle. He also stores information disks for the player.

"Cerveau: Oh, you're awake. How do you feel? Cerveau: That's not true. You just stood up for your beliefs, just like we do. You've made no mistakes.
 * Expy: his role is essentially succeeded by Fleuve of Mega Man ZX.
 * Gadgeteer Genius
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Although in a subtle context, he performs one to, of all people.
 * Horrible. Just the thought of being helped by you makes me nauseous. Stripped of my position, and driven out of Neo Arcadia. I'm used goods...
 * My beliefs..."


 * Meaningful Name: His name means "brain". Fitting for a genius.
 * The Medic
 * Older Sidekick: to Ciel and maybe Zero (sorta), he's almost like a father to them, and acts like one. A Gadgeteer Genius on his own, but he plays second fiddle to Ciel, assisting (but not spearheading) her research.
 * Shipper on Deck: Just look at his quote.
 * Smart People Wear Glasses: looks like a bulkier version of Cyclops' own Cool Shades.
 * See-Thru Specs: only in Zero 1. Afterwards, it's turned into Opaque Lenses.


 * X

"I'll leave this world to you..."

- Voiced by Takahiro Mizushima

The previous hero Mega Man X is still around, but in the form of a Cyber-Elf. He returns the Z-Saber to Zero at the beginning of the first game, then shows up to be The Obi-Wan at random times. In the second game, it's revealed that he used his body to lock up the Dark Elf.

"X: I've cracked the Security system of the Trans Server...Now go...Terminate that copy of me...terminate with extreme prejudice..."
 * Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: That doesn't stop him from helping out the people he cares about, human and Reploid alike.
 * Asskicking Equals Authority: Not in-series, but his powerset is fairly well-known and he more or less fought the Elf Wars alone.
 * Barrier Maiden: he is
 * Big Good
 * Cannot Spit It Out: See Zero's Locked Out of the Loop entry above. X almost tells Zero this vital piece of information, but holds himself back instead, only confirming the truth once it has already surfaced.
 * Creepy Cool Crosses: His garb, see above.
 * Despair Event Horizon: It's implied that he got hit with this between his series and this series, specifically in the Elf Wars in which he fought most of it alone. The original concept was that he would lose all hope for human and reploid coexistence and begin the oppression and genocide of his descendant species, since they were incapable of living peacefully with humanity (this concept became Copy-X later). Fortunately he's still Genre Savvy enough to Take a Third Option and he chose to seal what caused the war, the Dark Elf. While most of his dialogue as a Cyber-Elf is fairly normal, there are a couple times when he implies his Ax Crazy/Blood Knight tendencies he's holding back, which is extremely jarring coming from a former Reluctant Warrior and poster android for Incorruptible Pure Pureness. The fact it could break The Messiah (a trope he fits, only without the Marty Stu aspects) shows how bad things really are.
 * Deus Exit Machina: Okay, so his physical body is busy, so no playable X, no Dr. Light capsules, whatever. He should still be able to manifest before his underlings as the acknowledged lord of Neo Arcadia and tell them to cut the crap. Copy-X's presence might have been the problem.
 * Energy Being
 * Expy: Has taken over Proto Man's role this time around. By the time the third game rolls around, he, like big brother Blues, is living on borrowed time...and probably gets the most focus he's ever gotten in a storyline. This isn't saying much.
 * The Faceless: Zero 2 onwards; prior to that, he's literally, and figuratively, a ball of light.
 * His sprite still has a definite face: It's just his dialogue picture that is only a glowing silhouette.
 * Fan Nickname: "The Blue Legend" sees its share of use.
 * He Who Fights Monsters: If his Tear Jerker dialogue was to be believed...in which case it would produce more tears, seeing as it's X...
 * Japanese Pronouns: Use boku.
 * Leitmotif: "Cyberelf".
 * Literal Genie: Thirty years of testing assured that he would never attack a human being. Confronted with the monster that is Weil, he takes this to the extreme, ensuring that no death will ever come to put an end to his suffering.
 * That's how much he really hates his clone.
 * That's how much he really hates his clone.


 * Mr. Exposition
 * The Obi-Wan: Right down to being a spirit.
 * Rogue Protagonist: Thankfully subverted, because of the Executive Meddling in the X series; he's supposed to be the Big Bad, but then a copy took up the role.
 * Sealed Inside a Person Shaped Can: Technically speaking again.
 * Spirit Advisor
 * Split At Birth: A variation - according to the Official Complete Works, this is how the 4 Guardians came to be.
 * Take Up My Sword: X asks Zero to continue the battle for peace. Taken literally in the first game, where X gives Zero a sword in the first Boss fight, only it was actually Zero's own Z-saber.
 * Passing the Torch: Since Zero, as of the end of Z3,, X decided to make it official before "finally retiring to Cyberspace".
 * Passing the Torch: Since Zero, as of the end of Z3,, X decided to make it official before "finally retiring to Cyberspace".


 * The Resistance

Not just a character, but a whole lot of characters. The characters within La Résistance are worth mentioning enough.


 * The Alliance: Minor example, used to avert Remember the New Guy?: after the damage done by Neo Arcadia's forces in the first game, the remains of Zero's allies have merged with another Resistance group (or maybe more than one), increasing their numbers drastically. Not that it helps.
 * Base on Wheels: In Zero 4.
 * Big Eater: Hibou consumes E-crystals, possibly the Reploids' equivalent to energy foods, to no end. He is actually a hard worker, though...
 * Or at least when he's trying to impress someone, or if the situation is serious.
 * Bratty Half-Pint: Subverted with Alouette and Perroquiet. Played straight with Menart.
 * Bridge Bunnies: Rouge and Jaune. The Lower Deck Episode in the third game's soundtrack reveals they are sort of Red Oni, Blue Oni, with Rouge being serious and formal and Jaune being more relaxed.
 * Elaborate Underground Base: In Zero 1.
 * Expy: Prairie and Fleuve, for Ciel and Cerveau respectively.
 * Eyes Always Shut: Autruche.
 * Five-Man Band: The setup of Zero 4:
 * The Hero: Zero.
 * The Lancer: Arguably Hirondelle (appearance-wise, anyway).
 * The Smart Guy: Both Cerveau and Ciel.
 * The Big Guy: Faucon, with a BFG to boot.
 * The Chick/Team Mom: Ciel
 * Mission Control: Rouge
 * Tagalong Kid: Alouette
 * Team Pet: Croire
 * Arguably, the roles could be mixed up, with Ciel being the heroine (for her messianic tendencies) and Zero is still The Lancer (remember his famous speech?).
 * Give Me Your Inventory Item: in Zero 4, Hirondelle will ask for two S-crystals from Zero in exchange for his Sub-Tanks.
 * Gratuitous English: The Resistance are called "Resistance", even in Japan.
 * Hello, Insert Name Here: The name of Zero 4's cyber-elf, but subverted; the choices are pre-determined, and all you have to do is ask one of the members for it. Plus, due to the theme of the game, Croire (Believe in French) is the default one.
 * I Was Quite a Looker: Andrew; he's supposedly a living Shout-Out to Bicentennial Man.
 * Japanese Pronouns: Alouette, Jaune and Rouge uses watashi. Andrew uses washi.
 * Kid Sidekick: Alouette, and, to a lesser extent Perroquiet, serve this role to Ciel.
 * Hair of Gold: Alouette.
 * Empathy Doll Shot: during Neo Arcadia's raid on the Resistance Base in Zero 1. However, it turns out that Alouette just left it behind when they were trying to evacuate.
 * Iconic Item: The stuffed toy made especially for her by Ciel.
 * Shipper on Deck: Slightly hints at supporting Zero/Ciel.
 * Nerd Glasses: Perroquiet, full stop.
 * Gadgeteer Genius: Really, is there anyone else in La Résistance who's not a genius?
 * Knowledge Broker: Hirondelle.
 * La Résistance: Well, duh...
 * Last Bastion: The Resistance functions as this.
 * Lower Deck Episode: One portion of the drama tracks depict Alouette's interactions with others in the La Résistance Base. (Link here.)
 * Mayfly-December Romance: Happens to Andrew, an old Reploid who married with a human woman in his backstory.
 * The Medic: Rocinolle; if things are beyond her expertise, it's left to Cerveau though.
 * Names to Know in Anime
 * Megumi Ogata and Yuka Imai: Jaune and Rouge, respectively.
 * Ryo Hirohashi: Alouette in one of the dramas.
 * Wataru Takagi: Milan.
 * Put on a Bus: Reversed in fourth game. It's the main characters (the ones in the Five-Man Band above) who are put on a bus (truck, actually) yet the rest that remained in the base are written off the script (with only Jaune getting a minor screentime somewhere in the game).
 * Rambling Old Man Monologue: Andrew can lapse into this. Poor Alouette had to listen to his monologues once when all she wanted was to ask him for names for the baby elves.
 * Redshirt Army
 * Body Horror: In the introduction of the first game, several of Ciel's companions were cut in half by Golem's lasers. Even worse in the original versions, with tons of blood spilling out.
 * The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified: *Most* of them are only fighting Neo Arcadia for their own survival. Aside from this, Ciel also sees the group as a means to help anyone in need, regardless of affiliation with their enemies or gratitude (Harpuia and the Caravan, respectively).
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Despite the katakana reading for the old man Reploid's name being Andoryuu (i.e. "Andrew"), it's officially "Andre".
 * Theme Naming: Most of the Reploids are named after French birds. To drive the point home, Ciel ("sky") was the one who named them.
 * The Bridge Bunnies Rouge and Jaune are named based on their hair colors instead (Rouge is red, Jaune is yellow).
 * Turned Against Their Masters: Downplayed - The reploids in the Resistance technically rebelled from the human society in Neo Arcadia, but it's because of the Reploid-cide order of Copy-X (because of energy crisis, but still). They're rarely hostile, either.


 * Copy X

"This is something that you and the original X could never create... Only I could do this!"

- Voiced by Yuka Imai

The ruler of Neo Arcadia during Zero and Zero 3, with the role of Big Bad Ciel made him as a supposedly perfect copy of the original X; shame she didn't do that little 30 years of ethical testing bit. X's directive was to make Neo Arcadia a paradise for humans, which he did by the simple expedient of trashing Reploids for the littlest things on the pretense of being Mavericks. Basically, X as a crazy Knight Templar. Before beating the crap out of him, Zero informs him that he'll never be as strong as X because X had something to fight for. In Zero 3, Dr. Weil builds another Copy X as a figurehead to control Neo Arcadia and the Guardians.

"Zero: He's not as naive as you are. That's what made him a hero."
 * Arm Cannon: Of course.
 * Beam Spam: In his One-Winged Angel, and how!
 * Big Bad: First game.
 * Beta Test Baddie: However, he thinks of himself as superior to X.
 * Cloning Blues
 * Computer Voice: His voice has flanging while other Reploids have human-sounding voices.
 * : Assumes the long-running series "tradition" in Z3.
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: See A Nazi by Any Other Name.
 * El Cid Ploy: He himself is the ploy, and Harpuia later makes a ploy in his stead.
 * Evil Knockoff: Although his creator never intended for him to be evil in the first place.
 * Expy: many fans think that Copy X's One-Winged Angel is the inspiration for, thanks to the fact that Zero 1 was released before the game.
 * Fake King
 * Fake Ultimate Hero: He thinks himself better than both X and Zero. Zero disagrees.


 * Final Boss: In Zero 1.
 * Fire, Ice, Lightning: He can change his elemental powers via Palette Swaps: Blue is Non-Elemental, Red is Fire, Light Blue/Lavender is Ice, and Green is Lightning.
 * Giant Hands of Doom: In his second form.
 * Heal Thyself: His special ability in Zero 1 (if your rank is A or S) is creating a Pillar of Light that will shield him as well as healing one bar of life. In Zero 3, he does this regardless of your rank. He must be using a Sub-Tank.
 * Insistent Terminology: He's a perfect copy of the legendary X. As a perfect copy, he's incapable of making mistakes and every decision he makes is right by the virtue of being a perfect copy and shouldn't be questioned by anyone.
 * Japanese Pronouns: Uses boku.
 * Knight Templar
 * Larynx Dissonance
 * Legacy Character: Arguably, since he doesn't hold much of the ideals of the character he inherited his legacy from.
 * Leitmotif: "X, The Legend".
 * Light Is Not Good: Adding to his angel motif.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: "Noun X" version.
 * A Nazi by Any Other Name: Lets see, he instituted various racist and genocidal policies against Reploids, supposedly for the betterment of Neo Arcadia, and yet he himself is also a Reploid as well? And later on becomes somewhat nuts upon his return? Gee, that sounds like a certain German dictator during World War II...
 * Obliviously Evil: Par for the course for a Knight Templar. However, that's just from the perspective of the innocent Reploids. The human populace does see him as a savior.
 * One-Winged Angel: And how! Ciel must have thrown in some upgrades.
 * Power Gives You Wings: 6 wings. His first form also has many wings all over his body that do nothing. Only the ones on his back might actually be useful.
 * Clipped-Wing Angel: Literally, after his first defeat.
 * Orcus on His Throne: In both of his appearances. With the firepower he possesses, the "war" (barely counts as one until Zero arrived) against La Résistance would've been over a long time ago.
 * Powered Armor: But of course.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: His Zero 3 clone has Blue Eyes, but goes back to red when he activates his Powered Armor.
 * Replacement Goldfish: For X. Suffice it to say it didn't work out as intended.
 * Rings of Death: In his One-Winged Angel, that can be used to entrap Zero.
 * Slouch of Villainy: In Zero 3.
 * Speech Impediment: He sp-speaks th-this way post-resurrection. That's p-possibly the clue that h-he Came Back Wrong.
 * Electronic Speech Impediment: When dying, he also exhibits the "dying record" form of this.
 * Stationary Wings: In both of his forms.
 * Taking You with Me: Pulls this in the first game by blowing up the Tower you're in after losing.
 * Token Evil Teammate: He's the only antagonist of the first game that's a true villain. Even then, he's more of a Well-Intentioned Extremist, with the caveat that how good his intentions really are is very subjective.
 * Transformation Is a Free Action: The original X only summoned his armor at the beginning of a level or in the privacy of a capsule - this guy talks smack for several sentences and THEN summons it. At no point can Zero run over and slash the hell out of him for being so stupid.
 * Unwitting Pawn: Copy X Mk. II tries to rehash the original copy's One-Winged Angel trick when defeated, but ends up destroyed by a planted bomb and furthering Weil's plan, even in Zero's victory; so, Zero was right, he is naive.
 * Utopia Justifies the Means: He's built a paradise for humans on the remains of the countless Reploids he's scrapped.
 * Villain with Good Publicity: Despite his many, many atrocities, the people of Neo Arcadia adore him, though, to be fair to him, he is technically doing his job to "protect humans."


 * Sage Harpuia

"...We, the Reploids of Neo Arcadia... We are defenders of humanity. The only justice here."

- Voiced by Megumi Ogata

Called Kenshou ("Wise General") Harpuia in Japan. The Guardian of Wind. He's a military general of Neo Arcadia, commanding the Rekku Army (literally Army of the Fierce Sky), Neo Arcadia's military air force. He seems to have a lot of respect for Zero, and Zero likewise for him. By the start of Zero 2, he beings having doubts over whether the comfort of humans is worth the lives of reploids. He and his siblings help Zero defeat Omega once and for all at the end of Zero 3. In many ways like a meaner X in personality.

"However the future hidden in the shadows beyond the door may turn out. Wind drives away the fog, fire shows the road. Water enriches the body, and shadow reflects oneself... By the four heavens, we will become a light to guide the world! Master X... For humans' sake, we can continue to fight. Even if it means our lives are exhausted as an offering for justice."
 * Adopt the Dog: Tied with his Character Development in Zero 2. Commonly associated with sparing an incapacitated Zero after the intro stage (though that could just as easily be his innately honorable nature kicking in). Other moments include The Reveal of his true feelings about the war and his ultimate decision that protecting civilians is more important than fighting the resitance.
 * Anti-Villain: Type IV.
 * Attack Drone: Can release several funnel-like devices that act like tasers.
 * Badass Creed: He has one in the drama tracks:


 * Badass Long Robe: Accompanying his siblings and X in a non-canon drama track.
 * Battle Aura: In his Desperation Attack, if you have the A or S rank.
 * Blood Knight: After their first fight in 2, he admits that he feels most alive while fighting Zero. Is considerably more benign than most blood knights, and tends to keep his fighting spirit in check when there are more important matters to attend to; he only fights Zero when it's necessary, and he loves the moment, but he isn't much longing for it.
 * Blow You Away/Shock and Awe: Though for gameplay purposes the Shock and Awe is the real indication of his place in the Fire, Ice, Lightning pecking order.
 * Wind Is Green: He's coloured green and he uses wind attacks.
 * Character Development: Was once a loyal right-hand man of a Knight Templar before maturing into a morally conflicted Hero Antagonist that starts to believe that humans and Reploids can in fact coexist with each other peacefully, but is still willing to eliminate those who threaten the humans he protects. In other words, he is essentially X himself, without the pacifistic tendencies.
 * Dragon Ascendant: Became leader of Neo Arcadia in Copy-X's "absence".
 * Dual-Wielding: One of the poster boys. With Laser Blades, no less.
 * Expy: It's commonly believed in fanon that he was based on the latter's flight-based armors (particularly the Falcon Armor of X5).
 * By being a prideful, honorable and respectful "villain" who's a bit misguided, he evokes Colonel of X. Their other similarities include thinking the hero Zero as their Rival, as well as similar attacks - a triple Sword Beam attack and a lightning-summoning attack.
 * Facial Markings
 * Good Is Not Nice: Type 6 and Type 3 . Whenever he's shown as being nice, it's only to his siblings (and it's even just relative to his other situations).
 * George Jetson Job Security/You Have Failed Me: Due to his failure to stop Zero and retrieve the Dark Elf, and most certainly due Weil's machinations, Harpuia, alongside a currently-comatose Fefnir and Leviathan, ends up being stripped of his rank by Copy X Mk II.
 * Harping on About Harpies: He's based on this.
 * Hero Antagonist: Really just an honest guy trying to protect humanity.
 * Heroic BSOD: Harpuia has one after
 * Japanese Pronouns: Uses ore. Probably used so the viewers can identify his gender (he's based on a Harpy and voiced by a woman, after all).
 * Also the in-game text never used a pronoun to address him until halfway through Zero 3.
 * Larynx Dissonance
 * Leitmotif: "X, The Legend".
 * Mercy Kill: Averted. Harpuia, at one point, asks for Zero to "terminate" him, but Zero hesitates, allowing the influence to trigger Harpuia's One-Winged Angel form.
 * My Country, Right or Wrong: Does not like the situation he's in as stated in Zero 2, but he has a job that he has to do, namely protecting humans. Too bad the definition of Maverick has become distorted.
 * Noble Top Enforcer
 * Not So Different: From Ciel, given his goals albeit with different means. Also with Zero, for different reasons.
 * One-Winged Angel: Gets one in the second game, turning him into a sort of plane-hawk hybrid thing. Perhaps as a nod to , it's something of a Clipped-Wing Angel, being significantly easier to beat than Harpuia's normal form.
 * Pride: His fatal flaw.
 * Properly Paranoid: He, for good reason, does not trust Weil in Zero 3.
 * Shout-Out: In the newly released Mega Man 9, one of the Robot Masters, Tornado Man, resembles him in appearance and basic powers.
 * Stab the Sky: A variant: he lifts both of his swords upward and crosses them, emitting lightning sparks. Then lightning strikes come from the sky, trying to hit you.
 * Strange Bedfellows: Along with his siblings, helping Zero against Omega in Zero 3.
 * Sword Beam: Lives it.
 * Sword Pointing: His Desperation Attack (at 0:32) involves this, albeit aimed lower at an angle, as he's floating high on the air.
 * Tragic Hero: Given his goals aren't so different from Ciel and Zero, the irony of his situation is cruel.
 * The Worf Effect: Was only subjected to this halfway after his siblings.
 * Part of that being from a tactical blunder via attempting a charged attack without a proper opening.
 * Would Not Shoot a Civilian: Determined to capture Ciel unharmed and let the authorities deal with her as she is still a non combatant.
 * Worthy Opponent


 * Fighting Fefnir

"I never expected you to be this good... You are amazing, and that is what excites me the most!"

- Voiced by Kazuya Nakai

Called Toushou ("Fighter General") Fafnir in Japan. The Guardian of Fire. He is the leader of Neo Arcadia's Jin'en Gundan ("Army of Ash Flames"). One of the poster boys for Hot-Blooded, Fefnir never, ever turns down a chance to fight Zero. The one time he did, it only served to underscore just how powerful the immediate enemy was. He's very rarely malicious to Zero, he just wants a good fight, and the legendary hero Zero's the only one who can give it to him.

": Hey, Zero! I'll get you one of these days! Don't you dare die before then, Zero!"
 * Anti-Villain: Type IV.
 * Badass Long Robe: Accompanying his siblings and X in a non-canon drama track.
 * Battle Aura: In his Desperation Attack, if you have the A or S rank.
 * BFG: The four guns on his One-Winged Angel form in Zero 2. His regular form has a suitably large cannon, too, and he can split it in half for his Desperation Attack.
 * Blood Knight
 * Expy: It's commonly believed in fanon that he was based on the latter's power-based Gaea Armor from X5.
 * Facial Markings
 * Ground Pound: One of his primary attacks; the battle in Zero 2 includes some variations as well.
 * Guns Akimbo: Averted. Fefnir can split his BFG in half, but he'll only do so for his Desperation Attack, and even then he isn't aiming at all.
 * Hand Cannon: Literally. Appropriately, he does the most damage of any Guardian.
 * Hero Antagonist
 * Hot-Blooded
 * Japanese Pronouns: Uses ore. Fitting for a battle-crazy guy like him.
 * Leitmotif: "X, The Legend".
 * One-Winged Angel: In the second game, he gets to turn into a flame-spewing tank.
 * Advancing Boss of Doom: He keeps chasing you from the right.
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You


 * Playing with Fire
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: Counter example. They're merely a marker for his elemental powers.
 * Shoulders of Doom
 * Spell My Name with an "S": It's "Fafnir" in the Japanese version and "Fefnir" in the English version.
 * Fefnir may be a typo, since Fafnir is the name of a dragon from Norse Mythology.
 * Or just plain Engrish.
 * Theme Naming: Said cannons are named Sodom and Gomorrah.
 * The War Sequence: What first introduced him.
 * The Worf Effect: Four times, he fought Zero in near-equal strength, yet he easily falls to a literal sucker punch by Omega.
 * Though we don't know how long the battle had been going on beforehand.
 * Worthy Opponent


 * Fairy Leviathan

"I have been looking forward to seeing you. I can't wait to see their faces when they find out that it was I who retired you!"

- Voiced by Yuka Imai

Called Youshou ("Siren General") Leviathan in Japan. The Guardian of Ice. She's a military general of Neo Arcadia, commanding the Meikai Army (literally Army of the Dark Oceans), Neo Arcadia's military navy force. Like Fefnir, Leviathan loves fighting Zero, but she's not as enthusiastic about it...or at least, not in the same way. She always refers to it as "playing" with Zero, and downright pouts if she isn't allowed to do so. Her signature weapon is an ice halberd.


 * An Ice Person/Making a Splash
 * Fridge Logic: She's weak against fire, which is sensible since her element is ice, but she's always fought underwater. The heat still destroys her ice-based attacks if she's hit in the middle of summoning them.
 * Anti-Villain: Type IV.
 * Badass Long Robe: Accompanying her siblings and X in a non-canon drama track.
 * Battle Aura: In her Desperation Attack, if you have the A or S rank.
 * Blade on a Stick: Her halberd.
 * Blood Knight: She outright stated she didn't care if the world ended, as long as she got to fight Zero.
 * Detached Sleeves
 * Everything's Better with Spinning: Leviathan does a lot of whirling and twisting with that spear of hers.
 * Girlish Pigtails
 * Hero Antagonist
 * In Love with Your Carnage: She is this, to Zero.
 * Leitmotif: "X, The Legend"
 * The Nicknamer: Leviathan called her siblings a "pretty boy" and a "battle nerd" in the first game. It isn't necessarily clear who she was referring to, but the "pretty boy" is most likely Harpuia and "battle nerd" is Fefnir.
 * One-Winged Angel: In the second game. She transforms into something vaguely resembling a manta ray.
 * Opposite Sex Clone: Well, she is based on X, after all...
 * Robot Girl: Of course.
 * Shout-Out: Like Harpuia, she got one in Mega Man 9: Splash Woman.
 * The Smurfette Principle: The only female within Four Guardians.
 * Warmup Boss: In the first game, she is arguably the easiest of the four Guardians. She makes up for it later, while Fefnir actually got somewhat weaker.
 * The Worf Effect: In the same boat as Fefnir.
 * Worthy Opponent: Noticing a pattern here?
 * Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Discussed - she tells Zero not to hold back just because she's a girl in their first meeting, then accuses him of doing so when she isn't immediately killed by his final strike. This is of course Gameplay and Story Segregation: you (the player) were no doubt trying to do that, but if you fought a Guardian before her, you knew it wouldn't end that way.


 * Hidden Phantom

"Every generation has its legend. However, a lost legend should remain lost...Allow me to show you why!"

- Voiced by Tetsu Inada

Called Inshou ("Shadow General") Phantom in Japan. Guardian of Shadows. Phantom was the leader of the Zan'ei Army (Zan'ei Gundan, "Cutting Shadow Squadron"), specializing in intelligence and infiltration missions. Phantom blew himself up at the end of Zero, made a cameo in Zero 3, and was otherwise unheard from until ZX. However, his apprentice, Tech Kraken, joined up with Weil specifically to get revenge on Zero for killing his master.

"You truly did...have the soul of a hero...go...cross blades with Omega, and show what that body can do! Will your blade flinch after you know the truth? Do you have what it takes...to be a hero? You must be the one to determine that!"
 * All There in the Manual: His title and apprearance of his armed phenomenon.
 * Anti-Villain: Type IV.
 * Battle Aura: In his Desperation Attack, if you have the A or S rank. He doesn't use it in Z3, though, as he has no Desperation Attack this time.
 * Bonus Boss: In Z3.
 * Collapsing Lair: Subverted. Phantom took back a factory that the Resistance invaded in an earlier mission, and set bombs all over the place before engaging Zero. The mission after defeating Phantom? Defuse the bombs.
 * Dare to Be Badass: This speech after fighting Zero as a Bonus Boss:


 * Dark Is Not Evil: Even though the database in Zero 3 described him as an "evil Dark Lord", which might be just a translation error. In fact, barring Harpuia, Phantom is also one of the most honorable antagonists in the series.
 * Detached Sleeves
 * Doppelganger Spin: And if you hit the wrong one he'll pounce on your head to punish you.
 * Expy: It's believed in fanon that he was based on the latter's stealth-based Shadow Armor from X6.
 * Fuuma Shuriken: One of his more memorable attacks. He can use it as a Floating Platform.
 * Hero Antagonist
 * Infinity Plus One Boots: The reward for taking him out in Zero 3 gives the abilities of every other Foot part at once.
 * Japanese Pronouns: Uses ware. Which is quite appopriate considering he's a (blindly) loyal ninja.
 * Leitmotif: "X, The Legend"
 * Magical Database: A Cyberspace version, where he's been spending his time after his death,
 * Mask Power
 * My Master, Right or Wrong: Out of all the Guardians, he's the most loyal to Copy X, to the point that he chose to die (and try to bring Zero with him) rather then accept that Copy X was wrong.
 * Odd Name Out: the rest of the Guardians are named from classical Mythology (Greek, Biblical, Norse).
 * Robot Ninja Ghost
 * Scarf of Asskicking
 * Secret Test of Character: When he reappears as a Bonus Boss in Zero 3, he has learned through his time in Cyberspace Phantom decided to test Zero's worth in battle to see if Zero can still be the hero that he is,
 * Strength Equals Worthiness: Of course, Zero already beat him. Twice. What was he going to prove that he hadn't already?
 * Shout-Out: He takes the name, the mask and the scarf from The Phantom of the Opera.
 * Stab the Sky: In his Desperation Attack.
 * Stealth Pun: his return as a Virtual Ghost. Cringe-worthy if you still need an explanation for this.
 * Taking You with Me: In his second battle with Zero, killing him results him giving you the middle finger by releasing an explosion which causes moderate damage, potentially resulting in a Kaizo Trap. It can reach across about half the screen, but can also be dodged.
 * Undying Loyalty: The most loyal of the Guardians to Copy X. Ironically, he dies because of it.
 * What Could Have Been: His One-Winged Angel form.
 * Worthy Opponent: Though arguably less so than the other Guardians.

Introduced in Zero 2

 * The Dark Elf

"Zero... When she was born, she had a mission to save the world..."

Originally born as a Cyber Elf that could alter the programming of Reploids. Dr. Weil edited her programming, causing as yet unrevealed chaos and setting off the Elf Wars, events that are likewise currently unelaborated-on. Basically, shrouded in mystery. At the end of Zero 2, she briefly returns to her original state as the "Mother Elf" and causes Elpizo to be reborn as a Cyber Elf, also freed of his insanity. She also appears to know Zero.


 * Apocalypse Maiden
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Not seen again since Zero 3.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: Really, she only wants to be left alone.
 * Energy Being
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * Heel Face Revolving Door: Her original purpose was as a force for good, to purge reploids of the Maverick Virus, but Dr. Weil corrupted her. By the end of Zero 3, she's back to being good.
 * Leitmotif: "Darkelf".
 * One-Winged Angel: Both she and her kids can cause this state in anyone.
 * Say My Name: In the third game, she shouts "Zeeeeeeerrooooo" once, in the Oceanic Highway Ruins stage.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: Sort of. At last count, it's Sealed Good In An Evil Can, itself Sealed In A Good Can.
 * Super Prototype


 * Elpizo

" A world without humans...the world only for Reploids...don't you think it will be paradise!?"

- Voiced by Tsutomu Kashiwakura

The commander of the Resistance in Zero 2, as well as the villain. Elpizo ordered a frontal assault on Neo Arcadia, assuming that the capitol was defenseless in Copy X's absence. However, all of the Resistance soldiers involved in the attack were slaughtered by the Guardians and Elpizo himself was curb-stomped by Harpuia. After that, Elpizo snapped and tried to free the Dark Elf, thinking he was too weak and that he could free the Reploids by just gaining power. In the end,

"My name is really... Elpis! I am the one who was chosen to become the hope of all the Repliroids being oppressed in Neo Arcadia! To do that, Baby Elves, I'll need your... your power! That's right... power... more power!!"
 * All There in the Manual: The drama tracks that accompany the Zero 3 remaster album elaborate on his past as a Reploid named TK-31.
 * Anticlimax Boss: He's somewhat easier than most people thought, especially since he's fought after the climax. And his second form is arguably even easier.
 * Badass Longcoat
 * Big Bad: Of the second game.
 * Call Forward: In "Record2_Irregular Passion", the radio drama that serves as Elpizo's Start of Darkness. The last line is Elpizo's cry of "More POWER!!" (Motto CHIKARA O!!), which he screams fairly often during the final boss battle against him.
 * Dark Messiah: Judging from his quote from the drama tracks:


 * Destined Bystander: His role as Big Bad happens only after halfway through the game.
 * Drunk on the Dark Side: When he goes One-Winged Angel. And how!
 * Failure Is the Only Option: The latter half of Zero 2 involves trying to catch up to him. Guess what happens every time.
 * Face Heel Turn: After his failure of Operation Righteous Strike, he decides that getting a great source of power (in this case, Baby Elves) will help him destroy Neo Arcadia, and then he becomes the Big Bad.
 * Final Boss: In Zero 2.
 * Ironic Echo: The above quote sounds a lot like something Iris would say, doesn't it?
 * Though Elpizo puts much more emphasis on the "no humans" thing: While Iris merely favored a seperate world, Elpizo...well, see below.
 * Japanese Pronouns: Uses watashi, in line with his tendency to sound passive-aggressive.
 * Kill All Humans: His motive.
 * The Leader: In Zero 2. He's Type I with shades of Type III.
 * Leitmotif: "Combustion".
 * Meaningful Name: His name in Japan, Elpis, means "hope" in Greek. He renamed himself after Project Elpis, a project that revolves around creating a special reploid to become a perfect ruler and "savior" (courtesy of Dr. Weil). See also Dark Messiah above.
 * One-Winged Angel: The final boss standard.
 * The Paragon Always Rebels: He was the Resistance commander before he failed the Operation Righteous Strike, and then he becomes the Big Bad.
 * Peek-a-Bangs: Amazingly carries on to all three of his forms (normal, powered up, and One-Winged Angel).
 * Prophetic Name: Invoked by renaming himself after the project that created the Mother Elf.
 * Redemption Equals Death: He thinks this is the only option for him after Zero defeats him, until the Dark Elf turns him into a Cyber Elf, much to his thanks.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes go from blue to red after fusing with the Dark Elf.
 * Royal Rapier: Laser Blade variant.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Elpizo was named "Elpis" in the Japanese version. The "-zo" may be an attempt to make the name masculine; Elpis was a female Greek deity.
 * Stab the Sky: One of his attacks involves this.
 * Survivor Guilt: Contributed to his Face Heel Turn.
 * Unwitting Pawn:, though it could also be a coincidence.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Perroquiet points out that his intentions are similar to Sigma's.
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity


 * Baby Elves



Creer and Prier (Crea and Prea in localized versions) are two Cyberelves, under the same influence the Dark Elf is under. They are searching for their mother (Dark Elf) and in Zero 2 convince Elpizo to help free her. When Zero 3 comes around, Dr. Weil convinces them he is their grandfather, and he wants to "help" the search. They fight Zero a few times in Zero 3. They are able to forcibly mutate reploids into their One-Winged Angel forms and provided a mini boss battle, by mutating a regular enemy.


 * Alternate Character Interpretation: In-universe. Most of the Resistance, Ciel and Alouette especially, think they're cute little bundles of energy that hold the key to ending the war. However, Zero finds them unsettling, and they openly hate him for his part in banishing the Dark Elf. They are also the spawn of a Heel Face Revolving Door Hate Plague. Nobody compares notes.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy: What they can do to any Reploid they possess.
 * Chekhov's Gun: One of the twins is first found inside a container in Ciel's room at the beginning of Zero 2, while the other one is a McGuffin in an earlier mission.
 * Dual Boss: compared to other examples, however, they're actually really easy; for starters, they share a life bar. But not Mercy Invincibility.
 * Energy Being
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * Half Identical Twin
 * Horrible Judge of Character: Dr. Weil convinces them he is their grandfather, and he wants to help them find their mother. Also, he asks them to harass Zero a few times 'cause he's a big meanie head.
 * Infant Immortality: Averted.
 * Ironic Nickname: More like ironic real names, but otherwise fits. The irony doesn't just come from the names; Alouette named them "Create" and "Pray" based on her hopes on them ("Please create a new energy source for us... Please let my prayers reach them..." See Lower Deck Episode above). Guess what they used to do long ago? Also, in the third game, Zero killed them. One wonders what will Alouette say after this...
 * Leitmotif: "Creer and Prier".
 * Repeat What You Just Said: Sort of. Before that, all they say is "MEEEE!"
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Creer and Prier in Japanese, Crea and Prea in English.
 * Theme Twin Naming: French for "create" and "pray". In the drama track "Diary_Alouette's Good Day", where Alouette wanders the base gathering suggestions for names, those suggestions include: Plus and Minus, Anode and Cathode, Crime and Punish, Love and Peace, Azul Luna and Rojo Sol, Blanc and Noir, and Hypnos and Thanatos.

Introduced in Zero 3

 * Dr. Weil

"Fools must live under my rule and my rule alone! Ware ga akuma da!"

- Voiced by Chikao Ohtsuka

Vile in Japanese (Not to be confused with Vile of Mega Man X, himself known as Vava in Japan), the primary Big Bad of the series as of the third game. A century before the series began he left to wander the ruins of the world due to his role in starting an prolonging that little Elf Wars fiasco. Unfortunately, no one bargained on him coming back, and once he did, he set back to work, first building Copy X Mk. II, then using Omega and the Dark Elf to mass-control the Reploids. When all that fails (Omega finally destroyed and the Dark Elf now free), he shifted his fury to the citizens of Neo Arcadia. When the Neo Arcadians started fleeing the city, he executed the Ragnarok Plan. He was finally destroyed at the hands of Zero,

"Dr. Weil: Hehehehe... How pitiful. Of course, a Reploid like you would never understand. The joy of ruling all that you see... Only a human could possibly understand! Zero: A...human? Dr. Weil: That's right! I'm a bona fide human. The creator of Reploids... A human being! Zero: ... Dr. Weil: The desire for power. The joy of making everything work for you. You have no way of experiencing this without a human brain. It's the ultimate joy! No mere Reploid could ever understand! Zero: I bet most decent humans wouldn't understand, either. You look just like another Maverick, to me. All I gotta do is dispose of you like any other Maverick."
 * Zero-Percent Approval Rating: When he shows what a tyrant he is (after the third game, although some of the drama tracks imply that even in the story of the third game, his approval rating was very low even when he was allowed back in by Copy X Mk II). To the point that some of the Neo Arcadian citizens (who's brave enough to do so, anyway) starts to run away from him, seeking a better place. Weil's solution? Destroy that better place. Not only is he making things worse for himself, but
 * Justified. See Dystopia Justifies the Means.
 * Actor Allusion: This isn't the first time one of Chikao Ohtsuka's characters attempted to send a Kill Sat space station into a Colony Drop on Earth.
 * Ambition Is Evil: He states that lust for power, ruling over everything, as well as controlling everyone is the ultimate joy in his Hannibal Lecture to Zero just before the latter fights Omega in Zero 3. He also implies that all of humanity shares this mindset and not Reploids, to which Zero counters by stating that he doubts any decent human would even understand Weil, either.

"Weil: Hehehe... That's the face... The face of rage, suffering and humiliation... It's my greatest pleasure... A pleasure only a ruler can fully appreciate!"
 * And I Must Scream: Not that bad, unless you are forever exiled from the last inhabitable place on Earth, yeah...
 * Flying Dutchman: Of the "Men Without A Country" variety.
 * Arch Enemy: He and Zero have quite a personal history, detailed in the drama tracks telling the events of the Elf Wars, where Ironically,
 * And they
 * Artificial Limbs: His full body.
 * Ax Crazy: He enjoyed the Elf Wars' carnage, he intended to build a Kill Sat to subjugate Neo Arcadia, and he was more than willing to personally see to it that Ragnarok (the aforementioned Kill Sat) crashes into Area Zero under the firm belief that he would survive the crash.
 * Big Bad: He's responsible for everything bad that's happened in the Zero series.
 * The Caligula: He succeeds upon gaining power to force the residents of Neo Arcadia to live in a Crapsack World with virtually no hope of freedom or happiness, and he is evidentally very much insane.
 * Card-Carrying Villain: He's definitely one villain that isn't played for laughs, and he actually succeeds in achieving all three spheres, albeit at different points in his lifetime. Can count as a deconstruction, because it shows that this trope can be terrifying if brought into its logical conclusion. In order:
 * Destruction: The Elf Wars, definitely the series' answer to the Endofthe World As We Know It. And then again in Zero 4,.
 * Control: Halfway through Zero 3.
 * Corruption: As
 * The Chessmaster
 * Complete Monster: See the Freudian Excuse, Hypocrite, It's All About Me, and Lack of Empathy entries for more details.
 * Invoked In-Universe by Ciel in Zero 4 while meditating on the nature of Weil's Operation Ragnarok, after Zero defeated Pegasolta Eclair, wondering if he could possibly still be human after all the crap he did.
 * Zero's conviction that Weil must die if Ciel's dream of peace is to be realized is played as the climax of his Character Development. Redemption is completely off the table.
 * The Devil Am I: A translation of one of his quotes.
 * Diabolus Ex Machina: The plot of Zero 4 is basically one of these that benefits him.
 * He himself acts as one that pretty much ruins the peace through science that Ciel was working so hard to obtain (and nearly won with the Ciel system by the intro of Zero 3).
 * Dystopia Justifies the Means: Upon becoming the ruler of Neo Arcadia, he strives upon bringing suffering and despair to its citizens with his iron-fist rule, to take revenge on them because of what they've done to him . He also admits that he genuinely enjoyed the destruction caused by the Elf Wars.
 * Emperor Scientist: He becomes this halfway through Zero 3.
 * Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Weil is really, really bad about underestimating Zero, twice (thrice if one counts ).
 * Most noticably is his inability to think that a robot would try to kill a human. Clearly he doesn't realise that Zero doesn't consider himself a hero, and being a Reploid, Zero has no reason not to kill. Then again, he's probably just using it as an excuse for his ego.
 * Evil Chancellor: Before usurping Neo Arcadia's leadership position.
 * Evil Laugh: He abuses the hell out of this one...
 * It also borderlines Laughing Mad.
 * Evil Plan: His plans to usurp Copy X's throne in Zero 3:
 * 1) He resurrected and possibly reprogrammed Copy X, so he can earn his trust and become his Evil Chancellor.
 * 2) He later suggested that Copy X strip the remaining Four Guardians from their positions as Neo Arcadian Generals and name him their replacement.
 * 3) Later, it was revealed that Weil had built a booby trap upon Copy X's body that activated when he tried to go One-Winged Angel. After Copy X's death, Weil can easily become the ruler by law. Additionally, he tells the Neo Arcadian citizens that Zero kills their former "savior" and that Weil will take the Resistance down, spreading the bad propaganda even further. Nice job breaking it, Zero.
 * Arguably it started even earlier, if the post credits scene in Zero 2 is anything to go by.
 * In Zero 4, Dr. Weil's real plan is to shoot Area Zero from space; the Eight Warriors are nothing but a diversion, so that the Resistance is stuck fighting the wrong battle. If the Eight Warriors' individual plans worked (acid rain generators, scorching the earth with an artificial sun, etc.), Area Zero is destroyed, and the Resistance with it; if they all fail, there would still be time for Weil to fire his Kill Sat, leaving Area Zero destroyed, and the Resistance with it. In either case, Weil becomes the undisputed ruler of all humanity by wiping out freedom's last hope. Fortunately,
 * Fan Nickname: Used to be called Dr. "Koolaid", or a variation, all because his head is inside a jar with orange liquid that looks suspiciously like orange juice, somehow reminding players of the merchandise's mascot.
 * Fantastic Racism: Probably the only motivation besides For the Evulz or It's All About Me for starting the Elf Wars. His reasoning was because he thought that Reploids had gone too much with all the wars and decides that they should go back to becoming "Three Laws"-Compliant (implied with his Hannibal Lecture).
 * Final Boss: In Zero 4.
 * Flight: He's always seen floating. Since his legs are never shown, one wonders if he doesn't have legs, and thus, always floating, with an unseen device.
 * Freudian Excuse: Tried to invoke this before the climax battle of Zero 4, citing his decades of exile from human society. However, it's his ruthless actions that caused his exile in the first place, showing just how irredeemably selfish Weil is.
 * His reason for starting the Elf Wars was that he thought Reploids were getting off too easy for the massive destruction caused in the Maverick Wars, especially once the plan to solve the Maverick problem was to basically install anti-virus software and call things even. On the surface it makes sense; each X series game chronologically takes place a few months after the last one, meaning not even half a decade had passed since Reploids were made before Sigma caused multiple wars and a Colony Drop. But similar to how Weil fails to grasps his exile was his own fault, the wars were humanity's fault for making Reploids so powerful in the first place.
 * Giant Hands of Doom: as a Continuity Nod, they seem similar to the ones from Omega's first form.
 * Hannibal Lecture: "The Reploid hero, protecting justice and humanity! I am one of those humans you have sworn to protect! Do you have it in you to defeat me?!"
 * Alas, poor Weil, he doesn't know Zero too well...
 * He Who Fights Monsters: wanted to get retribution on Mavericks (or Reploids in general)? He becomes the very definition of a Maverick.
 * Hoist by His Own Petard:
 * Earlier, it's subverted:
 * Humans Are Bastards: He claims that only human beings have the capability to truly enjoy control and manipulation, and are essentially as heartless as him. Zero pulls a "Shut UP, Hannibal", because he is likely projecting himself onto mankind.
 * Hypocrite: Claims that all humans only live to control and manipulate -- which applies to him more than anybody else.
 * It's All About Me: What sets him apart from other villains across the entire 'verse.
 * Arguably, he's an unintentional deconstruction of this behavior by taking it to its logical extremes. There is absolutely nothing redeemable about his behavior and his mentality only makes it worse.
 * Japanese Pronouns: Uses ware (see his quote above).
 * Just a Machine: His initial motives.
 * Kill Sat: The actual point of Ragnarok in Zero 4;.
 * Knight of Cerebus: Arguably, him appearing in Zero 3 makes everything darker, as the usual 8 bosses are now brainwashed by Weil and becoming downright evil. As if the previous games aren't dark already...
 * Lack of Empathy: Showed absolutely no regrets with triggering the catastrophic Elf Wars, which wiped out 60% of humanity and 90% of all Reploids -- and that's just the Backstory -- and he's planning on starting it again by using Omega and the Dark Elf to brainwash Reploids before trying to destroy the Last Fertile Region through such methods as acid rain, particle cannons, Kill Sat and Colony Drop out of spite for the humans who would escape his rule. He also admitted to Neige that his greatest pleasure (which he thinks applies to all rulers) are seeing rage, humiliation and suffering.
 * Just a Machine: His initial motives.
 * Kill Sat: The actual point of Ragnarok in Zero 4;.
 * Knight of Cerebus: Arguably, him appearing in Zero 3 makes everything darker, as the usual 8 bosses are now brainwashed by Weil and becoming downright evil. As if the previous games aren't dark already...
 * Lack of Empathy: Showed absolutely no regrets with triggering the catastrophic Elf Wars, which wiped out 60% of humanity and 90% of all Reploids -- and that's just the Backstory -- and he's planning on starting it again by using Omega and the Dark Elf to brainwash Reploids before trying to destroy the Last Fertile Region through such methods as acid rain, particle cannons, Kill Sat and Colony Drop out of spite for the humans who would escape his rule. He also admitted to Neige that his greatest pleasure (which he thinks applies to all rulers) are seeing rage, humiliation and suffering.

"Dr. Weil: Humans are like pigs, dependent upon the Reploids for their very existence... You do realize, don't you, that if I felt like it, I could wipe all humans out in the blink of an eye? (Weil teleports out of the room.) Dr. Weil: Crea! Prea! Do with this one as you please! I've got some pig squeals to enjoy. The squeals of indolent pigs, wasting their pitiful lives on idle pursuits."
 * Leitmotif: "Curse of Vile" in Zero 3, "Fate" in Zero 4 and the ZX series.
 * Loves the Sound of Screaming: Implied with his reason for leaving Crea and Prea to fight Zero:


 * Luke, I Am Your Father: According to the The Drama Track ''The Vile Incident: Eden Dome: It's Sin And Rebirth, Dr. Weil was the one who created the Eight Gentle Judges in the first place, which gives a pretty big realization as to why they chose to exile Omega rather than execute/retire him, and probably why the populace decided to go vigilante on him.
 * Mad Scientist: Really mad...
 * The Man Behind the Monsters: He's the only human behind the Operation Ragnarok, with his underlings are all Reploids. Not that he's fully human anymore, anyway, either in literal or moral sense.
 * Morally-Ambiguous Doctorate: Played oddly - it is made especially clear that he was completely, unambiguously evil.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: His original Japanese name is Vile. Intentionally changed so that he won't be confused with Mega Man X's Vile.
 * Interestingly, in 4, The Caravans run away from him and his Empire really fast to the Area Zero. And his armies chased them.
 * Named After Somebody Famous: Possibly after this guy. Might not just be a coincidence, considering that guy is an author on several books about transhumanism and technological singularity, things that Weil is a master of.
 * Necromancer: His speciality is in Reploid revival, and it is also implied that Copy X, Hanumachine, Necromancess, and Staggard Blizzoff's return was through this method.
 * Nietzsche Wannabe: Prior to the final battle with Zero, he goes into an immense rant about how justice and freedom are "worthless ideals", and even goes as far as to dismiss ideals themselves as nothing more than nonsense/calling them a lie in his pre-battle quote (well, the english translation of the quote, anyways).
 * No One Could Survive That:.
 * Not So Different: He tried to invoke this on Zero in the final game, as he tries to convince Zero that killing him would be stooping to his level of villainy. In an unorthodox move, Zero kills him anyway, making note at how he never considered himself a hero to begin with.
 * Omnicidal Maniac: Doesn't even begin to describe his depravity. He even admits that destroying everyone would only be a fleeting satisfaction.
 * One-Winged Angel: Capcom. Stop. We get the message.
 * In this case, it's a Painful Transformation, with Weil screaming (at least in Drama Tracks) as tubes jam into his back, spewing copious amounts of blood (censored in International versions, of course), and also says that translates from Japanese roughly to either "Do you see this pain!? YOU'D NEVER UNDERSTAND ANY OF IT!!" or "Do you understand pain such as this?!".
 * Phlebotinum Rebel: An extremely rare evil version -.
 * Powered Armor: The first time as punishment for his Elf Wars fiasco, effectively making him and the second fusing himself with, which counts as his One-Winged Angel prior to the real One-Winged Angel.
 * Rasputinian Death: Let's see, he is.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: It's unknown whether his eyes were red, but they certainly were red afterwards, as revealed.
 * Smug Snake: Oh. My. GOD.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Vile in Japanese, Weil in English (most likely deliberate, given the fact that there was already a character prior to him named Vile). Luckily they're pronounced the same, preserving the implications.
 * Take Over the World: In Zero 3, he succeeds in doing this. See Evil Plan above.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill: When Zero defeats Weil in the final battle, it causes the Ragnarok to blow up, If that didn't destroy Weil, then the re-entry in the atmosphere would have.
 * Sadly,
 * The Unfought: In Zero 3. Which makes the long-waited fight with him in Zero 4 all the more epic, climactic, and satisfying.
 * Villain Ball: The Resistance would have learned too late of . In other words, Weil would've actually succeeded in his plans if it weren't for that little fact. Nice Job Fixing It, Villain.
 * His speech before the final battle implies he wanted Zero to try and stop him, just to show him that he couldn't. That's all well and good, but as stated above, Weil really knows absolutely nothing about Zero.
 * Villain with Good Publicity: Subverted - Most of the populace in the drama tracks were heavily implied to be completely distrusting of him, so he has a plan (see Evil Plan) that could make Zero and La Résistance look bad, making him the "hero". Upon his ascension into Neo Arcadia's leader, though, he further demonstrates to the people (and Zero) how much of a monster he truly was.
 * What Is Evil?: At the end of Zero 4, Weil, the human, claims that Zero, a robot, could never kill a human. Unfortunately for Weil, Zero considered himself anything but a hero. Cue boss music!
 * What Is Evil?: At the end of Zero 4, Weil, the human, claims that Zero, a robot, could never kill a human. Unfortunately for Weil, Zero considered himself anything but a hero. Cue boss music!


 * Omega

"Ware wa meshia nari!"

- Voiced by Junichi Suwabe

During the Elf Wars, Omega was created by Weil to exterminate the Reploid race; the bulky armor and the personality/program are Weil's original creations, but However, he was brought down in a joint attack by X and Zero, and launched into space. At the beginning of Zero 3, Omega's ship crashes to Earth, and he is used by Weil to seek out the Dark Elf as part of his plan. However, Omega is eventually destroyed by Zero. He is the only final boss in both the Zero and ZX series to have three forms.


 * A God Am I: after passing the Bishonen Line, Omega declares this with the above quote, which translates to "I am the Messiah!"
 * Justified; after all the horrors he and his creator committed, the very few who survive the ordeal started calling him the "God of Destruction". Also he was designed to become a "reploid messiah"; see "The Messiah" below.
 * The Antichrist: Messiah? Right...
 * Attack Drone: His arms in his first form basically serve this role.
 * Attack Its Weak Point: In his second form, his only vulnerable point is his grey middle head.
 * Art Shift: That his form after crossing Bishonen Line
 * Ax Crazy: We're talking Khorne Berserker level. His sole goal is to kill.
 * Badass Cape
 * The Berserker: Ironically, exploiting this trope is the best way to kill his third form in Zero 3.
 * BFG: Of the Arm Cannon variety in his One-Winged Angel form, mimicking Mega Man X, no less.
 * BFS: in both his first and second forms, although the latter of which, strangely enough, he doesn't even use. This is due to the restraints imposed by the GBA's capabilities.
 * Bishonen Line: After, you guessed it, a One-Winged Angel.
 * Continuity Nod: All of Omega attacks are  Including the much-forgotten
 * And the even more forgotten
 * Clothes Make the Legend: a rare villainous example. He was well-known for his armor's massive size (dubbed the largest Reploid in existence), and no one barely knows that
 * Climax Boss: The only unsatisfying thing about his battle that Weil was still alive at the end of the game.
 * Cutscene Power to the Max: Evidenced by the other tropes listed here, the story depicts him as the strongest Reploid in existence. In actual battle, though (even in his One-Winged Angel), he's a real pushover. The end of his Bishounen Line, however...
 * YMMV on the strength of his One-Winged Angel. Unless you've powered up a great deal (which will make even the Bishonen Line a pushover), his attacks can be very punishing if you screw up.
 * Merely having the Shadow Dash makes him (and to a lesser extent the Bishonen Line) a push over.
 * Ditto Fighter:
 * The Dragon: He fits the personality of the actual Dragons in stories: Mindless monster who will demolish everything in sight, yet is very loyal to his master.
 * Dragon-in-Chief: While Weil is far from helpless or incompetent (bar a few moments), Omega serves as the final boss for the third game and it completely destroys Weil's plot for said game.
 * Evil Counterpart: To Zero.
 * The Faceless: The type of which his entire face is covered by armor. If it wasn't, then the game's Reveal would have an even less impact.
 * Fan Nickname: "The God of Destruction". It's also used in the game.
 * Final Boss: In Zero 3.
 * Gangsta Style:
 * Giant Hands of Doom
 * Golden Super Mode: After he absorbed the Dark Elf, his color turns yellow and he becomes more durable.
 * Ground Pound: In his Bishonen Line, mimicking
 * Hate Plague: He's so Ax Crazy that he can turn other reploids into murderous psychopaths (when he fused with the Dark Elf, that is). Only reploids with very strong will power (Zero, the Guardians) can resist it.
 * Fridge Brilliance:
 * Humongous Mecha: And his One-Winged Angel makes him more humongous.
 * Japanese Pronouns: Uses ware (see his quote above).
 * Leitmotif: "Exiled One (Omega)".
 * Meaningful Name: His name means "the end", and he is his creator's instrument in The End of the World as We Know It.
 * The Messiah: According to the Official Complete Works, the Project Elpizo (Dr. Weil's project) is described as a project to make a reploid to become a perfect ruler using the power of the Mother Elf to control all the reploids in the world, avoiding them from becoming Mavericks. The reploid was Omega.
 * Mind Control Device: Combined with the Dark Elf, Dr. Weil uses him to
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Ancient Dead Languages version. See Meaningful Name above.
 * One-Letter Name: Technically, one Greek letter name (Ω).
 * One-Winged Angel: His second form is a gigantic 3-headed figure, and in battle, we can only see his head and upper body. For reference.
 * Palette Swap: Upon absorbing the Dark Elf.
 * Person of Mass Destruction: Definitely.
 * Pillar of Light:
 * Power Glows: As, he glows white.
 * Power Palms: He has an opening in his hands that could fire rings of energy. he also has the "Omega Knuckle" (which is similar to the Z-Knuckle in the fourth game), which is presumably used to focus his power (especially when he does the Ground Pound attacks).
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: As
 * Reflecting Laser: One of his primary attacks in his first form.
 * Robotic Psychopath: Major understatement.
 * Say My Name: Before you fight his first form in the Final Boss fight, he shouts Zero's name.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: If by "can" you mean "space".
 * He himself is a "can", as the container for the Dark Elf. In an inversion, the Dark Elf's nature makes Omega the more evil one, instead of the other way around.
 * Shoryuken: One of his attacks.
 * Shoulders of Doom: Fusion Omega's shoulders are monstrous versions of X's and Zero's heads. Yeah.
 * Shout-Out: Omega's finisher is Shungokusatsu.
 * It could also be a reference to
 * Omega's second form has different-coloured arms and white middle body. You know, there's some other guy named Omega who has the same appearance.
 * SNK Boss: In MUGEN renditions, at least.
 * The Speechless: And everytime he does speak, he only growls and rambles. Except once, in his quote above.
 * Sword and Gun: His weapons in his Bishonen Line.
 * Sword Beam: In his Bishonen Line, he can fire these after firing his buster two times. He can also fire smaller ones in midair that covers most of the screen.
 * Sword Plant: One of his attacks in his first form.
 * Wave Motion Gun: In his second form, fired from his Arm Cannon.
 * What Could Have Been: Apparently, Omega's first and second form were supposed to have been much tougher if it wasn't for the GBA's limitations. For one, the second form would've actually used its BFS.
 * Wave Motion Gun: In his second form, fired from his Arm Cannon.
 * What Could Have Been: Apparently, Omega's first and second form were supposed to have been much tougher if it wasn't for the GBA's limitations. For one, the second form would've actually used its BFS.


 * The Eight Gentle Judges (Weil's Numbers)

They were once the highest authority of the law in Neo Arcadia, leading the populace alongside X (both the original and the copy). They're just as much of Knights Templar as the rest of the military, at least until Weil comes around...

"Has the legendary hero stooped to thievery? How deplorable. As king of the Snow Plains, I do hereby judge your crime. (cue One-Winged Angel) I, Glacier Le Cactank, of Weil's Numbers, have reached a verdict. The punishment for thievery is death!"
 * Animal Motifs:
 * Blazin' Flizzard: Frilled lizard
 * Childre Inarabbita: Killer Rabbit
 * Deathtanz Mantisk: Praying mantis
 * Devilbat Schilt: Bat Out of Hell
 * Cubit Foxtar: Kitsune
 * Tretista Kelverian: Cerberus
 * Volteel Biblio: Psycho Electric Eel
 * Attack Drone: Foxtar has 9 of these.
 * Ax Crazy: Volteel is by far the most unhinged boss in the series. Well, maybe aside from Omega, that is. Mantisk isn't exactly very stable either.
 * The Drama Tracks imply that their Ax Crazy nature in Mega Man Zero 3 had more to do with Weil's reprogramming them. Prior to that, they were actually nice reploids (In fact, Mantisk also deliberately kept his scythearms dullened to match his reluctance to kill.)
 * Badass Cape: All of them has one.
 * Bilingual Bonus: "Tretista" roughly means "three-headed" in Italian.
 * "Biblio" roughly means "book" in Greek. Fitting, as his stage is in a library.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * Continuity Nod/Cameo: Dr. Weil summons them in Zero 4 as his first form's special attack.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: prior to being Brainwashed and Crazy, Mantisk supposedly has this kind of characterization: demonic-looking both in and out of battle form, yet is a pacifist.
 * Detachment Combat: Tetrista Kelverian can deploy the canine heads canines on his shoulders to attack Zero.
 * Dub Name Change: Devilbat was originally Hellbat.
 * Dumb Muscle: Kelverian shows some traits of this.
 * Evil Laugh: After being Weil-ified, they start abusing this to a varying degree.
 * Fire, Ice, Lightning: A set of two for each element, plus a fourth pair for the non-elemental. It's the Zero tradition, after all...
 * An Ice Person: Childre and Le Cactank.
 * Non-Elemental: Mantisk and Kelverian.
 * Playing with Fire: Flizard and Foxtar.
 * Shock and Awe: Schilt and Volteel.
 * Gratuitous German: Deathtanz Mantisk, with tanz being German word for dance.
 * Hisao Egawa: Voices Tretista Kelverian.
 * Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Glacier le Cactank in particular.


 * Large and In Charge: According to his ranking, Chief Judge, Kelverian.
 * Light Is Not Good: See Man in White.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father: According to the Drama Track Vile Incident: Eden Dome: It's Sin And Rebirth, their creator was none other than Dr. Weil, which also explained why they simply exiled Omega to space rather than simply executing/retiring him.
 * Man in White: In their humanoid forms.
 * Mega Manning
 * Blazin' Flizard: Burst Shot
 * Childre Inarabbita: Throw Blade
 * Devilbat Schilt: Saber Smash
 * Deathtanz Mantisk: 1000 Slash
 * Cubit Foxtar: Soul Launcher
 * Glacier le Cactank: Orbit Shield
 * Volteel Biblio: V-Shot
 * Tetrista Kelverian: Gale Attack
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Deathtanz Mantisk, Devilbat Schilt.
 * One-Winged Angel: All of them can do it, via a Transformation Sequence.
 * Quirky Miniboss Squad
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Listing all the variations would take too long. Just play it safe with the official English.
 * Teleport Spam: Devilbat Schilt.
 * Weapon of Choice: Technically speaking...
 * Deathtanz Mantisk: Sinister Scythe
 * Glacier le Cactank: Epic Flail
 * Blazin' Flizard: Precision-Guided Boomerang

Introduced in Zero 4

 * Neige

"Thus the war of the machines began and humans can only watch..."

- Voiced by Yuko Goto

A main character in Zero 4. She is the leader of the La Résistance neutral-analogue Caravan, aspiring to bring all humans out of Neo Arcadia and into New Eden-esque Area Zero. She is in love with Dr. Weil's new second-in-command, Craft, a fact that none of her fellow evacuees know...


 * All of the Other Reindeer: Albeit briefly, she gets this treatment after her relationship with Craft was revealed, and the Caravan believed her to be a spy. Subverted, . Another lucky break is that
 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Cannot Spit It Out: None of her fellow Caravan members know of her connection to Craft, and she wasn't ready to tell them yet. As thanks for rescuing them earlier, Neige also promises to keep Zero's identity (and his "involvement" with Copy-X's death) under wraps. All those secrets were revealed later, anyway.
 * Damsel in Distress: Halfway through the game, Craft kidnaps her, and Zero has to rescue her. In a subversion,
 * Dark-Skinned Redhead: Averted. The Complete Works state that the artists once experimented on giving her a tan, but was dropped in the final game.
 * Destined Bystander: Her role doesn't get more pronounced until her connection to Craft was revealed later mid-game. However...
 * Demoted to Extra: Upon the conclusion of Craft's storyline, her role is diminished, and the spotlight returns to Zero and Ciel.
 * Fingerless Gloves
 * Intrepid Reporter: Like most of the inhabitants of Caravan, she doesn't trust Zero, but she does wish to someday interview him regarding his "legendary exploits".
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When escaping from the prison, she tells Craft that she'd rather die with dignity than live in fear. These words led to Craft taking them to heart and
 * "Previously On...": She is the narrator of the prologue of Zero 4, giving an insight of human opinion of the long-running Robot War.
 * Too Many Belts: On her arms.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: She and most of the others at Area Zero are not afraid of reminding Zero that it's partly his fault things are as bad as they are.
 * Except that things would be worse if he hadn't intervened. Maybe not worse for them, but it really comes across as them being selfish, content with letting Reploids get slaughtered in the name of human decadence.


 * The Caravan



A group of humans who escape Neo Arcadia with Neige. The prolonged Robot Wars have jaded their view of Reploids. Unfortunately for them, Zero's the only one who can stop Ragnarok...


 * Amazing Technicolor Hair: Rafale and Brise.
 * Bullying a Dragon: Played straight and averted. Considering that they resent Reploids for being warmongers, they spend a lot of time yelling at Zero. Rafale also makes a vow (in Zero's presence) to kill the Reploid who killed X. However, he does not attempt it after realising who Zero is.
 * Children Are Innocent: Initially, Typhon and Brise are the only ones (apart from maybe Neige) who will give Zero the time of day.
 * Fantastic Racism
 * Freudian Excuse: Rafale tells Zero that he hasn't spoken to a Reploid (present company excluded) since his parents died in a Maverick attack. Neige notes that most of them have similar backstories.
 * Neutral No Longer: At first, they prefer to stand out of the war between the Resistance and Neo Arcadia. However, over the course of the game, upon seeing that the Resistance's goals were no different from their own (and with the help of Neige being kidnapped), the Caravan finally welcomes their help in fighting off and finally defeating the Neo Arcadian army.
 * Theme Naming: Just as most of the Resistance are named after birds, these guys are named after winds.
 * Untrusting Community/Ungrateful Bastards
 * You Are a Credit to Your Race: Rafale suggests that Craft "must've been a good one" for Neige to fall in love with him.


 * Craft

"One person can't change the world. Heroes are a thing of the past..."

- Voiced by Kenta Miyake

With the death of Omega and the Guardians, Craft steps up as the new general of Weil's army. He only joined so that he can protect Neige, and sees heroes as "a thing of the past". He personally leads "Operation Ragnarok", with the 8 Einherjar Warriors under his command. Their plan is to obliterate all life outside Neo Arcadia in order to discourage the escaping citizens.


 * All-Encompassing Mantle: In his first appearance.
 * A Million Is a Statistic:
 * BFG: Which is nearly as large as he is, with a Wave Motion Gun and a big bayonet that can be launched.
 * The Dragon
 * Dragon with an Agenda
 * Dragon-in-Chief: Weil was rarely active until the final act of the game.
 * Fingerless Gloves
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Heroes Want Redheads: He wants Neige. Although he just thinks that he's a hero.
 * Honor Before Reason: Inverted. According to Neige, Craft used to be a warrior that went by his own code, before being convinced that living under Dr. Weil's rule is better than being killed by Weil for defiance.
 * Shoot the Dog
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: He's considerably taller than Neige.
 * I Let You Win: Zero believes that Craft held himself back when they first fought. Turns out, he wasn't...Well, take his own word for it anyway.
 * Jerkass Has a Point: Not acknowledged in-canon, but the fact is, there are very few people worth putting faith in, if the personalities of the caravaners and their Broken Aesop are any indication.
 * Laser Sight: Before he fires his Wave Motion Gun, he'll aim it at your head with one. When you dash, the laser sight goes past you, and so does the Wave Motion Gun itself, but you have to time your dash in order to avoid it.
 * Leitmotif: "Kraft".
 * Love Makes You Crazy: After being talked out of working under Dr. Weil by Neige, he Dr. Weil even lampshades this by stating "Turned by the sweet words of a woman!" when he was betrayed.
 * Macross Missile Massacre: His Finishing Move, fired from above, which has the possibility to hit the entire screen, with very few openings for dodging.
 * Even better, he lifts himself into the air by firing his Wave Motion Gun into the ground. And flies in the same direction as the blast.
 * Morality Pet: Neige.
 * Recursive Ammo: One of his attacks involves throwing a bomb that splits into 6 and scattered away.
 * Robo Ship: Invoked With Neige.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": "Kraft" in the Japanese version, which in German means "power" and "strength". In America on the other hand, it's associated with a brand of cheese, so this one was probably for the better.
 * Unnecessary Combat Roll: He can phase through Zero while doing this.
 * Wake Up Call Boss: At least when compared to the 4 main bosses (and 2 intro bosses, if you really want to count it) you have to beat before him. He has many nasty attacks, a quick dash, and 3 bars of health. Even in his second fight where you've got most of the useful techniques, he still proves to be a real threat.
 * Wake Up Call Boss: At least when compared to the 4 main bosses (and 2 intro bosses, if you really want to count it) you have to beat before him. He has many nasty attacks, a quick dash, and 3 bars of health. Even in his second fight where you've got most of the useful techniques, he still proves to be a real threat.


 * Einherjar Eight Warriors



The local Quirky Miniboss Squad of Zero 4 and Craft's Elite Mooks. Assigned by Dr. Weil to attack Area Zero.


 * Animal Motifs: excluding Mandrago and Titanion, we have...
 * Big Badass Wolf: Fenri Lunaedge.
 * Everything's Squishier with Cephalopods: Tech Kraken, although he isn't actually squishy...
 * Feathered Fiend: Popla Cocapetri
 * A Load of Bull: Mino Magnus.
 * Pegasus: Pegasolta Eclair
 * Turtle Power: Heat Genblem.
 * An Axe to Grind: Again, Mino Magnus.
 * Ax Crazy: Sol Titanion.
 * Her Freudian Excuse also ends up becoming extremely ironic in terms of who she's serving, as the reason she's Ax Crazy was because a scouting unit commissioned by Dr. Weil basically invaded the artificial sun she and a twin of hers was maintaining and killed her twin, causing her to go mad and destroy them to avenge her twin.
 * Avenging the Villain: Tech Kraken, trying to avenge Phantom. Interestingly, neither of them are fully "villains". He even encourages Zero to stop Weil after his second defeat.
 * Revenge Before Reason
 * Beam Spam: Heat Genblem use a ridiculously long lasting beam cannon which he fires while spinning. Even his stage is a Particle Beam cannon, and reminiscent of Quick Man's stage from Mega Man 2, minus the One-Hit Kill beams, though there are still beams a-plenty.
 * Blade Below the Shoulder: Fenri again.
 * Also Pegasolta Eclair.
 * Corridor Cubbyhole Run: Genblem's stage.
 * Detachment Combat: Magnaxe can split into five parts, four of which are used to attack Zero.
 * Doppelganger Attack: Fenri can create clones of himself made of ice.
 * The Dragon: Heat Genblem, the most loyal to Craft.
 * Elemental Powers
 * Fenri Lunaedge: Ice
 * Mino Magnus: Metal
 * Popla Cocapetri: Time
 * In-game, Non-Elemental.
 * Noble Mandrago: Nature, well, really, nanomachines simulating nature.
 * Non-Elemental in-game.
 * Sol Titanion: Fire
 * Pegasolta Eclair: Light?
 * It's actually Lightning, though, given the Fire, Ice, Lightning theme of the game.
 * Tech Kraken: Water/Ice
 * Heat Genblem: Fire
 * Everything's Better with Spinning: most of Titanion's attacks.
 * Also Genblem with his infamous spinning laser beam attack.
 * The Fighting Narcissist: Pegasolta Eclair claims that the un-beautiful things shall go down.
 * Flunky Boss: Mandrago can fire seeds to the soil around the boss room that will grow into either flowers that can shoot bullets or venus flytrap that can snare you. She can also summon bees by firing some brown goo (possibly honey-like) at you.
 * Also Cocapetri, who apparently can lay down robotic eggs which can run around, trying to hurt you.
 * The Four Gods: Heat Genblem is loosely named after Xuán Wǔ/Genbu, the turtle.
 * He's less loosely based off of Ryu and Gamera.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: Cocapetri
 * Healing Factor: Mandrago is able to heal a small amount of her health, if you play in the right weather.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!:
 * Tetsuya Kakihara: Fenri Lunaedge.
 * Saki Nakajima: Sol Titanion.
 * Hot-Blooded: Fenri, despite being an ice boss. The voice helps a lot, considering he's Simon...
 * Hulk Speak: Mino Magnus combines this with a Verbal Tic, in this case a roar of "Ndooooooh!".
 * Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Genblem.
 * The Maze: The first half of Kraken's level.
 * Mega Manning
 * Popla Cocapetri: Time Stopper
 * Mino Magnus: Tractor Shot
 * Sol Titanion: Burning Shot
 * Tech Kraken: Ice Javelin
 * Noble Mandrago: Sky Chaser
 * Pegasolta Eclair: Thunder Stab
 * Heat Genblem: Flame Fang
 * Fenri Lunaedge: Ice Blade
 * Mook: Zero refers to them as such.
 * Norse Mythology: The einherjar are those that have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. They prepare daily for the events of Ragnarök, when they will advance for an immense battle.
 * Our Fairies Are Different: Sol Titanion, a robotic version.
 * Perfect Play AI: Genblem.
 * Playful Hacker: Cocapetri.
 * Psycho Prototype: Fenri Lunaedge, according to the Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works, was supposed to be a fusion between a reploid and a prototype Cyber Elf, but the fusion as well as a glitch within the Cyber Elf's programming...well, drove him rabid.
 * Quirky Miniboss Squad
 * Rolling Attack: One of Fenri's attacks.
 * Smug Snake: Pegasolta Eclair is so vain and proud of his "beauty". Also, in-game, almost whenever he floats, he has a tendency to quickly fly upward everytime you try to land a hit. Annoying? Right.
 * Speech Impediment: Magnus talks really, really slowly. Throughout the entire game, nobody (including his allies) has the patience to let him finish a thought. Also, while Zero typically remains silent during a stage boss's pre-fight speech, he will cut Magnus off.
 * Taken for Granite: Cocapetri's signature attack, considering he's a cockatrice.
 * Time Stands Still: Not explicitly stopping time, but his ultimate move includes "petrifying" all the stage (as the whole stage turns grey). Zero's EX Skill from him, Time Stopper, also qualifies.
 * This Is a Drill: Mandrago's "feet" are actually a drill split in two.
 * Weather Control Machine: Pegasolta Eclair's mission has Zero disabling this. Titanion is an arguable case, with an artificial sun.
 * Worthy Opponent: in the end, Kraken doesn't want anymore revenge, he just wants to see the power that defeated Phantom.

This cast also provides examples of:
 * Dual Boss: Herculious Anchortus (a beetle boss from the first game) and Kuwagust Anchus (his brother from the second game) team up in the second game's Boss Rush.
 * Enemy Summoner/Flunky Boss: Dr. Weil and Phoenix Magnion, with their summons acting as a Continuity Nod.
 * Hanumachine from the first (and third) game can create small versions of himself, Sun Wukong-style.
 * Gender Blender Name: Anubis Necromancess is a guy.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Japanese examples: Harpuia = Yugi Mutou, Ciel = Lacus Clyne and Dr. Weil = Dr. Eggman/Robotnik.
 * Averted with Zero's case, though. Fans used to think that Zero in the X series are voiced by the same actor. They're not.
 * Hot-Blooded: On top of Fefnir, many other fire-based flunkies, such as Blazin' Flizard, Heat Genblem...and Fenri Lunaedge, an ice boss.
 * Multipurpose Tongue: Burble Hekelot uses these; one of its function is a Life Drain attack that Zero can copy.
 * One-Winged Angel: Anyone, provided they get unlucky with the Baby Elves or the Dark Elf. Such a Pantheon was upgraded to mid-boss status by the Dark Elf in Zero 3. In Zero 2, Harpuia is forced into his other form by the Baby Elves.
 * Especially Dr Weil. His final form is some horrific merger with the Ragnarok Core, mechanic yet oddly biological.
 * Reactor Boss: Guard Orotic and Pantheon Core from the first game.
 * Samus Is a Girl: Polar Kamrous the polar bear of all people! All There in the Manual, though.
 * Teleport Spam: Phoenix Magnion. He can only be attacked when he's attacking.
 * Traintop Battle: Panther Flauclaws' boss fight.