Zero (Mega Man)

Zero is the deuteragonist of the Mega Man X series and the main protagonist of the Mega Man Zero series. He is also a supporting character in the Mega Man ZX series as the Biometal Model Z. Zero is the successor to Bass, being the greatest creation of Dr. Albert W. Wily. He was alluded to Bass in his ending in Mega Man: The Power Battle, and schematic blueprints of his body were shown to him in Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters.
==History==
===Mega Man X series===
===Mega Man Zero series===
At some point, Zero realized that he carried the virus inside him and may even be continuing to spread it all over the world during his missions as a Hunter. Thinking that the world would not be safe as long as he was still active, Zero admitted himself into a research institute in order to get rid of the virus within him. At the same time, a project was started to analyze Zero as it had been revealed previously (during the Eurasia crisis to be exact), that Zero actually reacted positively to the Sigma Virus, and therefore might hold anti-bodies for the infection. Zero was sealed away and brought to a government lab. At some point, Zero's mind was extracted from the body, possibly for security measures in case something would go wrong while researching it.
Zero was later discovered in an abandoned laboratory by a human scientist named Ciel, who awakens him using a Cyber-elf. In turn, Zero saves Ciel from the forces of Neo Arcadia that was pursuing her and her comrades. Zero, however, was suffering memory loss due to "hibernation sickness". As it turned out, Neo Arcadia was the government of the world at this time period. Reploids were discriminated against and often deemed Maverick and terminated without justifiable cause. Copy X, a ruthless, conceited weaker clone of the real X, was in charge of this policy. Zero agreed to join Ciel's cause in fighting this oppression of Reploids. Zero would then go on to defeat Copy X's 4 Guardians as well as destroying Copy X himself. After the battle, the Neo Arcadian Core explodes, with the Resistance declaring that Zero was missing.
It is later revealed that Zero managed to survive the explosion, and is travelling through a desert while being hunted by Neo Arcadian Forces. He later succumbs to his injuries and collapses. When he wakes up, he is now in the new Resistance Base brought there by unknown means (later revealed to be Harpuia's doing), and meets the new members, including a new commander, Elpizo, who was obsessed with destroying Neo Arcadia. Elpizo executes his blitz-like "Operation Righteous Strike", despite the wishes of Ciel. During these events, Zero also learned what happened before his sealing; Zero himself helped X to end them by defeating and banishing Omega, the most terrifying "Reploid" of the time. Several decades after Zero was sealed, X sacrificed his body to stop the worst Cyber-elf of all, the Dark Elf, leaving him in a more ethereal form. X's body is destroyed and the Dark Elf is released by the now-rogue Elpizo. Zero defeats Elpizo, but the Dark Elf escapes. She and Zero appear to know each other, and X informs Zero that the Dark Elf was not always known by her current name. Her powers became a threat due to a curse by Dr. Weil, the man who started the Elf Wars, at which point people began calling her the Dark Elf.
Zero would eventually continue to help out Ciel and the Resistance in the last two games of the Mega Man Zero series, eventually facing off against Dr. Weil, the catalyst antagonist of the series. After the first of their two battles, the space station is damaged. Ciel pleads for Zero to return to Earth, lest he get stranded due to increasing transporter interference. Seeing Weil still alive, Zero passes the offer to go back and proceeds to finish him off in their second battle, ultimately sacrificing himself as the destruction of Weil's last form causes the station to explode. His sacrifice opens the eyes of many, finally bringing peace between the Reploids and humans left on Earth. The aftermath, however, leaves his friends grieving at his apparent death (his actual fate remains uncertain), especially Ciel, who is later inspired to pick up his work to create harmony between Reploids and humans.
==Physical description==
Zero prominently sports a red color scheme. In his first appearance, Zero's armor was round for the most part with a red, black and white color scheme and white shoulder guards with a stylized "Z" insignia on his left shoulder. His helmet is horned and features a sharp blue crystal in contrast to his partner, X's smoother red gem. Perhaps his most striking feature is his long blond hair that flowed freely about, making Zero appear fiery in comparison to X's more cool and consistent blue scheme.
When Serges of the X-Hunters reconstructed Zero's parts in Mega Man X2, he upgraded the body, including reinforced shoulder plates and Z-Saber. Other enhancements were the improved arm guards (in contrast to the original streamlined ones) and leg joints, with improved mid-air dash thrusters and gold-plated covers, along with thicker and bigger chest armor. A small "backpack" device is also added as both storage and recharging unit for the Z-saber. The first version of Zero was apparently just an "incomplete" prototype, since this version is the outline shown in the blueprints in The Power Fighters.
Like X, Zero's power source is solar energy. His body material is comprised of a Titanium Z alloy, and is equipped with peculiar mechanisms called the Z-Brain (the head lens) and the Z-Heart (the chest lens), which conceal an unknown power.
Due to the artist character designer change in the Mega Man Zero series, Zero is given a design overhaul. His armor is lighter and more humanoid, and he's given a more streamlined helmet to present a much sleeker look. Unlike his previous form, Zero's arms cannot change into a buster form and instead keeps his weapons holstered around his body. The body Zero has in the Zero series is a brighter red than his original body exhibits.
==Personality==
===Mega Man X series===
Prior to his encounter with Sigma and becoming a Maverick Hunter, Zero was extremely violent and maniacal. He often unleashed feral screams and laughed psychotically, especially during his battle with Sigma.
Outwardly, Zero appears cold and emotionless to others, even towards partners X and Axl. However, it is shown that he has the capacity to care for others. Zero keeps his cool under most circumstances. No matter what his enemies do to him, he is always able to come up with a retort.
Despite not viewing himself as a hero, Zero has often displayed a tendency to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, seen in the first Mega Man X game, where he destroyed Vile's Ride Armor with his Z-Buster, which destroyed his lower body in half and ultimately killed him. He also shows distaste for innocent deaths. This is evidenced in his fighting against Neo Arcadia's ruthless policy against Reploids in the Mega Man Zero series; he even personally promised to Sage Harpuia that no more Resistance soldiers would come to harm as long as he was around.
Even though Zero does not openly show it, he too seems to long for peace between humans and Reploids. However, he has said that he doesn't have any problems fighting, unlike his more pacifistic friend, X; whether his enemy is a Maverick or a human, he will fight at his best. Another notable trait of his is that, despite his great power, Zero views X as the superior Maverick Hunter and considers him a hero, though he doesn't see himself as such. A prime example of this show of respect was in Zero's ending in Mega Man X6: when the scientist who was performing his sealing process asked what would happen if the world faced another crisis; Zero firmly said that the world is in good hands (X's), even when he is gone.
===Mega Man Zero series===
In the Mega Man Zero series, his personality remains mostly the same, though with some changes. Given that he's been in stasis, he is ignorant of some matters and confused about others, sometimes to the point he starts doubting or believing that he can't win. This is seen a couple of times. First when Ciel was kidnapped by a Golem and he was battling him with his Buster which was not doing too much damage, was slowly starting to lose hope until X gave him his Z-Saber back. Another example was when Dr. Weil told him he was a copy, causing him believe he was not the real Zero. He only gained his confidence back when X claimed he was indeed Zero, swapping roles so that X is the one that encourages Zero to fight instead of the other way around as it used to be during the Mega Man X series.
In Mega Man Zero manga, Zero is depicted as a Reploid having two personalities depending on his usage of a helmet; without his helmet he is portrayed as cowardly whereas the other one resembles his video games counterpart.
==Powers and abilities==
:See also: Zero's weaponry and/or techniques from the Mega Man Knowledge Base wiki.
Zero is a very adept combatant on the battlefield. When he first encountered Sigma, Zero managed to heavily damage the commander of the Maverick Hunters. In Mega Man X, Zero was equipped with a powerful buster weapon known as the Zero Buster (shortened to the Z-Buster), but from X2 and onward, Zero wields a melee weapon known as the Z-Saber, a sword with a blade composed of pure destructive energy. This weapon displays Zero's great swordsmanship; he can perform lightning-fast slashes and combos with the Z-Saber, and while he cannot obtain performance-enhancing armors like X (making him a glass cannon), he can obtain special techniques like the Earth Gaizer and its many variations, Ryuenjin, Hyouretsuzan, and many others.
==​Appearences in Fanon Games==
===Megaman Generations===
He appears in Megaman Generations. He has platforming stages, and attacks with melee attacks. He is also the only character that is not named Megaman.
===​Mega Man: Dimension Journey 3===
He appears as a playable character in this game. Mega Man and Proto Man discover him during a hostage case and Zero attacks them at first sight. When he realizes who they are, he joins them on their fight against other villains. He uses his Z-Saber as a weapon.
===Mega Man 12===
Zero appears as the final boss of Mega Man's campaign on Nightmare difficulty, and also the final boss of Bass's campaign in Mega Man 12. His design is a lot different than how it was in other games, due to him being unfinished during the time of his release. While both Mega Man and Bass were storming through Dr. Wily's stronghold, and also seeing them destroy most of his defenses, Dr. Wily had no other choice but to complete Zero and release him from his capsule, though he did not finish him in time, nor was his violent personality was sorted out. He was awakened from his capsule in a room Bass enters, and he immediately challenged him. Bass was easily defeated by Zero, though he is saved at the last second by Treble. Zero then goes into a room where Mega Man and Dr. Wily were, and starts to attack Mega Man while Wily retreats. Mega Man was also easily defeated by Zero, though he saved by Proto Man. Rush then takes Mega Man to safety while the Proto Man faces Zero. Proto Man ends up winning, though the battle severely drains his energy. Zero is then, presumably, put back in his capsule by Dr. Wily.
When encountered, the player should quickly realize that Zero does not have a health bar. As such, he is completely immune to all attacks dished out by the player, blocking them (even if the player manages to get a hit on Zero, it does no damage whatsoever, nor will it make him flinch). Zero attacks by perform a dash punch, punching the ground to release rocks if the player is above him, knocking said rocks into them, performing diving kicks, and firing shots from his Zero Buster. All of these attacks deal three points of damage. If the player reaches low enough health, the battle will end. The theme that plays during this fight is a remix of Zero's theme from Mega Man X2.
===Mega Man X9===
Zero is one of the three playable characters in Mega Man X9, alongside Mega Man X and Axl. Like before, Zero uses his Z-Saber for close-ranged combat, and can learn techniques from defeated Mavericks.
===Project X Zone 3: Sacred Destinies===
Zero appears as a Pair Unit teaming up once more with his partner Megaman X.
He is also a temporal Boss Unit when he is infected by the Sigma Virus.
===Capcom vs SNK 3: Fighters' Spirit===
Zero appears as a playable character.
==Quotes==
===Mega Man X series===
===Mega Man Zero series===
==Gallery==
===Mega Man X series===
MMX1Zero.png|Mega Man X artwork.
MMMHXZero.png|Mega Man Maverick Hunter X artwork.
MMX2Zero.png|Mega Man X2 artwork.
MMX3Zero.png|Mega Man X3 artwork.
MMX4Zero.png|Mega Man X4 artwork.
MMX6Zero.png|Mega Man X6 artwork.
MMX6ZSaberZero.png|Mega Man X6 artwork.
MMX7Zero.png|Mega Man X7 artwork.
MMXCMZero.png|Mega Man X: Command Mission artwork.
MMXT2Zero.png|Mega Man Xtreme 2 artwork.
Zeros.png|Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 artwork.
PXZZero.png|Project X Zone artwork.
SFXACZeroMMX.png|Street Fighter × All Capcom artwork.
DragonPokerZero.png|Dragon Poker artwork.
Zero SSB4.png|Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U render.
ZeroSSBUltimate.png|Super Smash Bros. Ultimate render.
Zero MM-DJ3.jpg|Artwork from Mega Man: Dimension Journey 3
===Mega Man Zero series===
ZeroMegamanZero.png|Mega Man Zero artwork.
MMZ2Zero.png|Mega Man Zero 2 artwork.
SVCZero.png|SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos artwork.
SFXACZeroMMZ.png|Street Fighter × All Capcom artwork.
==Trivia==
*Since the revealing of Zero's origins in Mega Man X4, a popular fan theory was that Zero was possibly involved actively in the classic Mega Man series timeline after its events, from either spurring the creation of X, being activated in his earlier, violent and destructive personality against Mega Man, to being the cause of a "cataclysm" that marked the end of the classic series. However, Keiji Inafune officially stated that Zero did not activate during the classic series and had no active role on the events that transitioned to the Mega Man X series whatsoever.
Category:Characters
Category:Robots
Category:Mega Man Characters
Category:Mega Man (series)
Category:Males
Category:Non-fanon characters
Category:Heroes
Category:Protagonists
Category:Bosses
Category:Capcom
Category:Capcom Characters
Category:Allies
Category:Robot Masters
Category:Canon Robot Masters
Category:Mega Man Enemies
Category:Namco X (series)
Category:Non-fanon
Category:Deuteragonists