Vile

**Vile**, known as **VAVA** (ヴァヴァ) in Japan, is a major antagonist in the *Mega Man X* series. He used to be a member of the Maverick Hunters prior to the first *Mega Man X* game and was ranked S-A Class in Sigma's 17th Elite Unit prior to his commander's rebellion against humanity. He appeared in multiple games of the series as a boss character and was playable for the first time in *Maverick Hunter X*, a remake of the first game for the PlayStation Portable.

## Appearance

Vile is adorned in basic armor with a distinct purple sheen and gold highlights. Like some Maverick Hunters, Vile wears a helmet with a T-shaped visor that conceals his face in shadow. It is unknown if this is his face or it is simply hidden by the shade as in the *Mega Man X3* opening video, his *Mega Man X3* artwork, the *Rockman X3* manga and the Ruby-Spears cartoon, Vile is seen with a singular glowing eye. Attached to his shoulder is a cannon featuring an ammo belt arching over his back. Vile's later appearances retain the overall basic appearance but takes on different color schemes with stylized accents.

When he walks, there is something of a metallic clank with every step. Vile is heavily designed as a war machine, which was quoted by Zero after Vile escapes.

## Personality

"*Friends? I don't have any. Not now. Not ever.*"
―Vile, to X, *Mega Man Maverick Hunter X*
Vile is a very arrogant, violent, and rude character who has a very unstable and enraged mind. Though he used to be a member of the Maverick Hunters, he never once considered himself as one. He is a lone wolf who dislikes the thought of having friends or superiors to help him. He also had a habit of not accepting orders from anyone except himself, which often resulted in fierce arguments with his commander. Even when freed from containment by Sigma, he showed little gratitude and continued to disrespect him.

Because of an irreparable short circuit in his electronic brain, Vile developed a strange, almost sociopathic passion for hunting down Mavericks and totally annihilating them, while causing as much damage as possible on the territory. This also includes innocent bystanders and comrades alike. This passion is also what may have led to his own arrest and, inadvertently, being labelled a Maverick. His emotions often got the best of him, shown after his first defeat when he admitted to Sigma he wasn't really sure what he intended to do after invading his fortress. Incidentally, in the *Rockman X3* manga, he brags about having a "demon" inside him, and taunts X about him having one too, which also shows in *Project X Zone 2*.

In all incarnations of the character, Vile holds a deep grudge against X and looks down on him for the fact that despite X having a lower rank than him, he receives more attention. Vile is very bitter towards X and devotes his existence to destroying and humiliating him, and proving that he is the stronger one. Zero, on the other hand, has his respect for the most part and Vile acknowledges his formidable strength. He has also been a traitor to both the Maverick Hunters and the Mavericks on different occasions.

## Trivia

* It's a common tale amongst the Mega Man community that the character's name was changed from VAVA to Vile for the North American release of *Mega Man X* because Capcom USA was afraid of being sued by LucasFilm due to the character's resemblance to Boba Fett, a character from the *Star Wars* universe. This was due to Vile's resemblance to Boba Fett's Mandalorian armor, especially the helmet with T-visor, and because his Japanese name can also be spelled "BABA" (the letters B and V are spelled and written the same way in Japanese).
	+ However, VAVA is actually based on the character Bubba Zanetti (ババ・ザネッティ *Baba Zanetti*) from the 1979 film *Mad Max*.
	+ His *Mega Man X8* color scheme closely resembles Boba Fett's, ironically.
	+ Coincidentally, this would also result in Dr. Weil's name being transliterated as such from Dr. Vile in order to avoid confusion with him.
* Interestingly, X can actually defeat Vile in the Ride Armor in *Maverick Hunter X* by jumping and shooting Vile rather than the armor. In fact, this is the only way X can deal damage to Vile in this game. However, after X approaches Vile, he merely gets grabbed by the Ride Armor arm, suggesting that Vile was just luring X into a trap.
* Vile's original body was slightly redesigned for *Maverick Hunter X*. These changes are mostly proportion-based, although the most noticeable changes being the Maverick symbol on his helmet replaced with his signature V-insignia (first seen in his Mk. 2 incarnation) and his shoulder cannon being attached to his backpack instead of being directly mounted on his right shoulder armor.
	+ When playing in X mode, Vile's in-game model displays the Maverick symbol on his helmet. However, both his bust shots and in-game model in Vile mode use the V-insignia.
* Vile Mk-II had a model kit in the Mega Armor series (originally released as a conversion kit and later as its own model kit), and the original Vile in the D-Arts line. Vile also had small miniatures of him.
* Unlike Sigma, who continues to survive by becoming one with the Maverick Virus, and similar to Zero, it is unknown how Vile is constantly revived.
* There are two missing versions of Vile that have seemingly passed by, as he went from Mk-2 in *Mega Man X3* to 5 in *Mega Man X8* (his official notation in *X8*, according to sourcebooks, is "VAVA Pente," meaning "5"). It is unknown if those two versions will ever make an appearance.
* Vile and Sigma share the same Japanese voice actor in *Mega Man X8*, Mugihito. Vile's voice has a noticeably mechanical and insane-sounding echo in the Japanese audio of X8, which is not found in his English voice.
* In *Maverick Hunter X*, Vile is very weak to Zero's buster parts. If X uses Zero's buster parts (not Dr. Light's buster parts) on Vile after the game has been completed, X can make short work of him with two correctly aimed shots at full charge. Using Dr. Light's Buster Parts at full charge will only do up to half the damage as compared to Zero's Buster Parts.
* The phrase "Not a CHARGED SHOT!" in Vile's ending in *Mega Man Maverick Hunter X* could perhaps be a reference to Vile's damage data in the original version of *Mega Man X*, where he is the only boss to be weakest against a charged X-Buster compared to the rest of the bosses' damage data against it.
	+ Similarly during the fight against X and Zero in *Mega Man Maverick Hunter X*, X will protect himself with Rolling Shield, send out Homing Torpedo or summon a charged Storm Tornado. This could be a reference to the Special Weapons that deal the most damage to Vile during his second encounter in the original game.
* Interestingly, in *Mega Man Maverick Hunter X'*s "Vile Mode", Vile doesn't speak to his opponent(s) unless spoken to.
* Vile is the second major recurring boss character in the *Mega Man X* series, next to Sigma.
* Vile is the first antagonist in the X series to become a playable character.
* Vile's weakness in *Mega Man X* and *Mega Man Maverick Hunter X* is the same as Wolf Sigma's primary weakness from the first *Mega Man X* game: Rolling Shield. After which, there will be different types of weaknesses against Vile in the concurrent games.
* Vile's overall appearance bears some resemblance to a Sniper Joe. The similarities are further highlighted in the *Rockman X3* manga, where at one point Vile Mk II has a glowing eye in the center of his visor while dueling with X just like Sniper Joe.
* Vile's personality in the *Rockman X* manga is depicted much differently than the games. In the manga, Vile is seen as calculative, cunning, and calm, and can easily catch X off guard. When X encounters him at the abandoned saloon after the battle with Armored Armadillo, Vile mentions to X that he will hunt down all those who bear the name "Rockman" after he finishes him off once and for all, but he leaves while giving X the coordinates of the next Dr. Light capsule. X tries to shoot Vile as he is leaving, but is stunned with a sense of fear.
* The D-Arts and 66 Action Dash Vile figures come with a glass of Bourbon, an homage to his appearance in the manga. After Armored Armadillo's death, X finds Vile in a bar holding a glass. Vile tells X it would not matter if the glass is filled with Bourbon or mud as Reploids can't tell the difference between them, and breaks the glass. (Curiously, this is contradicted later on in the *Rockman X4* manga as X, Zero and other Reploids are shown enjoying beverages during a celebration, X in particular vomiting from the taste of Dr. Cain's "special oil drink".) Later in Sigma's fortress, Vile asks X if he wants a glass of Bourbon before dying, making a reference to their previous encounter.
* It is unknown as to why VAVA is capitalized.
* In *Project X Zone*, it is noted in Chapter 37 by the main protagonist of *Tales of Vesperia*, Yuri Lowell, that Vile would meet his end the same way his own nemesis Zagi did. Zagi and Vile share similar parallels in that they are both single-minded in the pursuit of their goal and their existence can only truly be defined when they beat their respective rival (Yuri and X). The two villains finally get to team up in *Project X Zone 2,* being the wild cards in Ouma's 101 Embryo Project and, eventually, the VA.
* Vile's relationship to X is similar to that of Bass's towards Mega Man.
* In Vile's storyline in *Mega Man Maverick Hunter X*, Vile defeats X and Zero without his Ride Armor so Zero never sacrifices himself to help X defeat Vile.
* His HUD is briefly displayed during the ending to Vile Mode in *Maverick Hunter X*, which was depicted as having a red tone. It also showed various glitched shapes and flashes in the HUD, which was presumably caused by the extensive damage inflicted unto Vile by X's charged shot earlier.
* Owing to his passion for causing as much indiscriminate destruction as possible, his victory pose when beating the bosses in Vile Mode is him proceeding to laugh maniacally.