Zero

**Zero** is one of the main protagonists of the *Mega Man X* series and the main protagonist of the *Mega Man Zero* series. He fought Vergil from Devil May Cry in episode 11 of Mini Rumble. He also appeared in the post-credits scene of KOS-MOS vs Mega Man X.

## Description

Zero was created by the late Dr. Wily to be his ultimate creation, surpassing both Bass and Mega Man. However, Zero had an error in his programming, making him violent and unwilling to obey orders, so he and the Maverick Virus, an advanced version of Roboenza, were sealed away by Wily in a capsule. Decades later, a group of Reploids would find Wily's lair and free Zero, only for him to destroy them and everyone who would dare to enter Wily's secret hideout. It took Sigma, who got infected with the virus during their battle, to destroy Zero's gem on his head and some reparations from Dr. Cain for Zero to finally join the Maverick Hunters.

## Trivia

* According to Keiji Inafune, he envisioned Zero as the new "Mega Man" and wanted him to be a playable character from the start. He wanted to introduce something new and different to the franchise, but understanding that it would not be wise to completely go against everything that had already been established (also fearing that Zero's drastic appearance would receive a critical reaction), he did not mention this idea to his superior and submitted Zero as the sub character to Hayato Kaji's "Mega Man" (X) as originally intended.
* Dr. Wily used Proto Man as reference during the development of Zero. This idea has been speculated among fans due to similarities in color and other similar details, even their voice as both have been voiced by Ryōtarō Okiayu in Japanese for various games, It is later confirmed in an internal design document shown on the Rockman Unite event for the series 30th anniversary that took place in Hirakata and Hanayashiki Parks.
	+ Also coincidentally, the serial number for Proto Man is formed only by zeros (DLN-000).

* In *X4*, Zero was actually going to have his own Ultimate Armor, known as "Mega Armor", instead of his Black Zero recolor. This indirectly explains why the Black Zero is just a simple aesthetic change before becoming an actual upgrade in later games. (The special code for X's Ultimate Armor gives him a slight recolor, and finding a Light Capsule gives him the armor. Presumably, this would also the case with Zero if he actually had an Ultimate Armor.)
* As revealed in *Mega Man 11*, in his youth, Dr. Wily believed that if he granted robots "unstoppable power and insurmountable speed" that could outdo humans, he would cause humanity to celebrate robots for what they were as opposed to considering them as mere tools, as that kind of power could turn any robot into a "hero". This is ironic, as Dr. Wily had created Zero, his final creation, as the most powerful and destructive to exist, but Zero ultimately ended up becoming a formidable force of good.
* Zero's current English dub voice actor, Johnny Yong Bosch, also voices fellow Capcom characters *Nero* from the *Devil May Cry* series and *Yang* from the *Street Fighter* series.
* It's rather interesting how Zero, a creation of *Dr. Wily*, actually ended up fulfilling *Dr. Light'*s dream instead of Wily's - in conclusion of a lifetime fighting against hordes of Reploids based on Light's creation, no less, whose leaders and/or master manipulators often carried even darker ambitions than Wily.
	+ Also interesting is how despite not being intended to be Three Laws compliant, at the end of *Zero 4* where Zero fights Weil, Zero unwittingly follows the fittingly named "Zeroth law", which was made to prevent robots from harming a human, unless said harm would benefit humanity in general.

* Although Zero and X aren't technically Reploids (robots based on X's schematics, "replicated androids"), as they are original androids from the past (technically making them "Robot Masters"), they are known as such because the term Reploid is used for all androids with human-like A.I, and for reasons of simplicity.

* In his foreshadowing appearance in *Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters*, Zero's silhouette is shown with his upgraded frame as of *Mega Man X2* instead of his default frame, as seen with the shape of his shoulder (styled akin to his shoulder guards). Though this was due to the upgraded frame being unusable at the time as Zero was still unruly before being sealed away.
* In *X1*-*X4*, Zero's eyes are green in-game (even though his eyes were brown in his mugshot from *X1*) and blue in artworks. His eyes are completely changed to blue in *X5* onward. His eyes are also green in *Maverick Hunter X* and *Tatsunoko vs. Capcom*. In the *Zero* series, his eye colors range from black to purple.
* Zero has been depicted with a full head of hair in manga form, but never in the video games. In the *Rockman X* manga, Zero's helmet is constantly removed, either by himself or due to the helmet being damaged in battle. He is shown to primarily keep his hair slicked back, although it appears more unkempt following larger battles. In the *Rockman Zero* manga, Zero's helmet is used as a signal to display his split personality syndrome; the cowardly inept personality appears without a helmet, and features loose unkempt hair, while his stoic combat-ready personality appears wearing the helmet. This later is the real personality of Zero.

* In *X5*, if the player looks carefully at the intro sequence, where there are green words scrolling down the screen, one of the words say "Wily".
* In the *X* series, Zero is a Maverick Hunter fighting against insurgence and rebellions caused by Mavericks. In the *Zero* series, Zero *joins* the rebellion against the current government, in the process becoming labeled a Maverick himself.
* Of all the characters to have appeared in the series, Zero is unique in that his Japanese voice actors differ in the series he appears in. In the *X* series, his voice actor is Ryōtarō Okiayu, while in the *Zero* series, his voice actor is Yūto Kazama.
	+ This change of voice could be on the fact that Zero's mind is transferred to a copy of his body that features a different voice chip.
* As Model Z, Zero is the only Biometal to actually attack when not MegaMerged, paralyzing opponents while not even wasting a drop of his energy.
* Having been completed by Dr. Wily between the *Classic* and *X* series, Zero is the longest-lived robot in the Robot Continuity, with an (ultimate) age of termination of 300+: 100+ for the time between the *Classic* and *X* series, 200+ more for the Maverick and Elf wars, another 100+ for the inactive hibernation state in which he begins the *Zero* series, and three for the *Zero* series until *Zero 3*, where his original body was ultimately destroyed.

* In *Mega Man X: Command Mission*, Zero is always seen as left handed with his saber in cutscenes, but in battle he uses his right hand.
* The theme when Zero is discovered in *Mega Man X6* is a remastering of "Variable X" from the first *X* game.
	+ This quality is shared with his death theme from *Maverick Hunter X*.
* Compared to other characters, Zero probably has the most love interests:
	+ In *X4*, Iris has feelings for him.
	+ In *X8*, Zero's Navigator, Layer, shows signs that she has a crush on him.
	+ In the *Zero* series, Ciel has feelings for him.
	+ Despite the many love interests, it's never been officially stated that Zero had romantic feelings for them in return, although he seemed to regard Iris with the most emotion.

* Zero's bonus skin in *Mega Man X DiVE*, White Day Zero, has him wearing a white and black overcoat, which not only was a pun on the holiday he was released in, but also acted as an indirect allusion to his creator, Dr. Wily.
	+ Underneath the coat, Zero's torso also resembles his design in the *Zero* series, which may imply that in-universe, the differing design between Zero in the *X* series and Zero in the *Zero* series (and by extension, Omega Zero) was due to Zero's body being modified during the latter's initial period in stasis.

### XVX

* Zero is the second Mega Man character to appear, after Rock, and with the next one being X.
* In Rock & Hotaru vs Baysu & Hinata, Zero was confirmed that he's going to battle in Season 3 of Mini Rumble, alongside Valentine, Rash, Michelangelo, Cloud, Chun-Li, Sanji, Terry, Makoto Nanaya, Blake, Mai Natsume, Juri, Avdol, Iron Man and Shadow.
* He's the 6th returning charcater to fight in both series, after Shadow, Litchi, Knuckles, Vegeta, Sasuke and Sakuya, and with the next ones being Sanji, Valentine and Genos.