The Maverick Wars (also known as the Reploid Wars or Irregular Wars) are a series of global conflicts that span the Mega Man X video game series. These conflicts were fought between the forces of Mavericks, led by Sigma, and the Maverick Hunters and their allies, led by X and Zero. The war began as The Day of Σ occurred. The subsequent rise of Mavericks as global enemies, as well as the formation of Maverick Hunters were the primary catalysts of the conflicts. Only reploids took part in the wars, hence the name.
Prelude[]
In the late 20XX period, Dr. Thomas Light, the greatest robotic scientist of his time, completed his greatest creation: a robot capable of experiencing genuine human emotion and the ability to make its own choices. The creation of this "X" as Light called it would likely revolutionise robotic technology for decades to come and bring about Light's dream of a world where robots and humans stood as equals. However, Light was also aware that X's capabilities could prove to be potentially disastrous and so he sealed X inside a diagnostic capsule that would continually analyse X's systems over a 30-year period. Dr. Light would not live to see X's awakening and his laboratory remained abandoned and forgotten for several decades past the completion of X's diagnostic period.
Roughly 100 years later, archaeologist Dr. Timothy Cain happened to discover the buried remains of Dr. Light's lab. While the facility was largely dilapidated, the capsule containing X was still operational, as was a single computer console. The console contained Dr. Light's last journal entry and allowed Cain to activate X. X's discovery would be the greatest breakthrough in Cain's career and he began studying Dr. Light's remaining research logs and X's systems. Deciding to continue Light's work, Cain began designing a new generation of robots based on X's technology. These advanced robots, capable of emotion and independent thought, would be known as "Reploids".
Within a few short months since X's revival, Reploids became commonplace among human society. While Reploids were indeed an incredible technological marvel, their creation was not without its negative consequences. Reports of violent crime perpetrated by malfunctioning Reploids soon became a frequent occurrence and ordinary human police were unable to cope with the growing number of "Maverick" incidents, leading to the formation of an all-Reploid peacekeeping force, the Maverick Hunters. Led by Sigma, the Maverick Hunters succeeded in suppressing numerous Maverick incidents with minimal civilian casualties. However, this would change some weeks after Sigma's fateful encounter with an incredibly strong and violent red Reploid...
Reploid Revolution[]
One day, Sigma went Maverick himself and began to view the human race with contempt. Seeing mankind as an impediment to the evolution of Reploids, he decided that Reploids could only achieve their full potential if humans were removed from the equation altogether. He began secretly building up his Maverick forces and committed several acts of sabotage at key military facilities. When the time came, he unleashed a devastating missile attack on Abel City which claimed thousands of lives. Sigma announced to the world that he intended to lead the Reploid race into a new age and called for Reploids everywhere to rise up and destroy humanity.
Since his awakening, X had been uncertain as to what his place in the world was. Though Dr. Light had equipped him with weapons, he was hesitant to enter any situation where he might have to use them. Sigma's rebellion ultimately pushed X into making the decision to fight for humanity and so he and Zero took command of the Maverick Hunters and led them in a campaign against Sigma's revolution. Thus began the Maverick Wars.
Sigma and his forces would be defeated by X and the Hunters, but not without great cost. Many Hunters had either lost their lives or gone Maverick, and Zero had been killed during the final assault on Sigma Palace. With X leading them, the Maverick Hunters continued to hunt down and destroy any Maverick holdouts. This would go on for months until the remaining Maverick forces rallied under the banner of the X-Hunters, a trio of Sigma loyalists plotting to avenge their master by specifically targeting X himself. Using the remains of the fallen Zero, the X-Hunters attempted to lure X into a trap. Their plan ultimately failed and X managed to defeat the X-Hunters and recover Zero's parts, allowing Dr. Cain to revive him.
Though the Maverick revolution instigated by Sigma was over for the most part, many Reploids continued to succumb to the Sigma Virus and commit acts of violence. However, one Reploid scientist known as Dr. Doppler announced that he had discovered a vaccine to the Sigma Virus and invited Reploids from all over the world to join his new utopian community Dopple Town where they would receive the miraculous treatment. However, the vaccine turned out to be a hoax, a lure that Doppler used to gather Reploids to build up his own Maverick army to conquer the world.
Doppler soon began launching Maverick attacks across the globe and even sent his forces to attack Maverick Hunter HQ. X and Zero were successful in defending their base and launched a counter-offensive, striking several key areas across Dopple Town. They discovered that Dr. Doppler had revived one of their old foes, the former Hunter known as Vile, so that he could take revenge against X. Not only that, but Doppler was also intending to revive Sigma, having built a terrifying new battle body for him. X and Zero launched a surgical strike into Dr. Doppler's lab where they confronted the doctor and defeated him. The battle seemed to have caused Doppler to regain his sanity and he claimed that he had been corrupted by Sigma. To make amends, he uploaded a Sigma antibody into Zero's Z-Saber which Zero could then use to delete Sigma. X and Zero fought against Sigma and destroyed his new body, then Zero attacked Sigma's viral essence with the antibody. With Sigma seemingly deleted, X and Zero fled Doppler's lab before it self-destructed.
The Great Repliforce War[]
Some time following the destruction of Dopple Town, Dr. Cain and the government sanctioned the creation of a Reploid military force to assist the Maverick Hunters in eliminating widespread Maverick activity. It was hoped that the Repliforce would finally bring about a lasting peace, but Sigma (who had once more been revived through unknown circumstances) devised a scheme to pit Repliforce and the Hunters against each other. He sent his Maverick agents to bomb the floating city of Sky Lagoon, causing it to drop out of the sky onto the city below it. Repliforce troops were already present by the time the Maverick Hunters had mobilised, leading the Hunters to suspect that Repliforce were responsible for the catastrophe. X and Zero urged the Repliforce commanders to disarm, but they refused out of arrogant pride. The result of this pride was the entire Repliforce being labelled as Mavericks.
Outraged by the public's damning accusations, the General announced that Repliforce would sever all ties with humanity and forge their own independent nation solely for Reploids. This led to a series of conflicts between Repliforce and the Maverick Hunters which be remembered in history as the Great Repliforce War. While the Hunters continually reached out to the General and Colonel to resolve the conflict peacefully, the Repliforce leaders were determined to stay the course. They organised the construction of a massive satellite, the Final Weapon, which would serve as Repliforce's new nation. However, Sigma sabotaged the satellite and directed the weapon at Earth, intending to destroy the whole planet. While X and Zero defeated Sigma, the Final Weapon was locked and ready to fire. Realising his error, the General decided to stop the weapon by blocking the firing chamber with his own massive body. The General's sacrifice destroyed the Final Weapon and exonerated Repliforce, but only after their destruction and the loss of so many lives.
The Earth Crisis[]
With each defeat, Sigma would only become more obsessed with ultimately destroying the Maverick Hunters and humanity. His next scheme had him joining forces with an unidentified benefactor who seemed to know all about Zero, and with this unknown individual's insight, concocted a plan to "purify" Zero and restore his original Maverick personality. Sigma hired the Reploid mercenary Dynamo to sabotage the newly built Space Colony Eurasia, using a virus to destabilise its orbit and bring it crashing down to Earth. At the same time, Sigma made his presence known to the Maverick Hunters in order to lure X and Zero into a trap.
Sigma confronted X and Zero, losing to them on purpose. When his body was destroyed, Sigma's viral essence was scattered across the planet, causing Reploids to go Maverick on a worldwide scale. With the Eurasia Colony on a collision course with Earth, X and Zero's priority was to gather resources needed to build a weapon capable of destroying Eurasia before impact. As they set about gathering parts for the Enigma Cannon, the Hunters had to contend with many Mavericks and Sigma's free-roaming viral fragments.
While X and Zero succeeded in restoring the Enigma weapon, they were too late to stop Eurasia altogether. The Enigma blast caused the colony to fragment, raining down debris across much of the Earth and rendering much of the surface uninhabitable for humans. While humanity began evacuating their cities and taking shelter underground, X and Zero investigated Area Zero where the largest chunk of Eurasia debris had fallen. There, the Hunters discovered that the Sigma Virus had combined with the virus that had infected Eurasia's systems, forming the Zero Virus. Zero was infected with this virus and he returned to his Maverick state, attacking X. X was able to fend off Zero's attack and managed to bring him back to his senses. It was then that Sigma, who had been watching his enemies fight each other from the shadows, stepped in and attacked them.
X and Zero fought Sigma and defeated him once again, but Sigma managed to survive long enough to launch a sneak attack that fatally wounded the two Maverick Hunters. Zero then let off one last blast from his Z-Buster and destroyed Sigma. After the battle, X was retrieved and repaired by his fellow Maverick Hunters, but Zero had disappeared and was presumed dead.
The Nightmare Phenomenon[]
In the wake of the Eurasia Colony's fall, humanity had been forced to move underground while Reploids remained on the surface to rebuild and restore the environment. During this time, a Reploid scientist named Gate had been investigating Area Zero where he found a fragment of Zero's DNA. Taking the sample for study, Gate was corrupted by the virus infecting the fragment and went Maverick.
Gate used Zero's DNA to fashion a new virus known as the Nightmare. With the aid of fellow scientist Isoc, he unleashed the Nightmare Virus upon the Reploid population. As Reploids began experiencing vivid hallucinations, they would behave erratically and often even destroy themselves. Gate attempted to reassure the populace by assembling a group of Nightmare Investigators to seek out and destroy the source of the Nightmare Phenomenon, though in truth these so-called Investigators were merely Mavericks programmed to do Gate's bidding. Gate intended for the Nightmare to weed out lower-class Reploids, allowing him to build a new world where only Reploids of a superior level would live.
Unconvinced by Gate's falsehoods, the Maverick Hunters began their own investigation. Gate had convinced many Reploids that the Nightmare was being spread by the former Hunter Zero, but X refused to believe this. X eventually discovered that Zero was being framed by an imperfect clone created by Gate and he confronted the clone and destroyed it. After the Zero Nightmare was destroyed, the real Zero reappeared, having gone into hiding to repair himself after his previous battle with Sigma. Reunited once more, X and Zero uncovered the truth behind Gate's plot and wiped out the Nightmare.
Red Alert[]
As the 21XX era drew to a close, the Earth's surface had begun to recover following the Earth Crisis. However, Maverick activity was once again on the rise and the understaffed Maverick Hunters were struggling to cope. However, a new vigilante group known as Red Alert had emerged and was dealing with Maverick incidents in place of the Hunters.
While Red Alert were viewed favourably by the public for a time, that soon changed as the organisation began taking more brutal actions, not only against Mavericks but innocent civilians as well. During this time, Axl, a shapeshifting Reploid and former member of Red Alert, decided to approach the Maverick Hunters, offering them information and helping Zero deal with Red Alert members in the field.
When the Hunters attack Red Alert's HQ, they discover that Red Alert has been taken over by Sigma, who has taken an interest in Axl's unique abilities. X, Zero and Axl confront Sigma together and defeat him, after which Axl is officially welcomed into the ranks of the Maverick Hunters.
The Jakob Project[]
Weary of the seemingly endless conflicts brought about by Mavericks, humanity begins migrating to the Moon using the new Jakob Orbital Elevator. As part of the project, the Jakob Orbital Elevator was built in the Galápagos Islands, and a highly advanced new generation of Reploids have been created to work on the Moon's surface. However, Vile captured the Reploid in charge of the Jakob Project, Lumine, and several Maverick attacks break out around the world. The Maverick Hunters are forced to fight against the Mavericks while trying to locate Lumine.
After defeating the Mavericks, it's discovered that Sigma was behind the attacks, and he was with Vile and Lumine on the Moon. His plan was to destroy the old Earth to create a new world with "his children," the New Generation Reploids. X, Zero and Axl head to the moon and destroyed Sigma once again, but after Sigma's defeat, Lumine appears to destroy them saying that Sigma's legacy lives on in the New Generation Reploids. After a difficult fight, Lumine was defeated, but not before striking Axl's helmet crystal and rendering him unconscious.
On the trip back, X and Zero ponder the nature of Reploid evolution and Sigma's final death while Axl's crystal gives a faint ominous glow.
In the end, Lumine's death and the news of him becoming Maverick had reached the ears of those in power, and it was decided that all production of Copy Chips be halted. However, the production of the disputed chips resumed many years later due to the increasing need for advanced Reploids in their quest for space development, despite the advice of those who have studied the history of the Copy Chips and their serious consequences.
Conclusion[]
Even after Sigma was finally destroyed on the Moon, the Maverick Wars continued for several more years. Sigma's core consciousness had been deleted, but the virus that caused Reploids to go Maverick remained on Earth and continued to spread. It was discovered that Zero, as the original virus carrier, was continuing to spread the virus unknowingly. He would be placed in stasis for decades, during which time a cure was developed and distributed among the Reploid populace. While this cure brought an end to the Maverick Wars, it also paved the way for a new series of conflicts that lead the Earth to ruin in the future...