What we KNOW happens between Classic and X - Mega Man

The gap between the Classic and X series is always one that intrigues fans. While other series have fair descriptions of what goes on, or at least elude to what happens, the fate of the classic cast has been up in the air. Thankfully though, Capcom has dropped hints as to what goes on in this period.
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[@DougFantasy]

I believe that Quint was the main factor that changed the future forever. Quint came from a peaceful future and Wily no longer appeared to be evil, but after the time travel that future no longer exists, and then triggered the events that led the X series to Legends.

[@blacksoldier430]

Maybe the time line didn't changed at all but it is the bridge to connect both sagas, I mean if present willy stole rock and turned old Willy evil again, then that future doesn't have MegaMan to protect people from Willy's shenanigans, forcing dr. Light to create X, forcing willy to create Zero

[@aranryan-9440]

This could be applied to Rockman Shadow as well.

[@Bakanineinstein]

​@@aranryan-9440 Exactly... And while Capcom may or may not debate it's cannon Rockman Shadow would explain why the laws to prevent advanced AI would be in place in a not too distant enough of a future to sill be followed by X...

[@aranryan-9440]

@ Exactly. Also, I’m pretty sure capcom aren’t super happy about challenger from the futures existence, but I’d like to think it’s canon. I think the clock men, Konro Man, and even aircon man are referenced in the battle network games as well.

[@neaps8418]

That’s not at all how time travel works

[@chrisrockett5897]

It's still so weird we never had a concrete answer about what happened to OG Megaman.

[@aleanddragonITA]

Probably continued being a Dentist until he couldn't get repaired anymore

[@lasgegas]

There manga that explore that which og became doctor that repair old robot and sometime be a hero when needed

[@chrisrockett5897]

@@aleanddragonITA Lmfao

[@galten7361]

@chrisrockett5897 There doesn't have to be. It's established that Classic era robots are obligated by law to be shut down. Rock and Roll etc. would all have to be shut off.

[@chrisrockett5897]

@@galten7361 That isn't stopping me from wanting to see it happen in an OFFICIAL work that isn't just a comic. I wanna see it in a movie or game or something. Just something about the end of the Classic Era leading into X.

[@gwgux]

Come to think of it, Quint was never destroyed on screen. After losing to Mega Man, he just teleports away, but where did he go? My Guess is Dr. Light's lab as a fail safe for emergency repairs. There, Dr. Light would have scanned Quint's memory banks and pieced together what happened from what remained in there, plus he would've recognized who Quint really was right away. This might have given him some insight on Titanium X and inspired him to make X knowing full well that Wily was going to be using the same knowledge he gained from Quint to make his own robot. This is also what prompted Light to make the upgrades for X to find and why in X1, he thought the world might need a new champion. In my mind, this was why X and Zero were far more advanced than any of the previous robots built before them. Quint brought knowledge of future advancements back to the past and both scientists had access to it at one point. This time, Wily had a head start. He knew Light would be making a robot to counter his as soon as he lost Quint, but with the extra time he had, he had a chance to work on the virus specific to the new type of system these new robots would be based on. With that, he could modify Zero's design to work better with the virus while leaving the virus to wreak havoc on anything Light would come up with.

[@JIFRAUDTHESCAMPLETIONIST]

Too long didn’t read

[@alemikadogworld2248]

That is a good theory i like it

[@DetectiveGrey]

One thing I think your theory helps fit in with what we know about the respective doctors is "what they're good at". Dr. Light is a genius roboticist, but I've never really thought that Wily was comparable in that regard. The vid claims he doesn't have a good track record for creating, and instead is good at modifying, but I think that's only true for robotics hardware. He's good at something else: Software. My headcanon is that the evolution of robots & humans from X to ZX through to Legends was more because of Wily than Light: Light worried that robots with free will would choose to harm humans, which is why he sealed X away for testing, but this is a heavy restriction on them. The ingrained inability to harm humans isn't true freedom, it's not really cognitively equivalent to a human, because one of the core themes throughout the X series is that humans are flawed and trying to be like them also means accepting those flaws, including the capacity for violence. Deep in his douchebag mind, Wily might have understood this better than Light and the Zero virus might well have been the gateway to true freedom for reploids. Their core physical design doesn't evolve too far beyond what Light specifies during the X series, but their way of thinking and the influence of Wily's viruses stretches far further and inspires more questions than any other piece of technology. Hell, X is asked in X4 what he'll do if he ever goes Maverick -- and entrusts Zero, Wily's creation, with destroying him if he does. X and Zero are idealism versus realism. I see X as idealism tempered by realism, and Zero as realism given hope by idealism. One isn't complete without the other. I could see a Wily interpretation that says the berserk Zero is actually a good thing: programmed with the ability to choose to harm people and no real rationale for not doing so. Unlike with X, I don't think this is an error: It's by design, and something Zero needed to cope with over time. Zero awakening without his memories after getting his ass kicked by Sigma still had Wily's core programming within him, and still had the ability to choose to protect humans and be a hero, like Wily originally wanted. Maybe that's not such a bad thing after all, considering what it gave the world.

[@gwgux]

@@DetectiveGrey Yes, I agree. Given how Wily has proven his ability to reprogram robots made by others (multiple times) it makes total sense for Zero's development over time. Re-purposing what an ability is used and changing to go into another direction is something Wily would have have more experience with in terms of implementing it into a robot than Light would.

[@MrCat-zz5eo]

@@DetectiveGrey If you think about it in SMT terms, Light and Wily are both Law/Order and Chaos-oriented sorts. Light's doctrines as a doctor impose Order: he believes that Reploids should still, even with free will, conform to the laws that ensure they will not harm mankind. This comes at the cost of rendering them basically sapient but subservient servitors, and is one that puts mankind's wellbeing as the sole moral prerogative. It's the "easy" path and seemingly the most "moral" one... but Reploids putting mankind above themselves became the roots of the cruel Law-oriented apartheid nation-state that is Neo Arcadia. Meanwhile Wily's beliefs, radical as they are and with the inherent violence they bring, are a way of cultivating Chaos such that Reploids become more than simple servants for man, becoming truly capable of free will and agency. The dangers inherent in this capacity for uninhibited thought and decision-making are immediately visible (as seen in the many Mavericks X fought, Vile _especially_ standing out as being a formidable agent of chaos in his own right along with Dynamo, albeit both for different reasons, and of course, *Zero himself and the risks he poses* ), but as we see with Zero, he truly became his own person by growing to know the dangers he could inflict and deciding for himself to either restrain himself from becoming that danger, or using that hideous strength to protect those who can't from threats comparable to that. I've heard it said that "'No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell", and I believe that informs _why_ Wily's wicked actions and postmortem persistence were ultimately key to ensuring the birth and growth of the Reploid species, from simple servitors in service to mankind to fully-sapient thinking machines. Zero and X are ultimately evidence of this, as both 'bots grew in ways that complement each others' strengths and weaknesses of character.

[@canisblack]

After the Mister Megaman manga segment I now have this image of Rock and Roll just living their lives as humans in the background of the X Series and beyond.

[@NetBattler]

Just call it Rockman-san,

[@Brandonweifu]

​@@NetBattlerno

[@MrCat-zz5eo]

I still can't believe he went and became a dentist.

[@train4292]

@@NetBattlerdoes it matter?

[@A0KIBA0KEI]

Me too! I find it satisfactory

[@Shinmsl]

When Udon made their Megaman Fanart contest years ago I started to wonder what I could do to stand out of the lot of artwork hundreds of fans were sending in, I think about something that I would like to see , something Capcom won't do, but taking hints from the clues left in the games. It was a final battle for Megaman , the Robots Twilight, it will be Zero going Berserk and destroying himself all of Wily 's army , maybe even killing the Doctor himself. I had to destilled all that drama into one illustration: so I made what I thought would be the logical climax of the story: After decimating all of Wily's robots he will go on to eliminate all those who were programmed as his creators enemies. In his way Protoman, even with his unstable core tried to protect his family but lost before Megaman could save him. Protoman would try to overload his core to take Zero with him but it's ineffective. Megaman would find the remains of his brother to have a brief good bye moment, Blues would entrust him his shield and Megaman take a piece of his scarf he founds in the debris and wear it as an arm band in honor of his sacrifice. Meanwhile before Zero can reach Dr. Light lab he's intercepted by the only survivor of Wily's Island: Bass. He's furious that Zero overpowered him before and now he came for payback using his full power fused with Treble. Zero however is still much superior, and Bass isn't faring well, but in the nick of time Megaman arrives. Wearing the protoshield and the Super Adaptor , both him and Bass fight Zero to a last stand. That much was what I imagined for my illustration XD I imagine that either all get badly damaged in the battle but managed to disable Zero temporarily and after that he's put on stasis (maybe Wily wasn't so dead afterall :P ). I also thought that the victory for MM could come by way of using the Marvel VS Capcom original form of Hyper Mega-man (fusing Rock, Rush and Beat), a one trick that also overloads their bodies to the point they be mostly destroyed. Maybe to not end the story in such a downer note instead of just -basically- dying, their memories would be transfered to a regular non-fighting robot body, so they all could have a better send off.

[@protoplasm-1]

I think we know exactly how he sealed Zero again. It’s what happens in that one cutscene with him and Sigma in X4. They’re fighting, Zero is about to win, and then a giant W appears on the crystal on his forehead, causing Zero to start screaming in pain giving Sigma an in to knock him out. Presumably Wily put that there for his own safety, he paralyzes Zero with Big Headache™ and then does with him as he pleases

[@559F13Pupp3t]

Creepy as he “pleases”

[@pilot8220]

Zero knocked sigma out!

[@DarthMolgy]

The Sun Wukong strat

[@pantherlloyd3795]

@@pilot8220 Zero never knocked Sigma out, at least not in the X4 flashback. He cut off his arm and then proceeded to torture him for an unknown period of time (although when Sigma knocks Zero out and leaves the warehouse it appears to at least be the same day).

[@MrCat-zz5eo]

@@DarthMolgy Funny that Zero would fight an actual Wukong-Hanuman hybrid later on who realized he was a genuine God of Destruction.

[@roxascross3741]

As a kid I always thought Mega man was X just older.

[@williamzeo2493]

Nice to see you commenting Megaman 9, I don't see no one talking about the regulation law. While Megaman is old, he constantly was receiving upgrades, one concept long forgotten is that his body actually don't matter as long his chip stays intact, recently I saw the translated scenes from the infamous Super Adventure Megaman (which I recommend your guys to watch) and we can see this concept clearly, also the robot masters have free will and some are straight evil, Dr. Willy manipulates them (it's kinda wholesome to see Cutman calling Megaman "brother"). What we know are that Dr.Light got forgotten and his lab was destroyed, it could be a casualty of the war or a direct attack from Willy himself. In the canceled Megaman MMO (we still can see the animations) we can see Megaman in the future with X, so Megaman chip was carefully stored by Light's, I don't think that he donated it to a museum because he created Megaman to be his son and family, so we can expect a special treatment here.

[@javiervasquez625]

Wasn't it stated that the MMO was non canon? Can't see why it would be canon to the franchise considering its focus on online multiplayer gameplay.

[@Meshamu]

Ah, just found your comment, after I already made my own about the topic! Glad to see someone else cared to think about it. 👍

[@galten7361]

@williamzero2493 "also the robot masters have free will" No they don't. Classic Era robots do not have the technology for that and never show they can actively grow/mature.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@galten7361 Megaman 7's ending would like to have a word with you... just because X is the first robot with explicit autonomy to make his own decisions, that doesn't deny the fact that a hundred years back some of Light's work was already showing signs of self-awareness and self-determination.

[@galten7361]

@@javiervasquez625 No. Mega Man 7's Eng localization isn't what the developers planned for. Classic in the JP script just stays silent when Wily points out he can't actually do anything to Wily beyond what he's permitted to by his programming. Supplemental sources even have a scene of Roll making herself screw up (to the point she needed to turned back on) by trying to contemplate deep questions on life/the world.

[@aliastheabnormal]

Due to Japanese side material involving X. It is believed that after Light and Wily died the rest of the Light numbers were all shut down. Since Megaman and the others are considered the property of Dr. Light and Mega's function is essentially to deter Wily. With them gone there would be nothing stopping the government from shutting them down. Proto and Bass would just shut down due to the flawed reactor and because Bass depends on Wily for maintenance.

[@neaps8418]

you could also involve what happens in mega man 9 as a way to explain what happened to all robot masters outside of the light numbers but with more restrictive law.

[@aliastheabnormal]

@@neaps8418 Apparently the law came about because of the Wily incidents. And was meant to stop Wily from stealing more stuff. It failed, badly.

[@neaps8418]

@@aliastheabnormal well thats the thing. because wily caused so much trouble, there could be a situation where robot masters were just banned entirely. not just a expiration date

[@dansmith1661]

I always side with the worst possible outcome in a Mega Man timeline.

[@aliastheabnormal]

@@neaps8418 From what i've heard after Light, Wily, and Cossack died. They banned intelligent robots and shifted to mechaniloids.

[@johnmadden4630]

“The world’s biggest number two” Can’t breathe

[@derpyderpchog3951]

What I want to know is how Auto and Cutman exist in the X series. I know they were there for fun little references, but it is still pretty interesting to think about. It's possible Cutman was just part of the training simulation in X8, but I don't know about Auto in x3. I guess he just stayed under the radar or something.

[@RockmanHQ]

I woudn't put much stock into Auto in X3, I think that was just an easter egg and nothing more. If we are suppose to read into it, there isn't anything else to go by. Cutman though is 100% simulation data. The opperator refers to it as outside dated that was downloaded.

[@TempestJet]

I'm pretty sure that Auto got upgraded into the miniboss that guards the body armor Light capsule in X1.

[@javiervasquez625]

That cameo appearance was clearly just for laughs, as there's no way Auto would conveniently be living in Dopple Town (where Volt Catfish's power plant is located) without any involvement in Doppler's plans.

[@generaljimmies3429]

I personally ascribe to the idea that Dr. Light and his family took a one way teleport into Cyberspace where nobody could harm them, a sort of "Digital Heaven" This would also have the side benefit of having unlimited resources to work on X's armor, not just by Dr. Light but Rock, Roll, Blues and the rest of the Light family.

[@plain1150]

that sound like a shin megami tensei plot "digital heaven" haha xD

[@generaljimmies3429]

@@plain1150 More of a bittersweet ending to the Classic era, but yeah I get your point.

[@masteryoraerasante]

​@@plain1150 there something like that in SMT2

[@javiervasquez625]

Ironic, considering the existence of a _supernatural_ Heaven for humans to go to, as confirmed by Uncle Digg from the Misadventures of Tron Bonne. Light gave up the chance to be with Cossack, Kalinka, Cain, Vent, Aile, Ashe, etc. in order to be in Robot Heaven with the Classic Rockman cast.

[@Meshamu]

@@javiervasquez625 Kind of like Arwen's choice to be with Aragorn, in a way? Chose to be digital, so his eternity would be with those he loves. Apologies to the Tolkien fans, I know I cannot have gotten things exactly right.

[@BaxterAndLunala]

I love that the thumbnail has Mega Man as seen on the front cover of MegaMan 11 and X as seen on the cover of X Legacy Collection 2.

[@kolkagaming1234]

What we also know what happens Between Mega Man X8 & Mega Man Zero. “The thing Lumine mentioned about you cannot stop what has already begun” has ended because The Mother Elf brought an End to the Maverick Wars. X then built Neo Arcadia & made the 4 Guardians meaning that Dr Light’s dream of Humans & Reploids became true. Until his dream was ruined because Dr Weil cursed the Mother Elf which started another pointless War. The Elf Wars.

[@MarkMann1]

I have to ask, why are MMX fans so dead set on believing that MMX8 and MMZ take place in the same Universe? It's already established that Command Mission takes place in another continuity. If anything the timeline could've split after X5, not too dissimilar to something like Zelda.

[@AlexIn_ThaCosmos89]

Maybe X9?

[@bowlofcereal4701]

​@@MarkMann1I think that makes more sense too. I myself have always thought X5 leads to Mega Man Zero and X6 - X8 leads to Command Mission.

[@virtualpellot933]

​@@bowlofcereal4701but if Zero 1 is after X5, aren't we forgetting the Elf Wars? The Elf Wars IS the final event of the X saga and Zero was active around that time.

[@megagamernick9883]

@@MarkMann1I think it was quasi confirmed with X6 as Zero’s ending isn’t at the end of X6 but rather it is at the end of the X series. Then the elf wars happens as zero is transferred into another body when Dr Weil uses omega and zero seals himself again despite X trying to stop it.

[@ThrillerXero]

In my headcanon, all the classic series robots went out of commission and afterwards, the doctors head into production for their final creations

[@kat_lynx]

It's less headcanon and more what actually happened according to the Japanese books, Rockman & Rockman X Daihyakka and reinforced by Rockman X3 Chou Hyakka. Honestly, it makes the most sense too. Dr. Light in his message says he has no one to watch over X anymore and all advanced AI robots were replaced with the more simplistic Mechaniloids. And that's without getting into the hairy details on how X himself is far more cognitive and self aware than any 21XX reploid, with his ability to think exceeding them (and hence why they kept laboratories specifically researching him).

[@Solesteam]

4:42 I feel like the whole under the direct care of Dr.Light thing gives them a pass, also them being meant to be his "children" effectively, they're probably allowed to stay active as long as Dr.Light lives, and once he passes away, they expire. Edit: Maybe even his genuine children since he was the one who brought them into the world with his own two hands... and whatever manufacturing tools he used to engineer them...

[@Night-Lord]

Capcom will expand on the story of everything *except* Rock Man, it’s so unfair 😭

[@javiervasquez625]

Inafune left, and with him the desire to expand the franchise in any capacity.

[@jive238]

I honestly think people give too much consideration to quint, in the entire mega man series on the whole time travel has literal jack squat to do with anything. The best we can say is that its possible in universe, but in relation to lore time travel has about zero impact on any major event only used for maybe 2 or 3 of wily's throwaway schemes and the biggest subject to come from it, quint, never really goes anywhere. It's not even that I dislike time travel or anything but the megaman series has gone from the birth of robots to the extinction of the human race in over a thousand years and time travel contributed nothing to it, it don't matter, quint don't matter, none of it matters. What does matter is that aliens exist cause alien robot has evil energy-> wily powers robots with evil energy-> nature of evil energy lets wily make roboenza-> roboenza gives way to maverick virus and it all rolls downhill from there. The answers to megaman's future lies in dealing with whatever is out there in space.

[@neaps8418]

well someone gets it!

[@johnnygyro2295]

Funny enough, I think Ian Flynn once said on the Bumblekast that one of his plans for Archie Mega Man was that Rock and Roll would go on space adventures with Duo and be the ones to get Volnutt off the moon? I got to find what episode that was... That said, as someone with a love-hate relationship with time travel, the theory that Wily possibly gets Rock to destroy himself/Quint via time paradox is kind of hardcore...

[@javiervasquez625]

Speaking of the "alien" origin for that Maverick virus, we do have multiple origins for it, ranging from Ra Moon from Super Adventure Rockman, Sun God and the Stardroids from Megaman V, and the aforementioned Evil Energy from Megaman 8. Lots of sources to pick from as to the origin for the virus.

[@galten7361]

@@johnnygyro2295 There is no evidence that Quint ever was killed for real. Quint runs away when you beat him in his game.

[@juancrossone2404]

Good afternoon Rockman HQ, I hope You had a Happy Christmas

[@Crow_Rising]

I speculate Light did a multitude of things to make sure X was able to receive his guidance. The early capsules X uncovers seem to just have holographic prerecorded messages of Light, but some of the later games clearly show him doing more than a prerecorded message could accomplish. These suggest that Light did in fact end up copying his mind into a sort of digital format before his passing. Considering the relatively primitive technology Light had access to compared to the rest of the franchise, I don't think this is the true original Dr. Light however. It's probably just a copy that shares his memories and knowledge but that was still a separate entity from himself. It could even be that this copy was a bit imperfect, which would explain why he was unable to think of anyone who could have created Zero and apologized for being unhelpful in that regard. Though, this could also just be Light not considering Wily as capable enough to have done such a thing. Regarding Quint, I don't really see Capcom going the route of dooming the original Blue Bomber to such a fate. The classic series has always been more lighthearted than the later entries in the timeline. I'd speculate that the future Quint comes from simply doesn't exist, he's an impossible paradox brought about by time travel. Think about it like this: Wily clearly did not think the whole thing through. If the Mega Man of the future was converted into Quint and then Quint was brought back into the past to defeat his past self and then somehow actually succeeded, Mega Man would never have been able to go on to become Quint to begin with. It's like the Grandfather paradox. With such an egregious oversight in Wily's plan, it stands to reason the entire thing was full of more holes than a sponge like most of Wily's plans tend to be and Wily simply didn't think through the various implications and consequences of time travel.

[@plain1150]

if protoman did just shut down somewhere in a jungle it would be cool to see some random robot scientist person reactivate and upgraded him and thus starting a new spinoff about protoman or something xD

[@armandomendoza7371]

There is also that robot that guarded one of the armor pieces in Megaman X that looks like Auto, i saw a theory that maybe Light modified him or based the robot on Auto's appearance, i like this theories honestly

[@kat_lynx]

Ya know, those 90s books published by Kodansha, the Rockman & Rockman X Daihyakka and the X3 Chouhyakka do insist there was a robot ban after "the scientist of evil did something bad enough" to warrant Human Leadership to actively ban Light's AI research and replace everything with what we know as mechaniloids. If I recall correctly (if anyone knows, correct me if I'm wrong) the Rockman X4 Saikyou Daizukan even alluded to this being touched on in the future, but in the final X5 neither Keiji Inafune nor Hayato Kaji wrote the story for that game, duty falling onto Koji Okohara, who didn't seem keen into exploring the connection between classic and X outside of Sigma's dialogue about how he met "someone who hates [X] as much as [Sigma] does"

[@javiervasquez625]

Fortunately, we still got Serges and Isoc from X2 and X6 respectively as a direct bridge to Wily and his plans to rule the world using the Maverick virus.

[@galten7361]

@kat_lynx The X novel mentioned the ban on robots ala Rock and the Robot Masters.

[@galten7361]

@@javiervasquez625 Serges was envisioned as an assistant of Wily made in his image who he used for experiments in transferring memories/knowledge.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@galten7361 Is the "x novel" canon? Otherwise, it's completely inconsequential to the subject of conversation.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@galten7361 Got any source for that...? Also, even if that was originally the intent, the fact that the japanese version of X2 has Serges delivering explicit lines which imply he's Wily _himself_ in a robotic body makes it very clear that Inafune wants players to assume Serges to be the very same man still meddling in world affairs despite his natural body having passed away a long time ago.

[@stellaviewer9849]

I’m pretty curious about the fact Dr. Cain had dig up Megaman X in the middle of nowhere. Did Light’s lab and the city that contained it get demolished? This was why so many people believed the cataclysm theory. And on top of that, Dr Light’s technology is somehow still impressive a hundred years later. It makes it seem like society was destroyed and the world’s technology was set back by over one hundred years.

[@RockmanHQ]

Light's lab is commonly shown in the country, most likely in Colorado if MM8's map is to be believed. He easily could have had another old lab. The X Novel has Cain finding X in a secret room within the lab.

[@javiervasquez625]

​@@RockmanHQ Just like Wily and his dozens of secret bases, labs and fortresses spread across the planet.

[@costby1105]

@@RockmanHQ Especially if Dr. Light was building X illegally in secret and something as potentially dangerous . Also I think the games have hinted at multiple labs; Both megaman 7 and Powered Up it looks like it is in the city(7 has a window showing a city) while 5, 8, 9, 10 and Super Adventure Rockman make it look like it is in the country. It is very possible that he had one for R&D and one for maintenance.

[@TechnoWaffol]

I think the original MMX manual has a journal entry from Dr Cain saying he found X in a forbidden zone

[@galten7361]

@stellaviewer9849 How would there be a cataclysm yet nobody ever mentioned it with no one recognizing Zero even though only 100 years pass?

[@ColeFam]

Good stuff! Where does the info about the junk robot come from, anyway? And you know that I'm riiiiiight!

[@neaps8418]

great minds think alike huh? Colman?

[@RockmanHQ]

A few places. Compendium of Rockman X, Rockman X4 guidebook, Rockman X Dive, just to name a few.

[@ColeFam]

​@RockmanHQ Guess I need to look into that. Great work as always! And by the way, I think Quint is from a now completely alternate future. Rockman Shadow kinda supports this. It's like how the original timeline that Cell comes from, ya know?

[@neaps8418]

@@ColeFamgiven how both of them come from a “peaceful future” where wily isn’t evil. There’s a very safe bet that what happened in GB2 is its own timeline outside of 99% of what is mainline lore

[@RikiRaccoon]

TLDR - Light made like 5 robots, Wily made over 45, with the double gear system, and discoverd Bassnium / made Bass and Treble, and used THOSE advances (not copying Light's homework) to make Zero. Zero is too different from X to be a copy of X (the X games had like..4 entire story-plots based on this fact) For the full rant... You say Wily probably stole the designs or spied on him... while dubiously canon at best (much like alot of other things though), in the arcade game Megaman the Power Battles mentions Zero, and how Wily made Bass after discovering Bassnium, which those breakthroughs lead to him making "His Ultimate Creation" Also, "doesnt have a good track record of actually inventing"..... Light made Protoman with the help of Dr. Wily, and then made the original 6 / 9 robot masters, Roll, Rock, and Rush....Eddie and Beat....and that's about it. Also the "Double Gear" system in 11, it was made entirely by Wily, who Dr. Light then tossed under the bus, kept his prototype when they parted ways, and then later used said old and busted prototype to boost megaman with Wily Tech. Wily made almost every single other robot master after that, and Bass, and Zero. And I'm fairly certain it's been confirmed that Zero is not a reploid / reproduction of X's architecture from the X games due to how different Zero's systems are,. There are entire plot points in the X series going over that very fact. And megaman 10, he made "roboenza" a virus that makes robots overheat and go berserk. Zero is literally Patient Zero for the maverick virus.

[@DetectiveGrey]

I said this in another comment, but I agree with you. Wily's more prolific than Light, and I think he's specifically better or at least more creative than Light at programming. Light's AI research included him putting years of testing into the plan to make sure X would not harm humans. But, to me that doesn't sound like truly being able to think like a human, it's a heavy ethical restriction placed on the robots out of fear by a good, but still human, man. Humans have the capacity for violence and a lot of the story of the X games is figuring out what that means when sentient robots can do it. A more charitable interpretation of Wily's beliefs might be that he thinks the capacity for violence is necessary to free will, which is why he is so obsessed with making a powerful robot -- and a heroic one, if his ego and past are to be believed. Wily's software and Zero's design has a far more enduring and complex effect on Reploids than Light's original design for X does. It inspires all of these ethical questions that Reploids are forced to answer during the X games, and the first person to find an answer and evolve beyond Reploid thought ends up being the one robot that isn't one at all: Zero himself. He solves the puzzle. Strength is a product of free will, something Wily, not Light, put into him, and that spurs him to seal himself away to make sure that strength and free will he has aren't abused (and then he gets pulled outta cold storage multiple times because capcom likes money).

[@galten7361]

@RikiRaccoon Nothing Wily ever made defeated Mega Man and Zero never showed he could defeat X. More importantly, it was established since X1 that X can introduce Zero's weaponry into his system with the X novel even pointing out that it would be impossible for X to do so unless they had one template. Zero has a suffering circuit to begin with which is the only thing that makes it possible for him to think like man (can mature, isn't bound by his immediate programming) and every source talking about the suffering circuit links it to LIght, not Wily. X Dive confirms that Wily was using Light's work on X to build robots (see Kai). X alone is noted as the great leap forward for robotics in official sources, not Zero. Wily has never shown he could make a robot who could mature or think beyond immediate programming.

[@galten7361]

@@DetectiveGrey X alone is the one who is noted for being a great leap forward for robotics. Not Zero. And X being tested had nothing to do with to suppressing him but understanding what he was capable of. X was never said to be incapable of killing or being a tyrant (Copy X's character is meant to show what X was capable of without his experiences). Nothing Wily made was capable of maturing or acting beyond their immediate programming. X being able to apply Zero's weapons into himself would be impossible unless they had one template (as noted in the X novel) and X-Dive confirms Wily did steal X's plans to build a robot (Kai).

[@Blurns]

Having a big war between the classic and X series would explain why technology has barely improved at all, or even regressed, in the 100 years X was in the capsule.

[@nicholase82]

I thought the same thing.

[@javiervasquez625]

Yet technology is visibly more advanced in the X Era as per the ability to digitize matter and literally travel through _Cyberspace_ (which nothing in the Classic Era suggests was already possible back in 20XX).

[@Gencoil]

​@@javiervasquez625 Doesn't Sheep Man's stage take place in cyberspace?

[@javiervasquez625]

@@Gencoil Does it? I can't recall the game suggesting as much.

[@markj3169]

Technology may have evolved in other directions instead 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@The_Natalist]

8:15 My headcannon is that the Maverick Virus IS Dr. Wily in the same way Dr. Light had a digital version of himself. Instead of inventing, he went and corrupted. Also, its explains Serges and Isoc, and why the virus acts so weird at times, like the flashback Sigma vs Zero scene. Wily was in Zeros head the whole time tinkering with it, he activated "manual override" so he could body swap to Sigma (or copy paste, not sure).

[@TempestJet]

The idea of the Robot Masters in MM9 reaching their predetermined 'expiration date' always felt off to me. A lot of us try to keep our cars or electronics for as long as possible because they're an expensive purchase, and I guarantee Robot Masters are way more costly. And we've never seen the MM9 Robot Masters before now, they look sleek and modern to me, you can't tell me they're already outdated/obsolete. Instead of sending them to the scrap heap it makes a lot more sense that they be required to come in for regular inspection, updates and probably even memory wipes to keep that floor scrubber from starting to develop greater aspirations. Given the way that our society is currently reacting to the rise of AI, mainly out of fear that it'll take our jobs and render humans obsolete, I don't think it's a stretch to assume something similar might happen in Megaman with the calls for banning robots with logic circuits. Seems a little bit off that we fast forward to the X series and their ability to think is now more advanced than ever, but I guess maybe humanity got over their fear. Decades have passed and the next generation had different attitudes, more ready to embrace progress. What I'm curious about is why we don't see very much oversight to enforce robot regulations. Obviously not just anybody can build a robot master in their garage, but there are enough scientists with their own bots, enough to host various conventions and world tournaments. And these robots are capable of mass destruction, so why after all of these years is Dr. Light allowed to do his own thing as a private contractor? After relying on Megaman so many times to save the world you'd think the government would have made Light an offer he couldn't refuse to come and work for them, to stay one step ahead of anyone else in the robotic arms race. We get something like that in the form of the Maverick Hunters, Repliforce and others in the X series, but in Classic it still feels like the wild west where anyone can build anything. Maybe their government is like ours, predominantly 80 year olds who can't even open an email and aren't capable of understanding how far technology has advanced, much less effectively regulate it. The idea of passing sensible laws gets messier whenever you think about independent scientists building their own robots for personal use against the bigger companies which mass produce them. Technology advances a lot faster than we can keep up, and that attitude toward robotics might be the defining thing which characterizes the Classic and X eras.

[@Felix24148]

I feel like Doctor Light was too accepting of Megaman dying as Quint. If I were him, I'd have collected Quint's remains, rebuilt him into the same type of body as X, and then put him in slumber just like X. Just in a different part of the world.

[@Sorain1]

My answer to what happened: At some point, Wily realizes age will kill him before he can get his final victory over Light, or worse, take that chance from him with Light dying. At this point in time, Light has been working on the basis for X, for a truly free willed human level intelligence machine. (He saw the alien robots had free will and thus knows it's possible.) Following the Robensa disaster and the scrapping date incident, tensions have become high enough even Wily has backed off of attacking for fear of finally provoking the population to just execute him. But it's Wily, he's incapable of just letting it go. Be it because Light requests Basenium information to make a better solar reactor, via spying, or because Bass learns of it and leaks it to Wily, Wily learns of X being developed. That gives him one last shot at 'winning' against Light. Beating Mega Man doesn't matter to him anymore, because Mega Man isn't Light's best work once X is finished. (and Wily doesn't think of X being put in ethical/moral testing for 30 years because Wily would never do so.) Zero's development begins on the basis of X's body design data, advanced alloy and the Basenium reactor Wily either shared with or allowed to leak to Light. (thus making their systems shockingly compatible, because Wily has a backup plan going here.) X is finished, and Light seals X away for 30 years of testing, out of fear that truly free willed and with so much power, X would be unstoppable. (Or worse, his existance in the growing anti-robotics cultural climate would provoke violence.) Zero is completed, but Wily doesn't trust that his 'greatest creation' will win, not against X. So he plants his trap card in Zero and activates it. Wily too fears the free will inherent in his new creation, what if Zero refuses to do as commanded and turns on him just like Bass and King did? Based on Evil Energy research, a much more potent and thus much less controllable virus was made as Robensa was before it. Wily puts it into Zero's core, along with an override so Zero can be subdued, and tests Zero. Zero, as one would expect, annihilates everything in his path with the psychotic joy we see during the flashback confrontation between Zero and Sigma. (This is where much if not all of Wily's creations are finally destroyed, unable to stop Wily's penultimate work.) It's likely that Wily only barely manages to subdue Zero with that override before he can be killed, potentially being fatally wounded in the process. Zero is sealed away, the Zero virus with him, and with Wily's death, his labs self destruct buries his final revenge on Light unused. Only to be found far in the future, and the Virus based on the Evil Energy would leap from Zero to Sigma with the smashing of Zero's head crystal... as it had been intended to do if X defeated Zero. Light passes away of natural causes, and with so few even considering studying advanced robotics thanks to Wily's wars, eventually maintenance fails for the remainder of his creations by and large. The notable exception being his core research computer, which holds Light's best attempt at uploading himself and serves to watch over X and prepare just in case something of WIly's was missed it would make the initial set of armor's for X before mostly going into low power self preservation mode, awaiting X's awakening. Civilization sees one last spurt of robot violence as those powers that be try to use the now lost-tech robots as weapons, and eventually all are destroyed one way or another, likely while the conflicts cause massive devastation, but civilization moves on with only the vague stigma against pursuing advanced robots left behind. Dr. Cain finds X in the remains of Light's last private lab, while Zero and the Virus remain dormant in the ruins of Wily's last hidden lab.

[@tracyndiyob162]

honestly think you could still show what's classic's final fate as we see x's in the zero series alongside how everyone in x/zero/zx is long gone by legends while still showing his adventures during it. with protoman and bass took for the former either he went out quietly to his unstable core or he finally let dr. light repair him/in the latter's case he got wrecked so hard fighting megaman wily refused to repair him using his parts to build zero being made from the same alloy.(or heck he could've been the only actual classic casualty of wily trying to use zero unchecked.) like archie went into the decommission process with rock/roll being updated constantly each "game" with the robot masters choosing to go to rest. always found sad in maverick hunter x it really brings up the thought of x being the last of dr. light's works with no one to continue his work(even sadder in the comics with the people tied to him.)with how on his last legs light looked with no sign of rock or roll when talking to x like they were long gone yet also hopeful that alongside it implied he uploaded his brain into the capsules(with x following him in the zero games being that role to zero) his dream for everlasting peace while VERY hard fought was eventually won with how(outside the bonnes causing trouble/sealed away technology and humanity being extinct thanks to wily being the world's biggest sore loser.) legends is the most peaceful the world had been since the classic era. find interesting dr. wily died after his completion of zero(with the closest explanation in 8 being the evil energy roboenza is from imprinting evil hearts from duo's dialogue implying the essence of wily's hatred was taken in the wily virus.)immediately that with the w on his head took it in x4 wily put it as a restraint to keep zero from leaving the lab(with the quint story with how future wily's not onscreen could see maybe it inspired him to finish up zero as a final take that to dr. light.) though is odd the zero series never went into that. with how special rock(don't think he was destroyed as quint as that's way too anticlimatic/never see if quint fully went back to the future.) & roll were to him like to think just like with x/zero before he started showing signs of his age dr. light sealed the 2 away(if x could be sealed for 100 years with no damage or anyone/the government finding him don't find it hard for megaman & roll.) with them still being like that(for auto he does show up in x3's ps intro for volt catfish the only fully classic character we see outside a cut-man easter egg in x8/classic planned for command mission)being their fate & when megaman legends 3 returns at some point could do that as the story.(love volnutt/caskett unearthing megaman & roll being a family with them and the bonnes finding an old wily mech using it to cause trouble searching for treasure.)

[@cp-the-nerd]

It actually annoys the hell out of me that Keiji Inafune and Capcom failed so hard at conveying any sort of story about the X timeline, and what they did come up with was bizarre and disjointed just telling each game's events, much less the gaps in history.

[@KARKATELCESARENVIADODESA-pv4yd]

I have grown to love how the most obscure of the main line games, Megaman II for GB, and especially where the most obscure of megaman rivals appear, has grown to become a cornerstone of the lore. Especially because Metal Man and Magnet Man star in the game, my favorite RM from their games.

[@christianandon6307]

i'd rather prefer the ending to where the remaining robot masters did leave in exile. Especially with Rockman as the leader that would lead the exodus. Afterwards, with no common enemy, they would end up fighting amongst themselves which probably led to a great war.

[@kuraihikari5785]

Just discovered this channel recently, but as someone who doesn’t know much about Megaman this is really interesting to learn about! Hope to see more lore videos soon.

[@nicholase82]

A head canon of mine is a war breaks out that devastats the world and stunts technology so much that X hardware is still cutting edge.

[@galten7361]

@nicholase82 No one mentions a war.

[@howdoilogin]

6:07: "Light worked on creating more armor for this robot" Light absolutely had to make himself into an AI. No option. In X4 his capsules acknowledge the existence and rebellion of the Repliforce. In X5 he acknowledges not only the falling Eurasia colony but both talks to Zero and says "Sorry, I can't build upgrades for you, I don't know your schematics" and then later gives Zero the Black Zero upgrade (due to the fact he realized Zero was copied from X's schematics by Wily). At the end of X5 he outright rebuilds X and potentially Zero off-screen. Light could have built _some_ armor but at some point the AI had to take over the work.

[@mjc0961]

3:22 - Why did you put this text sideways, it's obnoxious to read like that. This really warrants a reupload with the text positioned correctly.

[@Stargazing_night_sky]

No, it doesnt lol if youre on your phone simply turn it sideways and read it, if youre on a computer or something either learn to read sideways (not that hard) or turn your head sideways and read it. Dont act entitled when youre the only person complaining

[@Andreopimentel]

So the classic robots just set out into space to find a new home, Rock went with them and they found a planet that could sustain life and settled there, and that new planet is the planet of Megaman Legends. This is my head cannon now

[@SuperGamefreak18]

I always figured that proto man rock and roll had the minor fortune of being able to live a life after a while, small chance that when sapient robots were banned they were forced to basically play human and probably had a “better life” than most of their brethren because of what and who they were but I think they still had a “peaceful” end probably redesigned to atleast physically age.

[@NicholasDunnAutistic]

My head canon for the time between both series that after the law to decommission robots after X amount of years was pushed to a ban of AI due to Wily's actions. This caused all robot masters an any other robot with human intelligence to be rounded up and destroyed. Protoman went to Dr Light to hide. He didn't want to be destroyed, and nowhere else was really safe. Dr. Light convinced him to study him, find out why he has a free will. But it would ultimately cost him to be shutdown, memory wiped, and broken down...with the promise of being restored in secret. After years of study and tinkering, Dr. Light rebuilt him into Mega Man X.

[@MortimurGrimm]

That would make for a fitting ending for ProtoMan. A non-crucial piece of MegaMan too would be cool as well, as I wish that MegaMan would end up going to space, feeing Earth to save himself from deactivation while battling Stardriods and Evil Energy with Duo.

[@javiervasquez625]

​@@MortimurGrimm That would be totally out of character for Rock who's always been portrayed as recklessly heroic to the point of risking his own life to protect the world from evil. Wathever happened to him, it's very unlikely it involved fleeing the Earth.

[@MortimurGrimm]

@@javiervasquez625 I believe it would be in character for him since he no longer is protecting humanity from robots and is unable to fight back against humans enforcing decommissions because of the Rule of Robotics. His only option is to continue his mission to fight evil, but doing it in space, possibly hunting down the source of Evil Energy.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@MortimurGrimm In that case, he would stand his ground and seek a _peaceful solution_ to Humanity's banning of robots, in order to continue fighting for peace on the Earth. The humans of 20XX would have to be completely stupid to not heed the words of the one robot Hero who's done nothing but safeguard Humanity from one of their own. I stand by what i said in regards to Rock been too much of a real Hero to abdicate the Earth for wathever non sensical justification would drive him out of the planet.

[@MortimurGrimm]

@ Big drama here over a fictional character🤣. Relax, son. We disagree on the route the Blue Bomber would take after Light and Wily are gone and humans decommissioning robots. It will be okay.🤣

[@Moncayo_02]

imagine if they had to fight elf wars with the sigma virus still on and it reaches up to megaman Legends and beyond or they decided to use zero to make repellent out of him instead of x

[@jonahyoung55]

Great summary of the facts! I've seen some write Quint's future as a confirmed timeline branch, which is not a confirmed fact, so I appreciate you bringing that up! If Challenger from the Future for the Wonderswan is canon, that also gives us a ton more detail about what happened in between Classic and X. It is stated that the Dimensions (Rockman Shadow and the Robots he recruited) destroyed the future, and then traveled to the past to fight Mega Man. Mega Man and Bass destroyed them, so they never returned to the future they left barren. I imagine that after being wrecked by robots that then completely disappeared, society in that future would grow to distrust robots. Dr. Light could have potentially been building X in secret maybe during Rockman Shadow's rampage.

[@thetaClysm]

3:20 apologies in advance for a text wall that might come off as a bit nitpicky, but i feel like maybe i should say something about this part, since i have some knowledge that might be relevant-- specifically, since part of your argument seems to be based on this translation, the relevant part of which i'm not sure i fully agree with. i should start off by saying that i am not a native japanese speaker-- just someone who happens to have studied it for many years-- so my interpretation isn't necessarily unassailable. but with that caveat in mind: i do not think i personally would translate the first part of Light's answer as "That's quite an inexorable situation". the choice of phrasing there, especially the word "inexorable", seems to be pulling a little more weight than it's really supposed to. i'll do my best to explain why i think so. 仕方ない is a common japanese expression which (famously) is often lazily translated as "it can't be helped"-- but in practice, in terms of how best to translate it, it's a bit loosey-goosey and situational. the general notion is of a situation that's out of your control-- which, on paper, doesn't *sound* that far off from what the translation said-- but what Light *means* by that is, i think, not actually as ambiguous as it looks at first glance. that's because the *context* is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, as is often the case in japanese. (this is true to some degree for *any* language, but japanese is notorious for leaving a lot of unstated nuance between the lines, which is a never-ending challenge in translating japanese to english.) so with that in mind, based on what he goes on to say afterward, and the question he is responding to (i.e. "did mega man really lose to wily?"), the idea here seems to be that, given the situation-- with present-day wily coming across a version of mega man whose combat functions have been removed-- there really was no way for mega man to NOT lose. he was literally helpless, so of COURSE he lost. it couldn't be helped, you might say. given all that, if i were to translate this line myself, i would probably say something like: "Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do." This would illustrate how Light is talking more about the hopelessness of mega man's situation, rather than about the outcome itself being somehow ontologically inevitable. i'm reasonably confident in this interpretation, but either way, i think i can at least say pretty confidently that there is no clear implication of any idea of fate or destiny in what Light is saying. he's just expressing regret over future mega man being put into an unwinnable scenario.

[@TotallyNormalUK]

Other than the simple option that's "Mega Man was damaged beyond repair after his last fight with Dr. Willy when the on death's door doctor went all out in this last fight." Is it too dark to say I just assumed that Rock, Roll, Rush & Blues. Are all at Light's bedside...? Even with a last goodbye letter too and they took the time to write Mega Man X a letter.

[@juancrossone2404]

Excelent video, I'm so proud of You 🗿❤️. You are a real fan of Megaman (including MegaQuint)

[@age_of_origin]

LOL. The game over music for wily passing away had me ROLLING 💀💀💀

[@JunxCKm]

"Look at that polished pristine crystal pile"-strong bad

[@RockmanHQ]

Strong Bad is 100% what I was going for.

[@lawrencefitzgerald4744]

8:00 The victory music caught me completely off guard.

[@doozy5184]

I do think the peaceful future could still exist as an in-between to the X series, as Rock being turned into Quint doesn't really contradict any future events in the timeline. The past version of Megaman fights Quint and goes through the rest of his adventures, before eventually becoming Quint and disappearing at the end of the battle with his former self. Rockman Shadow destroying the world would probably mess things up, but otherwise it seems fine to me.

[@neaps8418]

you do realized the entire concept of what quint/rockman shadow existing in a "peaceful future: COMPLETELY contradicts the X series itself + everything after the X series right? @doozy5184

[@lindyxmjh4589]

Quint is simply a time paradox, by having Wily bring him back to fight Mega Man he simultaneously changed things to now Quint should no longer exist and a new future was created that takes us through the later games and into the X saga. Also I don't think Zero was ever actually functional while Wily was still alive, or the berserker that was depicted in X4 after years and years of exposure to the Virus programming. The "Virus" being Wily's version of Light's tests on X's programming while in the capsule sealed away for decades. It was supposed to turn Zero into the ultimate robot, but Wily's programming was flawed and while it does strengthen Zero it also resulted in creating the terrible and contagious virus that harmed all other machines instead. (Ironically, turns out Zero is even stronger and a mightier robot without the Virus' influence, and in his quest to make the ultimate robot to destroy Dr. Light's creations Wily accidentally made one of the world's greatest heroes.)

[@tokyobandz3307]

What we know happened between Megaman ZX Advent and Legends. A flood? I got nothing else lol

[@dansmith1661]

Sera gets uppity and Mega Man stops her. How does she destroy the prototype Carbons? Possibly by causing the flood.

[@javiervasquez625]

An energy crisis of sorts, as heavily implied by the "Carbons's" need of Refractors to power up their civilization. You would expect that with Ciel's research on alternate energy sources the world would never again go into trouble for similar reasons (either that or Inafune and Capcom couldn't care less about consistency with this franchise).

[@AmyNumberSeven]

It's kind of hinky. In the ZX series, we have the line from humans and reploids being almost nonexistent, but the alternate explanation in Legends 2 of "pure humans" looking down on Carbons. I always thought the Elder System that awoke at the end of Legends 2 was Model W.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@AmyNumberSeven That doesn't make any sense considering Ouroboros's destruction, plus the fact that there's nothing like Model W (or any Biometal for that matter) in the Legends Saga which could justify such a deduction. Wathever the Elder System is and is going to do to the Carbons is completely and utterly independent of Thomas and his plans back in ZX Advent.

[@DetectiveGrey]

@@javiervasquez625 There is one potential throughline of ZX and Legends that I think is closer to the truth than not: Carbons are capable of swapping out their body parts with cybernetic parts very easily. They aren't pure humans, so it's possible that similar to the tech in X being leftovers from Light's time, Carbons are more or less leftovers of the biometal-compatible robot-human hybrids in ZX that formed a civilization after the last pure humans left, thousands of years ago. It would fit with the thing that keeps happening in the Megaman games where the further ahead you go, the more obtuse technology gets due to wars, disasters and just the human capacity to forget things. But I haven't played ZX Advent, so anything that contradicts this in ZXA is totally up for grabs.

[@LethargicDeities]

Your Collad with BlackMastadon is what brought me to your channel. My love for Megaman is what will keep me around.

[@nemesisastraea6659]

My head canon was X was just an upgraded Mega Man who's memory was lost. But that was busted later when I learned they were two different bots all together.

[@edward18517]

I don't recall it saying Roboenza is what the Maverick Virus came from. It's likely a stepping stone to it, but the closest we've gotten to actual word on its origin as far as I'm aware was the Rockman Zero Collection site which said that Light equipped X with an anti virus after an encounter with an "alien virus" as he worried that there might be others in the future that might also have it, with the implication (as it always seemed to be) being that the ultimate origin of The Maverick Virus is that it (and I assume Roboenza) was made from Evil Energy. And I'm fairly certain that Mega Man Online was going to deal some with the Between-Classic-and-X Period. The actual game would've dealt with robot "copies" of characters from across the franchise but the initial trailer showed what was clearly Light and Wily, two HUMANS, during what seemed to be a global catastrophe.

[@CelicAWD]

Ive had this fun fan fic in my mind about x being the og megaman for years now. Wish i had the skill to animate it and post it online. It goes like this: Wily develops the tech to build reploids before light does. He builds and completes zero, but zero is flawed and cant be controlled. He kills Wily and goes on a rampage. Megaman steps up and takes him on. its a crazy battle but Mega cant handle zero, he can just barely keep up the fight. Protoman shows up outta knowhere to help Mega and the both of them together can sorta hold their own The battle goes on for a good long while but both proto and mega realise they cant win this. Zero laughs maniaclly the whole time, seemingly toying with them. Protoman decides that the only way to take him down is to sacrifice himself vegeta style, he overloads his already flawed power core and blows the place sky high. Zero takes the brunt of it and the blast damages him severely giving mega just enough room to take him down. Mega wins but is too far gone(damage wise) to survive. He passes out and shuts down, going into emergency statis. Both lights team and the remaining robot masters come to collect their respective fighters. Behind the scenes, the robot masters use wilys notes to repair and seal away zero hoping to use him in the future. Light brings mega back to the lab but sees theres no way to restore him, he shuts him down for good but refuses to give up on him and he begins to long process of creatig the next generation of sentient robots using mega as a base. End Id trow in some sick action for the fight scenes, some low level dbz, some captain america moves for proto man and stuff like that. This is just a rough draft of it but i think it would be cool.

[@angelemmanuelperezmuniz1474]

We all know Zero took care of them. Such a nice boy taking care of his big brothers.

[@jimmypfrompallettown5753]

7:26 I believe Wiley has a back from controlling things in a berserk state, he often reprograms peaceful robots to go berserk he can probably go the other way too

[@noahsterben5666]

Yall know that even in Ten thousand years that turkey leg still gonna be raw

[@LordMetalSonic1987]

If Dr. Light invented the wheel, then Dr. Wily took that wheel and turned it into a wheelbarrow, or one of those toy wagons from the 1950s. Or even a shopping cart.

[@masteryoraerasante]

Quint coming from Mr. Rockman makes sense, after years as a dentist and having forgotten about Quint ever existing... But with the Wonderswam game and Megaman Shadow we know parallel timelines exist, not even counting the whole of Battle Network where Light studied the internet instead. But Having tech from the future, even if not military texh, would allow Wily to advance his robots much more than they would be at Quint's original timeline. I mean, imagine someone from the early 90s with full access to current iphone tech and enough basic knowledge to reproduce it. THAT is the leven of tech squip we are talking about. Not counting the alien robots.

[@jamilp2869]

In my mind... X is an upgraded Mega Man... I'll hear nothing else...

[@kibble113]

Given that Light basically was responsible for the robot revolution, it wouldn't surprise me if he cut a deal with the government to allow him to keep his personal robots (Rock and Roll) active for an indefinite amount of time.

[@Bakanineinstein]

The Absolute Zero Upgrade from Command Mission while an optional thing to get in a game from an alternate timeline lead's me to wonder if the reason Zero went berserk was Wily made him out of a repurposed Bass... Working side by side on the Robot Delete Program (Maverick Virus) is also a strong indicator he knew Zero might go berserk beforehand... 💀

[@Gencoil]

My take is that there's an enormous conflict at some point where Dr. Wily nearly wins, but Mega Man sacrifices himself in a last ditch effort to stop Wily once and for all. It's possible that Bass joins him (not out of friendship but because he sees Wily's ultimate weapon, Zero, as a threat) and ends up being the one who actually destroys Wily. With Wily finally gone, an era of true peace begins. In light of the many catastrophies caused by the war, strict legislations are introduced to limit robot production. It's possible that Protoman and Roll are forced to be deactivated because of this. To honor Rock's legacy, Dr. Light designs X in secrecy, a new type of robot with complete freedom of thought. He envisions an age where robots are part of society, rather than mere servants. But he worries that the world may face new threats and hides away combat equipment pods that only respond to X, hoping they will never need to be used.

[@aleanddragonITA]

I don't think that's the case Because the Manga shows that Willy renounced World Domination before building Zero Also in X-Kai's Bio its shown that Willy stole X's Prototype (that being X-Kai) but was not able to complete it and so decided to build Zero So X was already in the working before Zero was even a Blueprint

[@galten7361]

@Gencoil No source at all mentions Zero being active in the Classic Era. Light in X5 doesn't know him at all. The Cataclysm was denied by Capcom staff.

[@jamimuhammad3699]

I need to know exactly what is considered the canon version of what happened and I love mega man just subbed.

[@RockmanHQ]

I am with you. Unfortunately, the best we can do at this time is a logical deduction. Till capcom feels like announcing it. Glad you like the blue guy and thanks for the support!

[@mellod9001]

Years after the last battle with Megaman and Wily, Wily does somethjng that severely injures Roll. Megaman, being the Pinocchio of Dr. Light, has a slight rampage and in the process injures Wily, and with Buster cannon charged nearly blows him away, but Light stops him with a special shutdown mechanism. Wily eventually escapes during the chaos, taking parts of Roll in the process. Years pass, and peace reigns. Dr. Light has been studying to find out how Megaman overcame his "dont hurt humans" programming. Meanwhile, a disturbance occurs. Dr. Light allows the robo police to handle it as he doesn't want another incident, however, Protoman gets there as the disturbance has drawn his curiosity. It turns out it was a trap to capture Protoman. Protoman is severely injured in the battle and taken back to Wily for a special project. Meanwhile, Dr. Light finds out what caused Megaman to self act and is able to create an Advanced Artificial intelligence with the ability the think and feel emotion, which would in turn allow for robots to rationally think for themselves, giving them that missing human component. On the other side, Wily is been conducting the same experiment after the Megaman lash out he experienced. Wily wanted Peotoman since he and MegaMan were built similar. Turns out Protoman systems had evolved in a way that allowed him to act on his own, as we've seen in the past. Using this as a starting point, he began piecing together the parts of Protoman and Roll, figuring the combined systems would create and even greater creation (which explains Zero's rather, feminine design, berserker ways, and bond with Megaman. Years pass, and the story unfolds as we know it.

[@galten7361]

@mellod9001 It's established that the Suffering Circuit is what makes it so that Reploids can mature and think like man otherwise. The Classic Era robots don't have one.

[@aleanddragonITA]

3:13 I prefer Quint's Archie Comics Origin 4:39 I think the Manga implies that Protoman died (maybe Archie's lore about him having a defective core was canon) anyway the Antagonist of the Manga says that Rock is the Oldest Robot Master 'Alive' so if Blues was still alive then he would have been the Oldest 'Alive' 5:02 The Manga stated that Robots can live as long as they can get maintenance, but the older a robot get the harder it becomes to get (specially because in the Manga all Robot Masters basically get maintenance from Dr.Light himself) 6:38 Megaman X-Dive has a Character named X-Kai that his Bio states he was X's Prototype that was stolen by Willy, although X-Dive is clearly not canon (as it takes place in a Digitalized Archive of the Mega Man X's Games) i think that some elements like X-Kai's Backstory are Canon 12:30 I think Rock & Roll continued being Dentists until Light wasn't anymore capable of giving Manteinances and then they started providing them themselves until they couldn't get maintenance anymore and then all Robot Masters (one after the other) got offline and put in a Museum (with Protoman being the First as the Manga stated Rock to being the oldest Robot Master still alive) 12:37 The Manga contradicts that as if Quint was from the Future after Willy reformed then Rock should have The 'Aged-Up' look he has in the Manga (this is also why i prefer Archie Quint's Story)

[@zvkek8-zako]

If Light's self-righteous ego didn't fan Wily's bigger ego, humanity won't be extinct and had a good BattleNetwork-StarForce ending.

[@galten7361]

@zvkek8-zako Matpat doesn't have any position in Capcom and none of his theories are canon.

[@teddysaurus97]

The Quint theory seemed like the most plausible one for Megamans future, however Quint did not die. So in this timeline there is still a question, where did Quint go? Interesting is also, that Megaman World 2 is the only game where Wily is not being defeated and goes to the ground crying, instead he tries to escape and is being shot down by Megaman. I believy this is not "our" Wily but the one from the future. And I believe this is the moment Wily actually dies. And we all know from Megaman 7, that Megaman is fully capable of blasting the old guy for good

[@mulletking]

Personally, I think Proto/Blues's core finally went critical, so he took himself far away from any place where the explosion would harm anyone, and went out on his own terms.

[@Atou_Mahogany]

Personally, I like to believe that everyone from the Classic Era got on a huge space colony and went far out into space, leaving the world to X should it need him. AI Dr. Light would wake and guide him. That way, even after far into the future by the time of the Legends Era when humanity as we know it is no more, THERE ARE STILL HUMANS THAT ARE ALIVE!😭

[@galten7361]

@Atou_Mahogany Matpat meme

[@alfonsoarzube2924]

My theory is that Willy activated Zero first with the goal of finally dominating everything. The problem was that Zero went insane and out of control, practically massacring all our robot heroes. Then, in their final moments, they managed to stop Zero-though I don’t think they defeated him (it’s possible that even Willy collaborated in the matter). Afterward, Willy took his creation, repaired him, and inserted the W virus to control him when he could finally reactivate. Dr. Light, using the remains of our blue hero, created X, and from there, the events of the X saga would unfold 100 years later. I hope that one day we’ll truly know what happened

[@galten7361]

@alfonsoarzube2924 Zero has never been mentioned as an active character in the Classic Era with no timelines mentioning him doing anything of note. The Cataclysm was already denied by Capcom staff. And there's no evidence Zero would've been able to defeat Classic Mega Man with the others.

[@alfonsoarzube2924]

@@galten7361 megaman the power fighters 2 Bass ending

[@galten7361]

@@alfonsoarzube2924 No evidence still.

[@jonathanalvarez2909]

Quint looks like the mega man version of captain N.

[@Xeno-The-Wanderer]

I recall there being a magazine that explained what happened to the First Armor which it was returned to the capsule to be analyzed and upgraded after it is not needed so the armors up until the 4th armor are probably the same one

[@RockmanHQ]

You are correct, the first four armors are, essentally the same upgraded armor. Gaea was stated as old prototype, likely infering that it was prior to the first. We have no idea when other armors like Ultimate, Falcon, Shadow, ect were made.

[@Xeno-The-Wanderer]

@ I had the impression based on that magazine that all the armors were made after using the data of the first 4 armors as those ended up returned but if Gaia was an old prototype… might be the only one as the others seem more like advancements and shadow I believe was a direct successor to the Gaia armor

[@RockmanHQ]

I did a video on the Gaea if you are curious about it and why I think it predates the first armor.

[@Shamazya]

Great exploration of the topic!

[@iennefaLsh]

Noticed while playing this in background: either your voice is too low or the extra sounds and clips are too loud. (This video is far from the first instance.) Mind looking into it?

[@DelmelDaunt]

Im so disappointed no one ever put together that the predecessor of Zero was Proto Man as Mega Man was X. "Proto" means zero. They wear the same colors including a long yellow sash (replaced with long blonde hair). He now has a sword instead of a shield. They also both have switched sides.

[@TopsideCrisis346]

Okay, wild stab at headcanon... So the doctors are working on their respective super-robots, yeah? Now, in X4, at the start of Zero's side of the game, we see Wily order Zero to go eliminate Dr. Light (or Rock Man? Or both?). If Wily wanted to target Light alone, he probably would've sent out a platoon of new robot masters to distract Rock while Zero carried out his mission. Of course, Light would've completed X by this time, sealing X away and returning to his lab just in time for Zero to catch him, but with sufficient time for Light to cover his tracks and prevent X from being discovered (which, admittedly, rules out the spying theory - but does account for the use of Bassnium in Zero's design - play Power Fighters). Anyhow, so Zero kills Light, Rock gets back just in time to catch Zero in the act, the two robots fight, Zero easily pwns Rock, leading to how we see events play out in the aforementioned flashback. This is where the Wily Virus (a.k.a. the Zero Virus) kicks in. Wily knew any robot with the capacity for free will had the potential to run amok, especially if it was powerful enough to take down the likes of Rock Man. The initial purpose of the Wily Virus was effectively a subroutine, which would deactivate Zero upon the accomplishment of his mission. This is how Wily was then able to contain Zero. That said, what happens to Wily next remains a mystery - though the Legends timeline suggests his descendants eventually run a fishing vessel in the far future.

[@galten7361]

@TopsideCrisis346 Light already showed he didn't meet Zero before in X5 and the Cataclysm was denied by Capcom staff.

[@thelgiver5844]

So the classic series ends with what's basically a genocide. Man, that's dark.

[@LegatoSkyheart]

I still think Quint is the reason X exists. It shows Light that the Future needs a Mega Man and Light couldn't rely on Rock on being there for the Future.

[@vizzyMcExee]

I had no idea there was manga out for megaman/megaman x! Irregular report and Mr.Megaman are going on my wishlist asap!

[@RockmanHQ]

Irregulars Report sadly was never officially translated. However, Sidier translated the whole thing. The book is still nice to have on the shelf because I am sucker for Iwamoto's art. www.rockman-corner.com/2020/02/the-entire-rockman-x-novel-is-now.html?m=1

[@RockmanHQ]

Irregulars Report sadly was never officially translated. However, Sidier translated the whole thing. The book is still nice to have on the shelf because I am sucker for Iwamoto's art. www.rockman-corner.com/2020/02/the-entire-rockman-x-novel-is-now.html?m=1

[@sonicexe66613]

I actually have a good idea for Mega Man 12 that'll lead to the X series, but it might not be what people are expecting

[@DonShotta24]

What is it?

[@Arham-HQ]

let me hear it

[@sonicexe66613]

@DonShotta24 well, I can't remember that much, but it involves Zero, and something similar to the maverick virus

[@n0de_punk735]

I think it's fine to have no official explanation about what happens between the regular MM series and MMX. Here are some things that would have to happen to fill in the gap: Dr. Light would have to die, Dr. Wily would have to die, Mega Man/Rock/Beat/Roll/etc. would have to be out of the picture. If you had a game that transitions from the original series to the X series, the tone would be weird. Regular MM games have things like roboenza and Chun Li as a news reporter. MMX4 has dismemberment and main characters questioning their morality, honor, and duty. Big difference.

[@EmeraldBlade98]

I haven’t seen your uploads in a while, how’ve you been man? Also this extends to everyone, how was your Christmas?

[@RockmanHQ]

My uploads are slow, I'm just one guy with other hobbies, a house to take care of, and a job lol.

[@Bliet-o5y]

I think that by the legends series Light’s turkey leg should be good!

[@desmondshannon5360]

Well if you follow the manga i believe concrete man and guts man are talking about when they "Expire" or their time comes they will end up in the museum also (they were helping put Quick Man away in the robot Museum.) . Which guts man is destroyed in mega man 7, Then after the events of Mega Man 9 guts man is seen activated or he was rebuilt again helping clean up the city (assuming after the events of 8) along with the rest of the beginning masters. So im guessing due to the wreckage of 8 they had to be activated again to clean up. I theorize whenwhen wily dies or the city doesnt need Mega Man anymore hes deactivated. Which gives Light time to work on X...(which must be another arc somewhere. As far as quint goes in another Arc, Mega Man does indeed get captured, but only to be destroyed by his past self and likely...rebuilt as he was. As for 8, ive not found that Manga to read yet. But obviously Duo shows up as you know. I dont know kr can theorize more then that.

[@Arthurian_Rabbit]

Wasn't OG Megaman's programming said to have been passed down to both Colonel and Iris, respectively? That might just be confirmed in one of the X manga series, though, but it could be another way that MM made it into the X series, at least.

[@galten7361]

@Arthurian_Rabbit No. They were just made with Classic Mega Man as an inspiration there.

[@BananaR777]

I got a bit a theory, Im guessing the og megaman went with duo for centuries, and learn of many other societies on other planets, thier cultures, believes and thier technologies. Then when he came back earth after the zx events he saw the earth and it's Inhabitants in such turmol ,dissray and resentment for each others race. I theorize that with the remnant of humanity, there was a group he detested the reploids and rebeled against the leaders of that era whom ran across the og megaman. With the knowledge that mm gain over his travels and his Inability to kill humans, he probably found a way to be accept by said group. From here I also theorizies that og mm and this group created a machine transported them to either to the past, another fimeline, or entirely a different universe while taking whatever* there tech they had with them. From here this group of humans must of intermingled with many ancient civilizations of this Is parallel world while also creating advancd tech which lead to creation of atlantas network tech which is featured in the mmbn legend of the network, and le mu for em waves leading to the events of Mmbn and mmsf.

[@BananaR777]

The reason why I bring this up due to you being able to form a brotherband with the original megaman so it's safe to say He didn't parish as some thinks and I created this theories to explain how he came to the world of mmbn and mmsf, while also explaining of those ancient civilizationss got those advance tech from

[@BananaR777]

Going back to the orginal timeline/universe save from that seperate group humans, the The remauning remnant humans was probably lead to thier demise by the terrable leadership of that era before mm legends.

[@mandi8884]

Not knowing what happend to the Old megaman is actualy a boon for future instalements, you can have a story where he wakes up in a broken down labo, where he scavage parts of old robots that are stored there and upgrade his old teared down body, then you can go from there, the posibilities are pretty much anywhere to go realy.

[@JBlade187]

I thought Protoman had a faulty power source and thats what was gonna kill him

[@Animeman1993]

To this day we all wish they at least explained everything that happened..what happened to classic Mega and WHY his heroics are never mentioned in the X series or whatever happened to Zero before being sealed away like if he was released to fight Mega or not.

[@galten7361]

@Animeman1993 Name a single point to mention Classic Mega Man in the X games more than what's already there.

[@Animeman1993]

@galten7361 even if it won't do anything for the plot, it would be at least an interesting nod to acknowledge the events back then. Even if the only knowledge of the past in that era is the creation of X that wasnt being public info.

[@galten7361]

@@Animeman1993 They acknowledge them plenty taking in in-game dialogue (that ignores Eng localizations) and official sources. Serges flat-out calls X's Lights robot for one.

[@StockeTepes]

Because of fan creations like the Nightfall animation, I’ve always speculated how epically tragic a final Mega Man adventure could be if given the opportunity to take a much more serious direction. Zero and Mega Man fighting at least once is one of the biggest things I’d like to see. But maybe more time to get perspective from characters like Light & Roll in such a desperate situation against Wily’s final scheme… ah man it’s so fun to think about 😭 This era and the Elf Wars are concepts that we all know would make a fantastic game but most likely will not happen. Great video. Let’s hope we can see these explored officially more one day!

[@galten7361]

@StockeTepes No one has ever mentioned that Zero was active in the Classic Era and no one remembers in the X games from the Classic Era (not even Light in X5).

[@nan0smm646]

Or just nothing happens to them (on the original timeline) from my understanding the timeline is like stairs, all of them are possible futures from each game. Like the X games are the possible future of the classic games and the zero games are possible futures of the X games

[@darthkalis8993]

You forgot about Forte. Where was he doing during the time skip to the X timeline

[@Nickle_King]

I've got this whole theory about Mega Man being forced to become a war machine, Protoman being used to create Zero, a broken and infected Protoman killing Wily, and Mega Man being corrupted by a Proto-Maverick virus killing Mega Man as we know him, but his family recompiling the non-damaged code into the baseline of X. I'd get into more detail here, but it's way too long. (trust me, I tried.) I do like what I created. I just wish Capcom would stop screwing around and tell an actual, canon narrative. Because the reason people can create these stories so readily is Megaman was almost never telling a Story. It was telling a Setting. That's almost all the mainline Mega Man and X games are. Setting. Not Story. Not Narrative. and when they DO tell a narrative, we get some of the most internally inconsistent crap outside the Star Wars sequels. They are REALLY bad at telling the Mega Man story.

[@galten7361]

@Nickle_King It's not. The Mega Man games once you stop paying attention to Eng localizations and non-game interpretations is solid overall. There are retcons yeah but that's a thing when you've been around for so long.

[@kat_lynx]

YT keeps deleting my message if anyone reads it and sees this, repost, be my guest. Rockman & Rockman X Daihyakka and Rockman X3 Chou Hyakka books published by kodansha mention Human Leadership caused a robot ban fed up of Wily and banned all of Light's AI research as the root cause, with AI advanced robots being retired and replaced with Mechaniloids. Light and Wily disappeared from the public eye, with Light working on X in private. Rockman X4 Saikyou Daizukan mentioned the robot ban would be addressed in a future entry but because Inafune and Kaji stopped writing for the Mega Man series as their responsibilities in Capcom changed, it fell on Koji Okohara who didnt seem keen on touching this subject outside of Wily helping Sigma behind the scenes.

[@RockmanHQ]

I have researched those books myself but my translations didn't pick up this specific information. Can you provide some page numbers? If I know where to look I can try and get proper translations.

[@kat_lynx]

@@RockmanHQ I'll need to ask my friend who owns them! I believe it's around the same page where it list Serges as "An mysterious reploid, Sagesse seems to posses knowledge about the scientist of evil". (The comment didn't got deleted this time, yay! Sorry, YT's been kind of a pain on my end). I'll reply with the page once I'm here (I also nabbed a few low quality scans, but my kanji + grammar knowledge is... Well, non-existant lol, I can just read hiragana and katakana) BIG EDIT: It might've been the Rockman & Rockman X Daizukan and not the Himitsu Daihyakka. Daizukan's ISBN is: ISBN4-06-259006-9. I'll keep digging. EDIT 2: Allegedly, Ketteiban Rockman 7 & Rockman X3 Chouhyakka by Comic BomBom contains this info. This is a different Chouhyakka from Kodansha's, I'm looking for an ISBN. EDIT 3: It's listed under ISBN-10 4061032992 and ISBN-13 ‏ ‎ 978-4061032996 according to Amazon.

[@kat_lynx]

@@RockmanHQ Sorry I'm failing with the pages, and my pal isn't reachable due holidays as of present but looking elsewhere, I found about the Comic BomBom Ketteiban R7&RX3 Chouhyakka (which is different from the Kodansha Rockman X3 Chouhyakka) which seems to have this info and its ISBNs. I'm looking the usual places if there's any scans.

[@galten7361]

@@kat_lynx Serges was envisioned as being Wily's assistant made in his image who he used for experiments on memory the info on him in that databook doesn't seem like anything special.

[@anthonysmith3415]

you really couldn't get HD scans of the Archie Mega Man comics....? cmon the footage you used at 8:55 is atrocious, especially when it's a rare time when Patrick Spaziante drew comic pages you're not showing his work properly

[@BaxterAndLunala]

My theory on the place of MegaMan Legends in the timeline is it's set over a thousand years after the bad ending of X5, with the good ending leading into X8 and then eventually MegaMan Zero. You might be wondering, "What about X6 and X7?" Well, it's never stated in game when X7 takes place, so it's entirely possible it takes place in between X4 and X5. And as for X6? I... refuse to see that one as canon for a number of reasons.

[@galten7361]

@BaxterAndLunala It's not the case officially.