List of misconceptions

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This page is a list of misconceptions regarding the Mega Man franchise. Misconceptions are viewpoints or factoids that some fans may accept as true, but which are actually false. They generally arise from misunderstandings, mistranslations, assumptions, or fanon. Each entry on this list is worded as a correction; the misconceptions themselves are implied rather than stated.

For discussion specifically regarding which works of Mega Man media are included in canon, see the Canon page.

Disclaimer: This list is not exhaustive, and primarily targets misconceptions about the Mega Man franchise in English fan communities, as misconceptions may vary between languages and countries. Also, this page is to not meant prove or disprove fan theories; rather, it is meant to document an unbiased list of notable misconceptions, in an effort to clarify aspects of the franchise that may be vague or misunderstood.

Franchise

• Keiji Inafune is not the sole creator of the Mega Man franchise, nor the designer of Mega Man himself. The first Mega Man was directed by Akira Kitamura and produced by Takashi Nishiyama, while Inafune worked as an artist. Kitamura was the one who first drew Mega Man's sprite art, after which Inafune was tasked with drawing official artwork based on the sprite. Inafune himself has refuted his nickname as the "father of Mega Man." However, he did play a large role in the series as a whole, as he frequently contributed character designs and worked as a producer for many games starting with Mega Man X.

Classic era

• Mega Man is a robot. Many English news sources have erroneously referred to Mega Man as a cyborg, which is incorrect. This may be due to a misunderstanding of the definition of the word, or simply inaccurate reporting.
• Not every humanoid robot is a Robot Master. The term "Robot Master" only appears in English material, starting in Mega Man 3 before being phased out in Mega Man 7, and has only ever referred to the eight bosses on the Stage Select screens. The term is derived from the fact that the Robot Masters lord over certain locations and control the robots within them. Over the years, some fans have adopted the term to describe other intelligent, humanoid robots such as Mega Man, Roll, or the Mega Man Killers - however, such characters have never been referred to with this terminology and do not fit the original definition.
• Roboenza is not the precursor to the Maverick Virus, nor does it have any confirmed connection to Evil Energy. There are no official sources supporting these theories, leaving all discussion of the matter entirely speculative.
• Robots in the Classic era do not have the same level of free will as Reploids in the X era. The warning on X's capsule in Mega Man X, written by Dr. Light himself, clearly states that X is the first robot to ever have unlimited free will. This indicates that all robots of the Classic era have their personalities, motives, and choices dictated or at least influenced by their programming. Even unintentional cases such as Proto Man, who fled from Dr. Light of his own accord, and Bass, who frequently disrupts his master Dr. Wily's plans, are robots that may disobey their creators but are ultimately still influenced by their programming. Reploids such as X do not have this limitation, remaining entirely independent and free to make any choices and become whatever kind of people they please.

X era

• X is not Mega Man. He is his successor, a more advanced version built by Dr. Light with similar but more powerful abilities. Yoshihisa Tsuda has confirmed that Capcom once entertained the idea of X being an upgraded Mega Man, but they ultimately chose against it and kept X a separate being.
• X does not go by Mega Man X. It is his official designation given by Dr. Light. The name was used semi-frequently in early English games, and rarely at all in Japanese. Even in English, X never refers to himself as Mega Man X, and is only ever called this name by meta sources such as narration, character select screens, or game manuals.
• It is not common knowledge that X was the first Reploid. Descriptions of X often state that his past is a mystery, even to himself. While players may be aware of X's origins and role as the template of all modern Reploids, no one in-universe who is aware of this fact ever appears, besides Dr. Cain.
• The term "Reploid" is a portmanteau of "replica" and "android", but not because they are replicas of X's design. It more likely refers to the fact that Reploids can perfectly replicate human thought, sapience, and free will.
• X and Zero are considered Reploids, not simply robots. Despite being constructed before the term "Reploid" came into use, both X and Zero are highly-advanced robots that exhibit human-like sapience and free will, matching the definition. They frequently refer to themselves as Reploids and are called Reploids by others.
• It is unknown if X, Zero, or Axl have hair beneath their helmets. They have never been shown without their helmets in any canon works. In Bandai's Mega Armor series of figures, X and Zero's heads have exposed metal underneath, using designs drawn by Keiji Inafune. In the non-canon Rockman X Shùxué Xuànfēng, X has messy dark hair resembling Mega Man's under his helmet. In the non-canon Rockman X manga, X removes his helmet but the view is obscured; meanwhile, Zero removes his helmet to reveal a head of blond hair. This mystery was addressed in U-Capcom, admitting that the series designers have differing ideas of how their heads should look under their helmets, so there is currently no clear answer to the matter.
• Vile (or VAVA in Japanese) was not inspired by Boba Fett from Star Wars. Vile's designer, Naoya Tomita, has refuted this claim but understands the confusion. He has confirmed that Vile was actually inspired by Bubba Zanetti from Mad Max.
• The Dr. Light hologram found in Light Capsules is a living hologram of Dr. Light, not a set of pre-recorded messages. He exhibits self-awareness, references current events in each game, and has altered X's Armor Parts between games, making it impossible that he is merely a pre-recorded message. Even crossovers such as Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite correctly portray this Dr. Light as a sentient, digital being.
• The Sigma Virus and the Maverick Virus are the same thing. The virus has only ever been referred to as the Maverick Virus in Mega Man X2, at the end of which Sigma's true nature as a viral being was revealed for the very first time. Starting in Mega Man X3, it has always been referred to as the Sigma Virus instead.
• Zero's feral personality when he first awoke was not Dr. Wily's intention. This was a glitch that Dr. Wily intended for the Maverick Virus to cure - while the glitch was fixed, it pacified Zero into a docile being instead. Sigma's entire plot of Mega Man X5 is to create an even stronger virus to finally awaken Zero to Dr. Wily's intended programming, turning him into Awakened Zero, who has a completely different personality from his original awakening.
• Sigma received his trademark scars from X in "The Day of Sigma", not from Zero during the flashback in Mega Man X4. Nothing in the flashback indicates that Sigma retained the damage to his face that he received from Zero, and the more recent "The Day of Sigma" offers a more clear source for the scars. Other non-canon media, such as the Rockman X manga, have alternatively depicted Sigma inflicting them on himself as a symbol of going Maverick.
• Zero did not kill all the Classic era characters before the X era. This myth is called the "cataclysm theory" by fans, and it has been thoroughly debunked. It was first popularized by a Mega Man fan webcomic called Bob and George, which featured an arc where Zero awoke in the Classic era and began attacking the cast - the crisis was ultimately averted, yet the idea remained a popular theory among some fans. It has long since been debunked by Capcom staff.
• Mega Man X6, X7, and X8 are canon. Read more on the Canon page.
• Keiji Inafune was not unaware of Mega Man X6 being developed.

Zero era

• Zero's design in the Zero era is not a literal alteration of his X era body, but rather an art style change.
• The fate of the Four Guardians after Mega Man Zero 3 remains unconfirmed.
• Zero died at the end of Mega Man Zero 4.

ZX era

• Model A is not related to Axl from the X era.
• Biometals contain the consciousnesses of the individuals upon whom they are based.
• Master Thomas's plans after Mega Man ZX Advent are unknown, and all claims are inherently speculative.

Legends era

• The Legends era is part of the main Robot Timeline; it is not an alternate universe.
• MegaMan Volnutt is on Elysium at the end of Mega Man Legends 2, not the moon.