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Maverick Hunters
The Maverick Hunters, known as the Irregular Hunters (イレギュラーハンター) in Japan and often referred to as the Hunters (ハンター) for short, are a global law enforcement organization in the X era dedicated to protecting humans and Reploids from dangerous Maverick activity. The central protagonists of the X era, including X, Zero, and Axl, are all Maverick Hunters.
In the Games
Mega Man X
The Maverick Hunters are first mentioned in supplementary material for Mega Man X. Oddly, the organization is never actually mentioned by name in the video game, save for Sigma briefly calling X "almost as good a hunter as [he] was" in Sigma Stage 4.
The Japanese game manual explains that the Maverick Hunters are an organization that deals with defective Reploids called Mavericks. They are divided into different Units depending on their skills and specialties. However, everything changes when their leader, Sigma, goes Maverick of his own will and stages a rebellion against the humans, swaying many Hunters to his side including Vile and the eight Maverick bosses. X and Zero are some of the few loyal Hunters remaining, and take it upon themselves to stop Sigma's rebellion. The English game manual eschews these details in favor of including "The Journal of Dr. Cain", which only mentions the formation of the Maverick Hunters.
Mega Man X2
In Mega Man X2, the Maverick Hunters appear more, as they have recovered somewhat and are now rooting out the remains of Sigma's army. The game's Opening Stage, Maverick Factory Stage, is a raid by the Hunters on a Maverick-controlled factory. Five of the game's eight Maverick bosses are former Hunters who rebelled alongside Sigma previously. Additionally, this game is the first to depict the organization's headquarters, Hunter Base, as X speaks to Dr. Cain there in cutscenes and it is attacked by the X-Hunters under certain circumstances.
Mega Man X3
In Mega Man X3, the Maverick Hunters are called to stop the mass rebellion in Dopple Town. The Hunter Base serves as the game's Opening Stage, as it comes under attack in X and Zero's absence. Two of the eight Maverick bosses, Blast Hornet and Gravity Beetle, are also former Hunters who joined the Doppler Army.
Shortly after the release of Mega Man X3, the sourcebook Rockman X Chō Hyakka was published by Kodansha. This book includes a comprehensive chart of the ranks of the Maverick Hunters prior to the events of Mega Man X, including the names of the organization's many Units and the exact positions of many characters in the organization.
Mega Man X4
In Mega Man X4, the Maverick Hunters suspect Repliforce for the Sky Lagoon incident. This is the tipping point that pushes General to start a coup d'état to form an independent Reploid nation, forcing them into conflict with the Maverick Hunters. Ironically, it was the Hunter Magma Dragoon who had gone Maverick and framed Repliforce. During this time, a rookie Hunter named Double began to assist X as well, though he is later revealed to be a Maverick agent when he kills a group of Maverick Hunters. Additionally, Repliforce's Web Spider was formerly a Hunter.
Mega Man X5
In Mega Man X5, it is revealed that the Maverick Hunters were weakened by the Great Repliforce War, and the previous commander even stepped down out of guilt for the incident.[1] The Hunters bolster their ranks with the new commander Signas, the navigator Alia, the engineer Douglas, and the Lifesaver medical units. However, they are again crippled by the global spread of the Sigma Virus, struggling to keep up with worldwide Maverick outbreaks as Eurasia falls to the Earth. Signas organizes the Enigma and Space Shuttle projects to repel Eurasia, with varying results depending on the player's performance.
After the climactic battle between X and Zero, the fate of the Maverick Hunters depends on the ending. In X's good ending, X returns to the Maverick Hunters on the front lines, keeping peace with Zero's Z-Saber in hand. The mass destruction caused by the events of this game greatly decreased the number of Hunters in service, and all Units were dissolved and reorganized as the Maverick Hunters downsized their ranks.[2] In X's bad ending, X returns to the Maverick Hunters, but has forgotten about Zero and now instructs the Maverick Hunters to help prepare the world for building the utopic "Elysium" instead.
Members
Leadership
The Maverick Hunters are led by a high-ranked division of individuals known as the Upper Echelon (上層部).[3] Few of the Upper Echelon's members have ever been revealed, save for the military General (総監)[4] to whom all Units of the Maverick Hunters answer.
- Sigma (defected in Mega Man X)[5]
- Unknown general (retired after Mega Man X4)[5]
- Signas (from Mega Man X5-X8)[5]
Dr. Cain is the founder and Advisor (アドバイザー)[3] of the organization, presumably acting as a consultant but not holding an official post in the Maverick Hunters. He operated in this capacity at least up until Mega Man X3.
Hunter Units
The Maverick Hunter troops were formerly divided into Units, depending on their area of specialization. Each Unit was led by a Commander (隊長),[6] assisted by a Vice-Captain (副官). After the catastrophic events of Mega Man X5, all Units were dissolved and reorganized as the Maverick Hunters downsized their ranks.[2]
The 0th Special Unit (Shinobi) (第0特殊部隊(忍び部隊))[3], also translated as the Special 0 Unit,[5] is a team of Hunters for stealth ops.
- Zero (commander; from Mega Man X3-X8)[2]
- Blast Hornet (vice-captain; defected in Mega Man X3)[2]
- Magna Centipede (defected before Mega Man X2)[2]
- Web Spider (retired before Mega Man X4)[2]
The 1st-3rd Units remain confidential.
The 4th Land Unit (第4陸上部隊)[2] is a team of Hunters stationed in desert regions.
- Flame Mammoth (commander; defected in Mega Man X)[2]
The 5th Unit remains confidential.
The 6th Naval Unit (第6艦隊)[3] is a team of Hunters stationed in maritime regions.
- Wheel Gator (vice-captain; defected before Mega Man X2)[2]
- Bubble Crab (defected before Mega Man X2)[2]
- Launch Octopus (defected in Mega Man X)[2]
- Volt Kraken (retired before Mega Man X5)[5]
The 7th Airborne Unit (第7空挺部隊)[3] is a team of Hunters with flight capabilities.
- Storm Eagle (commander; defected in Mega Man X)[2]
- Overdrive Ostrich (retired before Mega Man X2)[2]
The 8th Armored Unit (第8機甲部隊)[3] is a team of Hunters with high defenses.
- Armored Armadillo (commander; defected in Mega Man X)[2]
The 9th Special Unit (Rangers) (第9特殊部隊(レンジャー部隊))[3] is a team of Hunters stationed in the wilderness.
- Sting Chameleon (defected in Mega Man X)[2]
The 10th-12th Units remain confidential.
The 13th Polar Unit (第13極地部隊)[3] is a team of Hunters stationed in polar regions.
- Unknown commander (killed in Mega Man X)[2]
- Chill Penguin (defected in Mega Man X)[2]
The 14th Special Unit (第14特殊部隊),[2] also known as the 14th Martial Arts Unit (第14格闘技部隊),[7] is a team of Hunters who specialize in hand-to-hand combat.
- Magma Dragoon (commander; defected in Mega Man X4)[5]
The 15th-16th Units remain confidential.
The 17th Elite Unit (第17精鋭部隊)[3] is a team of elite Hunters of various specialties.
- Sigma (commander; defected in Mega Man X)[2]
- Zero (commander; in Mega Man X)[2]
- X (commander; from Mega Man X2-X7)[2]
- Vile (defected in Mega Man X)[2]
- Spark Mandrill (defected in Mega Man X)[2]
- Boomer Kuwanger (defected in Mega Man X)[2]
- "Green Biker Dude" (perished in Mega Man X2)[8]
- Flame Stag (defected before Mega Man X2)[2]
- Gravity Beetle (defected in Mega Man X3)[2]
- Double (joined and defected in Mega Man X4)[9]
Other Staff
Many members of the organization don't fall into the categories of leadership or Hunter Units, such as navigators or other support staff. Some of the characters included on this list are simply placed here because their exact position in the Maverick Hunters has never been confirmed, or they joined the organization after all Units were dissolved after Mega Man X5.
- Mac (Hunter; defected in Mega Man X3)
- Garma's unit (destroyed; mentioned in Mega Man X4)
- Alia (navigator; from Mega Man X5-X8)
- Douglas (mechanic; from Mega Man X5-X6)
- Lifesaver (medic; in Mega Man X5)
- Axl (Hunter; from Mega Man X7-X8)
- Layer (navigator; in Mega Man X8)
- Pallette (navigator; in Mega Man X8)
- "Navigator" (navigator; in Maverick Hunter X)
Ranking
All Maverick Hunters are assigned a Hunter Rank depending on their performance in the field, meaning not only their firepower but also their efficiency and accuracy. Officially, they are divided into four ranks: Special A (特A) or SA, A, B, and C. As of Mega Man X, only 0.01% of all Hunters held the SA rank.[10]
References
- ↑ Game manual, Mega Man X5. 2000.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 Compendium of Rockman X. 2005.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Kodansha Manga Hyakka #34: Rockman X Chō Hyakka. 1996.
- ↑ (Archived) Capcom Japan official website, New Products, Mega Man X5. 2000. (http://www.capcom.co.jp/newproducts/consumer/psrockx5/index.html)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Gallery, Mega Man X Legacy Collection. 2018.
- ↑ "X: Does Commander Sigma know about this?" The Day of Sigma. 2005.
- ↑ Televi Magazine Great Hyakka #103: Rockman X4 Himitsu Daizukan. 1997.
- ↑ Game manual, Rockman X2. Capcom. 1994.
- ↑ Comic BomBom Special #116: Rockman X4 Saikyou Daizukan. 1997.
- ↑ Haoh Game Special #4: Rockman X Hisshō Kōryaku Hon. 1993.
