Reploid

This article is a stub. You can help Mega Man Wiki by expanding it.

A Reploid, known as a Repliroid (レプリロイド) in Japan, is a term used to refer to a sapient robot with complete free will and thought processes comparable to that of a human. They first appeared in the X era, continuing long into the Zero era and ZX era.

In the Games

Mega Man X

Reploids are introduced in Mega Man X. In the Japanese game manual, they are described as "robots with completely human thought processes." In the English opening cutscene, they are called a "new generation of robots with the ability to think, feel and make their own decisions," or in Japanese, "robots with a more complex human-like capacity for thought." In the Gallery for Mega Man X Legacy Collection, they are called "robots with the ability to think and feel for themselves." Regardless of the specific definition, Reploids are clearly established as a more advanced type of robot that possesses heightened thought processes and free will compared to the robots of the past.

The original Japanese term "Repliroid" (レプリロイド) is a portmanteau of the words "replica" (レプリカ) and "android'" (アンドロイド). This was shortened to "Reploid" in the English localization. It refers to the fact that Reploids perfectly replicate human capacity for thought. The only official source for this is in Rockman X The Novel: Irregulars Report, a non-canon adaptation of Mega Man X.

The first ever Reploid was X. He was created by Dr. Light and sealed in a capsule on September 18, 20XX to be subjected to rigorous moral diagnostics for 30 years before he would be safe to awaken. In 21XX, Dr. Cain discovered X's capsule and referenced his design to create other Reploids. Soon, Reploids went into mass-production and became integrated into society with humans. Some Reploids began suffering malfunctions that made them dangerous, becoming known as Mavericks, which prompted Dr. Cain to found the Maverick Hunters, an organization made to deal with Maverick activity. He also created Sigma, known as the most powerful Reploid of all time, to lead the Hunters.

However, Sigma himself eventually went Maverick and turned many of the Hunters into his personal army to take over the world and exterminate humanity. Righteous Hunters such as X and Zero resisted and fought Sigma's rebellion. X fought against eight Maverick Hunter bosses who had joined Sigma, each one designed after an animal rather than a human, and grew stronger with each of their defeats. Although Zero perished, X went on to defeat Sigma and destroy his rebellion.