Sigma (Mega Man X)

is the main antagonist of the ''Mega Man X'' video game series. Created by Dr. Cain, Sigma was considered the finest of the Reploids and was the first leader of the Maverick Hunters, peacekeeping androids who defend humans against their renegade counterparts. Although he was once respectable, Sigma unexpectedly goes berserk during ''Mega Man X'' and rebels against humankind after coming into contact with the Maverick Virus. He defects to the Mavericks and assumes the role of their leader. Due to the virus integrated into his circuits, he can survive seemingly anything, and constantly returns to menace the world.

Sigma has appeared in almost every ''Mega Man X'' video game since his first appearance in the 1993 title ''Mega Man X''. He has received praise from critics and fans for his design and charisma as a villain, though his introduction was noted as marking a darker and more pessimistic theme for ''Mega Man X'' compared to other ''Mega Man'' sub-series.

Characteristics

Sigma appears as a tall, bald humanoid in most of his forms. As the former leader of the Maverick Hunters, Sigma is a capable military leader, rendering him a devious and strategic opponent to his primary enemies, X and Zero. Sigma is a skilled and charismatic manipulator, managing to turn various Reploids, Maverick Hunters, and Mavericks to his side. Although he has been destroyed countless times, Sigma's programming always survives, either building himself a new form, or is revived by Reploid and Maverick admirers alike; it is implied that he grows more insane with each revival. He is fond of incorporating himself into battlesuits which are vastly larger than his "regular" form. He serves as the final boss in all games except '' Mega Man X: Command Mission'' and ''Mega Man X8'' (he does not appear in the former and in the latter, Sigma is the penultimate boss).

History

''Mega Man X'' series

Prior to the first Mega Man X game, Sigma was the most advanced Reploid of his time, leading the Maverick Hunters. However, one day, the Maverick Hunters received reports of an overwhelmingly powerful "Red Maverick" that destroyed an entire squadron of Hunters. While investigating, Sigma, along with his unit, tracked it down to an abandoned laboratory and faced the Maverick alone. The Maverick is revealed to be Zero, an evil robot created by Dr. Wily that carried a computer virus called "Maverick Virus". After Sigma defeats Zero, the virus inadvertently transfers into Sigma. While the virus is purged from Zero, turning him benevolent, the virus adapts to Sigma, becoming the Sigma Virus.

After gradually succumbing to the virus, he suddenly leads a mass revolt among the Reploids, declaring total war on humans. Many Maverick Hunters follow Sigma out of loyalty, leaving Zero in charge of the organization. X, the last creation of Dr. Light and the base model for every Reploid decides to volunteer and joins Zero. X and Zero battle through the Maverick regime, and it is X who finally destroys Sigma. But though his physical body is scrapped, Sigma's "soul" (the Virus) survives. After the end credits roll, Sigma's face appears on a blue monitor and warns X that he will be back.

Sigma returns in each installment of the series in various forms but is defeated by X each time. His final appearance is in ''Mega Man X8'' - although he is finally destroyed for good, the Sigma Virus remains, prompting the events of the ''Mega Man Zero'' series.

Other games

Sigma appears in the crossover game ''Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite''. In the story mode, he merges with Ultron to become "Ultron Sigma" to convert the inhabitants of both of their worlds into their slaves. Sigma as a playable character is available for purchase as standalone downloadable content or as part of the game's character pass.

Cartoons and anime

Though not a starring character, Sigma was referred to in an episode of the 1994 Mega Man cartoon, where X, Vile, and Spark Mandrill go back in time. His profile, shown by X, mistakenly spells his name as ''Cigma''. The only lines Sigma has is when Vile contacts him near the end of the episode.

He also appears in a short unlockable OVA in ''Mega Man Maverick Hunter X'' entitled "The Day of Σ". It shows the Maverick Hunters prior to the events of the first ''Mega Man X'' game under Sigma's command, before he ultimately revolts.

Development

''Mega Man X'' was originally meant to have a team of three villains, one tall, one short, and one chubby. However, the designs by Keiji Inafune were merged to create a single villain, Sigma. These designs were later reused as the basis for ''Mega Man X2'''s X-Hunters. Ever since his creation, Inafune aimed parts to his appearance to hint a connection with ''Mega Man'' villain Dr. Wily. He was created with the idea of being an "absolute evil" type character to fit the dark narrative of the games as Sigma is a villain despite being manufactured to be pure good.

Kaiser Sigma was designed with an idea of being more "messy" than the original design of the character. With the creation of ''Mega Man X4'', Inafune originally avoided to feature Sigma since the story of such game involved a lack of black and white view of the scenario. Since Sigma received major damage in ''X5'', he was redesigned in ''X6'' to lack his early menace and instead "messy". In ''Mega Man X8'' a new villain named Lumine appears; to contrast his angel-like appearance, Sigma was instead made to look like a demon.

Merchandise

A figure of Sigma was released by Tamashii Nations in 2013.

Reception

Sigma was praised for his backstory, resulting in the story of ''Mega Man X'' having unclear morality. Peter Tieryas of '' Kotaku'' stated that he felt guilty after defeating Sigma, due to the Mavericks' origins as normal Reploids whose design was patterned after the series protagonist, and that they just wanted independence. Heather Alexandra of the same publication noted the character's heavy similarities with ''Overwatch'''s Sigma, to the point that they could be the same character. She called the ''Mega Man'' Sigma "a bit of a pest, to say the least," due to his ability to "leap into new robot bodies and other computer systems".

Patrick Lee of The A.V. Club, however, stated that Sigma is "exactly the sort of boogeyman anti-progress allegories are built around". Saying that he is the "first piece of technology the ''Mega Man'' series suggests was a mistake to create", he says that Sigma runs contrary to the previous, optimistic themes of the series, which suggest that technology is ultimately beneficial to mankind, and that robots are "morally neutral tools". He described this "more cynical worldview" as "anti-technology scaremongering." With regards to Sigma's appearance in ''Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite'', Mike Fahey from ''Kotaku'' thought the merging of Ultron and Sigma into an amalgamated being is "a great idea, and makes for a very cool visual", although he felt the game's idea of characters from Capcom's '' Mega Man'', ''Resident Evil'' and ''Street Fighter'' franchises sharing the same world and knowing each other to be silly.

References

{{Megamanx

Capcom antagonists
Robot supervillains
Artificial intelligence characters in video games
Fictional mass murderers
Fictional computer viruses
Shapeshifter characters in video games
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Fictional terrorists
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Video game bosses
Mega Man characters
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Video game characters introduced in 1993

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