is the
main antagonist
Main may refer to:
Geography
* Main River (disambiguation)
**Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany
* Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province
*"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries
...
of the ''
Mega Man X
is a series of action platform video games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the ''Mega Man'' franchise. The first game was released on December 17, 1993 in Japan (January 1994 in North America) on the Super NES/Super Famicom; most o ...
''
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
series. Created by Dr. Cain, Sigma was considered the finest of the
Reploid
is a series of action platform video games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the '' Mega Man'' franchise. The first game was released on December 17, 1993 in Japan (January 1994 in North America) on the Super NES/Super Famicom; most ...
s and was the first leader of the
Maverick Hunters
Since the debut of the first ''Mega Man'' video game in 1987, numerous characters have been introduced into the series.
Overview
Key:
= Does Not Appear
List indicator(s)
* A dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the prope ...
, peacekeeping
androids
An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being often made from a flesh-like material. Historically, androids were completely within the domain of science fiction and frequently seen in film and television, but advances in robot techno ...
who defend humans against their renegade counterparts. Although he was once respectable, Sigma unexpectedly goes berserk during ''
Mega Man X
is a series of action platform video games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the ''Mega Man'' franchise. The first game was released on December 17, 1993 in Japan (January 1994 in North America) on the Super NES/Super Famicom; most o ...
'' and rebels against humankind after coming into contact with the Maverick Virus. He defects to the
Mavericks
Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to:
History
* Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick
Aviation
* AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design
* General Aviation Design Bureau ...
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
is a series of action platform video games released by Capcom. It is a sub-series of the ''Mega Man'' franchise. The first game was released on December 17, 1993 in Japan (January 1994 in North America) on the Super NES/Super Famicom; most o ...
''. 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
0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation
Positional notation (or place-value notation, or positional numeral system) usually denotes the extension to any base of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system (or ...
. 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
''Mega Man X8'', known as in Japan, is an action platform game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation 2 on December 7, 2004. It is the eight and most recent installment of the ''Mega Man X'' subseries of the ''Mega Man'' ...
'' (he does not appear in the former and in the latter, Sigma is the
penultimate
Penult is a linguistics term for the second to last syllable of a word. It is an abbreviation of ''penultimate'', which describes the next-to-last item in a series. The penult follows the antepenult and precedes the ultima. For example, the main ...
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
() is a video game character and the main antagonist of the original ''Mega Man'' series, as well as Mega Man's archenemy and is also the creator of Bass and Zero. He appeared in the first ''Mega Man'' video game and later in promotions and oth ...
that carried a
computer virus
A computer virus is a type of computer program that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a compu ...
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
''Mega Man X8'', known as in Japan, is an action platform game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation 2 on December 7, 2004. It is the eight and most recent installment of the ''Mega Man X'' subseries of the ''Mega Man'' ...
'' - although he is finally destroyed for good, the Sigma Virus remains, prompting the events of the ''
Mega Man Zero
is a series in Capcom's '' Mega Man'' video game franchise. It was developed by Inti Creates, with Co-Producer Keiji Inafune and Director Yoshinori Kawano. The series consists of four games that were first released on the Game Boy Advance and ...
'' series.
Other games
Sigma appears in the
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
game ''
Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite
is a fighting video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sixth main entry in the '' Marvel vs. Capcom'' series of crossover games. Like previous installments, players control characters from both the Marvel Comics and Capcom univer ...
''. In the story mode, he merges with
Ultron
Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, and initially made his debut as an unnamed character in '' The Avengers'' #54 (July ...
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
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
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
is a Japanese video game producer, illustrator and businessman. Starting his career at Capcom in the late 1980s, his job was as an artist and illustrator. The first two games he worked on were the original ''Street Fighter'' and ''Mega Man'' in ...
were merged to create a single villain, Sigma. These designs were later reused as the basis for ''
Mega Man X2
''Mega Man X2'' (stylized as ''MEGA MAN X²''), known as in Japan, is a video game developed by Capcom for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The game was released in Japan on December 16, 1994, and in North America and PAL region ...
''
'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
''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games f ...
''
'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
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
, however, stated that Sigma is "exactly the sort of
boogeyman
The Bogeyman (; also spelled boogeyman, bogyman, bogieman, boogie monster, boogieman, or boogie woogie) is a type of mythic creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. Bogeymen have no specific appearance and conceptions var ...
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
''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' and ''
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'' 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
Fictional technopaths
Fictional terrorists
Fictional viruses
Fictional murderers
Video game bosses
Mega Man characters
Fictional androids
Video game characters introduced in 1993
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