| “ | Just the thought of wiping the floor with those Mavericks makes my trigger finger itch! | „ |
| ~ Axl, Mega Man X8. |
Axl (アクセル Akuseru) is the tritagonist of the Mega Man X series.
He is a prototype for a next-generation reploid which enables him to mimic the external and internal characteristics of anyone he encounters.
Axl has held important roles in two of the games he has appeared in so far, effectively making him the third playable protagonist of the Mega Man X series alongside X and Zero, as well as the tritagonist.
He is voiced in Japanese by Minami Takayama in all of his appearances and in English by Lenne Hardt in Mega Man X7 and Jeffery Watson in Mega Man X8 and Mega Man X: Command Mission.
History[]
Background[]
Little is known about Axl's past - not even Axl knows when or where he was created, and he is sometimes seen searching for answers to these questions. All he has learned so far is that he is a prototype of the new generation Reploids, which explains his body's Copy Chip. Axl's earliest memory is when he was found by Red, leading to him joining the vigilante syndicate Red Alert. He saw great success as a vigilante, and his Copy Chip gave Red Alert a significant edge over their Maverick bounties.
One of his missions under Red Alert had him intercepting a meeting between two Mavericks, Cedar and Aluce, to assassinate them both and recover their illegal good: Virus Program Σ-02. He headed to Point RD13-29 with Red, before killing Cedar and masquerading as him to breach Aluce's defenses and shoot him in the back. After briefly taunting the Maverick's methods, he escaped the base with the briefcase.
However, this mission drew the attention of a certain Reploid. As Red began meeting with "the Professor" to create power-ups from the DNA programs Axl copied, Axl became disturbed. He noticed that Red Alert was beginning to target more and more innocent Reploids. This led to Axl feeling that Red Alert were "no better than murderers now." Ultimately, Axl felt that his colleagues were just using his ability in pursuit of their own power-ups, which was the last straw. Because of this, he started planning to leave the organization and instead join the Maverick Hunters.
Mega Man X7[]
Axl then abandons Red Alert, escaping through the Crimson Fortress' defenses. However, he is suddenly pursued by a Red Alert-deployed Mega Scorpio on his way out and is forced to flee. Fortunately, Axl runs into Zero on the highway, who helps him destroy the Mechaniloid. Afterwards, Zero arrests Axl and takes him back to Hunter Base for questioning about the incident.
Axl meets X, who berates him for his internal politics with Red Alert causing so much public damage. Axl defends himself by explaining Red Alert's recent merciless ways. As if on cue, Red sends a transmission to the Maverick Hunters demanding Axl's return. He proposes a "duel" wherein Red Alert and the Maverick Hunters have battles all over the globe, to determine both who gets Axl and to put an end to their hunting rivalry. Axl feels himself responsible for the upcoming conflict, and in order to make up for his mistakes, he joins forces with Zero and the Hunters to stop Red Alert, despite their hesitance to allow him to do so.
As Axl and Zero continue to defeat the members of Red Alert, Axl explains his Copy Chip to Zero. He also explains how Red Alert's members have slowly changed over time, becoming more unruly and violent, and how he felt used by Red Alert for his Copy Chip. Additionally, it is through Axl and Zero's combined efforts against Red Alert that X is inspired to come out of retirement and fight alongside them again.
After Axl, Zero, and X defeat Red Alert's eight members, Red suddenly sends the Hunters the location of Red Alert's secret base, the Crimson Palace. Together, the three infiltrate the Crimson Palace and confront Red himself. While Axl is willing to talk it out, Red cuts to the chase and starts fighting them. After defeating Red, Axl pleads with him to join them, but Red resigns to his mistakes and chooses to stay in a collapsing room that crushes him.
The three Hunters then learn that Sigma is at it again, and that he was the one responsible for manipulating Red Alert into exploiting Axl's abilities. Even after the trio fights him twice, Sigma manages to rise again and punches Axl through a wall, seemingly defeating him. Surprisingly, Red reappears and attacks X and Zero. When Sigma is presumably about to possess him, Red uses an Axl Bullet to blast Sigma out of the palace through a window, revealing Red to be Axl in disguise. Axl, Zero, and X then flee the dilapidated palace.
In the ending, Axl is shocked to learn that despite helping defeat Sigma, X refuses to make him an official Maverick Hunter due to his immature and destructive ways. Axl tries to defend himself by saying he'd only done the same kind of damage X had done in past conflicts, only for X to rebut that he was wrong to do so. Suddenly, Alia reports another Maverick attack, and Axl heads out, determined to prove his worth to X.
Mega Man X8[]
Axl is shown to have been accepted as an official Maverick Hunter after all, routinely joining X and Zero on missions. Axl has also learned by now that he was made as a prototype for the New Generation Reploids, but the rest of his history is still a mystery.
Axl appears with X and Zero in the outskirts of the Jakob Orbital Elevator, investigating an out of control crab-like Mechaniloid in Noah's Park. After subduing the Mechaniloid, the three encounter (Axl for the first time) Vile, who kidnaps the director of the Jakob project, Lumine. After this incident, a series of Maverick attacks begin around the globe, all revolving around the involvement of New Generation Reploids with the Jakob Project. While X is frustrated by the conflict restarting so soon, Axl is excited by the prospect and helps X accept the reality of the situation.
As Axl helps fight the rioting New Generation Reploids, he learns that many of them consider him a traitor for siding with the Hunters, as they refer to X and Zero as the "old" Reploids. He also gets to know Vile, who dislikes him for being a new face. Eventually the "mastermind" of the incident is revealed to be Sigma again, once Alia compares the data of the New Generation Reploids with Axl's similar data. The three Hunters use the Jakob Elevator to pursue Sigma to his palace on the Moon, where Sigma reveals to Axl that he wouldn't have wanted his help anyways due to being a "flimsy prototype."
After Sigma is defeated, Lumine enters the scene, much to the delight of Axl and his friends; however, this delight is quickly dispelled by Lumine's revelation that he, not Sigma, was the true mastermind. He then ridicules X and Zero for trying to stop the future from marching on, discouraging them greatly, but Axl shoots Lumine to shut him up and tells his friends to ignore him. Axl and his friends then defeat Lumine, but the latter has one last trick up his sleeve: something lashes out of Lumine's lifeless shell as Axl approaches, striking and breaking the gem on his forehead. He is knocked unconscious by the attack, but X and Zero quickly destroy Lumine's body.
When the group begins their descent back to Earth, a comatose Axl is carried in X's arms. In his broken forehead lens shines a mysterious fragment left by Lumine's attack.
Mega Man X: Command Mission[]
Axl became an official S-Class Hunter. He heads to Giga City in search for answers of his origins and thinking his copy abilities may have originated there. Though Axl wasn't with X and Zero at the time when Shadow betrayed them, he did encounter X on his disguise in Ulfat Factory. Spider was even impressed by his copy ability. Axl then joins X, along with his new allies to find Zero, who later was confronting Mach Jentra. They force Jentra to retreat as X and Zero share a heartfelt reunion, even with Axl's return. He and others pursue Mach Jentra with his creations using a Duboar, they defeat him, but tells them, the Duboar will go berserk even without his control, starting constantly spewing more Preons. After they battle against tough waves of soldiers, Axl gives the idea to use a copy of Mach Jentra's form to order Duboar to stop. His idea succeeds, allowing X and Zero to destroy the machine. Zero was excited to be reunited with his two old fellow Maverick Hunters, but then immediately leaves due to him not giving trust of new allies from Giga City after Shadow's betrayal. Axl was affected by this, stating that Zero doesn't change despite both having the same goal to work together as hunters.
(More to be added)
Appearance[]
Axl has a youthful design, wearing bluish-black armor highlighted by red lines and yellow accents. He has green eyes, a spiky auburn ponytail on the back of his head, and an "X"-shaped scar on his face; the source of this scar is left a mystery, implying a tragic past. His chest is adorned with a camera lens-like blue crystal matching the crystal on his head, his shoulderpads are pointed, and his legs feature white boosters on the sides. Jutting from his upper back are two long, white retractable "wings" that form an "A" shape behind him when extended. His helmet's red decal, when viewed from above, also resembles an upside-down "A" with his head crystal forming the gap.
Personality[]
Axl is a boyish and headstrong Reploid. He is cocky about his abilities and often brags that he is one of the best Hunters. He is prone to following emotion over logic and gets impatient when there's nothing to do, which can trouble his superiors. Despite his loud-mouthed and arrogant temperament, Axl deeply cares for his friends in the Maverick Hunters and even Red Alert. X and Zero treat him like a younger brother and admire his eagerness to take action. He may be immature, but Axl has his heart in the right place and never tolerates injustice.
Axl has a fondness for battle and can be quite ruthless, putting him in direct contrast with the pacifistic X. He is unafraid to make enemies and will carry through on threats, speaking rudely and violently with those he dislikes, such as Splash Warfly. During his days in Red Alert, he would gun down targets with no hesitation and proved a useful assassin. However, once they started targeting innocent Reploids, he recognized the immorality and abandoned his colleagues to pursue justice. This strong moral compass also showed when Axl was unaffected by Lumine's remarks on the Moon, encouraging X and Zero to persevere in the face of his despairing prophecy.
Other Media[]
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars[]
Axl appears as a cameo in Zero's ending, where he, Alia, and X discover Zero being injured on the Moon.
Super Smash Bros.[]
Axl appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a advanced support spirit that equips the fighter with a ray gun at the start of a battle. Its spirit battle is a stamina battle on the omega form of the Midgar stage against two Mega Man who starts with ray guns and increased the shooting item powers.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Axl resembles Bass from Mega Man 7 due to his Play style and Blast Man from Mega Man 11 with his spiky hair.
External Links[]
- Axl on the Mega Man Wiki
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 Heroes
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