Hidden Phantom

Phantom is a fictional character in the video game Mega Man Zero. Phantom was the leader of the Zan'ei Army (斬影軍団) with the title of Inshō Phantom (「隠将」ファントム). The idiom dictionary of the Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works reveals his English title to be Hidden Phantom. Phantom's schematics were based on that of X's capabilities of stealth. He is one of the Four Guardians of Copy X and oversaw his pupils, Hanumachine, Phoenix Magnion, and Tech Kraken.

Design
Like his siblings, his armour is based on that of his biological origin, X, with thematic alterations. Phantom's armour is coloured black, symbolising his alignment with darkness. His design is based on that of a ninja, making use of shuriken, kunai and katana to attack, as well as using illusions and substitutes to conceal himself. He is thus aptly named for his dark nature and ghostly movements. A white mask partially covers the upper half of his face, and he wears a red two-tailed cape on his back, both of which could be references to the theatrical musical, The Phantom of the Opera, and would thus partially supplement the basis for his name.

Phantom is the only member of the Four Guardians not to display an Armed Phenomenon form, having self-destructed in the first game before such transformations were revealed. He presumably has one, however, as both his master and all of his siblings display a second form; though he doesn't appear in Mega Man Zero 2, the Rockman Zero Official Complete Works contains concept art which depicts Phantom's Armed Phenomenon form (which is a bat/wraith like form).

Maverick War Era
Sometime during the Maverick War, four Reploids were created from the DNA of Mega Man X. These were Phantom, Sage Harpuia, Fighting Fefnir, and Fairy Leviathan. Originally, these four were designed to fulfill certain tasks to rebuild the planet after the end of the war.

Mega Man Zero
Phantom was one of four Reploids modelled after the robot Mega Man X. His first appearance in Mega Man Zero was against Zero in a Factory captured by the Resistance. Zero fought him to a standstill, but Phantom turned the tables when he informed Zero that he had planted bombs all over the factory. Zero found them and disposed of them, and later defeated Phantom's closest apprentice, Hanumachine.

When he confronted Zero again in Neo Arcadia's Core, he was again defeated, but this time self-destructed in hopes that his explosion would harm Zero. Zero escaped, however, and went on to defeat Copy X. After his death, Phantom's spirit entered Cyberspace, where he would encounter Zero in his third adventure.

Mega Man Zero 3
In Mega Man Zero 3, if Zero entered Cyberspace in the Sub Arcadia Level, a secret door would appear that would lead him into a confrontation with Phantom. In Cyberspace, the world where all data is sent along with Reploids after death, Phantom learned all truths about the past. He claimed Zero never had the strength within him to be a hero. However, Phantom recanted, after being defeated by Zero, and encouraged Zero to cross blades with Omega to prove himself once and for all.

After his battle with Zero, Phantom met up with Cyber-elf X, with whom he went to help the two guardians, Fefnir and Leviathan, who were reaching critical state from their battle with Omega earlier on in Mega Man Zero 3. X helped the two recover, as Zero started his battle with Omega, convincing them, and later Harpuia to help Zero. Phantom didn't appear to help due to his status.

Mega Man Zero 4
In Mega Man Zero 4, Phantom, perhaps with X's help, found a way to project himself into the real world so that he could watch the descent of Ragnarok as Zero did battle with Dr. Weil. This final event was depicted in the Vile's Incident Booklet included with Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Physis. Interestingly enough, Phantom, along with the other 3 Guardians, updated their wardrobes with capes matching their armor in color, each with an X symbol on the back. However, in the Rockman Zero Official Complete Works, developers behind the game state this piece is nothing more than fan service.

Personality
"Outdated one... You are not needed in the new world!"

Phantom's major trait is his unwavering allegiance to his master, X, displaying more loyalty than his three counterparts (none of whom were willing to sacrifice their lives in order to protect X [or in this case, Copy X]). His sacrifice may be considered admirable, despite the flawed nature of its cause.

Other Appearances
Phantom also appears in Mega Man ZX as the Biometal P. In ZX he is fiercely loyal to Biometal X, much like his Reploid counterpart. P and X also combine to become the stealth-oriented Model PX. In Mega Man ZX Advent, Biometal P is used by Siarnaq.

Ironically, the Combined version of Model P as PX looks more like the Original Phantom than Model P alone, however this is probably due to Phantom being the loyal Guardian to X, as evidenced by making a martyr out of himself just to stop Zero.

Phantom also appears in the Rockman Zero manga.

In Mega Man Zero 3, Phantom has a mini-game where he needs to jump between shurikens without falling, and avoid spiked balls. If he falls or gets hit, he'll fall from the sky to the ground.

Mission enemies

 * Garm
 * Gli-Eye
 * Gyro Cannon
 * Seal Cannon
 * Shellcrawler
 * Top Gabyoall
 * Carryarm (not hostile)

Trivia

 * Even though Mega Man Zero has the distinction of breaking the tradition of defeating a Boss at the end of a level, Phantom still stands out as the only Boss in the game that is fought at the very beginning of the mission/level. This is later carried on with Argoyle and Ugoyle in Mega Man ZX Advent.
 * Phantom is the only returning Boss in Mega Man Zero 3 that is not featured in the storyline; he was fought as a secret Boss instead.
 * Phantom's design seems almost reminiscent of Proto Man from the Classic series, such as the mask/visor covering the upper half of the face and the scarf. He also gets a shield as Biometal P.
 * Ironically, even though Phantom has shown himself to be one of the more nobler enemies in the Zero series, the Zero 3 Database claims that he is an evil Dark Lord.
 * In another Capcom's Arcade Title "Knights of the Round", there's a mid-boss called Phantom, a thief with shadow-like skills.
 * In Mega Man Xtreme, one of the main sub-bosses, Geemel, throws his blade and jumps over it, much like Phantom does in Zero Series.