Sting Chameleon

"Maverick, Schmaverick! I don't care so long as I make my mark!"

- Sting Chameleon

Sting Chameleon, known in Japan as Sting Chameleao (スティング・カメリーオ), is a boss in Mega Man X, a Reploid based on the chameleon. He was a highly-skilled Maverick Hunter from the 9th Special Unit (Rangers), but his sly, sneaky tricks and sharp tongue left him unpopular and he was never chosen for promotion to unit leader. Sting Chameleon can blend into his surroundings and uses strategy to defeat his enemies by any means necessary; sometimes called a coward for this. Never one to pass up an opportunity, he has used Sigma's Maverick uprising as a means to rise through the ranks. Now, he is grimly protective of his post as defender of a front-line base in the jungle.

Strategy
Sting Chameleon can blend into his surroundings, to near invisibility, like chameleons were once thought to, but despite this, he is still quite easy to spot if the player just watches the wall and looks for the distortion he causes when he moves around. While cloaked, Sting Chameleon will do one of two things: he will either try to sneak up right next to the player and hit them with a quick lash from his tongue (sometimes in a rapid-fire 3-hit combination), or he will move to one of the top side corners of the room and then reappear to fire his Chameleon Sting at the player, which he does by swinging his tail. Sting Chameleon can also drop (non-lethal) spikes from the ceiling of the arena to damage X.

Chameleon is weak against the Boomerang Cutter, although it does not cut off his tail (which is odd, considering the Boomerang Cutter can be used to dismember Launch Octopus and Flame Mammoth, removing one's tentacles, and the other's trunk), rather it knocks him off the ceiling of the arena, and he will go right into dropping spikes on X.

The Chameleon Sting attack, when gained by the player once Sting Chameleon is destroyed, is effective against Storm Eagle.

In Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, he can fire a faster, yellow-colored Chameleon Sting from his mouth after a short charge, which is more difficult to dodge from the opposite side of the room due to the beams traveling in a slightly narrower spread, leaving less room to jump between. He will always come to the ground to do this move, however, so that gives the player two separate warnings (grounding himself and charging). However, his most lethal attack is hanging from the ceiling by his tongue and causing spikes to rain on the player. There is no safe spot during this attack, so to avoid this attack the player should keep dashing in between the spikes to avoid them, and wait for Sting Chameleon to halt the attack before blasting him.

Mega Man X stats:
Sting Chameleon (Sting Chameleao) Nickname: "Spirit Sharp-Shooter of the Haunted Forest" (幽林の妖撃手) Height: 177 cm (5.80 ft) Weight: 77 kg (170 lbs, mistakenly shown as 169 lbs in-game) Attacks: Chameleon Sting, Iron Tongue

Maverick Hunter X Bio
SPIRIT SHARP-SHOOTER OF THE HAUNTED FOREST

Reploid who belongs to the 9th Special Battalion (Rangers). Using his tongue for quick attacks, along with his ability to blend into his surroundings, makes him a highly-skilled Hunter. On the other hand, he goes too far in his mantra of "by any means necessary," and is called a coward for his sometimes sly, sneaky tricks. Bested by Sigma, he joins the rebellion, using his skills learned as a Ranger to be the first line of defense for the forest base.

Chameleon Sting

Emits high-level optical laser beams in 3 directions. Can also fire up and down at the same time.

Stage names:

 * Forest Stage (森林ステージ, from Mega Man X credits and Irregular Hunter X on Capcom's site)
 * Recon Base Ruins (from Mega Man Maverick Hunter X stage select screen)

Stage enemies
Enemies in Sting Chameleon's stage:
 * Sub-boss (optional): RT-55J
 * Amenhopper
 * Armor Soldier (with Ride Armor)
 * Axe Max
 * Crag Man
 * Creeper
 * Hoganmer
 * Jamminger
 * Mad Pecker
 * Planty (with Iworms)

Dialogues from Mega Man Maverick Hunter X
Sting Chameleon: Nyah hah ha! Poor wittle X... Everyone's betrayed you...

X: Sting Chameleon! So Sigma's even managed to pull you into his scheme!

Sting Chameleon: That's Master Sigma to you, X! He'll be king when the new world is born. Treat him with respect!

X: I don't want to live in a world with him in charge! 

X: Why have you all fallen in with Sigma?

Sting Chameleon: Nyah hah ha! Well... Some of us can't help it. Maybe there are hostages involved and there's nothing we can do...

X: Don't you know that what you're doing is considered Maverick? Well? Don't you?

Sting Chameleon: Maverick, Schmaverick! I don't care so long as I make my mark!

Sting Chameleon: Whoo hoo! It's Vile... I used to have nothing but respect for you, you know.

Vile: In that case, get out of my way and let me pass.

Sting Chameleon: Nyah hah ha! I don't think so! We're going to have to fight!

Vile: If you say so... I won't let you or Sigma stand in my way!

Rockman X
Sting Chameleon is the third Maverick that X fights in the Rockman X manga. He uses armed devices to control the animals of a forest, using them to cause havoc and call X's attention to capture him for Sigma. A city was already destroyed when X arrived at the forest. Zero meets X in the forest and says they need to burn the forest to stop the animals, but X urges him to find another way, by defeating the ones responsible for this and make the animals return to normal. Zero agreed, saying he has until sunset to do so or he will burn the forest. After passing by RT-55J and finding the Armor upgrade, X found Sting Chameleon training with a dummy. Chameleon uses the animals to attack X, but somehow they returned to normal and Chameleon had to fight X himself. During the fight, X's buster was damaged by his tongue, but X also damaged his tongue using the Electric Spark. X could not use his buster much because of this, but when it became dark, X fired his buster to cast light and reveal Chameleon's position. The sudden burst of light damaged Chameleon's camouflage system, allowing X to defeat him with a charged shot. Zero was already preparing a device to destroy the forest when X returned to him.

Rockman X Mega Mission
In the Carddas, Rockman X Mega Mission, Sting Chameleon is revived by Dr. Doppler as "Sting Chameleao L". Some of Sting Chameleon's changes include his green colors being changed to a dark blue, the four spikes pointed backwards of his head where replaced by two facing forward, different shoulders, and three spikes on his tail instead of two. He was defeated by Zero.

Rockman Remix
In the Mega Mission history from the manga, Rockman Remix, Sting Chameleao L attacks X with Storm Eagleed L (Storm Eagle L) and Burnin' Noumander L (Flame Mammoth L). Initially, X doesn't want to fight them, but he's forced by iX/Limited to kill them with one blast, leaving only debris.

Mega Man Archie Comics
Although Sting Chameleon himself does not appear in the crossover, due to the time period taking place long before the Mega Man X series, he was briefly alluded to in the Worlds Collide arc, where Sonic the Hedgehog mockingly suggested to name Espio Man such (although he wasn't able to say the full name due to being cut off). Sting Chameleon himself would appear in the sequel crossover Worlds Unite, in which Sigma cloned him and many other Mavericks using the power of the Genesis Portals and Unity Engines. After joining in a brief attack on X, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, and their assembled allies the Maverick Hunters, Freedom Fighters, Robot Masters, and Team Sticks, he departed through a Genesis Portal to continue his master's plans of conquest. He would join Volt Kraken in attacking the world of Viewtiful Joe, where he was briefly mistaken for Cameo Leon of that world while battling Sticks the Badger and Axl.

Trivia

 * According to his conversation with Vile, Sting Chameleon apparently seemed to have a lot of respect for him. Coincidentally, both characters are voiced by Roger Rhodes and Hiroshi Shimozaki in Maverick Hunter X.
 * Cameo Leon from Viewtiful Joe 2 may have been (at least loosely) based on Sting Chameleon.
 * Interestingly, in Worlds Unite, Sting Chameleon invades the world of Viewtiful Joe, and Viewtiful Joe himself relates him to Cameo Leon.
 * Sting Chameleon, along with Boomer Kuwanger, are the only Mavericks from the first Mega Man X game to not appear in the Mega Man Xtreme sub-series.
 * Interestingly, in Mega Man Xtreme 2, a portion of his stage appears in Neon Tiger's stage.
 * Sting Chameleon, along with Magna Centipede and Blast Hornet, briefly appear as part of an attack by Metal Shark Player in X6, where he summons recreations of one of the three at random to attack X or Zero.
 * His weapon is called Chameleon Sting, which is simply his two English names reversed.
 * His Heart Tank was not originally in its spot; it was before in the mountain part, the cubby under the 1-Up one. This is seen in the X1 trailer in Mega Man X Legacy Collection.