Hidden Phantom

Phantom is a character in the video game series 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 (which is further supported by his full name appearing in Mega Man Zero Collection). Phantom's schematics were based on that of X's capabilities of stealth. He is one of the Four Guardians of Copy X.

Design
Like his siblings, Phantom's armour is based on that of his biological origin, X, with thematic alterations. Phantom's armour is colored black, symbolising his alignment with darkness. His design is based on that of a ninja, having Ninjutsu skills and 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 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 all of his siblings display an Armed Phenomenon. Although he doesn't appear in Mega Man Zero 2, the Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works contains concept art which depicts Phantom's Armed Phenomenon form (which is a bat/wraith like form - see Gallery).

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"Outdated one...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

Phantom has a calm, quiet demeanor. His 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 Copy X). Phantom has no mercy for those who oppose Neo Arcadia. His sacrifice may be considered admirable, despite the flawed nature of its cause.

Story
When Mega Man X sealed the Dark Elf after the Elf Wars, the shock forced X's soul from his body, and it split into five Cyber-elves. Four of these Cyber-elves were used to create Hidden Phantom, Sage Harpuia, Fighting Fefnir, and Fairy Leviathan, while the other wanders around Earth.

At some point, the four became military generals of Neo Arcadia, responsible for the overall safely of its inhabitants, both humans and Reploids. Phantom became the leader of the Zan'ei Army, Neo Arcadia's stealth units and anti-Resistance intelligence unit. Hanumachine, Phoenix Magnion, Hyleg Ourobockle, Burble Hekelot and Tech Kraken belonged to his forces.

Mega Man Zero
Phantom's first appearance in Mega Man Zero was to fight against Zero in a Factory captured by the Resistance. Zero defeated him, 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 Phantom 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 and protect his master. Zero escaped, however, and went on to defeat Copy X. After his death, Phantom's Cyber-elf entered the 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, after being defeated by Zero, Phantom realized Zero's power and encouraged him 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 as a Cyber-elf. The other Guardians were transformed into Cyber-elves by Omega's explosion, but Zero was protected by the Dark Elf, who shielded him from the blast with her own body.

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 three Guardians, updated their armors (in their Cyber-elf forms) with capes matching their armor in color, each with an X symbol on the back. However, in the Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works, developers behind the game state this piece is nothing more than fan art.

Mega Man ZX series
Phantom also appears in Mega Man ZX as the Biometal Model P. He is fiercely loyal to Biometal Model X, much like his Reploid counterpart. When used by Vent or Aile, Models P and X 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.

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

Phantom also appears in the Rockman Zero manga.

Mission enemies

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

Trivia

 * Even though Zero has the tradition of defeating a boss at the end of a mission, Phantom still stands out as the only boss in the game that is fought at the very beginning of the stage. 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.
 * 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.
 * Surprisingly, out of any of the other Guardian's divisions, members of Phantom's Zan'ei army are fought most often in the Zero series (5 of them: Hanumachine, Phoenix Magnion, Burble Hekelot, Hyleg Ourobockle, and Tech Kraken), while the leader, Phantom himself, appears physically in only two games, compared to the other Guardians, who are in three.
 * Although he is depicted with black eyes, Phantom's sprite shows him with red eyes.