Vile/Maverick Hunter X

Vile is an antagonist and playable character in Mega Man Maverick Hunter X. Once a high class Maverick Hunter in the 17th Elite Unit, Vile was imprisoned for his overly-destructive behavior, and later set free from his confinement by Sigma to wreak havoc and prove his superiority to X.

Personality
Because of an irregularity in his central processing core, Vile has developed a strange, almost pathological passion for destruction, hunting down and destroying every Maverick he is sent after with a crazed obsession, no matter what the cost. Due to his behavior, Vile was incarcerated by his superiors on suspicion of actually being a Maverick. Vile chose to side with himself when the rebellion broke loose and has a deep hatred for X that spawned from jealously and confusion due to others believing X is the one who can change the world.

Vile is a very arrogant and violent individual. Though he used to be a member of the Maverick Hunters, he never once considered himself one, being a lone wolf who dislikes the thought of having friends or superiors to help him. He also had a habit of not accepting orders from anyone except himself, which often resulted in fierce arguments with his commanders. However, some Hunters still respected Vile for his strength despite his chaotic and hostile demeanor. Even when freed from containment by Sigma, he showed little gratitude and continued to disrespect him, going off to fight X on his own terms again.

Vile is very bitter towards X and devotes his existence to destroying and humiliating him, and proving that he is the stronger of the two. He claims to hate X for his mercy and gentleness, but his grudge may truly stem from jealousy or insecurity, as Vile is confused and frustrated by others' constant appreciation of X. While he claimed he wanted to change the world instead of X, he later admits that he just wanted to outdo X and didn't care about the world. Despite his hatred of X, however, he does have a begrudging sense of respect towards X, as he admits that he had indeed grown stronger since their last encounter Zero, on the other hand, has his respect for the most part and Vile acknowledges his formidable strength, though he is confused about why Zero aligns himself with X.

The Day of Σ
Shortly before Sigma declared war on humanity, Vile was arrested by the Hunters for unknown reasons and seen being taken to a cell in Hunter Base. Zero reasoned that he "must have caused a ruckus again," and it is presumed that Vile disobeyed orders from superior officers and/or threatened the safety of his comrades and innocent bystanders while hunting Mavericks.

Later, while the Maverick Hunters were busy dealing with yet another berserk Mechaniloid, Sigma killed the guards at Vile's cell and released him from prison. He told Vile that he needed someone who could easily go Maverick of their own accord in order to fight X, before leaving him to decide whether or not to join the rebellion. Regardless of Vile's decision, he took the opportunity to flee. X and Zero were called back to Hunter Base to investigate the aftermath of the event, arriving too late.

X Mode
Vile "joined" Sigma's rebellion and helped attack the Central Highway aboard the Death Rogumer, although he implies that he had no genuine interest in Sigma's rebellion and merely used it as an excuse to torment X. He hardly followed any orders and simply did what he did best: causing havoc and fighting X. At first it seemed X was able to defeat him, but Vile was just tricking him into letting his guard down and used the opportunity to grab him with his Ride Armor. Vile then gloated that he would destroy X and eventually Sigma as well in order to change the world. Zero then came to X's rescue, blasting the arm off Vile's Ride Armor and forcing him to retreat on the Death Rogumer. Vile was irritated by Zero's loyalty and friendship with such a weak B-Class Hunter.

Vile was next seen in the third stage of the Sigma Palace, having already defeated Zero and laying him in a hallway as a bait for X. Once X approached Zero's body, Vile ambushed him in a new Ride Armor and grabbed him. He briefly considered what to do with X, not wanting to help Sigma's plans too much, but this pause gave Zero enough time to recuperate and jump onto the Ride Armor. With his Ride Armor now destroyed by Zero's sacrifice, Vile fought X one-on-one and was defeated. In the last moments before his death, he expressed rage and disbelief that X was able to defeat him.

Vile Mode
In the non-canon Vile Mode, Vile took a different path. Instead of joining Sigma's rebellion, Vile decided to prove to Sigma that he was better than X on his own. He attacked X on Central Highway as usual, wounding him enough that Zero simply grabbed X and teleported away instead of risking more damage. Vile was nevertheless frustrated by everyone's insistence on X being special.

Afterwards, Sigma contacted Vile, informing him that some of his Maverick lieutenants were not following his orders and required discipline. Vile decided to use this information to grow stronger, hunting down the eight Mavericks despite their unwillingness to fight him. Once he had destroyed all of them, Sigma extended him an invitation to fight in the Sigma Palace and see just how strong he is. Vile jumped at the chance to prove his superiority to X to Sigma.

Vile infiltrated the Sigma Palace, running into X and Zero in the third area. The two were well-aware of the chaos Vile had been sowing, but were surprised to learn that Vile wasn't actually working for Sigma. Vile seemed to win the two-on-one battle despite the disadvantage, weakening X and Zero until neither could stand. He then took the opportunity to kick X around the room, gleefully rubbing his face in the dirt. However, his leg was suddenly grabbed by Zero, who was desperate to finish him off. X then fired a Charge Shot at Vile, which was enough to lethally wound him and leave him lying on the floor.

An unknown amount of time later, Sigma approached the injured Vile. He asked Vile what he planned to do to change the world in the first place, making Vile realize that he wasn't even sure, and had been merely fighting to surpass X no matter the cost. While Sigma departed, ordering his men to come pick Vile up, Vile came to terms with his actions: by defeating X, he had proved the right of his existence and that's all that mattered. His functions then ceased, leaving him frozen on the floor with his arm outstretched.

Ride Armor
While Vile is invincible with his Ride Armor in the original Mega Man X, in Maverick Hunter X he can be harmed and must be defeated to complete the stage. Vile mainly attacks by jumping on X, and will occassionally punch and fire paralyzing projectiles from his shoulder cannon. He can only be harmed by shooting on his head, as the Ride Armor is immune to damage. The stage can be revisited and Vile can be fought any number of times. Hadoken can't be used against him due to his head being out of range, but a fully charged shot from the Arm Parts obtained from Zero will be lethal.

Vile
Vile is encountered in the third Sigma Palace stage, and unlike the original Mega Man X, the Ride Armor battle doesn't repeat as Vile captures X with the Ride Armor's hand as soon as he appears, with X being freed when Zero destroys the Ride Armor. Despite being angry for Zero's loss, as X isn't defeated by Vile before the actual battle, his health will not recover during the scene. Vile uses attacks similar to the ones used in the original game and in his playable appearance. Vile has high mobility, constantly dashing and jumping while attacking. He is weak to Rolling Shield.

Attacks:
 * Note: Attack names are unofficial.


 * Dash Attack - Vile dashes at high speed to cause damage, being shrouded with energy while dashing.
 * Napalm - Vile jumps over X and drops a bomb from his knee, releasing a large flame when it hits the ground.
 * Cannon - Vile fires electric spheres from his shoulder cannon in a curved angle. Upon impact, the spheres split in two and spread through the ground. It causes no damage, but can temporarily paralyze X.
 * Vulcan - Vile fires bullets from his fingers.
 * Laser - Vile fires a blue laser beam from his shoulder cannon straight forward.

Damage Data Charts
TBA

Central Highway
X: Vile! I should have known you'd be involved in Sigma's rebellion!
 * Pre-battle

Vile: Rebellion? Ha ha ha ha... I don't know what you're talking about!

X: !?

Vile: I'm just here to cause trouble for you! I hate you! X: Agh!
 * Post battle

Vile: You underestimated me. I hate that about you... X! There's nothing you can do! I'll defeat you and Sigma! Then I'll change the world!

X: Aaaaagh!

(Charged blast blows off Vile's Ride Armor's arm and frees X; Zero enters)

Zero: X! Are you alright?

Vile: Hmph... Zero... Why would someone as powerful as you align yourself with X? He's just a B-class Hunter, nothing more!

Zero: Vile... You're nothing but a Maverick now.

Vile: ...

(Vile escapes via the Death Rogumer just as Zero attempts to shoot him twice)

Zero: Grrr...

X: Zero! What happened to Vile?

Zero: All I know is that he's our enemy now.

X: ...

Zero: X... I'm gonna stay on Sigma's trail a bit longer. You get back to Hunter Base and take it easy.

X: Gotcha... Let's hook up again later.

(Zero walks away before X calls him out by name)

X: Thanks... You saved me again.

Sigma's Palace
X: Zero!?

(X tries to approach Zero's body, but is captured by Vile's Ride Armor.)

X: Aagh!

Vile: Ha ha ha... You're no different than Zero...You worried about Sigma when you should've been worried about me!

X: Vile! You...

Vile: Hm... I guess my destroying you here is all part of Sigma's plan. I don't usually like following other people's plans.

(The Ride Armor starts squeezing X some more.)

X: Aaaaaagh!

(Zero gets up and grabs onto the Ride Armor.)

Vile: Wha-!? Zero! You're harder to destroy than I thought!

Zero: X! There's nothing more you can do. It's over!

(Zero sacrifices himself in order to destroy the Ride Armor)

X: Zero! Zerooooo!

Central Highway
X: Vile! What are you doing here?

Vile: X... Ha ha ha ha... How do you like being Sigma's puppet?

X: You've been drawn into Sigma's rebellion as well?

Vile: Rebellion? I couldn't care less! I just hate you! That's all!

Sigma's Palace
X: Stop right there!

Zero: You've really caused a lot of havoc, Vile...

Vile: Yeah? I was just taking care of a few loose ends.

X: So you're not on Sigma's side? You two aren't friends?

Vile: Friends? I don't have any. Not now... Not ever. I only know one thing for sure, X... You are my enemy!


 * Battle
 * I hope you're ready, X! (pre-battle line for opening level)
 * No! IMPOSSIBLE!!! (After being beaten on the opening level)
 * Hope you're ready, X! (pre-battle line for Sigma Fortess boss fight)
 * Noooo... I can't lose to X...! (After being beaten at Sigma's Fortress)

Trivia

 * When playing in X Mode, Vile's in-game model displays the Maverick symbol on his helmet instead of his red V; however, this change is not reflected in artwork or mugshots.
 * In the Japanese version of Maverick Hunter X, Vile says "I am the joker!" (「俺がジョーカーだ！」 "Ore ga jōkā da!"). In Japan, a joker card is also called "baba" (ババ), a pun of VAVA, Vile's Japanese name. Incidentally, his remark means "the true joker which will force X into a corner is me, not the other Mavericks".
 * Vile's head-up display (HUD) is briefly displayed during the ending to Vile Mode, which was depicted as having a red tone.
 * Interestingly, Vile does not initiate any of his story's boss conversations, never speaking to his opponent(s) unless spoken to.
 * In his boss fight, Vile is very weak to Zero's buster parts. If X uses Zero's buster parts on Vile after the game has been completed, X can make short work of him with two correctly aimed shots at full charge. Using Dr. Light's Buster Parts at full charge will only do up to half the damage as compared to Zero's.
 * The phrase "Not a CHARGED SHOT!" in Vile's ending could perhaps be a reference to Vile's damage data in the original version of Mega Man X, where he is the only boss to be weakest against a charged X-Buster compared to the rest of the bosses' damage data against it.
 * Similarly during Vile's fight with X and Zero, X will protect himself with Rolling Shield, send out Homing Torpedo, or summon a charged Storm Tornado. This could be a reference to the Special Weapons that deal the most damage to Vile during his second encounter in the original game.