Iris

"I wanted to live together, in a world where only Reploids exist... with you."

- Iris on her deathbed, her idealistic world to live in with Zero

Iris (アイリス) was a Reploid from the Mega Man X series that worked as a Navigator for Maverick Hunters. She was also Zero's love interest and the younger twin sister of Colonel. Like her brother, she speaks with an Australian accent in the English language versions of Mega Man X4.

Appearance
Iris appears as a young-looking female brunette Reploid with green eyes and very long hair, comparable to Zero's length. Her armor consists of a blue and red scheme with yellow accents and is modeled into the form of a dress, her limbs being white, her boots white, and her hands appearing to have segmented knuckles. In X4, her boots gain a black outline and have a defined lavender color with the addition of a red beret on her head. In Mega Man Xtreme 2, Iris appears to be slightly younger than her previous appearance (as Xtreme 2 chronologically predates X4), and along with lacking her beret, she has a small section on her upper chest with the insignia of the Repliforce army.

After taking Colonel's core into her body in Mega Man X4, she appears as a Ride Armor-like being with a purple color scheme and a pair of wings. It is unconfirmed as to whether she entered a Ride Armor vehicle or became a similar being herself. However, she reverts to her original form after her defeat, suggesting that she was inside an armor.

Personality
Iris was a kind-hearted Reploid who desired peace for all. As a Navigator, she showed great concern for the safety of the Maverick Hunters, especially Zero. She was greatly distraught by the war between Repliforce and the Maverick Hunters, and often pled for the fighting to stop. Regardless, she sided with the Maverick Hunters for most of the conflict, supporting her lover Zero. However, she seemed to have adopted some of Repliforce's beliefs by the end of the game, telling Zero she wished they could live together in a society of only Reploids before her death.

Creation
Repliforce scientists attempted to develop an ultimate fighting Reploid with both a high fighting spirit and peace-loving heart, similar to X, but the differences were ultimately considered irreconcilable and the project was considered a failure. The scientists then decided to split them up into two Reploids, resulting in the creation of Iris and her brother Colonel. Her half was of the peaceful arbitrator, and Colonel's was of the strong-willed fighter.

Mega Man Xtreme 2
The Erasure incident was Iris' first mission as a Navigator for the Maverick Hunters. She took the roles of both Navigator and item development by making power-ups out of the Maverick's DNA Souls. In the Xtreme Mode ending, Zero feels bad that her first mission was a tough one and the Colonel will blame him.

Mega Man X4


For reasons unknown, the massive dragon-like Maverick Eregion kidnapped Iris from the Repliforce command center. He then brought her to a large metropolitan city located underneath the aerial city of Sky Lagoon. And while under the influence of Magma Dragoon, he wreaked havoc on Sky Lagoon, drawing the attention of the Maverick Hunters. During this time, Dragoon would damage the core of Sky Lagoon beyond repair, while making it seem as if Eregion did it on his own. This caused the Sky Lagoon to fall on the populated city below, causing millions of deaths. Although Iris was injured, she survived thanks to the timely intervention of Zero at the ruins of the city. Repliforce field commander Colonel then arrived on the scene, thanking Zero for rescuing her. However, the Hunters suspected that Repliforce might have been involved in the disaster because of their proximity to the area at the time of the Maverick attack, and demanded that they disarm and come in for questioning. Colonel stubbornly refused to do so, and as a result the Repliforce were labeled as Mavericks, which lead to Repliforce launching a violent campaign for independence known as the Great Repliforce War.

After the Repliforce was labeled Maverick after the Sky Lagoon incident, both X and Zero were assigned different missions to gather information about Repliforce's coup and to cut off their support lines. Iris assisted Zero on his missions as being his operator, similar to during the Erasure incident. However, Iris herself was part of Repliforce while her brother, Colonel, was Repliforce's second-in-command and therefore an imminent target for the Maverick Hunters. When the two of them battled in the Ceremony Hall of Repliforce's command center, it was Iris who stopped the two Reploids from terminating each other by begging her own brother to stop, since Zero had previously saved her life after the Sky Lagoon had crashed. Colonel, who had always regarded Zero as a friendly rival, backed off. Zero, on the other hand, stated that someone had to stop Repliforce at all costs, much to the grief of Iris.

When Repliforce's coup began, Zero rushed to the space port to stop the ascension of the military troops to the newly constructed space station of Repliforce, Final Weapon. There, he battled Colonel again, this time killing him. After that, Zero traveled to Final Weapon itself after discovering that Iris was missing from the Maverick Hunter HQ. He eventually encountered by Iris, who was blinded by the grief of losing of her brother and anger for Zero terminating him. She had salvaged Colonel's control chip from his remains, fusing it with her own programming, thus causing her body to transform into a massive winged Ride Armor-like combat form which Zero was reluctantly forced to battle. Even though Zero didn't mean to, he damaged the exterior power core of the structure, resulting in the destruction of the armor. In addition, Iris' incorporation of the salvaged control chip for Colonel also fried her programming. Thus, the damage Zero dealt to Iris' was irrepairable. Zero hurried to Iris's body, but it was too late to save her. And while Iris layed dying in Zero's arms, she whispers to him that she did all this because, even though she knows it is nothing more but a fantasy, she wanted to live in a Reploid-only world together with Zero. After Iris says her final goodbye to her friend, Zero tries to get her to wake up, but fails and has a breakdown, questioning what he is even fighting for.

Sigma would later antagonize Zero further, by revealing his involvement in the whole ordeal. He even goes as far as to taunt him by saying "Iris is waiting for you!" before their battle.

After Final Weapon is destroyed by General, Zero flies back to Earth in an escape shuttle, but he is tortured by the thought of being unable to save his friends.

Mega Man X5
Iris reappears as a memory in Zero's ending, where an image of her is seen by Zero as he lays dying and all he can do is quietly apologize to her.

Powers and abilities
As a normal Reploid, Iris is a skilled Navigator for the Maverick Hunters.

In her combat Ride Armor form created with Colonel's core, Iris can fly freely and has two attacks:
 * Floating Mine - Iris goes to the corner of the room and releases numerous floating mines from her body when hit. These mines help her absorb damage temporarily. However, if Iris is hit while she is preparing her laser attack, no mines will be released from her armor.
 * Laser - Iris goes to a corner of the room and fires a large laser beam horizontally from her cannon. When the core is present, it will assist by flying under the floor and fire a vertical laser beam.

Other appearances

 * Iris appeared alongside Double in one of the battles from the X Challenge in Mega Man X Legacy Collection, allowing players to fight against her as X.
 * Iris appeared in Battle Memory from Rockman Xover.
 * Iris appeared as an event character in Zombie Cafe.
 * Iris appeared as an event character in Dragon Poker, available for a limited time in the game's shop alongside a Life Energy orb and other contents.
 * Iris appeared in unit cards from TEPPEN.
 * Iris appeared as a playable character in the mobile game Rockman X DiVE.

Rockman Online
In the now-cancelled Korean MORPG, Iris appears working as a Navigator (along with Alia) for the UCA (United Continent Association) in the games first teaser trailer. As this games story is said to take place in the far future where the characters from both the Mega Man and Mega Man X series have long since passed away, this Iris (much like the other series robots and Reploids appearing in the game) is a copy/recreation, embedded with the DNA Soul of the original.

Project X Zone
Iris appears in the crossover RPG as an event character. She makes her only direct appearance in Chapter 29, "An Unbeatable Love" (負けない、愛 Makenai Ai in the Japanese version).

With X and Zero shocked to see Iris alive and well, X recognizes her as the younger sister of Colonel, and "the girl from that Repliforce incident", which suggests that the events of this chapter take place after Mega Man X4.

She still wishes to live in a world only composed of Reploids together with Zero, but he reminds Iris that such a world is nothing more than an illusion. He is then asked by her if a Reploid only world is meant to be his purpose and desire, part of the reason why Iris is present. Afterwards, Zero suffers an emotional breakdown, pondering about whether or not a Reploid only world was really the reason he was fighting for, with Vile taunting him for an A-Class Hunter getting emotional over Iris's wish, claiming that he and Zero are, in truth, the same. X reminds him of how he promised to stop the former if he ever doubted their ideal, and expresses how he didn't want the latter to feel like that before himself. Zero becomes paralyzed with anguish and is unable to move.

Confused about Iris at first, the other characters present then realize that Zero is in trouble, and X asks for their help to protect him from danger, while attempting to defeat Vile at the same time. The game splits the winning conditions down to two options: reach Zero by the ninth turn to heal him or defeat Vile, otherwise a game over will be declared. Until then, X's unit is paralyzed and unable to fight.

After any of the other party members reach Zero and heal him, he eventually recovers from his emotional breakdown and recalls his duty as a Hunter, and tells Iris that a Reploid only world is impossible. Aura from .hack appears and states that Iris and her feelings are not supposed to be present, hence causing her to fade away. Before she vanishes however, she gently suggests to Zero that she is happy to see his conviction didn't change, and encourages him to never give up before bidding him farewell. His resolve restored, Zero confidently declares he will rejoin her someday.

Iris is mentioned again by X in Chapter 37, where the latter comments about Vile using her back in The World, as well as how he hurt Zero emotionally.

Quotes

 * "You are now on Laguz Island where the Erasure Incidents have happened. What's the situation there?"
 * "Okay. But please don't get too wild and bite off more than you can chew."
 * "X! Zero! We've just received..."
 * "Gareth... I can't find any data on such a Reploid in our database. Plus, we have found unfamiliar items..."
 * "They seem to have been resurrecting enemies by somehow utilizing DNA."
 * "It seems so. A Reploid's DNA is like that of a human's soul. From now on, let's call it a DNA Soul. We may be able to create something useful from Mavericks' DNA Souls."
 * "Wait a second. I believe the laboratory is a very dangerous place."
 * "Yes. I'm not going to stop you. Just please take this device. With this device, you can execute a Player Change at any time by pressing SELECT."
 * "Zero! Stop a minute and think about this! If you separate, you are walking into their trap. Why don't you fight together!?"
 * "Good job! You've cleared the game! If you save the data here, you can utilize the saved data for another mission. Please be sure to save and then try a new mission!"
 * "Great job! You have cleared two missions. You deserve a Special A level Hunter! But still I feel uneasy... I wonder if we really did restore peace. "
 * "X! Zero! The hollow Reploids are coming to life one by one!"
 * "Supreme job! Now that Sigma has been defeated, true peace has been restored. So now I have a present for you! This is an awesome mode where you fight against 8 bosses. How fast can you defeat them? Good luck!"
 * "Zero... Did you come to save me?"
 * "A huge Maverick appeared and..."
 * "My brother Colonel started the coup!"
 * "Please don't fight against him! This must be some kind of mistake!"
 * "Zero..."
 * "I've got a message from Repliforce..."
 * "Don't go Zero! Don't fight him!"
 * "Please stop, brother! ...Zero!"
 * "Stop! Please! Brother, please! Don't you remember?! Zero saved my life!"
 * "Zero, please don't fight with my brother! If you do I'm afraid that one of you might end up..."
 * "Zero!"
 * "Repliforce is at the space harbor..."
 * "No! ...Please wait Zero! I don't want to see you two fight..."
 * "So you fought with my brother..."
 * "Then it's over. Everything..."
 * "Good bye Zero..."
 * "Okay, I'll do it."
 * "Forgive me, Zero!"
 * "Stay with me, brother..."
 * "Please... stay away from Repliforce. Let's live together in a world where only Reploids exist..."
 * "Yes, I know... but I wanted to believe it... I wanted to live in a world where only Reploids exist. With you..."

Archie Comics
For unknown reasons, Iris was not cloned by Sigma-1 during the events of Worlds Unite, a fact that Zero commented on during the battle between the Maverick Hunters and their allies and Sigma's Maverick Army. Though he and his comrades recognized a number of fallen enemies amongst Sigma's minions, Zero noted that neither Iris nor Colonel were among them.

Rockman X4 manga
"If I see someone suffering in front of me, regardless of whether they are an enemy or friend, I will wholeheartedly help."

- Iris

In the manga, Iris works for the Repliforce, as a nurse, helping people no matter what side they are on. Just like in the game, she is injured during Eregion's attack on a major city, and Zero saves her life. However, her brother Colonel takes her with him after refusing to disarm and come in for questioning when Repliforce was suspected in the attack on the city. After Zero is injured during his battle with Jet Stingray, Iris nurses him back to health.

Zero explains that although he does not always agree with the actions of humanity and their government, he will never side with Repliforce's coup d'etat, and will use violence if necessary to stop her brother. Iris is very worried about this, as she feels one of them will get hurt, perhaps fatally.

Later, when Zero and Colonel do finally fight, she interrupts their fight before they can slay each other by firing a shot into the air, getting their attention. She reminds Colonel of how he always talked about how beautiful the tree they are standing under is, and how it helps him with his fighting spirit. She then tells him not to betray that principle, but Colonel refuses to listen. She then threatens to kill herself with her gun if they don't stop, but Colonel still tries to attack Zero, only relenting at the last second when Zero drops his saber.

After Zero fights and defeats Cyber Peacock in cyberspace, computer terminals blow up near Iris and she is knocked unconscious, infected with the virus and in critical condition. Zero later recovers the vaccine for the virus and gives it to Iris while she is in a stasis pod so she can recover at a Repliforce base. However, Colonel goes to the base and once again attacks Zero. Holding nothing back, Zero cuts off Colonel's right arm with his saber, which causes Iris's right arm to completely corrode, because of the significant mental programming bond they share with each other as Reploid siblings. Despite all this, Colonel refuses to surrender, and charges at Zero one last time, at which time Zero reluctantly kills him by slicing him in half with his saber.

Iris is jolted from her stasis slumber and senses her brother's death in horror, and breaks out of the pod. She crawls to her brother's body in anguish, at which time she is suddenly merged with him and transformed into a winged Ride Armor type Reploid. She frantically says that it is "dark", and asks where her brother and Zero are, specifically imploring Zero to save her, all the while slaughtering the Repliforce solders in the base in an uncontrolled frenzy. Zero destroys her armor and pulls Iris out of it, and Iris says she enjoyed the time they spent together in spite of her brother's death. She then dies in Zero's arms, just as in the game, causing Zero to scream in anguish and question his ideals.

Trivia

 * Iris's presence as a trainee Navigator in Mega Man Xtreme 2 was due to the development team feeling sorry for her in the events of Mega Man X4, as detailed in Mega Man X Official Complete Works. The game also hints towards her feelings for Zero, and vice-versa, with the two having dialogue specific to Zero's game alone.
 * Iris's bio in Mega Man X Legacy Collection is: "When Zero saves her life during the Sky Lagoon incident, she finds herself falling for him." This is somewhat contradicted by her appearance in Mega Man Xtreme 2, where Zero-specific scenes imply Iris already has strong feelings for him.
 * Iris's final words to Zero in X4 would later be repeated by Mega Man Zero 2 antagonist Elpizo upon becoming Dark Elpizo, the main difference being that he didn't intend for Zero to be part of his plans.
 * Iris's design featured blue eyes in Mega Man X4, but every following appearance depicts her with green eyes.
 * Iris's death scene in X4 was later redubbed by Lucas Gilbertson (Zero's voice actor in Mega Man X8, Mega Man X: Command Mission and Maverick Hunter X) and Ashley Schroeder. The redubbed version is not an official production by Capcom, and Schroeder does not replicate the accent Michelle Gazepis voiced her with originally.
 * Similarly, Iris was dubbed by Carol-Anne Day (Marino's voice actress) in a redub of Zero's first fight with Colonel. Just like before, the redubbed version is not an official production by Capcom and Day does not replicate the accent Michelle Gazepis voiced her with originally.
 * During the battle with Iris, she will eject Colonel's core on her own if Zero takes heavy damage and the core is not present.
 * Iris's Japanese VA, Yūko Mizutani, also voiced the Katanas and Akatanas from the Namco X series.
 * Iris is the only playable character introduced in Rockman X DiVE thus far who does not use recycled audio.
 * Although Iris was implemented as a playable character on June 11, 2020, the plan to record new dialogue for her was delayed by complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Yūko Mizutani, Iris's original voice actress, passed away on May 17, 2016, necessitating a recast. The update notes that recorded dialogue for Iris wil be implemented at a later date.
 * The new voice actress for Iris voice in Rockman X DiVE is from Aya Endō, being added to the game on July 9, 2020.
 * Concerning Mega Man's rock n' roll themes, she shares the eponymous name of The Goo Goo Dolls' smash hit song Iris, whose themes are brooding yet melancholy and of struggle of fitting in and finding love at the cost of upsetting "social harmony"; of considerable thought is the release dates of Mega Man X4 and the recording and production period of Iris, as both occurred around 1997, a year before Iris's official release date in 1998.