Fighting Fefnir

Fighting Fefnir, known in the Japanese version as "Tōshō" Fafnir (「闘将」ファーブニル), or simply Fefnir, is a video game character in the Mega Man Zero video game series. Fefnir is the leader of Neo Arcadia's Scorched Earth Squadron (Jin'en Gundan, literally "Army of Ash Flames"). Fefnir's schematics were based on that of Mega Man X's capabilities of ground combat by earth and fire. He is one of the Four Guardians (四天王) designed to work for Neo Arcadia and clean up pollution from previous wars. Fefnir wields two arm cannons, named Sodom and Gomorrah (ソドムとゴモラ). He was fiercely faithful to Master X and oversaw a pupil, Anubis Necromancess.

Design
Like his siblings, Sage Harpuia, Fairy Leviathan, and Hidden Phantom, his armor is based on that of his biological origin, X, with thematic alterations. Fefnir's armor is colored red, symbolizing his alignment with fire and earth elements. His overall design is derived from his namesake, Fafnir, a dwarf-turned-dragon from Norse mythology (not to mention his name in Japanese is Fafnir). Unlike his fellow siblings and X, he does not wear the familiar 'X' shirt they share in his design, instead wearing armor with large shoulder pads. The yellow spikes on his chest and helmet resemble the protruding fangs of a dragon's snout, and his arm cannons bear a distinct jaw motif. Fefnir uses his arm cannons for flame-based attacks, one of which incorporates firing a barrage of flames into the air, which then rain down from the sky, resembling the destruction of the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, from which his weapons' names are derived.

In his Armed Phenomenon form, Fefnir's armor expands to become a large tank equipped with cannons and flamethrowers, all of which bear a distinct dragon motif, further emphasizing his mythological inspiration.

Personality
Fefnir loves battle, and he gets disappointed upon being told to step back. Like the other Guardians, he is unquestioningly loyal to "Master X", though he may not be quite as fervent in this loyalty as Phantom was. He is proud of his position in Neo Arcadia and sees it as a true peaceful utopia, an ironic position given his own love of violence, but one he holds nonetheless. Fefnir sees ZeroXorZ as a rival mostly due to his skill in battle, but he envies Zero's past with X as well. Fefnir also has a sense of honor, and dislikes having to resort to drastic measures as seen in Mega Man Zero 2 as Fefnir mention that even though he didn't want to drop a bomb at the Resistance Base, he had to. He also likes to have clean fights with Zero 1-on-1 so he can enjoy the rush of fighting him, which Leviathan also coming to realize she enjoys the battles with Zero also, but is colder towards him than Fefnir.

In the Ciel's Memory drama tracks, he is shown to be somewhat arrogant, as he expresses some irritation at having to confront the Resistance due to viewing their capabilities as beneath him, insisting they should have sent Pantheons to deal with them instead before being called out on it by Harpuia and reminded that Master X gave them a direct order. The same track also showed that he had a slight rivalry towards Harpuia, as he referenced Harpuia's loss towards Zero and implied that the latter may end up demoted if he continues to lose, nearly causing them to go into blows (with Leviathan implying this isn't the first time they've entered an argument).

Origin
They were created from X's DNA data in order to work for Neo Arcadia to clean the pollution caused by the Maverick Wars. At some point, Fefnir, along with his three siblings, became military generals of Neo Arcadia, responsible for the overall safely of Neo Arcadian inhabitants, both humans and Reploids. Fefnir became the leader of the Jin'en Gundan, Neo Arcadia's land forces.

Mega Man Zero
After Anubis was defeated by Zero, Fefnir launched an assault on the Resistance Base, going through the treacherous desert in which his pupil was destroyed. This assault was thwarted by Zero and Fefnir was defeated. He was defeated again by Zero in Neo Arcadia's 'Area X', but rose again to defend the Inner Sanctum where Copy X resided. He was told, along with the other two Guardians (Phantom self-detonated earlier), to step down by Copy X as he appeared before Zero himself. Copy X was destroyed later.

Mega Man Zero 2
When Elpizo launched a full frontal assault (Operation Righteous Strike) against Neo Arcadia, Fefnir battled alongside the remaining Guardians and killed the invading force. They would have killed Elpizo too, had Zero not rescued him.

Later when Elpizo tried to infiltrate Yggdrasil (where the original X lay dormant), Fefnir tried to stop him in his Armed Phenomenon form, but he was defeated, though not destroyed.

Mega Man Zero 3
Fefnir took part in a mission to investigate the wreckage of a crashed spaceship that contained the exiled Reploid, Omega, at the beginning of game. He was heavily damaged in the battle with the revealed Omega, and did not reappear again until the final battle with him, only being mentioned (along with Leviathan), once throughout the game, in which Harpuia remarks to Copy X Mk. II that "Fefnir and Leviathan are still undergoing repairs".

According to the Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works artbook, Fefnir, Harpuia, and Leviathan were transformed into Cyber-elves at the end of the game, their bodies destroyed by Omega's explosion. Zero was protected from this fate by the Dark Elf, who shielded him from the blast with her body. On the other hand, Q & A corner in R20+5 Rockman & Rockman X Official Complete Works, it is suggested that they are living from Omega's explosion and fighting for humans outside of Neo Arcadia’s surveillance.

Mega Man ZX series


Fefnir has a cameo appearance as a toy in the background of the giant crane game in Area H-3.

Fefnir also appears as Biometal Model F. Vent or Aile can use Model F after combining it with Model X to become Model FX. The personality of Model F stayed consistently the same as Fefnir's, as he hasn't lost his love for battles (when he is first acquired in Mega Man ZX, Model F excitedly asks who would be their next opponent to take down). Model F is used by Atlas in Mega Man ZX Advent; however, Atlas was noticeably far less volatile and hotheaded by comparison to the original Fefnir. Also Atlas makes use of bombs similar to the ones used by Fefnir in his Armored Phenomenon form.

Other appearances

 * Fefnir has his own mini-game in Mega Man Zero 3 in which the player has to destroy Carryarms.
 * Fefnir also appears in the manga adaption of the series. He is no longer a Reploid created from X, but a new type of Reploid altogether. He was the first to fight Zero and was defeated. He fights against him again in a Resistance base. When Zero was brought before Cial (Ciel's evil twin) by Harpuia, he rejected the thought, stating that he would be watching Zero. Fefnir's (along with Phantom and Leviathan's) suspicions were correct when Zero took Cial hostage. After they got Cial out of Zero's reach, Fefnir and the other Generals merged to form "the ultimate Reploid" (Copy X) and were destroyed by Zero.

Power and abilities

 * Charge: Charges energy to make his attacks stronger. This has different effects for several attacks.
 * Shot: Fires 1 or 3 small fireballs at Zero.
 * He can fire horizontally, vertically downward (charged only) or diagonally (both charged and 3 shot variations Zero 2 only).
 * He will only fire one larger fireball if holding a charge.
 * Ground Break: Jumps up in to the air then punches the ground to create a short ranged energy wave.
 * The wave will be twice as big if holding a charge.
 * The wave was replaced with a pillar of rock in Zero 2
 * Rocket Upper: Dashes towards Zero, grabs and fires him upwards
 * If holding a charge, he then jumps up to meet Zero midair and slams him into the ground for additional damage.
 * Fire Explosion: (Mega Man Zero 2 only) Summons a mortar launcher-like cannon which fires two shots in an arching angle.  The first shot bursts mid air and the second bursts when it hits the ground. When the shots burst they send seven particles outward in a fan spread.
 * Meteor Rain: (Mega Man Zero EX Skill) Fires 12 shots upward which rain down in an increasingly outward fashion.
 * Hell Fire: (Mega Man Zero 2 EX Skill) Creates fire pillars which erupt from the ground in an alternating fashion.

Armed Phenomenon
The Four Guardians all possess a powerful alternative form called an "Armed Phenomenon" which is activated by them when facing more difficult enemies. When Fefnir uses his Armed Phenomenon, he appears as a red tank with several dragon-like cannon heads and can attack in various new ways.


 * Vital Burner: Each of his cannons is equipped with a powerful midranged flamethrower. He attacks with all four of them one after the next in a counter clockwise order.
 * Blast Bomb: He launches two bombs from the top two cannons which explode on the ground and last for a couple of seconds.
 * Fire Shot:  Launches a fireball from a cannon. If the cannons are destroyed, its power is reduced.
 * Fire Wave: (EX Skill) After a brief charge, he attacks with a burst of three fire shots while the cannon moves up and down, alternating the projectile heights.

Trivia

 * His concept art shows that during development his name was thought to be either Fafnir or Tiamat.
 * Like the intro boss of Mega Man Zero 2, Mega Scorpia, battling Fefnir's Armed Phenomenon also requires the player to keep up with a scroll, although it's reversed (Mega Scorpia chases Zero from the left, but Fefnir chases Zero from the right).
 * Fefnir shares some similarities to Bass from the classic Mega Man series. Both have a similar dash maneuver, a multi-directional weapon, marks under their eyes, an aggressive temperament, and a love of combat.
 * Fefnir also bears a resemblance to Magma Man from Mega Man 9. It could be inferred that the Neo Arcadians modeled him after one of Light's Robot Masters through ancient data.
 * Fefnir, despite his temper, is the most encouraging of the Four Guardians. In the first two Mega Man Zero games, he tells Zero to take care of himself so he can have a rematch with him when the time comes.
 * Fefnir is the only Guardian with more than one battle pose.