Model W

Model W
Misc. Information
Japanese Name:	Model V
Script:	モデルV
Rōmaji:	Moderu Bui
Series Information
In-game Appearances:	Mega Man ZX series

"Through my research of the lost technology, I have created a key to unlock the door to a new evolution. Biometal Model W... He who holds it, will hold the power to rule the world."

—Albert about Model W

Model W, known as Model V (モデルV, Moderu Bui) in Japan, "The Evil Mega Man", is a Biometal from the Mega Man ZX series. It contains the soul of Dr. Weil.

Design

Model W takes on two main forms. In Mega Man ZX, the Dr. Weil-shaped Model W is referred to as a "fragment", as opposed to the larger "core" hidden in Area M. In Mega Man ZX Advent, all pieces of Model W are indiscriminately called "Model Ws" in plural.

As a Biometal fragment, Model Ws resemble the silhouette of Dr. Weil's cone helmet with the hem of his robe. Its silhouette is an upside-down V from the top, or an upside-down W from the bottom. As a raw Biometal core (a shard of Ragnarok), it resembles a giant chunk of metal with red lines, exposed wires, and circular gemstones. These cores can combine into a gigantic, snake-shaped structure called Ouroboros.

Megamerges with Model W vary wildly between users. There are few design traits consistently shared between the armors granted besides glowing red eyes; conical horns are also said to be the most common trait associated with Model W. Serpent gained black, white, and yellow armor with orange horns like Dr. Weil's helmet. Prometheus and Pandora gained matching dark purple and light blue armor, respectively, with more uniquely horned helmets. Master Albert gained horned, golden armor with a blue mask and a halo.

History

Background

Centuries before the Mega Man ZX series, Dr. Weil tried to conquer humanity with the orbital satellite cannon Ragnarok. He even fused his cyborg body with Ragnarok to ensure its success, but both he and the satellite were destroyed by the legendary hero Zero.

Master Albert's silhouette across Model W cores.

However, Weil's evil soul lingered in the debris of Ragnarok. The great scientist Albert used the resulting combination of spirit and machine - possibly under the influence of Weil's evil - to create Model W, the very first Biometal. He plotted to use its potential to remake the world, locking Model W to his DNA so that only he could access its power. He then hid the Model W core and fragments underground, letting its influence corrupt Reploids and Mechaniloids into Mavericks, thus fostering fear and despair for it to consume.

To further facilitate Model W's growth, Albert orchestrated the Game of Destiny. The first step was forming the Sage Trinity and enacting equity laws, allowing him to survey every Reploid and Humanoid and to infuse his DNA in those he found worthy to be Mega Men. The second step was creating two sibling Reploids: Prometheus and Pandora. After merging them permanently with Model W fragments, Albert commanded them to enlist his Mega Men to serve Model W in the Game of Destiny, under the premise of determining the strongest Mega Man.

Serpent steals a Model W fragment.

One day, a Model W fragment was unearthed by the first commander of the Guardians, while searching for the source of the Maverick outbreaks. The Guardians suffered headaches and numbness in its presence, so the commander chose to dismiss the unit and resume the research alone. However, the Guardians were betrayed by one of their own, Serpent, who was a Mega Man driven mad by the Model W. Serpent stole the Model W fragment and destroyed his entire unit, though their commander escaped.

Recognizing Model W's danger, the commander used data from Model W to create six alternative Biometals: Model X, Model Z, Model H, Model F, Model L, and Model P. She then located the core of Model W and sealed it in Area M, giving passwords to her six Biometals so that a righteous Mega Man could collect them all and open it to destroy Model W. However, the Model W core continued to corrupt Mavericks from underground.

Mega Man ZX

Serpent, now regarded as a national hero after hiding his devious past and solving an energy crisis via Slither Inc., was approached by Prometheus and Pandora about the Game of Destiny. Realizing the Model W core was still underground, Serpent ordered Slither Inc. to begin excavating to find it. In the process, Serpent came into possession of Model H, Model F, Model L, and Model P, splitting them to create eight Pseudoroid servants.

When confronted by the Mega Man Model Z, Girouette, Serpent used his Model W fragment to corrupt him against his friend, Vent/Aile. Serpent then killed Giro and learned the passwords from Model X and Model Z. Vent/Aile survived the attack by using Giro's Biometal to become Mega Man Model ZX.

Serpent with the Model W core.

Vent/Aile obtained the other four Biometals from the Pseudoroids, and used their passwords to open Area M. However, Pandora distracted them while Serpent retrieved the Model W core instead. Prometheus and Pandora were amused by Serpent's success, leaving him to reap the consequences of his greed.

Installing it in Slither Inc. offices, Serpent revived his Pseudoroids and began feeding Model W using Cyber-elves from his Maverick raid victims. However, the final key to the core's awakening came from Vent/Aile, whose hatred for Serpent completed the process. With the Model W core fully awakened, Serpent merged with it, becoming a mechanical abomination. However, Mega Man ZX fought Serpent with the other Biometals and defeated him. Serpent died and the Model W core was shattered, scattering in six pieces across Cinq Ville.

Mega Man ZX Advent

Four years and eight months after Serpent's death, the evil influence of Model W persisted. Prometheus and Pandora perpetuated the Game of Destiny by stealing Model H, Model F, Model L, and Model P to give to four new Mega Men: Atlas, Thetis, Aeolus, and Siarnaq. The four participated by unearthing pieces of the Model W core to awaken. Master Albert also created eight Pseudoroids powered by Model W to assist them. The six Model W pieces were located as follows:

• The Tower of Verdure, where Rospark the Floroid fed it the souls of those unlucky enough to enter.
• The Scrapyard, where Vulturon the Condoroid resurrected scrapped robots to feed it anguish.
• The Control Center, where Queenbee the Hymenopteroid plotted an explosion to foster despair.
• The Highway, where Thetis later attacked civilians to create chaos and fear.
• The Floating Ruins, where Aeolus later used its gravity manipulation to distort the environment.
• The Quarry, which was later detected by Vent/Aile who moved to destroy it instead.

Albert with four Model W Biometals.

However, the appearance of Mega Man Model A complicated Albert's plans. Once Grey/Ashe began unlocking Model A's ciphers and discovering Albert's plot, he used four Model W fragments to defend himself and escape from Legion HQ. Albert retreated to his Undersea Volcano base to wait for his servants to awaken each piece of Model W. Although Grey/Ashe defeated Albert's Pseudoroids and the four Mega Men, and even cooperated with Vent/Aile to destroy a Model W piece when it merged with a Spidrill, the remaining five Model Ws were all gathered in Albert's undersea base.

Albert was ambushed by Prometheus and Pandora, who always despised Albert for imposing a life of endless servitude on them. However, this overwhelming hatred ultimately awakened all the Model W pieces in the base. They merged almost immediately, forming the ultimate Biometal: Ouroboros.

Ouroboros, the ultimate form of Model W, emerges from the ocean.

As Ouroboros rose from the sea, a Maverick army was unleashed to lay waste to the world so Albert could remake it. Assisted by Vent/Aile and the Guardians, Grey/Ashe broke into Ouroboros to stop him. There he revealed the true power of Model W: every spirit devoured by Model W lived on inside Albert, allowing him to control life itself using the "real A-Trans." With this power, he resurrected the Pseudoroids and planned to create a new world, but he was thwarted by Grey/Ashe defeating him with their own A-Trans. This battle resulted in the destruction of Ouroboros, which exploded in the sky and sank into the sea without a trace.

Although Model W is believed to be finally destroyed for good, this has yet to be confirmed.

Power and abilities

See also: Serpent and Master Albert

As the original Biometal, Model W possesses a practically infinite array of abilities. Model W increases the powers of the Mega Man or Pseudoroid it is bonded with, uniquely mutating their body in the process.

When Megamerged with a Model W fragment, Serpent was granted increased strength and speed, including fingertip cannons and a unique Overdrive system. When Serpent Megamerged with the Model W core itself, he was mutated into a gigantic mechanical monstrosity with a variety of crystal and energy-based attacks. Meanwhile, Prometheus was granted control of fire and darkness, and Pandora was granted control of ice and lightning. Using Model W as Ouroboros, Albert gained the "real A-Trans" that let him use the powers and even the bodies of all those whose data Model W had collected. Additionally, Albert's eight Pseudoroids were each equipped with a Model W fragment, granting each a different elemental alignment.

Despite lacking the speech capabilities of its fellow Biometals, Model W possesses a malevolent sentience derived from Dr. Weil's evil heart. This was previously suggested by a report from a Guardian recon unit seen in Mega Man ZX, and Ashe believes that Model W has taken control of Albert. Model W has multiple levels of awareness; Siarnaq stated that after Model W reaches level 2 awareness, it begins generating one Maverick every 5717 seconds (1 hour, 35 minutes, and 17 seconds). It appears some individuals are capable of learning information from Model W as well, as Prometheus claims Model W foresaw the conflict between the Model ZX Mega Man and Serpent.

Model W is almost completely indestructible, even being used as a shield by Albert at one point. It is able to siphon negative emotions such as hatred or fear from victims, sometimes including their life force to kill them on the spot. Model W seeks these negative emotions so that it can awaken and unlock its true strength, and can influence both Humanoids and Reploids into Mavericks to cause more negativity for it to consume. They can also manipulate reality, including causing temperature or gravity imbalances in their surrounding environments. Once all Model W cores have consumed enough energy, they join together into the giant snake-like construct, Ouroboros, which possesses the "real A-Trans" and contains winding halls and rooms of biomechanical gore.

Gallery

Model W

Serpent with a Model W fragment (Area D)

Model W core (Area M)

Model W core (Slither Inc. Office)

Master Albert with four Model Ws (Legion HQ)

Model W (Tower of Verdure)

Model W (Scrapyard)

Model W (Quarry)

Model W (Highway)

Model W (Floating Ruins)

Model W (Control Center)

Model Ws (Undersea Volcano)

Ouroboros

Model W Mega Men

Serpent - Model W

Serpent (2nd form)

Prometheus - Model W

Pandora - Model W

Albert - Ultimate Mega Man

Trivia

• To date, Model W is the only Biometal with the soul of a human.
  • Also, Model W is the only Biometal which the player can't even control for once in the whole series.
• The power of Ouroboros combined with Albert's own A-Trans harkens back to Dr. Weil's original expertise: Reploid resurrection. Incidentally, Spidrill Neo is an example of Model W's ability to merge with destroyed Mechaniloids, reviving them while also powering them up.