Thread by @SigmaPosting, I'm almost vaccinated and it got me thinking about Doctor Doppler's vaccine [...]

I'm almost vaccinated and it got me thinking about Doctor Doppler's vaccine for the Sigma Virus in Mega Man X3.

Mega Man X story experts that follow me, I'm gonna need your help on this one, so point out anything that seems off.

X3 spoilers, if anyone cares.

The vaccine at the start of X3 was a placebo that was actually allowing Doppler to make more Mavericks. He makes his own nation, then attacks the world suddenly.

By the end of the game, though, there's an actual vaccine against the Sigma Virus, and Doppler even switches sides.

First off, I find the fact that Doppler has a change of heart interesting, even if it could just be sloppy writing.

To me, it feels like Doppler made the choice to serve Sigma. Lots of "Mavericks" in the series were not technically proven to be infected by the virus.

Some examples that come to mind are Repliforce, as well as Vile as depicted in Maverick Hunter X and other various materials where it makes it seem like he's just always been unhinged and violent.

So in Doppler's case, I've always seen it as either he's been coerced into following Sigma because of his immense power, or he actually became Maverick via the virus, but somehow during the fight with X got vaccinated through some means accidentally (Definitely less likely).

So in the two potential endings, the vaccine program is used on Sigma in one of two ways. Either Doppler captures Sigma in his vaccinated body and then self destructs, or Zero shows up with Doppler's vaccine and uses it.

It's worth noting that Zero obtaining the vaccine differs by region. In English, he says Doppler gave it to him. Apparently in Japanese it says he found it around the lab.

This leaves Doppler's fate in the series unclear, but it also something that I kind of like.

Doppler is never seen again, but since he is never directly referenced in the games, both endings can be considered as true.

Did Doppler sacrifice himself and die? Or did he escape and face punishment, or even atone via vaccine research and development? It is up in the air.

So that brings me to the vaccine aspect. In the aftermath of X3, there are many ways that the Sigma vaccine could have been reproduced. If Zero obtained it, he would just take it back to HQ and they could reproduce it. If Doppler destroyed himself, he could have still relayed

information about the vaccine to the Hunter HQ to assure that Sigma had less chance to return.

If either of these cases are true, then it makes the melodrama of Mega Man X4 much more tragic

By the events of X4, it's safe to assume that in circles like the Hunters and Repliforce that Mavericks can be made through the Sigma Virus, so if there was a vaccine, it seems like usage of a vaccine on members of both organizations would be wise, if not mandatory.

So in the end Repliforce could have been immune to what Sigma was capable of at the time, but despite this they were still vulnerable to Sigma's insidious nature and instigation through threats of the Hunters turning on them for them being too self-sufficient.

Repliforce by X4 is probably just as threatening as Doppler Town was in X3, and part of the reason why Repliforce was quickly labeled as Maverick. Despite the fact they are not effected by the virus, their free will and Sigma's interference brought them to the same conclusion.

And then by X5, lots of characters start to go Maverick due to Sigma. By this point, Sigma has probably evolved past the scope of previous vaccines, or maybe some of them just went without vaccination for whatever reason, as most of Hunter HQ seems unaffected.

I'm rambling at this point, so I'm going to cut this off here and go eat some tacos.

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