(X, Zero, and ZX series spoilers) The one timeline theory

[CrowRising]

This will be a large post, so bear with me. I will place a TL;DR at the end of the post to summarize everything.

Many fans believe in the idea of a split timeline after X6 that leads to the Zero series. However, there's evidence within the games to suggest this isn't the case, and I want to discuss that here.

First, a bit of real world background:
Originally, Zero's sealing at the end of X6 was originally meant to lead into his awakening in the first Zero game taking place 100 years later. The writers went ahead with this plan in both games, and at the time this was likely what they considered to be the canon continuity. However, Zero was placed into X7, throwing a wrench into that plan.

Zero's presence in X7 and X8 in addition to the writers original intention leads many to the natural conclusion that Zero takes place in a split timeline that tangents off after X6. This would mean that the events of X7 and X8 don't happen in the leadup to the Zero series, and X7 and X8 also don't lead to a future in which the Zero series happens.

With that out of the way, I will proceed with my evidence that this line of thought is not what takes place within the canon, and that there is in fact only one timeline (not including Battle Network and Starforce, which obviously take place in a spinoff timeline separate from the rest of Mega Man as a whole).

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For starters, I do believe entirely that the first game in the Zero series was written under the mindset that it was a followup to X6. This is evidenced by scenes in the game such as when Zero tells Copy X that although he's lost his memory, his body remembers the real X being stronger than him (which doesn't make sense considering context in the next paragraph). However, by the time of Zero 2, I think the writers had already decided to course correct and retcon the canon of Zero taking place after X6. My reasoning is the foreshadowing of Weil and Omega in the after credits scene.

Weil and Omega are ultimately revealed in Zero 3 to be old enemies X and Zero faced 100 years prior during the "Elf Wars". This would take place during the X series time period, but has not yet happened within any X series game. What's particularly noteworthy however is Omega, who is revealed to be in possession of Zero's original body. It turns out that Zero this whole time has been in a replica body. This means that Zero was already in a replica body when he woke up from his stasis, which definitely was not the case in the X6 ending when he was sealed away. The two events cannot be connected. This means Zero must have been sealed away twice.

Why Zero was awoken from stasis early leading into X7 is currently unknown, and it's also unknown for exactly how long Zero has been out of stasis during the events of that game. Perhaps if we ever get X9, they will elaborate further into this.

What cements X7 and X8 into the Zero canon are two things though, Axl, and ZX Advent.

Axl is introduced in X7 ultimately joining the Maverick Hunters by the end of the game, and returns in X8. Lumine ultimately turns out to be the villain in X8, and there's a scene in which he attacks Axl. This will be important later.

The ZX series, taking place roughly 200 years after Zero 4, introduces the concept of Biometal. Each of these takes the likeness of powerful warriors from past series, granting their user the powers of these ancient warriors. One of these Biometals introduced in the second game, ZX Advent, is Model A. Model A is revealed at the end of the game to named "Model Albert" after the antagonist, who also created most of the Biometals including Model A. However, the name itself is merely a title, and it's clear that Model A is designed within the lore based on Axl and his abilities.

Further info on this information was revealed in a dev interview, which I will quote from this link: https://www.rockman-corner.com/2020/04/the-making-of-rockman-zx-series-part-5.html

Originally posted by Makoto Yabe Interview:

Why did you use Axl as a motif for the “ZXA” protagonists?

"It looks like Axl but it’s not Axl”, you see (laughs).

If I remember right, “Rockman X8” was the latest game in the “X” series at the time; but Axl himself was still surrounded by mysteries and we didn’t know what his ultimate fate was. It was a cliffhanger. That made it hard to bring his character over to the “ZX” series.

As a compromise, the protagonists in their transformed state inherit the "symbols" of Axl, such as the color scheme and the double guns. It wasn't intended to be the *same* character but it took influence from Axl.

True. The forehead doesn’t have the gems or lenses on it, either.

Actually... at the end of X8, there was a scene in which Axl is attacked by Lumine and looks like his helmet lens became infected. So I used that “image” to add a cover to Model A's helmet that’d limit the spread of the infection… that was the flow of the design, but it’s not really explained in the game(s).

But that helmet part was used in the (ZXA) animated cutscenes. I, personally, am interested to see how the X series will continue as well as what’ll happen to Axl. I look forward to seeing a continuation one day.

In short, while Model A is not Axl himself, his design is not only inspired by Axl but influenced by what happens to Axl within the lore, with the devs being careful not to contradict anything since anything could still happen to Axl in a future title. Albert must have used Axl as a historical entity before his time as a basis to design Model A off of when he was creating the Biometal, and then just egotistically named it "Model Albert".

As such, it's pretty clear that you can't have the ZX series without the specific events of X7 and X8, and you also can't have the ZX series without the Zero series happening first. Although the writers originally had a different intention, it's clear they decided to reverse course and connect everything together.

This does leave some potential plotholes however. For example: How can X use the Mother Elf to destroy Sigma if Sigma has been abandoned in space? Does that mean that Sigma isn't actually abandoned in space and he will find his way back eventually, or is the Sigma that X destroys not the same as the true Sigma, but rather some form of copy replacing him or something?

All we can do in that regard is hope that X9 manages to tie things together in a way that makes sense, or at least start to.

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TL;DR: Zero 1 was written as though it was a sequel to X6, but then future Zero titles backtrack on this and eventually lead into ZX and ZXA which require the events of X7 and X8 to happen, with even the devs acknowledging this as their intention.

[matohin]

really well written! however, there's also a problem in that X7 basically tries a soft-reboot of X6's story considering many decisions, whereas X8 ignores how much importance was given to the mystery of Axl's past (such as the additional mini-story included with the X7 OST release, Sigma wanting to get Axl, etc) and his powers and just decides to massproduce the "new generation" and make Axl a prototype, forgetting about the mystery of his past entirely (i can't find a single dialogue in X8 that refers to it) and does the same thing with Red Alert and the Nightmare Incident. then there's also Command Mission, which attempts to tie to X7 as shown by it's intro directly showing events of X7...

[CrowRising]

Originally posted by matohin:

then there's also Command Mission, which attempts to tie to X7 as shown by it's intro directly showing events of X7...

As far as I'm aware, Command Mission takes place in a non-canon tangent timeline. Basically, the main series could be considered canon to it, but it's not canon to the main series.