(Spoilers) ZX Series: Everything we know about the Biometal and their Chosen Ones

[CrowRising]

I generally tend to see a lot of confusion and misinformation flying around regarding this topic, so I figured I would assemble as much information as I can in one place. I'll split this into two main sections, one regarding the Biometal themselves, and one regarding their chosen ones. Each main section will be divided into subsections regarding how strong each bit of information is factually. I may edit this in the future to correct mistakes or add new pieces of information.


Biometal:

Strong
-The original biometal was the larger Model W's. These are the remnants of Ragnarok infused with Weil's consciousness due to him fusing with the space station in a last ditch effort to divebomb it into Area Zero. These efforts proved futile thanks to Zero, and Ragnarok fragmented up as it burned in the atmosphere. At some point, Master Albert discovered these fragments and began his research that would eventually lead him to invent biometal.

-Model W is almost definitely the only biometal to contain a human soul, as it is Weil himself that became Model W due to both his regenerative immortality, and his merging with Ragnarok.

-The smaller Model W's, as well as Models A, H, F, L, and P are all inventions of Albert.

-Models X and Z are inventions of Ciel based on her research into a smaller Model W that was found. She was unable to entirely change the underlying base code, and so chosen ones for Models X and Z are the same people as chosen ones for Model W, placing such individuals in equal position to do good or evil.

-Models H, F, L, and P were dormant during most of the events of ZXA so that their "chosen ones" could use them illegitimately, forcing them to perform megamerges with them. This is likely because the biometals wouldn't approve of the atrocities they were committing.

-Models X, Z, H, F, L, P, and A are all naturally kindhearted, and sympathetic to humanity. Model A displays some selfish tendencies early on, but these are likely a result of it's immature, childish personality, as Model A does manage to mature and warm up to the idea of keeping people safe rather than fleeing to protect itself.

-Model A was originally intended as a backup Albert made in case anything happened to him, and shares a weaker version of the same power as the complete Model W. He decided to incorporate Model A into the main part of his plan anyway, making use of it's chosen one(s) to clear out his competition in the Game of Destiny for him.

-The larger Model W's are able to generate new Mavericks. While the cores are active, they generate new Mavericks every 5717 seconds (1 hour, 35 minutes, and 17 seconds) according to Siarnaq. They also feed on powerful negative emotions to fuel themselves, whether that be hatred, fear, despair, or etc. It is implied that it is these emotions that cause the Model W's to activate and begin Maverick production, and depending on how much emotion they consume, they might even outright kill the source.

-In the event in which someone who doesn't already share DNA with Albert were to view the ciphers hidden within Model A, it is designed to give it to them as a failsafe for his plan. This implies that Model A doesn't require his DNA to biomatch to begin with (more on that later), but will administer it if the chosen one has enough potential to succeed within the plan.



Weak
-Model O is likely non-canon. It never appears in ZXA, nor is it ever mentioned. However, it is possible Vent/Aile got rid of it for some reason and consider the matter top secret, perhaps to keep it's power out of the wrong hands.

-It is unclear whether Models X, Z, H, F, L, and P contain the souls of the reploids they are based on. Model H makes reference to the fighting "they" did hundreds of years ago for the humans, and Model L refers to Model Z with the same reverence Leviathan had for Zero. However this could merely be due to artificial memories, or due to them having been made aware of the history that preceded their creation somehow at some point. Nonetheless, they do share the same voices as their reploid counterparts, as well as their personalities.

-While Model A is clearly based on Axl, it most definitely is not Axl himself. Model A actually stands for "Model Albert", and technically counts as a weaker version of Model W. Model A however may in fact be the only biometal to have a totally unique consciousness made for it, if the other models are in fact the same individuals as the ones they are based on.

-It is unclear why one of the larger Model W cores was sealed away using password data from most of the other biometals, by who, and what's so special about this one in particular. The actual sealing away would have needed to take place after Ciel created Models X and Z, so it's possible Albert placed there himself specifically as a way of dealing with the problem of Ciel adding up to two more Mega Men into the situation. It's also possible Ciel herself managed to seal it away, though that raises just as many questions.

-Many of the Model W core fragments the other Mega Men are collecting in ZXA appear to be broken up fragments of the one from the first ZX. If true, this raises the question of how these fragments got to where they are.

-It is unclear whether the larger Model W's are able to corrupt people into Mavericks, or only the smaller ones have this capability. What is known is that even human beings are able to be corrupted by them.

-It is currently unknown what would happen should Vent or Aile attempt to perform a Double Megamerge with Models W or A, or if Model X is even capable with resonating with them for this.

-It is also unknown exactly how many biometals there are. It is never definitively stated in the lore that the ones we have seen are all of them that exist, leaving open the possibility of new ones appearing in future installments.

Mega Men:

Strong
-There are two requirements to become a biomatch with a biometal. The first is to share DNA with Albert, and the second is to share a personality type with the biometal you are matching with. There are five known types currently: W, H, F, L, and P.

-There is a misconception that you are required to survive a Maverick raid to become a Mega Man. Grey is living proof this is wrong. However, it is likely that Maverick raids are orchestrated on likely candidates to put them into the right mental state to turn on humanity after obtaining their new power, causing most Mega Men to share this trait anyway.

-Most of the Mega Men share Albert's DNA because he gave it to them. This includes Prometheus, Pandora, Serpent, Giro, Grey, Aeolus, Atlas, Thetis, and Siarnaq. All reploid Mega Men must have been given it to them, because it's biologically impossible for them to have inherited it.

-Vent, Aile, and Ashe are genetically unaltered, and inherited Albert's DNA the natural way. Albert says this very directly in regards to Ashe in her final encounter with him, she is his most direct blood descendant out of everybody. Vent and Aile are likely more distant relatives, but it is revealed by Fistleo that the only reason Vent and Aile survived the Maverick raid ten years prior to ZX was because they were specifically chosen and spared. As such, it's likely that Serpent somehow found out about Vent and Aile's bloodline, and the only reason the raid happened at all was because he ordered it to inflict the necessary trauma on them to get them into the right mindset.

-Largely because of the Maverick raid mentioned in the previous point, Vent and Aile are strong Model W candidates in the majority of the first ZX. Their depression and hatred over the incident causes the pair to envision an ideal world in which nobody has to suffer loss like they have, and they use their hatred of those who wronged them as their motivation to fight. Even though their intentions are positive, Vent and Aile themselves even begin to doubt themselves, fearing that they will turn out like Serpent. Serpent himself then takes advantage of their vast reservoirs of hatred to power the large Model W core, proof that even up until that final encounter Vent and Aile were still strong Model W candidates. It is only because of them maturing in this final encounter, casting aside their desire for revenge that they finally become pure Model X chosen ones instead.

-Vent and Aile both show the same depression and hatred because of that Maverick raid, but they differ in how they behave in their day to day lives because of it. Vent is more open about his feelings, causing him to be blunt and rude to customers much to Giro's annoyance. Aile on the other hand opts to bury/hide her feelings, putting on a facade of polite happiness. This causes her to be more well liked by her customers, but it's pretty clear in several scenes that this is tearing her apart inside. Regardless, both of them eventually manage to put the past behind them and move on, and benefit greatly from doing so emotionally.

-While Vent and Aile are paired with Model X and Giro is paired with Model Z, there shouldn't really be anything stopping any of the three from using either or both of these two biometals. The chosen ones for both are the same people: Model W candidates. It's likely the reason why Vent and Aile never use Model Z by itself is for the same reason they canonically choose to stop using Model X by itself: The ZX form is canonically superior in every way.

-Grey was originally being subjected to some sort of mind control, though the exact nature of this is unclear. The mind control sequence got cut unexpectedly short when a pair of Hunters discovered Grey and accidentally tripped the security. It's later found out that he was created by Albert himself and that the base he was being held in belonged to him.

-Grey was built specifically as a pair for Model A, the two of them together intended to form a backup Ultimate Mega Man. In this regard, Grey is actually a defective copy of Albert. Defective in both the sense that his intentions are pure hearted, and that Model A's powers are incomplete.

-Albert states that Ashe's arrival into the Game of Destiny was entirely unexpected. As such, the Maverick raid she survived as a child was likely not actually meant for her, and her survival was that of pure luck. She continues to hold onto this luck in her first meeting with Prometheus, somehow managing to survive the encounter in top condition despite being knocked unconscious, waking up with little more than a bruised ego.

-Despite technically being Model W candidates, neither Grey nor Ashe display the same personality traits as Vent and Aile that would qualify them. In fact, Grey is naturally kindhearted, much the same as X was back in the day. Ashe can be a little selfish, but always knows better when her selfish desires conflict with doing the right thing. It's likely Model A's personality qualifiers are more lax in this regard, as Albert originally didn't plan on using it in the Game at all, and only adjusted his plan after Grey and Ashe's appearance.

-Prometheus and Pandora are actually quite old, and appear to have been built not long after the events of Zero 4. This is evidenced in a Vent playthrough in the encounter in which you can finally fight Prometheus, and again in ZXA when Grey and Ashe finally get the chance to fight the duo in Albert's secret underwater base.

-Prometheus and Pandora also appear to have originally been quite kind hearted, but were corrupted and twisted by centuries of abuse by Albert. This causes the two of them to be quite unique in that they are Mavericks who are outright opposed to the Game of Destiny due to their hatred of Albert, and make themselves enemies of the game at the earliest opportunity they can manage. While their ambitions do go overboard, including threats to destroy the world, their actual stated goal is surprisingly heroic for a Maverick and almost aligns with the mission of the four main protagonists of the series, making them almost like tragic kindred spirits.

-Prometheus and Pandora are physically bound to modified versions of Model W, forcing them to remain in their megamerged state permanently. It is likely that Albert made it so that even if they were to try to force themselves back into their old forms, it would kill them. They are also kept loyal to the plan by their bodies having very short life timers installed into them. These can be extended when they return to their pods for scheduled maintenance under the condition that Albert is pleased with their work. As such, betrayal means inevitable death. It is unclear whether they resolved to accept this fate in their betrayal, or if they found some way to get around this prior, though they did not appear to be acting as though expecting to die, and in fact seemed to be expecting freedom.

-Albert is unique in that rather than him existing as a biomatch for Model W, he is able to transform because he specifically designed his Model W's to merge with him.


Weak
-Giro treats Vent and Aile differently, despite loving them both as though they were his children. He actively lies to Vent, acting as though he doesn't trust him despite making it clear how much he cares about him later on. Although he's intelligent and wise enough to likely be able to tell Aile is burying her feelings, he acts as though he trusts her more and is more open with her about the truth. This could be seen as him playing favorites in favor of Aile, however I see it in the opposite light. He's harder on Vent because he probably intended on Vent inheriting his company one day, which would actually make him the favorite.

-Giro initially warns Vent and Aile about going off into Area D when it is attacked, immediately identifying it as a trap. However, after Vent and Aile let their emotions overwhelm them and go anyway, he suddenly changes his mind and tries to help them by going on ahead of them rather than trying to bring them back. It's possible the reason he did this was an active decision of self sacrifice, knowing them well enough to know he couldn't talk them out of it, and opting to spring the trap himself in the hopes that doing so would spare them.

-Serpent appears to have once been a kind hearted reploid before being corrupted by Model W, as he was in Ciel's unit as part of the Guardians at the time. Prairie later reveals that there was no information on him having once been a Guardian in their database, so it's possible Serpent himself actually scrubbed that data before officially leaving to cover his tracks. As Prairie is the same person as Alouette, and as such would have been affiliated with the Guardians at the time, the only way she could personally have not known about this was if she was assigned to an entirely different unit at the time, which makes sense considering how little she knows about Ciel's disappearance, as well as her own survival.

-It's not entirely clear what the motivations of Aeolus, Atlas, Thetis, and Siarnaq are to fight in the Game of Destiny, though they do occasionally reveal tidbits regarding this. Thetis in particular appears to want to wipe human civilization off the planet, as he believes them to be polluting the Earth out of necessity, and so removing them to be a mercy on the planet. It is not clear how he intends to achieve this. Aeolus appears to consider humanity to be ignorant, and this ignorance to be the source of all conflict. His intentions seem to involve putting and end to all conflict, but it's unclear whether that involves eradicating humanity or subjugating it. Atlas seems more fond of humanity, but hates the weak. She seems to want to force humanity to evolve into a stronger civilization through forced wars, causing survival of the fittest. Siarnaq doesn't talk much about his motivations, and is by far the most ambiguous of the four.

[Emma]

Im interested in reading this after finishing ZXA

[Emma]

Super good read 👍