#mega man lore

Wily is responsible for creating Zero and the Zero Virus that went on to transform Sigma indirectly. The same Zero and Virus that went on to shape the future for the worse, as they were major factors in both the Maverick Wars and Elf Wars.

Sigma became infected with the Zero Virus that evolved into the Sigma Virus and turned Sigma Maverick in the first place. Which would lead to 8+ Maverick Wars which includes him being responsible for attempting to drop the entirety of the Space Colony, Eurasia, onto the planet, which even in the Good Endings where it's blown up still causes long term environmental damage for years to come (until 100 years later where it's crash sight, Area Zero, had the nature around it began to regrow due to an environmental control system that survived the crash), just to try and awaken Zero's potential by factory resetting him and making him the villain Wily intended during the fifth Maverick War.

Dr. Weil meanwhile is the one who corrupted the Mother Elf made by analyzing Zero's body in order to find a cure to the Sigma Virus, and then used Zero's original body as the vessel for Omega which kicked off the Elf Wars, an event that resulted in over 90% of all life, human and Reploid alike to be extinguished and later attempts to destroy Area Zero with the orbital space laser, Ragnarok which even after his death at the end of the Zero series, Weil's soul and hatred haunts it's remnants as the Model W for the duration of the ZX series.

To put that into perspective. Sigma is responsible for the devastation of Earth and causing long term damage to nature for hundreds of years. Dr. Weil is responsible for the war that caused countless lives, both organic and mechanical alike, to be lost. Dr. Wily's final creations are indirectly the foundation for massive future events, his actions haunt the future by helping make the other two big bads become as dangerous as they did.

Hell it's even implied Wily still lived on and haunts the events of Mega Man X as Serges and Isoc are implied to be Reploid bodies for Wily, and X5 even has Sigma mention an old man who knows a lot about Zero and has built quite a few robots.

It's both really interesting and really terrifying to think about just how much overall importance Wily has to the Mega Man universe. If Zero and the Virus did not exist, the Mavericks would not have gotten as bad as they became in canon once the Maverick Virus became a thing, and there would be no Mother Elf created to combat a virus that didn't exist and later be corrupted. If you remove Zero and the Virus from the Mega Man Mythos... You can't have the story of Mega Man X onwards.

But even if it was never officially made part of the lore, this explains so much, like why Zero has a similar red and white color scheme and long blonde ponytail. Even disregarding the Proto Man connection and how the hair is meant to evoke the same feeling as the yellow scarf. The ponytail definitely creates a much more solid connection to Roll since... Not a lot of robots have such a hair style (or hair at all for that matter, seemingly)

Also it makes complete sense for Wily to modify Roll, another helper robot and sister of Mega Man, into a Super Fighting Robot.

Making an evil doppelganger with Copy Robot didn't work.

Turning his own forgotten brother against him with Proto Man didn't work.

Creating his own corrupted copy with Bass didn't work

Hell even modifying Future Mega Man into Quint didn't work.

Roll is such a natural choice to modify into a super weapon, simply because Rock WOULD hesitate to pull the trigger on his own twin sister and Roll likely possesses the same type of potential Rock himself had that can't be easily replicated.

Copy Robot failed because he was merely a cheap imitation.

Blues failed because Proto Man turned against Wily after the fact by Mega Man 4.

Bass failed because of his own pride and proved to be uncontrollable as he foiled Wily's plans himself a few times.

Quint failed because he was gimped with none of his Special Weapons or power ups from, and left with only a pogo stick jackhammer to fight with. (Man didn't even give him the decency to use his Mega Buster).

But if Zero during his initial clash with Sigma is anything to go by, Roll WOULD have been dangerously effective and her power alone would have crushed Mega Man if Zero was completed in Wily's lifespan.

Also also this would mean Roll/Zero would have become a trans icon and we were fucking robbed.