Mega Myths: Mega Man Zero 2 – Mega Scorpia

by aRobinsonWriter

We return at long last!

A series of major life changes caused me to delay writing “Mega Myths,” but we’re back on track. In fact, we’re so on track that we’ll be taking a new approach from here on out. Rather than waiting for me analyze four characters at once, we’ll be doing articles just one subject at a time. This will lead to more frequent articles highlighting the mythologies which inspired the Mega Man world — starting this time with Mega Man Zero 2.

In the intro stage of Zero 2, we meet Zero, the lone desert warrior, slaying every Neo Arcadian unit he lays eyes on. Eventually he passes by a nondescript, dirt-caked structure. As he walks by, the structure crumbles and Mega Scorpia is revealed.

This mighty Mechaniloid typically would be something Zero could handle on his own, but after a solid year of restless battles he’s grown weak and weary. Zero kills the monster, but he too succumbs to his injuries. He collapses in the desert and quite easily would have died, were it not for the timely arrival of his unlikely savior Harpuia, the Neo Arcadian General.

Despite first impressions, Mega Scorpia is not your run-of-the-mill, uninspired intro boss. Like the plethora of other villains in the Mega Man Zero series, Mega Scorpia comes with his own mythical inspirations. This one in the form of Scorpio, a giant scorpion from Greek mythology.

The myths surrounding Scorpio, like so many others, vary from tale to tale. But the one that fits our purposes best is the one in which Scorpio battles Orion. You see, Orion was a hunter. He was such a good hunter, in fact, that he bragged to the goddess Artemis that he would hunt down every animal on Earth. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to compare Zero to Orion in this instance. Zero too was a hunter. Originally he was a Maverick Hunter, but now he’s hunting down all things Neo Arcadian in the wilderness.

Artemis and her mother Leto took issue with Orion’s wild hunt. They enlisted Mother Earth, or Gaia, to take down Orion. Mother Earth promptly created Scorpio and sent the giant scorpion after the hunter. This could relate to why Mega Scorpia bursts forth from the earth-caked structure in the desert. 

After Scorpio’s creation, he and Orion engaged in a violent duel, with both eventually dying from their wounds. However, the death was not permanent. Orion was pulled from his death by the chief god Zeus, who placed both Orion and Scorpio in the stars as constellations. Likewise, Zero was whisked away into the air by then-leader of Neo Arcadia, Harpuia. The similarities are simply too great to ignore.

The question, then, is why Inti Creates named this Mechaniloid Mega Scorpia, rather than the obvious name of Mega Scorpio. While I’m not certain about this, I think it was simply a matter of timing. Mega Man Zero 2 released in 2003 — the same year as Mega Man X7. As coincidence would have it, both games share a giant Mechaniloid scorpion as the intro boss, and the Mechaniloid’s name in X7 happens to be Mega Scorpio. It seems Capcom may have beaten Inti Creates to the punch.

So that’s it for Mega Scorpia. Think I missed any giant scorpion myths? And what do you all think of the new one-character format? Let us know in the comments below!

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aRobinsonWriter is a member of The Mega Man Network’s User Content Submission System, and the views expressed here reflect the views of the authors alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mega Man Network.

LBD "Nytetrayn"

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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