Morality in Mega Man X7: Importance of Principle
Mega Man X games are not known for their storytelling. However, most of them have at least one central theme that their narrative rests upon, no matter how milquetoast. The theme of X7 is principle.
One of the clearest character contrasts is between the conflict's two leaders: X and Red. X has gone into retirement in order to seek a peaceful resolution to Mavericks. He no longer fights at all, sticking to his pacifistic principles stronger than ever. While admirable, this is ultimately detrimental to peace since there's no one to fill his place on the front lines of peacekeeping, something X refuses to accept.
Conversely, Red is far from pacifistic. He treats his grim line of work casually, and seems to hold few principles. This lack of a moral compass makes him susceptible to Sigma's influence, bringing him down the slippery slope, making Red Alert target innocent Reploids in exchange for DNA data upgrades. Red shows little remorse; he doesn't yet realize what evil he's committing.
However, Axl does. He realizes he is being used for his ability to retrieve DNA data, and sees that Red Alert has become hypocrital murderers. Although naive, Axl knows something is wrong, so he abandons Red Alert.
After Axl's arrest, X is disgusted by Red's proposed "duel" over the kid's custody and doubles down on pacifism. Surprisingly, Axl jumps at the chance to fight Red Alert - why does he have no qualms about facing his former allies? Because Axl recognizes the Hunters have the moral high ground. They have standards, which Axl's life has lacked up until now. After living a life in the grey for so long, Axl wants to flip the script and be a hero.
As Axl and Zero face Red Alert, it's clear that the bosses' priorities are all over the place. Warfly is a sleazebag who will do whatever it takes to win. Gungaroo is a manchild who hardly understands his own violence. Anteator is a pessimistic soul with nothing to lose. Boarski and Stonekong follow Red out of blind loyalty. Crowrang is reluctant to fight his old friend Axl, but otherwise ambivalent. And Hyenard is completely insane. The only one who shows true regret is Tonion, who even urges the Hunters to stop Red Alert. None of these eight truly desire world domination or total chaos - they are just misguided souls with no principles. None of them have anything to fight for. This is why they were drawn to Red, and why they were so easy for Sigma to corrupt.
Eventually, X reconsiders, realizing the chaos is not getting any better with him on the sidelines. Sticking to his guns so fervently is not helping at all. Maybe he is inspired by Axl. X checks his unrealistic standards and enters the fray.
We see in a flashback that Red also tried to check his standards. Red tried to kick Sigma out at one point, but it was too late. The pure evil Sigma was not satisfied stopping now that he had his fingers in Red's team. The difference between being trapped by your own principles and being trapped by a lack thereof, is that the latter leaves you vulnerable to the principles of others. If someone can get you into their plans, you need to fight twice as hard to escape. Thus, Red was forced to continue working for Sigma.
When the Hunters storm the Crimson Palace, Red is despondent. He's the one who invited them, but skims over Axl's questions to start the battle. Could it be that seeing Axl with X and Zero reminds him of what a monster he has become? Maybe this is why Red resigns to die in the self-destruct: he sees no way back up the slippery slope, urging Axl to continue on the path of justice.
And Axl does succeed; he deals the final blow on Sigma. How? With that underhanded ability of his, catching Sigma off-guard (X or Zero would never pull such a trick). Here, Axl shows that he really does have what it takes to be a hero and won't let his amoral upbringing determine his principles. He is his own brand of hero, and will be one where Red could not.
The point of X7 is that holding standards is important. Even if not religious or political, having a code to live by is crucial to maintaining direction in life. While we mustn't get so caught up in our principles that we become uncooperative shut-ins like X, we can't just not have them and be swayed by manipulators like Red was.
