Lumine (2024)

"Enemy. Ally... This issue isn't so black and white. Reploids, along with humanity, have irrevocably changed. The nature of their existence has also changed. You are not needed in our new world!"

―Lumine, Mega Man X8

Lumine (ルミネ Rumine) is a new generation Reploid and director of the Jakob Project that X, Zero, and Axl encounter in Mega Man X8. While at first he is a hostage to be rescued, it is revealed in Normal and Hard modes that he is the game's secret main antagonist and final boss.

Appearance[]

Lumine appears as a young male Reploid with long lavender hair, most of it styled into a half-moon motif with a fringe covering one half of his face, which features gold eyes, but no eyebrows. His armor is of a slim design, having a white and dark purple color scheme with green hexagonal accents and a large blue jewel on his chest. Lumine also lacks a helmet with the intention of giving him a more human appearance and has a slight feminine figure.^[3]

His final form is based on an angel in direct contrast to Sigma's demonic final appearance.^[3] Lumine's armor changes and he gains a helmet similar to Zero's, his skin turns pale white, and his hands become claws. He also gains a unique set of wings, with four large compartments, connected to him by thin appendages. Lumine's overall design and abilities, along with his voice, invoke feelings of him being a transcendent or divine being, not limited to any specific form or gender.

Personality[]

Lumine normally maintains the façade of a benevolent, if not somewhat eccentric, leader. He seems talkative and intelligent, able to easily surmise X's concerns as well as provide highly-detailed explanations, but with an oddly emotionally-detached demeanor. He appears very confident in the capabilities of New Generation Reploids such as himself.

However, in reality Lumine has gone mad with ambition. Upon revealing his true intentions to the Maverick Hunters, his tone changes drastically to something more wicked, accompanied by maniacal laughter. He arrogantly derides X, Zero, and Axl for being outdated Reploids who have no place in the future. He claims to have used Sigma, showing he is a patient and cunning strategist, and also crushes Sigma's remains with his foot, showing how little he cares for others. After he is defeated his face is shown stuck in an insane smile, and he indignantly shares his belief that the world will be compelled to approach his goals regardless of his death.

History[]

Mega Man X8[]

X first met Lumine while investigating an accident at the Jakob Orbital Elevator. After X saw the New Generation Reploids who transformed into Sigma to survive the accident, Lumine explained the situation and told him he had nothing to worry about. He then introduced himself as the lead supervisor of the Jakob Project.

At the end of the opening stage in Noah's Park, Vile appeared, having kidnapped Lumine with a Bindholder. He explained to the Maverick Hunters that he and his fellow Mavericks took control of the Jakob Elevator before departing with Lumine in hand. It became a major goal for the Hunters to rescue Lumine.

Lumine was finally rescued in the Sigma Palace on the Moon. After Sigma's defeat in Easy mode, the game ends as Lumine emerges with the significance remaining a mystery, though an ominous silence implies his true nature. After Sigma's defeat in Normal or Hard mode, Lumine revealed that he and the new generation Reploids had taken advantage of Sigma, not the other way around. Sigma's ambition helped accelerate the supremacy of the new generation Reploids, and Lumine revealed himself as the true leader of the unabashedly Maverick new generation. Lumine then attacked the Hunters using data from the eight Maverick bosses.

After being beaten, Lumine explained to X, Zero, and Axl that the Copy Chips included in the new generation Reploids contained data on hundreds of old Reploids, including Sigma. He also mentioned that Axl, as a prototype, was incapable of becoming like Sigma, and explained that Sigma turned Maverick of his own free will and not strictly because of the Maverick Virus. He also taunted X and Zero for being outdated and ridiculed their attempts at stopping the future from marching on, as the new generation Reploids were simply following their nature to evolve. Axl, however, fired a shot at Lumine, encouraging X and Zero to ignore him. Lumine transformed and attacked once more, again calling the Hunters obsolete.

Lumine expressed disbelief at his final defeat, but claimed it was already too late to stop what had begun, and it would take far more to stop the future than just fighting. Afterwards, a tentacle lashed out from Lumine's body at Axl, implanting an object in Axl's head crystal. Zero sliced the tentacle off, which disintegrated, and X destroyed Lumine's body with a Charge Shot.

Despite his death, Lumine's final words continued to haunt X. He remained disturbed by Lumine's claim that the new generation were "awakening" by going Maverick, although Zero reassured X by stating that evolution could never be "becoming Sigma", and that even if Lumine was correct, they'd still need to fight; against Mavericks, but also against their own destiny. Zero also pondered to himself if Sigma's final demise meant he no longer had a reason to fight.

Strategy[]

First form[]

Lumine levitates around the arena, surrounded by eight gemstones whose colors correspond to the eight Maverick bosses from Gateway. When he absorbs a gem, he gains its color (not dissimilar to X's Variable Weapon System) and uses the Maverick's Overdrive Attack. This makes the battle a constant onslaught of powerful Overdrive Attacks. However, when Lumine absorbs a gem he also gains that Maverick's elemental weakness, which can be used against him.

	Wave Wall (ウェーブウォール Uēbu Uōru)[4][5]
	Lumine absorbs the orange gem to use Earthrock Trilobyte's Overdrive Attack. He creates a series of crystal that move from one side of the room to the other, threatening to crush the player against the far wall.
	Damage: 8
	Cube Falls (キューブフォールズ Kyūbu Fōruzu)[4][5]
	Lumine absorbs the purple gem to use Gravity Antonion's Overdrive Attack. He summons a series of cubes that fall from the ceiling and shatter on the floor. The cubes follow the same pattern as Antonion's attack.
	Damage: 8
	Youdantotsu (葉断突 "Leaf Severing Thrust")[4][5]
	Lumine absorbs the green gem to use Bamboo Pandamonium's Overdrive Attack. He pauses before lunging towards the player, dealing heavy damage with a straight punch.
	Damage: 16
	Snow Eisen (スノーアイゼン Sunō Aizen)[4][5]
	Lumine absorbs the white gem to use Avalanche Yeti's Overdrive Attack. He casts a gust of snow from one hand, causing giant snowflake projectiles to flutter down from the ceiling for a while.
	Damage: 4
	Earth Crush (アースクラッシュ Āsu Kurasshu)[4][5]
	Lumine absorbs the yellow gem to use Optic Sunflower's Overdrive Attack. He summons a laser sight to target the player, then calls down a beam of light. He performs this attack three times consecutively.
	Damage: 8
	Flame Tornado (フレイムトルネード Fureimu Torunēdo)[4][5]
	Lumine absorbs the red gem to use Burn Rooster's Overdrive Attack. He floats to the center of the arena to unleash two mighty pillars of flame on either sides of the room, cutting off the walls all the way to the ceiling. These conflagrations burn for the rest of the battle.
	Damage: 8
	Thunder Dancer (サンダーダンサー Sandā Dansā)[4][5]
	Lumine absorbs the blue gem to use Gigabolt Man-O-War's Overdrive Attack. He rises to the top of the screen and rains three volleys of lightning over the entire arena, save for two safe spots. The lightning's targets are telegraphed via small particles beforehand. Like with Man-O-War, deploying a Crystal Wall with X acts as a lightning rod, drawing all lightning to one location.
	Damage: 8
	Death Image (デスイメージ Desu Imēji)[4][5]
	Lumine absorbs the black gem to use Dark Mantis's Overdrive Attack. He floats to the top of the screen and swipes once with each arm, projecting two giant slashes across the arena.
	Damage: 8

Second form[]

After defeating his first form, Lumine transforms into a seraph-like, six-winged Reploid. The ultimate confrontation takes place on a wide platform before a cloudy, golden backdrop.

Lumine begins on the right of the screen before swooping low across the arena, exiting left and returning on the right. Lumine repeats this movement with different attacks between each swoop. His attacks can be difficult to dodge due to their space-constraining properties. Lumine also has a final attack that results in instant death if the player does not stop him in time. This form has no assigned weakness, as all Special Weapons deal the same damage to him.

	Oratorio (オラトリオ)[4]
	Lumine summons a barrier before each attack. It can be dispelled with Guard Break attacks. As the battle goes on, it gains more layers that require more attacks to fully dispel.
	Damage: 2
	Refrain (リフレイン Rifurein)[2]
	Lumine's four wingtips emit lasers that target the floor below the player, following their location for a while.
	Damage: 6
	Bel Canto (ベルカント Berukanto)[2]
	Lumine emits a circle of light crystals, which enlarges to pass through the whole arena. There are gaps that the player can pass through safely. Lumine then emits a second one, then causes both circles to shrink back into his hands, forcing the player to pass through the pattern again.
	Damage: 6
	Legato (レガート Regāto)[2]
	Lumine launches several sets of laser darts off-screen, which descend on the player diagonally in pairs for a while afterwards.
	Damage: 4
	Gravé (グラベ Gurabe)[2]
	Lumine emits a stream of light crystals vertically off-screen, which then descend in rows across the whole arena. There are gaps that the player can pass through safely. Lumine then calls the crystals back up, forcing the player to pass through the pattern again.
	Damage: 4
	Unison (ユニゾン Yunizon)[2]
	Lumine's first Overdrive Attack. He emits a stream of light crystals horizontally off-screen, which then return in rows across the whole arena. There are gaps that the player can pass through safely. Lumine then calls the crystals back, forcing the player to pass through the pattern again.
	Damage: 4
	Paradise Lost (パラダイスロスト Paradaisu Rosuto)[4][5]
	When Lumine is at low health, he uses his final Overdrive Attack. After causing the screen to white out, the battle returns with a dark backdrop with blackness slowly creeping in from the sides of the screen. Lumine teleports around while hiding within his wings, forcing the player to use Guard Break attacks to open him up for damage. If Lumine is not defeated in approximately 30 seconds, the screen completely blackens and the player loses a life, forcing them to return to the battle with Lumine's first form again.
	Damage: Instant Death (if successful)

Quotes[]

Dialogues[]

In-battle quotes[]

Etymology[]

Lumine is Latin for "light." The name was most likely chosen as a reference to Lucifer, as per the ever-popular Origen-Tertullian interpretation: named Lucifer ("light-bearer") as one of God's best Archangels in the beginning, afterwards fallen and best known as Satan ever since. This namesake's likelihood is further supported by the subtitle of the game and the name of his final attack, Paradise Lost, which was an epic poem written by John Milton that covered the fall of humanity and the angels, specifically Lucifer.

Gallery[]

Music[]

Video[]

Trivia[]

• The name of all of Lumine's attacks in his second form (minus Paradise Lost) are all terms from music or opera. Paradise Lost is the subtitle of Mega Man X8, as seen in the game's intro movie and ending credits, which is a nod to the English poet John Milton's epic poem of the same title.
• Lumine's second form has a seraph-like appearance, similar to the second form of other bosses like Copy X, Albert, Sera and Elpizo. In fact, portions of Lumine's second theme resemble Copy X's theme.
• Lumine is one of the two antagonists shown to have copying abilities (the other being Master Albert), as he can use the powers of all eight Mavericks of the game due to his copy chip.
• There are several dialogue errors in the conversation between Lumine and the Hunters. For instance, after defeating Lumine's first form, he'll say: "They were derived from data from hundreds of old model Repolids". The word "Reploids" is misspelled.
• The August 12th 2004 prototype version has some differences: The first phase's music is completely different and the form transition has different music. The second form's Unison attack is green instead of gold and the Paradise Lost theme sounds slightly different.
• Lumine is one of the most gender ambiguous characters in the Mega Man franchise alongside Commander Yammark from Mega Man X6, and Sage Harpuia, Elpizo and Cubit Foxtar from the Mega Man Zero series. This ambiguity stems not only from Lumine's feminine appearance, but also the fact that he is voiced by a woman in both Japanese and English, a voice acting trick often done to disguise an ambiguously-designed character's gender.
  • This ambiguity is somewhat removed in the Japanese version of the game if Lumine successfully pulls off his Paradise Lost attack. He uses notably masculine language when executing the attack, saying "Omae dake wa...Omae dake wa nigasan!" (お前だけは…お前だけは逃がさん, I won't let you go... Not you..!). In Japanese, "omae" is a crass and informal way of saying "you", almost exclusively used by males.

References[]