Maverick

Maverick are a group that appear in the Mega Man comic series, and the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. It is a term used to identify a Reploid or Mechaniloid who is hostile to humans.

The Mavericks started out as ordinary Reploids, replicated from the advanced Mega Man X. Unfortunately, the emotions which the Reploids possessed led some of them to rebel violently against their creators. Worse, a dangerous virus eventually surfaced that would cause Reploids to become Mavericks, like the former Maverick Hunter Sigma, who became the leader of these robots, which also employed an army of lesser Mechaniloids.

Worlds Unite
Some time after a previous operation, at least one Maverick, Vile, was in charge of the defense of Sigma's fortress when the Maverick Hunters came looking to finish off their hated foe. Later, after Roboticized Masters Sonic Man and M'egga Man were returned to their normal forms of Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man, Sigma used the Genesis Portals to revive all his previously defeated Mavericks in preparation for the coming conflict. He also reached into the future of his timeline to bring further Mavericks into his service. Curiously, these duplicated Mavericks lacked the full personality of their counterparts, but Sigma did not concern himself with it once it became clear that their loyalty to him remained. Following the defeat of his Mechaniloid army, Sigma unleashed an army of these Mavericks on the Sky Patrol and the heroes aboard. Weary from their previous battles, the heroes were on the ropes until some unlikely allies from another Zone arrived.

Trivia

 * The Mavericks serve much the same purpose in Worlds Unite that Wily Robot Masters in the Robot Master Army served in "Worlds Collide". They are also introduced in similar fashion, as none of the Mega Man X games have been fully adapted in the Mega Man comic, and thus virtually none of them aside from Sigma and Vile have been introduced prior to Worlds Unite. Additionally, although the events of the Mega Man X timeline take place after X7, additional Mavericks from subsequent games appear in the crossover.
 * As with the Robot Master Army, the Maverick Army's membership lacks a handful of characters who had served as bosses in the Mega Man X series. Most notably, three prominent members of the Repliforce organization-General, Colonel, and Iris-do not appear to have been cloned by Sigma. It is possible that Sigma chose not to clone them because they were never truly loyal to his cause, similar to how the original Light Robot Masters never chose to serve Dr. Wily.